hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2: laying off staff and facing shutdown after its collapse — firms working for carillion on private sector deals have one day left before they lose government support. the carillion debt is about £1 million and we are not really a business of a size that can trade through that without some form of support from the government. shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks — a california couple have been arrested after police found their 13 emaciated children, all held captive at home. lord prescott walks out of transport for the north's launch in hull claiming the body behind the plan is toothless. it will have no powers. it can talk to the treasury along with the strategic bodies, but it can't make a decision. it doesn't get any money. it's a bloody fraud. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. huw. johanna konta through to the second round of the australian open. that's right. she overcame a0

celsius heat to beat her opponent and reached round two although she seemed more exercise that she left two blueberry punnets on the conveyor belt at the local supermarket. i will explain all later on. snow and ice and heavy gales coming. plenty to talk about as the weather is set to do some of its worst in the next 48 hours. thanks, susan. also coming up: catching police on the hop — the wallaby who crossed sydney harbour bridge — springing a surprise on early morning commuters. hello, everyone, this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. after the shock of yesterday's announcement — now the reality is kicking in, as companies who relied on carillion

for their contracts face the prospect of laying off workers and big financial losses. firms working on private sector deals for the construction giant have been told they'll receive only two days of government support, that runs out tomorrow. 0ne industry group estimates that up to 30,000 firms are owed money by carillion. the government has ordered a fast—track investigation into the company's directors. 0ur correspondent simon gompertz reports. this is the sort of work, painting offices and newly built flats, that the carillion collapse is putting in question. a london decorating company which had 30 people turn up for a job to find suddenly there was nothing to do and £2 million of orders had disappeared. carillion took on the contracts, then farmed them out to subcontractors. we deploy everyone, carry out the work, train the people, buy the materials — all from that level down lose out on this. but the stock market has had its money and the investors

have had their money, and i'm sure some of them have lost now but they've had good times in the past, and we find it unbelievable that a business can lose £1.5 billion. that anger amongst many who were depending on carillion — this is the royal liverpool hospital, now expected to be delayed — is beginning to focus on what it was paying its top people, and the fact it changed its policy on bonuses so that it was much harder to claw the money back if the company hit the rocks. there will have to be an investigation. we can't say for certain exactly what happened yet, but certainly, if you were an employee of the company, one of the many small contractors whose future is now very uncertain because of what's happened at carillion, you would be very surprised, i think, looking at what the company has done with its bonus scheme and ask why has this change happened? the former chief executive richard howson was paid £1.5 million in 2016 in salary and bonuses. after he left last autumn

following a series of warnings that profits were plummeting, he was still promised his £660,000 a year of regular pay would carry on until october this year. now there's concern the emphasis on quick returns may also have affected the 28,000 staff in the stricken company's pension schemes. the huge hole in the pension fund was slowly being filled by the company but a higher priority was going to bonuses for top executives and to dividends for shareholders, and i'm not convinced the regulator should have allowed that balance to be as it was. so today, the business secretary greg clark has asked the official receiver in charge of carillion to investigate not only the conduct of the directors at the point of its insolvency, but also of any individuals who were previously directors including detriment to any employees who might be owed money and the pension schemes. given the level of salaries and bonuses awarded to senior management at carillion, as well as improving

corporate tax evasion, what will the government do to ensure better corporate governance? this point about the money for bosses was put to ministers in parliament. this country has amongst the most robust corporate governance in the world, and that is something that this government will continue. rail, health, schools... it's those essential services where the work is being done by carillion that will carry on and people will still be paid, but the bulk of the business, whether it's services or construction, is wholly in the private sector and there, staff will be finding out over the next day or so whether their jobs will continue. here at an office in cambridgeshire, two empty chairs already at a company which offers landscaping, office plants and does gritting and snow clearing in the winter. and the money carillion owes could finish the business completely. it's about £1 million of debt,

and we are not a business of a size that can trade through that without some form of support from the government. if it's not forthcoming, i think ourselves and lots of businesses like us will probably go out of business. unions are calling on the government to coordinate maximum state and banking help for businesses like this under pressure, and to clarify which jobs they are willing to protect. simon gompertz, bbc news. let's get some more political reaction to this now from our chief political correspondent vicki young. more and more questions and fewer and fewer answers. the unions are due to meet greg clark later this afternoon, labour say they should have called them earlier to give more reassuring sees. there is some issues, one is about safeguarding

the role of those that are public sector employees, but there is growing concern about those who are private sector employees who have only been given a8 hours worth of pay, that is all that has been guaranteed for them and that could mean guaranteed for them and that could m ea n lots guaranteed for them and that could mean lots of uncertainty for very many people. labour are asking how do you even define who falls into which category? it's such a complicated system, carillion are such a huge company in so many areas that even that is not straightforward. the other political issue that could prove troublesome for the government is the issue of the pay bosses and former directors of pavilion. the idea they changed the way bonuses are paid outjust in case something went wrong and the idea some people are still being paid vast salaries even while others are losing theirjob or not getting

their pension. that is the kind of thing that makes people furious and something theresa may has spoken about, morality in the boardroom and we'll have to see how she acts on that. i spoke to rebecca long bailey from labour earlier who has many questions. it's a watershed moment and questions are asked about carillion in particular, why did the government expose public services to so government expose public services to so much risk by awarding so many contracts to one company? is carillion a stand—alone issue or is this a house of cards ready to collapse? this a house of cards ready to collapse ? we would this a house of cards ready to collapse? we would expect the government to carry out the full risk assessment of all its public sector contracts and the potential of another carillion emerging. it also raises questions as to why these contracts field in the first instance. was it because governments had driven prices down and work was private sector partner is indeed capable of delivering those services? we have the scandal of pfi

as well, billions of pounds creamed off in dividends and chill for the payments yet we have examples of schools being charged extortionate amount for repairs. it is right to have collaboration with the private sector on things but when it is not in the taxpayers' interest we need to have a long hard look at protecting the taxpayer. the cost to the taxpayer of the colla pse the cost to the taxpayer of the collapse of carillion is another crucial issue. no figure has been put on that and it's very difficult at this point to say. ministers are saying about procurement, they will look at all of that but in the coming days, the anger will increase and the demand for answers to some of these things will also increase as well. thank you. don't forget — you can let us know what you think,

tweet us using the hashtag afternoonlive. all the ways to contact us on screen right now. 13 brothers and sisters, aged from 2 to 29, have been found dirty and malnourished at their home in california. some were chained to their beds. police carried out the rescue after one girl managed to escape and raise the alarm. their parents have been arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment. james cook reports from california. they look like a big, happy family. the children a little pale, perhaps, but smiling. photographs on facebook show the turpins visiting disneyland, and in las vegas as their apparently proud parents renewed their wedding vows. now, david and louise turpin are under arrest, charged with torture and child endangerment. their children are in hospital. in the time we live in, it is unfortunate to see this. it is actually heartbreaking for the staff, and it is unbelievable what you see. the horror on muir woods road was uncovered early on sunday morning when a 17—year—old girl

escaped with a mobile phone and called the police. at the home, officers found 12 siblings and were shocked to discover that seven were adults, the eldest 29. the captives were dirty and malnourished, say police, shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul—smelling surroundings. as reporters arrived in the quiet suburb east of los angeles, neighbours said they were stunned. the kids were not sociable at all, they did not want to look at people. they were just doing what they were doing and no contact with society. you would never see anyone visit, you would never see anyone come outside. all you would really see is that they would go out and maybe make a grocery run and that was about it. i have a daughter. it is very horrifying that it can happen in this community. there is no hint at all here of the grim conditions inside this home.

the questions about what happened are mounting. not least, how long were the siblings held captive, and why? james cook, bbc news, perris, california. the french president, emmanuel macron, is to put pressure on britain to take in more refugees from northern france. he's visiting calais today, with french ministers saying he will also ask the uk to increase funding for security and the development of the port city. at stake is a 2003 agreement between britain and france, which effectively moved the uk border onto french territory. 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams is in calais. there were once thousands of migrants here in calais, now there are as many as 700 at any one time living rough in miserable conditions are hoping to make it across the channel to england. it relatively small part of the much bigger immigration problem the french

government is grappling with, last year there were more than 100,000 applications for asylum, a new record. it's clear president macron is about to ask theresa may for more help in dealing with the situation here. they are harder to find but are still here. under the trees, cold and wet, desperate to move on. from eritrea, ethiopia, afghanistan and iraq. they walk miles every day for food, shelter and opportunities to leave. for security reasons... justjames. yes, just james. 0k. james is from cameroon, unwilling to show his face. he's been in calais for six months, bitter about his treatment. i have my own reasons why i left my country to come to europe. so the way they treat us here is not good. i don't believe there is humanity in france. humanity does not exist in calais. so today we have about 600, 700 refugees who are in calais and who live in absolutely

treacherous conditions, you know. every few hours, every few days, everything is taken away and they find themselves with absolutely nothing to survive with. president macron has come to see the situation for himself, stopping first to visit migrants in the regional capital. he's about to unveil a new immigration bill, and when it comes to calais his officials say he's going to ask britain to do more to help. when the president arrived in calais, he brought a message for the city's hard pressed and much criticised police. translation: it was essential to front the realities you've been living through for several years, to be able to draw all the conclusions before meeting with theresa may. the camp they call thejungle was demolished 15 months ago, its residents sent to reception centres all over the country, but calais is still a magnet. you can burn a camp down but you can't stop people trying to reach britain. the rail and ferry terminals are now heavily fortified. british money paid for a lot of this but lorries and smugglers

still offer ways across the channel. calais' migrant problem seems perpetual. governments have tried and failed to fix it. when president macron crosses the channel on thursday, it seems he will be carrying demands. pauladams, bbc news, calais. we have been hearing about that in the course of the present‘s speech, mr macron said he would be looking for a specific response from his british partners and unaccompanied minors and said he would speak to theresa may about money. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: there are calls for employees working on private sector deals for the failed construction giant carillion to have their jobs protected. a couple are arrested on suspicion of torture — after police freed their 13 emaciated children from the family home in california. some of the children were found chained to their beds. the former deputy prime minister, lord prescott, has walked out

of an event launching a plan to upgrade transport links in the north of england, describing it as a "fraud". then a moment, the american gymnast simone biles, the won four gold medals at the rio 0lympics, said she was sexually abused by the former usa team doctor. johanna konta overcomes the blistering heat to reach the second round of the australian open, dropping only for mac games in a straight sets victory. theo walcott is at everton with a £20 million move imminent. he is having a medical and an outcome is expected in the next 2a hours. former captain greg laidlaw returned to the scotland squad for the six nations, after recovering from a broken leg. more on those stories at 2:30pm. the uk's inflation rate has fallen for the first time sincejune, mainly because of the impact ofairfares.

the inflation rate dipped to 3% in december, down from november's rate of 3.1% — a six—year high. the office for national statistics said that a drop in the price of toys and games also contributed to december‘s fall. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. it's the jump in the cost of raw materials imported from abroad and it's the jump in the cost of raw materials imported from abroad that's been the biggest factor in driving inflation up. but companies like this online maker of designer furniture want customers looking round the showrooms not to be made uncomfortable. so they've been trying to contain any price rises. 18 months after the brexit vote, the weaker pound is still pushing up the cost of imported goods, like the furniture in this store. but retailers like this are in a highly competitive business. they want to grow their sales so they don't necessarily want to pass on the full higher cost of what they're buying. it is effects like that, competition, which helps curb the rise in the cost of living.

we feel customers should not have to take on the additional costs, really important for us, we're about affordable design and that's what we set up to do eight years ago and today that is still relevant to our business. we'd rather take the hit on the bottom line than pass those costs on to the customer. while furniture prices for example are relatively stable, up 3.6%, some goods rose much faster, like coffee and tea, up 11.1%, or electricity, up 11.a%. so has inflation peaked? i think it will get worse. yes, i do think it'll get worse. literally, if i buy a head of broccoli or something, it's gone from i think 2017 at the start of the year, it was like 39p, and now it's about 60p. when you get to the checkout, you just think, "oh my goodness, that is significantly more" and i think it's just individual items are getting that bit more. the easing of inflation means there's a little less pressure on the bank of england to raise interest rates again, at least for the next few months.

even though the economy is relatively weak at the moment, we do have a tight labour market and some evidence of wages beginning to pick up a little, and therefore it may be necessary for the bank of england to raise rates a little bit this year, particularly in the second half of this year. while shoppers have been protected from the full effect of higher import prices, the average wage still isn't keeping up with the cost of living. only if inflation slows down much more sharply will that squeeze on living standards loosen its grip. andy verity, bbc news. the supermarket chain, iceland, says it'll scrap all plastic from its own brand products within five years. the retailer said plastic would be replaced with paper and pulp trays along with paper bags, which can all be recycled and are less harmful to the environment. the american gymnast simone biles, who won four gold medals at the rio 0lympics, has said she was sexually abused

by the former usa team doctor, larry nassar. he was jailed last month for 60 years for possessing images of child sexual abuse — and is awaiting sentencing for assaulting other athletes. our sports correspondent natalie pirks reports. and this is really very special. 0ne flip, two flips. full twisting double back. so easy... she's a four—time 0lympic champion whose megawatt smile and will to win propelled her to gymnastic greatness. only one american woman has ever won gold on the vault. simone biles! but last night the self—proclaimed happy, giggly and energetic girl admitted to feeling broken, saying she too had been a victim of one of sport's most predatory abusers. physician larry nassar was part of the us gymnastics programme from the ‘80s to 2015. he is accused of sexually abusing more than 130 women under the guise of medical treatment and is serving 60 years in jail for possessing images of child sexual abuse. in a lengthy statement last night, biles said it had been impossibly difficult to relive her experience,

but says she's not afraid to tell her story any more. "i love this sport too much and i have never been a quitter," she said. "i won't let one man and the others that enabled him to steal my love and joy." some of biles' 0lympic team—mates also say they were abused by larry nasser. one of them has accused authorities of a cover—up and believes more should have been done to protect the girls in his care. what did usa gymnastics do to manipulate these girls so much that they are so afraid to speak up? usa gymnastics said it was absolutely heartbroken, sorry and angry that any of their athletes had been harmed by the horrific acts of larry nasser. it said its support for simone biles and others is unwavering. his crimes have parallels to the current climate in british football and in hollywood. similar stories of power and access have played out

with horrifying consequences. simone biles used the hashtag "me too," also used by thousands on social media to raise awareness of sexual harassment and abuse. used to making the spectacular look effortless, disclosing the special treatment inflicted on her, has been a painful process but through witnessing the coverage of other survivors, simone biles has finally felt able to share her story. a man has gone on trial at the old bailey accused of planning terrorist attacks on some of the capital's best known landmarks. prosecutors say umar haque, from east london, was inspired by islamic state. he denies the charges. out home affairs correspondent dominic casciani has been following the case at the old bailey. he and three of his friends are accused of effectively working together to further his plans. two allegations of preparation for acts of terrorism which evolved during 2016 and potentially were to come to

fruition during 2017. in essence, what happened was prosecutors say that haque was inspired by the islamic state group. in fact, he told police after his arrest, the court heard today, he was a loyal follower and he wanted to carry out attacks and he had a range of targets at his home. let me just go through that list. it included what he called the queen's guard, transport, banks, a shopping centre, parliament, shia muslims, the media and embassies. and that is just a few of the alleged targets. but the other part of this case against mr haque, say prosecutors, is he was involved in the radicalisation of children here in the capital. he works as an occasional teacher at a secondary school, but also was accused of grooming children in a mosque east london. he denies these charges. this is going to be a long and complicated trial. a man fixated with tv presenter emily maitlis has been jailed for a5 months at oxford crown court, after harassing her and herfamily

for more than 25 years. the judge said a7—year—old edward vines from oxford had carried out "psychological torture" on the newsnight presenter and had repeatedly breached a restraining order imposed on him since 2002, even whilst behind bars at bullingdon prison. there are fewer than a0 miles between manchester and britain's fifth biggest city bradford — but the journey takes almost an hour on even the fastest trains. well this morning, transport for the north published its plan to modernise rail and road links —as our correspondent danny savage reports. the hills of the north. beautiful, but a physical barrier between the conurbations either side of the pennines. travelling by car can be painful, the few routes over the top are often congested. as for the trains, they are frequent but relatively slow and can be overcrowded. because there's always delays on the train, we want this train service to be quicker than what it usually is. most of the trains between halifax

and bradford, and halifax to leeds are like this, like an old bus. draughty, hot, old. improving transport links across the pennines is nothing new. this is the leeds—liverpool canal build more than 200 years ago. but instead of taking a few days by water, the hope is, for example, getting leeds to manchester by train down to about half an hour. after years of discussion about improving things on the twisty hilltop roads, there is now a plan the northern cities agree on. there used to be a train tunnel between sheffield and manchester. that's long gone, but a new road tunnel like this one in norway is proposed and could halve the current journey between south yorkshire and greater manchester. and a new trans—pennine line will link leeds and manchester via bradford. i think we also need to make sure that we cover hull, sheffield, newcastle, and manchester of course, so all of our major city regions.

this is vitally important for the north. today's launch of the plan was about helping businesses as well as individuals. we want to work more with our near neighbours, that's both sides of the pennines, and further north. at the moment that's a little bit harder than it should be. but remember, this is a 30—year plan and is still only at the ideas stage. former transport secretary john prescott walked out of the launch in hull today, unconvinced. it will have no powers. it can talk to the treasury along with the strategic bodies but it can't make a decision. it doesn't get any money. it's a bloody fraud. the planners will have to pitch their ideas to the treasury to get the money for these ambitious projects to upgrade the north, which at the moment feels left behind when it comes to transport. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. not everybody agrees with lord

prescott because the mayor liverpool has been sweeting and said, —— tweeting. he says this will be a good thing for the north. that coming just in the past few minutes to afternoon live. now, you are watching afternoon live, the weather is an issue, severe weather warnings for snow and ice sweep the uk was driving conditions are difficult and northern ireland and a number of schools shut due to the weather. let's have a look at the wider picture and a forecast as well from susan powell. there is some great pictures coming in this afternoon. here is another lovely one from northern ireland. it looks very nice until you need to

get somewhere. some images from the highlands, the roads with a good covering on them. you can make out its quite blurry because of the strong winds, blizzard like conditions of the snow drifting across the roads. not great and sometimes getting a good pile of snow. an afternoon for hunkering down. and there is a warning out for other areas. lots of warnings out for one thing or another. for snow, for one thing or another. for snow, forice for one thing or another. for snow, for ice for a good part of the british isles over night. large parts of scotland have snow warnings. forecast as things are getting worse for some through the latter pa rt getting worse for some through the latter part of the rush hour and tomorrow morning. many places in scotla nd tomorrow morning. many places in scotland will be sending the wrong home, perhaps, earlier because those conditions are looking quite nasty.

quite a pretty picture but if you heading anywhere it could prove quite tricky. here is the showers, piling in through the day, the white forming into a solid mass, relentless. the triangles are the areas set to be worst affected overnight and into tomorrow morning. plenty more showers are generally in scotla nd plenty more showers are generally in scotland and northern ireland and the chilly into the day. this is rush hour and some indication of the showers piling in together. accompanied by some very gusty winds going down into northern england. hla going down into northern england. h la story going down into northern england. hla story for the south, clearer spells in eastern areas. snow in northern wales. wintry weather across the higher ground. into the small i was a good see the snow

lower down. that weather system swinging across northern ireland and southern scotland and northern england that could be the biggest troublemaker tomorrow morning. strong winds and blizzard conditions. for is a difficult start on wednesday, shelley day again, strong winds, perhaps the showers fewer and further in between —— chilly day. subzero feel to the temperatures across the northern half of the country. the briefest interlude before this area of low pressure comes in from the atlantic which is wednesday night into thursday and this could end up with a name. some uncertainty at the moment but they couldn't bring severe gales, heavy rain, some snow, localised flooding. northern areas

seen the risk of more snow. thursday, the loan pools away to the east, looking better but on the face of it, that wind is still cold and more showers to come. it is cold, winding throughout the week, worst of it wednesday into thursday and staying particularly wintry in the coming days. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the government has ordered a fast—track investigation into the directors of carillion, which collapsed yesterday putting thousands ofjobs at risk. police in california have arrested the parents of 13 children on charges of torture and child endangerment — after they were found in an emaciated condition, some shackled to beds. on a visit to calais, president macron has said france won't allow another "jungle" migrant camp to be set up. he'll demand that the uk does more to help ease the situation when he meets theresa may later this week. a man who plotted terror attacks

against big ben and heathrow airport has gone on trial at the old bailey. prosecutors say that umar haque was "fascinated " by the islamic state. sport now. and huw is there. at the beginning of the hour you promised more about blueberries. we are talking aboutjohanna konta. more about blueberries. we are talking about johanna konta. yes, she won herfirst talking about johanna konta. yes, she won her first round match at the australian open, despite what she described as the blue breed debacle. there is a hint of sarcasm in my voice as i talk to —— blueberry the bark all. she talked about a shocking failure after she bought two punnets of blueberries and left them at the supermarket. she said it is $5 them at the supermarket. she said it is$5| them at the supermarket. she said it is $5 i went get back, i was so upset about it, i was so sad. she has been able to return to the store

and get some more, tweeting that the crisis was over. such was the simplicity i think of her opening round match at the australian open. nothing to be taken away from her on that one because she's through to the second round. she is seeded number nine having reached the semifinals two years ago and the quarterfinals last year. she beat madison brengle in straight sets. her win took place in temperatures of almost a0 degrees or though johanna konta described it as a nice sunny day. she makes it through to the next round where she will play another american, the world number 123. heather watson could notjoin konta. she lost in straight sets. it was close throughout but watson could not hold on losing on a tie—break. defending champion roger federer had a fairly straightforward

passage into the second round. he beat the former british player aljaz bedenein beat the former british player aljaz bedene in straight sets. and novak djokovic came through with ease beating done deyoung also in straight sets. djokovic is seeded just 1a in melbourne, having missed the second half of 2017 with an elbow injury. theo walcott is nearing a move from arsenal to everton with the forward on merseyside this afternoon. he is likely to be one of the high—profile departures from the emirates, or thatis departures from the emirates, or that is what we expect. david 0rnstein is with me to run through the transfer talking points of the day. how close is he to moving on? this one is edging closer. the building blocks are in place, so to speak. arsenal have given position to do —— arsenal have given

permission to theo walcott. his medical is already underway. everton runa medical is already underway. everton run a lengthy medical process so it would be sensible to get that started while negotiations continue. it is hoped once that agreement is reached then the medical is already done. in the next 24 hours we will know if this deal has gone through or not. where are we with alexis sanchez? first it was manchester city, then manchester united and then chelsea, where is he going? he wanted to move to manchester city as his first choice. however, they failed to reach an agreement with both arsenal and alexis sanchez. then manchester united have come forward with the deal. henrikh mkhitaryan will go in the opposite direction. manchester city's

understanding is that chelsea were also interested in signing sanchez, but it does seem that manchester united are the favourites. if chelsea are interested, they need to tell the manager, because antonio co nte tell the manager, because antonio conte has been talking about it today. he was asked about sanchez and he looked perplexed and he said i don't know but i don't think so, when asked if sanchez was coming to chelsea. i think we need to bear in mind that antonio conte is not the main person in charge of transfers so main person in charge of transfers so he may not know about it but there is a suspicion that this may bea there is a suspicion that this may be a red herring and it is manchester united who are in pole position. thank you, david on steam. better informed than antonio conte. wales have named two uncapped players for their next match. warren

gatland has also picked george north for his 39 man squad even though he also has a knee injury. greg laidlaw returns to a0 man scotla nd greg laidlaw returns to a0 man scotland squad. he has not played a test for almost a year. john barclay will still be skipper. ronnie 0'sullivan has raced into a a-o ronnie 0'sullivan has raced into a a—0 lead in his first—round match at the masters snooker. he is up against hong kong's marco fu. the rocket in firm form at london's alexandra palace. these are live pictures. he knocked in back—to—back centuries. this is a 0'sullivan's, one of his favourite tournaments. he is aiming to win a record eighth

masters title. you can follow the action on bbc two and via the bbc sport website. more sport coming up in the next hour. thank you. more now on the collapse of carillion — the country's second biggest construction firm employing 20,000 people in the uk — now in liquidation. carillion used an extensive network of small firms, who are now waiting to learn whether they will be paid. joining me now in the studio is suzannah nichol, chief executive of build uk — which is the leading representative organisation for the uk construction industry. you need to build me some new teeth! you need to build me some new teeth! you met greg clarke yesterday from the government and the period of time that they are helping is running out quite fast, isn't it? that is right. i believe they are committed to continue payments for a8 hours, while they transit from the current contracts that they have got. there was a sense that that meant the contract that carillion had, that everything would be all

right with them, but even in the public sector, that is not necessarily true, is it? does not. the contracts are complex and you have to move from a well—established site setup. people will be looking at the risk. we have to understand the capacity they have to move into a site, take over the contract and carry on as normal. it will not be easy and it will take time. to the large number of companies we are talking about? to see huge number. we believe there are 30,000 creditors to carillion. some will be large companies that are huge amount of very small specialist companies. we are already reporting that some will have to lay people off. they will have to lay people off. they will have to lay people off. they will have to. there is the immediate impact of not being paid for work they have carried out. there are more practical aspects, they will turn up to work but the site will not be open. 0ne contractor, if you

cannot employ his staff elsewhere he will have to lay them off. a lot of advice is consecrated depending on their contract. it is difficult for a small business to keep people on if they have nowhere else to send them. what seems to make things a lot worse is the fact that carillion, let's not beat around the bush, they were bad at paying and a lot of companies are suffering. they were pa rt of lot of companies are suffering. they were part of your group. is that something that needs to change to stop this happening again? absolutely. construction has a payment issue. i think everyone would agree with me on that. carillion were notorious for having long payment periods, 90 days or 120 days, which for many firms were unsustainable. a lot of firms chose not to work for carillion. 0thers are accepted but worked around those terms. the irony is that other

people went to companies which are now suffering as a result. the impact from this will be felt from the top to the bottom of the supply chain and will affect everyone of us across the country. there will be companies who deliberately chose who to work for and who not to work for, who as a result of monday's events will lose money or not have any work to go to. we use phrases like the second biggest construction business in the country, it is difficult to picture what that means. but for you and your organisation, this is the stuff of nightmares, isn't it? to is not good for the industry or the supply chain will stop it is a watershed moment. . we hear that a lot, watershed moment, what does it mean must change? the way clients by construction but the weight construction but the weight construction sells its services.

margins are wafer thin. that leaves little scope for any movement. construction is not valued. we all rely on construction for us to get to work and to be in this studio, but we don't value it so we do not pay enough for it. it is complicated and complex. if there are any issues it is the contract and supply chain which bears that risk. they are not paid to do that. the balance is inequitable, the risk is pushed down the supply chain to those who are least able to bear it. we have not met before, you are quite angry, aren't you? i am frustrated that the industry has got to this point. i think we have to step back, take a look and say we are going to change, this cannot happen again. suzannah nichol, chief executive of build uk cup, thank you. the white goods manufacturer, whirlpool, hasn't done enough to deal with defective tumble dryers

which have caused hundreds of fires. the commons business committee says the firm's response to the problem, discovered in 2015, has been "woeful". our business correspondent, emma simpson, reports. a burnt out wreck. fire engulfed this flat in llanrwst in wales in 201a, claiming the lives of doug mctavish and bernard hender. the coroner said it was most likely caused by a fault in the tumble dryer, owned by whirlpool, and that the company needed to take further action to prevent future deaths. mps are now demanding changes too. well, the evidence was woeful. since 200a, they admit there have been 7a0 fires in people's homes caused by these tumble dryers and yet still today, in 2018, there are a million of these tumble dryers in people's homes. they need to take much stronger action to get those tumble dryers out of people's homes. her parliamentary committee has been looking into the safety of electrical goods. among its recommendations, it wants... whirlpool to deal with any faulty machines within a fortnight of being contacted by customers.

all manufacturers should make risk assessments available as soon as defects are identified. safer materials to replace plastic—backed fridge freezers, which appear to be a significant risk. and it wants the government to actively explore the creation of a single national product safety agency to improve a system which the mps claim is fragmented and under resourced. whirlpool says it's helped the vast majority of customers who've come forward so far, and promises it will now resolve reported problems within a week. the government says britain's product safety requirements are among the highest in the world and it's already taken steps to improve the current regime. emma simpson, bbc news. in a moment the business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. there are calls for employees

working on private sector contracts for the failed construction giant carillion to have their jobs protected. a couple have been arrested on suspicion of torture — after police freed their 13 emaciated children from the family home in california. some were found chained to their beds. john prescott has described transport links planned the northern england as a fraud. the business secretary greg clark has asked for an investigation into the directors of carillion to be fast—tracked, and extended to include former directors. the company went into liquidation on monday, after running up losses on contracts and struggling with heavy debts. average prices in the uk are still rising, up by 3% in december according to the latest inflation data. but it is a slight fall from the six—year high of 3.1% recorded for november. the oil giant bp has added a further

£1.7 billion to the cost of dealing with the deepwater oil spill in the gulf of mexico. the company is still in the process of paying legal settlements but it says that the process is coming to an end. the incident led to millions of dollars of oil spilling into the ocean and it also led to the death of 11 oil rig workers back in 2010. supermarket chain iceland has said it will eliminate or drastically reduce plastic packaging of all its own—label products by the end of 2023. iceland says the move will affect more than 1,000 own—label products. new ranges will be packaged using a paper—based tray, rather than plastic. have you heard of the detroit motor show? would that be the motor show held in detroit every year, also known as the north american motor show? you are so on it! i think the answer

is yes. it's a big deal in the automotive world. more than a0 products are expected to be launched at this year's show, which opens to the public on 20 january and is expected to draw more than 800,000 people. so it's like ces, which was in vegas last week — but for cars? what's interesting is that there were quite a few big car reveals at ces and it's a bit of an area on tension — the show is open now to industry and press and apparently there has been steady talk of "last week" at ces. they want to showcase their products there. yogita limayejoins me from the detroit motorshow. just how important is the detroit motor show? you wonder why anyone

would be excited about being in detroit at this cold snowy time of year. but the motor show is extremely important. if you are a car maker based in america or you wa nt car maker based in america or you want to sell your car is here or in canada or mexico, you would want to exhibit your products in that show. in one large room there are pretty much all of the car—makers in the world displaying what is new for 2018. yes, there has been that tension with the consumer electronic show which was held last week in las vegas. but i think the difference is where there is a lot of new technology which is happening for the future, and while some of that is definitely here as well, i think this show is definitely about the ca rs this show is definitely about the cars which you are seeing on the street right now but you can drive in the present. the focus this year in detroit has been picked up

trucks? that would be strange at a time when the world is talking about more fuel—efficient cars, compact cars, electrical cars, but here, one of the features that has happened in america is that car sales have been falling since the financial crisis and particularly demand for compact ca rs and particularly demand for compact cars and sedans were down. the demand for pick—up trucks remains strong. there is a pick—up truck behind me. it is a traditional american vehicle. people in america seem to love it so manufacturers, it makes them more money than any other vehicle and that is the reason to keep profits up. it is one reason why you have all of the big us manufacturers launching new pick—up trucks. in these shows, there are a lwa ys trucks. in these shows, there are always some standout displays and innovations, just briefly, what is the best thing you have seen? one thing that i saw yesterday is a

driverless car. it is actually a little shuttle bus. the most interesting thing for me to find out is it is already being used in detroit on a fixed route, on 01, to circuit, and it will soon be deployed in other parts of the country —— on a one kilometre circuit. it will not be far away. there is not much point having a motor show if it will be driverless. you will just motor show if it will be driverless. you willjust go and climb in it. maybe you will have your own. what is the point? i sound like an old bloke. let's talk about inflation. we have new figures. prices are still rising but the amount they arise and buyers falling. we had a six—year high of inflation up by 3% and the headline injanuary is that inflation has fallen but prices are still rising. for toys and games,

prices have dropped slightly. and also prices of flights. they are up but the way it has worked is it is having less of an impact compared to last december. that is one of the reasons why it has dipped slightly. the big question is does that mean inflation has reached its peak? the bank of england said they believed inflation would peak at the end of 2017. they have said we are now on the way down. the office for national statistics say it is now to early to call. yael selfin is the chief economist at kpmg. we need to remember that november increase or strong so it is encouraging that the december increase was not quite as strong. also there are the higher oil prices, the environment and the earlier falls in the exchange rate which will still take some time to pass through a number, so we are expecting the fall in inflation to

be relatively gradual. it is interesting that we have a relatively tight labour market here. wages have not really picked up despite that increase in inflation, although we have seen a little bit of movement with some of the wage numbers, and what may happen is later on this year we will see further increases in wages which would put upward pressure on inflation, but will also relieve household a little bit. now let's have a look at the markets. we are looking at some of the companies which have been affected by the fallout from carillion. the royal bank of scotland lent them money so their shares have taken a hit and they are down 1.5%. bp have reached they are down 1.5%. bp have reached the finalfigure for the they are down 1.5%. bp have reached the final figure for the deepwater horizon settlement. at a cost of $1.7 billion, they are winding it up

now. the share price is down. did you help yourself to a warming sausage roll in the run—up to christmas from greggs?” sausage roll in the run—up to christmas from greggs? i did not. people went for mince pies, sandwiches and gluten—free suits. customers are liking it and their share price has gone up. more from you later, thank you. the pope is celebrating mass in santiago. around a00,000 people are estimated to have gathered in central santiago to participate in a giant open—air mass. the pope took a lap around the park beforehand. here's something even the locals don't see everyday. a wallaby eludes police in australia, leading them on a low—speed chase in downtown sydney. the marsupial was spotted on the nation's most famous landmark — the sydney harbour bridge —

as virginia langeberg reports. music: land down under by men at work. how is this for a visit to the big smoke? shortly before 5.00am, under police escort and avoiding the city rush hour, this opportunistic tourist jumped at the chance to take a tour of australia's most famous landmark — the sydney harbour bridge. there was enough time to stop and take in the sights, even say "g'day!" to one of the locals dressed in blue. but with lots to see, you know how the saying goes, better hop to it. eight lanes of the harbour bridge were brought to a standstill as the curious little swamp wallaby went for his predawn stretch of the legs. that was until the blue and red lights narrowed in and the wayward wallaby was apprehended. vets at nearby taraonga zoo are now keeping a close eye on the marsupial after its lengthy adventure downtown.

fortunately, there didn't seem to be any significant injuries. it had some minor grazes on its face and hind legs and i took some x—rays, x—rayed his whole body, to rule out any fractures and things like that and there didn't seem to be any major injuries. aussies will often laugh when tourists say they expect to see kangaroos hopping across the sydney harbour bridge, but without even realising it, this little wallaby, with a few simple hops and skips, has brought that common misconception to life and proved the rest of the world right. there are no more words. so we will move the weather. hello. there is some very challenging weather set to affect

the british isles over the next few days. the worst weather comes to scotla nd days. the worst weather comes to scotland and northern ireland. there is an amber weather warning for snow and ice. here is the satellite and you can see the showers have come together into longer spells of snow for many parts of scotland and northern ireland. that is why we are seeing significant human nations and there is more to come. it could pick up there is more to come. it could pick up during this evening's rush—hour in scotland and northern ireland. snow showers to the south for northern england and rails. further south there could be rain but with a wintry mixture. wherever you are, it isa wintry mixture. wherever you are, it is a cold story and a windy one. the wind will cause blizzard like conditions and drifting lying snow. by conditions and drifting lying snow. by the end of the night ice could be a problem just about anywhere.

perhaps heavier snow across northern england in the small hours, making things difficult initially. 0n wednesday, another windy day, perhaps not quite as windy. more showers as well. perhaps not quite as frequent for scotland and northern ireland. for england and wales, a reasonable amount of sunshine. temperatures on the thermometer pretty reasonable. and we are sub zorro across the northern isles. —— subzero. an area of low pressure will roll across the british isles overnight wednesday into thursday. quite a lot of uncertainty about where the worst of the weather will be, but it looks like strong winds will cause problems. another spell of heavy rain and that could melt snow and cause issues with flooding. either way, prepare yourself for some disruption to travel early on thursday. the system should move out of the way pretty quickly on thursday and then we are almost back

to square one with age in the wind and frequent showers to close out the whole week. here is a review of the whole week. here is a review of the week ahead. it stays cold, stormy night wednesday into thursday, windy with more snow showers. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 3: laying off staff and facing shutdown after its collapse — firms working for carillion on private sector deals have one day left before they lose government support. the carillion debt is about £1 million and we are not really a business of a size that can trade through that without some form of support from the government. shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks — a california couple have been arrested after police found their 13 emaciated children, all held captive at home. the four—time olympic champion gymnast, simone biles, has said she was sexually abused by the usa team doctor, larry nassar. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with huw. johanna konta is through to join

kyle edmund in the second round of the australian open. that's it though in the singles, after heather watson couldn'tjoin them. more later. thanks, and we'll bejoining you for a full update just after half—past. susan has all the weather. snow, ice, strong winds and severe gales and a spell of heavy rain, possibly leading to localised flooding. the weather threatening to do some of its worst in the next 2a hours. thanks, susan. catching police on the hop — the wallaby who crossed sydney harbour bridge — springing a surprise on early morning commuters. hello, everyone, this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. after the shock of

yesterday's announcement — now the reality is kicking in, as companies who relied on carillion for their contracts face the prospect of laying off workers and big financial losses. firms working on private sector deals for the construction giant have been told they'll receive only two days of government support, that runs out tomorrow. 0ne industry group estimates that up to 30,000 firms are owed money by carillion. the government has ordered a fast—track investigation into the company's directors. 0ur correspondent simon gompertz reports. this is the sort of work, painting offices and newly built flats, that the carillion collapse is putting in question. a london decorating company which had 30 people turn up for a job to find suddenly there was nothing to do and £2 million of orders had disappeared. carillion took on the contracts, then farmed them out to subcontractors. we deploy everyone, carry out the work, train the people, buy the materials —

all from that level down lose out on this. but the stock market has had its money and the investors have had their money, and i'm sure some of them have lost now but they've had good times in the past, and we find it unbelievable that a business can lose £1.5 billion. that anger amongst many who were depending on carillion — this is the royal liverpool hospital, now expected to be delayed — is beginning to focus on what it was paying its top people, and the fact it changed its policy on bonuses so that it was much harder to claw the money back if the company hit the rocks. there will have to be an investigation. we can't say for certain exactly what happened yet, but certainly, if you were an employee of the company, one of the many small contractors whose future is now very uncertain because of what's happened at carillion, you would be very surprised, i think, looking at what the company has done with its bonus scheme and ask why has this change happened? the former chief executive richard howson was paid £1.5 million in 2016 in salary and bonuses.

after he left last autumn following a series of warnings that profits were plummeting, he was still promised his £660,000 a year of regular pay would carry on until october this year. now there's concern the emphasis on quick returns may also have affected the 28,000 staff in the stricken company's pension schemes. the huge hole in the pension fund was slowly being filled by the company but a higher priority was going to bonuses for top executives and to dividends for shareholders, and i'm not convinced the regulator should have allowed that balance to be as it was. so today, the business secretary greg clark has asked the official receiver in charge of carillion to investigate not only the conduct of the directors at the point of its insolvency, but also of any individuals who were previously directors including detriment to any employees who might be owed money and the pension schemes.

given the level of salaries and bonuses awarded to senior management at carillion, as well as improving corporate tax evasion, what will the government do to ensure better corporate governance? this point about the money for bosses was put to ministers in parliament. this country has amongst the most robust corporate governance in the world, and that is something that this government will continue. rail, health, schools... it's those essential services where the work is being done by carillion that will carry on and people will still be paid, but the bulk of the business, whether its services or construction, is wholly in the private sector and there, staff will be finding out over the next day or so whether their jobs will continue. here at an office in cambridgeshire, two empty chairs already at a company which offers landscaping, office plants and does gritting and snow clearing in the winter. and the money carillion owes could finish the business completely.

it's about £1 million of debt, and we are not a business of a size that can trade through that without some form of support from the government. if it's not forthcoming, i think ourselves and lots of businesses like us will probably go out of business. unions are calling on the government to coordinate maximum state and banking help for businesses like this under pressure, and to clarify which jobs they are willing to protect. simon gompertz, bbc news. let's get some more political reaction to this now from our chief political correspondent vicki young. there. there. the labour feel very much the best players to the agenda they have been setting in recent months and years, theissue setting in recent months and years, the issue of corporate pay, the idea

the issue of corporate pay, the idea the bosses and directors at carillion change the rules, maybe, to make it harder to claw back their bonuses and salaries if something went wrong. they will have to be a response, not just the went wrong. they will have to be a response, notjust the one today from the business secretary about a wider and quicker review, but from the prime minister. this is something theresa may has taught about before, corporate governance, fat cat, executive pay, this is a concrete example, potentially, she will have to respond to and i'm sure tomorrow at prime minister's questions there will be questions from the labour party to will have to reply to. the other issue is the taxpayer and public sector workers, the government clearly said those working in the public sector, they will be protected to some extent but it's the private sector workers of the unions are very concerned about. a a8—hour guarantee that will run

out tomorrow and no one really knows what the impact will be but that is incredible uncertainty and concern for those people and for theirjobs. labour today told me they have many more questions and they do think this is a turning point in the way these kinds of contracts are given out. it's a watershed moment and questions are asked about carillion, in particular, why did the government expose public services to so much risk by awarding so many contracts to one company? is carillion a stand—alone issue or is this a house of cards ready to collapse ? we would expect the government to carry out a full risk assessment of all its public sector contracts and the potential of another carillion emerging. it also raises questions as to why these contracts failed in the first instance. was it because the government had driven prices down, and were private sector partners indeed capable of delivering those services?

we also have the scandal of pfi as well, billions of pounds creamed off in dividends, yet we have examples of schools being charged extortionate amount for repairs. it is right to have collaboration with the private sector on things but when it is not in the taxpayers' interest we need to have a long hard look at protecting the taxpayer. mps on select committees are already saying they want to look at all of this and the wider issue of procurement, how government buys services and who they give the contracts to, how secure they are and how they are overseen. all that will be looked at in the coming months but in the shorter term, questions for the prime minister to a nswer questions for the prime minister to answer tomorrow about safeguards for workers and others pay for bosses. 13 brothers and sisters, aged from 2 to 29, have been found

dirty and malnourished at their home in california. some were chained to their beds. police carried out the rescue after one girl managed to escape and raise the alarm. their parents have been arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment. james cook reports from california. they look like a big, happy family. the children a little pale, perhaps, but smiling. photographs on facebook show the turpins visiting disneyland, and in las vegas as their apparently proud parents renewed their wedding vows. now, david and louise turpin are under arrest, charged with torture and child endangerment. their children are in hospital. in the time we live in, it is unfortunate to see this. it is actually heartbreaking for the staff, and it is unbelievable what you see. the horror on muir woods road was uncovered early on sunday morning when a 17—year—old girl escaped with a mobile phone and called the police. at the home, officers found 12 siblings and were shocked

to discover that seven were adults, the eldest 29. the captives were dirty and malnourished, say police, shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul—smelling surroundings. as reporters arrived in the quiet suburb east of los angeles, neighbours said they were stunned. the kids were not sociable at all, they did not want to look at people. they were just doing what they were doing and no contact with society. you would never see anyone visit, you would never see anyone come outside. all you would really see is that they would go out and maybe make a grocery run and that was about it. i have a daughter. it is very horrifying that it can happen in this community. there is no hint at all here of the grim conditions inside this home. the questions about what happened are mounting. not least, how long were

the siblings held captive, and why? james cook, bbc news, perris, california. the american gymnast simone biles, who won four gold medals at the rio 0lympics, has said she was sexually abused by the former usa team doctor, larry nassar. he was jailed last month for 60 years for possessing images of child sexual abuse — and is awaiting sentencing for assaulting other athletes. our sports correspondent natalie pirks reports. and this is really very special. 0ne flip, two flips. full twisting double back. so easy... she's a four—time 0lympic champion whose megawatt smile and will to win propelled her to gymnastic greatness. only one american woman has ever won gold on the vault. simone biles! but last night the self—proclaimed happy, giggly and energetic girl admitted to feeling broken, saying she too had been a victim of one of sport's most predatory abusers. physician larry nassar was part of the us gymnastics programme from the ‘80s to 2015. he is accused of sexually abusing more than 130 women under the guise

of medical treatment and is serving 60 years in jail for possessing images of child sexual abuse. in a lengthy statement last night, biles said it had been impossibly difficult to relive her experience, but says she's not afraid to tell her story any more. "i love this sport too much and i have never been a quitter," she said. "i won't let one man and the others that enabled him to steal my love and joy." some of biles' 0lympic team—mates also say they were abused by larry nasser. one of them has accused authorities of a cover—up and believes more should have been done to protect the girls in his care. what did usa gymnastics do to manipulate these girls so much that they are so afraid to speak up? usa gymnastics said it was absolutely heartbroken, sorry and angry that any of their athletes had been harmed by the horrific acts of larry nasser. it said its support for simone biles

and others is unwavering. his crimes have parallels to the current climate in british football and in hollywood. similar stories of power and access have played out with horrifying consequences. simone biles used the hashtag "me too," also used by thousands on social media to raise awareness of sexual harassment and abuse. used to making the spectacular look effortless, disclosing the special treatment inflicted on her, has been a painful process but through witnessing the coverage of other survivors, simone biles has finally felt able to share her story. we are granted to to live to michigan become of the mother of one of his victims is giving an impact statement. he was former doctor from michigan state university before

moving over to usa gymnastics. she is giving an impact statement as he is giving an impact statement as he is sentenced for two cases that he admits of assaulting a female gymnasts. we saw him with his head in his hands as he was hearing from these witnesses and it's worth making the point they are 1a0 other accusations from female athletes accusing him of sexual abuse, with simone biles becoming the latest to allege she was one of his victims. a very emotional scenes. we will not bring you the sound because there are difficult testimonies being given during these impact statements but, as you can see, very difficult for the mother of one of his victims, as she gives her victim impact statement. the french president, emmanuel macron, is to put pressure on britain to take in more refugees from northern france. he's visiting calais today, with french ministers saying he will also ask the uk to increase funding for security and

the development of the port city. at stake is a 2003 agreement between britain and france, which effectively moved the uk border onto french territory. 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams is in calais. he claimed that once britain and theresa may to do more. that's right. calais was once home to thousands of migrants, that's not the case any more, we think they're up the case any more, we think they're up to around 700 camped out, a lot of the time in the open in a miserable conditions and all still hoping to make it across the channel to the uk. they are a relatively small part of a much bigger problem is the french government faces, bigger problem of immigration. more than 100,000 applications for asylum last year, a new record in france,

and to the government is trying to grapple with that, there is the new immigration policy due out. in his trip to cali, president macron make it clear he would ask theresa may to do more to help the situation. they are harder to find but they are still here. under the trees, cold and wet, desperate to move on. from eritrea, ethiopia, afghanistan and iraq. they walk miles every day for food, shelter and opportunities to leave. for security reasons... justjames. yes, just james. ok. james is from cameroon, unwilling to show his face. he's been in calais for six months, bitter about his treatment. i have my own reasons why i left my country to come to europe. so the way they treat us here is not good. i don't believe there is humanity in france. humanity does not exist in calais. so today we have about 600, 700 refugees who are in calais and who live in absolutely

treacherous conditions, you know. every few hours, every few days, everything is taken away and they find themselves with absolutely nothing to survive with. president macron has come to see the situation for himself, stopping first to visit migrants in the regional capital. he's about to unveil a new immigration bill, and when it comes to calais his officials say he's going to ask britain to do more to help. when the president arrived in calais, he brought a message for the city's hard pressed and much criticised police. translation: it was essential to front the realities you've been living through for several years, to be able to draw all the conclusions before meeting with theresa may. the camp they call thejungle was demolished 15 months ago, its residents sent to reception centres all over the country, but calais is still a magnet. you can burn a camp down but you can't stop people trying to reach britain. the rail and ferry terminals are now heavily fortified. british money paid for a lot of this but lorries and smugglers still offer ways across the channel.

calais' migrant problem seems perpetual. governments have tried and failed to fix it. when president macron crosses the channel on thursday, it seems he will be carrying demands. pauladams, bbc news, calais. we are only two able to include a small section of president macron's speech but he gave details about the kind of things you expect from the british government. he said he was looking for a specific response on the question of unaccompanied minors, young people travelling that family members. he did not say exactly what kind of response that would be. he also spoke of the need for theresa may perhaps to provide more money for the ongoing extremely costly security operation going on here in the calais region, something the british government has been

heavily invested in in the past few yea rs. heavily invested in in the past few years. he also said, bearing in mind those images of the destruction of thejungle, those images of the destruction of the jungle, his those images of the destruction of thejungle, his authorities would do everything it could to make sure no jungle was never set up again. that 2003 -- 2003 jungle was never set up again. that 2003 —— 2003 agreement was a bilateral agreement and has nothing to do with brexit? an entirely bilateral if they are —— bilateral affairand bilateral if they are —— bilateral affair and this is not a multilateral european wide affair. but it is hard to see how there is not a connection. theresa may needs all the european goodwill she can get right now, macron is a big player in all of that and she will need him to be on her side as she negotiates in the coming months. so perhaps, as he travels to the uk in

a couple of days, he will feel he is on relatively strong ground in making such demands of the british government. thank you very much. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: there are calls for employees working on private sector deals for the failed construction giant carillion to have their jobs protected. a couple are arrested on suspicion of torture — after police freed their 13 emaciated children from the family home in california. some of the children were found chained to their beds. the former deputy prime minister, lord prescott, has walked out of an event launching a plan to upgrade transport links in the north of england, describing it as a "fraud". ina in a moment. the american gymnast simone biles, the won four gold medals at the rio 0lympics, said she was sexually abused by the former usa team doctor. johanna konta overcomes the blistering heat to reach the second round of the australian 0pen, dropping only four games in a straight sets victory. theo walcott is at everton with a £20 million move imminent. he is having a medical and an outcome is

expected in the next 2a hours. former captain greg laidlaw returns to the scotland squad for the six nations, after recovering from a broken leg. jon barclay will remain as skipper. more on those stories at 3:30pm. the uk's inflation rate has fallen for the first time sincejune, mainly because of the impact ofairfares. the inflation rate dipped to 3% in december, down from november's rate of 3.1% — a six—year high. the office for national statistics said that a drop in the price of toys and games also contributed to december‘s fall. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. it's the jump in the cost of raw materials imported from abroad that's been the biggest factor in driving inflation up. but companies like this online maker of designer furniture want customers looking round the showrooms not to be made uncomfortable. so they've been trying

to contain any price rises. 18 months after the brexit vote, the weaker pound is still pushing up the cost of imported goods, like the furniture in this store. but retailers like this are in a highly competitive business. they want to grow their sales so they don't necessarily want to pass on the full higher cost of what they're buying. it is effects like that, competition, which helps curb the rise in the cost of living. we feel customers should not have to take on the additional costs, really important for us, we're about affordable design and that's what we set up to do eight years ago and today that is still relevant to our business. we'd rather take the hit on the bottom line than pass those costs on to the customer. while furniture prices for example are relatively stable, up 3.6%, some goods rose much faster, like coffee and tea, up 11.1%, or electricity, up 11.a%. so has inflation peaked? i think it will get worse. yes, i do think it'll get worse.

literally, if i buy a head of broccoli or something, it's gone from i think 2017 at the start of the year, it was like 39p, and now it's about 60p. when you get to the checkout, you just think, "oh my goodness, that is significantly more" and i think it's just individual items are getting that bit more. the easing of inflation means there's a little less pressure on the bank of england to raise interest rates again, at least for the next few months. even though the economy is relatively weak at the moment, we do have a tight labour market and some evidence of wages beginning to pick up a little, and therefore it may be necessary for the bank of england to raise rates a little bit this year, particularly in the second half of this year. while shoppers have been protected from the full effect of higher import prices, the average wage still isn't keeping up with the cost of living. only if inflation slows down much more sharply will that squeeze on living standards loosen its grip. andy verity, bbc news. the supermarket chain, iceland,

says it'll scrap all plastic from its own brand products within five years. the retailer said plastic would be replaced with paper and pulp trays along with paper bags, which can all be recycled and are less harmful to the environment. a man has gone on trial at the old bailey accused of planning terrorist attacks on some of the capital's best known landmarks. prosecutors say umar haque, from east london, was inspired by islamic state. he denies the charges. out home affairs correspondent dominic casciani has been following the case at the old bailey. she is an occasional teacher from east london. he and three of his friends are accused of effectively working together to further his plans. two allegations of preparation for acts of terrorism which evolved during 2016 and potentially were to come to fruition during 2017. in essence, what happened was prosecutors say that haque was inspired by the islamic state group. in fact, he told police

after his arrest, the court heard today, he was a loyal follower and he wanted to carry out attacks and he had a range of targets at his home. let me just go through that list. it included what he called the queen's guard, transport, banks, a shopping centre, parliament, shia muslims, the media and embassies. and that is just a few of the alleged targets. but the other part of this case against mr haque, say prosecutors, is he was involved in the radicalisation of children here in the capital. he works as an occasional teacher at a secondary school, but also was accused of grooming children in a mosque east london. he denies these charges. this is going to be a long and complicated trial. a man fixated with tv presenter emily maitlis has been jailed for a5 months at oxford crown court, after harassing her and herfamily for more than 25 years. the judge said a7—year—old edward vines from oxford had carried out "psychological torture" on the newsnight presenter and had repeatedly breached a restraining order imposed on him since 2002, even whilst behind bars

at bullingdon prison. we have been hearing about that in the course there's fewer than a0 miles between manchester and britain's fifth biggest city bradford — but the journey takes almost an hour on even the fastest trains. well, this morning, transport for the north published its plan to modernise rail and road links, as our correspondent danny savage reports. the hills of the north. beautiful, but a physical barrier between the conurbations either side of the pennines. travelling by car can be painful, the few routes over the top are often congested. as for the trains, they are frequent but relatively slow and can be overcrowded. because there's always delays on the train, we want this train service to be quicker than what it usually is. most of the trains between halifax and bradford, and halifax to leeds are like this, like an old bus. draughty, hot, old. improving transport links across the pennines is nothing new. this is the leeds—liverpool canal build more than 200 years ago.

but instead of taking a few days by water, the hope is, for example, getting leeds to manchester by train down to about half an hour. after years of discussion about improving things on the twisty hilltop roads, there is now a plan the northern cities agree on. there used to be a train tunnel between sheffield and manchester. that's long gone, but a new road tunnel like this one in norway is proposed and could halve the current journey between south yorkshire and greater manchester. and a new trans—pennine line will link leeds and manchester via bradford. i think we also need to make sure that we cover hull, sheffield, newcastle, and manchester of course, so all of our major city regions. this is vitally important for the north. today's launch of the plan was about helping businesses as well as individuals. we want to work more with our near neighbours, that's both sides of the pennines, and further north.

at the moment that's a little bit harder than it should be. but remember, this is a 30—year plan and is still only at the ideas stage. former transport secretary john prescott walked out of the launch in hull today, unconvinced. it will have no powers. it can talk to the treasury along with the strategic bodies but it can't make a decision. it doesn't get any money. it's a bloody fraud. the planners will have to pitch their ideas to the treasury to get the money for these ambitious projects to upgrade the north, which at the moment feels left behind when it comes to transport. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. which catch up with that rather important weather updates. some pretty challenging weather on the way in the next a8 hours. in the short—term scotland and northern

ireland have met office amber warnings for snow and ice. further snow shower was piling up this evening also affecting northern england. strong winds as well. widespread frost by the end of the night and widespread frost by the end of the nightand a widespread frost by the end of the night and a ice riskjust about everywhere. difficult conditions over the northern half on wednesday. another cold be on wednesday, especially when you factor in the wind—chill. 0ur especially when you factor in the wind—chill. our next challenge comes wednesday night into thursday, a deep area of low pressure comes in from the atlantic, some uncertainty at the moment but we couldn't see strong and damaging winds, more heavy rain causing flooding and possibly further snow as