i'm in shawbury in shropshire, where temperatures plunged to —13 celsius. officially it is the coldest night of the year. a woman whose dog attack children in a playpark in northumberland has been jailed a playpark in northumberland has beenjailed for a playpark in northumberland has been jailed for format years. the government's considering a new system of presumed consent for organ donation in england to save more lives. it fills you with comfort that other families are actually enjoying the lives of their loved ones, where they may not have done. fanned by strong winds and burning for more than a week — thousands of firefighters are still trying to get california's wild fires under control. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news: the latest on the dressing room melee at old trafford. both managers face the media today. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

prices have increased at their fastest rate in nearly six years. inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in november as the squeeze on households continued. consumers are facing pressure from rising food prices in the lead—up to christmas with grocery price rises reaching the highest level since 2013. the governor of the bank of england mark carney will now have to write a letter to the chancellor to explain how the bank intends to bring inflation back to its two per cent target. our economics correspondent andy verity has this report. at this baker on the outskirts of barnsley, it's not just at this baker on the outskirts of barnsley, it's notjust the bread rolls that are on the rise, its buns, loads and mince pies end up in pubs and restaurants and as far afield as the middle east and asia. ingredients like butter and flour have shot up in the past year and a half, so it has had to do everything it can to make sure its costs are covered. one thing we have done with

suppliers is to take a radical approach, which is to pay them all very early and demand better terms from them because we are paying them early, and that has helped mitigate some of the cost. if you're looking to warm yourself up in the cold weather, it's not getting any cheaper. the price of food was up by 4.4% in the year to november. hot drinks like coffee and tea were up 5.6%, and drinks like coffee and tea were up 5. 6%, and electricity drinks like coffee and tea were up 5.6%, and electricity cost more than 11.496 5.6%, and electricity cost more than 11.4% more than last year. difficult 11.496 more than last year. difficult to make ends meet these days, especially coming up towards christmas. everything is going up — electricity, gas, rent, telephone, it is all going up, so we need somebody to do something about it. we see a lot of things going up maybe a couple of pennies, but if you are getting a few things, by the time you get to the cash desk, you say, how did it come to that? it is just one of these things. the fact that inflation is higher than it has been for nearly six years tells you

not so much how high it has gone as lehigh loll it has been for so long. —— as how low it has been. in 2011, it got to 5%, and it was low for a long time a few years ago, now it has gone back above target, the question is, as it peaked? there may be further pressure on prices coming down the line that could mean inflation doesn't slow down any time $0011. inflation doesn't slow down any time soon. i think it has peaked at 3.196 and should start a moderate through 2018. the question is, how fast will it for? some consumer price data to date suggest that prices at the factory gates and those affecting manufacturers were stronger, commodity and oil price increases could be passed through and make inflation stickier than the bank of england would be comfortable with. inflation at 3.1% is above the bank of england target range and the governor will soon have to right to the chancellor to explain why. because wages are rising in

response, there is little pressure for a second rise in interest rates any time soon. if your wages are buying less than they did last christmas, though, that is no more than a christmas, though, that is no more thana crumb christmas, though, that is no more than a crumb of comfort. our economics editor kamal ahmed is here. as andy says, has inflation peaked? the bank of england thinks it hasn't believed that next year it will fall to around 2.5% by this time next year. the main reason is what is producing most of this inflation is befallen the value of the pound after the referendum, meaning that food and fuel that we import from abroad is more expensive, and that is being pushed through to consumers. that effect tends to run out of the system quite quickly, the currency effect, but there are some big upward pressures — the oil price going up, global growth being very strong, which tends to be inflationary, so it will be the play—off between those two pressures to see if the bank of england is

correct and inflation will fall next year. meanwhile, warnings from an influential american think tank about the impact that brexit could have on the uk economy? absolutely. a lot of our coverage is in the umbrella of the brexit negotiations. brand corporation, a big insignificant american think tank, pa rt insignificant american think tank, part funded by the american government, has come up with a report saying that almost any other trading relationships we have with the eu after brexit will be worse for the british economy than if we stayed in the eu. only one, they said, would be better. that would be a very ambitious trilateral deal between the european union, britain and america, but it says the chances are that are pretty low, so another warning that brexit could have a negative effect on the british economy. thank you. hundreds of schools remained closed today because of the snow and ice across much of the uk. drivers and commuters have faced difficultjourneys this morning after the coldest night of the year.

temperatures dropped to as low as minus 13 in shropshire. our correspondent sima kotecha is there. coming to you from an incredibly cold, cold shawbury in shropshire. it is around minus five celsius at the moment and hundreds of schools across the region are closed. that situation correlates with other parts of the country, including gloucestershire, herefordshire, more than 300 closed in the west midlands and in parts of wales. caerphilly in the south is badly affected. the tuc is urging bosses not to force people to go to work, not to take risks on the roads. there are delays on the railway lines still. it took me 25 minutes extra to get from birmingham to telford today, for example. eu rostar to telford today, for example. eurostar said there was delays this morning, and there were cancellations on flights at heathrow. public health england is

urging vulnerable people not to take any risks. the met office has issued any risks. the met office has issued a level three warning, meaning there isa a level three warning, meaning there is a 90% chance of more snow and ice and cold temperatures between now and cold temperatures between now and thursday this week. the advice is, don't take any risks. thank you. five people are being questioned over the suspected murder of three children who died in a house fire in greater manchester yesterday. the blaze broke out in the early hours of the morning. a 14—year—old girl died at the scene. her seven— and eight—year old siblings died later in hospital. the children's 35—year—old mother is in a serious condition along with her three year daughter. our correspondent danny savage is in worsley. danny. sophie, just over 24 hours after this awful fire here danny. sophie, just over 24 hours after this awfulfire here in danny. sophie, just over 24 hours after this awful fire here in which these three children die, you can see the fire brigade have brought in a hydraulic platform behind me, and there have been forensic officers from the police on that platform getting a very close look at where

the fire started. more details have emerged about the home as well. it has been suggested it was fitted with extra security measures because of past incidents at the home, including a special device on the letterbox to stop people putting things through it. that doesn't necessarily mean it is anything to do with what happened here just over 24 hours ago, but it will undoubtedly form part of the wider police enquiry into what happened. jackson street in walkden is still cordoned off today. police are guarding afamily cordoned off today. police are guarding a family home that was set alight early yesterday morning, killing three children. more details have emerged about the young brothers and sisters who died here. the oldest victim was 14—year—old demi pearson, who died at the scene. neighbours have been left heartbroken after watching her seven—year—old sister and eight—year—old brother being carried from the house by firefighters. they

both died later in hospital. their 35—year—old mother, michelle pearson, is in a serious condition, along with a fourth sibling, a four—year—old who is described as critical. the deaths of three children is heartbreaking. our thoughts are with the family. the little girl and her mum, thoughts are with the family. the little girland her mum, who thoughts are with the family. the little girl and her mum, who are fighting for their lives. our specially trained officers are now with the family to help them through this devastating time. police also confirmed there had been earlier incidents at the family home and said the force had made a self referral to the independent police complaints commission. it is understood the voluntary referral was in response to police contact with the family less than 24 hours with the family less than 24 hours with the family less than 24 hours with the fatal fire —— within 24 hours before the fatal fire. a number of arrests were made yesterday evening. this video, filmed by a resident, shows suspects being detained. the majority of

those in custody are under arrest on suspicion of murder. to give you a bit more detail on those people who are under arrest, for greater manchester police say is that there are four people under arrest on suspicion of murder. three men, aged 23, 20 suspicion of murder. three men, aged 23,20 and 18, along suspicion of murder. three men, aged 23, 20 and 18, along with suspicion of murder. three men, aged 23,20 and 18, along with a 20—year—old woman. the fifth person in custody is a 24—year—old man who has been questioned on suspicion of assisting an offender. lots of detectives still working on this enquiry, five people in custody, two people still ill in hospital, and it is very much an ongoing investigation, as you can see from all the activity here in manchester at the moment. the owner of a dog that attacked 12 children in a playground in northumberland has beenjailed for four years. claire neal's staffordshire bull terrier attacked 12 children in a public play area in blyth last may. our correspondent peter harris is outside newcastle crown court. tell us more about what happened

that day. thejudge described this that day. the judge described this as a truly terrible situation, as the dog chased the children through the play park. some of those children were forced to go up onto the climbing frames or up onto fences to try and escape from the dog as it was snapping at them from behind, biting their arms and legs. some of the children, the youngest of whom was only six, were knocked to the floor and dragged along by the dog. we then heard how parents, seeing what was going on, panicking, came rushing into the play area to try and rescue them. some were kicking at the dog to try and bring the attack to an end. a number of those children subsequently needed hospital treatment, some needing j g rafts hospital treatment, some treading j grafts and stitches. there was skin grafts and stitches. there was an aggravating feature in all of this, because claire neal, the owner of the dog, a month earlier had been ordered by a court to hand it over and have it destroyed because it had

attacked other children. she has been jailed today and northumbria police now tell us they have tightened up their procedures to make sure that dogs are taken in and destroyed in a timely manner. plans to change the rules in england on using people's organs after they die are being set out by the government. the health secretary has launched a consultation on moving to a system of what's called ‘presumed consent‘, in which people opt out of being a donor rather than opting in. it's already been introduced in wales. scotland is planning to follow suit. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. offering a stranger the gift of life is what lies at the heart of organ donation. these are the names of those who helped some of the 6500 people who need a transplant each year. but around 450 will die before a donor can be found. the family of adrian williams were happy to support his decision to donate. when you lose someone and they've given that gift, that huge gift, you are immensely proud of them, and it fills you with comfort that other families are actually enjoying the lives of their loved ones, where they may not have done because of something that our ade has done for them.

the past decade has seen a big surge in donors across the uk. in 2007, there were around 790 deceased donors. that's now risen to more than 1400. the number of registered donors has also gone up, from 14 million to more than 23 million, but ministers are concerned that four out of ten families still say no to donation, so are proposing a system where it's assumed we are all willing to be donors. the issue of presumed consent is one of the things we're looking at. what we need, really, is to have much better communication inside families so that people know what their family members actually want. the story of transplants in the uk over the past decade has been one of success. more people are having operations, and more people are willing to donate their organs. but there are people who worry that if we move to a system of presumed consent, it could actually do more harm than good. it's a quick fix for politicians.

you pass a law, automatically everyone is presumed to be a donor, and you've got more organs. in real life, it doesn't happen that way. a lot of people who could potentially become organ donors object to it so strongly that theyjoin the opt out register. organ donors give strangers the gift of life, but opinion is split on whether presumed consent is the way to encourage more of us to make this final, selfless act. dominic hughes, bbc news. the government is to introduce a new and simpler system for eu citizens to apply to live in the uk permanently. ministers say the system currently is deeply flawed and plan to replace it with an online system. the immigration minister brendan lewis today said the system was overly complicated and overly bureaucratic. our assistant political editor norman

smith is in westminster. the current system has caused an awful lot of uncertainty for eu citizens wanting to apply. not surprisingly, after the brexit vote there was a surge of people applying for citizenship. there has been widespread criticism this is such a bureaucratic system, some 85 pages had to be filled out by applicants, all sorts of supporting documentation segment in. today the government put up their hands and said this isn't working so what we are going to get now is a new online system which will begin in the second half of next year, which ministers say will only take a few minutes to complete. it will be processed within a couple of weeks, cost about 70 quid. might be free for those eu citizens who already have permanent residency. but as we know, talking about brand—new shiny

it systems is one thing, delivering them is another. as we know, very often government it schemes are not a lwa ys often government it schemes are not always huge triumphs. norman smith in westminster, thank you. the time is just after quarter past one. our top story this lunchtime: the squeeze on household budgets continues as inflation hits its highest level for almost six years. and still to come... voters in alabama go to the polls in an election clouded by allegation of sexual misconduct. coming up in the sport in 15 minutes on bbc news, we will have the latest from australia ahead of the first test in perth, which england can't afford to lose if they are to retain the ashes. strong winds are still fanning the wildfires that have been burning in large parts of southern california for more than a week. vast areas have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people have been moved from their homes. thousands of firefighters have been working around the clock to tackle one of the largest wildfires ever to hit the state.

our north america correspondent james cook has the latest on what is becoming an environmental and economic disaster. this fire is a monster. it has now burned an area bigger than new york city and paris combined. more than 6,000 firefighters are battling it but still the blaze rages in the hills above the pacific ocean. these helicopter pilots are working hard, trying to slow down the northward advance of this huge fire. but still it is marching on, down from that ridge top, and the concern is that it might affect homes here and it could even burn all the way down to santa barbara on the pacific ocean. california feels like a state under siege by the climate — rising temperatures, years of drought, longer and more devastating wildfire seasons. the governor says in this warming world, it's no surprise. this could be something that happens every year or every few years.

it happens to some degree, it's just more intense, more widespread, and we are about ready to have firefighting at christmas. this is very odd and unusual but it is the way the world is. on the lettuce line, they're carrying on as best they can. inside the greenhouse they've had to install a fan to blow ash off the leaves. 150 people work here. many are worried about the homes and the local economy. the whole community is going to suffer, you know. yesterday all the restaurants are closed and you know, normally everything is bustling on a sunday evening so it's going to be tough for everybody. it's been a distressing week for animals, too. dozens of horses have died in the fires. this video shows racehorses fleeing the flames after they were set loose in san diego county. there is some good news, the worst winds seem to have died down,

giving firefighters a better chance to battle the blaze but it is a daunting task. this may yet become the largest wildfire in the history of the states. james cook, bbc news, santa barbara county in california. voters are going to the polls in the us state of alabama — normally a safe republican seat — in what's been a hard—fought race for the us senate. donald trump has publicly endorsed the republican candidate, a formerjudge whose campaign has been clouded by allegations of sexual misconduct towards teenagers. his democratic rival is a former lawyer known for prosecuting white supremacists. gary o'donoghue reports from alabama. mr moore, mr moore. why won't you answer any questions? what would you tell your accusers? what would you tell them? a month ago, roy moore looked dead and buried. accused by eight women of sexual assault and harassment, including one who was 14 at the time. even the staunchest

of republicans had deserted him. but now this hugely controversial figure is ahead in the polls, just, and defiant in the face of many who said he should have stepped down. we are alabama, we are republican. and we're not going to stand by and let other people from out of state and money from california control this election. wow! alabama has not elected a democrat as senator for more than a quarter of a century. and the fact that doug jones is still in the running shows just how unpredictable this race has become. we say, no more to discriminating against those that are the least fortunate among us. it is time, folks, that we say, no more! donald trump has also faced allegations of sexual harassment, and for several weeks he declined to publicly back the republican candidate in alabama. but eventually he overcame his reticence.

i think he is going to do very well. we don't want to have a liberal democrat in alabama, believe me. in alabama's capital, these democrat voters thought exactly the same, but about the other guy. i think that in any situation, when you are doing a job and you get accused of heinous acts, you have to answer to that, and for some reason when you are a politician you can kind of sweep it under the rug. i think it would be an embarrassment to the state. i think he will be ineffective if moore is elected. when he gets to the senate, he is going to be probably shunned by many. we do not want somebody in there that has been accused of molesting kids. kids are our next step for ourfuture. this race is about much more than a seat in the united states senate.

if the republicans lose, then donald trump will find it even harder to get his programme to congress. if roy moore wins, then he will face months of investigation by an ethics committee. and alabama could end up doing this all over again in just a few months' time. and we can speak to gary now. just explain a bit more about why this has become such a nationally important election. i think there are couple of reasons for that. one is that this is crucial in a way to donald trump getting his way with his legislative programme. if he loses this senate seat, the margin goesin loses this senate seat, the margin goes in favour of the republicans and he will find it much harder to get tax reform and tax cuts through, let alone anything like healthcare. the other reason is that because of the nature of the allegations against roy moore, we have seen a widespread coming out and outcry about this kind of behaviour towards

women, whether it be in politics, in the media, in hollywood, elsewhere in business, that people are seeing this as a test as to whether or not you can do this kind of thing, you can be accused of this kind of thing and still get elected and still take public office. i think all eyes are on alabama for all sorts of reasons today. gary, thank you. officials in new york say a man who tried to set off a bomb at the city's busiest bus terminal had been inspired by the islamic state group. the 27—year—old suspect, akayed ullah, moved to the us from bangladesh six years ago. he suffered burns when a crude pipe bomb he'd strapped to his body went off prematurely. three other people were hurt. one of the uk's most important oil pipelines has been closed for urgent repairs after a crack was discovered in aberdeenshire. the forties pipeline carries 40% of north sea oil and gas. a crack was discovered last wednesday. it's thought it could take up to three weeks to fully repair. as most of the oil from the north sea is exported, the shutdown is not expected

to have a major impact on domestic supplies. the french president, emmanuel macron, says he believes president trump will bring the us back into the paris deal on combating climate change. earlier this year, donald trump announced he would pull the united states out of the global pact on emissions signed by barack obama. speaking ahead of a new climate summit in paris, president macron condemned america's decision to withdraw for the deal. the us did sign the paris agreement. it's extremely aggressive to decide on his own just to leave, and no way to push the orders to renegotiate because one decided to leave the floor. i'm sorry to say that. it doesn't fly. so sorry but i think it's a big responsibility in front of the history, and i'm pretty sure that my friend president trump will change his mind in the coming months or years. well roger harrabin is with me.

so he's pretty confident that president trump will change his mind, is that the generally accepted view? a lot of people think that. president trump couldn't pull the usa out of the deal, the terms of the deal is he has to wait and intriguingly the waiting time is the day after the next us presidential election. so if he loses, the usa will stay in by default. if he wins, there's quite a lot of pressure on him already, with people wondering actually you say you want to benefit the us economy by polling us out, but what if we, the us, gets left behind while the rest of the world is going on to electric vehicles. you could harm industry by polling us you could harm industry by polling us out. meanwhile the latest climate change summit is getting under way

in paris, how important is it? and are in to lists were wondering if this is french grandstanding, but it looks like it isn't. some major announcements from business saying what they will do. axa, saying they won't insure pipelines any more. other major corporations doing the same, 1200 businesses saying they will align themselves with targets to meet the paris aim of getting a temperature rise of no more than two celsius so if paris is setting the framework, this seems to be the first step from businesses saying we can get it done and this is how we are going to do it. thank you. offering shopping vouchers to new mothers can encourage them to breastfeed their babies, that's the finding of a new study. more than 10,000 mothers were offered up to £200 in vouchers as an incentive. breastfeeding levels in the uk are among the lowest in the world, but it is believed to help prevent illnesses in children

and mothers, as well as reducing costs to the nhs. our health correspondent adina campbell has this report. three month annabel is the newest member of the sutcliffe family in sheffield. her sister was also breast—fed, but first time round mum fiona was given shopping vouchers as an incentive. there was definitely some time when i was thinking this is really difficult, i'm really struggling and that was a really good incentive to keep me motivated and keep me going. by the time we had saved all of the vouchers, because we didn't spend them as we got them, we saved them and spend them on christmas presents for her first christmas. fiona was one of more than 10,000 mothers who took pa rt more than 10,000 mothers who took part ina more than 10,000 mothers who took part in a study over 18 months. they we re part in a study over 18 months. they were offered up to £200 in vouchers at five different stages of breast—feeding. £40 at two days old,

and the same amount at ten days, six weeks, three months, and six months. before the vouchers were posted to new mothers, claim forms were signed off by midwives or health care professionals during visits.“ off by midwives or health care professionals during visits. if we give you vouchers... overall the study found the breast—feeding rate went up by 6% in areas with a low uptake. it is not easy to breast—feed in today's society in the uk but we do know that biologically and physiologically we are designed to breast—feed. 99% of women, given the right support, can breast—feed. women, given the right support, can breast-feed. the idea of giving women vouchers for breast—feeding is controversial. some say it is outright bribery, but it is clear in places such as yorkshire, breast—feeding rates can be low, particularly involving young mothers from poor areas. but this group have

mixed views. i don't think it should really be monetary and i think some people might get persuaded just because of the money. people might get persuaded just because of the moneylj people might get persuaded just because of the money. i think it adds more pressure actually. i breast—fed because i wanted to breast—feed but i don't think having a voucher would have encouraged me to breast—feed any more. a voucher would have encouraged me to breast-feed any more. the department of health says it encourages breast—feeding babies for the first six months with support from midwives or health visitors. the vouchers were raised —— funded by public health england, which researchers say is a small price tag with long—term benefits to babies, mothers and the nhs. darren is here with the latest weather, and you are right, it was very cold. yes, still the risk of icy stretches from many parts of the country. many parts of the country still barely

above freezing at the moment. a bright and sunny picture here in suffolk but there are changes taking place in northern ireland where we have seen the cloud increasing and outbreaks of rain as well. things are changing, we have the cold air across the uk but coming into that cold air we have a mass of cloud which will