this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 8pm... president trump has accused his former chief strategist steve bannon of losing his mind, after he reportedly accused mr trump's son and son—in—law of treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. earlier, president trump boasted that his nuclear button is much bigger and more powerful than north korean leader kim jong un‘s. that was through a statement on twitter. the health secretary apologises after nhs england postpones tens of— thousands of non—urgent treatments until february after a surge in admissions. i want to apologise for the fact that we have had, regrettably, to postpone a number of observations. we are trying to do it differently this year. storm eleanor batters the uk, with gusts of up to 100 miles an hour causing widespread disruption and leaving thousands of homes without power. also in the next hour, a good year for the uk's music industry.

# you look perfect tonight. sales have grown at their fastest rate for nearly 20 years, with streaming services accounting for more than half of consumption. and the bionic hand with a sense of touch — we have an exclusive report on the woman who's been testing it out for scientists in the real world. good evening and welcome to bbc news. donald trump has launched a stinging attack on one of his former closest advisors steve bannon after he was quoted in a new book criticising a meeting between mr trump's son and a group of russians. steve bannon is said to have described a meeting

between the president's son, donjunior, and a russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential election campaign as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic." following the allegations the president said, "steve bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. when he was fired, he not only lost hisjob, he lost his mind". mr bannon‘s claims come in a new book on trump's presidency by journalist michael wolff. well, a little earlier, anthony zurcher, who's our north america reporter, told me how steve bannon and donald trump came to work together before falling out. yeah, you have to remember steve bannon, who was the head of the conservative media empire breitbart news, was brought in by donald trump after the republican national convention to manage the campaign. 0bviously saw it to victory and became his senior white house adviser wants donald trump assumed presidency. he served a capacity for

a number of months. bannon is viewed as an ideological spirit guide for donald trump. he embraced this conservative populism but donald trump campaigned on from the very beginning. since bannon left the white house, was effectively forced out, he has become a bit of a wild card. he has supported insurgent campaigns who have challenged republican incumbents, he says he will continue to do that because he views the conservative populism he embraces as big than number trump presidency. he says he feels he needs to help overcome the republican establishment to get these national sensibilities tended to policy. so to see a break within essentially donald trump's base is a fairly remarkable developments, but donald trump, when his son was criticised, i am supposing it is not surprising to hear him fireback so vociferously.

the suggestion that this meeting at trump tower involving john junior and the president's son—in—law trump tower involving john junior and the president's son—in—lanared kushner and someone from russia, clearly the suggestion is that steve bannon had no idea this meeting was taking place, and if he knew he would have gone to the fbi or said it was a ridiculous thing to do? right. this meeting happened injune 2016, before steve bannon came into the trump campaign. paul manafort, campaign chairat the the trump campaign. paul manafort, campaign chair at the time, was also in on that meeting. the white house and trump have, up with an explanation saying the meeting was ina explanation saying the meeting was in a —— was much ado about nothing, nothing came of it. but it was billed as donald trump nothing came of it. but it was billed as donald trumer possibly providing damaging information about hillary clinton which would be

provided by the russians, they said they did not get anything, it was brushed off, a reflection of the chaotic nature of the campaign that they would take this meeting but it was not evidence of collusion. anthony zurcher in washington. let's cross to the white house where the president's press secretary sarah huckabee sanders is expected to speak to the media. 0ne suspects one of the questions from the many journalists 0ne suspects one of the questions from the manyjournalists that will involve the white house response to the alleged extracts from this new book involving steve bannon and what he has said about the trump presidency. when we get something from a press conference we will bring it to you on bbc news. earlier today president trump boasted on twitter that his nuclear button is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than north korea's. it was in response to a warning from north korea's leader kim jong un that america was in range of a nuclear strike. meanwhile north and south korea have conducted their first direct communication in nearly two years using a dormant hotline run by the red cross.

0ur correspondent rupert wingfield hayes reports from the south korean capital, seoul. on monday, kim jong—un welcomed in the new year with a more conventional display of fireworks than the sort he's been firing off throughout 2017. but anyone who was hoping his new year message would carry an offer of peace and goodwill was quickly disappointed. "the entire united states is within range of our nuclear weapons", he said, "and the nuclear button is always on my desk". "this is reality, not a threat". that was all the excuse president donald trump needed, and as we have now come to expect, his response came in a twitter tirade. so 2018 has begun pretty much as 2017 ended, with the president

of the united states and the dictator of north korea hurling threats at each other, while the rest of the world looks on mostly in dismay. but here in seoul, 2018 has begun at least with a glimmer of hope, because as of this afternoon, north and south korea are talking to each other again by telephone. out of the blue, pyongyang suddenly reconnected the hotline between the two koreas that kim jong—un had personally ordered cut—off two years ago. in his new year address, kim also said he was prepared to send a team to take part in the winter olympics which begin here in south korea in a little over a month. the us state department accused north korea of attempting to drive a wedge between the us

and its south korean ally. and it could be right. but for the 20 million people of seoul who live within firing range of north korea's artillery, any sign that pyongyang is willing to talk is a new year gift they will welcome. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in seoul. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:a0pm in the papers. our guests joining me tonight will be susie boniface, columnist at the daily mirror, and the public affairs consultant alex deane. stay with us for that. the health secretaryjeremy hunt has apologised to patients after hospitals were told to delay tens of thousands of non—urgent operations and outpatient appointments in england this month so the health service can cope with the winter pressures. the prime minister acknowledged the decision was disappointing and frustrating for all those affected, but she insisted that the nhs was better prepared

for this winter than ever before. many senior doctors, though, have warned that they're struggling to cope. labour says the nhs is in crisis. 0ur health editor hugh pym has the latest. cancelled operations bring new worries for patients like anna. she is due to have facial reconstruction surgery. there's an appointment next week but that is in doubt and her hopes of the operation happening in january seem likely to be dashed. it's impacting my life quite a bit. i drool quite a lot now which is quite frustrating, and i am very uncomfortable with it. i think it will improve my quality of life quite a lot to have it. today the health secretaryjeremy hunt pushed for explanations, said sorry to those patients affected. i want to apologise for the fact we have had to regrettably postpone a number of operations. we are trying to do it differently this year. last year we cancelled a lot of operations at the very last

minute so people got a call the day before to say their operation wasn't going ahead. that is obviously very undesirable. we want to do it in a much more planned way. surely the nhs, be running properly and the government if you have to cancel a months worth of operations. —— surely the nhs cannot be running properly under your government? i think it's important to recognise that these pressures are pressures we are seeing all over the uk in scotland and wales, where the nhs is being run by different political parties. the prime minister said she recognised that for people who had had their operations postponed it was disappointing and frustrating. she said nhs staff were doing a fantasticjob. nhs england and the government is a extensive preparations for winter were carried out but if that is the case, the question is why were official instructions and cancelling nonurgent operations extended this week? here at st mary's in west london, they've planned to treat more people without needing overnight stays.

the idea is to keep beds free for those who really need them. it's been tougher than they expected because patients this year are sicker than they were. the numbers are largely the same but the intensity of the illnesses we've been seeing this year is very, very significant. we've really had to work very hard to find appropriate places to nurse patients who have got serious conditions. i think a number of things play into this. the weather, we know we are beginning to see an increase in the number of flu cases and all of that builds up to quite a problem for us on sundays. —— on summer —— on summer days. throughout the day there were reports across the country of the highest level of stress at hospitals. nottingham's queen's medical centre asked patients to avoid a&e because of numbers. southend and plymouth were also said to be under extreme pressure. when you've got ambulances backed up outside hospitals, hospitals saying they are overcrowded and people waiting on trolleys

for hours and hours, it is a crisis. it's because of seven years of underfunding and cuts to our nhs, and the government burying their heads in the sand. nhs scotland said there had been a 20% increase in a&e visits before christmas. the lanarkshire health board has cancelled non—urgent procedures. the welsh government said thousands of hours had been lost for ambulance crews waiting to hand over patients at hospitals. it is early in the new year and the nhs across the uk is already struggling, and it's patients who are in —— and it's patients who are injuring the consequences. earlier i spoke to nigel edwards, chief executive at the nuffield trust, an independent health think tank, who gave his reaction to the postponement of non—urgent operations. it looks like the sort of problem we have every year, it looks a little bit worse than perhaps we are used

to. elective operations are cancelled every year, it is not a great way of running a help system in the sense that the people who do elective surgery are not necessarily any help in treating the types of emergency cases we see. but i can think you can have something that happens every year and call it a crisis, but it shows how hot the health service is run and how little space there is to accommodate big peaksin space there is to accommodate big peaks in demand. is the problem in the planning for this once a year occurrence? is that theissue this once a year occurrence? is that the issue we have? it seems like the health secretary and the nhs, the department for health, are dammed if they do want and if they don't. last year they cancelled many appointments late on, that absurd lots of people. now the opposite bowling things for mange, they can't win. it is probably better to cancel a month ahead than on the day before, if you have to cancel. the real issue is that their ability into mad health care means he will get big spikes. —— the variability

into health care means you will get big spikes. planning is really difficult, it is not always easy to predict. this perpetual problem every single yearfor predict. this perpetual problem every single year for probably as long as i can remember shows that the nhs is being run too close to the nhs is being run too close to the margin of what is safe and sensible, there is not enough spare capacity in the system. the staff who are exposed to this, particularly during winter, they are getting burned out. they are very toughjobs. giving getting burned out. they are very tough jobs. giving people getting burned out. they are very toughjobs. giving people a bit more respite and having a bit more flex in the system would mean it would be able to accommodate more of this growth we see in demand during the winter months without having to cancel operations. nigel edwards of the nuffield trust ‘s. the top stories... president trump has accused former chief strategist steve bannon of losing his mind after he reportedly accused mrtrump is mad

his mind after he reportedly accused mr trump is mad son and son—in—law of trees there is an unpatriotic behaviour. the health secretary has apologised at nhs england span tens of thousands of nonurgent treatment until february after a surge in admissions. storm eleanor batters the uk with gusts of up to 100 mph causing widespread disruption and leaving thousands of homes without power. now time for a look at the sports news, with will in the bbc sports centre. we're going to start with the one premier match taking place tonight. and it's a big london derby with arsenal taking on reigning champions chelsea at the emirates. a win for chelsea would see them go back to second in the table. it isa it is a really good game. what a chance for the visitors in the 40th minute. alvaro morata clean through, one with the arsenal goalkeeper petr cech, the spaniard put his shot wide. then check this out, couple of minutes later, alexis sanchez superb in the build—up. his shot saved

brilliantly by courtois. lacazette has also forced court two are into decent stop. west brom say their midfielder jake livermore confronted a west ham fan after he'd been substituted in their game at the london stadium last night in response to taunts about the death of his infant son in 2014. livermore was seen in a heated exchange near his team's dugout. west brom claim "all right—minded football supporters could understand this reaction," after which he was led away to their dressing room. west brom also say the player has the total support of everyone at the club and have left it to west ham to take any further action. reports in spain claim barcelona are preparing to make another bid for philippe coutinho, although liverpool haven't yet received a renewed offer. now the january transfer window has opened, it's thought a bid will be made imminently after three were turned down by liverpool in the summer — the last of which was £118 million. but both barcelona and the brazilian are still interested in the move, and liverpool haven't publicly stated that coutinho is not for sale, as they did last year. spinner mason crane will make his

england test debut in the fifth and final ashes test, which gets under way in sydney in a few hours. he is in full chris woakes, who misses the match through injury. england lost the first three tests to surrender the first three tests to surrender the ashes and are looking for a first victory in australia since 2011. there is a bit of sydney harbour side that is forever teesside. the harbour bridge, engineered by a middlesbrough company, using largely english steel. built by the english, made great in australia. as the locals would have, much like cricket. england arrive in slightly steadier shape than they might have been. no victory but no whitewash and a real hope that in sydney the gap between these sides might be a bridge above. the draw in melbourne showed england could be competitive and avoid defeat but they still have not taken 20 aussie wickets in a much. to that

end, changes in the air, with chris woa kes changes in the air, with chris woakes intraday changes in the air, with chris woa kes intraday test changes in the air, with chris woakes intraday test debut for mason crane, a leg—spinner who played here is the new south wales and whose middle name is sydney. maybe he is made for this place. the way he has conducted himself to the trip and since he has been involved in the squad, he has been outstanding. for a young man to absorb himself and the environment as he has is exactly what you are after. it is a really good chance for him to show everyone what he is capable of, on the surface he will bea capable of, on the surface he will be a very good option. australia's dilemma was whether to put pressure on the recovering heel of the top wicket taker of the series, mitchell starc. if you were questioning their motivation, they will still run this before every session. beat england. beat england. beat england. it still matters. every opportunity to play on this ground is special, it is another

ashes test match and the guys need no more motivation, it is a great opportunity to try to win this test match and win the series 4—0. ashes series take a long time coming around, england must wait two years to try to reclaim the bernard four yea rs to try to reclaim the bernard four years for another chance over here, but the aim for now is to turn the wheel a little in that direction. that starts shortly. still goalless at the emirates, ten minutes until the break. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at 10:30pm. many thanks, will perry. storm eleanor has swept across the uk, causing flooding, power cuts, damage to homes, and disruption to motorists. gusts of up to 100 miles per hour were reported in the pennines, and thousands of homes were left without power across northern ireland, wales, the midlands and south—west england. chris page reports. after the swirl of the storm, the sound of saws was never far in northern ireland today. in south belfast eleanor

brought down a tree, garden fence and power lines. residents said they had never seen whether caused such destruction. all of a sudden the sky lit up and these power lines touched each other and it was like guy fawkes. it was sparks, it was unbelievable. as well as frightening experiences, there were many dramatic sides. the workers whose job it is to bring back normality have had a huge challenge. engineers have restored electricity to most of the 25,000 homes which lost their supply during the height of the winds. we have to bring in crews to cut the trees, we have to bring in digging crews to dig out polls and replaced polls and free string lines. all of this takes time and effort, and essentially to restore small numbers of customers at a time. the damage to homes, trees and the fallen power lines all showed there was a danger to people's lives last night

as storm eleanor blew through. but most followed the official advice to stay indoors and in northern ireland no one has been injured as a result of the severe weather. but there were some risk—takers, as the storm swept across the uk and ireland. in galway one driver tried to make it through as the sea invaded the roads. the channel islands took a hammering, the seafront injersey was an unappealing place to be when eleanor hit. in clevedon, somerset, the promenade was out of bounds and the emergency services were on standby as the winds whipped up the waves. and wales also suffered. anglesey was pounded by fierce gusts and ferocious tides. but the weather was at its worst and the other side of the irish sea. in belfast and rural areas, roads have been unblocked, debris cleaned up and

electricity mostly back. however, people here will remember storm eleanorfor a long time. six people have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to the banned far—right terror group national action. the five men and one woman were detained during raids in cambridge, banbury, wolverhampton, leicester and stockport. all six are being held at a police station in the west midlands. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 22—year—old woman in a park in north london on christmas eve. kasim lewis — who's 31 — was remanded in custody. he is accused of killing iuliana tudos, who was found dead not far from her home in finsbury park on december 27th. a homeless man who was hailed a hero for helping some of the injured at the manchester arena bombing, has pleaded guilty to stealing a purse and a mobile phone from victims of the attack. chris parker appeared at manchester crown court earlier today. danny savage is outside the manchester arena for us. chris parker became famous after the

manchester arena bombing. he was the homeless guy that rushed to help people, that's what everyone believed, because that is what he told everyone in the aftermath of the bombing. but when he... but afterwards when investigators started looking at cctv, a very different story began to unfold. although he helped some people here did all of our goodbyes stealing from some of the victims. the cctv showed he went for one woman called pauline healy, repeatedly going to her before eventually leaning over and taking her handbag with her purse in it, and the hours that followed he used her bank card in fast—food restau ra nts. today at manchester crown court he pleaded guilty to theft and fraud. he will be sentenced at the end of

the month and has been told he may go to prison. of course many people raised lots of money for him after those events and thought he was a hero. he was in store to get more than £50,000 from public donations and now will not get that money and is instead looking at going to prison. he truly went from hero to zero over a matter of weeks. let's go to the white house, sarah huckabee sanders, the us press secretary, taking questions. reporter: the president says when steve bannon was fired he not only lost hisjob, he steve bannon was fired he not only lost his job, he lost his steve bannon was fired he not only lost hisjob, he lost his mind. does he feel frustrated by steve bannon, does he regret hiring him? about i think the president was that statement is extremely clear, what his position on mr bannon is. it was pretty lengthy and detailed and there was not much to clarify or add. he said a lot in this book and they had a long and close working relationship, is there a sense of betrayal? i think the president's statement

fully addresses his position and his relationship with mr bannon. april? when was the last time the president talked to steve bannon, and this is a serious question, is the president now blocking steve bannon from calling his cell phone? lam not bannon from calling his cell phone? i am not aware he was calling his cellphone, i believe the last conversation took place at the first pa rt of conversation took place at the first part of december. this two powerhouses are fighting, what does it do to the president's base? i don't think it is anything, the base and the people that supported this president supported the president and his agenda, that has not changed, the president is who he was yesterday as he was two years ago when he started on the campaign trail. his agenda has not changed and he is continuing to fight for and he is continuing to fight for and push for that. and he is continuing to fight for and push forthat. i and he is continuing to fight for and push for that. i think the base is extremely excited and happy with the job this president has done in his first year in office. look at all he has accomplished, i think they are pretty happy. steve bannon had the distinct

following, the old trite. some people may not necessarily be for the other, people who are xenophobic. what happens there?|j think xenophobic. what happens there?” think you will have to ask steve bannon. the president's base is very solid, it has not change because the president has not changed, nor has his agenda. we are accomplishing many things on his agenda, as we did la st many things on his agenda, as we did last year, we will do a lot more this year as we move on to the beginning of 2018.” this year as we move on to the beginning of 2018. i will try to make this simple. you don't the guy can handle but hard wants? did donald trump jr commit treason?” think it is a ridiculous accusation and what we have read... address many times. if that is a reference to comments made by mr bannon i would refer you to the ones he made previously on 60 minutes when he called the collusion with russia about this president a total farce. i would look back at that. if anyone has been inconsistent, it has been

him, certainly not the president or the administration. did the president meet any of donald trump jr plasma guests at theirjune 2016 trump tower meeting? as he has stated many times, he was not party or aware of that. after the tweet about nuclear threats, the nuclear button to eat, should americans be concerned about the president's mental fitness that he appears to speak so lightly about threats regarding nuclear button? the president and the people of this country should be concerned about the mental fitness of the leader of north korea. he has made repeated threats, he has tested missiles time and time again for years, this is a president who will not callard down all be weaker and he will make sure he will do what he has promised to do, standard and protect the american people. sorry, peter, i will keep moving. isn't possible he could misinterpret that, he is unpredictable, so couldn't he

misinterpret that sort of treat?” think it is extremely clear what the president's position is and our position on north korea has not changed since the beginning. this president is committed to protecting americans and protecting the people of this country, he will not back down. john. it is not the first time that steve bannon has been talked about in the white house briefing, the last time as you made reference to was after the interview on 60 minutes. during that white house press briefing on september the 11th, a series of questions were asked of you at the time and you we re asked of you at the time and you were pretty much hands—off in terms of going after steve bannon. the president did not respond in any particular way to the 60 minutes interview. what has changed between then and now after the interview he a p pa re ntly then and now after the interview he apparently did with michael wolff for his book? once again i think the president and his feelings toward mr

bannon are very clear in his statement, there is really not much to add beyond that. i do not think there was much grey area in his feelings. francesca? to pick up a mac, this is a pretty dramatic falling out between the president and someone who worked in his campaign and in this white house is very close to him every day. i think everyone is wondering what led to this quite dramatic falling out and was at the loss of roy moore in that, which was mentioned in the statement, they had lost jobs mentioned in the statement, they had lostjobs in mentioned in the statement, they had lost jobs in early mentioned in the statement, they had lostjobs in early december. is this a direct response to steve bannon calling the president's sun unpatriotic and saying he committed treason? i think a number of factors played in and i would certainly think coming up to the president's sign in an outrageous and unprecedented way is probably not the best way to curry favour with anybody. you mentioned the state that the president put out, it was very harsh

and basically says the entire book is fiction. that said, a note explaining how the book came to be said that the author that did interviews for 18 months, spoke to over 200 people, many of the president's top eight... he never sat down with the president, just to be clear. there was one brief conversation that had nothing to do originally with the book. it was around five to seven minutes in total since the president has taken office. (inaudible) . that is the only interaction the president has had with michael woods and he took office. could you reconcile the president's statement with the author's statement about how the blue came to be?” with the author's statement about how the blue came to be? i am not sure what the author bars like statement is. i know the book has a lot of things so far that we have seen that are completely untrue. you have many people that have quote source to them that a coming out publicly and saying those things are not true. i can't speak to what the

author's comments were. does the white house have a copy of the book? i believe the president does. the president elevated him to the same level as the chief of staff and put him on the national security council. i would not say that, the actions that steve trew, the president was clear that it didn't have a lot of influence on him all the decision—making process throughout his time here the white house. can you clarify, many of us would have seen michael wolff on multiple occasions, so we know he was here. who gave him access to the white house? what was the fearful? can you explain any of that since we don't have access to the logs? liem so farfrom don't have access to the logs? liem so far from the roughly from the

roughly dozen interactions with the white house, close to 95% of them we re white house, close to 95% of them were done so at the request of mr bannan. so the complaints you would say came from steve bannon? 0ther white house officials were not working with him? any that did did so working with him? any that did did so at the request of mr bannan so faras we can so at the request of mr bannan so far as we can tell. the president treated he will be announcing the most corrupt and devious in the media awards, can you say if it will be televised? i certainly don't want to spoil anything, but my guess is there are quite a few individuals that could be up for those awards. beyond that, we will have to see what happens on monday. will the press corps be in the room for that? we will keep you posted, it might be

ha rd we will keep you posted, it might be hard for him to present trophies if you are not there. we will have to see what happens on monday. there was some controversy over the weekend about a letter from the transport of —— department for transport ishant suggesting the administration does not support the tunnel connecting new york and new jersey. since it is infrastructure week, i am wondering if the president... you're is it infrastructure we? when isn't it? there is a 50—50 split, and if not, what has changed? we don't have any new policy announcement on that front at this point that as we get further into the year and further into the conversations on infrastructure, we will be rolling out more details on what we want to do, what we hope to accomplish and what the planners to do that. some questions yesterday about the shorter list of demands on immigration. iam shorter list of demands on immigration. i am wondering if that is something... it is possible that

it comes up, we are certainly... we will leave that press conference, sarah huckabee sanders taking some questions. basically charting the massive falling out between the president and his former chief counsel, steve bannon. joining me from washington, colombo shows, media and politics reporter at the washington post. thank you for being with us. what are you make of this falling out? it is spectacular in its drill. bearing in mind that these two men were very close, and indeed worked together to get president trump the job that has got now. they did. the striking thing from the statement from the white house is just how deeply and intensely personal it is, with the president saying stephen bannon has basically lost his mind and basically lost his mind and basically had nothing to do with the

victory or the presidency, which is just, on its face, and outlandish statement because steve bannon was of course the chief executive of the trump campaign and the chief white house strategist until august. so he was obviously very involved. but of course it is personal because stephen bannon is quoted in a book thatis stephen bannon is quoted in a book that is coming out next week excerpts, saying a meeting that trump saying a meeting that trumer took in 2016 was treasonous with a russian lawyer. if we no one consistent thing about this president is that if you cross his family, he will come back at you with real vengeance. and also the suggestion from mr bannan that part of what the former head of the fbi robert moller will be looking into isa robert moller will be looking into is a special council dealing with the whole russia investigation is

the whole russia investigation is the possibility of money—laundering. right. that is something the president in the past has said would bea president in the past has said would be a red line to him. he thinks the special counsel robert moller has no right to start looking around in his business or personal finances. he thinks the team needs to keep its entire focus on russian meddling in the campaign and whether there was any collaboration between them and the trump campaign. the president says there was none. the fact stephen bannon is talking openly in this book about robert moller crossing that line and looking at finances is again something that would obviously raise the president's ir, and we saw it in that statement. what you think those who still support president trump are making of this? do you think there is any residual feeling for steve bannon, or is this basically

their man taking on someone who has decided to turn against the president? we are going to find out. this has been one of the questions area this has been one of the questions are a lot of us have had the last year and are a lot of us have had the last yearand a are a lot of us have had the last year and a half, who understands and commands the trumped face better, the president himself —— the trump race. bannon was that one out publicly saying the president got bad information here, roy moore is actually the one who represents trump better whether he realises it or not. and oddly enough the president seemed to agree, even or not. and oddly enough the president seemed ‘ admitted eilen so in that sense this split today is

even more remarkable. i think what we will find out in the fallout is whether this is a gamble that pays off, whether trump's base sticks with him whether of them are more loyal to bannon. the other part that will determine the answer is how does bannon's website, breitbart news, handle the situation? so far they have just reported the basis of they have just reported the basis of the facts, that if it turns on trump, will have to see where the support of the base lies. he has been a cheerleaderfor support of the base lies. he has been a cheerleader for the support of the base lies. he has been a cheerleaderfor the kind of politics donald trump has been espousing over the last year or so. which way do you think they will go,

bearing in mind steve bannon is a leading figure at breitbart? he is the chairman, he went back to that old job after leaving the white house, and what we have seen since his return is kind of a split. now for the most part, breitbart has continued to align itself with the president, defending any inflammatory thing he does or says. but they have at times criticised sharply were never likely is not delivering on these specific promises he made to the base. so for example when he talked about sending more troops to afghanistan, breitbart‘s coverage was brutally critical. when he failed to get the 0bamacare critical. when he failed to get the 0bamaca re health care critical. when he failed to get the 0bamacare health care law repealed, they were very critical of that. so we have seen a willingness at times, especially when it comes to issues like immigration and health care, told the president's fee to the fire. the question now is whether that criticism will extend more broadly, widdall breitbart news be

unwilling to defend trump on other matters than it has of the past? thank you. tens of thousands of people have been taking part in pro—government demonstrations today, after the government said it would organise counter—rallies. the actress, who played the first coronation street barmaid, has died at the age of 91. doreen keogh starred as concepta riley in the soap during the 1960s and 70s. she also appeared in many popular tv series, including ballykiss angel, the royle family, father ted and cold feet. the fashion chain next says it's had a better than expected christmas. the high street store said full—price sales in the nine weeks to the 24th of december

increased by 1.5%. as a result, next said annual profits were expected to rise by £8 million to £725 million. but the retailer warned that the challenges it faced last year, like subdued consumer demand and lower spending on clothing, would persist in 2018. a chef has received death threats after boasting online that she'd "spiked" a dish for a vegan customer at her restaurant. laora goodman has since apologised and offered to resign, and the restaurant has denied that meat was included in the food. but trading standards officials have begun an investigation. giles latcham reports. police at carlini's in albrighton in shropshire responding to death threats made online against laura goodman, co—owner and head chef. in the early hours of sunday, she posted in a closed facebook group that she had just, "spiked a vegan". and that a "pious and judgmental

vegan i'd spent all day cooking for has just gone to bed still believing she's a vegan.". there has been a storm online. herfiance and business partner is doing his best to quell it. we have got the possibility of demonstrations outside the restaurants, we've had death threats. you know, all i can say is to those people who are active vegans and vegetarians, is listen to our side of the story. nothing happened here. nobody had anything with meat in it. they say the "spiked" comments relate to one of the vegan diners ordering a pizza with cheese on it. which laura duly prepared. but the comments online include, "your behaviour as a chef towards vegans is sickening.". "disgusting behaviour on the part of your chef... possibly illegal.". "what if that vegan was allergic to animal products? this is fraud.". i spoke briefly to laura goodman, and she looked pale and exhausted. she said she was deeply sorry for the comments she posted, deeply distressed by the response to them.

too distressed, she said, to appear on camera. a committed vegan from telford says it's a question of trust. your initial thought is, oh, my goodness, am i ever going to be able to trust a restaurant again? but also it makes you worry for other people who might have gone there who might have had an allergy or whatever. and you know, may well then sufferfrom some kind of symptom as a result of, you know, not being given what they thought they were having. food standards officials have begun an investigation. a new dish at carlini's, humble pie. giles latcham reporting. now take a look at this — it's a bionic hand — the extraordinary thing about it is that the person wearing it can actually feel what they're touching. but so far it has only ever been used in labs. now for the first time the bionic hand is being tested out in the real world.

our medical correspondent fergus walsh has been to rome to meet the woman who's been using it — to see what difference it makes to her life. here's his exclusive report. a bionic hand, with a sense of touch. and here is the proof. blindfolded, almarina mascarello knows whether what she's holding is soft or hard. she gets it right every time. 0ver lunch she told me that nearly 25 years after losing her hand in a factory accident, it is almost like it is back again. translation: the feeling is spontaneous, as if it were your real hand. you are finally able to do things that before or difficult. like getting dressed, putting on shoes. all mundane but important things. you feel complete. the world's first feeling bionic

hand, given to this danish man, never left the lab. the technology was just too bulky. now, nearly four years on, it is portable. allowing almarina to go back to her hobby of car mechanics. all the electronics are in her rucksack. here's how it works. sensors in the fingertips are linked to a computer. this converts the signals into a language the brain will understand. the information is relayed to it via tiny electrodes implanted in nerves in almarina's upper arm. this represents a significant advance in neuro prosthetics, the interface between machine and the human body. the next patient won't need

to have a rucksack to carry these electronics, because they're going to be miniaturised and implanted under the skin. and the team here are hoping to do the same with a bionic leg which will have pressure sensors in the foot. engineers, computer scientists and surgeons from several countries are involved in this eu funded research. a truly humanlike bionic hand is still decades away. but the team here think it will happen. we feel we are going more and more in the direction of science fiction like movies like star wars. with luke skywalker, after the amputation of the hand. so fully controlled, fully natural, fully sensorised prosthesis very similar, identical to the human hand. since we filmed with almarina, she has had to give back her bionic hand because it is still in the research stage.

but she says when it is commercialised in a few years, she wants the feeling bionic hand back for good. fergus walsh, bbc news, rome. the headlines on bbc news: is strategist to steve bannon of losing his mind after he reportedly accused mr trump is max unger and son—in—law of treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. the health secretary has apologised after nhs england was no intent of thousands of non—urgent treatment until february after a surge in admissions. storm eleanor batters the uk with gusts of up to 100 mph, causing widespread disruption and leaving thousands of homes without power. and an update for you on the markets. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. 2017 was a great year

for the music industry. across britain the amount of music we bought, streamed and downloaded rose at its fastest rate since the 1990s. and home grown artists like ed sheeran accounted for eight out of ten of last year's best selling albums. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent nina warhurst has been looking at the figures. # i have no time... 2018 is set to be big for francis lung. # give it back... releasing his first album on manchester's buzzing music scene. because of the internet, he doesn't need the backing of a big label to be heard. i've got the power to put it online immediately and everybody that is waiting for it can hear it. whereas before, i would have to wait for someone to give me permission, wait for somebody to tell me that it is good enough for other people to hear. last year we streamed more music than ever, 68 billion songs. the equivalent of more than a thousand each. father christmas brought it,

and that is elbow... perhaps more surprising is how the tables have turned with vinyl records. as some who had flirted with digital returned to their first love. just the beauty of having the record in your hand, i think. and looking after it, making sure it doesn't get scratched. so you like physically holding it? physically holding it, looking at the artwork on the covers, maybe reading the song lyrics as you are listening. vinyl sales were up an astonishing 26% on the year before with 4 million records sold. and the shape of the british music industry was helped by one ed sheeran. for the 13th year in a row, the number one artist was home—grown. today's news is encouraging for studios like this one in manchester, which is home to a small record label. but there's still what is termed a value gap. that is a disparity between the amount of music that is being listened to,

and the amount of money that that is generating for the industry. we are getting a bit too used to getting music for next to nothing. and that isn't really the value of the music. the music is somebody‘s life's work. and if the business model that we currently have continues, artists will pay the price of that. so artists like francis lung won't be singing from the rooftops just yet. but our willingness to spend more on music as times get tighter does give the industry a little something to dance about. nina warhurst, bbc news, in manchester. a taxi driver has picked up his last fare after winning £2li.5 million on the national lottery. amo riselli, from gloucester, scooped the jackpot after matching

five numbers and the bonus ball last wednesday. the 50—year—old says he wants to look after his friends and family, but also fancies a new house, car and a holiday to vegas. steve knibbs takes up the story. from picking up a modest cab fare to being a multimillionaire from he is on cloud nine, even more so than at first when he thought he had won a quarter of £1 million. i rang up my brother, marco, he said no, amo, you have won 24.5 million because nobody has won the first one and it rolls over. we will all excited. just amazed. i always thought the lottery was a fix, people said you don't win nowadays because of the too much money. i said somebody is bound to win, and it was that week. sadly, amo's partner died four years ago, but as a father of five and a grandfather of nine, he says true to his italian roots, his family will come first. i've got plans for them,

one wants to go ballet, one is a footballer, i am sure i can concentrate some money so they get far in life. he is going to help people to help charities. it is not just for him. he will have a good life, yes, but he is going to enjoy it and he will help, i know he will, because he is a lovely bloke. and i am notjust because he is a lovely bloke. and i am not just say that because he is a lovely bloke. and i am notjust say that because he is my brother, you ask everybody else, lovely bloke, beautiful family. also a new house, a holiday in las vegas, and he will trade in his cab for a ferrari, which his friends on the taxi rank in gloucester seem happy about. unbelievable, can't have gone toa about. unbelievable, can't have gone to a better driver. years out every hour god sends to cover his bills, just a dream come true and he thoroughly deserves it. he has been a very hard—working man, very honest man. and then i went to visit radz, and it seems he has the magic touch when it comes to the lotto. the first time by sold a ticket a lady

went butt won round the corner, and this is the second one. ten one's italian mother maria joined in the celebrations today. to be honest i think they are all still tried to make sense of it all, but he told me he will now forget those as he has played every week that have now earned him £24.5 million. 36, 48, 57,58, earned him £24.5 million. 36, 48, 57, 58, 59, bonus 50. can you lend mea 57, 58, 59, bonus 50. can you lend me a fiver? i will give you a tenner! generous to the last. a polar bear cub has been born in the uk for the first time in 25 years. the parents are both well and looking proud. but the cub itself has not yet been seen. staff at the highland wildlife park say they first heard the baby's cries in late december. but they don't expect the cub — or possibly cubs — to emerge until march. katriona renton reports. up in the snowy hills of highlands, listen carefully. shriek.

a sound which has not been heard in the uk for 25 years — the cries of a new—born polar bear cub emerged from this den the week before the christmas. and they have been heard every day since. this is dad arctos, he is in a separate enclosure. he can feed and play. for new, mum victoria must not be disturbed, but the park is very excited. we discovered the cub when my colleague nicky went up there on one of my days off and she rang me very excitedly to tell me that she could hear a cub in the den. it is a very distinctive, very loud noise that the cubs make. so she was incredibly excited and then the next day i heard the noise for myself. arctos and victoria mated last year. this footage shows a polar bear cub born in the netherlands. they have a high mortality rate in the first few weeks, due to their underdeveloped immune system, and the mothers need for privacy means any disturbance

risks cubs being killed or abandoned. some conservationists do not believe polar bears should be bred in captivity. what we are doing here is replicating as much as we can possibly the natural habitats and i think you have seen for yourself today the conditions that our polar bears are in — the space that they have and the enjoyment and the freedom of movement that they have here. for yourself today the conditions that our polar bears are in — the space that they have and the enjoyment and the freedom of movement that they have here. male polar bears have no involvement with thash off spring. with their offspring. arctos will never actually meet his cub and the rest of us will have to wait until the end of march or beginning of april when all being well victoria will emerge from her den with her baby or maybe even babies. a holiday—maker returned from a break to find his

car wasn't working — after a squirrel stuffed hundreds of acorns into the gear box. andrew wilkins left his car in cranleigh in surrey for five weeks as he travelled across asia. but while away his vehicle was turned into a winter supply store by the squirrel. the stash was only discovered when andrew, took his car to a garage because he couldn't change gears. we were waiting for a picture of the squirrel, but it didn't turn up. anyway, tomasz schafernaker has the weather forecast. something similar happened to me actually, years ago. anyway, i do know about you, i am hoping for a better night's sleep. i tell you what, last night, that winter, the lawyers, these are the sort of wins we had in london in many areas, in excess of 70 mph. the thing about this storm was those severe gales we re this storm was those severe gales were realised in land, well england,

not just around the were realised in land, well england, notjust around the coast. that was the severe thing about the storm really. it is blowing itself out now across parts of scandinavia. another weather front is coming through that will freshen the winds, and there are some rain on the way. the weather has already been going downhill across south—western areas where there has been rain. that will continue through the course of the night. the best of the weather through the night across eastern areas and in the north, calm, clear, areas and in the north, calm, clear, a touch of frost in scotland. for many of us, a relatively mild night, five, 7 degrees. that rain pushing through, as well. let's have a look at the rush—hour. this is what it looks around eight o'clock in the morning, reining in the south—east, east anglia, into yorkshire, northern ireland too. by this stage the south—west will have seen slightly drier weather, wales as well but very windy in the south—west, we are talking about gales round the coast, not necessarily in this occasion. quite wet weather exiting northern ireland

and approaching well into the south—west of scotland. gusting 50 mph winds, 40 mph finland. half of what we had really yesterday —— inland. 13 in london, we have six newcastle, and then towards the edge of the week, a messy picture, another low coming and possibly giving us some stronger winds crewe south—western areas and also bit and pieces of rain, a bit of sunshine too, a messy day on friday. later on friday into saturday, things really do change. we start to see colder air stream do change. we start to see colder airstream and do change. we start to see colder air stream and from the north briton at all the way from the norwegian sea, all the way from the arctic, and a very cold, biting wind will start to develop across many parts of the country. some sunshine with wintry showers saturday and sunday but a really biting if not better wind across eastern areas, and most

of the country. we need to wrap up warm this weekend. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is 0utside source. starting in washington... president trump has accused steve bannon of losing his mind. this after his former chief strategist reportedly accused mr trump's son and son—in—law of treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. this phone looks like it's from another century, but it's a vital link between north and south korea — and it's just received a call. the north koreans have called for the first time in two years. the bionic hand with a sense of touch — we have an exclusive report on the woman who's been testing it out for scientists in the real world. and iceland is the first country in the world to make it illegal for men to be paid more than women for doing the same job.