this is bbc news — and these are the top stories developing at 11:003m. donald trump says he's prepared to apologise for retweeting posts by the far—right group britain first. if you are telling me these are terrible people, horrible racist people, i would certainly apologise if you would to do that. i know nothing about that. i know nothing about that. the uk economy grew by 0.5% during the fourth quarter of 2017, official figures show. downing street has distanced itself from comments made by the chancellor, philip hammond, after he said any future change to the uk's relations with the eu could be "very modest". it's reported a number male presenters are in discussion with the corporation, after it's china editor carrie gracie resigned in protest at pay disparity. i think it all needs to be sorted out and i support my female

collea g u es out and i support my female colleagues who have rightly said that they should be paid the same when they are doing the same job. it is just when they are doing the same job. it isjust a when they are doing the same job. it is just a no—brainer. when they are doing the same job. it isjust a no—brainer. so it wasn't when they are doing the same job. it is just a no—brainer. so it wasn't a problem for me. so it wasn't a problem for me. and new guidance for a sore throat — an nhs watchdog tells doctors to prescribe painkillers not ‘precious‘ antibiotics to patients. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom life. welcome to bbc newsroom life. president trump has offered to apologise for sharing anti—muslim videos posted online by the far—right group, britain first. speaking to itv‘s good morning britain, mrtrump said he hadn't known about the organisation when he shared their content and has described the videos as a depiction of radical islamic terrorism —

saying he was a "big believer" in fighting it. it was done because i am a big believer in fighting radical islamic terror. this was a depiction of radical islamic terror. they were an verified videos. i didn't do it. i did a retweet. it was a big story where you are but it was a big story where you are but it was not a big story where i am. so you're telling me something. this is airing in britain and i want them to get to the real you. the real me somebody who loves britain, loves the uk. i love scotland, i wish, you know, one of the biggest problems i have in winning, i won't be able to get back there so often. i would love to go there, as you know, before this happened, i would be them a lot. very special people

and a very special place. i don't want to cause any difficulty for your country, that i can tell you. cani for your country, that i can tell you. can i getan for your country, that i can tell you. can i get an apology out of you just for the retweets? i think it would go a long way. he rose what is there. if you're telling me these horrible people, horrible, racist people, i would certainly apologise if you would like me to do that. i know nothing about them. and you would disavow yourself of people like that? you're telling me about these people because i know nothing of these people. that was a clip from itv‘s "president trump — the piers morgan interview". president trump is to give a speech about trade later today. you can see that live here on bbc news after one o'clock. earlier this month carrie gracie

resigned her post as china editor in protest at the salary discrepancy between her and mail international editors. the bbc radio 2 presenter jeremy vine has confirmed that he is one of those taking a pay cut. i think it all needs to be sorted out and i support my female collea g u es out and i support my female colleagues who have rightly said that they should be paid the same when they are doing the same job. it is just when they are doing the same job. it isjust a when they are doing the same job. it is just a no—brainer. when they are doing the same job. it isjust a no—brainer. so it wasn't when they are doing the same job. it is just a no—brainer. so it wasn't a problem for me to accept one. we will be talking about that story a little bit more in a few minutes time. the labour peer, lord mendelsohn, has been sacked from his party's frontbench for attending the controversial presidents club charity fundraising event,

where women working as hostesses were reportedly groped. a labour spokesman said there could be no excuse for anyone's attendance, and jeremy corbyn had asked him to step down. lord mendelsohn said he went to the event as president of a charity that received support from it — but did not witness any of the alleged incidents, which he condemned as "appalling". the defence secretary has accused russia of spying on britain's energy networks, which he said could lead to chaos in the country if supplies were hit. gavin williamson told the daily telegraph that crippling the uk's infrastructure might cause "thousands of deaths". mr williamson said russia was the biggest threat facing the country at the moment. britain's economy grew faster than expected during the fourth quarter of 2017, the office for national statistics says. figures released this morning show that gdp grew by half a percent in the last three months of 2017 driven by growth in the services sector. that means that for the whole of 2017 growth was 1.8 percent that means that for the whole of 2017 growth was 1.8 percent.

that makes 2017 with slowest rate expansion since 2012. i'm joined now by lena komileva, chief economist of g—plus economics. very good to have you with us. take us very good to have you with us. take us through in a little bit more detail, first of all, the reasons for that rate of growth in the last quarter of 2017. well, it is a bittersweet mix of news because of course growth for stronger in the final three months of the year according to the preliminary estimates. that is based on 44% of the available data we will get in the end compared to the third quarter. and it was of course stronger than the 0.3 quarterly average growth for the first half of the year. as you mentioned, the underlying pace of growth slowing down so well in the short term we

have this resilience of the services sector and robust manufacturing recovery supported by a global economy, the underlying pace is still pointing toward slightly wea ker still pointing toward slightly weaker outlook in the short time with uk growth in annual terms coming in at about a percentage point below that of its major trade partners, germany free sample and the us which is coming closer to 3% than the sub 2% that we saw in the uk. you are talking about the services sector under growth in manufacturing but not in construction. in the midst of all that data, what, if anything, can you say about consumer confidence because of those figures? well, the consumer is holding up better than expected. we have some mixed data recently but we would not have a strong leader to growth and the fact that global growth is expanding strong leaders taking some of the pressure wave. the outlook going forward will depend on the

uk's consumer finances and so the hope here is that with inflation picking up the labour market being quite robust, that we're going to see real wages providing a stronger supports the consumers don't have to max out their credit card quite to the said that we saw the final months of 2017. growth has been downgraded for next year by the imf. 0bviously, politically, more than ever before, these figures are analysed, seized upon by both sides of the argument over whether or not written should be leaving the eu, which it is due to do in march of next year. talk about those longer term transitions as we go into 2019 and beyond. for now uk growth stronger than even the bank of england expected three months ago, but it does not mean that the economy is immune to the uncertainty surrounding the future of trade between britain and the eu. it would appear that businesses are

relying on building up various costs and capacity to grow through hiring more workers but it is perhaps coming at the expense of businesses investing in stronger growth to bastien stronger growth powers in the future. that is very much linked to that uncertainty about how britain's relationship with the eu will evolve after the current negotiations. thank you very much. let's return to our top story. delegates have been sharing their thoughts with the bbc ahead of president,‘s speech about trade later on today. —— president trump. actually, globalisation is something that we can harness for good. and that actually closing markets and closing countries is not going to help us move forward. let's wait and see. you canjudge.

i have no idea but whatever it is i hope it is good for the world. all of his cabinet members so far have been quite impressive, quite strong. they have delivered a very good performance. i was told that it might be about tpp. very fascinating if it's true. let's speak to our correspondent. first of all, what can we extrapolate from that interview that president trump has done with itv about the relationship between the us and britain about his relationship with the uk? yes, he was pressed very hard in that interview to give some kind of apology for retweeting those tweets from far right group, those unsubstantiated videos. and you sort of did but it wasn't the most fulsome apology, ipod. he said, i

didn't really know who these people weren't eiders retweeted it's out. it wasn't me who tweeted it initially entered in no very much about it and by the way it's a much bigger story in your country and it wasn't a big story in the usa. i think it was quite an insight into president trump. it was a problem for you but wasn't really a problem for me and anyway i didn't really know much about it, rather than thinking, i should know much about it, rather than thinking, ishould have know much about it, rather than thinking, i should have known about it before i be tweeted those videos. that wasn't the tone about what he was saying. it was sort of an but mostly a justification, a self—justification for what he did. what can we expect from a speech later? we're hearing that is going to give a more conciliatory speech than he did a year ago at his inaugural address. this is a victory lap. isa inaugural address. this is a victory lap. is a world business leaders with a lot of money to spend and he wa nts with a lot of money to spend and he wants them to spend it in the united states sub is unlikely he would come here and in his speech in a few hours‘ time, read them the riot act.

he‘s going to say america is open for business. we understand he is going to urge more global cooperation on key issues like north korea and fighting crisis. it will talk about the need, from america‘s point of view, for free and fair trade. this is the question that a lot of the delegates here will have. these global business leaders. what is that it is their trade mean in american terms? isn‘t the same thing as it our individual countries can we expect more protectionist measures? this is exuberant conference. there is a cloud on the horizon it is the prospect of protectionism from the united states and the global trade war. they will be listening carefully for that. just avoid what is happening in the us in terms of the line that was breaking about the babette donald trump had to be talked down by special counsel last summer from sucking robert ruler who is leading this investigation into allegations of interference from russia in the

trump presidential campaign. donald trump flies halfway across the world in the cloud of the brush investigation still follows. this was a story in the new york times that he ordered the firing of him in june. it was the white house‘s lawyer who had to from it. in the end he said, listen, mr president, if you fire robert mueller it will have a catastrophic impact on your presidency. and if you do it, i am quitting. at that point he seems to have reconsidered and said he would not go ahead with the firing. we know all along he has had criticism about robert mueller and sees the investigation as something of a witchhunt and something that is partisan and not unbiased. it is not surprising that he might have thought about trying to fire to won, it is pretty surprising to me that he went this far and that was the white house‘s lawyer who said, stop, you can stick this. thank you very much.

president offers to —— president trump is to give a speech about trade later today. you can see that live here on bbc news after one o‘clock. downing street has distanced itself from comments made by the chancellor, philip hammond, after he said any future change to the uk‘s relations with the eu could be "very modest". his remarks — during a speech at the world economic forum — were seized upon by tory leave campaigners, and criticised by a number of cabinet ministers. today, the brexit secretary, david davis, will give details of the government‘s plans for the transition phase after the uk leaves the eu next year. the row over this phrase, very modest. it illustrates the tension between those in the cabinet and the conservative government you are pro

brexit. those who are pro—remain. and of course, theresa may, in the middle of it. absolutely. the prime minister has had a balancing act and she became prime minister after the referendum. to keep those two very different parts of her party together. those pro—brexit, there is more like philip hammond, a softer brexiteer, a remain, really. now the softer end of brexit. philip hammond suggesting that we are not two types of economy coming together, we are aligned economies, in his words were going to try and find some modest ways of moving apart. that has inflamed and incendiary statements. some were telling the chancellor he should put a sock in it. downing street has made it very clear that they are, as they have been saying all along, looking very deep and special partnership with the european union economic lee after

brexit and they say that that cannot be described as modest. talk to us about this speech from david davis later on today in the north—east. what are we expecting to hear from north—east. what are we expecting to hearfrom him. he will discuss what is known as the transition period. the couple of yea rs transition period. the couple of years after we leave the european union but in which we will look presumably to stay alongside the single market. alongside the customs union. i think what we‘ll hear from david davis is him saying, yes, we went to be in. will be alongside those and therefore, the consequence, unlike when you‘re in the single market we will be free to start negotiating around trade deals. which could come into effect the minute that transition period is over. certainly it is an area i think where we‘ve heard from some brexiteers. the likes of jacob rees mogg, a strong proponent of brexit. he got a sort of thoughts in ahead of david davis‘s speech this afternoon suggesting that the government has been a bit too timid

and cowed by the eu and has been accepting terms on things like this that the eu has set rather than demanding what we want. having quite a lot of eyes on david davis this afternoon to really set out what he sees those terms what he will be going into bat for when the negotiations start in earnest. thank you. we‘ll be speaking to leading the leading eurosceptic mp, jacob rees—mogg shortly. and later this aftenoon you can see the full speech from brexit secretary davis davis — that‘s here on bbc news after 2.30pm. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: donald trump says he is prepared to apologise for retweeting posed by the far right group britain first. the uk economy grew by have a percent during the fourth quarter of 2017, official figures show. and downing street distances itself from comments made by the chancellor

after he said any change the uk‘s relations with the eu could be very modest. and in sport, six time champion roger federer has made it through to the final of the australian open. south korea‘s player suffered with blisters to speak and retired with a set down. roger federer will defend his title on sunday. in cricket, england lost their first five wickets as australian won the fourth one—day international by three wickets in adelaide. england lead the five match series 3—1. manchester united boss is called new signing thejuiciest manchester united boss is called new signing the juiciest orange on the tree. sanchez could make his debut later. in double back —— i will be back with more just after half past. let‘s return to the news concerning

pat’- nicky campbell has confirmed that he is among a number of top male bbc presenters and correspondents who have agreed to a take a pay cut following revelations about a gender pay gap at the corporation. i‘m joined now by our media correspondent — david sillito. just take us through who has said what so far today. the only person who is actually, in public, spoken about this, well, two people actually. there isjeremy vine. he said, yes, he has agreed in principle to a pay cut. and of course he is earning, according to the figures that were released last year, more than £700,000. we also understand thatjohn humphrys, any more than £600,000 and sheila edwards have agreed in principle that they will be taking pay cuts. nicky campbell on five live this morning said that, yes, he was on the list as well. this is part of a much wider thing. there are two issues here. when those first

revelations came out of top page was a question, are all these people been paid too much? and the other issue, which is, there was a wide discrepancy. you look at the top ten names, most of them are male. there was a big discrepancy between male and female. so there is the equality issue there. there is a full review of all on our paid talent ongoing at the moment and will be published we think probably next week. there is also going to be questioning by mps on wednesday, of all the top figures in the bbc, but what we‘re doing about the pay. izza rd about the pay. izzard equal, is it fair, is it right? the pay review next week. do you think that that might be superseded, if you like, by all of the discussions and developments of the last few weeks since carrie gracie stepped down as china editor? is it, in effect, the beginning of a

work in progress? all of these things are contractual negotiations between individuals of the names that sometimes will pop—up saying, yes, an agreement has been made. it's yes, an agreement has been made. it‘s probably because their contracts deal has come up first. so each time it throws along there will bea each time it throws along there will be a new benchmark about, well, yes, you will have to have a pay cut for there will have to be some sort of rearrangement that. it is not something that can be done overnight. you can‘t just something that can be done overnight. you can‘tjust announced that all these things will happen. but i think probably the on—air review will lay out a series of principles about how top talent at the bbc will be paid in the future and that will be the subject, the meat to be discussed with mps next wednesday. south korean officials have ordered an investigation into a fire that swept through a hospital, killing as many as a0 people. it took firefighters several hours to put out the blaze which is the country‘s deadliest in almost a decade. laura bicker reports from seoul. black smoke billowed from the

emergency wing as firefighters tried to get to patients trapped inside. there were nearly 200 people in the building. many were elderly. those who escaped needed urgent treatment. 0thers died on their way to hospital, most from smoke inhalation. firefighters said they did everything they could. translation: we prevented the fire from spreading to the second floor in the early stages. so that we can secure the second, third, fourth and fifth floors. as crews inspected the blackened shell of the hospital it was revealed that no water sprinklers had been installed. this is the deadliest blaze in a decade in south korea and the government said there will be a thorough investigation. translation: the president has ordered an investigation to find out

the exact cause of the fire and come up the exact cause of the fire and come up with measures to prevent more fires at building complexes, as well as preparing support measures to prom ptly as preparing support measures to promptly cope with the personnel and property damage caused by the spire. just this month, 29 people were killed in a fire in a sports centre. an enquiry found there were too few emergency exits and it had been built with flammable materials. questions are now being asked about safety regulations in south korea and what needs to be done to prevent something like this happen again. new guidance from the nhs medicines watchdog, the national institute for health and care excellence, says most sore throats can be treated with paracetamol. research suggests that antibiotics are being prescribed in a majority of cases — potentially contributing to the development of strains of bacteria that can‘t be treated by the medication. here‘s our health correspondent, dominic hughes. the overuse of antibiotics is leading to the development of bacteria resistant to these life—saving drugs. leading health experts warn this poses a serious threat to the uk.

if we lose the ability to fight infection, common medical procedures such as cesarean sections and cancer treatments could become too risky. prescribing antibiotics to treat a sore throat is a prime example of the way they can be misused. sore throats account for nearly one in four of gp appointments in the uk related to infections of the lungs and airways. research suggests that in 60% of those cases, antibiotics are prescribed. but most sore throats are caused by a viral infection, on which antibiotics will have no effect. we have become a bit, umm, acclimatised to thinking that we need antibiotics whenever we have got something wrong with us. and we don‘t. we just have to be re—educated, i suppose, to preserve the use of antibiotics for really serious infections. the latest advice from the nhs

medicines watchdog reminds doctors and nurses that most sore throats will be better within a week, and only the most serious bacterial infections need antibiotics. most patients are best advised to drink plenty of fluids, and to take paracetamol or ibuprofen to help with pain relief. dominic hughes, bbc news. downing street has challenged a suggestion that any change to the trade negotiations after brexit could be very modest. for more on let‘s talk to brexit supporter, jacob rees—mogg. he‘s the conservative mp for north east somerset and joins us live from his constituency. that distancing of number ten from those comments, has that been emphatic enough for you and us represent the sort of fundamental change of tone that you have been

called in for? well, i‘m very reassured that number ten downing st is sticking to the lancaster house speech and the conservative party manifesto. as it isa conservative party manifesto. as it is a pity that number 11 is sticking to policy. the prime minister is authoritative. the chancellor is second lord. he said in a newspaper article it is essential that the pm and chance that improve their working relationship and advocate the same policies no government works with these two figures are not united. you wrote this are the problems going forward, as you see them? well, i think this is not a good position for the chancellor to be in. to be undermining the prime minister. that it is of the utmost urgency that he should unite his position with that of the prime minister and with that of the

conservative party. a little bit of freelancing is very unhelpful. there has been going on by various members of the cabinet recently by various members of the cabinet rece ntly o n by various members of the cabinet recently on various subjects, hasn‘t that? you think that mr hammond‘s position is in doubt? should theresa may have a very stern word with him or replacing, even? well, i think ten downing st‘s clarification is effectively a stern word. it is an implied rebuke for the chancellor but it is out of the prime minister whether or not she has confidence in him. in fact, we havejust literally received a line from the lobby, from a spokesperson for theresa may, saying that she does have full confidence in mr hammond. what is your reaction to that? well, i fully what is your reaction to that? well, ifully support what is your reaction to that? well, i fully support the prime minister in delivering the brexit that she set out in lancaster house and in the conservative party manifesto. that big will bring huge benefits to the country, cheaper cost of food,

clothing and footwear the poorest in society most. and if she‘s got confidence in the chancellor than thatis confidence in the chancellor than that is good enough for me. you have warned that the 50 members of the european research group, of which a chairman, could withdraw support from mrs may if she has looked for a new customs union or read their variations of customs union with the eu. you‘re shaking your head there. i was going to ask, your head there. i was going to ask, you can‘t... go ahead. sorry. two things have been. there was no question about as removing support from mrs may. we believe support from mrs may. we believe support the proposal she has made for brexit. there is an aspect but where there are concerns and this is over a specific part of the bill on the customs union. so i don‘t want to bring those two together. they are separate. there was a couple of clauses in the customs bill that we have doubts about, or many of us have doubts about, or many of us have doubts about, or many of us have doubts about. we fully support the prime minister.

but you can‘t have that withdrawal from the customs union and the frictionless border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland? so number one, what you see is a solution to that? number two, do you have any red lines as far as the prime minister‘s position is concerned in terms of the ongoing negotiations? you can ever frictionless negotiations? you can everfrictionless border between north and south, between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. that is a matter of political will. bearing in mind that northern ireland you already have a different rate of vat, different duties on fuel, on cigarettes, on alcohol. than you do in the republic of ireland. therefore, there is a border already. how he believes that border already. how he believes that border is a different question of the uk government has made it clear that it will not have border patrols, border points, border checkpoints. and because of these aid the eu and the republic of ireland, we‘re that border.

what are you going to do? and on the second point, those red lines as far as you are concerned. if you don‘t get what you want on this at what point do you take action against theresa may? mrs may has my full support question set out around red lines and i support her red lines which are 12 points. the maze important of which that we should take control of our laws and that means being out of the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. we should take control ofjustice. we should take control of our borders so we are responsible for our own immigration policy and we should be free to do deals with the rest of the world and that means out of the customs union and out of the single market. ifully out of the customs union and out of the single market. i fully support her position. i‘m slightly more worried that the chancellor doesn‘t. do you think she is leading bolder moves do you think she is leading bolder m oves a re do you think she is leading bolder moves are bold enough strategies? because a number of your colleagues have criticised her in recent days, saying that she simply isn‘t grasping this process and getting on with it and do the bestjob that she can?

i fully can? ifully support can? i fully support the prime minister. what more can i say? i will bore you ifi what more can i say? i will bore you if i keep on repeating myself but she has my full confidence of the policy she set out in the manifesto. thank you forjoining us this morning. mike zimmer study sunshine. it‘s a beautiful start to the day across many parts. look at this lovely sunshine in argyll and bute at the moment. we have got that sunshine across many northern and western areas. there will be about macleod in south—west england, but it‘ll send and break up together sunny spells. higher cloud and the west of scotland. temperatures are about six to nine celsius. feel fairly pleasa nt to nine celsius. feel fairly pleasant outing about this afternoon. there will be rain this evening in northern ireland and into

scotland. further south and usable stage i, by patches of mist and fog developing and maybe a touch touch of frost too. temperatures staying above freezing. staying quite cloudy. cloudy again on sunday, but look at those temperatures. in double figures for all of us. goodbye. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: donald trump says he‘s prepared to apologise for retweeting posts by the far—right group britain first. if you are telling me they are holeable races people, i will simply apologise if you would like me to do that. i know nothing about that. the uk economy exceeded expectations to grow by 0.5% during the last three months of 2017, official figures show. but growth for the year as a whole was only 1.8%, the slowest growth for five years.

downing street distances itself from comments made by the chancellor after he said any change to the uk‘s relations with the eu could be "very modest". the 15—year—old driver of a stolen car that crashed in leeds, killing five passengers, has been sentenced to four and a half years in detention. it‘s reported a number of male presenters and reporters are in talks after the bbc‘s china editor carrie gracie resigned in protest at pay disparity. i think it needs to be sorted out andi i think it needs to be sorted out and i support my female colleagues who greatly said that they should be paid the same wine a day do the same job. it isjust a no—brainer. paid the same wine a day do the same job. it isjusta no—brainer. it paid the same wine a day do the same job. it isjust a no—brainer. it was knotty problem for me. time for a look at the sport. roger federer, favourite in the

match made smooth progress. he was given a little helping hand when his side to be an opponent had to retire due to blisters during the second set. due 1 59>; ster fill ring the second due 1 59>; ster fill of g the second due 1 59>; ster fill of upsets, cond due 1 59>; ster fill of upsets, many with forecasts good fortune for roger federer. the good atmosphere amplified for the semifinal, but few things could distract from the gritters. he won the toss and elected to receive, and should has in ten. further on, the south korean gotan in ten. further on, the south korean got an inkling luck was not going to be on his side. at 36, there is some cracks appearing in federer‘s game, but he lacked the experience to exploit them. federer was blistering

too, but with blistering. it all proved too much, and trailing 5—2 in the second set, the pain was too much red hen to continue. it was a bittersweet victory for roger federer, cable face a much tougher challenge against marin cilic on sunday. england have lost a fourth one day international against australia in adelaide. the lead 3—0 going into the match, and ning for a clean sweep, but they could have not a worst that. they lost their first five wickets for just worst that. they lost their first five wickets forjust eight runs. they did manage in the entry posted respectable score of 196. in reply, the australians scored a billion 90 six. —— a brilliant 96. the final

matches in perth on sunday. paralympian champion sophie hannah says it was heartbreaking to have her impairment question. she has cerebral palsy, but at a parliamentary hearing into the classification is october, the father of one of her team—mates said she was benefiting from competing in the wrong category. she gave her reaction. i was very angry and upset. i never imagined seeing my face all over the internet and newspaper and tv. i just face all over the internet and newspaper and tv. ijust worked really, really ha rd. newspaper and tv. ijust worked really, really hard. i put nav hours of training an attack. it is very heartbreaking for me, and it does not do the sport any good. they want to inspire people with disabilities to try it out. you will tell —— yeovil town aaron

phantom of the match of the day cameras this evening when manchester united come. the side sit 21st in league 2. this weekend 69 years ago, yeovil town were also in fourth—round action against sunderland, the manchester united of their day. they won 2—0 in one of their day. they won 2—0 in one of the biggest cup shocks of all time. can they do the same tonight? you can find it with gary lineker on much of the day from 7:30pm on match of the day. that is all this port for now. british economic growth unexpectedly picked up speed in the last three months of 2017. gdp grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace of quarterly growth last year. the manufacturing sector has been particularly buoyant,

helped by a weaker pound. our business correspondent ben thompson has been to find out what this has meant for one of britain‘s most famous motoring brands. welcome to the triumph mortar fire today. this last year has been great for manufacturers because the week pound has meant it has been cheaper to sell goods overseas, so it hasn‘t really been a story of uk manufacturers. not so great if you work in retail. they live in inflation means we have less money and our pockets, so we have cut back and our pockets, so we have cut back a little bit on spending on things like shopping on the high street. for fans like shopping on the high street. forfans in like shopping on the high street. for fans in this country, like shopping on the high street. forfans in this country, good news and bad. paul, you are one of the bosses here. talk me through the

last year, because on one hand to great news because you are selling a lots more, but there are some difficulties. we had a really good year. our sales were up by 13%, and we sold a record number of motorcycles. as a business in the uk, we are growing. we hired more than 60 people. we launched a brand in vietnam, and signed a fantastic agreement to essentially become the official engine supplier to the championship. we had a good year on balance. things going well. you have had a really good overview because you recruit a lot of the people to work in places like this. do you think things are on the up? this is our main sector. like paul, we saw a re cord our main sector. like paul, we saw a record year last year for sales, coupled with the fact that there is more to be great, because we just simply are not getting the skill baseis simply are not getting the skill base is required from the eastern

european '5. they have stopped coming over, therefore we cannot tap into that resource any more. that is interesting. the fact that people are not coming here, means it is harder to find people to do the job. in 2016, we perhaps interviewed five people to get one ideal applicant, now it is a case of interviewing 20 to get that one. what does that mean for your business? overall, like every international business we do have challenges recruiting people, but one of the benefits that we have is that we are very strong as an international brand, which helps ove rco m e international brand, which helps overcome some of those challenges. next year for overcome some of those challenges. next yearfor us overcome some of those challenges. next year for us looks like another view of growth we have just lost five fantastic motorcycles, and we are forecasting growth in europe and in easier, and also some of the outer markets. good luck with it. thank you so much. it really is a story of two halves. the firms that have done well out of the weak

pound, maybe some of that uncertainty surrounding brexit, but those that are really being hit by inflation and weaker growth, even though the number of people in work has risen, wages are not giving up. it depends which side you set on. the question is whether that can continue in 2018. with me are andrew lilco from the economics consultancy europe economics and jonathan portes from the research group britain in a changing europe. what do you make of these figures for the last quarter? i think they we re for the last quarter? i think they were fairly in—line with expectations. hats higher than people thought. for the year as a whole, we have got 1.8%. that‘s about the same as the previous year, so the economy is growing at a reasonably steady pace, by no means

a boom, but that in combination with unemployment at a four decadal, the deficit down to its lowest levels, the various stock markets at a high level, even in the pound picking up a little. so, we have an economy which is in reasonably solid state. possibly the most solid for about ten years. any better state than might have been expected according to some forecasters because of brexit? it is certainly true that the predictions of doom and gloom immediately after the votes have not been seen. it is clearly true that brexit has had is it never can —— has had significant impact. we are growing about the average of other industrial as countries before brexit, and our growth is now a little more than a percent slower, so little more than a percent slower, so it is fair to say that brexit has not a percent of gdp. it is not the

end of the bar by any means. we are still seeing reasonable to sluggish growth, and employment is doing very well. the biggest rest are very very much still to come. what do you think the biggest risks are as we had through the rest of this year? most of the risks at the moment are probably to the upside. the euro zone grows a bit faster, trump‘s america seems to be going quite fast, it may even go into a philbin. if they brexit guilt and certainly better than people thought, and there are other things, tech optimism, autonomous vehicles might come online seller, and green tech and there are other possibilities out there. what we are going to do...i out there. what we are going to do... ithink out there. what we are going to do... i think most of the risks are actually to the outside. we are used

to thinking about the economy in terms of clinging on, and we have gotten quite a negative mode over the past few years. there could be allotted revolution in iran, spiking oil prices, the us is probably overdue a recession. there are all kinds of opportunities, but mosques of the risks at the upside. do you agree with that? i would add that i do think that they breasted risks are probably larger than she thinks. —— the brexit risks. we are asking for the eu to let us state and all the rules and regulations without having any vote up. there are a lot of technicalities to sort out. it is quite possible they will not be sorted out by february are much, and that means there are opportunities to grow for businesses. finally, a

crackpot from both of you on how this will filter down to all of us on street, to pay, our standard of living... inflation are probably far back a little bit, just mathematically because so much of it was given by stirling dropping in the past. salaries don‘t have to write that much faster than they have been doing for that to turn into real pay rises. there are other reasons to think they might write a little bit. emigration is probably following back a little bit as the eurozone does better. there is less ofa eurozone does better. there is less of a pill. that will lead to some wage pressures in the uk.” of a pill. that will lead to some wage pressures in the uk. i agree with that. we should see pay beginning to grow again at falling over the last year, but we are still not getting back to the period

before 2007 grammys are very significant wage is pretty much every year. we have a well to go before we get back to that growth. thank you both very much for your thoughts. the bike pleaded guilty to causing the crash by dangerous driving. this came to court really quickly. take us came to court really quickly. take us through what happened. that is right. today, the case was heard and the boy was sentenced, but as you mentioned, three teenagers and two mentioned, three teenagers and two men were killed when a stolen black vinyl collided with a tree at high

speedin vinyl collided with a tree at high speed in leeds. this morning, leeds crown court heard that the vehicle prior to the killers and was been driven speeds of up to 88 mils per hourin driven speeds of up to 88 mils per hour ina driven speeds of up to 88 mils per hour in a a0 mph zone. they were driving on the wrong side of the roads, being driven erratically and running red lights. thejudge sentenced to 15 you know the bike, who we cannot name for legal reasons to four and who we cannot name for legal reasons to fourand a who we cannot name for legal reasons to four and a half years in prison. he will have to take an extended driving test upon release. the judge said it was your actions, you were driving that car on that night, which has caused all this pain. on top of the fact that you yelled at five people. he said, i know what happened that night will ship your life every day from now on. i don‘t think they will ever be a time of the bride you will not end up what happened and to regret what you did. thank you for that. in a moment a summary

of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc newsroom live: donald trump says he is prepared to apologise for retweeting posed by the far right group britain first. the uk economy grew by not .5% during the fourth quarter of 2017, official figures show. and during the fourth quarter of 2017, officialfigures show. and downing street distances itself from commerce made by the chancellor at after he said changes with solutions to the eu could be very modest. in the business news: uk growth rose by 0.5% in the last three months of 2017, slightly better—than—expected. but the office for national statistics who released the figures said the annual picture remained "slower and more uneven". last year the economy grew at 1.8%, the slowest rate since 2012. more on that in just a moment. a "deeper relationship" with europe would benefit the uk economy,

the governor of the bank of england has said. speaking to the bbc in davos, mark carney said that while global growth had accelerated, the uk was suffering a "brexit effect" in the short term. also at davos is billionaire investor george soros. speaking at his annual dinner, he criticised tech "monopolies" such as facebook and google, which he called a threat to democracy. he also suggested that social media platforms were obstacles to innovation. so let‘s get more now on that uk gdp number — coming in a bit better than expected at 0.5%. it means that the final three months of the year was the fastest growing quarter for 2017. however, growth for the whole year stands at 1.8%, the slowest since 2012. the biggest impact on growth by some margin came

from the services sector, particularly financial and business services. no great surprise it was the services sector that really talk that draws number, but less so when we talk about consumer services. the brexiteers and the remainers are going to pick these and was apart today. the remainers will save the economy is missing out on a global upswing, the brexiteers will see the economy is not as bad as we thought. the reality is, the uk economy is doing ok. consumers and managing well, things will improve later this year. industrial producers are enjoying the benefits of the global upswing, but none of this has anything to do with the long—term consequences are brexit, which is what people should be really focusing on. let's look at the

long—term picture. elliott this week, the imf, passed it boosted its forecasts for global growth, when it came to the uk and 2019, the year we are due to actually leave the year, are due to actually leave the year, a downgraded our growth. yes. here is how it works. in the short—term, we have to think about demand, hide inflation, higher uncertainty. in the long run, we think about supply, less investment, less migrating, j. zachjohnson global less investment, less migrating, j. zach johnson global market less investment, less migrating, j. zachjohnson global market is reducing their expectations about potential growth at rebecca. —— after brexit. what do these numbers tell us about possible future actions from the bank of england? they raised interest rates last year, the first rays we have seen for ten years. what are your predictions going forward? they will

probably hike twice this year. we are seeing underlining pressures picking up, and stronger wages. the near—term outlook actually looks ok. we are seeing a normalisation of the global economy by central banks. consumers need not worry about modest rate hikes at their wages will start to pick up later this year. many thanks. and some other stories in the news today: the number of company insolvencies in england and wales rose to their highest since 2013 last year. more than 17,000 companies entered insolvency in 2017 — that‘s a% more than in 2016. personal insolvencies also hit a three—year high according to government figures out today. us retail giant walmart has struck a deal with rakuten, an online grocery delivery service in japan. the world‘s largest retailer is looking for new ways to grow its international business.

it has faced disappointment in the brazilian market as well as in britain from competitive discount retailers, such as, lidl and aldi. china‘s smartphone market on the other hand is more competitive than ever. for the first time ever, smartphone shipments in china have fallen, according to a report from industry analysts canalys. in a saturated market, manufacturers are struggling to stand out. huawei though bucked the trend growing shipments by 9%. oppo and vivo were the biggest losers. a quick british shares rose across the board last friday as buyers return to the market following two days of declines. the index, it dated briefly, before giving up some of

those gains. against the usual, it has also strengthened. the biggest rise at the moment asjust has also strengthened. the biggest rise at the moment as just eat. that‘s all the business news. council say they would need to triple their road repair budgets to tackle a vast backlog are potholes. a transport correspondent victoria fritz has more. it does not take a lot to try and damage a car. you try to avoid them, but sometimes you cannot. it is a bit dangerous to the car. after the bad weather, they seem to appear.

normally potholes developed under wet and cold weather, but the nac says it has seen the number of brea kd owns says it has seen the number of breakdowns caused by driving on the roads increase regardless of the season. their patrols attended 2830 pa rt season. their patrols attended 2830 part related breakdowns between october and december last year, 11% more than the same period the year before. vehicles they attended typically suffered damage shock absorbers broken suspensions,. we would like to see council funding put in place so they could sort out the problem once and for all. the government says it is investing £20 billion to increase capacity on road journeys. the majority of that will go on major roads and motorways. with budgets under increasing chain, the pressure is mounting on councils to plug the gaps in local roads, where most journeys to plug the gaps in local roads, where mostjourneys begin or end. violent scenes broke out across

france yesterday. because might not be what you expect a french supermarket chain offered a 70% discount on nutella, and police had to be called when people began fighting over the offer. the stock went in 15 minutes and one customer was left with a black eye. you knew different laughed nutella so much? for many of us, it is light and bright. we have got a bit of cloud floating around in england and our plan to watch scotland. for many, blue skies. this is the weather that

book, one —— that will come and this afternoon. this is a scene in all then this morning. we have got some blooming flower was coming out there and snowdrops as well. you can get the idea. it is looking pretty nice, lots of sunshine. temperatures getting up to six, seven, eight celsius. it will feel quite pleasant out and about. we will see a bit work cloud moving its weekend. there might be some spots of rain in the far west of northern ireland. at five o‘clock this afternoon, we has dug up clear skies and sunshine. temperatures up to about five to 9 degrees. with the light winds, it will feel quite nice. the event of scotla nd will feel quite nice. the event of scotland and northern ireland will continue to spread further eastwards. an we will see patty mist

and for developing further south. how about the weekend? it is mostly cloudy. there is going to be some rain moving west to east, so quite breezy particularly on saturday night, but also quite mild. the milder weather is coming in because we have a south—westerly wind. that brings the rain, and the rainbow push its way further eastwards. we will see a few brighter skies, but mostly cloudy in the afternoon. temperatures up to 12 celsius. enter sunday is when we are going to see some very strong sunday is when we are going to see some very strong winds in the far north of scotland. another weather system north of scotland. another weather syste m m oves north of scotland. another weather system moves to scotland in northern areas and bring wet weather. goodbye. this is bbc news —

and these are the top stories developing at midday. donald trump says he‘s prepared to apologise for retweeting posts by the far—right group britain first. and if you are telling me these are terrible people, horrible racist people, i would certainly apologise if you would like me to do that. i know nothing about that. the uk economy grew by 0.5% during the fourth quarter of 2017, official figures show. downing street has distanced itself from comments made by the chancellor, philip hammond, after he said any future change to the uk‘s relations with the eu could be "very modest". this is not a good position for the chancellor to be in to be undermining the prime minister. it is the utmost urgency that he should unite his position with that of the

prime minister and without of the conservative party. it‘s reported a number male presenters are in discussion with the corporation, after it‘s china editor carrie gracie resigned in protest at pay disparity. i think it all needs to be sorted out and i support my female colleagues who have rightly said that they should be paid the same when they are doing the same job. it is just a no—brainer. so it wasn‘t a problem for me. and new guidance for a sore throat — an nhs watchdog tells doctors to prescribe painkillers not ‘precious‘ antibiotics to patients. and why they‘re going nuts in france for a certain chocolate spread. president trump has offered to apologise for sharing anti—muslim

videos posted online by the far—right group, britain first. speaking to itv‘s good morning britain, mrtrump said he hadn‘t known about the organisation when he shared their content and has described the videos as a depiction of radical islamic terrorism — saying he was a "big believer" in fighting it. it was done because i am a big believer in fighting radical islamic terror. this was a depiction of radical islamic terror. they were unverified videos. islamic terror. they were unverified videoslj didn‘t do it. i did a retweet. it was a big story where you are but it was a big story where you are but it was not a big story where i am. so you were telling me something. this is airing in britain and i want them to get to the real you. the

real me somebody who loves britain, loves the uk. i love scotland. i wish, you know, one of the biggest problems i have in winning, i would be able to get back there so often. i would love to go there, as you know, before this happened i would be there a lot. it is very special people and a very special place. so i don‘t want to cause any difficulty for your country, that i can tell you. cani you. can i get an apology out of you for the retweets? it would go a long way. here is what is there. if you‘re telling me these are horrible people, horrible racist people, i would certainly apologise if you would certainly apologise if you would like me to that. i know nothing about them. you would disavow yourself or people like that? i want nothing to do with them. you‘re telling me about these people. i know nothing about these people. i hope he will say that globalisation is something we can

harness for good. and that closing markets closing countries is not going to help us move forward. well, let's wait and see. you can't judge. i have no idea. whatever it is i hope it is good for the world. all of his cabinet members so far have been quite impressive. quite strong in the delivery. a very good performance. iwas quite strong in the delivery. a very good performance. i was told that the president may proclaim going back to tpp. that is very fascinating if it is true. reports in the us say donald trump tried to — but then backed down from — sacking robert mueller — the head of the investigation into alleged russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. reports first published in the new york times say the president ordered the dismissal of mr mueller lastjune because of what he said were conflicts of interest. but he backed down when the chief white house lawyer threatened to quit if he did. mr trump had this to say as he arrived at the world economic forum earlier. he was pressed very hard in that

interview to give some kind of apology for retweeting those tweets from a far right group. there‘s unsubstantiated videos. and he sort of did but it wasn‘t the most fulsome apology, i thought. he said, well i don‘t really know who these people were and ijust retweeted it out. wasn‘t me who tweeted it initially. i died and —— and i didn‘t know much about it. it was a big story in your country but wasn‘t a big in the usa. this is a big insight into how president trump thinks. it was a problem for you but it was not a problem for me and anyway, i didn‘t know very much about it. rather than thinking, well maybe i should‘ve known about it before i tweeted those videos. it wasn‘t the tone of what he was

saying. it was sort of an apology but more a justification, a self—justification of what he did. what can we expect from this speech later. we‘re hearing he‘s going to give a more conciliatory speech than last year. these are world business leaders, as he said, with a lot of money to spend. and he wants them dispensed in the united states, so it is unlikely that he would come here in his speech in a few hours‘ time, read them the right back. he will america is open for business. we understand he will urge more global cooperation on key issues like north korea and fighting isas, and he will talk about the need for free and fair trade from america‘s point of view. that is the question a lot of delegates will have. what exactly a lot of delegates will have. what exa ctly d oes a lot of delegates will have. what exactly does fair trade mean an american term that is that the same thing as it is for our individual countries? or can we expect more protectionist measures? because this is an incredibly exuberant conference. the stock market is doing very well and if there is a

cloud on the horizon it is the prospect of protectionism from the united states and some kind of a global trade was will be listening carefully for that. just a thought on what is happening backin just a thought on what is happening back in the us. the fact that donald trump had to be talked down by white house legal counsel, special counsel, early last summer from sacking robert mueller, who of course is leading this investigation into allegations of collusion or interference from russia in the trump presidential campaign. what sort of repercussions is that happen, any? it is amazing, isn‘t it? utilise halfway across the world in the cloud of the russia investigation still follows. this was a story in the new york times that injune he ordered the firing of the special counsel, robert mueller, and was the white house lawyer, who had to talk him down from it. in the end he said, listen, mr president. if you fire robert mueller it will have a catastrophic effect on your presidency and if you do it i‘m quitting. and at that point the

president seems to have reconsidered and said, ok, he‘s not going to go ahead with the firing of robert mueller. we know he has had criticism about robert mueller, he sees the whole investigation in russia as something of a witchhunt and something that is partisan and not unbiased. and it is not surprising that he might have thought about trying to fight a won. it is because of rising to me that he went as far and that it was the white houselawyer who said, ok, stop. you cannot do this. president trump is to give a speech about trade later today. you can see that live here on bbc news after one o‘clock. britain‘s economy grew faster than expected during the fourth quarter of 2017, the office for national statistics says. figures released this morning show that gdp grew by half a percent in the last three months of 2017 driven by growth in the services sector. that means that for the whole of 2017 growth was 1.8 percent.

that makes 2017 with slowest rate expansion since 2012. downing street has distanced itself from comments made by the chancellor, philip hammond, after he said any future change to the uk‘s relations with the eu could be "very modest". his remarks — during a speech at the world economic forum — were seized upon by tory leave campaigners, and criticised by a number of cabinet ministers. today, the brexit secretary, david davis, will give details of the government‘s plans for the transition phase after the uk leaves the eu next year. talking to me little earlier brexit support and conservative mp for north east somerset jacob support and conservative mp for north east somersetjacob rees support and conservative mp for north east somerset jacob rees mogg says philip hammond should not be undermining the prime minister. well, i‘m very be assured that number ten downing st is sticking to the lancaster house speech and to the lancaster house speech and to the conservative party manifesto. it isa the conservative party manifesto. it is a pity that number 11 downing st is a pity that number 11 downing st is undermining government policy, and i‘m very reassured that the

prime minister and her office has been so clear. and of course, the prime minister is authoritative. she is first lord of that it, the chancellor is second lord. you said ina chancellor is second lord. you said in a newspaper article earlier this month that it is essential that the pm and chancellor improve their working relationship and advocate the same policies, new government works from these figures are not united. you wrote this. so what other problems going forward, as you see them? well, i think this is not a good position for the chancellor to be and, to be undermining the prime minister. that it is of the utmost urgency that he should unite his position with that of the prime minister and without of the conservative party. a little bit of freelancing is very unhelpful. there has been freelancing going on from various members of the cabinet on various subjects recently, hasn‘t that? do you think mr hammond‘s position in doubt? should theresa may have a very stern word with him or replace him, even?

i think ten downing st‘s clarification is effectively a stern word. it is clearly an implied rebuke with the chancellor. but it isa rebuke with the chancellor. but it is a matter for the rebuke with the chancellor. but it is a matterfor the prime minister whether or not she has confidence in him. in fact, actually, we havejust, literally, received a line from the lobby from a spokesperson for treason made, saying that she does a full confidence in mr hammond. what is your reaction to that? well, i fully support the prime minister and delivering the she set out in lancaster house and in the conservative party manifesto. i think it will bring huge benefits to the country. cheaper cost of food, clothing and footwear. helping the poorest in society most. and if she‘s got confidence in the chancellor that is good enough for me. jacob rees mogg is bidding to be a short time ago. downing street issued a statement saying the prime minister still full confidence in the chancellor despite that row over brexit. yesterday, philip hammond,

after he said any future changed the uk's after he said any future changed the uk‘s relations with the european markets could be very modest, but this morning he said he is increasingly confident that britain would be able to get a very good access to eu markets after brexit. it was also talking about those gdp figures that we‘ve had this morning, talking to our economic editor. let‘s listen to that now. 0.5% is a very good result for the last quarter, significantly above market expectations. and it does mean for the 2017 as whole we are likely to find that i regret has been 1.8%, significantly higher than the obr‘s forecast of 1.5. showing the continued gazillions of the british economy. what do you put that down to? the british economy is performing well. export markets of driving. we‘ve seen export markets of driving. we‘ve seen strong growth in services, in this quarter. the economy is just resilient. it has been much more resilient than people expected. the governor of the bank of england said on the today

programme this morning that if it hadn‘t been for the brexit vote, the brexit uncertainty, the economy would be 1% bigger this year. he said the economy was tens of billions of pounds smaller. do you agree that there has been a brexit cost to the uk economy? what we‘ve got to focus on a 2018 is giving business, markers, consumers more certainty and clarity about the future. and i certainly think, as we give to this year, first with agreeing and intimidation period with the eu in the spring, and then getting into the substantive negotiations about our future relationship and access to eu markets as we go through the year, we will be able to deliver to the market more clarity, more certainty about the future and i‘m sure that will translate into stronger growth and greater business confidence. do you agree with the governor that there has been a cost to the uk

economy from the decision brexit? well, we know that uncertainty impairs business and there is a degree of uncertainty and that is delaying some business investment decisions. talk to business as a teller is that they‘re waiting for greater clarity about the future they invest. what i am very clear about his, as we move forward, we made very good progress in december. as we move forward in this negotiation we will be able to deliver that clarity to businesses and to markets and to consumers. given that we‘ve got so much stronger global growth should the uk economy be doing much better than it is at the moment? well, the uk is, as you know, a very open economy. and as our export markets grow more strongly we will expect that benefit come through and deliver stronger growth in the uk as well. what we need to do is make sure, of course, that we maintain access to theirs export markets. and

the european union is our most important export market. a3% of our exports. and so our priority in these negotiations must be to ensure that our businesses can continue to have access for our goods and services to the eu market. and i‘m confident that we will achieve such an agreement. you will know there has been a lot of controversy backing the uk about your comments about her relationship with the european union. only changing ina with the european union. only changing in a very modest way? are you a hyper soft brexiteer? i‘m not at all. i said yesterday that we will leave the european union in 2019 at the same time we will leave the customs union and the single market. what i was explaining to my audiences that starting as we do with a very high degree of trade with the eu, very high level of alignment, we should be able to negotiate a very high degree of market access for the future and a very smooth process at the border, which means that there should be minimal disruption to the trade

patterns that the companies i was speaking to our already having with the european union. that will protect british prosperity and protect british jobs. that will protect british prosperity and protect britishjobs. our comments like very modest, which sounds like a soft soft brexit, destabilise the prime minister is? destabilise the government? it makes a controversy destabilise the government? it makes a co ntrove rsy we re destabilise the government? it makes a controversy were there wasn‘t one before. do take some responsibility for those kind of issues and the controversies they create? the context was important. i was bidding battle trade relationship of the eu editors the‘s policy that we want to maintain the maximum possible access to markets and the minimalfriction at our borders because that is good for the british economy and british jobs and it is good for british prosperity. that was the chancellor there. let‘s get more honest with our political correspondent. the chancellor trying to clarify his position on those very modest comments. yes, indeed. ithink what

he's trying to say is that he wants to see our access to the single market change only commies as gwen modest way. he's not saying that we're not going to leave visible market. is that if we are very much bored with government policy about leaving the single market, leaving the customs union. so is effectively trying to say, no, he was not speaking out of school. it wasn't speaking out of school. it wasn't speaking against government policy. there is in a little bit of a question about cabinet discipline earlier this week. boris johnson, the foreign secretary, talking about wanting extra money for the nhs and getting other put back in its place by the prime minister on that. we have had philip hammond this week talking about wanting modest changes. using, no, not modest changes. using, no, not modest changes to our relationship with doctors modest changes to access. nuanced borders which to regroup and serve around the prime minister. people perhaps undermining her. downing street has at last i were

very much the prime minster has full confidence in philip hammond and there is no question, i think, his position being in question. but the noise around the prime minister, the tension between the brexit and the pro—remain camps still very much evident. let‘s talk about that because lots expressions of confidence going on. theresa may confident in philip hammond, jacob rees mogg confident about theresa may. yet how much does that belie those underlying tensions that you just mentioned? well, look, the tensions don'tjust exist mentioned? well, look, the tensions don't just exist around exit and remain camps around the prime minister. there are those who are concerned about her performance domestically, concerned there are in big ideas pushing through to kind of attract voters on issues that i went about leaving the european union and how it is playing at the moment. interestingly, jacob rees mogg who we we re interestingly, jacob rees mogg who we were hearing forjust before gave a speech last night very critical of the government's abridged brexit, talking about the government being powered by the eu. however, he is at

pains today to state how supportive years of the prime minister and her approach overall to brexit. her red light on issues like leaving the single market, leaving the customs union. some might say that is because brexiteers feel the best chance of getting their type of brexit is to stick with the prime minister. so even if they have some concerns about members of the government like that hammond is trying to push an agenda that is not quite the way of leaving the eu they want, they are very much behind the prime minister. but there are those who would be at the very fact the prime minister hasn't given a stronger rebuke to philip hammond. perhaps underlines the fact that they are concerned about the way brexiters approaching and indeed domestically there have been mps tweezing today to say that they are concerned the prime ministerjust isn't really listening to them and assist into two smaller group around her. there is talk of ao assist into two smaller group around her. there is talk of 40 letters being submitted suggesting a

question to the chair of the 1922 committee of backbench conservative mps who oversees the running of the internal conservative mps. they need 48 letters to trigger that. so the suggestion is growing concern is getting closer but not a crisis leveljust yet. thank you very much. jeremy vine and nicky campbell have confirmed that they are among a number of top male bbc presenters and correspondents who have agreed to a take a pay cut following revelations about a gender pay gap at the corporation. earlier this month carrie gracie resigned her post as china editor in protest at the salary discrepancy between her and male international editors. the bbc radio 2 presenter jeremy vine, spoke to reporters as he arrived for his radio programme today.

ijust think, i think it all needs to be sorted out. and i support my female colleagues who rightly said that they should be paid the same when they‘re doing the same job. as just a no—brainer. so it wasn‘t a problem for me to accept one. so it wasn‘t a problem for me to accept one. i‘m joined now by our media correspondent — david sillito. what we know about the status of these negotiations? have the salary reductions and salary cuts been agreed or are they still under discussion? there was a statement from the bbc. there was a statement from the bbc. the bbc has agreed pay cuts with a number of leading presenters and others have agreed in principle. can we put some names and numbers to that? jeremy vine, according to the publication of pay salaries last year was earning more than £700,000. we knowjohn humphrys any more than £600,000, has agreed to cut. also hugh edwards and also nicky campbell

from five live this morning said he was also on the list. so we‘ve got a few na m es was also on the list. so we‘ve got a few names there. of course this is all around solve a big review of an aeroplane. the bbc is carrying it out following the publication. the outcry is not just out following the publication. the outcry is notjust about out following the publication. the outcry is not just about the disparity between mere male and female for many people which is the size of the salaries. then they will be meeting mps next week to account for all of this and discuss bbc paying public. how much of what has happened in response to carrie gracie‘s decision to stand down as china editor, how much is that feeding into that pay review next week? it has certainly added a degree the bidders but this has been a long process. these people, the presenters, they have rolling pay negotiations were no contracts come up. these things take a long time to get sorted out and i think the

moment though salaries were published there was a feeling of political pressure on the bbc is well to do something about it, to try and bring them down to a certain degree and a greater degree of equality between male and female. this bill ongoing process but she was certainly not pleased when she realised the disparity that existed even after she was offered a £a5,000 pay increase. thank you. good afternoon. the six time champion roger federer has made smooth progress into another australian open final in melbourne this morning. there was extreme disappointment by south korean opponent who had to retire with blisters on a set was five two down. federer goes on to defend his title on sunday what is a repeat of last

year‘s wimbledon final. the british pair were left reeling a number of u nforced pair were left reeling a number of unforced errors as they lost the wheelchair doubles final to france. you‘re beaten 6—a, 6—2 at melbourne park. england‘s just have lost the latest one—day international in adelaide. that is after slumping to 845 in adelaide. that is after slumping to 8a5 in their innings. that dismal start cost england dear. despite 78 from chris works. the 96 for australia was scored. a good home with three wickets to spare. the paralympic champion says it was heartbreaking to have impairments questioned by an opponent‘s father. ata questioned by an opponent‘s father. at a parliamentary hearing into athletics, she told the bbc had

reaction to the claims. i was very angry and upset. i never imagined seeing my face all over the internet and newspapers, the tv. i think with mei and newspapers, the tv. i think with me ijust work and newspapers, the tv. i think with me i just work unbelievably and newspapers, the tv. i think with me ijust work unbelievably hard. i put in hours of training on the track. it is very heartbreaking for me and it doesn‘t do the sport any good if you want to inspire people and we want people with a disability to come and try it out. the largest ever winter olympics team have flown out to the games from heathrow airport. they‘re targeting a record fall from the games. and that is all the sport for now. we will have a full round—up at around 1:30pm. we will see then. let‘s talk to economic editorjohn

campbell who was there in belfast for us. donald trump has been talking about the great trading relationship between britain and the us. but worked on one thing and actions of another. we know he is a protectionist president so do we think this decision is going to go against bombardier? bombardier is a canadian owned company with a big operation in northern ireland and apparently a government minister, a government source has told an agency that they expect the bombardier will lose the case that would time was something that the aviation minister told a commons committee recently as well

when he said he thought bombardier we lose this one. in practice, what will that mean? well, things have changed a little bit over the last number of months because there was a stage where this would have meant that there was no way that bombardier was going to be able to sell its new plane, the c series, into the united states. that would be devastating for a company that not too long ago had teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and it would have been very damaging for the bombardier plan to belfast. what we had last year was that audacious deal worth an airbus came in and effectively to control of the c series project. the huge global error in article company of said we can do two things here. we will be able to sell more of these planes through arabic sales network and secondly, we can use our existing factory inside the united states, to actually construct the series and get around the tariff problem. while this once would have been perhaps a

terminal event, for bombardier and its operations in belfast, the picture is now a little better. because of that air bus connection. and are we expecting the decision? not until half past seven uk time. we will be down there at the bombardierfactory get we will be down there at the bombardier factory get the reaction from unions and workers as the news comes through. let‘s ta ke comes through. let‘s take a look at the weather now. how was the weekend shaping up? a bit ofa now. how was the weekend shaping up? a bit of a change in the way this weekend. today a brief ridge of high pressure means it is dry and bright but chilly. will continue to brighten up across the south—east we re brighten up across the south—east were reading a little bit more on the way of cloud. more reliable sunshine in the west. turning hazy for northern ireland in north—west scotland. not feeling warm with light winds. we go through this evening and overnight this weather front pushes them to the west. over in the east clearer skies. perhaps

the odd patch of frost forming. the best of the brightness over in the south—east first thing tomorrow but that band available workers waste words. heavy burst to begin with but will become lighter impact year. bleeding behind its brightness but heavy, thundery showers for scotland and gales or severe gales in the far north. temperatures in the double figures. a maximum of 12 celsius. another mild day on sunday. there will be some rain in the north. plenty of cloud in the south of the few outbreaks of rain in the west and bright intervals. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines: donald trump says he‘s prepared to apologise for retweeting posts by the far—right group britain first. if you are telling me they are horrible racist people, i will simply apologise if you would like me to do that. i know nothing about that. the uk economy exceeded expectations to grow by 0.5% during the last three months of 2017, official figures show.

but growth for the year as a whole was only 1.8 %, the slowest growth for five years. downing street distances itself from comments made by the chancellor — after he said any change to the uk‘s relations with the eu could be "very modest". starting with a very high degree of trade with ceu, we should be able to negotiate a very high degree of market access for the future, and a very smooth process at the border. the 15—year—old driver of a stolen car that crashed in leeds, killing five passengers, has been sentenced to four and a half years in detention. some of the bbc‘s leading male presenters are in talks over taking a pay cut after revelations over equal pay — including radio 2‘s jeremy vine. britain‘s economy grew faster than expected during the fourth quarter of 2017, the office for national

statistics says. figures released this morning show that gdp grew by half of 1% in the last three months of 2017 — driven by growth in the services sector. that means that for the whole of 2017, growth was 1.8%. which is down slightly on the previous year where growth was 1.9%. this makes 2017 the slowest rate of expansion since 2012. elliott asbo to analyst who gave me their reaction to today‘s figures. what they mean, is that we have grown about 1.8%, that is about the same as the previous year, 1.9. the economy is growing at a reasonably steady pace. by no means a boom, but that in combination with

unemployment at a four decadal, the deficit down to a low level, various stock market indices at the high level, even if the pound picking up a little. we have an economy which is in reasonably solid state. probably the most solid state aid has been for about ten years. and a better state than might have been expected according to some forecasters ? expected according to some forecasters? it is certainly true that predictions of doom and gloom immediately after the brexit ford have not come to pass. but on the other hand it is also true that brexit has had a significant hit on growth. we were growing at about the average of other industrialised countries before the brexit vote, and growth is now year on year a little more than 8% slower. it is rare see that the brexit ford has not a percent —— has not 1% off the

growth. it is not the end of the world by any means, but we are doing 0k. the greatest risk are still to come. what do you think those risks are? bosco of the risks are probably to the upside, so the risks are that the euro zone grows a bit faster than people thought, it is doing quite well, camp‘s america seems to be growing quite fast, it may even go intoa be growing quite fast, it may even go into a phil boom. the brexit deal might turn out to be a little bit better than people thought. there are other types of tech optimism. perhaps a tide as vehicles will come online quicker, green tech and other possibilities. maybe even elon musk will get his people to mars. i think most of the risk are to the outside. we are used to thinking of the economy as clinging on, and we have

got in quite a negative mode over the past ten years. of course, there are some negative possibilities. there could be a spike in oil prices, the us is probably overdue in assessing, china might go badly. there are also possibilities, but most of it is the upside. there are also possibilities, but most of it is the upsidelj there are also possibilities, but most of it is the upside. i think they brexit related risk are probably larger than he thinks. and particular, i think it is a possible that actually talks over the transition deal... we are essentially asking for the year to stay in the rules and regulations without having any vote or advice, but there are a lot of technicalities to sort out. i think it is actually quite possible they will not be sorted out by february are much, and that means that uncertainty will continue to grow for businesses. thank you. john

mcdonnell, who is at the world economic forum in davos, has been speaking about today‘s ddb figures as well as brexit. it is a slight improvement, let‘s be clear about it. i think we have still got the same problem — is verity is rolling on. the government has not listen, and that is impacting on people piled back wages. that is a lack of investment. we have been saying for yea rs investment. we have been saying for years that we need a skilled up investment. our economy remains precarious. we have seen quite a lot of global growth, which is lifting all boats. do you think that putting is keeping up with that growth trend? really not. this killer goes, we are following well behind. our growth figures have been revised downwards on many occasions by many institutions. it is the same old message again. the way in which you

get killed is first of all the investor in areas would you can entries productivity. if you look at what is happening across the blog, people are investing in basic infrastructure, and we have a backlog of that, and there is not interested by the government. mark tami said that without brexit uncertainty, the economy would be 1% bigger this year and 2% bigger next year. the agreed that there has been a brexit cost for the uk economy? the predictions i came out of the bank of england and the treasury have not proved to be accurate. i accept there are some impact, we need to be aware of that, but the reality is, despite the fundamentals, it is about investment, skills, training, to get productive growth. that is not happening. it is a messy, but it is

not the underlying issue an economy thatis not the underlying issue an economy that is holding us back. can i ask you about philip hammond‘s comments yesterday. he said it would only be a very modest change, which is being interpreted as the softest of softer brexit‘s. he is someone who also agrees that we need to have this very closely aligned and integrated relationship with the european union? it is interesting, because philip hammond made that speech with an18 hours, he philip hammond made that speech with an 18 hours, he was been stamped down by number ten, so no one knows what the government‘s policy is from one half necks. our position has a lwa ys one half necks. our position has always been the same. we want to free access to the single market, which means we want intended benefits that we have on the eu. icahn has ruled that the dutch were

strong to limit the scope of the bombing in birmingham in 197a. strong to limit the scope of the bombing in birmingham in 1974. this judge sat on a tea bag judge panel to hold a judicial review last year into the issue of scope at the birmingham pub bombs inquest, which was scheduled to start last september, and have been delayed because of this very thorny issue. today chic acquirer us ruling —— she washed the coroner‘s ruling. you can see the families in the distance. they have argued that if you are going to hold inquests into the deaths of those 21 people, then you have to hear evidence about who planned them, who was responsible.

the coroner in his ruling said that this was beyond the remit of any inquest. this was not a quasi—criminal trial, however, after considering the argument is presented here at the end of last year, thejudge has sent presented here at the end of last year, the judge has sent the case back to the coroner. you could reconsider. he could still say that this scope does not include the perpetrator issue. it seems unlikely after two high court judges perpetrator issue. it seems unlikely after two high courtjudges have told them to reconsider. the families themselves have welcomed this decision. they are still angry that they are having to pay legal aid on this. it cost them just £40,000 for aid on this. it cost them just £a0,000 for thejudicial aid on this. it cost them just £a0,000 for the judicial review, and they have had to raise that themselves. they have appealed once again to people who may still have information about that night a0 odd yea rs information about that night a0 odd years ago to say, please come forward and tell us what happens to our loved ones and relatives. we do not want to die not knowing what happened. the inquest themselves are still being delayed because of this issue, but this is a major hurdle

for those of families, and it should mean that the sunsets, perhaps later this year, those inquest will finally be had here in birmingham. a 15—year—old has been detained for four and a half year after five passengers of the stolen car he was driving in leeds, were killed. five people — including three children — died after the car crashed in to a tree in the meanwood area of the city in november. the teenager — who cannot be named for legal reasons — pleaded guilty last month to causing death by dangerous driving. the youngest victim of the crash was a 12—year—old boy. in court, the 15—year—old was told he‘d likely serve half of his sentence. family members of the victims have been reacting outside court. it's it‘s disgusting, because one of them was a father of three. one of them was a father of three. one of them was 25 years old. have you got enough sense to stop him? lenient? it isa

enough sense to stop him? lenient? it is a wok in the park. therefore carry on, it will carry on and carry on. you are able to hit innocent members of the public. crashed into a car, steal a car, it‘s ok. you will get two years. what sort of impact has it had on your life? disaster this. impact has it had on your life? disasterthis. literally. and new guidance for a sore throat — an nhs watchdog tells doctors to prescribe painkillers not ‘precious‘ antibiotics to patients. new guidance from the nhs medicines watchdog, the national institute for health and care excellence, says most sore throats can be treated with paracetamol.

research suggests that antibiotics are being prescribed in a majority of cases — potentially contributing to the development of strains of bacteria that can‘t be treated by the medication. here‘s our health correspondent, dominic hughes. the overuse of antibiotics is leading to the development of bacteria resistant to these life—saving drugs. leading health experts warn this poses a serious threat to the uk. if we lose the ability to fight infection, common medical procedures such as cesarean sections and cancer treatments could become too risky. prescribing antibiotics to treat a sore throat is a prime example of the way they can be misused. sore throats account for nearly one in four of gp appointments in the uk related to infections of the lungs and airways. research suggests that in 60% of those cases, antibiotics are prescribed. but most sore throats are caused by a viral infection, on which antibiotics will have no effect. we have become a bit, umm, acclimatised to thinking that we need antibiotics whenever we have got something wrong with us. and we don‘t. we just have to be re—educated, i suppose, to preserve the use of antibiotics for really serious infections. the latest advice from the nhs

medicines watchdog reminds doctors and nurses that most sore throats will be better within a week, and only the most serious bacterial infections need antibiotics. most patients are best advised to drink plenty of fluids, and to take paracetamol or ibuprofen to help with pain relief. dominic hughes, bbc news. donald trump says he‘s prepared to apologise for retweeting posts by the far—right group britain first. the uk economy exceeded expectations to grow by 0.5% during the last three months of 2017, official figures show. downing street distances itself from comments made by the chancellor — after he said any change to the uk‘s relations with the eu could be "very modest". during the war in syria, many international volunteers

are known to have gone to fight with the kurds to help defeat but now a group of british men say they‘re preparing to fight in the developing conflict between the kurds and turkish forces on the northern syrian border. it marks a change in the involvement of foreign fighters in the syrian war. one british man has spoken to the bbc from syria about his actions. emma vardy has this report. jamie is an activist from london, but after doing paid work at refugee camps in cali and a debit middle is, his mindset change. camps in cali and a debit middle is, his mindset changelj camps in cali and a debit middle is, his mindset change. i was volunteering with an aid agency in muscle, and i wasjust volunteering with an aid agency in muscle, and i was just very frustrated with the situation. he crossed into syria to join the kurds asa crossed into syria to join the kurds as a fighter. speaking publicly for the first time, he expect five.

as a fighter. speaking publicly for the first time, he expect fivelj wa nted the first time, he expect fivelj wanted to defend the northern federation of syria, the kurdish people in northern syria. once in syria, jamie relayed the newsday has family back on. he texted us with a picture of a kalashnikov and a camouflage uniform. i was rather horrified. since july, jamie has been with the kurds fighting against islamic state. how deep you know? i feel very proud of him. i admire him for doing it. now, the focus of the conflict has changed. for doing it. now, the focus of the conflict has changedlj for doing it. now, the focus of the conflict has changed. ijust found out very recently that turkey have launched an attack, and it is a place that needs to be defended. the kurds are being attacked by turkey on the northern syrian border. a

group of international volunteers, includingjimmy and two group of international volunteers, including jimmy and two others from britain, said they are now going to fight against turkish forces. arguably does not prepared to fight against attack is military? yes, i am. that means you will be fighting against allies. have you thought about the consequences of that? yes. police had tried to prevent people from going to fight on any side in a bizarre comic warning those that do may face arrest if they did time. but but british police have not arrested anyone for fighting against isp, but it is an clear what they will do in this situation. how do

you feel about that? they have invaded syria, and they have no business to do it. what you think him to do this question. to help people. fighting for the underdog. as commitment to fighting this court has taken him a long way from his activism work in the uk.” has taken him a long way from his activism work in the uk. i have felt like i can make a difference because iam taking like i can make a difference because i am taking part in operations and i am hoping to get there in the next few days, and i don‘t want to heart anyone, but the people here has shown a summer ‘s friendship and care. this he compares to the international brigades that fought fascism during the spanish civil war, but it carries with it serious legal risks as well as extreme danger. black smoke bellowed from the

emergency wing as firefighters tried to get to patients trapped inside. there were nearly 200 people in the building. many were elderly. those who skipped needed urgent treatment. others died on the way to hospital, most from smoke inhalation. firefighters said they did everything they could. translation: we prevented the fire from spreading to the second floor in the early stages so that they could secure other floors. as crews inspected blackened shell of the hospital, it was revealed that know what

sprinklers had been installed. this isa sprinklers had been installed. this is a deadly as blaze in a decade in south korea, and the government said they would be a thorough investigation. translation: the president has ordered an investigation to figure out the exact cause of the fire and come up with measures to prevent more fires at building complexes. as well as ways to deal with the owners of the buildings. just last month, people we re buildings. just last month, people were killed in a fire any sports centre. an enquiry find the right to few emergency exits and it had been blocked with flammable materials. questions are now being asked about safety regulations in south korea and what needs to be done to rent something like this happening again. —— to prevent something like this happening again. the number of pot—hole related breakdowns on british roads is rising, with the rac blaming bad weather and a lack of investment. councils say they would need to triple their road repair budgets to tackle a vast

backlog of potholes. our transport correspondent victoria fritz has more. they can cost hundreds of pounds‘ worth of damage and although councils fill in two million potholes a year, it seems like britain‘s holes are crumbling faster they then can be repaired. it don‘t take a lot to damage a car. you try to avoid them, you can‘t. you‘ve only got to drive around this borough and you‘ll find loads of them. i take my children to school and come across quite a few potholes on the way, which is a bit dangerous with the car. it seems like after the horrible weather when you have ice or really cold weather, they all we seem to appear. normally potholes develop after wet and cold weather, but the rac says it‘s seeing the number of breakdowns caused by driving in poor roads increase, regardless of the season. rac patrols attended 2,830 potholes related breakdowns between october and december of last year. that‘s 11% more than the same period the year before. vehicles they attended typically suffered damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and punctured wheels.

our local roads have suffered from years of underinvestment and we would like to see ring—fence funding put in place so councils can plan their work appropriately and really sort out the problem once and for all. the government says it‘s investing £23 billion to increase capacity and improve road journeys. the majority of that will go on major roads and motorways. with budgets under increasing strain, the pressure is mounting on councils to plug the gaps in local roads where most journeys begin or end. now, it‘s a theatre festival with a difference — one curated by people who are living with dementia. it‘s called every third minute because every third minute someone in the uk is diagnosed with the disease. as well as deciding what‘s on the bill they are also writing some of the plays. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been along to rehearsals. a brand—new play co—written by someone who has been living

with dementia for eight years. it‘s important to me, to keep my brain ticking over. to do different things. bob fulcher was picked to work with a professional playwright for the every third minute festival. they‘ve created i see land ahead, a nautical tale based on one of his paintings. bob, you were a farmer for more than a0 years. you‘re now 71, and now you are about to have a play on. how does that feel? being part of this festival has given me a chance to put my message across about how important it is to enjoy life. even though i‘ve had dementia for eight years, life is great. but the festival will also be incorporating some more famous work on the subject. i have alzheimer's disease. early onset.

three years ago, julianne moore won the best actress oscar for still alice. try pretending you are me when you walk. for the uk premiere of the stage version, that role will be played by sharon small from the inspector lynley mysteries. i do feel the pressure, but we are telling the story in a slightly different way, more theatrically. i'm going... oh, yes, stanford. have fun! that will be myjob on this one, to try to get people to see that people with dementia are still, although struggling, they are still trying to get on with life and they are still people. if i go further away i get lost, but i do make myself go out, because you've got to, haven't you? and in another rehearsal room, rosa peterson is listening to her play being read by actors for the very first time. i‘m glad i‘ve done it.

it‘s an achievement. itjust proves that if you‘ve got dementia you can still do things, and i‘ve done it. and i'm wondering if it will help if the man had a name. she was paired up with a writer, and the play is based on memories from rosa‘s childhood. we‘ve still got a few bits to alter. a few words to sort out. but pretty much there, i would say. that‘d be good! yes, at the age of 75, it is rosa the writer and she is loving it. a french supermarket chain started offering a 70% discount on nutella. in one shot, the police had to be

called when people began fighting over the offer. all this stock had gonein over the offer. all this stock had gone in 15 minutes, and one customer was left with the black eye, which was left with the black eye, which was rather more than they bargained for, i expect. just a reminder that president trump is yet to give a speech about trade very shortly. you can see that light at one o‘clock, and it will have a field reaction afterwards from davos. this is president trump arriving ahead of that speech. what‘s more coverage of that speech. what‘s more coverage of that coming up at the here on bbc news. in a moment it is the news at one, but here is the weather forecast. high—pressure brings a dry, bright but surely they did it right. not a cloud in the sky in there is a photograph. as we move through the afternoon, things will stay fairly

dry, bright and settled, but the cloud will increase for northern ireland and north—west scotland. as we go through this evening and overnight, that fund works in from the west, bringing rain to the west of scotla nd the west, bringing rain to the west of scotland and northern ireland. in the eaves, we will hold onto the clear skies for longer. some patches of fog not out of the question. temperature is a bit cooler pro you see the clear skies. as we go into saturday, that weather fund will work for the east bringing outbreaks of rain. the eyes buyers are fairly tightly packed, so there will be windy conditions. at nine o‘clock tomorrow morning, some heavy rain in parts of scotland. over in north—west england, starting to see the rain pitching in. that will have the rain pitching in. that will have the northern ireland by 9am. temperatures are ready in double figures. some rain for wales and

south—west england. over in the eaves, south—west england. over in the eaves , we south—west england. over in the eaves, we will see brighter conditions holding on for longer. as he moves through the day, the rain will work its rate gradually ease was, breaking up as it does and becoming lighter. we will also see some fairly heavy showers in part of scotland, the odd rumble of thunder knocked out of the question. temperatures in the double figures thanks to some milder air that we are checking in from the south—west. it‘ll continue to come in on sunday, so that‘ll be another mail today. a fairamount of so that‘ll be another mail today. a fair amount of cloud around. there will be rain in the north. it will not be particularly heavy. brighter in the south and east. temperatures in two double figures, a maximum of 13 celsius. a change at the weekend, some milder temperatures. windy on

saturday in the far north of scotland. some outbreaks of rain as well. selling america to the world. president trump is about to address the world economic forum — he‘s the first us president in davos for 18 years. but problems at home continue to haunt him. the new york times says he ordered the firing of special counsel robert mueller when his lawyer threatened to quit, he backed down. so where does that leave the investigation? remember the diplomatic row over donald trump retweeti ng diplomatic row over donald trump retweeting a far right video? the president says he is prepared to