this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at four. 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. serious doubts of military savings, the report warns defence will fail to pay for new ships, and weapons. 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. if you start 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. in half an hour, rupert wingfield hayes assesses the stand—off between the trump administration and north korea's kim jong—un that seems to be reaching crisis point. 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. 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 as a very harrowing incident. he has asked me personally to pass on his thoughts for the families and everyone involved this time. a very tragic incident just 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. matthew thompson is at the scene of the crash. he sent us the latest.

harrowing was description of the police, horrific the description of the fire service. words in of harder and veterans, convey something of the words of hardened veterans, convey something of the terrible nature of this particular accident. there are three or four ca rs to my letter which seem to have escaped the worst of the damage. people in those vehicles sustained only minor injuries. over to the right you can just about make out the black taxi tom mentioned in his report. three people, including the driver in that vehicle were killed. just beside it another vehicle damaged almost beyond recognition. miraculously two people escaped from that vehicle with only light injuries. further on down the tunnel, there is another vehicle, which has three passengers which lost their lives, one other in a critical condition in hospital. through the day quite frenetic police activity.

forensic officers trying to piece together what happened. in the last 20 minutes they began the fairly sombre task of removing the bodies of those who lost their lives. we have been speaking to local residents through the day. they talk of speeding being quite common on this long wide stretch of road. too early whether this had anything to do this particular incident. that is something that will feature heavily in the police line of enquiry. a tragedy like this any time of year is upsetting, all the more so given we are so closely just a few days from christmas. 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. ollie and nate are both 21. ollie, 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. at the moment those aged 22 are included in the scheme, and that could see the age lowered to 18 through this scheme. 9000 new people saving for pensions. is that a good thing. it's important people are educated about their options. if they don't know what

a pension is, they will not know what their rights are. to an 18—year—old retirement mus seem a long way off my retirement. especially if they do not earn much on saving for a house is a lot more pressing. if these plan proceeds, it could save millions from poverty in old age. 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. our political correspondent chris mason is here. effectively, what she is saying, pretty defiant message, the essence boiling down, there may have been bumps on the road in the last couple of weeks, with the aborted attempts to deal in brussels, meaning coming back, and then another trip

a couple of days later. then that the seat in the house of commons last week. the emphasis of the article, step back from the noise, what did i say i would achieve? sufficient progress on the divorce package, to move on to the future relationship by christmas, and that is what i have managed to do. you could forgive her a little bit triumphalism, given how much noise and headlines there were about this would be impending doom if she did not get a deal. and all the rest of it. she has the big challenge come the new year, the next age. crucially, and they will be a discussion in the cabinet meetings in the last one before christmas, what on earth does she want? what kind of relationship does the government won for the european union the other side of the transition period. by the way, there is a discussion to come about nailing down the transition period.

as if that has been agreed? on this question of trade. very interesting, they were saying in the week, slightly taken aback some of the more vociferous brexiteers team to accept the deal in brussels, thinking it was a good deal. now we have some of kicking up a bit. jacob rees—mogg using the word vassal, now picked up by boris johnson, the foreign secretary. part of the government team responsible for the deal that is being progress. for the deal that is being progressed. is he kicking against the prime minister, are they in singh? it is a powerful word, vassal state. very provocative. they are actually talking about two things, using the same label. jacob rees—mogg talking about the transition period. the curiosity of the transition, the idea of a transition period

from implementation period, it oozes a sens of pragmatism. reassurance. whatever your views around brexit, the transition to where we are going to be will be a nice smooth incline or decline. step back from that a little bit, you saw with the intervention ofjacob rees—mogg, the potential it has to be utterly unsatisfying to anybody, regardless of your views. people like nigel farage in the former ukip leader, you cannot imagine a situation that he would utter this, but it is worse than being a member of the european union. the logic is, all of the downsides of eu membership remain, being in the single market, the customs union, freedom of movement, but you no longer have an argument about how these policies work. this is something we were talking about when we were speculating about what would happen after the referendum. i went to norway meeting the norwegian foreign minister, telling me we still want to have the relationship with

the eu, we have opted out of the bits we don't like the agricultural stuff. basically we have to accept all the other rules and decisions made, we call it faxed diplomacy. they send us an e—mail telling us the rules we have to comply with. is that what jacob rees—mogg is implying. we will be in that situation? from his perspective. worse than that. the argument coming to the european union in the summit was the adoption of the full accy, the telephone directory worth of rules that the uk will remain bound by, potentially any new rules coming down the track in that period. the prime minister has made the argument there will not be any more rules we will not be having a say in the discussion of, because the process takes so long. we are still around a table in that transition period.

that transition period, in the politics, you will have people like jacob rees—mogg, nigel farage, making the argument, this is worse than being in. you will have others, who would rather say the uk should have stayed in, it is worse, because we are no longer round the table. what will be fascinating come the new year, is there any wriggle room in those negotiations over the transition period of a particular membership elements. fairly good example, fisheries policy. before christmas every year there is a fisheries council, to discusses fishing quotas, flexible allowable catches in the celtic sea, all over the place. the fishermen were grumbling about it because of the decision down in cornwall. they grumbling around the table, imagine how big the grumbles will be in a two year period be the deciding quotas for cornish fishermen or off the coast of aberdeen. and there is no say whatsoever.

can there be in the negotiations over the limitation period any wriggle room over policy? looks like the answer will be no on the face of it. interesting line in theresa may's article in the telegraph suggesting the finer points of the negotiation of the period were still to come. that is a truism, there have not been any discussions. i wonder whether they'll be some attempt to find some wriggle room. the start of the briefest insight into the brexit politics of 2018. i think you can quote him on that. 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 jet planes. defence in the 21st—century does not come cheap. the biggest warship the british navy has ever had cost more than £3 billion. another aircraft carrier is being built in scotland. the ministry of defence want to spend £178 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. the 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? at least 8 people have been killed and more than twenty injured in an attack on a church in the pakistani city of quetta. the methodist church was full of worshippers when it was stormed by two militants. two police officers have been seriously injured in a road traffic collision on the north circular road in the london borough of brent. the two officers were returning to a marked police vehicle parked near brent park in neasden when a car collided with them early this morning. the car sustained serious damage and stopped at the scene. both police officers are constables in their 30s — one is male and one is female. the headlines just after 4:15 p:m..

six people have been killed, seventh critically injured after a multi—vehicle crash in birmingham. officers describing the scene is very difficult and upsetting. plans to enroll hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time for retirement have been announced. serious doubts over military savings as the ministry of defence will struggle to pay for newjets and ships. let's ta ke let's take a look at the sport. we will take a look at the ashes to come. celtic‘s 69—game unbeaten run has come to a dramatic end after they were thrashed 4—0 at hearts in they were thrashed 4—0 at hearts in the scottish premiership. 16—year—old harry cochrane open the

scoring with his first senior goal for hearts. kyle laverty‘s strike from long range beat goalkeeper craig gordon. a former rangers player making it 2—0 before half—time. then two more, a penalty being one of them. stunning victory. the last time celtic lost in the league was 585 days ago. manchester united have closed the gap to leaders manchester city in the premier league to 11 points. with a 2-1 premier league to 11 points. with a 2—1 victory premier league to 11 points. with a 2—1victory at premier league to 11 points. with a 2—1 victory at west premier league to 11 points. with a 2—1victory at west brom. after a barren skill deli mathews barbirolli lukaku barren skill deli mathews barbirolli lu ka ku has rediscovered barren skill deli mathews barbirolli lukaku has rediscovered his scoring touch, scoring in back—to—back matches. jesse lingard having a purple patch. fortuitous try adding a second. that turned out to be a winner. gareth barry finding the net for west brom. still without a win in all competitions since august. bournemouth cosmic game at liverpool kicks off at 4:30 p:m.. england's fight to save the ashes will go to a

final day in the third test after rain stops play in perth. england are still 127 short of making australia bat again. the day witnessed what some have described as the wicket of the century. it came from mitchell starc. a day when english cricket was rescued by some very english weather. for how long? started out as a damage limitation exercise, to restrict australia's gargantuan total. the video umpire finally dislodging steve smith for 239. hefty late order hitting taking australia's total way out of sight. for the english batsmen all about survival. oh, dear. josh hazlewood's brilliance doing for alastair cook. worse was to follow. joe root, the captain, what was he thinking? as his team—mates fell around james vince stood tall. a fluent 50

starting in recovery. until the ball of this and perhaps any summer. mitchell starc the of this and perhaps any summer. mitchell sta rc the stump of this and perhaps any summer. mitchell starc the stump destroyer. watch this zigzag of the pitch at 90 miles an hour. dawid malan and jonny ba i rstow miles an hour. dawid malan and jonny bairstow help to calm the nerves with an unbeaten partnership. until the deluge sparked the like monthly barmy army. their team need something very special. we had two quys something very special. we had two guys who spent a lot of time a decrease in the first innings in conditions. we have to have the least we can save the series and get over the line tomorrow. england still hanging on. more rain forecast tomorrow. they will need that in some determined batting to have any chance of saving their ashes hopes. wasps are kept alive their rugby champions cup hopes. elliot daly scoring twice in a 21—3 victory over la ra scoring twice in a 21—3 victory over lara shell in coventry. saracens looking to avenge a heavy defeat to clermont, they currently lead 13—12.

ospreys leaving northampton in their first game sincejim mallinder was sacked as director of rugby. leicester face munster at 5:30 p:m.. the sports personality of the year will be crowned in front of a live audience in liverpool. once again set to be fiercely contested. no andy murray, winner in three of the last four macca years. adam wilde is on the red carpet. a lot to look forward to. big night in the sporting calendar. absolutely right. welcome back to liverpool on the banks of the mercy. 11,000 people expected here at the echo arena. huge occasion from huge ceremony. performances from the likes of noel gallagher, rag and bone man. huge ceremony. we have come under way

since 1954, chris chester way's win in the first sports personality of the year. the big one in the final award. let's remind ourselves of who is up on the short list. i'm sure you'll recognise most of them. elise christie, mo farah, chris froome. jonathan rea. johanna konta, anya shrubsole. jonnie peacock, anthony joshua, harry kane. that ceremony sta rts joshua, harry kane. that ceremony starts at 6:45 p:m.. we will be live on the red carpet from five o'clock on the red carpet from five o'clock on the red carpet from five o'clock on the bbc news channel. bradley lowry, the young football fan who touched so many hearts will be

honoured tonight? yeah, of course. night of celebration, but i suspect that'll be a very moment. many people almost across the world familiar with the plight of bradley lowry, who died earlier this year. the six—year—old sunderland fan, diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at 18 months. what he achieved in the short flight touch football fans across the country and the world. he tonight will win the helen robertson award for sporting achievement in the face of diversity. his parents will be here to collect the award. a poignant moment amongst all the celebration of sporting success. we look forward to that ceremony later on. that's all the sport, i'll be back at 6:30 p:m.. we look forward

to that. we look forward to hearing the outcome sports personality. your votes count in the selection of who will be sports personality of 2017. let's bring you some news coming into us. coming out of the reuters news agency. the kremlin has the terrorists have been planning an attack on the cathedral in saint petersburg. thanks to cia information, that helps prevent the attack. no indication of when the attack. no indication of when the attack was expected to take place. apparently, according to the kremlin, vladimir putin has been on the telephone to president trump to thank him for the information coming from the cia. that the putin administration says terrorists were trying to attack the cathedral in saint petersburg. we will bring you more on that as soon as we get it.

as to whether there was an indicated timeline, conspiracy of the early stages of development, and what we know beyond this line, we will bring that to you as soon as we have more. a man has been arrested in sydney to bea a man has been arrested in sydney to be a black—market agent selling missile parts 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. police say there was evidence he had beenin police say there was evidence he had been in contact with high—ranking officials in north korea. they suspect has lived in australia for more than 30 years, and that he was a loyal agent of pyongyang. he was arrested at his suburban home in sydney. mr chan is accused of trying to sell guidance software for

ballistic missiles, as well as north korean military expertise to foreign buyers. authorities say the sales could have been worth tens of millions of dollars. to the regime of king john. -- kim —— kimjong—un. -- kim jong-un. we think he was basically an agent on the behalf of north korea. he was doing it for a unpatriotic purpose. at the end of the day, he would sell them to make money for the north korean government. the fact we have people involved in these type of activities means the sanctions are having some effect. the australian prime minister, malcolm turnbull, says more punitive measures to rein in the rogue state are needed. north korea is a dangerous, reckless, criminal regime. threatening the peace of the region. it supports itself by breaching un sanctions, not simply by selling commodities like coal, and other goods, but also

by selling weapons, drugs, by engaging in cybercrime. by selling weapons, drugs, by engaging in cyber crime. it is vitally important all nations work relentlessly, to enforce those sanctions, because the more economic pressure that can be brought on north korea, the sooner that regime will be brought to its senses. the prime minister has previously argued north korea should be seen as a criminal entity, operating under the guise of a state. the case against mrchan is guise of a state. the case against mr chan is the first of its kind in australia. until now, no one has been charged under the country's weapons of mass destruction act. if convicted he faces up to ten 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! you can hear what

barack obama had to a deep prince harry on the today programme only 27 december. shoppers in milan in northern italy are in retreat. it was going to be the world's biggest panettone, sliced up and given out for free. the sweetbread is a christmas day pulling silly, spread nationally and internationally. this one was 160 kilos, and needed a four man team to mix the ingredients. it was billed asa mix the ingredients. it was billed as a two metre high monster. as the photos show committee failed to reach such lofty proportions, coming out of the policeman's shoulders. i don't know whether that is an international measurement of heights. still pretty impressive. if heights. still pretty impressive. if he happened to be in milan, worth grabbing a slice if it is on offer.

it was the world's biggest panettone. it slumped, happens to us all of the best of science. you should see my souffles. philip avery a lwa ys should see my souffles. philip avery always rises to the challenge! always rises to the challenge! chilly night to come, in central and eastern parts of the british isles, after quite a disappointing day. especially later so in england and wales. brightest guys do finish off across the greater part of scotland and northern ireland. train pulling off to the continent. we are left with clear skies, away from the western peripheries, chilly night. fog patches, lingering for a good pa rt fog patches, lingering for a good part of monday morning in some areas. frost around. part of monday morning in some areas. frostaround. scraping part of monday morning in some areas. frost around. scraping in the central and eastern parts. it is going to be a decent sort of day. milder stair to the west. colder out towards the east despite the sunshine. taking you through monday evening and the first part of

tuesday, notice how we expect to see fog forming. really quite extensively, even at this range. we're giving you a heads up on tuesday, lots of fog around in many locations. locations.