this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at "pm: a note of cautious optimism from eu leaders meeting in brussels. they say not enough progress has been made for trade talks, but agree to begin planning for them. i am ambitious and positive for britain's future and about these negotiations, but i know we still have some way to go. while progress is not sufficient, it doesn't mean that there's no progress at all. a police inquiry has been launched into the way rbs treated its small business customers. oxford and cambridge are accused of social apartheid by a labour mp who says most students are from a "privileged minority". and on newsnight this evening, we put the question "how is brexit going" to a panel of voters from sheffield. the results may surprise you. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. eu leaders meeting in brussels have agreed to start preparing for trade talks with the uk. but, as expected, they've said they can't begin formal discussions on post brexit trade relations because not enough progress has been made on other issues. theresa may says she remains "ambitious and positive" about securing a partnership with the eu. the so—called divorce bill remains a major sticking point. the prime minister did not name any figures but indicated that in order to reach a deal with eu leaders, the uk will have to pay more than the £20 million already promised. from brussels, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg, and just to warn you her report

contains flashing images. final press conference. tick tock, tick tock. european leaders took 90 seconds today to decide that brexit talks haven't gone far enough to move on. time is pressing. they will start talks about talks. yet until the uk says it is prepared to pay, no bigger deal. i am ambitious and positive for britain's future and for these negotiations, but i know we still have some way to go. both sides have approached these talks with professionalism and a constructive spirit, and we should recognise what has been achieved to date. do you deny that you've made clear to your eu counterparts that you are willing to pay many more billions than you've already indicated to settle our accounts as we leave? what i've made clear to my eu counterparts in relation to financial contribution is what i set out in my florence speech, which is that i have said

that nobody need be concerned for the current budget plan that they would have to either pay in more, or receive less, as a result of the uk leaving, and that we will honour the commitments that we have made during our membership. now, there has to be detailed work on those commitments, as david davis has said. we are going through them line by line and we will continue to go through them line by line, and the british taxpayer wouldn't expect its government to do anything else. among the schmoozing, there are whispers she has said privately she is prepared to stump up billions more. number ten says there hasn't yet been the final word on the cash. and while things seem friendlier, eu leaders are clear theresa may has to spell out how much she's prepared to pay before moving onto the main talks on trade and transition. and that means there's no deal yet on citizens‘ rights or northern ireland. there is an expectation

they could shake on phase one by christmas, but until she budges, it's 27 against one. lonely arguments to make. the reports of the deadlock between the eu and the uk have been exaggerated. and while progress is not sufficient, it doesn't mean there is no progress at all. "there's nothing to say about brexit", says mrjuncker. cue a sigh of relief from the uk. but here's the man who has to try to make it work here. i'm sorry but i don't want to answer a question. from the look on michel barnier‘s face, he knows it's not going to be easy. angela merkel said, "we hope we can move on in december, but it depends "on the uk paying more". the french verdict, even more gloomy. "today, we are not even halfway there". did he mean we'd have to pay at least double the 20 billion?

that's not yet clear. this was far from a brussels bust up, though. number ten's encouraged that negotiations are at least moving. theresa may does not go home empty—handed. she can claim progress of a sort, but this fraught process has gone a couple of inches, and it's a journey of many, many miles. those 27 will decide their next moves without britain even in the room, while at home the prime minister must calculate how much she can compromise to conclude the whole deal against the clock before we are out for good. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, brussels. a police inquiry has been launched into rbs and the way one of its departments treated the bank's small business customers. police scotland are taking evidence which may lead to a formal investigation. the bbc has seen some of the methods used to extract revenues from customers, instead of helping them.

here's our business correspondent, joe lynam. you can still see our company name up on the notice board and it's been there for the last six—and—a—half years since we were put into grg. andrew quoi ran a plumbing business for 25 years in bristol, with a turnover of £5 million. but in 2011, within the space of a month, and without any warning, his company was forced out of business with the loss of a0 jobs after it was placed into a part of rbs, known as grg. now, i didn't know what grg was. i didn't even know what those initials stood for but we were told at the time — they're going to help you. it was the complete opposite. it was a complete and utter total abattoir. they destroy you and they slaughter businesses. walk us through what happened after you went into administration. it did make you feel like the best thing to do would be to end it all because there was the possibility you could make a claim, yourfamily could make a claim on your life insurance

and your family would be safe. those thoughts went went through my mind. andrew brought rbs to court in bristol. he lost and he says he can not afford to appeal. the bank, which may yet seize his home, said thejudge dismissed the claim in 2016 and found mr quoi liable to meet the company's outstanding liabilities to the bank, up to the level of their personal guarantees. but new documentation, leaked to the bbc, which was widely circulated to one division of grg, shows that staff would be rewarded for behaving a certain way. entitled "just hit budget", customers faced especially high interest rates or handing over part of their own company to the bank. it went on, under the heading, "rope", "sometimes you need to let customers hang themselves. no deal, no way. missed opportunities will mean missed bonuses." this is a scandal of incalculable proportions. it raises the question as to whether criminal offences have been committed

and there needs to be an urgent inquiry into this. it's a sort of blueprint for abuse of business customers in the most shocking way. and things could be getting even trickierfor rbs. the bbc has learned an inquiry is under way by police in scotland into rbs and its grg division and how it treated its small businesses customers. no charges are being brought yet but the bbc understands that the inquiry is nearing fruition. rbs says it's recently been made aware that police are reviewing a complaint. it says it is not privy to any details but that it will cooperate with any request for information. the banking regulator, the fca, has received a detailed report by investigators into the matter, which it refuses to publish in full. but it has told the bbc that it will publish a full summary, soon. andrew quoi says he will not rest until the truth is revealed about how he and many others were treated.

all your hope, all your aspirations, everything you built up over a lifetime, a lifetime‘s work, was gone. the government says it doesn't comment on leaked documents. joe lynam, bbc news. oxford and cambridge universities are still struggling to offer places to students from less privileged backgrounds. new figures show that the parents of most students given 0xbridge places have professional or managerialjobs. the data was obtained by the labour mp david lammy who has accused oxford and cambridge of perpetuating a "social apartheid". the figures also show a huge geographical divide. almost half of the 0xbridge offers went to students in london and the south—east of england. while just 3% of offers from 0xbridge went to students in wales. the universities both say they are trying to improve access. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. centuries of scholarship, one of the top universities in the world, but how easy is it to get into 0xford

from a comprehensive in inner—city manchester? even from a good school, it can feel like an impossible leap. i see quite a few people in my year who could have very well applied. i think it's a confidence thing. most people don't feel like it's for them. i can understand why someone might think it is posh, but really as long as you are an able student who really wants to work hard, then i'm sure you will fit right in. almost one in five kids here gets free school meals, that is two or three times higher than the wealthy south—east. i think it is quite a deep—rooted issue. a lot of it also comes down to confidence and perception of what these universities are like. so we try to ensure that students visit them, access the various summer programmes. the universities say they are trying hard, spending millions on their efforts,

and some schools just aren't delivering top grades. but still, better off kids get most places here. these two universities exert a remarkable influence over national life. they've produced most of our prime ministers, as well as many cabinet members, seniorjudges and influential voices in the media. so if you are asking yourself why you should care, it's because the people who study here end up running the country. when i got the offer, i was so happy. 0xford demands a or a—star grades, but an experiment is under way. v got three b grades at her dudley sixth form. the university spent a year getting her up to scratch. the standard of teaching was completely different to what i had experienced in my previous education. as a young black woman from zimbabwe, living in dudley,

i did not think i would fit into a space like this. i thought it would be people who are rich. but so far, it is just ten students at one college. so does this mean dropping standards for some state pupils? it's definitely not about dumbing down 0xford. it's about getting students who have the academic potential but have not reached it at school, and with a year of teaching on the foundation year, they will have reached the level where they can perform well at undergraduate. cambridge and oxford are part of an academic elite, but many argue that is still reserved for the privileged few. the south—west is gearing up for storm brian. it's expected to bring winds of up to 70 mph over the weekend and, with it, the risk of coastal flooding. it comes just days after storm 0phelia battered ireland

and parts of the uk. for the first time the coastal town of foy is building temporary flood defences to try to protect it from high tides. lucie fisher has more. it started as a beautiful morning in looe, but this really is the calm before the storm. storm brian promising to bring gale force winds and flooding. we have had flooding here this morning, coming up through the drains, and with the winds over the next 2a hours we expect the tides to overtop the quays. just days after storm 0phelia hit the coasts this week, we are expecting a second storm, this time combined with spring tides, a combination that has seen a rush to put up defences in places like fowey, that's prone to flooding. this is the first time you're trialling this on a coastal region? absolutely, this is the first time we are using a temporary barrier to protect the town. we have used it along river corridors, but this is first time at the coast.

as far as the storm itself, what are you warning people? we expect high tides tonight and tomorrow morning, around seven. that will coincide with very high winds that will lead to big waves. the coast will be a dangerous place. we are encouraging people please stay away, don't be tempted to take a storm selfie, you're more important than that photo. selfies aside, what do the locals make of the activity? it has a history of flooding. it is great they have put up this barrier here. whether it will stop the flood because down the end, if the surge really comes up, it will go through the wall. different. let's hope it works. it should be interesting to see how, if it stays there or not. to be honest. it is going to be fun. while restaurants and shops in coastal towns are sandbagging this evening and crossing fingers, elsewhere builders have told us they are making sites secure, and ferries and other public transport are also putting measures in place. you need to get across, you need to get across. it's a 15, 20 mile journey round,

if more, so if you live here it is part of the way it is, we have storms every year. with winds set to increase here tonight and into the weekend, gusts of up to 70mph are expected here, along with some of the year's highest tides. now it's time for newsnight. how's brexit going? well, the bluffing and bluster in brussels continues, but how do the public feel? i've sat down with voters in sheffield. put up your hands, how many of you think there is an element of them trying to punish us? absolutely! there seems to be a big hate campaign against theresa may all the time, like it is not really relevant if a piece of boarding falls down. also tonight, southern comfort. oxford and cambridge have too few students from the north of england.