this is bbc news. these are the top stories developing at 11am: downing street says the sacking of damian green is a matter of sadness and regret for the prime minister, but ministers insist he had to go after making misleading statements. we do hold people to very high standards of conduct and on this occasion, very, very sadly and i know with a very heavy heart, the prime minister took the difficult decision that she had to. australian police arrest two people after a car drove into a crowd in melbourne, injuring 1a people — they say the action was deliberate but there is currently no evidence to suggest it was a terror incident. the bbc has learnt that tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england were harmed by lapses in maternity care in the past two years. creditors of the troubled retailer, toys r us, meet today to decided whether its uk business can continue. a court rules in favour of luxury

property developers. also victory for bristol city after the club beat manchester city in the efl cup last night. bristol city's chairman, steve lansdowne, says he feels vindicated for sticking with manager leejohnson after their struggles last season. and a car park in leicester, where the body of king iii was unearthed five years ago, has been protected as a nationally—importa nt archaeological site. good morning. it's thursday, 21st december. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the prime minister has expressed deep gret at the departure of her

first secretary of state, damian green. but said his actions fell short of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister. theresa may sacked her close colleague and friend after an inquiryfound her close colleague and friend after an inquiry found he had breached the ministerial code by making inaccurate and misleading statements about pornography found on his office computer in 2008. downing street said there won't necessarily bea street said there won't necessarily be a new first secretary and an announcement about a replacement cabinet office minister isn't expected until the new year. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. side—by—side yesterday, the prime minister and her close ally damian green, her deputy in all but name. but hours after they sat together in the commons, he was sacked. it stems back to this police raid on mr green's parliamentary offices nine years ago. officers said legal pornography was found on computers. mr green has always and still denies that it was his, but he also said he hadn't been told about it, and that wasn't right.

he has now admitted police lawyers talked to his lawyers in 2008, and police raised it with him in 2013, and he said: it is that breach of the ministerial code that cost him his job. there were also claims from this tory activist about inappropriate behaviour by mr green. her account was said to be plausible, but there was no clear conclusion about what had happened. mr green apologised for making her feel uncomfortable, but denied wrongdoing. in a letter to mr green, theresa may said she was extremely sad at having to write regarding his resignation. she has lost a long—term friend and confidant from her cabinet table, but some said her decision showed strength. i don't think it's damaging to the prime minister at all, really, because she's made the decision. you know, it says something about her that, even if somebody

is a close ally, that she's prepared to make a decision and urge him to take the decision himself to step down. and, in doing that, i have to say that shows that she is not prepared to cover for somebody if she feels that they didn't answer the questions they should have done. nonetheless, the prime minister will no doubt feel the loss of such a trusted ally from her top team. our assistant political editor norman smith joins us now from westminster. good morning to you, norman. so, a third cabinet minister departs in a matter of weeks. what's the impact of damian green's exit going to be on theresa may? well, damian green's departure perhaps has more impact than that of michael fallon or priti patel. he was a long time political friend and brought in as first

secretary very much to be mrs may's eyes and ears in downing street to mind her back if you like and the rank he held. it was effectively mrs may's number two. so, rank he held. it was effectively mrs may's numbertwo. so, it rank he held. it was effectively mrs may's number two. so, it is a significant moment, the fact that he has had to step down, albeit, a number of conservative mps this morning suggesting the fact that mrs may was ready to force him to go, even though clearly he didn't want to, he said in his resignation letter how he regretted being asked to resign, nevertheless, she forced him to and it is being suggested that perhaps shows the steely side of mrs may, there maybe a sense she is getting back on the front foot, ready to take those sort of difficult decisions and has rediscovered some of herself confidence after the general election and the party conference speech and on the today programme this morning, jeremy hunt was adopting that line and he offered this explanation as to why mr hunt

had lied because that was the reason he had to go. everyone understands the pressures that politicians are under and i think no one is saying that he wasn't an absolutely outstanding public servant who did an extraordinaryjob in the various ministerial posts that he did, but in our country and this happens under this government, but it happens actually under every government that i can remember there are instances where perhaps people get pushed into a situation where they say something they didn't mean to say and we do hold people to very high standards of conduct and on this occasion, very, very sadly and i know with a very heavy heart, the prime minister took the difficult decision that she had to. now, in terms of the allegations made by kate maltby, the conservative activist of inappropriate behaviour towards her by mrgreen, the inappropriate behaviour towards her by mr green, the inquiry formed no conclusions, but they did say her

evidence was plausible and some mps have suggested that perhaps there needs to be more work to change the culture still at westminster. i'm joined by the conservative mp, chris phelp. should mrs may notjust have got rid of damian green once kate maltby had made those allegations? well, i think it is fair that these things get investigated properly. we saw that terrible case where a welsh minister, a minister in the welsh government was made to resign within hours of allegations being made and the next day he committed suicide. it is important these things get investigated properly. that's what happened here. a conclusion was reached that damian green had unfortunately made statements a few weeks ago that were inaccurate and the prime minister was quite right to ask for his resignation which he gave and that's the right way to do things. investigate things properly and make sure we get to the bottom of allegations rather than just

having instant reactions which can sometimes have tragic results as they did with that awful case in wales. now, a number of your collea g u es wales. now, a number of your colleagues suggested this morning the fact that mrs may was willing to sack him, somehow suggests she has recovered her authority, but isn't the truth, we have had eight weeks, we have seen three ministers forced to go, two of the most senior ministers, first secretary and defence secretary, to people looking on it looks like a building with bits and pieces falling off it. we couldn't have fore seen the issues with priti patel and michael fallon and damian green. there is no way theresa may is responsible. what matters as prime minister is how she responds and responded in in the right way and she acted quickly. in the case of damian green, clearly, there were disputes about the facts and that's why she launched a proper investigation. what we see here is a prime minister who is acting decisively, but also acting properly

and that is exactly what you want to see in the person charged with leading our country through the brexit negotiations which are going well with the news a week ago that well with the news a week ago that we are moving on. all of us can look forward to 2018 with optimism and with confidence. let's just talk about the personal impact on mrs may because much has been made of the close ties between damian green and theresa may. how big a personal loss will it be to her, not to have him in cabinet? well, that's a very hard question for me to answer. clearly, they have been personal friends for a long time, they were at university together and she chose to appoint him as first secretary of state which is a sign of political and personal closeness. so i'm sure she will be it is appointed this happened, but as damian green himself said a few years ago, no one is irreplaceable. there are plenty of very capable people in parliament oi'i of very capable people in parliament on both sides of the house and the prime minister i'm sure will find someone very prime minister i'm sure will find someone very well equipped to fill

that role and government will carry on. and are you surprised by damian green's reaction because he says he doesn't recognise ms maltby‘s version of events, he seems to dispute any wrongdoing and he regrets the fact that he has been asked to go. he doesn't seem to get it? he had a 20 plus year career in public life. this is not the way he would have wanted it to unfold. so, but i'm not going to offer any commentary or criticism on damian green. he will be feeling dreadful this morning and i think we should have some sensitivity and sympathy for that as well. we saw mrs may criticising the police, former police officers, jurpbt questioned the role about them in a democracy. imean the role about them in a democracy. i mean this is quite dangerous territory, isn't it, to be at loggerheads with the police in this way? well, the behaviour of neil lewis and bob quick the two police office rs lewis and bob quick the two police officers is far more serious than

anything that's been alleged against damian green. they took confidential information which they obtained in the course of a criminal investigation. the investigation was not criminal and they leaked it. bob quick tried to leak it on two or three occasion, it has taken him eight orten years three occasion, it has taken him eight or ten years to get it out. they should be investigated for misconduct in public office, that's a criminal offence. what they have doneis a criminal offence. what they have done is completely wrong. it undermines trust in the police. how can any of us trust giving information to the police if senior office rs information to the police if senior officers leak in this way. the commissioner, she is investigating it, andl commissioner, she is investigating it, and i think it needs to be investigated from a criminal prospective and the cps need to have a do look at it because the conduct of neil lewis and bob quick in this affair was absolutely shocking. clearly, the tensions, many tories feel towards the former police officers over their conduct, the other interesting thing to say anita, we may not get another first secretary. we don't have to have a

first secretary and mrs may may chose not to appoint another one to directly replace damian green. we have had a line of copy saying that documents from the government's sectoral analysis of brexit have been published by the commons exiting the european union committee which you will be hotfooting to the office to read and tell us if there will be anything significant in those? yes, these are the documents which are not impact assessments. there was a row after david davis was forced to come before the committee and to hand over what they thought would be impact assessments, they haven't got that, they have got sectoral analysis. mr davis was cleared of being contempt of parliament, i mean having talked to members of the committee, they view the documents they have been given as anodine, the sort of thing that you can pick up on wikipedia, they are not impressed by what they have been given and i suspect when we go through them, there won't be much, you know, revelatory detail about the impact of brexit on key areas of

the impact of brexit on key areas of the economy, but there is about 800 pages of them so i suspect it's going to take a bit of time to get through. you maybe sometime then, norman! we await your response. norman smith there at westminster. joining us now is the political commentator and former conservative adviserjo—anne nadler. so call it a lie, call it being pushed into saying something that he didn't mean to say, whatever way you look att didn't mean to say, whatever way you look at t do you find it surprising that the career of someone like damian green comes to an adisrupt halt when one had the astute operator to be a cabinet minister in the first place? well, i think now that it has been revealed that he was less than absolutely straightforward and honest, even though it was on a point of a technicality in this quite complicated story, i think that now that's been revealed to be the case then clearly he did have to go and

whether he was resigned or whether he was sacked, it's clearly right, but unfortunate for a number of reasons that he has had to go. but unfortunate for a number of reasons that he has had to gom goes to prove that you can't get away with not telling the full story about the incident in question or the incidents in question or indeed, the incidents in question or indeed, the technicality? unfortunately, well, not unfortunately, that's correct. that's how it should be. we expect high strands from our public serva nts expect high strands from our public servants particularly when they are at the highest level as he was and if he hasn't been completely honest about those circumstances then that asi about those circumstances then that as i said, then he has to go. many people are feeling uncomfortable that it people are feeling uncomfortable thatitis people are feeling uncomfortable that it is over this technicality as to when he was told about this issue of pornography being discovered on his computer. nevertheless, that's enough and quite rightly so for him to have to go. that said, the prime

minister handled this defendantly. she was right that this should go to some kind of review and investigation and it's up to damian green's own conscience as to whether knowing that he perhaps wasn't as open as he could have been, he might have gone sooner, but i think the prime minister has handled this actually very well. she had to make quick appointments after michael fallon and priti patel, but now we're hearing after damian green, that there won't necessarily be a new first secretary of state, the replacement of the role, of cabinet office minister isn't expected until the new year. so, is this simply theresa may buying some time or taking some time to have breathing space and think about the shape of the cabinet. could we be seeing more of a reshuffle come the new year, do you think? i think that's very likely.

there are a number of people who she might want to bring into the cabinet. talented, middle ranked ministers who perhaps deserve a bigger platform now. and, you're quite right, she should take a little time to decide what she does with this particular role of first secretary and it's not essential that there has to be one. traditionally it has tended to be somebody with whom the prime minister at the time has a particularly close relationship because they are that person's wing man and you think back to margaret thatcher and willie whitelaw and you need someone on whom you can totally rely. although damian green misled ona minor rely. although damian green misled on a minor issue, compared with some of the other things that we're discussing in his case, this is why u nfortu nately discussing in his case, this is why unfortunately he has and quite rightly, he has had to go, but if we look at other people, in the cabinet, i mean theresa may has had

a long working relationship with gris grayling and james brokenshire with whom she worked in the home office, chris grayling being very passionate brexiteer may not be the obvious person to promote that person, but i wouldn't be surprised to see james brokenshire move somewhere else, perhaps more high—profile role in the cabinet if not to first secretary. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: downing street says the sacking of damian green is a matter of sadness and regret for the prime minister but ministers insist he had to go after telling lies. police say there's no evidence an attack in melbourne injuring 11! people was terror related. one man arrested was found filming it with a bag of knives next to him. the bbc learns that tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england were harmed by lapses in maternity care in the past two years. in sport:

it's now official — birmingham will host the commonwealth games in 2022 following manchester and glasgow as previous uk hosts. it will be the most expensive sports event to be held in the country since the london olympics. bristol city will play manchester city in the league cup semi—finals. that's after the championship side knocked out the holders 2—1 last night. chelsea will face arsenal in the other semifinal. and after their record 69—match unbeaten run came to an end at the weekend, celtic are five points clear again in the scottish premiership after beating partick 2—0. i'll be back with more on those stores at ii.30am. more than a dozen people have been injured, some seriously, after a car drove into a crowd in the australian city of melbourne. the driver has been arrested, along with another man who was allegedly filming the crash and had a bag containing knives. police are describing it as a deliberate act.

he isa he is a 32—year—old citizen of afg ha n he is a 32—year—old citizen of afghan decent. he is a person who is known to victoria police. he has historical assault matters. he is not on any bail or any corrections order or anything of the like. and has a history of drug use as well as mental health issues. we understand asi mental health issues. we understand as i said this still is very early days, that he is on a mental health plan and receiving treatment for a mental illness. we are working through those to clarify that. he is still in custody, under arrest for these offences for what we allege is a deliberate act. that is obviously at this time we have the scene is being worked through by a major collision investigate unit. a range of investigators including the homicide squad, they are being supported by the counter terrorism command. we don't at this time have

any evidence or any intelligence to indicate there is a connection with terrorism. our correspondent hywel griffith is in melbourne with the latest on this story. melbourne remains in a state alert after what police describe as a deliberate incident. some eyewitnesses have described seeing this white 4x4 travel up to 60mph, some say, coming into the busiest pa rt some say, coming into the busiest part of the city, near flinders street station. some suggesting it accelerated as it went towards the pedestrians crossing the road. they described some graphic scenes of people being hit and thrown into the air. some 11! people, we understand, injured. some still in a critical condition. now, the car eventually came toa condition. now, the car eventually came to a stop as it crashed into a tram stop and at that stage some bysta nders tram stop and at that stage some bystanders ran tram stop and at that stage some bysta nders ra n towards tram stop and at that stage some bystanders ran towards the danger apprehending the driver and holding

him there for the minute or two it took for the police to arrive. now, the police arrested both the driver and we understand the passenger. two men have been taken away for questioning. clearly, they are asking them about what happened and their motivation. a lot of speculation at the moment, but they will want to be clear what motivated this attack. the city centre, there are still lots of people in distress, a lot of the area around it in lockdown as the police carry out a forensic examination. this has been a hugely distressing event for the people of melbourne. tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england have been harmed when receiving maternity care over the last two years. more than a quarter of a million incidents were reported by hospital staff to the health regulator nhs improvement. most were minor but almost a quarter of the incidents led to the mother or baby being harmed. our health correspondent adina campbell reports. wendy and ryan aguis from east sussex lost their baby daughter three years ago. she was stillborn.

an nhs investigation found some maternity guidelines were not followed. leaving the hospital with a box of things, instead of your baby, was just... having to leave her there, going home and leaving your baby there — you just can't comprehend it. it was here at this hospital where wendy was cared for. despite telling staff that she had concerns about her baby's movements, she was sent home on two different occasions. figures seen by the bbc show there were more than 275,000 maternity care incidents reported voluntarily by concerned staff in england over the last two years. the problems included women being told to stay at home, babies being left brain—damaged, and potentially avoidable deaths. just over three quarters of the incidents reported did not cause any harm to mother or baby, but more than 60,000 did, something the government says it is hoping to reduce under new plans announced last month.

we want to be the safest and best maternity system in the world. the vast majority of births are completely safe. but what's going wrong at the moment is that, when we have a tragedy, we're not learning from it nearly as effectively as we should. east sussex healthcare trust says they have apologised to wendy and ryan, and admitted some aspects of their service did not meet their usual standards. ke went move forward. we tried to, but we can't. it is always there every day. well, we arejoined now by gill walton, chief executive and general secretary of the royal college of midwives. the figures cover incidents from relatively minor incidents where

simple first aid is needed through to the most serious where there is a death. but is it possible to identify any common factors in the circumstances leading up to them? that's the most important thing about the voluntary reporting. so that themes can be identified and lessons will be learnt. it's really important that we learn about what is causing harm in maternity services so we can really contribute to making it safer in the future. and what are the causes? i mean the royal college of midwives believes the nhs in england is 3500 midwives down on the number it should have, so, is staffing, is that a big problem, a big part of it, sorry? some of incidents are about staffing where there is delays in care and we do know that unfortunately some baby deaths can be related back to delays in care because of staffing and capacity issues and they are really shocking things. and we really want to influence the appropriate staffing of maternity services in

the future to ensure women have safe care. is part of the solution then mandatory reporting of incidents which have led to harm, be that relatively minor or the serious end of the scale because the incidents that have been flagged up are currently run under a voluntary scheme, set—up by the regulator, nhs improvement, so do you think the actualfigure could be much higher? serious incidents are mandatory, they are reported and at the moment they are reported and at the moment the voluntary scheme is a good scheme because it takes away the system of fear and blame so that all of the incidents can be investigated and the learning can be shared. so the serious incidents are investigated. is the learning being shared though if all of these incidents that we're talking about, more than a quarter, 276,000, in two yea rs, more than a quarter, 276,000, in two years, injust the more than a quarter, 276,000, in two years, in just the last two years, is learning being shared, mistakes made and good practise? the

secretary of state's ambition for creating safer maternity services is, he is putting in some extra measures for sharing that learning andi measures for sharing that learning and i think that's really important. the opportunity for all health professionals, all around the country to learn from these events is important to make sure that maternity care in the future remains as safe it is now. the important thing is not to othery parents. that maternity care is safe and it is getting safer and these incidents help us to really learn about what we do next. thank you very much. we are hearing from the mp for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the young mother held in iran that she is going to be eligible for early release. this is coming from her mp who after speaking with nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's husband, richard ratcliffe this morning, said she will be eligible for early release. i'm just taking you through this as

i see it for the first time as well. she says this news is a glimmer of light at the end of a dark tunnel for my constituents richard and nazanin and their daughter. now we wait to see what happens next. although we want to celebrate prematurely, it would be the perfect christmas gift to see nazanin released and back with her family. the foreign secretary, boris johnson, was involved in talks in iran to try to secure nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's release, but this is coming from a conversation between her husband richard, and her mp, tulip sidique. there has been a huge amount of diplomatic pressure coming from the uk to try to secure

nazanin's release. following those charges by the iranians which she denies. that just coming into thatjust coming into us, a reported conversation between nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's husband, richard and hermp. let's look at the weather forecast and simon king has that. we have grey skies and hill fog and mist. this is just we have grey skies and hill fog and mist. this isjust one we have grey skies and hill fog and mist. this is just one scene we have grey skies and hill fog and mist. this isjust one scene in nottinghamshire with that fog. it won't change a great deal as we go into the afternoon. this weather front is responsible for the includy skies. some drizzle affecting northern parts of england, west

wales and into eastern england. the far north of scotland with brighter skies here, north—east england having brighter skies, but it is mild. temperatures ten to 12 celsius. through tonight, little change really. some rain continuing across northern england and eastern england, further outbreaks of rain spreading into the south—west. for many of us, cloudy skies, mist and murk, temperatures up into double figures, but in the north of scotland, temperatures dropping close to freezing. a bit of a frosty start. there will be sunshine in north—east scotland, down the eastern side of the pennines and eastern side of the pennines and east wales, but generally speaking again on friday, it's misty and murky and some hill fog. theresa may has sacked damian green

after it was found make misleading state m e nts after it was found make misleading statements about pornography and office computer. damian green was judged to have broken the ministerial code and he had to pay the price for that, which was the prime minister quite rightly not letting a lifelong friendship with him interfering with calling for the right thing, which was for him to resign, and he has done. theresa may has arrived in poland for a summit intended to strengthen ties between london and warsaw ahead of brexit. she's due to sign a treaty on security and defence co—operation. two men have been arrested in melbourne after a car was driven into pedestrians at one of the busiest road junctions at evening rush hour, in what police say was a "deliberate act." the mp for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been told she could be eligible for early release. that is breaking news coming to us in the last few

moments. the future of toy retailer toys r us is in doubt. creditors of the troubled chain are meeting now to decide whether its uk business can continue. the bbc learns that tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england were harmed by lapses in maternity care in the past two years. also in a moment, we'll hear why if you live in the north of england, give got less chance of going to a really good school than those downsides. time for the sport. the president of the commonwealth games federation, louise martin, has praised birmingham for its rich history, cultural diversity, youthful dynamism and ambitious spirit. this morning she officially confirmed that birmingham will host the 2022 games that had initially been awarded to durban until the south african city pulled out earlier this year with financial difficulties. birmingham has a budget of 750 million pounds, the most expensive uk sports event since the london olympics in 2012. it's something that the city has

wa nted it's something that the city has wanted and needed for many years. it will be on a global stage, there will be on a global stage, there will be on a global stage, there will be over a billion people watching, 70 different nations and territories here. it will be an extraordinary opportunity for the city and the broader region to showcase itself to the world and develop new links with the commonwealth, at an important time, when we will be leaving europe. the relationships with our commonwealth partners will be much more important. the city will follow manchester in 2002 and glasgow in 2014 as previous uk hosts for the games. the legacy they hope to leave goes beyond the world class sports venues facilities that they have to provide. i think what we've got to look at is if we can get local communities involved, if we can get schools involved, if we can get schools involved, businesses and the surrounding areas. if everyone works together as one, it gives an opportunity to try and leave a

lasting legacy somewhere where people can be inspired to take up sport. but we have to be looking at. you have to make sure it's notjust for the games, it's about the longevity and what it can bring to the city for the future. it was a famous night for bristol city, the championship side are into the league cup semi—finals after knocking out the holders manchester united...and their reward is a semifinal against manchester city. they took the lead against a much changed united side, going ahead with an absolutely cracking strike from joe bryan — that was early in the second half. manchester united equalised not long afterwards but in injury time, korey smith popped up to seal the unlikeliest of victories . just look at these celebrations at ashton gate. manager lee johnson swinging around the ball boy there. total euphoria. the noise in the

stadium, that emotion at the time that the boys didn't know when it to laugh, cry, a couple each other. stay out of the fans, but again, just fantastic for the football club. hopefully, many generations will talk about this and it will attract more and more supporters, because we want nights like that. they had the luck of the game, but they fought to be lucky. sometimes you see it comes from nowhere, but normally, luck comes from effort, from beliefs, which they had. it was a big night forthem, probably from beliefs, which they had. it was a big night for them, probably for some a big night for them, probably for some of my players, it was not a big night. it was just some of my players, it was not a big night. it wasjust one more day in the office. and when you play against teams with an extra motivation, you need also that extra motivation. so, congratulations by them. the other semifinal will be a london derby — chelsea against arsenal. bournemouth equalised at chelsea in the 90th minute but in injury time,

alvaro morata put away the winner — 2—1 it finished. and celtic returned to winning ways last night, beating patrick thistle last night, beating partick thistle 2—0 in the premiership. the champions' 69—game unbeaten domestic run was ended by hearts at the weekend, but they're now five points clear again at the top of the table. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. we're going to go straight to poland, where theresa may, we should be able to see her in a second. there she is. she hasjust arrived in poland for talks. she will be talking about the uk's relationship... we lost that picture of her, i'm afraid. she will be

talking about the relationship with poland after brexit. unfortunately, looking at the camera shot i can see, i think we'll move on. we can confirm for you that the prime minister is therefore the talks and we will come back to that in a little while. a think—tank led by the former liberal democrat minister, david laws, is warning that the regional divide in access to good schools in england is getting wider. the education policy institute says families living in london have a growing chance of living near a good school, while people in parts of the north and north—east are increasingly unlikely to have such good schools available. and david laws is in our central london studio and we can speak to him now. the received wisdom would be that if you live in a wealthy area, you are more likely to go to a good school. ora very more likely to go to a good school. or a very highly performing school. but actually, in parts of london,

which are officially described as deprived, there are more better performing schools than in some parts of the north and north—east, which bettered. why is there that disparity? there is a success element to this story, which is that london, which 20 years ago, used to be one of the worst places in the country for education, has done fa ntastically well. country for education, has done fantastically well. and now, in some parts of london, our research shows that as many as seven in ten children are attending very high quality, high performing secondary schools. the problem is that in many parts of the north and north—east and the midlands, it's almost impossible for parents to get their children into high performing schools, and actually, there seems to bea schools, and actually, there seems to be a growing divide, over the past 56 years, between the high performing areas like london and the south—east, and the rest of the country, particularly the north.

explain in more detail why then is that divide in the first instance and why secondly, that divide is growing. this is notjust an issue about wealth and poverty. we used a measure that compares similar pupils with similar backgrounds in different parts of the country. it is the value added by particular schools. what we know is that london has traditionally been higher funded, it is also an area where the government has trialled lots of interventions to improve education over the past ten or 15 years. besides sponsored academies, we've had the schools, we've had the teach first to get great graduates into teaching. unfortunately, not much of that has percolated outside london and the south—east. government policy has focused on the best schools helping out other schools nearby, which is good if you're in nearby, which is good if you're in near a good school, but not so good

if you're outside london. the education secretary is expanding what she calls opportunity areas to some of the places identified in our report, which are lagging well behind, but the problem is that areas like the north—east of england, which is one of the areas with flagged up in our report is doing badly, actually has none of these opportunity areas at all at these opportunity areas at all at the moment and isn't getting that extra support from the government. very briefly, is it a case of you know what needs to be done, but getting it done is another matter? yes, we know some of the things that drive better school performance. what we now need to do is make sure that those features are spread throughout our entire country and not just throughout our entire country and notjust in areas that have done brilliantly in london and the south—east. brilliantly in london and the south-east. thank you very much. we're just we'rejust going to we're just going to return to the picky news coming to us in the last few moments. we're hearing, as a result of a conversation with the

husband of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british in iranian woman held in prison in iran, a conversation between her husband and her mp, chiller siddique. there are suggestions that she could be eligible for early release. the mps quoted as saying this is a glimmer of brightness at the end of the tunnel. what we don't know is exactly why we are being told this at this point, whether someone in a position of authority has passed on any information to richard radcliffe. we're hearing from amnesty. let me read you a statement that has just come in from amnesty international uk, who are saying, being eligible for release when you shouldn't be in prison in the first place is a bizarre thing

to celebrate, but we have to welcome this as a sign that her ordeal may be coming to an end. there have been many ups and downs in the case, so we have to be cautious about any premature celebrations. as far as we are concerned, this would end until nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe and her daughter are on a plane and heading back to london. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, you will probably know, following much publicity about her case this year, is being held on a five—year sentence in iran on charges of spying, which of course she denies. as you'll also know, the foreign secretary borisjohnson has been involved in toxic with iran to try and secure her release. we're getting some hints that there is a glimmer of light at the end of a dark tunnel, according to tulip siddiq, and that nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe may be eligible for early release. we are looking into this right now and we'll see we can find out any more detail about

why tulip siddiq and richard radcliffe are saying this at this time. a poll carried out for bbc news suggests almost one in ten young people across the uk have spent at least a month ‘sofa surfing' — staying with friends because they've nowhere else to go. the most common reasons included family issues and domestic violence. the government says it's providing more than £1 billion of funding before 2020 to reduce all forms of homelessness. our correspondentjudith moritz is at a homeless shelter in manchester. this is actually a centre run by the organisation inspiring change manchester. it's led by shelter, but asa manchester. it's led by shelter, but as a place where people with complex needs including homelessness can come in and get help. one of those who has used their services in the pastis who has used their services in the past is darren. he is no longer homeless. had it all started for you, we are talking about sofa

surfing, is that when it began for you? yes, due to unfortunate events in my life, i ended up sofa surfing in various family members' houses. but cause problems in itself. was it sustainable? no, it caused relationship breakdowns and also of issues. you couldn't keep it up other, what happened afterwards?” presented myself at the town hall as homeless. and the option was given to go to one of the local hostels. i stayed there, it was horrendous conditions. i was in a vulnerable position and i believe they preyed on that. then i had no options left, i had to go on the streets. you ended up on the streets for a couple of years. but now you have we got your life thanks to the centre. yes,

in those two years, i tried to engage with social services. nothing worked. unfortunately for me, —— fortu nately for worked. unfortunately for me, —— fortunately for me, i did find inspiring change manchester. the person i was engaging with, they had the experience themselves, so i had physical evidence of someone with a similar journey physical evidence of someone with a similarjourney to myself. so you have turned things around. i don't wa nt to have turned things around. i don't want to cut you short, but i also wa nt to want to cut you short, but i also want to speak to ben, who is one of those who runs the centre. darren said it started with sofa surfing and then he ended up on the streets. is that a common story? we support thousands of families every year, but we are in the middle of a national housing crisis. that's led toa national housing crisis. that's led to a national homelessness crisis. in manchester, there are 10,000 people homeless. unfortunately,

darren's story is very powerful, but it isn't unique. how do you do things here to help? you said to me that homelessness on its own, it is another thing that comes in isolation. that is exactly the case. things that mental health issues, and consequences of homelessness, through their big lottery fund's national programme, we are able to look at the really simple things and actually meet people who are experiencing multiple meets in see them as assets and aspirations. we work together to achieve the plan that the individual wants, maybe six or time to turn themselves around. this survey today shows the number

of young people who are sofa surfing. is the key then to try and getan surfing. is the key then to try and get an intervention and help as early as possible? there are a numberof very early as possible? there are a number of very complex issues nationally which people are struggling with, which is leading to darren's story. remember, people struggling with rough sleeping have a life expectancy of 47 years old men and 43 years old by women. someone who is a young person at 24, if they're going to be a rough sleeper, there are already in midlife. prevention is a massive issue and unfortunately, funding in re ce nt issue and unfortunately, funding in recent years has been restricted. but also support to help people turn their lives around and be the assets of the communities is absolutely crucial. that's what we're really glad to be doing as part of the lottery fund. some very stark statistics then about life expectancy for those who are sleeping rough. and also that as districts were seen today about the number of young people who are sofa

surfing. what they are saying he was at that can just be the beginning of problems which could go on to last for a long time. thank you. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first , the headlines on bbc newsroom live. downing street says the sacking of damian green is a matter of sadness and regret for the prime minister, but ministers insist he had to go after telling lies. the mp for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been told that she could be eligible for early release from prison in iran. australian police arrested people out of a car drove into a crowd in melbourne, injuring 14 people. detectives say the action was deliberate, but there is no evidence it was terror related. in the business news... the practice of selling leaseholds on new build homes is to be banned by the government. communities secretary sajid javid

made the announcement but said there will be some exceptions for shared ownership. the use of such leaseholds has shot up in recent years and developers have used them to push up ground rents as the years go by. the government said back injuly it would to do something about the problem. the us has ruled that ca nada's bombardier received government subsidies and sold c—series jets below cost in the us, a step likely to lead to steep tariffs. the investigation follows a petition from rival american company boeing and the conflict has the potential to lead to job losses in northern ireland. bombardier said it was "deeply disappointed" in the decision. the number of cars built in the uk last month fell by 4.6% compared with a year earlier, driven down by a sharp decline in domestic demand. over 161,000 vehicles were made in uk factories in november, according to the society of motor manufacturers and traders, but adds that output for the domestic market fell by 28%, as a result of "brexit uncertainty" and "confusion over diesel taxation". production for export rose by 1.3%. the fate of 3,200 toys

r usjobs is hanging in the balance ahead of a crunch vote on the firm's future, with the retailer facing collapse unless a rescue deal is agreed. the pension protection fund wants the retailer to put £9 million into its struggling pension fund before it will support its restructuring plan. failure to agree a deal could put its staff at risk of redundancy. the deadline for the vote on the company voluntary agreement which allows the firm to restructure its finances is at 11am. her business correspondent is that a temp to store now and we can cross life. the vote on the cva finishing

at 11 life. the vote on the cva finishing at11a:m.. life. the vote on the cva finishing at 11 a:m.. any progress? they don't seem to have voted yet, and the talks between toys r us and pension protection fund seem to have reached a crucial stage, because they have suspended their creditors' meeting at which this has been discussed while the dolls continue. what that indicates to us is, on the downside, they haven't reached agreement yet, on the other hand, is positive that they are still talking, and maybe, maybe there is a glimmer of hope here. what they may be discussing, toys r us has said it can't afford the £9 million you referred to that would go into the pension fund, but perhaps they can promise to try to help close the deficit in the pension fund more quickly and pay more money over a shorter time frame, perhaps ten rather than 15 yea rs, frame, perhaps ten rather than 15 years, so that could be what they are discussing. it has reached a crucial stage. we may now in the

next few minutes, perhaps half an hour, how the whole thing is turning out. many thanks for now. joining me online is robert hutchins, editor of toy news. our correspondent is outside a toys r us store waiting for the outcome of the talks, suggesting that the length talks are going on suggests there is a glimmer of hope here. what do you think? we can only hope that there is. obviously, it is a hugely tense time for the toy industry. we can normally hope, it's christmas, we wa nt normally hope, it's christmas, we want the best possible result for a toys r us. nobody wants to see them go and fade into oblivion. let's keep ourfingers go and fade into oblivion. let's keep our fingers crossed. toys r go and fade into oblivion. let's keep ourfingers crossed. toys r us for many people will be something of an establishment. it's been in the uk since 1985, they launched their website in 1996. it has 105 stores around the uk. how has it got itself

into this situation? essentially, it has failed to keep up with the current consumer trend, which is that shoppers need convenience and they want to be entertained when they want to be entertained when they want to go to a store. nobody wants to be driving half an hour down the road to go into a big warehouse. they want to be going to the local shopping centre and is delighting in the entertainment that those establishments bring to them. somewhere like the entertainer does magnificent work with in—store entertainment, getting kids excited, getting parents excited. and obviously, online shopping has really struck a blow to retailers like toys r us as well. and what does all of this mean for people up and down the country who want to do their christmas shopping at toys r us? it means that possibly they need to get there quick. we don't know the result yet. as i say, keep our

fingers crossed. it is not pose a real christmas, sojust fingers crossed. it is not pose a real christmas, so just keep positive. many thanks. robert hutchins. we are waiting for that results, and that vote on the fate of toys r us. any moment now. that's all the business news. reading a summary from his lengthy written ruling, thejudge said on the protagonists emerge from the trial was great credit. the council car park where the body of king richard the third was unearthed five years ago has been protected as a nationally—important archaeological site. richard was buried in 1485 after his death at the battle of bosworth, which brought the first tudor, king henry the seventh, to power. nick higham reports.

2012 and archaeologists from leicester university mark out a council car park in the centre of the city, just where someone's spray—painted the letter "r" on the tarmac. then they start digging on the site of what was once the mediaeval greyfriars, looking for the grave of england's most notorious king. astonishingly, they find it and a skeleton complete with crooked spine and fatal injuries to the back of the skull, buried in haste after the battle of bosworth. richard iii became the villain and central character of one of shakespeare's play, the man who supposedly murdered his young nephews — one of them the rightful heir to the throne. two years ago, the dead king's body was reburied in a new tomb in leicester cathedral and now, the car park, or at least, the archaeological remains hidden beneath it, has been made a scheduled ancient monument. it adds a level of protection for the buried archaeological remains of the franciscan friary, of the priory. it is not something thatjust sits in stone but it is a way of working with the local authorities, with owners to help manage it in a way that preserves the archaeological remains over the coming years. really to preserve it for the future generations.

the protection does not extend to the modern road services or modern buildings, like the richard i! visitor centre, but it does include the ground beneath, much of which has never been built on. that means archaeologists think the mediaevalfriary‘s remains have stayed undisturbed since it was demolished almost 500 years ago. nick higham, bbc news. a former korean air lines executive who went into a rage on an aircraft over the way she was served nuts is to avoid returning to jail, after south korea's supreme court upheld her 10—month suspended sentence. heather cho had originally been convicted in 2015 of violating plane safety after ordering a taxiing plane back to the gate to off—load a steward who had served macademia nuts the wrong way. but she was freed after the appeal court ruled she did not cause a change in the flight path. cho, also known as cho hyun—ah, was the daughter of the compa ny‘s chairman. just a reminder we will bring you a

statement from the mba of the british iranian woman held in iran. she suggesting she will be eligible for a release. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two — it is pretty cloudy, misty and murky out there. this isjust it is pretty cloudy, misty and murky out there. this is just one scene we have at the moment in norfolk. it is the winter solstice today and we did have a bit of sunshine this morning. this was the lovely sunrise on the shetland isles, but with it being the shortest day, of course, that sample set in three hours' time. but the good news is that from tomorrow, the good news is that from tomorrow, the day length is going to be three

seconds longer. three seconds, but it's a start. this weather front is bringing the cloudy and misty weather conditions to north—west england and west wales. very little change this evening, rush hour across england and wales, lots of loud, mrand murk. patchy across england and wales, lots of loud, mr and murk. patchy fog here and there. temperatures up into double figures. north—east england and scotland having the best of the brightness. chillier here. northern ireland, again pretty cloudy with outbreaks of rain. this evening and tonight, we'll continue with the rain across northern england, just edging its way further into eastern england. much of england and wales, lots of cloud, which will be low, so mist and fog here and there. clear skies across the north of scotland. some frost here. on friday, sunny spells across the north—east of

scotland. the east of wales also getting some brightness. it should be mostly dry tomorrow. but for most of us, misty and murky conditions into the afternoon, but still mild. temperatures up to around nine or ten or 11 degrees. this high pressure is keeping things cloudy and benign. the weatherfront pressure is keeping things cloudy and benign. the weather front across the north, the wind picking up, so there will be some gales for a time in northern areas on saturday. that means bedding its way a little further south, but for most of us during saturday, it will be a dry day again. perhaps the cloud not as low. the winds will help break up the cloud a little. christmas eve, similar situation. if the cloud a little. christmas eve, similarsituation. if you the cloud a little. christmas eve, similar situation. if you showers, more in the way of rain affecting scotla nd more in the way of rain affecting scotland and northern ireland. temperatures up into double figures. that's how we go into christmas day, my old, cloudy, rain in the north. after christmas day, a little more

clouded that staying mild. this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at midday: downing street says the sacking of damian green is a matter of sadness and regret for the prime minister but ministers insist he had to go after telling lies. theresa may arrives in warsaw for a summit intended to strengthen bilateral. australian man who say a man who drove a car into a crowd of people has mental health issues. the mp for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been told that she could be eligible for early release. creditors of the troubled retailer, toys r us, are meeting now to decide whether its uk business can continue. also victory for bristol city after the club beat manchester united in the efl

cup last night. bristol city's chairman, steve lansdowne, says he feels vindicated for sticking with manager lee johnson after last season's struggles. and a car park in leicester, where the body of king richard iii was unearthed five years ago, is protected as a nationally—important archaeological site. good afternoon. it is thursday, 21st december. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the prime minister has expressed "deep regret" at the departure of her first secretary of state, damian green, but said his actions "fell short" of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister.

theresa may sacked her close colleague and friend after an inquiry found he had breached the ministerial code by making "inaccu rate and misleading" statements about pornography found on his office computer in 2008. downing street has said there won't necessarily be a new first secretary and an announcement about a replacement cabinet office minister is not expected until the new year. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. side—by—side yesterday, the prime minister and her close ally damian green, her deputy in all but name. but hours after they sat together in the commons, he was sacked. it stems back to this police raid on mr green's parliamentary offices nine years ago. officers said legal pornography was found on computers. mr green has always and still denies that it was his, but he also said he hadn't been told about it, and that wasn't right. he has now admitted police lawyers talked to his lawyers in 2008,

and police raised it with him in 2013, and he said: it is that breach of the ministerial code that cost him his job. there were also claims from this tory activist about inappropriate behaviour by mr green. her account was said to be plausible, but there was no clear conclusion about what had happened. mr green apologised for making her feel uncomfortable, but denied wrongdoing. in a letter to mr green, theresa may said she was extremely sad at having to write regarding his resignation. she has lost a long—term friend and confidant from her cabinet table, but some said her decision showed strength. i don't think it's damaging to the prime minister at all, really, because she's made the decision. you know, it says something about her that, even if somebody is a close ally, that she's prepared to make a decision and urge him to take the decision himself to step down. and, in doing that, i have to say

that shows that she is not prepared to cover for somebody if she feels that they didn't answer the questions they should have done. nonetheless, the prime minister will no doubt feel the loss of such a trusted ally from her top team. we have just had a statement from bob quick. he is a former scotland ya rd bob quick. he is a former scotland yard assistant commissioner who has told the bbc that he will continue told the bbc that he will continue to press damian green to withdraw comments he made about him in a statement in early november. in that statement, which the cabinet office inquiry office concluded was inaccurate. mr green dismissed claims that pornography were found on his work computers was false and untrue. he said it was never suggested that improper material had been found. mr green accused bob

quick for the story and said he was tainted and untrusty and mr quick called on damian green to retract the comments which he described as deeply hurtful. today mr quick said he would continue to seek a retraction. the matter is in the hands of his lawyers. he didn't comment on mr green as dismissal from the government. our assistant political editor norman smith joins us now from westminster. well, this is just well, this isjust one well, this is just one aspect. well, this isjust one aspect. it has been very difficult, the relationship fraught between mr green and the police fraught. bob quick is determined to get some sort of apology from damian green at the same time as we have seen this morning a ferocious backlash against mrquick and morning a ferocious backlash against mr quick and another police officer accused of leaking the details about

the pornography on damian green's computer to damage him with one tory mp suggesting that both men should now be prosecuted by the crown prosecution service for alleged misconduct in public office. that after m rs misconduct in public office. that after mrs may herself criticised the role of the police in her letter to damian green, expressing her concern at the way the former officers had behaved and also we heard from jeremy hunt, the health secretary, saying it raised questions about their conduct in a democracy. now, that, of course, follows the bust—up we saw between the police over the so—called plebgate row involving andrew mitchell and police officers, but you do get a sense of the real tension now between the conservative party and aspects of the police. as for party and aspects of the police. as foergreen, party and aspects of the police. as for mr green, well, we have not heard anything publicly from him today. he emerged from his house this morning, but he wasn't saying anything when pressed by reporters. reporter: how do you feel?

i'm not going to say anything. reporter: why did you lie to the public, mr green? have you let the prime minister down, mr green? just to be clear, mr green was sacked because of the lie. it was not because of the allegations about pornography on his computer or indeed the claims made by the conservative activist kate maltby about inappropriate behaviour towards him. it was the fact that he lied about his knowledge that the police had informed him that they found pornography on his computer.

up—to—date tried to put some justification, context on why mr green had behaved in this way. this was mr hunt speaking on the today programme on radio 4. everyone understands the pressures that politicians are under and i think no one is saying that he wasn't an absolutely outstanding public servant who did an extraordinaryjob in the various ministerial posts that he did, but in our country and this happens under this government, but it happens actually under every government that i can remember there are instances where perhaps people get pushed into a situation where they say something they didn't mean to say and we do hold people to very high standards of conduct and on this occasion, very, very sadly and i know with a very heavy heart, the prime minister took the difficult decision that she had to. to go back to that row with the police which seems to be building this morning. there were unconfirmed reports that david davis might even resign in protest if damian green

was forced to walk the plank. his staff are saying he never made those sort of claims and he is not intending to resign, but you get a sense of real anger and listen to the views of the conservative mp chris phelp who was calling for the two police officers to be prosecuted. well, for me the behaviour of neil lewis and bob quick, the two police officers is far more serious than anything that's been alleged against damian green. they took confidential information which they obtained in the course of a criminal investigation. the information was by no means criminal at all and they maliciously leaked it and bob quick tried to leak it on three or four occasions. it has taken him eight years or ten years to get it. i think they should be investigated for misconduct in public office. that's a criminal offence. what they have done is completely wrong. it undermines trust in the police. how can any of us trust giving information to the police if senior officers leak in this investigation. the commissioner is investigating it internally i think it needs to be to be investigated from a criminal prospective and the cps need

to have a close look at it because the conduct of neil lewis and bob quick in this affair was absolutely shocking. strong words. bear in mind the offence of misconduct in a public office carries with it a prison sentence. as for mrs may, well, she is arriving in poland. we'll hear from her later on today. obviously i suppose the questions from reporters will centre around about how significant a blow this is to her premiership to lose a third cabinet minister in the space of what, eight weeks, and her second in command as it were, damian green and also her closest political ally. norman, thank you very much. with me is joeyjones, a former adviser to theresa may. it is all rather messy and acrimonious when you look at the

relationship between some politicians and these former police officers including bob quick. but did thra have any other —— theresa may have any option? the inquiry made it clear that damian green hadn't told the truth. it left no option for her, but to remove damian green from his position. i think one can speculate what might have happened had that not been the case. then it would have been much more difficult because it would have been one word against another with damian green and those former police officers and also one word against another in terms of what happened between damian green and kate maltby and there, i think, thejudgment call would have been more challenging for the prime minister. this in the end was quite straightforward. so unlike the departures of michael fallon and priti patel, a lot of people were questioning whether theresa may could continue in the aftermath of those departures, there doesn't seem to be the same conversation going on. right now a lot of people are saying it shows her strength? i think it's very

difficult. it's not a good news story for theresa may. it's not a good news story or the government. the issue of bad blood between damian green and the former police officers and some conservative allies of damian green as well, and let's not forget even the metropolitan police commissioner has criticised the actions of some officers in this case but that is now a sideshow as far as the government is concerned. that will continue as a political and wider drama, but it won't have the potentially corrosive impact on the operation of government. i think where there is a real problem for theresa may is that damian green in thatjob in the cabinet office, was sort of greasing the wheels of government. he was trying to cobble things together at a point where things together at a point where things have been very, very rocky and very bumpy in terms of the straightforward issues of getting things done in whitehall and without him there, it makes thatjob that much harder. yes, there isn't

automatically someone i assume who has that same, you know, relationship, built over decades with her who can just step into that role and we're hearing, of course, there won't necessarily by a new first secretary and any announcements won't come until the new year. so emerging out of this, what sort of cabinet we could see? will there be more of a reshuffle? that seems to be wise. not to appoint somebody into the job of first secretary of state and basically deputy to the prime minister because damian green was a valuable in that role in the same way that people sometimes compared him to william whitelaw for margaret thatcher because nobody really thought as number two he could seriously aspire to the job of number one. if you look around at the candidates for that position now, all of them would be people who might at some point want to be prime minister and where would that leave the debate? it would only lead it in one direction about whether theresa may might step aside for somebody

for that deputy. so i think that they're right within downing street to just say calm down, this they're right within downing street tojust say calm down, this is not going to be the way they would like because it will only ferment and promote rivalries within the cabinet. where there is a yob to be done is the somewhat thankless and below the radar position of keeping the government's show on the road and i'm not sure whether that's the sort of position that will be quite sort of position that will be quite so attractive for the candidates who seem to be jockeying for the role of standing infor seem to be jockeying for the role of standing in for theresa may at pmqs. plenty for theresa may to think about as she prepares the christmas goose! police in australia say the man who drove into a crowd is a drug user with mental health issues. the second suspect arrested was

found with a bag of knives and had been filming incidents. palestinianed to the ground, a man arrested by the vehicle used to mow down pedestrians. around them, paramedics rushed to help the injured pedestrians left lying in the street. minuting earlier the city centre was packed with commute, and christmas shoppers, the car drove towards them at speed, leaving some ina drove towards them at speed, leaving some in a critical condition. the police say the driver was a 32—year—old australian of afghan decent, with a history of mental health problems. at this time we don't have any evidence or intelligence to indicate a connection with terrorism. having said that, however, we continue to support this investigation with our counter terrorism command to ensure

that there isn't that connection and that there isn't that connection and that there is no ongoing threat. eyewitnesses were left in shock. one business owner watched events unfold in front of him. he just ploughed into them without stopping. all you could hear was the people hitting the front bumper and the windscreen and people screaming. special security measures to prevent vehicle attacks have been introduced in melbourne after a similar incident injanuary, melbourne after a similar incident in january, but melbourne after a similar incident injanuary, but nothing was able to stop the 4x4 bringing chaos to the city once again. we have seen a horrific act, an evil act, an acof coward dies perpetrated against innocent bystanders, we are all caught up in this. we are all deeply sad and deeply wounded. police are still questioning the driver and a second man arrested at the scene. they've stressed they

believe this was a one—off incident, but melbourne remains a city on high alert. ican speak alert. i can speak to someone who was shopping nearby and witnessed the aftermath. thank you for taking the time to speak to us on bbc news. tell us what you saw and heard?” was doing some christmas shopping. i was doing some christmas shopping. i was probably 20 meters from the intersection where it happened. i decided to go into a store at that second and the next thing i heard screaming and we rushed outside and we can see everybody running and i actually thought it was — i could see people running away. so we got closer and by the time we got there, there was people on the floor.

people were helping people. problem with sound there was a helicopter. the response was really quick. it was really remarkable to see that the police we re remarkable to see that the police were already there. the ambulance was there within two minutes. it was so quick. and were you aware of the police arresting the driver? we are told that initially members of the public ran over to grab the driver of the car, but by the time you got to the scene, did the police have him in custody? yes. i heard people saying that it was not a car accident. it was intentional. that the driver was already taken into

custody and then that's when i actually realised that it was an intentional accident and it was not just a car accident and then yeah, and then everybody was helping each other. nobody was afraid because there was so much police there and everybody was trying it help each other. so many people approached me and asked me if i was ok. if i knew where i was. if i needed to talk to somebody, call somebody. everybody was there helping somebody. it was very amazing to see people just taking care of people. thank you very much for talking to us. we have a couple of pictures to show you which have just been released to celebrate the engagement of prince harry to meghan markle. further pictures reletsed. —— released. the pk tures we saw a um can of weeks

ago after their engagement and then the new ones taken at frogmore house in windsor which is in the grounds of home park adjoining windsor castle. of course, the couple will be married within the grounds of the castle at st george's chapel in may. the new images released to celebrate the couple answers gaegment. senior conservatives say theresa may had no choice, but to sack her deputy, damian green. australian police arrest two people after a car drove into a crowd in melbourne injuring 14 people. detectives say the action was deliberate. the mp for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been told that she could be eligible for early release from prison in iran. now with news of the commonwealth

games and the rest of the sport, here is olly. the president of the commonwealth games federation has praised birmingham for its rich history, cultural diversity, youthful dynamism and ambitious spirit. birmingham will host the 2022 games that had initially been given to durban until the south african city pulled out with financial difficulties. birmingham has a budget of £750 million. the most expensive uk sport's event since the london olympics back in 2012. it's something that the city has wanted and needed for many years. it will be on and needed for many years. it will beona and needed for many years. it will be on a global stage and 70 different nation and territories here. it will be an extraordinary opportunity for the city and to develop all sorts of new links with the commonwealth at a point if time when we will be leaving europe and the relationships with our

commonwealth partners will be so much more important. bristol city are into the league cup semi—finals after knocking out manchester united. their reward a semifinal against manchester city. they look the lead in the second half against a much changed manchester united side. that was soon cancelled out by manchester united, but in the final minute of injury time, smith popped up to seal the unlikeliest of victories! that sparked a pitch invasion. the city manager got the ball boy involved as well. total euphoria. the noise in the stadium, that emotion at the time. the boys didn't know whether to laugh, cry, cuddle each other, stay out with the fans, come in to safety, but again, just fantastic

for the football club and like i say many generations hopefully will talk about this and hopefully it will attract more and more supporters in because we want more nights like that. bristol city get manchester city. the other semifinal will be a london derby, chelsea against arsenal after another injury time win. bournemouth had equalised in the 90th minute at stamford bridge, but chelsea scored. 2—1. both the semi—finals will be played over two legs next month. that's all the sport for now. i will be back with more after the one o'clock news at about 1.30pm on bbc news. more on nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe who is eligible for early release according to her mp. she called the news a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe is serving a five year jail sentence zaghari—ratcliffe is serving a five yearjail sentence for zaghari—ratcliffe is serving a five year jail sentence for spying, zaghari—ratcliffe is serving a five yearjail sentence for spying, a charge she has always denied. james

landale is here now. james, just talk us through where this news is coming from because we have heard about a conversation between tulip sidique and nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's husband, richard, but who has told them that she might be eligible for early release? nazanin zaghari-ratcliffe has a lawyer in iran and that lawyer is in charge of her case and he saw on the iranian judiciary‘s is in charge of her case and he saw on the iranianjudiciary‘s internal database that the status of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's case had changed and she was now down as eligible for early release. this is a new thing. this is, now, the question is what does that mean? clearly, there is pa rt does that mean? clearly, there is part of the iranian system when a prisoner has served a certain amount ofa prisoner has served a certain amount of a sentence then there is a technical process that you can become eligible for early release, but i thinkjust to see this as purely an automatic thing might be not reading too much into it.

certainly the campaigners and the ratcliffe fa m ily certainly the campaigners and the ratcliffe family are interring an an —— inferring an element of choice. since the row over the foreign secretary's remarks to parliament and the visit of the foreign secretary, since then has been positive signs. there was the new court appearances where new charges we re court appearances where new charges were being to be laid allegedly against her. that was postponed and it didn't happen. the family talk about more access to telephone, more access to things like that and now this, the change of the status. so, they are allowing themselves an element of hope from this. what they are not saying this means she is automatically going to be released straightaway now. yes, an element of hope, but an element of caution can so many twists and turns in this, a hugely high—profile case, serious charges from the iranians point of

view, a huge amount of publicity, not the typical case for the iranianses to deal with. to what extent iranianses to deal with. to what exte nt d o iranianses to deal with. to what extent do you think the visit by borisjohnson has helped start a process whereby possibly nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's release might come earlier than expected? it's almost impossible to tell. certainly the cam panners and the families are inferring, it has had a good impact. it has been positive, but we're not there yet. i think what is significant about this is that this is something that the iranian judiciary have done. borisjohnson's meetings by and large were mainly with the political side of the iranian regime, his counterpart, the iranian regime, his counterpart, the iranian foreign minister. this is something that the iranian judiciary have chosen to do themselves. this is their database have chosen to do themselves. this is their data base and have chosen to do themselves. this is their database and i think that's the significance because they are one of the key sources of power. would they have done that without a nod from a politician? from someone

with the authority to say from a political prospective? the judiciary have the authority, not the politicians. ok. so it's purely down to thejudiciary? politicians. ok. so it's purely down to the judiciary? the revolutionary guard, they are the key people in this case. the politician have can an influence over it, but the key deses are made by the judiciary. this is why it is significant? this isa this is why it is significant? this is a judiciary website. if they give the go—ahead, how quickly could she be out of iran and backin quickly could she be out of iran and back in the uk? that's a tricky question, james. i asked the same question, james. i asked the same question and the answer i get back, days weeks, but there is many a slip, twist, cup and lip and there is paperwork, there will be procedures to go through. so i think, people are saying, you know, don't expect instant movement on this. 0k, don't expect instant movement on this. ok, james. in the same way we shouldn't rule out that the regime

could change their minds again. james, thank you very much. james landale our diplomatic correspondent. we can talk to nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe's local mp. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us about this developing story. so you have had a conversation with nazanin's husband richard in which he told you this?” had a conversation with my constituent richard ratcliffe and his wife, nazanin, was told by her lawyer that the status of her case had changed. richard was very, very excited about this when he told me and nazanin feels hopeful as well because you can imagine it has been a very long journey. it has been 18 months of continuous campaigning for my constituent richard ratcliffe to free his wife and to bring his toddler home. did he say to you, if he felt there was any particular change that led to this piece of

information being released to him? was there something he could pinpoint that made him feel more hopeful at this point perhaps than he has before? he can't pinpoint a specific reason why this has changed there is two things we discussed. under iranian law if you have served a third of your time in prison and you have displayed good behaviour, you have displayed good behaviour, you are considered for early release. so, that's one possibility that nazanin as co—operated and been a good prisoner and that's why they are considering whether they should release her early. we can't down play the significance that the fact that the foreign secretary did go to iranafew that the foreign secretary did go to iran a few weeks ago and when he came back, in the house of commons, he was quite cagey when he updated the mps, especially when i asked him what discussions he had about releasing nazanin, would she be home before christmas and reunited with her husband and daughter, he wouldn't say what had happened what the discussions mp, he said it

wouldn't be fair to the family to release details, but the fact there has been movement on this case, the fa ct has been movement on this case, the fact that it says she maybe considered for early release after 18 months of trying to do something, is definitely something that we feel quite excited about. i've tried to manage expectations with my constituent because there is no guarantee that she will be released immediately. he keeps talking about the fact that he wants his wife home for christmas. the fact he wants to deck kate the tree along with his daughter. they have made plants about going to winter wonderland and being in london united as a family. i feel i should manage being in london united as a family. ifeel i should manage his expectations, but as a mother, i can't help, but feel excite that had filmily this —— finally this family have a chance to be together for christmas after she was detained for 18 months in a prison in iran. what

are you able to tell us about any conversations richard radcliffe has had with his wife in recent days and what she has been telling him about her treatment in iran? any sense she's getting the error of some movement in her case? it's been a roller—coaster for nazanin. initially, she was in solitary confinement at the beginning. she was suicidal, she went on hunger strike. then she had major health problems and was denied medical access. there was a lot of movement on that and finally, she was allowed medical access. she found lumps on breast which didn't turn out to be cancerous, but they given a huge scare. then when a mistake was made by the foreign secretary when he said she had been training journalists, she was at her lowest at that point, because she felt there might be fresh charges put against her. then the foreign secretary went to iran are given a boost. he met with herfamily and

nazanin's father said to attempt, the foreign secretary that he would be her hero with the court heard. she didn't come back with boris johnson, which is one of the things she was hoping, but then there was another period of not sure how to feel. feeling quite emotional. she has now been allowed to daily phone calls with her husband. all she's been saying to her husband is, can you make sure i come home for christmas. thank you very much for talking to us and updating us on this case. we will keep you up—to—date with any more developments with the news from iran at nazanian zaghari—ratcliffe is eligible for early release, but now for news yet that she will be released from jail in iran. people

are casting their vote in the spanish region. people are casting their votes in the spanish region of catalonia. the election is intended to resolve a stand—off between the spanish government and campaigners who unilaterally declared catalan independence in october. all indications are that the result will be very close. my my colleaguejoins us my colleague joins us from a polling station in barcelona. you have to wonder if the result is going to be that cause, whether it's going to really satisfy anyone give any definite conclusions over this question. i think that's the big question. i think that's the big question and the answer is it probably might not. i am at the seafront here in barcelona. turnout has been quite high as a polling station school here. about 34.5% by midday local time. when expecting a turnout of maybe 85%, but this is an election that has focus the minds of many millions of people here. but what is james releases a declaration

of independence back on october the 27th or that referendum on october the 1st, because the people who are committed to separatism, they say that today's vote, decreed, this is a referendum on what has already been agreed. the people who are pro—unionists, the silent majority, they say this is an opportunity once and for all to kill, decapitate the succession lists head of the groups that want to leave spain, once and for all and to bring out some stability to the region. this area is polarised, as it always has been. it could be that neither side gets the number of voters needed to form a working coalition in the regional parliament. if that is the case, thenit parliament. if that is the case, then it would have to be new elections at the beginning of next year. the separatist groups, the

former leader now in exile in brussels, he's been campaigning through a hologram. he hasn't been eligible to vote, but his deputy, the leader of the republican party, he's in prison in madrid. he has cast his vote by postal ballot on monday. in terms of an election, trying to impose normality and stability on the region, there's very little normality and very little stability in this region 23 months the crisis. in 19, when will we get results, approximately? we should know about ten or 11 o'clock local time. 34.5% turnout there. two yea rs local time. 34.5% turnout there. two years ago, the turnout went up to 7596 years ago, the turnout went up to 75% and at that particular time, the turnout was 35%. just a bit under, but all the indications are turnout

will be exceptionally high here. it could be up to 85%. and we should know about ten british time. thank you. let's return now to our main story and the departure of the first secretary of state, damian green. the information commissioner is saying they've had a statement saying they've had a statement saying that the uk's data protection regulator will look at whether individuals acted unlawfully by retailing are exposing personal data. they are investigating to see the law has been broken and what further action is necessary, including potential criminal prosecution. the law there is a lot of bad blood between damian green and some former members of the met police. offer information,

suggestions, claims made about what material was found in his office, going back a number of years. we have had a statement earlier today from a former scotland yard assista nt from a former scotland yard assistant commissioner, who is saying that he is continuing to seek a retraction of a statement made by damian green, which he described as deeply hurtful and said the matter is in the hands of his lawyers. a lot of bad blood, as i was saying there, and we can do about all of that now with lucy fisher, senior political correspondent with the times. good afternoon. all of this gets incredibly complicated. you've got the political issues for theresa may, the departure of damian green. the accusations that have been flying around between certain politicians and the police. now we have a statement from the

information commissioner. it's not going to go away with his departure, is it? it is not. today has been a battle of the narratives. many conservative allies of damian green are coming out and blasting the retired police, who disclosed unpublicised the claims that pornography was found on his computer. meanwhile, critics of damian green are saying, this is not theissue damian green are saying, this is not the issue here. he has been sacked because he lied about whether he knew about their pornography found on his computers. it will be interesting to see which of the na rrowness interesting to see which of the narrowness spa re road. interesting to see which of the narrowness spare road. it's interesting you describe it as a battle of the narratives. but the statement from the information commissioner, that is something to that narrative, that there may be questions to be answered by these former police officers. certainly. we already knew they were being investigated. the chief of the

metropolitan police has already said that there could be prosecutions of those two police officers are found to have committed an offence. i think there are certain they are questions to be answered about the information which they were to to delete after it was found, after that very controversial raid in 2008. there was a big argument at the time about whether damian green, who was then a backbencher, should've had immunity as an mp from his data being investigated by the police. there was a big row at the time that led to the acrimony between damian green and the police around that. i think people will wa nt to around that. i think people will want to know why that data was held and why it was publicised to the press. that is an expectation among the public that these kind of confidential raids, that the data will beget confidential rather than brought into the public domain. will beget confidential rather than brought into the public domainm has been a very messy year for theresa may, including, among all of that, the departures of michael fallon and pretty patel and no

damian green within the space of seven or eight weeks. to think her position over damian green's departure is different to the discussions about going on when michael fallon and patel had to leave their cabinets, because then there was more talk of the fact that theresa may was weakened by this. do you think she is weakened by the departure of damian green?” you think she is weakened by the departure of damian green? i think she had to act. the ministerial code was clear. she appointed an enquiry and the found he had reached the ministerial code. i don't think the prime minster could have done anything else but demand he stepped down from his position as first secretary of state. i could only questions around how long this investigation is taken. there have been suggestions that the report has been suggestions that the report has been sitting on a desperate two days. has he been playing politics with the timing? she published it

late last night, meaning the newspapers had to scramble, but nonetheless, it dropped on every front page this morning. i don't think the pm is necessarily as weakened by damian green's departure. there will be questions, but you have to look at everything else on theresa may's plate. i think she has ended the year quite well with brexit, the divorce terms have been sewn up more or less. moving on to talk about the treaty in the new year. i think she'd be a lot graver danger of she had made progress on brexit negotiations. thank you very much. the prime minister has arrived in poland in an attempt to strengthen ties between london and warsaw ahead of her departure from the eu. her visit takes place a day after the european commission began action against poland, which could result in losing 14 rights because ofjudicial reforms that brussels

say undermine the independence of the judiciary. say undermine the independence of thejudiciary. our political correspondent is in warsaw, following the prime minister. all the focus in terms of much of the media is on what is going on at home. that's right. theresa may came here, wanting to talk about the uk's deepening relationship with borland and how she wants the two countries to grow closer, not further apart with brexit. this chip is being com pletely with brexit. this chip is being completely overshadowed by the sacking of damian green, her close colleague and a confidant last night. and there will be a press conference in an hour, with theresa may and her polish counterpart. all eve ryo ne may and her polish counterpart. all everyone will be asking about is damian green. it will be the first time have heard from mrs may since she asked him to resign last night. but while she might have lost in

deputy prime minister, brexit goes on, and saw deputy prime minister, brexit goes on, and sanude does the need to win over allies as the talks with brussels move on to that next stage of trade in transition. britain wa nts of trade in transition. britain wants borland's support as it tries to get that free trade deal with the eu. on the other side, poland wants support from the uk, too. poland is facing a massive row with the eu at the moment over whether the judicial reforms boots to hear our democratic or not. there has been an unprecedented move, disciplinary action by the eu over what has been going on in poland. i think it's a reminder that while brexit is the number—1 priority for the uk government, the other 27 member states each have their own agendas, each of the loan difficulties, and at the end of the day, theresa may in the uk government are one against many others. a little on the significance of what theresa may is doing today, in terms of that point

post brexit, that the uk government wa nts to post brexit, that the uk government wants to focus on very much. one of the key things for paul and his defence and security, and that's why theresa may, when she met a woman's counterpart earlier, was talking about exactly those things. the two countries have or will be signing a treaty later on to deepen cooperation between the two countries on security and defence. i think they are really bedding in on what they agreed this time last year at the inaugural intergovernmental meeting. poland does see the uk as a key ally and of course, britain needs poland as well. defence and security is something where the uk really feels it can help poland. thanks for that update. two of britain's most wealthy property developers,

the candy brothers, have defeated a multi—million pound high court action, brought by a former friend. the businessman mark holyoake had claimed that nick and christian candy had blackmailed and intimidated him after being forced to repay 37—million pounds, on a loan of 12 million pounds. nick higham reports. central london is full of buildings like this, and you might not give it a second glance, but when a businessman borrowed £12 billion to redevelop it, the result was explosive. a vicious war of words, involving allegations of lying, intimidation and blackmail, fought out in the courts between three of britain's most flamboyant property developers. in one corner, nick and christian candy and their glamorous wives. nick's on the left is singer and actor holly valance. even by the standards of successful property developers, they're brash. one hyde park in london is the flagship of their property empire. flats here reputedly sell for tens of millions of pounds. the candy brothers started with £6,000 from their grandmother. now they are immensely rich. we do have to pinch ourselves.

we have been very lucky, the timing was right. we've both got great teams. in the opposite corner, mark holyoake, an old university chum of the nick candy. chum of nick candy. the brothers lent him £12 million. he ended up repaying 37 million. he and his wife emma claimed in court that the candys intimidated them, threatening to sell the debt to russians, who wouldn't think twice about hurting the family, including the then pregnant emma. he claimed the brothers threatened to take a wrecking ball to his life. the candys denied making illegal threats and dismissed allegations that they had, as grotesque, contrived and fanciful. they told the court that holyoake lied to them repeatedly, pretending the money they lent him was safe, because he had assets way above his true wealth. they were very good friends and obviously, part of the reason this case has attracted so much attention is because it's notjust a business deal that's gone sour, it's a friendship that has broken. it is rare for business disputes like that over

grosvenor gardens to come to court. rarer still for so much dirty linen to be a so publicly. to be aired so publicly. the case has cost a fortune in legal fees. neither side comes out of it well. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: downing street says the sacking of damian green is a matter of sadness and regret for the prime minister, but ministers insist he had to go after telling lies. australian police arrest two people after a car drove into a cloud in melbourne, injuring 14 people — detectives say the action was ‘deliberate'. the mp for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — has been told that she could be eligible for early release. toys r us, the uk's biggest toy retailer has been struggling and today it's seeking approval for a plan to restructure its business. it will mean closing some stores

and some job losses but if its plan isn't agreed, the whole business could close. we're joined now from westminster by frank field, chair of the work and pensions committee in the house of commons. thank you for talking to us today. we are talking to you because crucial to trying to resolve the crisis for toys r us is the question of the pension fund, which has a big deficit, doesn't it? it does. if we look at the accounts that were published for the last three years, the boss of the company managed to increase his pay by 300%, and the pension deficit increased by 300%. he has gone sailing off into the sunset, and there is this chaos left behind. the pensions protection fund, which is a creditor of toys r

us, has so far refused to back the plans at toys r us have come up to try and rescue the company, unless toys r us agrees to pay £9 million up toys r us agrees to pay £9 million up front into its pension fund. can you see any circumstance in which it should be allowed to continue, u nless should be allowed to continue, unless it meets that bar and put that money into the pension fund?” don't want to comment on the negotiations, crucial as they are today to pensions currently and future pensioners, their welfare, but also the people who live and work in the company. the pensions protection fund, is a crucial part to this whole saga now, has always played its hands with considerable skill, or often with very weak hands. so who blinks first, we'll know by the end of the day, hopefully. but i don't want to say anything which undermines the chance

of saving us the maximum number of jobs, but also prevents the company from walking away from the wages and salaries it has withheld in the promise of paying people to sit pensions. in general terms are promise of paying people to sit pensions. in generalterms are not specific to toys r us, what more needs to be done to make sure that companies make proper and adequate pension provision for their employees, and to avoid situations like this, where pension contributions are basically creating a crisis for a company? it's partly a crisis for a company? it's partly a crisis for a company? it's partly a crisis of their own making, often, but given we have now got a pattern which the select committee has looked at, from bhs onwards, i think one of our tasks that we will want to do in the new year is look at this pattern now that is emerging. some people and companies doing very

well, and jobs being lost and pensioners' pensions being threatened by those whose stewardship is to look after them best. so today we will get results, but i think that we will be looking at how do we strengthen the hands of this key negotiator in these circumstances, the pensions protection funds, which has usually had a weak hand, played it really, really well. what would it be like if we gave them the power which began to change them the power which began to change the balance of power towards them and away from them may have ripped off her company. police are investigating a possible new lead on the killing

of the british man saad al—hilli and his wife and mother in low in the alps five years ago. detectives say they are questioning a 34—year—old former army dog—handler, who is the main suspect in two other unsolved cases in the area — including the disappearance of a nine—year—old girl ata wedding. saad al—hilli, his wife and mother in low, were shot dead on a mountain road where they'd been driving. his two daughters survived but a passing cyclist was also killed. police have revealed that the man who deliberately drove a car into a cloud in melbourne is a drug user with mental health issues but no known terrorism links. 14 people were injured when the australian citizen of afghan descent hit a number of pedestrians on flinders street. the second suspect arrested was found with a bag of knives and had been filming the incident. shane patton, acting chief commissioner for victoria police told journalists that the driver was known to police. he is known to police. he has

historical assault matters. he is not currently on any bail or corrections order or anything like that. he has a history of drug use, as well as mental health issues. we understand, as i said, this is still very early days, that he is on a mental health plan and receiving treatment for a mental illness. we are working through those to clarify that. he is still in custody under arrest for these offences by what they allege is a deliberate act. a former korean air lines executive who went into a rage on an aircraft over the way she was served nuts is to avoid returning to jail, after south korea's supreme court upheld her 10—month suspended sentence. heather cho had originally been convicted in 2015 of violating plane safety after ordering a taxiing plane back to the gate to off—load a steward who had served macademia nuts the wrong way. but she was freed after the appeal court ruled she did not cause a change in the flight path. cho, also known as cho hyun—ah, was the daughter of

the compa ny‘s chairman. tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england have been harmed when receiving maternity care over the last two years. more than a quarter of a million incidents were reported by hospital staff to the health regulator nhs improvement. most were minor but almost a quarter of the incidents led to the mother or baby being harmed. our health correspondent adina campbell reports. wendy and ryan aguis from east sussex lost their baby daughter three years ago. she was stillborn. an nhs investigation found some maternity guidelines were not followed. leaving the hospital with a box of things, instead of your baby, was just... having to leave her there, going home and leaving your baby there — you just can't comprehend it. it was here at this hospital where wendy was cared for. despite telling staff that she had

concerns about her baby's movements, she was sent home on two different occasions. figures seen by the bbc show there were more than 275,000 maternity care incidents reported voluntarily by concerned staff in england over the last two years. the problems included women being told to stay at home, babies being left brain—damaged, and potentially avoidable deaths. just over three quarters of the incidents reported did not cause any harm to mother or baby, but more than 60,000 did, something the government says it is hoping to reduce under new plans announced last month. we want to be the safest and best maternity system in the world. the vast majority of births are completely safe. but what's going wrong at the moment is that, when we have a tragedy, we're not learning from it nearly as effectively as we should. east sussex healthcare trust says they have apologised to wendy

and ryan, and admitted some aspects of their service did not meet their usual standards. in a moment the news at one with sophie raworth. first the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon, the winter solstice is shaping up to be fairly grey and heidi. in the run—up to christmas, things will be mild and cloudy, but there will also be reined in, particularly in scotland. today, this weather front across central parts of the country bringing a lot of quiet, drizzly outbreaks of rain. clear conditions into this evening across parts of scotland. mostly dry

in the south—east, but we will see that vein working across wales and the south—east of england. mild overnight, but there will be frozen parts of scotland. —— there will be frost in parts of scotland. a lot of low cloud and coal fob down here, heading further north, some mist and fog likely across parts of northern england and northern ireland, although mostly dry. some readers spells. it will be hla ‘s activity for scotland. but drizzly rain to the west. heading through the day, not a lot of change. some brighter skies further east across the country, particularly to the east of higher ground. it is staying mild, with those temperatures around 11 to 12. this weather front in the north

will be more of a player in our weather, particularly for northern and western scotland through the course of the weekend. some heavy rain to the north west of scotland. the best of the brightness across eastern parts of the country. most of us seeing temperatures of 9—12d. christmas eve brings more rain across northern ireland in northern and western scotland. perhaps some little further south, but many places staying dry. temperatures up to around 9—12d. christmas day, it looks as though we will have rain in scotland. further south across the country, it is breezy with a few showers, mainly dry, but it is looking like a mild christmas day. the sacking of damian green, one of the prime minister's closest allies, prompts a furious backlash from tory mps over information leaked by police. they call for action against former

officers who revealed pornography was found on a computer in from green's office nine years ago. they should be investigated for misconduct in public office, that's a criminal offence. what they've done is completely wrong and undermines trust in the police. scored says it's asked the information commissioner to investigate the disclosure of the material gathered during the police investigation. also this lunch time: a man's arrested in the australian city of melbourne, after he drove of melbourne, after he drove into a crowd at a busyjunction, injuring at least 19. more than 60,000 mothers and babies in england have been harmed during incidents at maternity units over the last two years according to new figures.