hospitals in england could carry out hundreds of thousands more non—urgent operations every year, if better use was made of operating theatres. a health service watchdog says an average of two hours a day are lost because of late starts and other delays. its conclusions are due out later this week but have already been seen by the bbc. also this lunchtime... donald tusk tells the european parliament the outcome of the brexit talks are up to london — and that brexit could still be abandoned. a british former assistant to harvey weinstein says she was given a six figure payoff, after accusing the film producer of sexual harrassment. a 24—year—old man from bournemouth has been killed after going to syria to fight against the islamic state group. the hire—purchase firm brighthouse is to pay out nearly £15 million to customers, after the financial watchdog said it hadn't acted as a responsible lender. and coming up in sport stuart bingham, the 2015 world snooker champion, is banned for six months

for breaching betting rules. he must also pay £20,000 in costs. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. hospitals in england could carry out 280,000 extra non—urgent operations every year, by making better use of operating theatres. the analysis comes from a health service watchdog, nhs improvement. its conclusions are due out later this week but have been seen by the bbc. they suggest that an average of two hours a day are lost in operating theatres because of late starts and other delays. 0ur health editor hugh pym has this report. patients waiting months for planned

surgery may be surprised to hear the nhs could be doing a lot more operations. that's the view of a health regulator, who says time is wasted and more patients could be fitted in. the analysis seen by the bbc suggests hospitals could be more efficient. nhs improvement looked at non—urgent surgery at 100 trusts in england last year. it said 1.61; million operations were carried out, but an extra 280,000 more could have taken place. on average, there was about 140 minutes of unused operating theatre time each day. there's all sorts of reasons why theatre lists do start late. it may be that the patient hasn't been brought to the theatre on time, there may be things they have to sort out with the individual patients that make it rather delayed. or maybe not everybody is there at the right time. but by looking at the detail of that, they are actually able

to put things right. but one leading surgeon told me there were no simple answers and many complex factors had to be addressed. we do need to look at resource issues. i think we need to look at staffing issues. i think we need to look at bed issues. address more the staff morale within the health service as part of that as well. hospital managers argue it's often hard to find beds for people after surgery if medically fit older patients cannot be moved on because of social care problems. they say there are many challenges to face, including money. there is clearly more that the nhs can do by way of improving productivity and efficiency. but it cannot be the only answer. there is a gap facing nhs finances, the gap between demand and supply. we need to recognise that more funding, alongside the trusts doing more to improve productivity, our two parts of the same answer. waiting lists for operations are rising. hospitals are under

mounting pressure. the debate over whether new money or more efficiency is the answer for the nhs can only intensify this winter. i suppose if you are watching that and perhaps you are somebody that is waiting for a nonurgent operation, this is going to raise quite a few queries in your mind? indeed, particularly the 400,000 or so who have been waiting more than 18 weeks for a routine operation in england. the target is that they should start treatment within 18 weeks. a growing numberare treatment within 18 weeks. a growing number are waiting longer. they may well wonder why they can't have their procedure done when we have just learned today that there is a unused time in operating theatres. it does seem like some hospitals have made quite a lot of progress. it is often very simple things, as we we re it is often very simple things, as we were hearing, starting on time, make sure the patient is ready, making sure there is not a last—minute cancellation and

allowing the theatre to carry on until the end of the list. some hospitals have achieved a lot. but the average, the figure of over two hours of unused time, is a pretty stark one. the debate about efficiency will continue. what nhs improvement are saying is that they wa nt to improvement are saying is that they want to help hospitals identify the bottlenecks and improvements can be made, and more operations can be carried out. but there is a wider debate, as we have been hearing, about whether it is really all to do with money. demand is rising so fast that actually you could do more operations but you still wouldn't deal with the fundamental problems, finding beds for patients that have had their operations, if there are patients that are stuck and cannot be moved back into the community. that remains a big challenge. it all becomes particularly acute as we get nearer the budget, with some saying the nhs in england does need more money. 0thers the nhs in england does need more money. others will be saying there isa money. others will be saying there is a case here for greater efficiency. with winter about to really get under way, it is a

particularly interesting debate. thanks very much for now. a british former assistant of harvey weinstein says she was paid £125,000 to keep quiet, after accusing the film producer of sexual harassment. zelda perkins has told a newspaper she signed a non—disclosure agreement in 1998, after making the accusations. harvey weinstein has denied any allegations of non—consensual sex. 0ur correspondent lizo mzimba reports. fired by the company he co—founded, condemned by hollywood. now a former assistant has said that after she was sexually harassed by harvey weinstein she was paid £125,000 to stay silent. now zelda perkins says she has decided to break the legal agreement — which could result in having to repay the money. she told the financial times, "i want to publicly break my nondisclosure agreement. unless someone does this there won't be a debate. my entire world fell

in because i thought the law was there to protect those who abided by it. i discovered it had nothing to do with right and wrong and everything to do with money and power." in los angeles, the premiers are continuing but the stars say hollywood must change. maybe this is the watershed moment where we believe women, where they feel safe that they can talk about what they are experiencing. the fact that somebody that powerful, his career has been completely ruined, i think that is a real message to anybody behaving like this. the allegations against weinstein mean that his former company, based in new york, could also now be in the firing line. in a statement, new york attorney general eric schneiderman said, "no new yorker should be forced to walk into a workplace ruled by sexual intimidation, harassment orfear. if sexual harassment or discrimination is pervasive at a company, we want to know." more than two dozen women have now made accusations

against harvey weinstein. he denies any allegations of nonconsensual sex. hollywood is still trying to deal with a scandal that has affected the lives of so many women. lizo mzimba, bbc news. the european council president donald tusk has said the outcome of the brexit talks is up to london — and that abandoning the decision to leave the eu is still an option for the uk. he also urged members of the european parliament to stick together, warning them they would be defeated unless they maintained absolute unity. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. with just a year until a brexit deal has to be done, the eu side is deeply uncertain about how this process will end, with an organised to deal or chaotic split. huge challenges ahead, said donald tusk. ahead of us is still the toughest to

stress test. if we fail it, the negotiations will end in our defeat. donald tusk is no fan of brexit. he even hopes it may not happen. but he says su ccess even hopes it may not happen. but he says success or failure in the talks depends on how the uk handles them. it is in fact up to london how this will end, with a good deal, no deal or no brexit. last week's summit in brussels brought no breakthrough. jean—claude juncker has denied theresa may begged him for help. today, he said the eu once an agreement. the commission is not negotiating in that mood. we want a deal. those that don't want a deal, they have no friends in the commission. we want a fair deal. this is the man that will secure a deal. michel barnier says there has to be agreement on the uk exit terms first, what is called orderly

withdrawal, and only if the principles that are settled will of the eu then engaging talk about a transition period. today, he told several european newspapers, if we reach an agreement on the orderly withdrawal of the uk, such a transition period, both short and framed, it is possible. a transition might, he said, be short. it makes sense that it covers the financial period, so until 2020. the transition, he said, would leave us more time to prepare for the future relationship. that is because the eu will not formally agree to a trade deal until during any transition period, after the uk has quit the eu, so after brexit day. that means it could be several years until the terms are settled. let's get the latest from damien in brussels. what is your assessment of the message that eu leaders are really trying to get across? i think what we are hearing is a sort of unified point across all of these people that are

talking, which is that they are trying to lay out the constraints as they see them. that is very simple. the structure of the talks that the eu has laid down is that first there has to be disagreement on the exit and that is stuck at the minute, which is why we are hearing is warning is coming from donald tusk. the issue there is the need the eu side sees for the uk to put on the table what it is prepared to pay. as michel barnier made clear in his comments, it is only if that is resolved in the coming weeks or longer that he will then legally be allowed by the eu to move on to discussing a transition. 0nly allowed by the eu to move on to discussing a transition. only once thatis discussing a transition. only once that is complete, once the uk has exited, after that period can the eu then sort out the fine details of a future trading relationship. so, none of this can happen, none of the end state can happen before the uk

quits the eu. that is a very important point that i think the eu side is trying to get across. we are hearing from the uk side talk about wrapping things up quickly, negotiating a trade deal pretty fast and then trying to implement it after 2019. michel barnier today said it could take years to happen, to settle all of that. he also said interestingly a warning about no deal, he said in his interview what would that mean? it would mean all sorts of very, very painful consequences. not able to import nuclear material for hospitals to the uk, not able to secure landing and take—off rights for aeroplanes flying around europe, issues around importing agricultural produce to the uk could get difficult. all sorts of reasons why the eu side does not want a new deal outcome. thanks very much. a young man from bournemouth who went to syria to fight against the islamic state group has died. 24—year—old jac holmes, who used to work in it, is said to have been killed as he cleared landmines from the newly—liberated city of raqqa.

emma vardy reports. the furthest i have shot is 400 metres... this was jac holmes' third time in syria. the region, its people and the kurdish fight against so—called islamic state became his life. i've become very attached to this region. even more so now than before, i feel like this this region. even more so now than before, ifeel like this is my responsibility. back in 2015, jac holmes, a former it worker from bournemouth, had been following the war on social media. he had no prior military experience. he learned about the kurdish unit, the ypg, fighting ina about the kurdish unit, the ypg, fighting in a ground war to push back so—called islamic state. despite warnings from police, at 22 he travelled on his own to syria. after spending time at a ypg

training camp, he then went to fight on the front lines. for me, it was a personal choice. i wanted to fight against isis and help the situation in iraq and syria. during the battle for raqqa, jac holmes, on the left, was part of a four man sniper team, all, like him, international volunteers. jac holmes is one of a number of people from britain who have gone to fight with the kurds. many have been arrested on their return. 98% of many have been arrested on their return. 9896 of people are extremely happy that we are here. news of his death was delayed by the ypg in syria to kurdish representatives in the uk yesterday. —— relayed. the bbc understands that he was killed in an operation to clear mines in the aftermath of the operation in raqqa. his mother described him as an exceptional young man who loved being a soldier. the firm brighthouse, which provides household goods to people on hire—purchase agreements, has been reprimanded by the financial conduct authority. the company will now pay out nearly

£15 million in compensation to customers because of mistakes with contracts and refunds. our business correspondent emma simpson is in lewisham in south east london. this is a company with 280 stores across the country, basically you can rent to buy, hire purchase, anything from watches and tvs to washing machines and microwaves, and what they have found to be done they didn't assess their customer, they didn't assess their customer, they didn't work out whether the customers could afford to repay them. that will the reason why the fca said they are not a responsible lender. as a result of that, they are going to have to pay 81,000 customers about £10 million in compensation, then there was another factor, which was quite a few customers cancelled their agreements within the allowed time, a couple of

week, and the company did nothing about it. so it will have to pay 4.7 million in compensation to customers who cancelled the agreement and should have been let goa go. it is going to change its policies in future, people who might expect to get some money from the company don't have to do anything to apply for it, they will be approached by the company and offered this compensation, some will get more than one amount of compensation, because some people borrow lots and lots of monetary policy to buy from them, —— money to buy from them. thank you. a 53—year—old man has appeared in court charged with false imprisonment and possession of a sawn—off shotgun and a samurai sword in connection with a bowling alley siege. david clarke was arrested on sunday after an incident in mfa bowl in nuneaton. officers had a four—hour stand—off with a gunman inside the building, with two hostages being held. our top storythis lunchtime.

a health service watchdog says hospitals in england could carry out hundreds of thousands more non—urgent operations every year, if better use was made of operating theatres. and coming up — a "park of britain's conscience" has won the design competition for a new national holocaust memorial. coming up in sport. although he'll soon be ineligible to play for hiss country, scrum—half rhys webb has been included in wales' squad for their forthcoming autumn internationals. china's ruling communist party has written the name of the president xi jinping into its constitution — a step which appears designed to confirm his status as the most powerful ruler since chairman mao. at the closing of the country's highest political gathering —

the five yearly communist party congress — delegates voted unanimously to add mr xi's "thought" to the party's guiding principles. 0ur correspondentjohn sudworth sent this report, from inside china's great hall of the people. 0n the closing day of its week long congress, china's ruling communist party had a message for the world. it is marching in lock step behind xijinping. inside the great hall of the people, he was presiding over his own immortalisation. "those in favour?" he asks. "and those against?" with not a hand in sight. "none", comes the chorus of replies.

"approved." and with that, xi jinping is given his own brand of thought, the first leader since chairman mao to have it written under his name into the party constitution. despite the arcane language and the unreformed political system, this matters, of course, because the communist party now controls the world's second largest economy. what's happened here today confirms that much of that control now rests in the hands ofjust one man. mr xi tells delegates his political philosophy will help build a modern prosperous china, and he reads out its unwieldy title. thought on socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era. with the congress over, 2,000 delegatea head home

2,000 delegates head home to a country that is certainly growing richer, but it remains completely unreformed politically. chairman mao may loom large here as a symbol of strength, but he is also a reminder of the chaos that can come when one leader has far too much of it. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. america's top general has promised a full investigation into the death of four us soldiers in the west african state of niger. the chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, joseph dunford, said a reconnaissance patrol was ambushed by suspected islamist fighters earlier this month — and it had taken the team an hour to call for support. the widow of one of the soldiers, sergeant la david johnson, says president trump made her cry when he phoned to offer his condolences. peter bowes reports. sergeant la david johnson was laid

to rest at the weekend. donald trump's call to his widow, myeshia johnson, came a few days earlier as she waited at miami airport to receive her husband's body. the president said that he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway. and i was — it made me cry because i was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it. he couldn't remember my husband's name. she also said the us military had refused to let her see her husband's body. i don't know nothing. they won't show me a finger, a hand. i know my husband's body from head to toe and they won't let me see anything. i don't know what's in that box. it could be empty for all i know, but i need to see my husband. donald trump responded in a tweet. "i had a very respectful conversation with the widow of sergeant la david johnson

and spoke his name from the beginning without hesitation." at a news conference, america's top uniformed military officer was asked to address myeshia johnson's concerns about viewing her husband's body. there are times when we make a suggestion to the family that they may not want to review the remains. at the end of the day, the policy is it's the family's decision as to whether or not they do that. general dunford said military investigators were still gathering the facts about exactly what happened when sergeantjohnson and three other soldiers were killed in niger. he said the american people were owed an explanation. peter bowes, bbc news. the trial of an army sergeant accused of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute, has been hearing evidence of an earlier alleged

attempt on her life. the prosecution alleges that emile cilliers interfered with a gas pipe in the couple's home, hoping to cause an explosion when his wife victoria lit the oven. emile cilliers denies this and other charges against him. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy reports from winchester crown court. the trial of emile cilliers on the left has so far concentrated on allegations he tampered with his wife's parachute. today, the emphasis shifted to another charge he face, attempting to murder his wife by tampering with a gas fixture. emile cilliers and his wife live at a house in wilts shire and had been married forfive live at a house in wilts shire and had been married for five years. the gas fixture was in their kitchen, the prosecution say emile cilliers deliberately loosened the nut to create a gas leak. 0ne forensic scientist told the court it would have taken significant force to loosen the nut and the tool was one used in their home. another

witness was michael 0sbourne, a gas engineer, he was called out after victoria smelled gas, in order to fix the leak. mr osborne told the prosecution that the nut had been loosened by a quarter of one turn, possibly with a tool and when he did it back up, the gas leak stopped. but he acknowledged under corrosion from the defence, that the nut could have come undone through heat, acknowledging that the pipe was next to the kitchen cooker. the trial has already heard that a week after the gas leak, emile cilliers allegedly sabotaged his wife's parachute at the abase in wiltshire, victoria fell 4,000 feet after her main and reserve chutes failed to open properly. she suffered a number of injuries. emile cilliers denies two counts of attempted murder and recklessly endangering life. the trial continues. the reporting of crimes such as cyberbullying,

trolling and online harassment has increased by 85 % in the last two years, according to figures obtained by the bbc. more than 200 malicious communication offences are recorded every day by police forces in england and wales — and the officer leading the fight against digital crime says those figures arejust the tip of an iceberg. emma glasbey reports. thank you for the stars. this is live.me, a video streaming app. victoria from leeds uses it to chat online. but last year she started getting abuse and threats. photos of her home were posted online and she was dared to try and leave the house. 0ne user threatened to force himself on her. she was even told go kill yourself and her address was posted on twitter as "a house to burgle". this has legitjust ruined my life. i used to be an outgoing person and now i'm just... getting there.

trying to get back to my old self. with more people using smartphones and social media, police are getting more reports of malicious communications offences. that can include threats sent by online trolls, abusive text messages, pornographic images and cyber—bullying. research by the bbc has found more than 200 offences are being recorded by police in england and wales every day. the number has risen by 85% over the past two years. i think this is the tip of an iceberg. i think as policing in society changes into the digital age this is only going to increase and providers, government, law enforcement and users all need to get ready how we protect people more effectively and then how we bring criminals tojustice. with the support of her family, victoria is slowly getting her confidence back. so far, no—one has been arrested over the threats she received.

emma glasbye, bbc news, leeds. a memorial service to mark six—months since the fire at grenfell will be held at st pauls cathederal in central london. the event has been organised by grenfell tower survivors and families of the bereaved who made the request following discussions with the bishop of kensington and the dean of the chapter of st pauls. the service will be broadcast live on the bbc on the 14th december. the british architect sir david adjaye has won the competition to design the uk's new national holocaust memorial and learning centre. the landmark will be built in victoria tower gardens next to the houses of parliament and will be designed as a "park of britain's conscience." 0ur correspondent sophie long has been to meet sir david. sorry congratulations. thank you. survivor meets storyteller. sir david adjaye is the british architect whose design will honour the six millionjewish men, women and children murdered in the holocaust. it will stand on the banks of the river thames,

next to parliament. we need to understand each other‘s stories to be tolerant of each other, because the 21st—century is going to be the century of migration and incredible growth, and we need to understand where we come from and who we are to understand our common humanity, which is really important for us to survive as a species. i think this is a critical story story and it's really beautiful that it's being built right next to parliament now, really a powerful, symbolic message to the nation and to the world. how do you feel about the project that you're about to take on? i'm overwhelmed, humbled and ready to go. i'm so excited. his design was chosen from 92 entries from 26 different countries. sir david adjaye's design, a beautiful shape rising out of the ground with 22 entrances to represent the 22 countries in which the holocaust took place — sympathetically placed from one end of the park with a grass ramp — is both good for the environment, it

fits in, but it makes a statement. it is beautifully designed and it will help us commemorate but also understand. for lilit pohlmann, this memorial will immortalise the memory of those who risked their lives to save hers, as well as her family, who were among the millions that perished. it is very important to remember those people who during that darkness over europe helped to save lives or even helped to give a piece of bread, because in poland, unfortunately, it meant death. there was a penalty of death for helping in any way. not just to the person, but the whole family. it's hoped the memorial and learning centre will be

an immersive, educational experience. it will be open to visitors by 2021. time for a look at the weather. we have a lot of cloud through the rest of afternoon but if you have been outside in the south, you will notice how mild the air is, that is because we are pulling up the air from spain on the south—westerly winds, we have a weather front slicing the country in half, bringing thicker cloud. that is bringing thicker cloud. that is bringing wet weather and to the north—west of our fronts we have got south—westerly wind. however, the winds have come from near iceland, so it is a cooler direction, the winds having done a lap round