marku this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 2.00pm. the head of the fbi has defended its work after a classified memo was released accusing it of bias against president trump, and abuse of power. i think it's terrible — you want to know the truth, i think it's a disgrace what's going on in this country, i think it's a disgrace. after getting caught in a scuffle with protesters last night, conservative mpjacob rees—mogg accuses the treasury of ‘fiddling' it's figures on brexit. six migrants have been injured after a gunman opened fire from a car in the central italian city of macerata. the gunman has been arrested. the government has announced a package of financial support for small companies affected by the collapse of the of the outsourcing firm, carillion. bad news for fans and papa—papa—razzi as illness forces lady gaga to cancel the last ten dates of the european leg of her world tour. of the wales in the first match.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the director of the fbi has defended its work, after a classified memo was released accusing the ageny of bias against president trump, and abuse of power. the memo was written by republican members of congress. it says the fbi received permission to tap the phone of one of mr trump's advisers,

by using evidence which had been paid for by his political opponents. daniela relph reports. the memo is out. the controversial glp document on the russia investigation is released. they are the headlines that tell of a vicious fight at the heart of the of the united states government. for president trump, his decision to release a memo accusing the fbi of working against him is totallyjustified. i think it's a disgrace, what's happening in our country. before his opponents, this is a president and a republican party who have engineered a political stunt. under attack, the head of the fbi is defiant. addressing his staff, christopher wray said: the memo, written by a republican, describes a politically biased justice department and fbi, who were determined to insure that donald trump lost the election.

they got a warrant on someone in the trump campaign, using opposition research paid for by the democratic party and the hillary clinton campaign. this began as an investigation into the trump campaign's alleged links with russia. it has now put the relationship between the white house and the fbi at a new low, with senior democrats warning of a constitutional crisis. a local council has taken the rare step of imposing emergency spending controls because of what it describes as severe financial challenges. no new expenditure will be allowed at the conservative—led northamptonshire county council, except for work protecting vulnerable people. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn said austerity was causing chaos in local government. jane—frances kelly reports. northamptonshire county council's new headquarters cost

£53 million and was opened just last year but the building could be up for sale soon to help the authority balance its books. it is now banning all new expenditure although services safeguarding vulnerable people will be protected. staff pay will be unaffected. the leader of the council blamed cuts handed down to it from central government. we have been in a perfect storm of huge increases in demand for our services and at the same time significant reductions in funding from central government. we have said to government since 2013 that we could not sustain all of our services with the level of reduction in funding. the council said that rising demand for adult social care services had driven much of the £10 million overspend on the budget this year. cuts under consideration include bus subsidies and library services. at the labour local government conference the party leader

condemned government austerity. what more evidence do we need? austerity is unleashing chaos across oui’ country. squeezing our local authorities and putting jobs and the vital services they deliver at risk. experts say northamptonshire‘s position is due to a number of factors, some particular to the county, but it could indicate a wider problem. ministers and civil servants will worry that northamptonshire is a leading indicator of something that could happen more generally. we have had eight years of cuts to council budgets, a far greater impact on them than say the nhs or welfare budget and the question is how far you can go with that policy before it begins

to produce results like this? the implications for communities in northamptonshire are due to be discussed at a council meeting later in the month. government inspectors have been appointed to investigate whether the authority is managing its finances correctly. jane—frances kelly, bbc news. a prominent conservative mp has stepped up his criticism of civil servants at the treasury, accusing them of "fiddling the figures" in brexit forecasts, in order to make the case for the uk remaining in the eu's customs union. jacob rees—mogg — who was caught up in a scuffle when protesters disrupted a meeting he was attending at a university in bristol last night — told bbc radio 4's today programme that treasury forecasts on the impact of brexit were "clearly politically influenced". so, yes i do think they are fiddling the figures. our political correspondent matt cole is here. he seems to be suggesting that there

isa he seems to be suggesting that there is a very deliberate attempt to influence the policy on brexit. let's remember, this is the second time ina let's remember, this is the second time in a week thatjacob rees—mogg has made a serious allegation against the impartiality of civil servants, perhaps trying to undermine their warnings of the dangers of different types of brexit, particularly, where they suggest that perhaps getting out of any form of a customs union would be any form of a customs union would be a bad idea. jacob rees—mogg is againstany... it a bad idea. jacob rees—mogg is against any... it is a serious claim. earlier in the week, he made a similar suggestion in the commons. the treasury say that these claims about their officials, that their own is simply no truth in them whatsoever. this is a week when we have some key ministerial meetings,

isn't it? yes. perhaps, this is more than just isn't it? yes. perhaps, this is more thanjust one isn't it? yes. perhaps, this is more than just one backbench mp disputing some treasury figures. jacob rees—mogg, let's remember, heads up a section of tory mps. they, as a block may hold some severe influence over theresa may's future. she is not in the stronger suppositions. as a block, the argument clear opposed to any form of customs union with the european union, after really. this week, their rocky ministerial meetings discussing that very potential structure. theresa may has said that we are going to leave the customs union, but she is said to be open—minded about staying in another arrangement. it could be that jacob rees—mogg is up and —— upping the ante. perhaps, this block may have

some interesting views on theresa may's longevity as by minister. thank you very much. angus robertson has announced that he is stepping down with immediate effect. the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon has paid tribute to him, thanking him for his contribution to the party. three men have been charged with murder after the fatal stabbing of a prisoner. khader saleh died on wednesday at wormwood scrubs prison in west london. ahmed khyre, kalif dibassey and enton marku, all in their early 20s, are due to appear in court next week. six migrants have been injured after a gunman opened fire from a car in the central italian city of macerata. police say the attack appears to be racially motivated, with the shooter targeting african migrants — one man has been arrested.

0ur correspondent james reynolds joins me from rome. what's more are you hearing, james? we are getting a little bit of a picture about what happened in the day. as far as we can tell from the local media and the police, the gunmen opened fire from his car in the city of macerata. he targeted a group of people who appeared to be migrants from africa. the gunmen was able to continue going and continue firing against other groups of people. at that point, the other authorities said outreach telling people to stay indoors. the gunmen was then arrested, and has he was detained, there were reports that he gave as a gesture which can be interpreted as a fascist salute. at the moment, the police want to interrogate him and find out the exact motive for the attack. what is the back ground to this. it is not the back ground to this. it is not the first attack in macerata, is it?

no. a lot of people are looking at what happened over the week near macerata. the dismembered body of an 18—year—old italian woman was found near the city. after her body was found, a nigerian migrant was arrested. so, that is the backdrop of what has been happening in that city. of course, there are plenty in italy who are saying that the finding of the body, and the arresting of the nigerian grid might have caused these particular... buckley can say that that is the background to what people were talking about. i know that a lot of people were told to stay inside their homes. this must be a worrying time for people having there. yes. and it is important to look at it in the context of the election that is coming up. the fact that migration is become such a big issue, and now clearly, the attack against people perceived to be migrants today will only add to that. right—wing parties

have begun their campaign on a very anti—migrant message, on the message that my good should be kicked out of the country. remember, thousands of people have made it toward italy, across the mediterranean. that is allowing the right—wing to say, too many migrants, it is time for them to go. 0k, james. for now, thank you very much indeed. small businesses affected by the collapse of the construction giant carillion are being offered the chance to apply for government—backed loans from high street lenders. thousands of suppliers were left unpaid, after the firm went into liquidation last month. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. britain's second biggest construction company collapsed three weeks ago leaving debts of almost £1 billion and a pensions deficit ofa similaramount. apart from those directly employed at carillion, thousands of smaller suppliers and contractors faced ruin due

to unpaid debts. oui’ main concerns are those payments are made. contractors and people's livelihoods of the main thing. this obviously impacted on them. now the government is providing guarantees to small firms worth £100 million through the state—backed british business bank. these will allow companies who lost money due to carillion get bank loans. but it also means taxpayers might be on the hook if someone defaults. additionally, the uk banking sector has promised to take the circumstances surrounding carillion into consideration if individuals face problems repaying loans, overdraft or mortgages. the extent of the damage to the wider uk economy of one firm's collapse is coming into sharp focus. joe lynam, bbc news. joining me now is alan soady, from the federation of small businesses . of small businesses. thank you for coming to talk to us.

do you welcome this move? this is certainly a step in the right direction. there were many subcontractors of carillion who were let in many cases with very large debts. the money that carillion owed going back several months. those are in jeopardy unless there is some support given. carillion‘s total debts would have been in excess of a billion, but inevitably, when you have a company like carillion that has so many contacts with both public and private sector, inevitably it will take time to get through. a step in the right direction, but it a lot more needs to be done. including also making sure that those who were involved in contract coming up in the near future, are also allowed to do those. that the customer, whether it is government departments, or the private sector, that they are allowed to carry on doing that without the carillion middleman. you said that a lot more needs to be done. is there a feeling amongst small businesses that something should be done sooner? that did

happen, within a few days. it has had quite a view meeting since, but the fact is that carillion was far, far too big, had far too many particularly public sector contracts, and when we look at... notjust contracts, and when we look at... not just those directly who had dealings with carillion, but those further down the supply chain, as well. there are lessons to be learned about public procurement. whether some contact should be much smaller, so that you could have smaller, so that you could have smaller companies bidding for them. how on earth was it that carillion and other big companies that are still doing it are allowed to get away with keeping smaller suppliers, waiting perhaps for months to get paid. because, that is how carillion has so much money that it owed, because so much of the bills went back such a long time. is there any danger that some of these companies

might think, we don't want to take these loans, because it might take these loans, because it might take the message that our customers, or indeed our surprise, that we might be in trouble. so, could there be an issue affecting people's confidence in these businesses. well, it is true. and many do have staff and of course who would be worried by the idea that the business could be in jeopardy. i think in the short—term, some are struggling financially, because they have these black holes left by money, not page them by carillion. 0r, left by money, not page them by carillion. or, just hiding them over in the short—term, but in the public sector side, a few days ago, what network rail said what could become a president, is that it said, a of the contractors... they would actually pay off some of the debts that carillion had, some of the money for thejob is that carillion had, some of the money for the job is done, particular on some of the railway operating over because this period. well, if network rail can do that, what about some of the big tax payer funded agency, as well. just to get onto small businesses, is there a

danger that some could go out of business because of this? you low there is a real danger that some of them will go out of business. many of them look extremely unlikely to get the money back. at least in the short—term, if there is more financial support, that will at least people ever, when then you can then continue contacts. now, continue taking up contacts that they were planning to do in the near future, including those promised by carillion, it will improve the chances of them surviving. thank you very much. it is good to talk to you. the headlines now: the head of the fbi has defended its work after it classified memo was released accusing it of bias against president tom's abusive power. northamptonshire county council has suspended spending. six migrants

have been injured after a gunman opened fire in the central italian city of macerata. the gunmen has been arrested. —— gunman. 0ligarchs suspected of corruption will be forced to explain how they fund their luxury lifestyles in britain. the security minister, ben wallace, has told the times that he wants to crackdown on criminals and fraudulent politicians who use britain to launder money gained through corruption. dal babu, a former chief superintendent at the metropolitan police, explained some of the thinking behind the new ‘unexplained wealth orders': i think what they want to do is establish where people have got their money, and if you have £50,000 or more, that's probably not going to affect the majority of us, then they want to have the opportunity to ask people were they got that money from. actually it could apply a lot lower than oligarchs but that is really what looking at, people who are the international super wealthy who often choose to

live in this country. absolutely. the interview in the times was very much about the oligarchs and the big headline was, "we are coming after you." it would be interesting to see what substance there is nothing this because what we have to remember, there are lots of oligarchs, many of them own football clubs here, many of them are a legitimate business people here, but there is a thread of individuals, if people have been watching the bbc mcmafia series, they will know there are afraid of individuals who are conducting affairs in a sort of unlawful way, and the difficulty is, i was speaking to the cab driver on the way in and he was saying you would be surprised how many people there are, they live a parallel life, huge excesses, huge extravagance. but in terms of what the minister says, what i would be interested in is what resources are put in place. these people are sophisticated individuals. they will have accountants in place. a father whose three daughters were among those abused by the former united states gymnastics team doctor larry nassar has apologised, after trying to attack him at a court in michigan. nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison last month, after more than 150 women testified that he had sexually abused them. nada tawfik reports.

to my parents, thank you for all your love and support through all of this. throughout larry nassar‘s sentencing hearings, women have shared their horrific tales of abuse at the hands of the disgraced doctor. on friday, the testimonies continued, with the heartbreaking account of the margraves family, whose three daughters were all victimised. after hearing two of his daughters recount their ordeals, randall margraves asked for a turn to speak as a distraught father. i would ask you to, as part of the sentencing, to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon. i have a feeling... would you do that? that is not how our... yes or no? no, sir, i can't do that. would you give me one minute? you know that i can't do that. that's not how our legal system... well, i'm gonna have to... the chaotic and raw moment showed the guilt and pain that parents

and families are still struggling with. believing the father had suffered enough, the judge said he would be released without charge. there's no way that this court is going to issue any type of punishment given the circumstances of this case. at a press conference afterwards, the margraves girls defended their father. it is easy to get caught up when emotions are running high. he reacted in a way that i feel most fathers would have done and probably wanted to do in a situation like this. after reflecting on what happened earlier, he said that he is a multiple. —— he is remorseful. randall margraves said he was not a hero, but the real heroes were his girls and the other victims. if it wasn't for all the brave girls and women that have come forward before now, i don't know if my family could have come forward now. the case has inevitably sparked numerous investigations into why michigan state university, where he was employed,

along with usa gymnastics and the us olympic committee failed to stop him. nada tawfik, bbc news. lady gaga has cancelled the last ten dates of the european leg of her world tour, because of "severe pain". shows in london and manchester are among those affected. in a statement posted on twitter she said she was devastated, but needed to put herself and her well—being first. the singer has fibro—myalgia, a long—term condition which can cause pain all over the body. some of her fans have travelled from as far as brazil and denmark to see her on her uk dates, and are disappointed: i save money all the year for this. i don't blame her. the same way it hurts so much. going back home without seeing her again. it has been five years. the first tour that has been cancelled and i have no idea. and booking flights and trains for hamburg and cologne and berlin and london and manchester.

you were going to see all of the dates that have been cancelled ? yeah. many gps feel undervalued, unable to provide safe care and want to quit theirjobs, according to research with doctors who have left the profession early. nhs england has promised an extra 5,000 gps by the end of the decade, but recent statistics suggest the service is continuing to lose doctors. the government insists it has the highest ever number of gps in training. wales has just kicked off this year's six nations championship later, hosting scotland in cardiff. but there'll be someone missing — shenkin, the regimental goat mascot — which traditionally leads players onto the pitch. he died last year — so today, they need a stand—in. the bbc‘s alex humphreys went

along to lend a hand in the search for a replacement. it's one of the best vantage points along the north coast of wales, home to seals, rare plants and goats. yes, the great 0rme in llandudno is also home to the royal herd, and i'm on the hunt for a new goat mascot with the 3rd battalion the royal welsh. what is it you look for in a good goat mascot? well, we came up yesterday afternoon to do a recce to find a couple of herds where they've specifically got young billy goats. there was one specific one who when i called him and made a noise to attract his attention, he's in very inquisitive, he stared at us. that's a good sign, is it? he's got a bit of cheeky smile about him and he's got a lovely flop of hairjust in front of his horns. so, tom, how do you catch a goat? well, we've got to find them first, we're going to be strolling

the great 0rme to find the herd and find the goat we actually want. then i'm going to rugby tackle him. you're kidding? not today, luckily for me and the goat. we've got an rspca vet who's gonna dart him for us before we take him home. but catching him isn't as easy as it sounds. things don't quite go as planned. it looks like goats 2—0 royal welsh at the moment. eight hours later... so, can't you just choose a different goat? no, we looked at him yesterday, he had a good bit of character about him. he was local today, we saw him this morning and he's the one we want. the elusive shenkin has definitely been kidding with us today. so the moral of the story is never to work with animals, especially goats. alex humphreys, bbc news. two russians have set a new record for the longest space walk ever done by cosmonauts — but their eight—hour

stint outside the international space station has not gone entirely to plan. they faced the tricky task of replacing an outdated antenna — a task not intended to be done in orbit. mission controllers are now evaluating whether the cosmonauts may have wasted their time — and are checking whether the antenna is still operating. i think that rugby fans are hardy here. it is suitably called. not just rain, but sleet and snow in some spots, as well. particularly through the hills of northern in lead and scotland. it is going to

stay this sort of miserable into this evening. there are some spots, that have been trying to brighten up this afternoon. there are some showers, here. elsewhere, occasional rain, sleet or snow. a lot of this lowly peters out overnight, allowing some clear spells, here and there. that means that temperatures dip, frost and i is possible. especially, over eastern part of england. it is mostly falling as rain, perhaps as sleet and hail with these, but on a keen and called north—easterly wind. elsewhere, a fair amount of cloud, but some bright and sunny ‘s buzz coming back to improve things, especially into the afternoon. that winds towards east anglia, even as far as south—west england, and wales, will be keen and cold. it will feel close to freezing. this is bbc news —

our latest headlines... senior democrats have warned donald trump not to use a controversial memo as a pretext to fire the special counsel investigating alleged russian involvement in the presidential election. i think it's a disgrace what's happening in our country, and when you look at that and you see that and so many other things that are going on, a lot of people should be ashamed themselves. a conservative—led council in northamptonshire which has imposed emergency spending controls has said it's been warning ministers for years about its financial problems. after getting caught in a scuffle with protesters last night, jacob rees—mogg has stepped up his attack on the treasury accusing civil servants of "fiddling the figures" on brexit. six migrants have been injured after a gunman opened fire from a car in the central italian city of macerata. the gunman has been arrested.

now on bbc news — inside out west investigates what can be done to better protect cats from being shot by air guns. he was a whisker away from death. but who shot george? none of us could believe it — and still now, we are very angry and upset. we didn't even know if he was going to make it. and it was totally heartbreaking for all of us. emma britton lifts the lid on our public toilets. oh, it stinks around here! i wonder why. and, we spend a year on a 100—year—old cider farm. we arejust having a good old drink tonight to celebrate the beginning of the wassail. so, cheers everybody. evening all, welcome to inside out west.