this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at two. an investigation is under way following a multi—crash vehicle in central birmingham in which six people were killed — and a man is critically injured. police described the scene as "harrowing". all of our thoughts are with the families of those that are injured and deceased at this time, especially in the run up to christmas. plans to automatically enrol hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time, to help them save for retirement. i think especially in london, moved jobs quite frequently, tend not to stay in one place too long, so pensions have always been lower down the list in things i've been conscious of. england's ashes hopes are fading — captainjoe root one of four men out already with still a day to bat to save the series. also in the next hour, prince harry takes on a new role as a journalist — interviewing the former us president barack obama. it is using pauses, you'll probably

get the face. the interview was recorded as part of the today programme's guest editor series to be broadcast later this year. coming up later politics europe at 2:30 p:m.. six people have died, and a seventh is in a critical condition, after a car crash in central birmingham. six vehicles were involved in the collision, which happened just after one o'clock in the morning, at an entrance to an underpass just south of the city centre. four others needed hospital treatment. police described the scene as "very difficult and upsetting." tom burridge reports. horrific and upsetting is how the emergency services

described the scene. horrific and upsetting is how the emergency services described the scene. this black taxi flipped onto its side. the driver and a couple on board all died. next to it, the mangled remains of another car. police are now investigating how the vehicles collided with such force, killing many of those on board. i've spoken to the officers on the scene, the officer in charge of the investigation. he has described this asa investigation. he has described this as a very harrowing incident. he has asked me personally to pass on his thoughts for the families and eve ryo ne thoughts for the families and everyone involved this time. a very tragic incidentjust before christmas. four men travelling in one of the cars were all thrown out of the vehicle. three of them died at the scene, the fourth man is in a critical condition in hospital.

but a man and a woman travelling in a third car, which was badly, damaged survived with relatively minor injuries. this photo shows the aftermath, as those first to arrive tried to save lives. a devastating scene with debris strewn all over the road. the crash happened on a section of the belgrave middleway, a busy road in the heart of birmingham. the vehicles collided before the entrance to the underpass at the junction of bristol road. police say the dual carriageway will probably stay closed for the rest of today. three other cars were also involved in what ambulance crews called an extremely distressing and complex crash scene. tragedy on one of birmingham's main roads a week before christmas. tom burridge, bbc news. our correspondent at the scene, phil mackie, told me the police had found dealing with the aftermath of the crash very upsetting. they have been talking about the

harrowing nature of what they had to deal with since the early hours of this morning when this happened, around 1:10 a:m.. if you can see the underpass tom was referring to a news report, the cars on the left, largely avoided serious injury, colliding trying to avoid the crash. 0n the right—hand side behind the police van is where the taxi where three people were killed is lying on its side. between us and the wall, another vehicle completely crushed. that was the one tom was referring to the man and woman driving in that astonishingly managed to escape with minor injuries. beyond that, further along the underpass is where the other vehicle that was involved in the most serious part of this accident is lying. lots of activity, forensic officers, specialist teams inspecting the scene. i have been talking to people who live there, there are flats overlooking the

scene. some people heard the crash, went out, so what happened. 0ne thing they have all said, this is a particularly busy stretch of the road. even at night, people do speed along it. that will almost certainly bea along it. that will almost certainly be a focus of investigation. for the time being, the police and everybody‘s thoughts are with the families of those who died. every worker who's 18 or over could be automatically enrolled in a workplace pension unless they opt out — under plans unveiled by the government today. at the moment, employers have to provide pensions for all staff aged 22 or over — and earning more than ten thousand pounds. the move is expected to affect around nine hundred thousand people. joe lynam reports. 0llie and nate are both 21. 0llie, on the left, has not yet started saving for his retirement. it's not really crossed my mind yet. i've moved jobs quite frequently, tend not to stay in one place too long, so pensions have always been lower down the list of things i've been conscious of. nate, though, has been saving

for his retirement since he was 16. i grew up with a family on welfare, so i was aware of the effects that being reliant on government money can have and how insecure it can be sometimes. if the work and pensions secretary, david gauke, has his way, young people like 0llie and nate could soon be automatically enrolled for a pension at their employers. that, i think, will get more people into the habit of saving. it will mean that younger people will be saving for those extra years, so that is obviously significant when it comes to their retirement. at the moment, only those aged over 22 are automatically included in a pension scheme by their employers, but the government wants that lowered to 18. soon, 8% of our salaries will be going into a pension pot — something employers are worried about. i think what the government needs to bear in mind, however, is how much of the cost

of that is going to be falling on employers in the future, because already the cost for employers is on course to treble by 2019. today's announcements means the cost for employers will be even higher than that. to 18 or even 21—year—olds, retirement must seem a very long way off, especially if they don't earn much. but if this plan proceeds, it could help prevent younger people depending on the state in decades to come. joe lynam, bbc news. let's get some analysis now on this story. i'm joined from bristol by steve webb, director of policy at the pensions company royal london, and also a former lib dem pensions minister. thank you for being with us. let's ask you about the idealism versus the practicality. everybody sees the logic of everybody saving for old—age, having their employer contribute to that. it is 18

starting to soon? actually when you talk to employees they like things to be nice and simple. some of them say why do we have to wait until 22, we are checking ages and implying tony mcintyre, very complicated. starting at 18 would mean that it is simple, and gives the message saying start as soon as you can. start as $0011 start as soon as you can. start as soon as you can, but if you are 1920, we don't mean you. a lot of employers, people that stay with them for any length of time, will have different stages, people get into whatever pension arrangements they have. what about the argument business puts forward, this is extra cost and effort, to do all of that for everybody. a lot of those employers, like the man in the film, he will not be in the same job employers, like the man in the film, he will not be in the samejob in three, four years, working for someone else. the average 18—year—old, 19—year—old is on a pretty low wage. the employer has to

put 3% of their pay into a pension, that will not be very much. sometimes simpler to include everybody dan excluded in younger workers. if people do change jobs, if they have a series of shortjobs, it adds up to a working life. you save no point saving for a couple of yea rs, soon save no point saving for a couple of years, soon that has added up. to what extent, you obviously do analysis for your company, one of the largest, if not the largest insurance provider. you can see what makes good sense for you to do that. using your expertise in the area, and what is the balance? is there a slow process of shifting the burden of tax and pensions away from the state, towards employers? what the state, towards employers? what the state is doing is offering a bare minimum in retirement. we have the new flat rate state pension, just over £8,000 a year. what the state is saying, we will make sure you get

that from the government. that will mean you do not starve in retirement. if you want something better, you don't want to standard living to slump, it is over to you, and employer. the beauty of automatic enrolment, we're not asking 18—year—olds, 25—year—olds to ca re asking 18—year—olds, 25—year—olds to care about pensions and find out. the beauty is, it is done for them. as long as they do not actively opt out, start to build something up, if you start at 18, 19, 20. that generation retiring at 70, you can build upa generation retiring at 70, you can build up a decent pot over 50 years. rather than the scary amounts you see people told they have to say. a much more gentle way of doing it, rather than people doing it at a0 having to put in a fortune. for companies thinking this is adding more regulatory burden, and more cost at times when they're struggling for costs, doesn't it act asa struggling for costs, doesn't it act as a disincentive to take on more staff? there is always a balance to

be struck. it is worth saying, you have to be earning £10,000 a year or more. 0nce have to be earning £10,000 a year or more. once you are earning a little more. once you are earning a little more than that, having to pay income tax, national insurance, these are properjobs. not pocket moneyjobs. they are properjobs. you don't really wa nt they are properjobs. you don't really want to distinguish between your workforce, just a few years older, needing to provide for later life, and those a few years younger, where it does not matter. in many ways it is a simple clean system to say soon as people start work you start a pension. thank you very much for being with us. the prime minister says developments over last ten days have marked a watershed in the uk's departure from the european union. writing in two newspapers this morning, theresa may said the government is "proving the doubters wrong" after the eu agreed to move on to the next phase of negotiations — but labour say their brexit plans are a mess. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is here. in terms of theresa may's message,

it has been a week of dramatic highs and lows. ishii out of the woods? for the time being. -- is she out of the woods? this'll be a temporary process. despite the challenges we have faced 0mar, the prime minister is saying, and in the last two weeks she has had herfirst defeat in parliament, over the eu withdrawal bill, and also that rather embarrassing day in brussels where the deal was scuppered at the last minute. since then, of course, she did reach agreement. given the go—ahead to move along to phase two of the brexit negotiations. as theresa may says in her piece in the sunday telegraph and the sunday express , sunday telegraph and the sunday express, two pieces in the papers, thatis express, two pieces in the papers, that is an achievement. it demonstrates she is proving the doubters wrong. some stirring words

for people enthusiastic about brexit. familiar phrases, taking back control, getting on with the job despite all the noise. she also looks ahead to what she describes as the more exciting part of the negotiations. what is it they say, the curse of living in interesting times. that must apply tenfold to exciting times. there are two challenges, transition and the trachea. does not look like they will be rushing into a trade deal. they have two agree all the details of the transition. could be a two year period. that could take time itself. the all—importa nt technicality, the uk cannot sign agree a trade deal. at least finalises with the european union until after we have left. that is march 2019. if we are in transition, two years later there will be a lot of details to work out. signs already there will be

difficulty reaching agreement with the government itself, the end—stage future relationship. boris johnson has said in the sunday times this morning, we should not stay closely aligned to brussels. is this an attempt to allow a licence for people to argue against the policy position, that basically to give them freedom, just as they could campaign on either side. there were cabinet ministers at the time in the referendum, we had borisjohnson a couple of months ago in the big daily telegraph article, against the line the premise that a thing. now he's talking about a vassal state, jacob rees—mogg use that phrase 2a hours before. a eurosceptic campaign lawyer saying i am worried about the free trade deals, whether we can get one. to what extent is this choreographed? one. to what extent is this choreographed ? the anger one. to what extent is this choreographed? the anger barely suppressed? i don't know whether it is choreographed between boris

johnson and jacob rees—mogg, they come from a similar standpoint when it comes to brexit. the notion of a vassal state. somebody closely aligned, but purely subservient to the european union, without getting anything in return, quite an emotive phrase to use. maybe theresa may is letting people have their say, yeah their differences before they have to knuckle down and actually get an agreement between themselves. potentially risky strategy. that may well be the case. perhaps, just such a big job, such well be the case. perhaps, just such a bigjob, such a big moment, she has had to put it off until now grasping the nettle, like the job you put off until the last minute before anything shuts down before christmas. you cannot put it off any longer. that will be the case again. i would love to know the christmas presents they are buying for each other. the headlines just after 2:15 p:m.. six people have been killed, seven critically injured after a

multi—vehicle crash in birmingham. 0fficers describing the scene is very difficult and upsetting. plans are very difficult and upsetting. plans a re involve very difficult and upsetting. plans are involve hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time for retirement have been announced. serious doubts over military safety as the ministry of defence will struggle to pay for new jets and of defence will struggle to pay for newjets and ships. thousands of people living in southern california's santa barbara county have been ordered to leave, in the face of the wildfire that's been burning for nearly two weeks. the blaze is the third—largest in the state since records began. meteorologists say fresh northerly winds are likely to drive the flames towards santa barbara county, hillside homes in the montecito area — and the pacific coast. sarah corker has the latest. fierce winds driving one of the biggest fires in california's history, towards the wealthy neighbourhood of montecito. already

destroying 700 homes, now 18,000 are at risk as the flames moved towards the coast. strong winds astronaut, pushing the fireback dan hill. gusty, cold. humidity low, buta very hazardous firefight. this area north—west of los angeles is home to many celebrities, including 0prah winfrey. she tweeted, still praying for our little town, winds picked up, a perfect storm of bad for firefighters. earlier this week, talk—show host ellen degeneres posted this to thank firefighters. west wing actor rob lowe uploaded these shocking pictures near his house. thousands of people have fled. this is what they are escaping from. 8000 firefighters working

around the clock, to try to contain this man blaze. frome people have been killed. the fire had been burning for nearly two weeks, lack of everything in its path. pretty crazy, went to sleep last night, woke up to this fire, around two am. but alas it will go out pretty soon. the thick, billowing smoke causing breathing problems across santa barbara county. the community can come out by the station, we have masks sitting on the patio, they're welcome to as many as they like. the authorities say a0% of the fire is contain. we winds of up to 60 miles an hour, firefighters battling to protect cities and towns. mps have expressed "serious doubts" that the ministry of defence will be able to afford all the new military equipment it plans to buy.

a report by the commons defence select committee says the mod will struggle to make the necessary savings it needs to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles, as ian palmer reports. she is the flagship of the royal navy. hms queen elizabeth, commissioned by her majesty the queen, early this month. at 280 metres long, she has space for a0 jack payne. defence on the 21st—ce ntu ry jack payne. defence on the 21st—century does not come cheap. the biggest warship the british navy has never had cost more than £3 billion. another aircraft carrier is being built in scotland. the ministry of defence want to spend £170 billion on more military equipment over the next ten years. it has to make savings to achieve that goal. to do that, it will have to sell buildings, and make efficiencies. however, the defence

committee is extremely doubtful the mod can make those savings from an already stretched budget. committee says funding pressures will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of warships, jets and other vehicles the mod can buy. the government is currently carrying out a defence review. widely expected to recommend more cuts. with the changing nature of, and increase in global threats, it is said britain needs to strengthen its armed forces. will the government have the cash to pay for it? police in australia have charged a man they suspect of acting as an economic agent to north korea. chan han choi has been charged with brokering illegal exports from the country

and discussing the supply of weapons of mass destruction. police allege he has broken both un and australian sanctions. the bbc‘s sports personality of the year will be announced tonight. the show comes live from liverpool where the winner will be decided by public vote. our sports correspondent adam wild is in liverpool ahead of tonight's awards. it is going to be a busy night, lots of options the public can vote for. absolutely, good afternoon. welcome to the banks of the river mersey in liverpool. what will be one of the big star—studded events of the british sporting calendar. 11,000 people are expected here over the next few hours for that ceremony that begins around about 6:a5 p:m.. you can see behind me the red carpet ready for those sporting stars to arrive. 0ver ready for those sporting stars to arrive. over the next few hours. eight awards in total, including tea m eight awards in total, including team of the year, coach of the year, and of course, the big one, sports personality of the year. expecting that to be announced around about nine o'clock on bbc one. as you say,

it isa nine o'clock on bbc one. as you say, it is a public vote. everybody‘s vote matters. i'll just it is a public vote. everybody‘s vote matters. i'lljust talk you through some of those in contention. 12 in total. bianca walker, first tae kwon do fighter to be short listed for the award. securing her fourth successive global title, heavyweight gold at the world championship ‘s. elise christie, short track speed skater. recovering from a very difficult 201a winter 0lympics, she is now a triple world champion. jonnie peacock, many people familiar with him from his exploits on strictly come dancing. 0vercoming serious cramp in the warm up 0vercoming serious cramp in the warm up to take victory in the world para athletics finals in london back in the summer. lewis hamilton, doesn't need to many introductions. claiming his fourth world title. written's most successful formula 1 driver ever. mo farah, in contention. yet again. storming to his third

consecutive world 10,000 metre goal. also knighted just a month or so ago. now sir mo farah. harry kane, the tottenham and england striker, premier league's top scorer for the second consecutive season. adam peaty, beating just about everyone ahead of him this season. a swimmer, winning two world titles, broke his own world record twice in one day. jonathan ray became the first rider to clinch three successive world superbike titles. johanna konta, continuing their remarkable rise. first british woman to reach the women's singles semifinals at wimbledon since 1978. anya shrubsole, player of the match in the cricket world cup final. england winning back in the summer. anthony joshua, the boxer. world heavyweight champion of the world. finally chris froome committee claimed the fourth tour de france title, and made history, by also triumphing in the

vuelta a espa na. history, by also triumphing in the vuelta a espana. public vote, the show starts around 6:a5 p:m.. you can watch the awards ceremony tonight, starting with live coverage from the red carpet in liverpool on the bbc news channel from shortly after 5pm. prince harry has taken on a new role — as a journalist — and interviewed the former us president barack obama. the interview was recorded at the invictus games in september as part of the today programme's guest editor series. the fifth in line to the throne takes over the show on the 27th december on bbc radio four — and he gave the politician some interview advice ahead of the discussion. do i have to speak faster, because i'm a slow speaker. not at all.

should i do a british accent? if you start using long pauses between answers you're probably going to get this face. laughter. i don't want to see that face. it will be a 20 minute package for the bbc after christmas, and we hope to use the whole thing as a podcast. excellent. 0k. i'm ready. do you guys have sound? sounding great. you're excited about this, i'm nervous about this. it's fine. i'll interview you if you want. let's keep it this way, i'd much prefer that! he is right, much easier to ask the question is there an easier then. of course, all about the contacts. you can hear what ba rack course, all about the contacts. you can hear what barack 0bama had to a deep prince harry on the today programme only 27 december. woolly mammoth which lived at least

ten thousand years ago has sold at auction in france for more than a80—thousand pounds. the skeleton — which is more than 3.a metres high — was bought by a french waterproofing company, which uses the mammoth as its logo. the ceo said he thought there was enough room to display it in the firm's lobby. just as well, when i asked phil avery committee did not want his balcony getting in the way of his maps. great to know the waterproofing company can afford it. will we need the help of the waterproofing company on our roots? look through the window, you will see, one of those. i have these snowy, stroke frosty spheres behind me, not like that at the moment. this is the reality for many of you. not alone. quite extensive cloud and

wind, and rain, clearing away in southern parts of the british isles. not too bad, what's left for northern ireland, scotland, the far west of england. as the skies clear, touch of frost in the countryside, fairly chilly start of a new day on monday across many parts. 0nce again, giving. watch out for mist and fog patches. they could linger for a time. they include to the east, despite the sunshine. milder towards the western side of the british out. taking you through monday into tuesday morning. look at the extent of the fog we are predicting, even at this range. conditions absolutely perfect. if you are on the move into the first pa rt you are on the move into the first part of tuesday, some of the dense fog will linger. central, southern and eastern parts of the british isles. particularly at risk. bbc local radio will keep you up to date. the next few days we will keep a close eye the situation. 0ther than that, quite a quiet start of

the week. more in half an hour. this is bbc news. that's take look at the headlines. six people have died ina at the headlines. six people have died in a serious crash on one of birmingham's main roads. police say it's too early to speculate on what caused it. the government wants to lower the age for automatic enrolment in company pension schemes to 18 in enrolment in company pension schemes to18ina enrolment in company pension schemes to 18 in a move to offer more people financial security in old age. serious doubts over military savings, mps warn the ministry of defence will struggle to pay for new equipment. and prince harry has interviewed former us president barack 0bama is part of his guest editorship of the today programme on radio a. more from me at the top of the hour, but now the latest news from across the channel. hello, welcome to politics europe, your regular guide to the top stories in brussels and strasbourg. 0n today's programme,

eu leaders give the green light to move on to phase two of the brexit talks. when will the eu and uk start discussing trade and the transition period? former european parliament president martin schultz says that the eu should become a united states of europe by 2025. is that realistic? could brexit hasten the process? and, was the doner almost a goner? a vote in the european parliament almost skewered the humble frozen vertical meat stick, or kebab to you and me. we'll chew over the details.