this this is bbc news — i'm rachel schofield. the headlines at 8: darren osborne is convicted of driving a van into a crowd of muslims in north london last year. one person was killed and 11 others were injured when the van was driven into worshippers near a mosque. don't know, lost control of the van. huh? lost control, man. you lost control of the van, were you driving, were you ? yeah. the prime minister, on a trip to china, indicates citizens who come to britain during any transition period post brexit, won't have the same rights as those who came before. —— shouldn't have the same rights as those who came before. religious extremists are targeting schools to undermine british values, warns england's chief schools inspector. stroke patients are getting younger. public health england urges everyone to spot the symptoms. and — off the wall... should these naked nymphs be left on display in the name of art? one manchester gallery has decided to take the pre—raphaelite painting

down to encourage debate — but is it censorship? on meet the author this week, my guest is leo benedictus, whose new novel consent starts as a creepy thriller and turns quickly into a contemporary horror story. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. a man has been found guilty of murder and attempted murder after deliberately driving a van into a crowd of muslims near a north london mosque lastjune, in an act of terrorism. he killed makram ali, who was 51, and injured several others. darren osborne from cardiff was described as a loner who'd become obsessed with muslims, after watching a tv drama and

looking at far—right groups online. the 48—year—old told the court he was not mad but angry. daniel sandford reports. it was an act of terror. a large van, its engine revving, smashing into a group of muslims on a summer night during ramadan. those he injured, terrified that the driver was going to attack again. there's a few people who were really badly hurt and couldn't move. i thought he was going to kill us. what did you think he was going to kill you with? maybe guns, maybe a knife. this, a 999 call made at the time. the driver was brought to the ground by the angry crowd. the local imam urging them not to hurt him. everyone back!

when police arrested darren osborne, he waved as he was taken away. part and parcel of living in a big city. later at the police station, he ranted about previous terror attacks on muslims, saying, "have some of that, have some of your own. at least i had a proper go." at almost exactly that time, 51—year—old makram ali was declared dead at the scene. he had been crushed by the van. darren osborne's route to murderous hate seems to have begun with a bbc drama last may about a pakistani grooming gang in rochdale. i buy you things and you give me things. his rage was further fuelled by last year's attacks in london and manchester. in the fortnight before his attack, he started following this man, tommy robinson, and other anti—islam activists on social media. osborne received a group e—mail in robinson's name saying, "there's

a nation within a nation forming beneath the surface of the uk. its a nation built on hatred, on violence and on islam." detectives believe material like this had had a powerful effect on osborne. the people around him described it as having a major impact on him, brainwashing him, and as a result we believe that was, if you like, part of the main driver for why he carried out this attack. but tommy robinson accepts no responsibility. you don't think that there's a chance that somehow the way you were talking about that was inflaming hatred and driving people like darren osborne to violence? no, no. not at all. zero chance. on saturday, june 17th, darren osborne decided to act and went to hire a large box van. and that evening he was recorded in a pub in cardiff, writing a hate—filled note later found by police in the van. it caught my attention when he shouted... callum spence was in the pub that night and remembers what osborne said to him.

terrorists are all bad, you know, i want to kill terrorists and muslims. i'm going to take things into my own hands. things like that. the next day, osborne drove to london. his original target, this pro—palestinian march, where he says he hoped to kill as many muslims as possible and jeremy corbyn. but road closures meant he couldn't get near so he ended up in finsbury park looking for a mosque. just after midnight he came down the seven sisters rd, swerving across the bus lane at speed and impacting the group of worshippers just here. his foot hard down on the accelerator. he ran three people down, knocking several more to the side, and then smashed into the bollards at the end of the street. his radicalisation complete, he has achieved his aim, to kill. mohammed mahmoud, the imam who saved osborne that night, says his congregation were left fearful. it left people wondering, would there be more, what next? if a car can be turned

into a weapon and cause multiple casualties in one go, in an instant, then could this be expected again in the future? the jury rejected darren osborne's bizarre excuse that a mysterious man called dave was driving at the time of the attacks and vanished, and he nowjoins the growing list of white, far—right terrorists in britain's prisons. senior research fellow at the royal united services institute is shashankjoshi. hejoins me via webcam from central london. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. give us a sense of how significant you think the issue of far right terrorism is becoming in this country. less numbers in absolute extremism, but rising up

the agenda for law enforcement. from september 2000 16—2017, there were 400 arrests for terrorism offences. about 20% of those were for domestic extremism, in other words, about 20% of those were for domestic extremism, in otherwords, most about 20% of those were for domestic extremism, in other words, most of which is far right activity. if you look at the government's prevent programme, one of its flagship counter extremism programmes, one portion of it is a channel programme, about one in three referrals per channel is for far right extremism, for up from the days when the scheme was initially be done and up and running. so it has gone rapidly up the agenda of government that simply wasn't the case 15 or so years ago and i think people realise it presents a real and substantial risk, notjust to muslim communities, butjewish communities and many others besides. how easy is it to pick what is at work fuelling the rise of this kind

of fanaticism? i think many of the same factors that we seem in islamist extremism are at work it, tickly online propaganda and online recruitment. the use of distorted propaganda via open media channels. i don't think we have the same dynamic, closed encrypted messaging groups, such as telegram. we don't have the same network as individual influences we see with islamic state but we do see individual influential organisations such as the national action, edl and other organisations that play a substantial role in radicalising individuals in a very short space of time. i think it should be noted that the way in which the political climate has become more favourable for right wing populist authoritarian groups over the past five years, has probably made a more fertile climate forfar right probably made a more fertile climate

for far right activity, and that goes across europe, notjust in the uk. given that perhaps the seedbeds for these kind of extreme views are predominantly national, at uk level, does it mean for police anti—terrorist agencies that trying to counter this kind of behaviour should be simpler, because not dealing with global networks and the essence of the problem being thousands of miles away? well i think to an extent, although of course have seen think to an extent, although of course have seen right—wing authoritarian populist movements in countries like the netherlands, france, germany and uk have played off each other and effective ways. in this particular case we saw messaging is rooted in the rochdale abuse scandal, we have seen uk specific messages but i think the resource of —— there is also an international dimension. there are is also... is hard for law enforcement and intelligence to understand where that line is crossed from extremism and

radicalisation to the prosecution of violent acts. it is particularly ha rd violent acts. it is particularly hard when we see individuals acting on their own in very low—tech ways, without recourse to communication that might be intercepted, without recourse of plotting with large networks across borders or in the country, without any of those networks to get a handle on to intercept or detect or pick up on the plotting stage, we see one of the plotting stage, we see one of the very same problems recur, which is how do you stop this activity at that stage? very good to have your analysis. shashankjoshi, thank you for your time. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. our guests tonight are laura hughes, from the ft and charlie wells from the economist. the prime minister has signalled that she will fight a demand by the european union that eu citizens who move to the uk during the transition period after brexit in march next year, will still be given full residency rights. theresa may argues that there has

to be a difference between those arriving after the uk leaves and those who came before. here's our home editor, mark easton. eu migrants arriving in the uk today enjoy all the rights of free movement, but what will happen after brexit in march next year? the prime minister says that moment should mark a real change, and new eu migrants should no longer be guaranteed their right to live in britain. we'll have left the european union and the eu can't expect the same provisions to prevail after we've gone. the uk proposal applies to the hundreds of thousands of eu migrants expected to arrive during the so—called transition phase that follows brexit in march 2019. during that period, they will have to register with the home office but they won't necessarily know what rights they'll have at the end of transition, sometime in 2021. today in brussels, eu citizens living in the uk were telling the european parliament they didn't

want to be bargaining chips in the negotiations, and were alarmed that future migrants were having their rights traded away in brexit talks. if i was still living in the netherlands, where i am from, and i wanted to move to the uk, i'd wait until everything is clear after transition, eu migrants will have to apply to stay in the uk, but the details of how that will work are not finalised. there is uncertainty about what that means for those who no longer qualify. will they be deported ? there's also uncertainty around what the rights will be for those that are successful? will they go to bed on the last day of transition with a certain set of rights and wake up in the morning with something very different? for employers, like the nhs, the prospect of eu migration falling further has led to concerns

about their ability to recruit skilled nurses. i think, if you are a nurse in an eu country, in france or germany, you're not going to want to come to this country and put down roots, because it's uncertain. and therefore we won't have the workforce with our current vacancy rate of 40,000 to look after the needs of our people. let's decide to have more people from the european union to come and work in the national health service, by all means. but let us decide that for ourselves, don't let's be dictated to by the european union after we've left. the politics of brexit means the prime minister is looking for ways to demonstrate her determination to take control of our borders at the point we leave the eu. the practicalities make it harder to avoid unintended consequences. mark easton, bbc news. joining me now from our westminster studio is steven swinford, deputy political editor at the telegraph. good evening. delighted to be here,

good evening to you. what do you make of this decision by the prime minister to push back against residency rights, there's an element of tory party politics. eurosceptics are on the brink of going to war with the government. they are absolutely furious. they are openly accusing philip hammond of doing a betterjob than accusing philip hammond of doing a better job than jeremy corbyn accusing philip hammond of doing a betterjob thanjeremy corbyn in opposing the common policy. this policy is red meat that will help the eurosceptics and settle some of their concerns. they are worried if this doesn't happen we will end up with a transition exactly like staying in the eu, still having free movement, still accepting eu law and nothing will have changed. when it comes to that idea that she has thrown the red meat to the lions perhaps to quieten down, will it be enough? it doesn't look like this in itself will be enough. what we have not heard from the prime minister is how wilbur wright to the eu citizens

change? i spoke to people in brussels today and they said this is anogo brussels today and they said this is a no go area. we are demanding the same treatment in transition as we currently have now. they say it won't happen, she will have two back down on it. by the same token, it looks good for the prime minister to be having a public fight for brussels, to be having it out with eu leaders. but if she cannot win meaningful concessions on free movement, the eurosceptics will still be very unhappy and they are still be very unhappy and they are still very, very concerned about the issue of us having to accept eu laws during that transition period. so yes, they are welcoming it today but behind the scenes there are huge battles being fought over the future of brexit and ultimately the future of brexit and ultimately the future of the conservative conservative party and its leader. when it comes to the battle over brexit specifically, this is about citizens rights but it is also touching once more on many issues, like the length of transition and the whole issue of transition with negotiations in on this beginning next month. exactly. the telegraph found a story last week looking at suggestions from

british officials that the transition could last three years. it isa transition could last three years. it is a real worry for eurosceptics. they feel we could end up in some never—ending transition and never actually leave the european union. the government is adamant that is not the case and we will be leaving the european union and the transition period will be about two yea rs. transition period will be about two years. eurosceptics feel they have been let down by the party before. they have been promised things they have a materialise. that is very much where we are today. there is a lack of trust in the conservative party over brexit. thank you very much indeed. the headlines on bbc news: darren osborne is found guilty of driving a van into a crowd of muslims in north london last year. the prime minister on a trip to china signal citizens who come to england in any transition period post brexit shouldn't have the same rights as those who came before. religious extremists are targeting schools to undermine british values —

warns england's chief schools inspector. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's reshmin chowdhury. hello there, thank you very much. good evening. the international olympics committee have said the decision to overturn the olympic life bans of 28 russian athletes "may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping". the court of arbitration for sport made the deciosn after stating the that the evidence against the 28 was said to be ‘insufficient‘... the winter olympics starts in just 8 days. the 28 may take legal action against the ioc to be allowed to compete alongside their compatriots in pyeongchang as neutral athletes. i think like many, i was initially surprised. this is a matter between the ioc and cas. our position on doping matters has been to support the strength of possible sanctions. we have always supported the ioc in doing that. every leader at every

level in sport has a responsibility to maintain the integrity of sport and competition. the court of arbitration of sport have also decided to partially uphold 11 other bans... but those athletes will now only miss this month's games and not face a life suspension. but it means that britain's four—man bobsleigh team from sochi will be upgraded to a bronze medal... it is starting to sink in, even more so than it was. i think the ultimate will be holding that medal should they reallocate them. that is when i will proud of our achievements, truly. uk sport have announced that millions of pounds will be invested into new sports like para taekwondo and karate, and for athletes with strong potential to win medals at the tokyo olympics in 2020. there's also a partial reprieve for some sports that originally lost theirfunding, including badminton — with certain athletes getting a slice of the £2.5 million. uk sport have recognised we do have that potential so yeah, to get a bit

of backing from them is only positive news. so yeah, a good day at the office today. and for you chris, a real confidence boost and belief in what you achieved without bronze medal last year? we've always had ourselves by having backing from uk sport, we have worked hard and get things together, and yeah, to get things together, and yeah, to get that medal and all our hard work rewarded by uk sport is a really positive step and we are really happy about that. stewart regan has stepped down as scottish football association chief executive after eight years in the job. regan said he recognised the "need for change". scotland missed out on qualification for the world cup and have so far failed to find a replacement for previous manager gordon strachan, which a former sfa chief executive described as an "embarrassment". gary caldwell, a former wigan boss and scotland defender applied for the job earlier today. things don't seem to be getting any easier for phil neville who's started his role as england women's manager. after the controversy over his appointment he's at kingsmeadow this evening to cast

an eye over chelsea and manchester city's england players. and he wouldn't have wanted to see this. the england goalkeeper karen bardsley was stretchered off after falling heavily on her shoulder in just the second minute of the match. the game was held up for nine minutes while she was treated on the pitch. the second half is underway and it's currently goalless. kyle edmund will miss great britain's davis cup tie against spain in marbella which starts on friday. he developed a hip injury during last week's australian open semi—final defeat by marin cilic, and said yesterday that he "intended to play" but in the end wasn't named in the singles or doubles. jacob stockdale, bundee aki and james ryan will make their six nations debuts when ireland face france in paris on saturday. the ireland bossjoe schmidt has picked an experienced side for the stade de france clash, with rory best captaining a side containing 11 british & irish lions. and before we go a reminder that the new super league season got underway this evening.

warrington are up against defending champions leeds, while hull fc are playing against huddersfield. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at 10:30pm. thank you. the prime minister has held talks with china's president xijinping in beijing. on the second day of her trade mission, theresa may said she hoped her visit would strengthen the "global strategic partnership" between the uk and china. downing street says the issues of north korea, protecting the environment and human rights were also discussed. from beijing here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. watch what i do, not what others say. theresa may wants you to judge her actions, not her critics words. taking tea with her husband and one of the most powerful men in the world. lapsang souchong, no less. maybe that's what they drink in numberten. herjourney of thousands of miles has been for more than a cup of tea, but a shake on billions‘

worth of business deals. despite frank talk on hong kong and north korea too. i've been pleased to bring a very large business delegation here. we've had a very successful visit. the convoy held up the traffic, a big charm offensive to help business sign on the dotted line. a brexit—friendly diplomatic visit, complete with bags. there's a real success story here. we've signed agreements on financial services, bp have signed a £750 million deal. one of the biggest chinese e—commerce sellers has signed a deal to sell £2 billion worth of uk goods over the next two years. all of this adds up. we've got to get away in britain from our obsession with europe in terms of its relation to the global economy. is that enough to make our economy roar after we leave the eu? there's menace at home from those who believe are too timid, too slow to decide. what do you say to colleagues

who are frustrated either because they think theresa may is backsliding on brexit or they think because she's somehow a hostage to people on the other side? well, i heard some of these arguments back in december. "we'll never get a deal on how we move forward". then we did get a deal and now i hear people saying, well, we will not get an agreement on our trading relationship. yes, we will get an agreement on that and we've got to see that against the government's wider programme of britain's relationship with the rest of the world. people have doubts about her ability to though, don't they? what do you say to those people? when i've been talking to chinese leaders here, they're looking at performance. they're looking to see what the uk is doing, and they look at the prime minister in a different way than some of, let's say, the internal tea room discussions in the uk do. some of your colleagues are too obsessed with themselves, do you think? too obsessed with westminster? i think in britain there is always a tendency to focus on britain. inside europe, there's a tendency to focus on europe.

both should be focusing on the big world that's outside. but while mr and mrs may were roaming beijing's forbidden city someone who was a crucial part of the tory empire was urging those mps to make her listen. the conservative party must offer to the country a big plan for the future. big ideas, big vision. whether it's transforming schools in the north of england or a plan to engage with the rest of the world, like china, or a form of brexit which is not as economically damaging as some of the forms being proposed, i would suggest that's what's required. it suits the prime minister's allies to present the ructions at home as parochial difficulties or a few petty disputes, but the divisions matter because before too long she has to make big decisions that will shape all our futures and britain's place in the world. with plenty of others competing to drive, the back seat is getting pretty crowded. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, beijing. here, england's chief inspector

of schools, amanda spielman, has warned that some parents and religious leaders are trying to "actively pervert" education. she says inspectors are worried about some people using faith to try to narrow children's horizons and they mustn't be allowed to dictate school policy on dress or behaviour. sima kotecha reports from birmingham. you just wrap it around like a long, long scarf. these teenage muslim girls have been wearing a headscarf for a few years now. their reasons are varied. this is one way i feel modest because i'm not showing off my hair or worrying about my makeup or whatever. people who see me, they instantly recognise me as a muslim and also if i see other people then i know that they're muslim if they're wearing a hijab. but in recent weeks there's been a row over whether schools should be allowed to ban the hijab. in london, the head teacher of st stephen's primary school was heavily criticised for banning

girls under the age of eight from wearing it. she then reversed her decision because of the uproar. now ofsted has intervened. today, its chief inspector called on head teachers not to give into pressure from religious conservatives. there is a difficult line between respecting religious requirements, and for some wearing hijab post—puberty is seen as a religious requirement. there's a difference between that and cultural preferences and wearing lipstick and high heels might be one of those. the koran, the holy book of islam, says women should guard their modesty. the text is open to interpretation. some muslim women choose to wear it, others don't, but there are strong feelings around whether young girls should be allowed to cover up in schools. here in birmingham it's not uncommon to see girls who are four and five wearing the hijab with their uniform. critics say that, if its purpose is to guard modesty, it should only be worn after puberty.

if not, ofsted says that it could be interpreted as the sexualisation of young girls. all of our lives and all of our cultures... at one school here the head teacher is calling for more debate. it's not an equal practice. girls wear a headscarf or are expected to or they can when they hit puberty, but boys are not. so it's not an equal practice and you can't say that it is. so you have to be able to expect to have a really clear and open debate about these kind of things. some here argue that banning the hijab could undermine the right to religious freedom. one mother says sometimes daughters want to imitate their elders. sometimes, children can be quite stubborn and fixed in their ways. what can you do? rather than have tantrums, you have to give in sometimes. if they want to do it, you know, and the school doesn't have any objections, i don't have a problem with them wearing it. in cosmopolitan britain,

where different faiths come into contact with western views, rules in schools can provoke controversy, anger and resentment. sima kotecha, bbc news. sian griffiths is the journalist who first reported on the school that tried to ban the hijab on young pupils and joins me now. iam i am pleased to say she joins us to give her reaction. clearly this was an issue, ok in one school initially that you focused on, but an issue you became aware was a problem? yes. this story, this particular school, st stephen's school, we broke the story a few weeks ago. within days of us writing about this school, which is an excellent school, at the top of our rankings, probably the best primary school in england, it could be argued, within days of the headteacher neena lall doing an interview with us, in which she

explained how the school had become so good, taking many steps, academic steps but also this decision to ban the hijab for children under the age of eight, she made a film and did an interview with us explaining that, as did her chairof interview with us explaining that, as did her chair of governors, and within four days there was a petition, 20,000 people had signed ex—calling for this band on the hijab for under eights to be reversed. the school has been through hell, i would say, in the last few weeks since we ran that story. neena has reversed the hijab baron and there has been a campaign of abuse, almost, directed against members of the senior management team. it is clear then that ofsted are seeing examples like that repeated elsewhere, and if we try and pick what happened there... you are saying 20,000 people suddenly we re are saying 20,000 people suddenly were campaigning on this issue. that, to my mind, assuming the school is not enormous, cannot be of pa rent school is not enormous, cannot be of parent body issue, what is at play

customer this call is probably about 500 pupils. this ban on the hijab was not suddenly invented because we went to interview them, they had had this ban in place for a year and pa rents this ban in place for a year and pa re nts ha d this ban in place for a year and parents had not protested. so it was the fact it was made public that it suddenly became an issue. when 20,000 people signed a petition within four days, and that kind of quite small community, you think, where is this coming from? is this a national campaign? who is getting behind this? how is it being orchestrated? if it's being orchestrated. i think those are legitimate questions that organisations are ofsted are now asking, because the headteacher has the right to set a uniform code. they have that right to do that. so then to be... there was a film that circulated on social media that compared neena lall to hitler. to get that kind of abuse when you're doing a job and you are actually the headteacher of an excellent primary school, is extraordinary. that was

one very specific example but having the chief inspector of schools saying that she feels this is a wider issue, is that something you have come across as well? are you thinking this is something playing out in other schools and not necessarily schools talking about the hijab but other religious issues or behavioural initials that are culturally driven? a group of muslim women activists, including my colleague on the sunday times who have campaigned on this whole issue of young girls wearing the hijab, which is on the rise in the hijab, which is on the rise in the uk. at the sunday times, we did a survey of secular state schools, primary schools, probably in nine regions in england. we discovered 20%, are very high number, included the hijab as an option within their uniform code. and that probably was not happening ten or 20 years ago.

the areas we were looking at the areas with high proportions of bangladeshi and pakistani heritage families, so we looked at bradford, pa rt families, so we looked at bradford, part of birmingham, east london, derby, wilton. those kinds of rather segregated communities sometimes, we re segregated communities sometimes, were schools in the middle those communities. we discovered the hijab was becoming part of the uniform code in primary schools. and that is theissue code in primary schools. and that is the issue that i think muslim women activists are targeting. is it appropriate for very young children to wear the hijab, which they say is really a garment that traditionally as worn by women or teenagers when they come into puberty, it is not worn by four or five—year—olds. thank you for your time, sian griffiths of the sunday times. here's helen willetts now with the latest forecast. good evening. it's definitely felt colder today, hasn't it, in that blast of northerly winds, which are continuing to bring some showers

for northern parts of scotland, for the eastern side of england in particular. one or two further west, but these could still be of a wintry flavour through the evening and overnight. that northerly wind continues, particularly across the eastern side of england and scotland, so ice is definitely a concern here, because you've got those showers potentially washing off the salt on the roads. elsewhere, it's drier, just one or two showers around, more limited ice. temperatures in the towns and cities are getting close to freezing, so on the ground it will be frosty. there will be a frost out in the countryside, certainly, overnight. friday looks like a sparkling day for many. yes, they'll still be a few showers for pembrokeshire, cornwall and devon and even wintry showers for the eastern side of the country through the morning, but they tend to fade away. we've got a ridge of high pressure building in, so fewer showers, lighter winds, some february sunshine. should feel pleasant enough, but again, we've got trouble brewing for saturday. bye— bye. this is bbc news. our latest headlines:

darren osborne is convicted of driving a van into a crowd of muslims in north london last year. one person was killed and 11 others were injured when the van was driven into worshippers near a mosque. the prime minister — on a trip to china — indicates eu citizens who come to britain during any transition period post brexit shouldn't have the same rights as those who came before. the head of ofsted has warned schools in england are being used to indoctrinate pupils under the guise of religious education and encouraged teachers to confront practices they think will negatively affect younger people. the former chancellor, george osborne, is calling on the government to spend more money on education in the north of england to boost british growth. mr osborne, who launched the northern powerhouse project while he was in government, says it's vital for the economy.

his comments come as a new report says that pupils in the north of england are on average one gcse grade behind their southern counterparts. nina warhurst reports. can you find whereabouts we live in england? see if you can point to it. six years old and a future mapped out. children in darlington do well at primary level, but come gcses and getting jobs, their life chances slide dramatically. if building a powerhouse means making the north a global, economic force, something isn't quite adding up. today, this former chancellor was hitting out at the current one, asking him for new money and saying every northern business should be stepping into schools. what we're trying to do here is tackle a problem that has bedevilled this country for 100 years. which is, the south has done better than the north. now i would say there's nothing inevitable about that. let's talk about today's report because you're asking for £300 million of new money

for early years. people will say that's pretty rich coming from the man who decided to close down hundreds of sure start centres. when i was chancellor, we turned this country around to a place where lots of people in the north got jobs who previously were unemployed and we generated the money that is required to pay for your investment in your schools. can you see why people will say, "isn't it ironic coming from the man who slashed public services"? you can see we turned around the economy, improvement in schools happened across the north of the england and the rest of the country. but is thatjob done? of course not. that's because almost 21% of schools in the north—east are under—performing. that's three times the proportion of london. children from poorer backgrounds in the north on average score a grade lower in every gcse than children who are better off. how are you finding the communications time on a wednesday? businesses were today asked to follow the lead of barclays who have more than 500 northern apprentices. why?

to retain talent in places like teesside. i think it was an opportunity that i was quite surprised to find that i didn't have to move away for because i think my kind of preconception was — you would probably have to move to have a really good career. the government says it has stepped up by increasing investment, but they're also pleading for patience. this has to be a long—term project. it's about creating a strategic plan for the north of england, which over a long period will close all of those health, wealth and productivity gaps. we're going to do more division. george osborne says the equation is simple — more government cash, plus more business investment, equals £100 billion of new money by 2050 and for families in the north it matters that the maths adds up. well, joining me now is emmanuel botwe, a headteacher from tytherington school in macclesfield but taught in oxfordshire before that. thank you for being with us. is this

a picture you recognise? where i am a headteacher in macclesfield, we have four very successful comprehensive schools. schools that area are doing well. conscious of of the data published today that there are areas in the north of england that are perhaps not performing at the level they should. having experienced working in oxfordshire are now working in macclesfield, tuc and north and south divide? is there and north and south divide? is there a problem in the north but has not been dealt with by government? the important thing to understand is different areas have different contexts. i would say that one area we definitely have to look at is the regional disparities in funding. for example, my own school, we

calculated that if we were just funded at the average, we would have half £1 million more per year to fund our school. clearly under those circumstances, one can see how inequalities can develop. and i certainly think there are things that can be learned from the success of the london challenge. tell us more about that challenge. is it something that has specifically helped schools in the capital? yes. has been a great deal about the increase in quality standards in london. increasing collaboration with the very best schools the region. working quite closely with local businesses, local initiatives, which we heard george osborne talk about. that can only be good. and fundamentally, the success of schools is really about you now

excellent teaching and learning and enthusiastic practitioners in front of the classroom. certainly in the school i work in, that's what we have. the suggestion seems to be in failing schools in the north were pupils are coming away with grades lower than the to be, the suggestion from what you've said is that are not being led by the right level of teachers and proper leadership. bonded that be the case in the north? that's not what i'm saying at all. as i said earlier, i think there are some real issues in terms of financial inequalities. i would echo the sentiment that more money really needs to be put into those schools. the schools that are struggling. across the country, headteachers will talk about struggling to make ends meet. i would urge the government to look at pumping more money into particularly

northern schools, to ensure quality and standards improve. thank you very much indeed. thank you. victorian art hangs on the walls of galleries all over the world. pre—raphaelite paintings are admired for their rich colour joining me now is oliver basciano, international editor at art review. they say they wanted to provoke debate. you can't help but feel it

is predominantly a pr move. i don't see how this move really add anything. a couple of months ago, the metropolitan museum in new york was hit with a 12,000 signed a petition asking them to remove a painting that was not of a nude figure, but it was a highly sexualised figure of a young girl. and they didn't remove it. they added further contextualisation and put in some education resources around it. ithought put in some education resources around it. i thought it was a sensible move. any removal of a painting, whether it is done with admirable purposes, sent out the wrong signal. do you think that has been done with admirable purposes? do you think there is a debate to be had about the need to challenge these kind of victorian fantasies about what is beautiful and thai women in particular worker trade? about what is beautiful and thai women in particular worker trade ?m course, but art is all about debate. that's the purpose of it. and i

think this almost closes down the debate. this painting has many kind of readings. a male figure is a young man, he is probably gay, a greek mythology, he is being enchanted and lowered into the water. this reading of the sexualised figure of the women, they are nymphs so not really human women, closes down the other reading. for example, ilooked women, closes down the other reading. for example, i looked on wikipedia earlier and that is already the main thing, the story about manchester city art gallery is the main story of this painting now. and that's a shame. you've kind of killed the painting byjust giving one narrative. you're saying there isa one narrative. you're saying there is a movement within the art world where some paintings who might have dubious portrayals of certain groups of people might need a new kind of contexts. does that mean that when you read a little explanation beside the artwork, were going to have to seek lots of differing views in

that? as i said, it's always about debate. and i think this is part of a wider cultural water. it's not surprising it's come from america and we are kind of importing it, like we import a lot of culture from the us. and i think this kind of puritanical streak or this kind of debate where it is either black or white has come from there. and i think that's a shame. it's a shame for art because this artwork has been there for 200 years or something. and it's now sort ofjust being defined by this one sort of violent act. in the light of what you've just violent act. in the light of what you'vejust said, when violent act. in the light of what you've just said, when we look forward , you've just said, when we look forward, do you think there is a risk we are going to see other historical art that becomes somehow deemed offensive and not appropriate to look at in the same way?|j deemed offensive and not appropriate to look at in the same way? i think so. to look at in the same way? i think so. and i think that will perhaps go on to the biographies of artist. caravaggio has a terrible biography.

he was a murderer, wasn't he? people have done dreadful things throughout history, but to kind of ignore that and shutdown people's access to seeing those artefacts, you could compare it to a spear in the british museum. it's part of that history. interesting to have your thoughts. thank you. thank you. he is the youngest member of the cabinet and in charge of all things digital. matt hancock — the new culture secretary — has today become the first mp to launch his own smart—phone app. hi, i'm matt hancock and welcome to my app. it's a chance to find out what's going on both in my role as mp for west suffolk and as culture secretary. and most importantly it is a chance for you to tell me what you think