this is bbc news — the headlines at 8. after the collapse of carillion and with uncertainty for thousands of workers, ministers have ordered an urgent investigation, into the actions of the company's directors. a couple in california have been arrested, after police found their 13 biological children had been held captive in the family home, some chained to their beds. ican i can tell you they are very friendly. they are very cooperative. they believe, they are hopeful that life will get better for them after this event. the us olympic gold gymnast simone biles, says she was sexually abused by the usa team doctor. larry nassar has been jailed for 60 years for possessing images of child sexual abuse. president macron of france is to ask britain, to take more refugees from calais, and increase funding for security and development in the region. also in the next hour, nurses have been at the heart of the nhs, ever since it was founded 70 years ago.

but with ever growing pressure on the health service, there's more and more demand for their services. we've been speaking to some of the nhs's longest serving nurses. and after forty years of serving and operating in at least five conflicts with the british army, the lynx helicopter has made its final flight. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the government's ordered a fast track investigation into what went wrong at the failed construction firm, carillion. the company which also runs services in schools, hospitals and prisons went into liquidation yesterday after running up huge debts. concerns are growing for small businesses connected to the firm amid fears some could collapse.

0ne industry body estimates that 30,000 companies are owed money. the business secretary greg clark has been meeting union leaders tonight. the gmb trade union has warned that the "clock is ticking" for thousands of workers worried about possible redundancies. here's our business editor simonjack. just how many workers for carillion and its subcontractors will be leaving their current jobs for good? carillion owes andy bradley £1 million, £1 million he doesn't expect to get paid. 0utside his office two chairs that are now empty. it's devastating, i've known these people for years and years and they have been loyal, hard—working individuals, helped get the business to where it is today, but they were non—frontline, nonessential staff, marketing, that of admin, things like that. so we had to let them go, we had no choice. how did they take it? badly, very badly. 0ne lady, just as you arrived, she came in and we had to let her go and she left in tears.

after the shock of yesterday the real impact is beginning to hit home, at companies like this grounds maintenance firm in cambridgeshire, of their 90 staff they had to bet ten go yesterday and another one today, and there is confusion. will i get paid for work i do from now on and even if i do can that possibly make up for the money that i am owed by carillion from months passed 7 for many companies like this one it could be the end of the road. that confusion is turning to anger, particularly at former bosses like richard howson who left carillion after the first profit warning in july 2017. he took home £1.5 million in 2016 and is due to receive a £663,000 salary until october. keith cochrane took over the reins in september on a salary of 750,000, and tough questions for the finance director zafar khan who was looking after the compa ny‘s accounts when the crisis hit. well, it's gone under,

20,000 jobs are directly at risk, a large number of supply chain jobs are at risk, those people that worked so hard over christmas on carillion—based rail contracts are not sure they have been paid, and the directors have done very well out of carillion and the chief executive has had a massive payoff. the spotlight will also fall on the company's auditors kpmg who provided the reports directors used to give the company a clean bill of health just four months before a massive profit warning. the government has promised an investigation into the compa ny‘s collapse. it is vital that we look back and find out what went wrong, and i know the business secretary greg clark is going to make sure that no stone is left unturned in order to establish just where responsibility lies for the collapse of the company. some jobs were stopped just as they were starting, jay smith was an apprentice at a corinthian training centre. i feel very concerned as to what i'm

now going to do because carillion was a place i wanted to work full—time, it was somewhere i wanted to be, and then now because of all this happening i have no idea what's going to happen. obviously we are looking for a positive response. union leaders arrived in westminster looking for answers as well, the postmortem of this construction giant is just beginning. simon jack, bbc news. well trade union leaders have been meeting the business secretary, greg clark, today to try cushion the blow following the collapse of carillion and the risk to thousands ofjobs. frances 0'grady who's the general secretary of the tuc, says she wants a government task force to be formed to take immediate action. and point to the business secretary that we need to get everybody around a table. —— i was making the point of the business secretary. we need urgency of action to make sure that thousands of workers, and further thousands of workers, and further thousands more in the chain, do not lose theirjobs and livelihoods. and to protect everybody, too. it was a

constructive meeting. we are meeting tomorrow. but we want those words backed up by action. len mccluskey said the investigation that has been set up by the government must get to the bottom of carillion‘s business culture. we want to know why directors were allowed to pay themselves massive bonuses, pay massive dividends to the shareholders at a time when the company was shareholders at a time when the com pa ny was clearly shareholders at a time when the company was clearly not in a position to do that. £600 million deficit, and yet these massive bonuses were still being paid. we wa nt to bonuses were still being paid. we want to know why some ex—directors are still being paid on the books 110w. are still being paid on the books now. the mccluskey of unite. -- len mccluskey. we can speak now to the political economist, will hutton. lots of actors in this drama are being scrutinised now. yesterday it was the government for continuing to

give contracts to this company, although it was facing financial difficulties. today, kpmg, the accounting firm, four months before accounting firm, four months before a profit warning gave this company a clea n a profit warning gave this company a clean bill of health. i'm pleased the focus is moving from the government's dysfunctionality. and it was dysfunctional. to the dysfunctionality of the wider system in which carillion was based. kpmg, absolutely right, what was it doing? equally, what were the owners and shareholders of carillion doing? what was the system of stewardship for this company? why were they allowing the kinds of things that had gone on to go on. although mccluskey quite correctly talks about the business culture. he talks about the business culture. he talks about directors paying themselves. the advancement of money. actually it was a remuneration committee from the board that will have given the

big tech to money being paid over such a short period of time. —— big tick. the purposeful company task force, one of the things we argue is that pay for executives should be over five to seven years. not these immediate bonuses. so many questions to ask. pay. what the shareholders we re to ask. pay. what the shareholders were doing. what the auditors were doing. what the managers were doing. what the government was doing about giving contracts. this is a real witch ‘s brew of problems. giving contracts. this is a real witch 's brew of problems. indeed. also, isn't there perhaps a structural problem within the whole pfi system in that it is about tendering? you undercut and undercut and undercut to get the deal. i spoke to the head of asset at public asset at 0xfordshire county council yesterday, who said that about three

months before the profit warning last year they did not want to use carillion any more because the quality of the work wasn't good enough. and in fact they were undercutting so much that they were not able to meet the quality standards of the work they had to do. you have to slightly differentiate between the private finance initiative, where the government essentially gives lock stock and four smoking barrels, all of the assets over to an organisation like carillion. and then asks them to manage them. and then asks them to manage them. and then tendering for a contract. with actually, whatever system we have in the future, 0xfordshire county council, or whoever, will not have the capacity to do whatever it is themselves in—house. they will have to put it out to a contractor like carillion to do it. of course they will bid for it. you have to accept

the bid on the basis of what you hope will be quality service at the best price. that process will go on. what is wrong is the attempt to escape all of that by saying, no, carillion, rather than you having to bid for things, why don't you take the whole thing over? like the one with which it has operated a number of prisons and hospitals. where actually, when the company concerned goes bankrupt, or into liquidation, as carillion has done, what is going to happen? the state has to pick up the contract. there is a displacement of risk. and instead of saving money, you have spent millions. you can differentiate between having a contract and a subcontract. that is as old as ancient greece. that will go on until the next 500 years. and they

attempt to escape that bypassing assets over lock stock and smoking barrel to the private sector. it's not just the immediate barrel to the private sector. it's notjust the immediate employees working for carillion whose livelihoods are under threat. it is something like 30,000 other, you know, workers connected with the business end of the organisation. they also facing issues, too. absolutely. this was the second biggest building contractors in britain. here, ithink, you know, the private sector has to look itself in the eye for too long, you know, the fact you are not in the public sector has been enough and it has been assumed that because you area has been assumed that because you are a public limited company, on the stock exchange, and audited by an independent firm of accountants, all is well. all is not well. how companies owned? how seriously do the shareholders who own these

companies take their responsibilities to the companies they own? carillion was an odourless corporation. nobody owned it. nobody steward at it. cod carillion was an —— carillion was an ownerless company. we have to ask the questions of how the british private sector operates. we have to make it much better, up to an international standard, below which it has dismally fallen. thanks very much. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are the former pensions minister baroness ros altmann and the writer and broadcaster mihir bose. stay with us for that.

a couple in california have been charged with torture and child endangerment after their thirteen children were found being held captive in the family home. the brothers and sisters — aged between two and twenty—nine — were dirty and emaciated. they'd been kept in dark rooms. some were chained to their beds. 0ur north america correspondent james cook reports from southern california. in public, they look like a big, happy family. david and louis turpin played the pa rt david and louis turpin played the part of proud parents. but in private, say police, they had a dark secret. at dawn on sunday, a 17—year—old girl escaped from this house and called for help. inside police said they found her 12

brothers and sisters dirty and malnourished, shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks. the home dark and foul smelling. neighbours 110w dark and foul smelling. neighbours now i admit there were signs that something was amiss. now i admit there were signs that something was amisslj now i admit there were signs that something was amiss. i never saw a scooter. i never saw a bike. i may be saw a child a couple of times, but i never saw them again. how do they look? they were always pale, abnormally pale. the children to look pale in pictures on facebook. seven were actually adults. the eldest, 29. they are now being treated in hospital. they are all in sta ble treated in hospital. they are all in stable condition. they aren't being well considering. the magnitude of what has been described. this quiet californian suburb is now under intense scrutiny. neighbours here are stunned but also searching their souls, asking, could we have saved

these siblings sooner? as for the pa rents, these siblings sooner? as for the parents, david and louis turpin are under arrest, charged with torture and child endangerment. the medical centre director mark uffer who you saw in that report gave a further update tonight on how the released siblings are being cared for. we have seven of the adults. it is difficult to think of them as adults when you first see them because they are small and it's very clear they are small and it's very clear they are malnutrition and. we have done some lab work on them. we cannot tell you a lot. they are stable. they are being fed to try and reseed, as was discussed. —— to try and refeed. they are comfortable and ina and refeed. they are comfortable and in a safe environment. that's the most important thing right now. we wa nt to most important thing right now. we want to work with all of the different agencies and the county to

make sure that they are treated appropriately. at this point i think they are stable and safe. we want to respect their privacy. they've gone through a very traumatic ordeal. i can tell you they are very friendly. they are very cooperative. and i believe they are hopeful that life will get better for them after this event, so thank you very much. 0ur correspondent peter bowes is in los angeles. a dreadful story. the big question being asked is how this could have happened in the middle of what seems like a fairly small, established community. yes, how and for how long have these people been kept in conditions like this? potentially not just at this property. conditions like this? potentially notjust at this property. they only live to there for a few years. wherever they lived before, and clearly another of these siblings we re clearly another of these siblings were adults, the oldest was 29, in a

very emaciated state. it leads to the potential that they were being kept like that for many years. lots of questions to be asked of a huge police operation, which is underway to interview neighbours, potentially neighbours from previous properties. really to try and piece together exactly how this happened and for how long and the conditions, the precise conditions, under which these children were brought up. we understand they were being home—schooled at this house, which is why the neighbours said they didn't see the children very much. there was no school to raise the alarm of their emaciated state. a lot of information we still need to find out. thanks for that update. the headlines on bbc news: after the collapse of carillion, and with uncertainty for thousands of workers, ministers have ordered an investigation into the company

directors. police found 13 children had been held captive in a family home in the usa, some chained to their bets. simone biles says she was sexually abused by the team usa doctor who has been jailed for 60 years for possessing images of child sexual abuse. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, five fa cup third—round replay is underway. jamie vardy on the bench for leicester against his old club fleetwood town. jamie vardy missed the first game, which was a draw. around half an hour gone it still goalless. that was the best chance so goalless. that was the best chance so far off the first half. goals are thin on the ground elsewhere tonight, as well. we have had a couple to tell you about, sheffield wednesday leading carlisle united

1-0, wednesday leading carlisle united 1—0, and cardiff are currently one up 1—0, and cardiff are currently one up against mansfield. arsene wenger labelled the premier league referee mike dean a disgrace after arsenal's 1—1 draw with west brom on new year's eve. he was given a three match touchline ban. that exchange was between mike dean and arsene wenger in the referee's changing room after that match. the chelsea head coach antonio conte has said that he doesn't think the clu b has said that he doesn't think the club have joined the has said that he doesn't think the club havejoined the race has said that he doesn't think the club have joined the race to sign the arsenal striker alexis sanchez. 0ne the arsenal striker alexis sanchez. one player who looks to be on the move is his team—mate, theo walcott. he has had a medical at everton ahead of what would be a £20 million move to link up with sam allardyce

at everton. with the world football still coming to terms with the death yesterday of the former west brom striker cyrille regis one of his fellow black players at the club has been paying his tributes to his friend and team—mate, who helped change attitudes towards black players in the english game. all full. i think where everybody concerned feels shocked and saddened. —— awful. cannot quite believe it. i still cannot quite believe. i'm not going to see his big smile again. it came as a big shock, a bolt out of the blue. just like his exploits on the field, he has inspired a lot of people, black and white, to become professional football players. we now realise how loved he was. we always knew he was loved, but we never realised how much, and by so many. joanna konta reached the second round of the australian open after

beating madison break go after what was a difficult end to 2070. a strong start means she may have we found the form which took her to the semifinals two years ago. —— difficult end to 2017.|j semifinals two years ago. —— difficult end to 2017. i was trusting my shots. i was looking to move forward. i knew that was how i would give myself the best chance to create opportunities. she gets a lot of balls back. as you saw in some of those points, yes, i think that is in her comfort zone. i wanted to make sure i was playing the match in my comfort zone. ronnie 0'sullivan rattled through his first—round match at the masters snooker. his opponent, marco fu, a reported eight balls with six frames to zero victory. ronnie 0'sullivan has won this tournament seven times. he made three century breaks in the first four frames in a match which lasted just over one hour and a half at alexandra palace today.

the world heavyweight champion, anthonyjoshua, and joseph parker have come face to face in cardiff ahead of their at the end of march. the fight will unify ahead of their at the end of march. the fight will uninyoshua's wba and ibf belts with the kiwi's wbo title. joshua says he wants to do it in style. i need to win. i can't afford to lose. but i want to do it ina afford to lose. but i want to do it in a clinical way. that's important. ifi in a clinical way. that's important. if i have to go to war, and trained my if i have to go to war, and trained d __ if i have to go to war, and trained my body —— and marr body of sweat and energy, i will do that to get the win. but i want to do it the clinical and not easy way, but fashionable way. —— drain my body of sweat and energy. i will be back later at 10:30pm in sportsday. tags very much. —— thanks very much. foreign ministers from twenty countries have sent a clear message that they want to intensify pressure on north korea — despite recent talks between pyongyang and seoul.

they're meeting in vancouver, and the talks include nations that sent troops or aid to the un war effort in korea back in the 1950s. he can continue on a path of provocation. equipping his country with nuclear weapons that will lead to further isolation, further economic pain and hardship for his people, or else he has the opportunity to go down a path that can lead to greater well—being for the people of north korea. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher is in vancouver for us. is it possible to discern any kind of strategy developing that might suggest a way forward in dealing with north korea ? suggest a way forward in dealing with north korea? there has been these talks between north korea south korea. there is a question about whether that might be the way

forward , about whether that might be the way forward, whether you could build on those into a wider diplomatic engagement. the message that came out of this meeting was that people we re out of this meeting was that people were wanting to hold the line. some of the participants expressed suspicion about north korea's motives. they said they don't want to give concessions at this stage. they said they need to dig in and mmp they said they need to dig in and ramp up the pressure, make sure there are no loopholes or gaps in enforcing sanctions, and make sure our demands are the same, which is to get rid of nuclear weapons from the peninsula. i think they used this meeting to respond to that diplomatic opening by saying it is good but we will not back down on what we think. and we think the pressure campaign has helped to get north korea to this point. whether that means we have a way forward is another question. because sanctions so another question. because sanctions so far haven't brought north korea to the table to talk about giving up its nuclear weapons, which is the demand. the problem is south korea does believe a softly softly approach is the way to go. we have

seen approach is the way to go. we have seen the two sides, they tried to talk to each other, can we now see a wedge between the rest of the international community and south korea? that is something some of the speakers here referred to. rex tillerson bleakly said we will not let north korea drive a wedge through our solidarity. the japanese foreign minister was a bit more clear, saying north korea is trying to draw a wedge between those of us who are tough and less tough. a reference to south korea without naming it. there is that concern amongst this coalition. the south korean foreign minister certainly adopted a much more lenient line, saying these talks had been productive, they were helping to ease tensions, the south koreans would like to build on them. but she also acknowledged that the coalition that was imposing the sanctions had been effective and that that should continue until the north koreans did

agree to talk about denuclearises. it's true the south koreans have a different policy and different approach to north korea, compared with the us, but i think the capital of south korea realises that their alliance with the us and the coalition does, their back, gives them strength, gives them leveraged with the north koreans. i don't know if you will see a wedge which will change policy of the international community, but north korea's overtures have thrown up something new. thanks very much. a man from east london has gone on trial at the 0ld east london has gone on trial at the old bailey accused of carrying out terrorist attacks on some of london's landmarks. prosecutors say umar haque, here on the left, was inspired by islamic state. he denies the charges. abu—tha—her mamun and nadeen patel — who also appeared in court — denied all charges against them also. the us is withholding more than half

of the $125 million it gives to the un relief agency for the palestinians, according to us officials. it will give money —— it will hold back some money for future consideration. donald trump said they could cut aid. the us fund is almost 30% of the un agency's work overall. the new york times says president trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon, has been ordered to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation into allegations of russian interference in the presidential election. if confirmed, it would be the first time that mr mueller has used a grand jury to acquire information from a member — orformer member — of mr trump's inner circle. the report came as mr bannon, who's had a public fallout with the president, testified before a house committee looking into the same allegations. lots to unpick here — let's talk to our correspondent anthony zurcher who's in washington.

if you will remember back in december, robert mahler and his team spoke to a number of people fairly close into donald trump's white house circle. a former chief of staff, sean spicer, a former press secretary, a very early member of the presidential campaign, and communications director at the white house. those people he spoke with in his office are outside of the court room process. more informal. they took notes, but there wasn't a grand jury took notes, but there wasn't a grand jury present. this meeting with the subpoenaed to steve bannon is different. this would put him on the record. —— this meeting with a subpoena to steve bannon is

different. it shows a higher level of scrutiny. this could be an opening gambit on the part of the special counsel. they could decide to meet with steve bannon in a similaroff to meet with steve bannon in a similar off the record situation. but if this is the opener, this could indicate that steve bannon may have information of particular interest to the investigation. possibly what we learned about last week when steve bannon was telling michael wolff, the author of fire and fury, when he said donald trump haase son meeting the russians was treasonous. and also talk of money—laundering within donald trump's family. —— donald trump's son meeting. lots of permutations. anti—testified at the house as well. —— and he testified. anti—testified at the house as well. -- and he testified. that was a surprise. the communications director had to testified, as well.

this is a spate of activity from this particular committee. they have been looking into possible ties between the russian government and the tramp campaign. that committee had been rife with pardus in victory for months. —— trump campaign. they wa nt to for months. —— trump campaign. they want to hurry this along to close things down, maybe, or it could be that the democrats are having success in asking the committee to look into this. no word so far on what steve bannon said. apparently he was instructed by the white house not to talk about his ties while he was a senior white house adviser before the committee. but they used their own power to make him talk. thanks very much. and louise has the weather for us. plenty of whether to talk about, we have an amber weather warning out there at the moment, be prepared for

some disruption due to snow and ice chiefly affecting south—west scotla nd chiefly affecting south—west scotland and northern ireland. you can see a frequent rash of showers falling primarily as snow in the north—west, a wintry mix of rain and snow starting to settle further south. temperatures to start of wednesday morning to northern england, scotland and northern ireland below freezing. ice could be a problem. further snow showers. ireland below freezing. ice could be a problem. furthersnow showers. few and far between in comparison to today, chiefly in the north—west, elsewhere, sunny spells. a brisk north westerly wind making it feel quite raw. 0ut north westerly wind making it feel quite raw. out of wednesday into thursday, a deep area of low pressure arrives and that is potentially going to bring another hazard with severe gales on the southern flank of that, potential for more snow on central scotland and some heavy rain elsewhere. this is bbc news, our latest headlines. after the collapse of carillion

and with uncertainty for thousands of workers, ministers have ordered an urgent investigation, into the actions of the company's directors. a couple in california have been arrested, after police found their 13 children being held captive in the family home, some chained to their beds. the us olympic gold gymnast simone biles, says she was sexually abused by the usa team doctor. larry nassar has been jailed for 60 years for possessing images of child sexual abuse. and after a0 years of serving and operating in at least five conflicts with the british army, the lynx helicopter has made its final flight. the four—time olympic champion gymnast, simone biles says she was sexually abused by the american team doctor, larry nassar. in an emotional statement, the star of last year's rio games, said she would not let nassar steal her "love and joy". he was jailed last month for sixty

years for possessing images of child sexual abuse — and appeared in court today for sentencing for sexually assaulting several other gymnasts. natalie pirks reports. commentator: the final move of her olympic championships. full twisting doubleback. .. she was the poster girl of the rio olympics, herfour gold medals secured her place in sporting legend. commentator: how does she do it? co-commentator: absolutely amazing performance. but last night, simone biles, the self—pro claimed happy, giggly and energetic girl made international headlines as she admitted to feeling broken. olympic champion simone biles comes forward to say she was also sexually abused by former usa gymnastics doctor, larry nassar. larry nassar is accused of sexually abusing more than 130 women under the guise of medical treatment and is already serving 60 years injailfor possessing images of child sexual abuse. after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct, he was in court again today

and heard impact statements from some of his victims. perhaps you have figured it out by now, but little girls don't stay little forever. they grow into strong women that return to destroy your world. in a lengthy statement last night, biles said that for a long time she'd asked herself if she was to blame. she now knows she wasn't and isn't 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." her olympic gold medal winning team—mate aly raisman is another who said she was abused by larry nassar and accuses usa gymnastics as a cover—up. what did they do to manipulate these girls so much that they are so afraid to speak up? usa gymnastics says it is absolutely heartbroken, sorry and angry that any of our athletes have been harmed by their thick acts of larry nassar. only one american woman has ever won

gold on the vault, simone biles. she's used to making the spectacular look effortless but for simone biles the pain of reliving her experience has been incredible. biles' olympic gold medal winning team—mate, aly raisman, is another the rate of inflation has fallen for the first time in six months. although there was a rise in the prices of many groceries, the overall rate of inflation dipped to 3% in december — down from a six—year high of 3.1% in november. despite rising food costs, the office for national statistics said the fall was driven by lower airfares and a drop in the price of toys. 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 11.4%. 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. from manchester to bradford — it's

a journey of less than a0 miles. but even on the fastest trains it takes almost an hour to get there. today a plan to modernise transport links across the north of england over the next 30 years was unveiled. transport for the north claims that improving road and rail links could deliver a 100 billion pound economic boost by 2050. it could create 850 thousand jobs. but not everyone agrees with the plans. danny savage reports from leeds. 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're frequent, but relatively slow and can be overcrowded. because there's always delays on the train. we would want the train service to be a bit more quicker than what it usually is. most of the trains between halifax and bradford and, well, 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, built 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, there's 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 the cities. a new transpennine railway 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 our major city regions. this is vitally important for the north. but remember, this is a 30 year plan and it's still only

at the ideas stage. former transport secretary, john prescott, walked out of the launch in hull today unconvinced. it'll 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. and it's the government that will have to stump up 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. the french president, emmanuel macron, has promised not to allow migrant camps like the jungle at calais to spring up again as large numbers continue to arrive in the area. visiting calais today mr macron said he would be asking britain for much more help in dealing with the problem. from calais, lucy williamson reports. once the uk was a magnet forjuma, today it was the french president. after months of camping around calais, the sudanese migrant has decided to apply for asylum in france.

mr macron‘s government has promised a quicker welcome for those it accepts, a quicker rejection for those it refuses. juma is still waiting for his answer. so you are our president, not in front of you, but in my heart. but hundreds of migrants around calais are avoiding asylum centres like this in a bid to reach the uk illegally, and mr macron wants more help from theresa may in dealing with them. translation: we need to better manage the issue of isolated minors, reinforce police co—operation in calais, with the departure and transit countries and unblock funds for the calais region. i will raise these points with our british friends in its—hours. despite big british investments in security, migrants continue to test border defences. this petrol station, its perimeterfence broken, a new favourite for those trying to board lorries bound for the uk.

we caught this man squeezing through before being caught by a police patrol. mr macron is due to talk to the prime minister on thursday about how to improve the joint management of the border here. france would like britain to take more migrants from calais and to pay more money towards security and border checks. mr macron has vowed to prevent another jungle taking root. police routinely demolish the small camps that cling on, but aid workers say that some here, including families, have reached the uk in the past few months. discomfort no match for that renewal of hope. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. a man has been beenjailed for 45 months at oxford crown court, after harassing the bbc presenter emily maitlis and her family for more than two decades.

the judge said 47—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 while serving a previous prison sentence. katharine da costa reports. for 25 years, newsnight presenter emily maitlis has been living in fear of this man, 47—year—old edward vines from oxford. they met as students while at cambridge university, but a court heard vines had become fixated with the bbcjournalist, and had consistently harassed her, resulting in his first restraining order and conviction in 2002. today, the court heard vines had breached his restraining order by writing letters to miss maitlis, once from behind bars in willingdon prison and once while on licence. the judge said it was wholly unacceptable, and gave the probation service and the prison governor ten days for a written explanation.

in a statement read to court, miss maitlis said she had felt scared and let down when she had heard vines had breached the restraining order even from within the prison system. she said it had affected her relationship with her husband, had scared her children and said "it has affected my ability to do my work". she added, "the breach has been a reminder that this man remains a constant threat in my life." i think a custodial sentence as has been given today sends an important message out to perpetrators and victims of these crimes, that we do take this seriously. the judge said this sort of protracted harassment has a crippling effect on the victim. he said no one should have to go through that, whether a public figure or not. he described it as psychological torture. he sentenced edward vines to three years and nine months, and said his restraining order would remain in place indefinitely. pope francis, who's on a visit to chile,

has apologised for child sexual abuse by members of the country's roman catholic clergy. he expressed his "pain and shame" over the scandal and for the irreparable harm caused to the victims. today the pope, visited a women's jail in the chilean capital, santiago, where he received an ecstatic reception from hundreds of inmates. the headlines on bbc news: after the collapse of carillion and with uncertainty for thousands of workers, ministers have ordered an urgent investigation, into the actions of the company's directors. a couple in california have been arrested, after police found their 13 biological children had been held captive in the family home, some chained to their beds. the us olympic gold gymnast simone biles says she was sexually abused by the usa team doctor. larry nassar has been jailed for 60 years for possessing images of child sexual abuse. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the united states this is how the dow

and the nasdaq are getting on. a bbc investigation has found that more than 3000 bogus degrees have been purchased in the uk from a so—called "diploma mill" in pakistan. its operator, axact, is accused of then blackmailing customers, including doctors and nurses, to keep it a secret. simon cox reports. an active loving father, cecil horner spent decades away from his family as an engineer in saudi arabia. when he died in 2015, his son discovered his father had bought several fake degrees. as far as we knew, he didn't have these degrees. we didn't know quite how he got them, and then we saw he had paid a heck of a lot of money for them. he brought his degree from this it software company in pakistan,

which set up fake university websites. he paid £1000, then made dozens more payments totalling at 450,000. insiders told us they would phone posing as government officials, threatening to expose people unless they paid more money. cecil warner got one of these calls. cecil horner got one of these calls. this former fbi agent is an expert on university websites run by exact. i have not seen a single one that was legitimate, that was real, it's all smoke and mirrors. it's a facade. the university does not exist, the students don't exist. we've seen who has bought these degrees in the uk. they include hospital consultants, nurses, and lawyers. some pay huge sums. a child psychologist paid over £300,000, a nurse £100,000, and a businessmen £50,000. the british company where

prince harry did this training, and where prince william was also taught, became customers as well. cobham plc bought seven fake degrees in 2013. for staff working on a contract in the caribbean. they told us they conducted an internal investigation, and the purchases had been for the tax status of a few individuals and had not affected the safety of any of its operations. the company did conduct an internal investigation into what went wrong. that's two and a half thousand pounds... axact are still selling their bogus degrees — i was offered one for £2500. but those willing to take

the risk could break the law or be blackmailed. some breaking news from the us, concerning the health of president trump. apparently he is in fine fettle after his medical exam last week, we were promised a few more details after being told he was in excellent health a few days ago. now some more details have come. a p pa re ntly some more details have come. apparently after his medical exam he weighed 239 lb, which is 17 stone. the doctor said he had been discussing certain things about exercise, for instance. and that he had managed to get to know the president pretty well in terms of his health. he has absolutely no concerns about his cognitive ability

01’ concerns about his cognitive ability or neurological concerns of course, some allegations thrown about in one book published in the last few days concerning his mental health, but his doctor maintains that president trump is absolutely fine. here he is, ronniejackson. trump is absolutely fine. here he is, ronnie jackson. in summary, the president's overall health is excellent, his cardiac performance was very good, he continues to enjoy the significant long—term cardiac and overall health benefits that come from a lifetime of abstinence from tobacco and alcohol. we discuss diet, exercise and weight loss, he would benefit from a diet low in fat and carbohydrate and a routine exercise regimen. for 40 years, it's been a workhorse of the british army, used in the falklands, northern ireland, both gulf wars and afghanistan. but today, the lynx helicopter made its final flight before it bowed out of service. duncan kennedy was on board. the last flight from the last of britain's lynx. the starting point for today's farewell tour. that's us departing for the final

flight for the lynx. this was a 500 mile goodbye circuit of all the bases connected to this iconic aircraft. a thank you to those who've flown it, fixed it orfascinated by it. i love the old girl. she is very quirky. she's very manoeuvrable and she's done us proud, i think. the airborne lap of honour took the four lynx helicopters to somerset, the place where it was built. a last wave from the crew and from the people who made her. it was then on to bristol, lemster and shorebury where lynx, crews did their basic training. some people put out banners to say there farewell. we are saying goodbye after 40 years of which i'm certain across the whole of the uk, from those who have flown it,

it will carve out a special part of their heart and they will be sad to see it go. launched in 78, it first saw major action in the falklands war and serving in the gulf and afghanistan. its flexibility at the heart of its durability. in fact, it was so successful britain has sold more than 450 aircraft all around the world. but now, 40 years on, it's simply too old and today is its last day of service. its final performance was a formation down the thames in a last salute to this agile, fast, distinctive machine. 40 years after it first flight. the final flight on board the lymx... it's goodbye from the lynx. duncan kennedy, bbc news.

nurses have been at the heart of the nhs, ever since it was founded 70 years ago. but with ever growing pressure on the health service, there's more and more demand for their services. added to that, the role of nurses has changed enormously over the decades, as they take on responsibilities previously reserved for doctors. our health correspondent adina campbell has been speaking to some of the nhs's longest serving nurses. combined, they have nearly 150 years of nursing experience. originally from the philippines, these women came over to england in the 1970s, during a time when the nhs was faced with shortages and in desperate need of support from overseas. that's our badge from the hospital, st martin, it's the green one. they've come to this exhibition, at the royal college of nursing in london, to reminisce and reunite. just very, very nostalgic. out of 20 of us, there were only three british nurses that

were in training and the rest were all foreign. mostly from malaysia, india, jamaica. when we first started, we just started for about a month in the school and then straightaway we were exposed to the wards, and that's what our training was based on. really, bed side nursing. archive: a new national health service starts providing hospital and specialist services... nurses were a crucial part of the nhs from its inception, but their role was often undervalued and recognition came slowly. archive: and this job needs doing just as much as this. anyone that's interacted with a nurse will know that it's not a stereotype, we're not in the carry on films, this is real—life. and actually, most of the time, whatever healthcare you're receiving, you will spend your time

with a nurse. i don't think in 1948 we even took blood pressures. you know, now we're giving chemotherapy, we're giving life saving drugs, we're monitoring conditions and actually we are the glue. that's why 86% of the population trust nurses. these are two of the faces of modern nursing, as it filters through the generations. gill stephenson has enjoyed a 35 year career working in hospitals across london, while her daughter grace is at the beginning of hers. i think 30 years ago, the nurses were handmaidens to the doctors, following their instructions. whereas nowadays, we're breeding nurses now that are making those decisions for patients and that, to me, is the absolute, the difference, the nurses making those decisions. a well—respected member of a multi—disciplinary team. and nurses are under so much pressure these days in hospitals, staffing levels, pay, that hasn't put you off at all?

definitely not. there's always going to be sick children and families that need our help and no otherjob has job satisfaction like that. if there was one small bit of advice that you'd give to grace about her starting her career, that may stay with her the whole way through, what would it be, do you think? never stop caring. adina campbell, bbc news. what about the health of the president of the united states? his doctor says he is in fine fettle. what about his mental state?|j doctor says he is in fine fettle. what about his mental state? i have spent almost every day in the president's presence since january last year, when he got into office. i have seen him every day, i have seen one, i have seen him every day, i have seen one, too, sometimes three times a day. we have conversations about many things, most do not revolve around medical issues at all. i have got to know him pretty well and i

had absolutely no concerns about his cognitive ability or his neurological function. cognitive ability or his neurologicalfunction. i cognitive ability or his neurological function. i was cognitive ability or his neurologicalfunction. i was not going to do a cognitive exam, i had no intention of doing one. the reason we did the cognitive assessment is plain and simple, because the president asked for it. he said, is there something we can do, some type of test or screen we can do to assess my cognitive ability? i looked into it, and once again, my initial question was that idid not again, my initial question was that i did not think it was indicated and idid not i did not think it was indicated and i did not think it was indicated and i did not think we should do it. after looking into guidelines, there are some guidelines out there that lea n are some guidelines out there that lean in the direction of potentially doing it, the medicare guidelines and some of the nih have indicated it might be a good thing to do for most patients in the future. with that in mind and looked at a variety of cognitive assessments available, most are very simple, very short, andi most are very simple, very short, and i think that is the goal for primary care providers in doing this, to keep it simple and short. we picked one of the monster was a

bit more involved, a bit longer, more difficult, it took significantly longer to complete the president did exceedingly well on it. that was not driven at all by any concerns i had, it was driven by the president's wishes and he did well. the president's doctor making it clear he is in fine fettle. he is 17 lb £9 -- 17 clear he is in fine fettle. he is 17 lb £9 —— 17 stone, 9 lb. a bit of cholesterol issue, cognitively no problems. ronniejackson saying it was the president you asked for a check on his cognitive ability and any neurological concern. in that news into us in the last couple of seconds. time for a look at the weather... plenty of whether to talk about. an amber weather warning out there at the moment, be prepared for some disruption due to snow and ice chiefly affecting south—west

scotla nd chiefly affecting south—west scotland and northern ireland, you can see a frequent rash of showers falling primarily as snow in the north—west. a wintry mix of rain and snow starting to settle further south. temperatures to start of wednesday morning to northern england, scotland and northern ireland below freezing. ice could be a problem. further snow showers. few and far between in comparison to today, chiefly in the north—west, elsewhere, sunny spells. a brisk north westerly wind making it feel quite raw. out of wednesday into thursday, a deep area of low pressure arrives and that is potentially going to bring another hazard with severe gales on the southern flank of that, potential for more snow on central scotland and some heavy rain elsewhere. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source.

donald trump has just been talking about immigration. i will play you a clip of the statement. also a major development in the investigation into alleged russian interference in the us presidential presidential election. reports say president trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon, has been ordered to testify before a grand jury. doctors treating the thirteen siblings rescued from being shackled in a house in california say they're being cooperative and hoping for a better life — here's how one of them raised the alarm. a 17—year—old girl called 911 from a deactivated cell phone and reported that her siblings were being held against their will and some were chained. what's it like to live and work in a place where the temperature falls to minus 68 celsius? we'll be finding out from one of my bbc russian colleagues.