hello, this is breakfast, with dan walker and mega munchetty. a lack of trust among disabled people over how their welfare claims are assessed. mps find assessors submitted reports that were riddled with errors and regularly missed quality targets. good morning. it's wednesday, the 14th february. also this morning: borisjohnson moves to reassure voters who he says are angry and alienated because of brexit in the first of a series of speeches on brexit from senior cabinet members. a new times table test is introduced for thousands of eight and nine year olds in england's primary schools in a bid to raise numeracy levels. good morning. iam in liverpool, where the council is selling off

over 100 empty homes forjust £1. houses like these. i will look at whether this is one way we can solve the housing shortage and i will take you inside some of the houses. and in sport: from the farm to the curling sheet. great britain's men beat switzerland in their opening match. tea m team gb won silver four years ago, but this is a new team, all of them farmers. there's black and then there's one of the blackest substances known to man. what can vantablack be used for? we'll tell you later. and we have the dark lord himself on the weather forecast. we can bring a bit of colour to your forecast. lots of frost and sunshine to begin with, but rain and hill snow on the way. all the details in 15 minutes. good morning. first, our main story: a committee of mps has said there is a "pervasive lack of trust" among disabled people in how their welfare claims are assessed.

the commons' work and pensions committee said reports by private contractors were "riddled with errors" and quality targets had been "regularly missed". here's our disability news correspondent nikki fox. anastasia ashley is having a good day. but it's not always like this. most days she is unable to get out of the house. the 24—year—old has multiple sclerosis. she used to work full—time, but now she struggles to get around. she applied for a disability benefit and was assessed at home by a healthcare professional from a private company. she says she told says she could only walk 20 metres, but when the report came back it said she could walk further. she didn't give me a physical assessment. i was sat down the entire time. i was very, very cross about that. today's report identifies a culture of mistrust around the whole process. it says assessors risk being viewed as at

best lacking competence and at worst actively deceitful. the committee says the government's loe bar for what is considered acceptable leaves rooms for reports to be riddled with obvious omissions. clearly the system needs a major overhaul, but there are some things government could do better to improve it. automatic audio recording of assessments for people, why not share the assessment results with the claimant at the point of claim a decision? the government says assessments work for the majority of people and it is committed to improving transparency. what with current contracts up for review and targets being consistently missed, the future of the system is unclear. the foreign secretary borisjohnson will address what he calls the "grief and alienation" of those who voted to stay in the european union in a speech later today. he says that people who voted to leave the eu should try to persuade worried remainers to focus on the possible benefits of, rather than their fears over, brexit. 0ur political correspondent, leila nathoo, is in westminster this morning.

what exactly is he expected to say later? we are expecting a very conciliatory tone from him later. he wa nts to conciliatory tone from him later. he wants to reach out to people on both sides of the debate, a recognition that there are still divisions. he says he understands the anxieties amongst remainers but he wants to convince them that brexit is about hope and not fear. he also has strong words for people he thinks are trying to stop brexit and wants to warn them that they would be a disastrous mistake, but this is a first ina disastrous mistake, but this is a first in a series of speeches we will get from senior cabinet ministers over the coming weeks. number 10 is calling the series of speeches the road to brexit. theresa may will speak about security this weekend and we will hear from the brexit secretary david davis about business, from the cabinet office secretary about devolution. this is all a plan from number 10 to reveal

more details about what exactly our relationship with the eu will look like in the future. theresa may has been under great pressure to reveal that. there is no agreement yet among cabinet ministers on what exactly the future relationship with the eu will look like. cabinet ministers will gather for an away day to try and flesh this out, what in the speeches that we are expecting to hear, including from liam fox, we are going to get more detail and they will be very closely watched both here in westminster and brussels for the exact arrangement that the government wants to see. borisjohnson will also that the government wants to see. boris johnson will also speak that the government wants to see. borisjohnson will also speak about controlling immigration, but quite a few m ps controlling immigration, but quite a few mps say the home office doesn't have the resources to deal with any changes to the system. this is a warning from the home affairs select committee that there are no preparations in place. not enough preparations in place. not enough preparations in place for a new immigration system post— except and

no clarity yet on what exactly the government wants it the transition period and beyond. interestingly in these speeches we will hear, the home secretary amber rudd isn't among them. the government has been promising a draft policy of future immigration that has been delayed and mps are also criticising that. the home office says we are well prepared, it is ridiculous to suggest otherwise, but it is clear that there is impatience now from all sides for more flesh on the bone of brexit plans. thank you very much and speak to you later. the jury at the trial of the former football coach barry bennell, who's been found guilty of dozens of sexual offences against boys, will continue deliberations on other charges today. yesterday, the jury at liverpool crown court returned guilty verdicts on 36 counts and asked for more time to consider seven more. bennell, who appeared in court via videolink due to illness, declined to give evidence in his defence. film star minnie driver has quit as an 0xfam ambassador

following claims that staff working for the charity in disaster zones paid vulnerable local people for sex. the actress resigned after 20 years with the aid agency, saying in a statement that she was "horrified" by the allegations. 0xfam said it was "grateful" for ms driver's commitment, and that it was more determined than ever to learn from its mistakes. hundreds of premature babies could avoid brain damage if their mothers were all given a cheap drug during labour, according to a new report. the royal college of paediatrics and child health says there are huge regional disparities in the proportion of mothers given magnesium sulphate to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy. it claims providing the drug could save the nhs £280 million a year. the actress emma watson has spoken about her shock at realising that there was no system in place to help people in the film industry who had been sexually harassed. she's one of a number of women in the industry who've been consulted by the british film institute and bafta,

as it announces changes aimed at tackling the problem. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been looking at the plans. this sunday it is the bafta awards and ahead of british film is‘ biggest night of the year, the industry has announced a brand—new plan aimed at tackling both sexual harassment and bullying. it is a direct response to the harvey weinstein allegations. you can talk? of course we can talk! emma watson was one of the many actresses asked for input. these principles are important because up until recently there were no guidelines, there was no protocol for someone who had been sexually harassed in the entertainment industry. i know this to bea entertainment industry. i know this to be a fact because i've asked for principles and asked to see guidelines and no one could give them to me. to change this more than 40 them to me. to change this more than a0 organisations, including after and the british film institute, worked on a set of eight principles which they want to be used across

the film, to the video games industries. so what will actually change? every production must employ two people trained to handle any accusations of harassment. a dedicated phone line will open in april, offering free confidential help. and pfi funding will only be given to projects committed to the changes. —— bfi. given to projects committed to the changes. -- bfi. this isn't about a set of commands, it is about a set of principles which everyone has willingly and with huge enthusiasm signed up to. at last month's golden globe awards almost all actresses w0 re globe awards almost all actresses wore black to show solidarity for the times up campaign calling for change. the same is expected at the baftas. those behind the announcement hope such a stand would be needed next year. a heart—warming image of a gorilla in the arms of one of her rescuers has won the top prize at the wildlife photographer of the year awards. chosen by almost 20,000 nature

fans, the winning snap was taken by canadian photographerjo—anne mcarthur. pikin, a lowland gorilla, was being moved to a new home by her caretaker in cameroon. it isa it is a beautiful picture. 0therfinalists included this image of a polar bear and her cubs emerging from their den. this bird is a lilac—breasted roller. it doesn't look real! snapped hitching a ride on a zebra in kenya. have you ever seen a bird like that? i have now! this three—toed sloth was hanging around in the brazilian rainforest. was it planet earth ii that this loss was in? and, finally, here's an underwater image of a humpback whale and her calf floating

in the waters off tonga. the winning images will be showcased at the natural history museum in london, until the end of may. how are you feeling this morning? are you all right? i feel 0k. those pictures might have warmed the heart but perhaps you are in need of a little pick me up. those words translated into italian mean tiramisu, where they've just broken the record for the longest ever coffee flavoured desert, 266m in length. 30 pastry chefs in the town of villesse baked all day. we don't know if all these people who were watching got to sample it when they'd finished. i really want tiramisu for brea kfast. i can't bear rich. anything coffee —based... honestly, it's not up there. you big coffee bully. you big coffee bully. you make this stuff up!

i like it picked me up, but i don't like the italian pick me up. i could do tiramisu right under the desk right now. a big slab. there isn't any, in case you were wondering. good morning. are you a coffee found? i love coffee, but coffee flavoured things, i'm nota coffee, but coffee flavoured things, i'm not a fan. ididn't i'm not a fan. i didn't when i was younger, but now i would be the first to grab the coffee chocolate. i will bring mine in at christmas. i will bring mine in at christmas. i will happily eat leftovers. i will happily eat leftovers. i will take all the strawberry ones and bring in the coffee ones. are we curling this morning? we are gripped by the curling this morning! the men have done very well and they already beat switzerland later and women are doing very well as well. there is something about curling. the way they shout at each other, trying to decipher what they are actually saying. it is all about tactics. and the

furious brushing. earlier we said it is one of those sports where you watch at think, i could do that. it's not like the snowjumping. you think that. you think you could give it ago and you completely mess up. i would kick the stone. totally the wrong sport. good effort all the same. as i say, the women have been doing very well and are leading the olympic athletes from russia this morning. there are lot of muirheads out there this morning. redemption for american snowboarder shaun white. after a shock defeat in sochi, the flying tomato landed a third 0lympic halfpipe title, with a mesmerising final run. in the champions league, manchester city beat basel and tottenham recovered from a dreadful start to earn a draw againstjuventus.

and england all—rounder ben stokes is heading to new zealand tojoin up with the t20 squad. he pleaded not guilty to charges of affray at bristol magistrates court yesterday. so we will be keeping across the curling this morning. it's going to be happening throughout the programme and we are very excited. cani programme and we are very excited. can i ask you, do you celebrate valentine's day? i do. have you left something for your other half? i can't tell you that. he'll be watching. that's true love, watching it at this time. 0k. lots of people are getting in contact about how they are marking valentine's day. helen says she is meeting her best friends for lunch. i will have to make time for the husband later. she has her priorities correct! verity says it was her birthday yesterday. doesn't celebrate it. he

spoils me every day, but she bought a packet of love hearts in his lunchbox with his sandwiches. do you celebrate it? may be a chinese takeaway. i don't do anything. nothing at all? nope. how is your partner about that? absolutely fine. what about birthdays? yes. christmas? yes. christmas? yes. chinese new year, easter, all of that. not valentine's day. david said he and his wife don't celebrate it. at his youngest daughter was born on the 1ath of edgar in 1997 and it is her 21st birthday today. happy birthday, joy! here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. a twinkly romantic sky. a romantic view across the water. this was the scene last night in cumbria, lovely starry skies and those starry skies

led to a chilly start temperatures below freezing in many areas, —a on the outskirts of banbury and even into parts of southern scotland, —2. some avoid the frost, the blue is at or below freezing. avoiding it is bang and the south—east because of the cloud is today, avoiding it in the west. through the day, in the southern half, outbreaks of rain coming and going through the morning, turning as snow for a while in the tops of the welsh hills and into the early afternoon on the tops of the pennines. east anglia and the south—east largely dry. the northern half, outbreaks reading to northern ireland, 70 mph gusts developing in the hebrides, some in the hebrides —— spreading. some in the east stay

dry throughout. across the border a windy day, outbreaks of rain and hill snow spreading erratically eased. —— across—the—boa rd. hill snow spreading erratically eased. —— across—the—board. ten or 11 by the end of the day —— east. eastern areas will be chilly. into the night, outbreaks of rain and hill snow and quickly depart into the near continent, lingering longest in east anglia and the far south—east allowing clear skies and showers to push in, turning into sleet and snow in scotland and northern ireland. in between temperatures avoiding a frost but one or two could get close enough for icy patches into tomorrow. this is tomorrow morning, low pressure towards iceland, winds coming in from a westerly direction, not as strong as they will be today but a blustery bright day for many. sunshine and showers the name of the game, southern and eastern areas, a few showers, many staying dry, to the north and west, sleet and snow showers, covering the hills in scotland, northern ireland, the far north of england. rain in the south

as temperatures get to double figures. friday, another a frosty start as winds fall light, a frosty day for england and wales but cloud in over into western scotland and northern ireland later. i'll keep you updated through the morning. back to naga and dan. thanks, matt, we will see you later. let's take a look at today's papers. this is one of the stories we were talking about in our headlines, the daily telegraph has minnie driver quitting 0xfam after years of working with the charity over the recent allegations of the way the money has been used to get prostitutes in haiti and some of the other accusations made against 0xfam. the main story, boris says eu laws intolerable after grexit, that's what we will talk about with our reporter outside westminster this morning. -- brexit. front page of the times, looking at brexit,

remainers risk a betrayal of britain over brexit. borisjohnson today warning those attempting to reverse it that their efforts will trigger permanent feelings of betrayal. meghan markle at edinburgh castle yesterday said the hen party is sorted. and the lead story, 0xfam aid worker had already been investigated. another line with regards to the eight worker at the centre of a scandal in haiti. she w0 re centre of a scandal in haiti. she wore a £2000 code yesterday. the story with minnie driver on the mail. —— aid worker. former coach found guilty of sexually abusing footballers, he will be in court later. the back pages have been dominated by two images, we are back in champions league action, last night harry kane dominating with the glorious fight back. 2-0 down?

absolutely. it was a miserable start. i walked in after17 absolutely. it was a miserable start. i walked in after 17 minutes, walked out, came back half an hour later to get ready for bed... againstjuventus, who have conceded since november last year. a great result for tottenham. the other image dominating the back pages, elise christie after crashing out in the 5000 metres speedskating. heartbreaking for her. she has a few days to come back and show her metal. it isn't all over for her by a longshot shop so we will be an eye on herso a longshot shop so we will be an eye on her so this also caught my eye this morning. there's lots of way to get your funding together for the olympics —— longshot. this guy in the bobsleigh team did it through gameshows, why not? including the cuban deal or no deal, he won £12,000, which has helped to fund

some of his equipment, some of which is very expensive, so why not? love that story. one online story i need to share, there's a guy who claims to share, there's a guy who claims to bea to share, there's a guy who claims to be a time traveller, he's called loe, he is from the year 2030 and there's various predictions he has made. donald trump will get re—elected —— he's called neuer. he also says that many forms of cancer will be cured by 2030. we are still using pennies but technology has developed to the point where you can independently run your home. the us president in 2030 will be a figure called ilana remikee, there will be electric cars, and he is 50 but he has used a drug to make him look like a 25—year—old. he was asked to ta ke like a 25—year—old. he was asked to take a lie detector test and he passed. is he minted? i don't know. he would be if you could predict the

future. happy valentine's day, everyone! what is six times seven? a2.i everyone! what is six times seven? 42. iwas everyone! what is six times seven? 42. i was always good at my six times table. reciting times—tables was a feature of school life for many of us in years gone by. now the government is set to reintroduce timestables checks for thousands of primary school children in england from this spring. opponents, including some teaching unions, are questioning the educational benefits. our business correspondent nina warhurst has been to test the maths skills of some people in manchester. my my times tables, yeah, or some. your dad is very confident, harvey, do you think he's going to be up for it? know. start with an easy one, two times seven. 14. dad, four times six. 24. two times six. 12. you're

confident you know you're times tables, will start with a hard one, seven sixes? 42. 89 is our? 72. 48 agricultural r? of... three times five? 15. two times four? eight. good girl. five times five is? 25. eight times five? 40. two times eight? 16. four times nine? 36. you're getting too good, well done. nine times six? 54. ten

times for? 40. my goodness, smashed it, well done. we can speak now to the schools minister nick gibb. how were you at school when it came to maths? fine, buti how were you at school when it came to maths? fine, but i won't be answering any of your times tables questions this morning. this is an important initiative to make sure every time leaves primary school fluid in their multiplication tables, just as we introduced the phonic shift in 2012, that has led toa phonic shift in 2012, that has led to a huge improvement in reading standards and this we suspect will lead to a huge increase influence e and arithmetic so when they do secondary school they will be better equipped to handle secondary school mathematics —— huge increase in fluency. what's wrong now, is there evidence they aren't making the grade in secondary school? i've been visiting schools since 2005 and i

have noticed an improvement in the number of children able to do their multiple patient tables in primary school. it is being taught, it is being taught well, but we want to make sure every single child knows their multiplication tables by heart and this check, introduced at the end of year a, will enable schools to identify those children still struggling. the great prize here is every single child leaving primary school will know their tables by heart, just as more and more children leaving primary school are fluent in reading. to be able to identify them at the end of year a, are you saying the problem is teachers aren't identifying them now, the ones who do have problems with times tables? no, they are, but we wa nt with times tables? no, they are, but we want a systematic approach right through the school system so we can be sure in the years ahead every single child is leaving primary school mastering their times tables. i've been looking at, for example, a few years ago the e and f grades of

gcse papers and it was clear them out those children struggling at the age of 16 with gcse maths, some of their problems stemmed from not being able to multiply, for example, and if we can get those basics sorted in primary school for every single child, notjust most children, we will see a huge improvement, particularly those children from disadvantaged backgrounds, those children who are now struggling in mathematics at secondary school, we can make sure every child stars secondary school able to cope with the secondary school maths curriculum. -- starts. can you guarantee this would create more stress in the classroom, for children, another layer of testing and assessment, but also for teachers? we've been piloting this check for the last two years, it's very simple, it takes about five minutes, it is onscreen. the feedback from children is that they enjoy taking it and it isn't an accountability measure. the results won't be published on a school by

school basis, it is simply a tool to enable schools to identify children still struggling and schools will be able to look at their results and compare them to the national figures and the local authority figures but we won't publish the figures by school. it would be high stakes for the school so it shouldn't add to stress or workload for teachers. hashit stress or workload for teachers. hash it won't be high—stakes. isn't bakarand —— it hash it won't be high—stakes. isn't bakar and —— it won't be high—stakes. bakar and —— it won't be high—sta kes. with bakar and —— it won't be high—stakes. with boris johnson, should the cabinet be unified ahead of this speech today? there appears to bea of this speech today? there appears to be a lot of backstabbing and mealy words so to speak in terms of the last few weeks? what boris johnson will be saying in his speech, i haven't read the full speech, i haven't read the full speech, but what he will be saying is we should be optimistic about the future of our country outside europe. the country has differing views on this issue and we now need

to come together as a country as a whole to look ahead to see the great opportunities that being outside the european union will present in terms of global trade and projecting britain right across the world. that is the essence of borisjohnson's speech today and it's the first of a series of speeches by other members of the cabinet that we'll see, including the prime minister, who will be speaking on this issue on saturday. when you ask for the country to come together as a whole, what about the cabinet? the cabinet is united behind determining to get for britain a is excess or outcome of our negotiations with europe. we wa nt to ta ke of our negotiations with europe. we want to take back control of our laws, borders and money. —— is a successful outcome. we are united behind that and i'm optimistic we will secure a good trading deal with the european union after we leave, which we will do in march 2019. we have secured the passage of the eu withdrawal bill in the commons and it's starting its passage in the

house of lords and we have completed the first stage of the negotiations with the european union in terms of the negotiations about our terms of exit. nick gibb, thanks forjoining us on exit. nick gibb, thanks forjoining us on breakfast this morning. my pleasure. steph is house hunting in liverpool for us this morning. good morning and good morning, everybody. i'm in way the tree in liverpool where there are around 120 empty homes around here that have been derelict, a lot of them for more than a decade so what the councils have been doing, because they can't refurbish them themselves, they have been selling themselves, they have been selling them off to families for £1 each. you can buy one of these homes... there are some rules, you have to be a first—time buyer and live or work in liverpool, you have to be able to do it up with your own cash and do that within the first year or they will take it off you and you can't sell it for at least five years. this is mel's wonderful house she has done up over the last several

months or so, we will look inside and we will be chatting to mel later. she's done a wonderfuljob, it looks gorgeous. this is mel and her daughter, rosie. give us a wave! rosie is a bit shy. i will be talking to them later but first let's get the news, travel and weather where you are this morning. good morning from bbc london news. i'm asad ahmad. a teacherfrom north london, who's been named as a top ten finalist in a global teaching award, has warned of the poor living conditions of her pupils in brent. andria zafira kou says some of her pupils at the alperton community school have to do their homework in the bathroom because of overcrowding at home. the art and textiles teacher has been nominated for the $1 million prize for her work with deprived children, which includes giving extra classes and providing a quiet place to work. a bbc investigation shows that many vulnerable londoners are unable to get social housing

which could trap in them in what's been described as a cycle of homelessness. more than 130,000 households have dropped—off council waiting lists in london since a new law allowed local authorities to restrict access to social housing. it means people with rent arrears are among those who can be kept off the list. the government says it's committed to social housing, but housing charities say the law has to change. it's being stuck in desperation all the time. we want to go to them and say, housemate, but they won't do anything. we are just stuck in a place where we have no control. let's have a look at the travel situation now. 0n the piccadilly line, no service between arnos grove and hammersmith westbound only due to a signal failure. 0n the roads, the a13 is slow moving westbound from dagenham to barking. and in west london,

chelsea embankment remains closed westbound for roadworks between chelsea bridge and battersea bridge. finally, the half tonne world war two bomb which closed city airport this week will be detonated in a controlled explosion today. the device was found at the king george v dock at the weekend. it was safely moved and towed to the essex coast, where bomb disposal experts have been waiting for the weather to improve. let's have a check on the weather now with elizabeth rizzini. good morning. we start the day with a bit ofa good morning. we start the day with a bit of a hangover of cloud from the night before and we will have a bright spell for a time but it will be shortly as cloud builds from the west ahead of rain in the afternoon and evening. it will be windy today as well. we could see gusts of up to 35 mph through the day. you can see the cloud building through the morning and then the rain following in the afternoon. fairly fragmented

at first, but there will be a heavier spell for a time. temperatures up to about 7—8 celsius, the southerly wind persisting. into the night of the rain moves into the east and then we are rain moves into the east and then we a re left rain moves into the east and then we are left with fairly clear skies for are left with fairly clear skies for a time and a mild night ahead. temperatures down to about a—5 celsius and in some spots not below six. a mild day follows tomorrow. a good deal of sunshine on offer. looking largely dry, with lighter winds, and we hold onto the lighter weather for a few days. turning chilly into the second half of next week. i will be back in half an hour. hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and naga munchetty. we'll bring you all the news and sport in a moment. but also on breakfast this morning: can you still recite your times tables? it was a feature of school life for most of us, now primary schools in england

are set to re—introduce testing. countdown's rachel riley will be here to tell us why she thinks it's so important if you think black is black, think again. we're going to show you the blackest substance on earth! it's been described as looking like "a window peering into the depths of outer space". from women who drill through frozen seas to gather food, to villagers who scale sheer cliff faces to get to church. we take a look at the extreme communities risking their lives on a daily basis, just to get by. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. a committee of mps has said there is a "pervasive lack of trust" among disabled people in how their welfare claims are assessed. the commons' work and pensions committee said reports by private contractors were "riddled with errors". it recommends ministers take the service back "in house" when contracts end with private firms. the government says the majority of claimants are happy

with their overall experience. the foreign secretary borisjohnson says he wants to reassure those who feel angry and alienated because of the brexit vote. in a speech later today he will suggest that supporters of brexit try to persuade worried remain voters that leaving the european union is a cause for "hope, not fear". his is the first of a number of cabinet speeches expected this week. mps have criticised the home office for seriously underestimating, what they described as the "immense bureaucratic challenge" posed by brexit. in a report published today, the house of commons home affairs committee hits out at the government for long delays in publishing a post—brexit immigration white paper. the government has said it's considering various options and will set out its initial plans "as and when they are ready". the jury at the trial of the former football coach barry bennell, who's been found guilty of dozens of sexual offences against boys, will continue deliberations on other charges today.

yesterday, the jury at liverpool crown court returned guilty verdicts on 36 counts and asked for more time to consider seven more. bennell, who appeared in court via videolink due to illness, declined to give evidence in his defence. the actress emma watson has spoken of her shock, at realising that there was no system in place to help people in the film industry who had been sexually harassed. she's one of a number of women who've been consulted by the british film institute and bafta, as it announces changes aimed at tackling the problem. now bfi funding will only be given to projects committed to the proposals. valentine's day is traditionally marked with gestures of love and affection. and with that in mind, on the most romantic day of the year pairs of gentoo penguins at the national sea life centre in birmingham have been treated to a serenade. this is a violinist

from the royal birmingham conservatoire. i think they are enjoying it, aren't they? they aren't attacking him, or walking. they want more! there are roses on the shelf. yeah. a beautiful thing. that's how you charm one of those penguins. it's like the pied piper! we are talking curling. i was more we are talking curling. i was more concerned we are talking curling. i was more concerned that the penguins would have a more romantic day than me. it's not all about you! how it's the curling? the men's curling is going very well. eating switzerland in their first heat. these are examples of the stones they will be using in pyeongchang. —— beating. they are impressive looking. how heavy are they?

0nly a70 pounds each, the one used in pyongyang. bargain! idid in pyongyang. bargain! i did a piece on curling sometime ago and i was told they we re sometime ago and i was told they were £1000 each. but they do last you 50 years, so that's all right. they are an investment. they've been doing 0k they are an investment. they've been doing ok for them in so far. the men's team is a completely new line—up to the one that took silverfour years ago and they've already provided nerve—shredding entertainment. their match against switzerland swung to and fro, and they were tied at 5—5, so it went to an extra end. and gb skip kyle smith landed the stone bang on target. they'll play defending champions canada at 11 o'clock. these are live pictures from the women's opening match against the olympic athletes from russia. great britain leading 5—1, so heading for victory. there's live coverage on bbc two and catch—up programmes throughout the day. now, are you familiar

with the flying tomato. he's otherwise known as shaun white. the american has become a three time olympic champion after a dramatic halfpipe final. he was in second place going into the final run and he produced some outstanding twists and turns and huge air to take gold. it is very impressive. i had to look up it is very impressive. i had to look u p exa ctly it is very impressive. i had to look up exactly why he is called the red tomato and it is of course because of his red hair! the women's slalem will now take place on friday. moving away from pyeongchang. the champions league returned last night and tottenham produced a brilliant fightback against juventus, who were last season's beaten finalists. spurs were 2—0 down inside ten minutes but harry kane and christian erikkson earned them a draw, to take into the second leg at wembley next month.

pep guardiola said their midfielder was extraordinary after his side took a giant step towards the quarter—finals. he scored twice in a a-o quarter—finals. he scored twice in a a—0 win at these all. —— basel. ben stokes will be of new zealand today tojoin up stokes will be of new zealand today to join up with stokes will be of new zealand today tojoin up with england team, who are currently struggling in the twe nty20 are currently struggling in the twenty20 tri—series. that's after he entered a plea of not guilty to charges of affray at bristol magistrates court yesterday. his case was adjourned to the local crown court on march 12th but he's not required to appear in person, meaning he's available for the rest of england's winter tour. and finally, the british teams may have only started their 0lympic campaign, but this morning, but curling fever has already taken hold it seems! take a look at this. maybe it's a new way to start the house work.

that's some technique. we need the volume up on this. clea n volume up on this. clean harder! it's absolutely brilliant. in four years, clean harder! it's absolutely brilliant. infouryears, i clean harder! it's absolutely brilliant. in four years, i want to see them in four years. brilliant. it is impressive! we can give it ago and later. we've got the stones. thanks very much. we will have to weather shortly. film star minnie driver has quit as an 0xfam ambassador following claims that staff working for the charity in disaster zones paid vulnerable local people for sex. the actress resigned after 20 years with the aid agency, saying in a statement that she was "horrified" by the scandal. let's speak to our correspondent tom burridge. this will be a big blow. the front page of many papers, minnie drier saying she doesn't want to be involved with 0xfam any more. she is best known for her role in the film

good will hunting and she has been an ambassador of 0xfam for 20 years. she says she was devastated by the response of 0xfam. some people claimed 0xfam tried to cover up the scandal and she said she was horrified that senior members of 0xfa m horrified that senior members of 0xfam staff reportedly held parties with prostitutes in the wake of the earthquake in haiti in 2010. she said it was a series of abhorrent mistakes. she says she still wants to do some charity work abroad, helping people in place of a calf cut in the developing world, but not with 0xfam. also some reports in the sun about allegations against international rescue committee is. what more can you tell us about that? it is a huge charity, headquarter based in new york. the headquarter based in new york. the headis headquarter based in new york. the head is david miliband. what has emerged overnight and into this morning is that the department for international development, the part

of our government which basically distributes money to charities to help people abroad, withheld millions of pounds of funding from the irc relating to a programme which the irc was running in the democratic republic of congo. it did so reportedly because of allegations of fraud and sexual misconduct. the charity has told us that there were three allegations of sexual exploitation within and other organisation. i've asked the charity to clarify what it means by that, what was this other organisation and what was this other organisation and what was this other organisation and what was its relationship to the programme that the irc was running. it has yet to do so. the international rescue committee says that when the allegations came to light in 2016, it fully investigated them and kept the international... the department for international development fully informed. there is no suggestion that this is a scandal anything like the scale of the scandal in boiling 0xfam at the moment, but it shows that an extra

ray of light is being shone onto the charity sector and especially work abroad at any possible misdemeanours in the past. thank you very much. let's find out what's happening with the weather. that doesn't look pretty! yes, let's get back. that's even prettier. clear skies last night across parts of the uk. that made for a lovely scene in cumbria. but with those clear skies overhead it has meant temperatures have tumbled. a widespread frost. temperatures drop as low as —a in the outskirts of banbury. the coldest air in scotla nd of banbury. the coldest air in scotland shown by the blue colours, avoiding the anglia and the south—east with the clout from yesterday still lingering anger cloud keeping temperatures up. rain through the day will bring a change from the south. sunshine through much of the morning in the east, the

cloud from the west brings outbreaks of rain with hill snow turning heavier in the pennines and the peak district and a covering of snow before it turns back to rain. wettest conditions around the coast and a windy day, widespread gales, winds could touch 70 mph in the western isles but in the north, early occasional rain in northern ireland will clear to sunny spells but turning cloudy with snow and rain in scotland. ten centimetres in the snow here and there but at lower levels, turning back to rain as temperatures lift. windy across the board, severe gales for some but temperatures lifting, still a chilly day in eastern parts. through the night the rain and hill snow will clear east, lingering longest in east anglia and the south—east so into thursday clear skies developing, sleet and snow showers in scotland, northern ireland and northern parts of england. just about avoiding the frost but some

could have icy patches in the morning. this is the chart for tomorrow morning, low pressure in iceland, our weather fronts push east from today so we are back in familiar territory with sunshine and scattered wintry showers. rain, sleet and hill snow in scotland and northern ireland and rain and hail in england and wales but central and eastern areas will be dry through thursday with good sunny spells. temperatures holding up reasonably well in the sunshine. cold night to ta ke well in the sunshine. cold night to take us into friday morning, widespread frost in england and wales after lighter winds, clearer skies through the night. not a bad day on friday in england and wales for the half term, but for scotland and northern ireland, cloud in over, rain in northern ireland and the rain in northern ireland and the rain turning to snow in the hills in scotla nd rain turning to snow in the hills in scotland once again —— cloud in over. you're watching breakfast. house prices are rising

byjust over 5% a year, with the average uk home now costing more than £220,000, according to the latest figures. despite the government's promise to build a million new homes by 2020, there are still more than 200,000 properties across england and wales lying empty. so in liverpool they're trying an unusual approach to tackling the housing crisis. steph has gone to take a look. good morning. good morning, good morning, everyone, i'm in wavertree in liverpool and you can see around me there are eight fair few derelict homes here and a lot of these houses have been so for around a decade —— afair have been so for around a decade —— a fairfew. have been so for around a decade —— a fair few. the council want to do something and they haven't got the money to refurbish so what they've been doing is getting families in the area to buy them for £1 each with the view that they will then do them up themselves. the rules for it are you have to live and work in

liverpool, you have to be a first—time buyer, you have to do it up first—time buyer, you have to do it up yourself with your own cash and if you don't do that in the first year they will take the house. you have to not sell it for five years or so. this has been happening for some time, now they have been slowly selling them, they've allocated around 100 homes in the area already to families. let's go inside and meet ilana remikee, she's done a cracking job with this house. this is mel and rob's house —— melmeet mel. we have kieron from the national housing federation. this looks gorgeous, tell us about the effort that's calling? it's been about seven months of non—stop decorating and ripping walls down —— efforts —— decorating and ripping walls down —— efforts — — effort decorating and ripping walls down —— efforts —— effort that's gone in. what was it like when you bought it? it was a shell, you could see the sky from where we are, the rain was pouring down. it was awful. what

made you do it? obviously you bought it for £1 but you've had to spend money on it, it isn't like you walked into it and it was like this? there's not many other way is that you could be mortgage free. it's a really good opportunity. it's hard to get on the property ladder now unless you save a deposit and we thought we would rather use our deposit to do something like this than to be tied to a mortgage we'd struggle with for the rest of our lives. could you have afforded to buy a house? we could have got a mortgage in all honesty but we would have struggled every month and i think we would have been stressed out trying to make the payments, it wouldn't have been easy at all with three kids. given where you are, obviously there's still a lot of work to be done. i know you got a neighbour doing theirs up, what does it feel like being in the community because there's still a lot to do? it's exciting, every time you see a shutter getting open and you see work starting you get excited because you feel the community is

coming together and we're building our own community really. rosie, you like your new house? yes. she is making mejealous like your new house? yes. she is making me jealous with like your new house? yes. she is making mejealous with her brea kfast, making mejealous with her breakfast, it looks lovely. we have kieron from the national housing federation. tell us about the scheme, what are your thoughts, is this a way of solving the housing shortage? this is a great example and liverpool city council need to be commended but it's only a small piece of the puzzle. looking at the north—west of england there's 40,000 empty homes and we are saying housing associations can work with local authorities to solve the problem. we know regeneration isn't just about renovating property, it's about providing the community, transport and economic infrastructure around it to ensure people can live and thrive in their communities. it's not cheap to do up areas where there is a lot of derelict houses, and as mel was describing, in a right state? exactly. the work mel and the other

residents have done is vital. it shows money needs to be put into these areas to ensure they can come up these areas to ensure they can come up and help the real communities and we're saying housing associations are a willing partner for local authorities to ensure that happens. interesting. thanks, mel, for letting us in. you're part of a channel a show tonight? you've been doing a whole documentary, that will be on at 9pm. that's called britain's cheapest street. you will see some of the shots of mel and her partner, rob, doing it up. we've got a question about the palop shock with jam on top, that has made me hungry. legendary. we were saying, has rosie found a new way to eat one of these? i think she has. can't argue with it. look at this. we haven't gone off air, we have

gone to black. that's how black this new material is. there's a bit of depth to it, you can see that. it's a crinkly piece of foil. if you saw it crinkly. .. if a crinkly piece of foil. if you saw it crinkly... if you turned it round you would see the crinkles on the other side. that is so black... there's a percentage somewhere, 99.96%. that's how much light it absorbs. the only thing darker is a black hole. it's been used on an amazing new building which has just opened at the winter olympics in south korea. designed by a british architect using materials created by british scientists, the structure absorbs 99% of the light that hits it. i tell you what, we can compare this... i'm going to move this towards dan's suitjacket. almost

makes you look great, doesn't it? look how dark it is. breakfast‘s graham satchell reports. it's the blackest building on earth. this pavilion outside the olympic stadium in south korea is coated with aim mid reel called vbx2. it absorbs 98% of the light. -- with a material. wanted people to be awestruck and starstruck by this building, and to see it and stop in their tracks. the pavilion is the brainchild of british architect asif khan. you feel drawn into it, you wa nt to khan. you feel drawn into it, you want to plummet into its blackness. asif has peppered the building with small lights to look like stars. as you walk around the building, you get the effect of power laps so it appears the stars are moving against

each other, as though you were diving through the universe. this laboratory in southern england is where vbx2 and vantablack were created. it might look like paint but vantablack it might look like paint but va ntablack is made it might look like paint but vantablack is made billions of microscopic carbon nano tubes. it absorbs 99.96% microscopic carbon nano tubes. it absorbs 99. 96% of microscopic carbon nano tubes. it absorbs 99.96% of the light. the only thing darker would be a black hole? the only thing darker in the universe is a black hole. a back hole that we know of that this time. it's so black it changes the dimension haliti of an object. it makes things look flat. —— dimensions. you're seeing the lack of photons being reflected back to your eyes and so your eyes are no longer able to make sense of what you're seeing so therefore you see it as you're seeing so therefore you see itasa you're seeing so therefore you see it as a void or a very black area

that you can't make shape or sense from. looking at black nothingness like this is a rather odd sort of experience. it is slightly vertiginous, like you're standing on the edge of an abyss looking into a void. it's exciting and unsettling at the same time. vantablack va ntablack is used vantablack is used in space exploration, in cameras and telescopes to reduce the amount of flair from the sun. it gives astronomers a clear view of distant stars and planets but using this nanotechnology has only just started. the possibilities of designing materials are kind of quite limitless. i imagine coating materials with nano materials, imagine vehicles that slip in and out of visibility, that's the sort of world that we're talking about here. so a stunning building using

technology that has the potential to revolutionise photography, space exploration, architecture, design. graham satchell, bbc news. i feel like i need ifeel like i need to i feel like i need to go to that building. and have your mind warped. it would feel like it would be a com plete it would feel like it would be a complete mind warp. you know when you go to the toilet in the middle of the night and then you turn the light on and for the moment after you switch it off, it is super black and then your eyes get used to it.|j was worried, dan, but i will give you that one. i'll be honest, i was slightly worried myself!” you that one. i'll be honest, i was slightly worried myself! i tell you what, you get to that age when you got to go in the night! time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london news. i'm asad ahmad. a teacherfrom north london, who's been named as a top ten finalist in a global teaching award, has warned of the poor living

conditions of her pupils in brent. andria zafira kou says some of her pupils at the alperton community school have to do their homework in the bathroom because of overcrowding at home. the art and textiles teacher has been nominated for the $1 million prize for her work with deprived children, which includes giving extra classes and providing a quiet place to work. a bbc investigation shows that many vulnerable londoners are unable to get social housing which could trap in them in what's been described as a cycle of homelessness. more than 130,000 households have dropped—off council waiting lists in london since a new law allowed local authorities to restrict access to social housing. it means people with rent arrears are among those who can be kept off the list. the government says it's committed to social housing, but housing charities say the law has to change. it's being stuck in desperation all the time. you want to go to them

and say, house me, but they won't do anything. we are just stuck in a place where we have no control. let's have a look at the travel situation now. 0n the piccadilly line, severe delays due to a signal failure. 0n the roads, the a13 is slow moving westbound from dagenham to barking. and in belgravia on a302 grosvenor place one lane is closed northbound at aa hyde park corner for roadworks. finally, the half tonne world war two bomb which closed city airport this week will be detonated in a controlled explosion today. the device was found at the king george v dock at the weekend. it was safely moved and towed to the essex coast, where bomb disposal experts have been waiting for the weather to improve.

let's have a check on the weather good morning. we start the day with a bit of a hangover of cloud from the night before and we will have a bright spell for a time, but it will be shortlived, as cloud builds from the west ahead of rain in the afternoon and evening. it will be windy today as well. we could see gusts of up to 35mph through the day. you can see the cloud building through the morning and then the rain following in the afternoon. fairly fragmented at first, but there will be a heavier spell for a time. temperatures up to about 7—8 celsius, the southerly wind persisting. into the night the rain moves into the east and then we are left with fairly clear skies for a time and a mild night ahead. temperatures down to about a—5 celsius and in some spots not below six. a mild day follows tomorrow. a good deal of sunshine on offer. looking largely dry, with lighter winds, and we hold onto the lighter weather for a few days. turning chilly into the second half of next week. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour.

va nessa vanessa is talking about cycle theft on bbc radio london because a bike is stolen in london every 90 seconds. hello, this is breakfast, with dan walker and naga munchetty. a lack of trust among disabled people over how their welfare claims are decided. mps find assessors submitted reports that were riddled with errors and regularly missed quality targets. good morning, it's wednesday 1ath february. also this morning: borisjohnson moves to reassure voters who he says are angry and alienated because of brexit in the first of a series of speeches from senior cabinet members. a new times table test is introduced for thousands of eight and nine year olds in england's primary schools in a bid to raise numeracy levels. good morning.

in liverpool the council has been selling off derelict homes for £1 each. these are some of the ones which have been renovated already as planned to try and make sure we get rid of the derelict homes in the area. it could help the housing shortage. we will have a look in some of the houses later. good morning from a much warmer but rather windy pyeongchang. get ready to go mad for curling again because both the men and women from great britain begin their push for the medals. the women are in action at the moment and i will keep you updated through the morning. mad for curling, will be be mad for the weather? i don't know how much love you will have for a valentine's day later. after a frosty and sunny start there's rain and hill snow on the way. the full forecast in 15 minutes. good morning. first, our main story: a committee of mps has said there is a "pervasive lack of trust"

among disabled people in how their welfare claims are assessed. the commons' work and pensions committee said reports by private contractors were "riddled with errors" and quality targets had been "regularly missed". here's our disability news correspondent nikki fox. anastasia is having a good day. but it's not always like this. most days she is unable to get out of the house. the 2a—year—old has multiple sclerosis. she used to work full—time, but now she struggles to get around. she applied for a disability benefit and was assessed at home by a healthcare professional from a private company. anastasia says she told the assessor she could only walk 20 metres, but when the report came back it said she could walk further. she didn't give me a physical assessment. i was sat down the entire time. i was very, very cross about that. today's report identifies a culture of mistrust around the whole process.

it says assessors risk being viewed as, at best, lacking in competence and, at worst, actively deceitful. the committee says the government's low bar for what is considered acceptable leaves room for assessment reports to be riddled with obvious errors and omissions. clearly the system needs a major overhaul, but there are some things the government could do relatively quickly to improve it. automatic audio recording of assessments for people. why not share the assessment results with the claimant at the point of claimant decision? the government says assessments work for the majority of people and it's committed to improving transparency. but with current contracts up for review and targets being consistently missed, the future of the system is unclear. the foreign secretary borisjohnson will address what he calls the "grief and alienation" of those who voted to stay in the european union in a speech later today. he says that people who voted to leave the eu should try to persuade worried remainers to focus on the possible benefits

of, rather than their fears over, brexit. 0ur political correspondent, leila nathoo, is in westminster this morning. good morning. what are we expect in from borisjohnson today? good morning. what are we expect in from boris johnson today? we are expecting him to really give the barry conser you treat time, reaching out to both sides of the debate —— conciliatory. recognising there are still divisions between people in terms of the merits and perils of raqqa. he want to reassure people who voted to remain who are still anxious that it is about hope and not fear, but he will have a straw —— stark warning for those who wa nt to straw —— stark warning for those who want to stop it and he will say that will be a dangerous mistake. this is the first in a series of speeches the government is calling the road to brexit. boris johnson

the government is calling the road to brexit. borisjohnson will be the first cabinet minister to give his speech today. we will hear from theresa may on her speech on security at the weekend and then there will be speeches by liam fox, david davis the brexit secretary and the cabinet office minister who will speak about devolution. so there will be a series of speeches at number10 and it will be a series of speeches at number 10 and it is promising they will set out more detail on the government's approach to brexit. the reason there has been under pressure to set out what she wants from britain's future relationship with the eu. there is no secret that there are divisions at the highest level of government. there will be an away day to try to thrash out differences, to come to settle on a final position. but downing street is promising that at the end we will have an idea of the precise nature of what the government actually wa nts of what the government actually wants from britain's departure from the eu. should also talk about the impact all of this will have government resources, in terms of offices. the home office will come

under more pressure i suppose when it comes to how immigration will pan out? yes. there is a warning today from mps in the commons home select committee, which says it is already too stretched, let alone making plans for wrecks at macro later. they haven't properly laid out for plans for the immigration policy and they say that is causing anxiety for eu citizens. the home office as preparations are under way and it is ridiculous to use suggest otherwise, what i think of the —— it's a sign of the inpatients to set out the brexit plans. thank you. the jury at the trial of the former football coach barry bennell, who's been found guilty of dozens of sexual offences against boys, will continue deliberations on other charges today. yesterday, the jury at liverpool crown court returned guilty verdicts on 36 counts and asked for more time to consider seven more. bennell, who appeared in court via videolink due to illness, declined to give evidence in his defence. 0ur reporter andy gill is outside liverpool crown court this morning, remind us of the

background to the case? well, barry bennell is a football coach who worked for a number of clu bs, coach who worked for a number of clubs, manchester city, who has been accused as the prosecution has put it of child molestation on an industrial scale. the jury today have seven more verdicts to reach, including four charges against and 11th complainant. yesterday 36 guilty verdicts against ten men, some of those complainants were in tea rs some of those complainants were in tears in court as the verdicts were announced. barry bennell was watching on cctv from prison. he has been too unwell to attend court. the jury been too unwell to attend court. the jury gave those 36 verdicts and at the start of the proceedings he pleaded guilty to seven offences of child molestation. the crowns they

at home he had arcade games, a pool table, exotic pets, where he invited young men to stay overnight and where he molested them. he said in one police interview thejury where he molested them. he said in one police interview the jury heard that he wanted the young men to like him. he agreed he was manipulative, but said that he wasn't evil. he said that some of his accusers were jumping ona said that some of his accusers were jumping on a bandwagon. barry bennell is now looking at a fourth jail term for child tax offences. thejury will jail term for child tax offences. the jury will resume their deliberations here at liverpool crown court at 10:15am. thank you very much for the latest on that story. minnie driver has quit as an 0xfam ambassador following claims that staff working for the charity in disaster zones paid vulnerable local people for sex. she resigned after 20 years with the aid agency, saying that she was horrified by the allegations. 0xfam said he was grateful for her commitment and that he was more determined than ever to

learn from its mistakes. thousands of eight and nine—year—olds are to be formally assessed on their times tables at primary schools in england. the tests will be trialled at nearly 300 schools this spring, before becoming mandatory in 2020. unions say they won't tell teachers and parents anything about children that they don't already know but ministers say the tests will identify those pupils who need extra support. this is an important initiative, to ensure that every child leaves primary school fluent in their multiplication tables, just as the phonic table we introduced in 2012. that has led to a huge improvement in reading standards and we expect this will lead to a huge improvement in children's fluency in arithmetics, so when they start secondary school they will be far better equipped to handle the challenges of secondary school mathematics. hundreds of premature babies could avoid brain damage if their mothers were all given a cheap drug during labour, according to a new report. the royal college of paediatrics and child health says there are huge

regional disparities in the proportion of mothers given magnesium sulphate to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy. it claims providing the drug could save the nhs £280 million a year. the actress emma watson has spoken about her shock at realising that there was no system in place to help people in the film industry who had been sexually harassed. she's one of a number of women in the industry who've been consulted by the british film institute and bafta, as it announces changes aimed at tackling the problem. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been looking at the plans. this sunday it's the bafta awards and ahead of british film's biggest night of the year, the industry has announced a brand—new plan aimed at tackling both sexual harassment and bullying. it's a direct response to the harvey weinstein allegations. hello! you can talk? of course we can talk! emma watson was one of the many actresses asked for her input.

these principles are important because up until recently there were no guidelines, there was no protocol for someone that had been sexually harassed in the entertainment industry. i know this to be a fact because i've asked for principles and i've asked to see guidelines and no one could give them to me. to change this, more than a0 organisations, including bafta and the british film institute, worked on a set of eight principles which they want to be used across the film, television and video games industries. so what will actually change? every production must employ two people trained to handle any accusations of harassment. a dedicated phone line will open in april, offering free confidential help. and bfi funding will only be given to projects committed to the changes. this isn't about a set of commands, it's about a set of principles which everyone has willingly and with huge enthusiasm signed up to. at last month's golden globe awards,

almost all actresses wore black to show solidarity for the times up campaign, calling for change. the same is expected at the baftas. those behind today's announcement hope such a stand won't be needed next year. it's that time of the morning where i think we need a little bit of love. apparently it's the day it for it. here's a heart—warming image of a gorilla in the arms of one of her rescuers. this won the top prize at the wildlife photographer of the year awards. chosen by almost 20,000 nature fans, the winning snap was taken by canadian photographerjo—anne mcarthur. pikin, a lowland gorilla, was being moved to a new home by her caretaker in cameroon. 0therfinalists included this image of a polar bear and her cubs emerging from their den. very nice. this is a lilac—breasted roller.

it's hitching a ride on a zebra, taken in kenya. that bird doesn't look real! it does have a magical tone to it. this three—toed sloth was hanging around in the brazilian rainforest. and, finally, here's an underwater image of a humpback whale and her calf floating in the waters off tonga. the winning images will be showcased at the natural history museum in london, until the end of may. the way welfare claims for disabled people are assessed is coming in for criticism this morning. claimants were asked for their views by the work and pensions committee, and it found what it calls a "pervasive lack of trust". it recommends ministers take the service back in house when contracts end with private firms. the government says the majority of claimants are happy with their overall experience. joining us now is rob holland from the charity mencap which works with people with learning disabilities.

thanks very much for talking with us. what has been happening in terms of the way they've been assessed thatis of the way they've been assessed that is coming under scrutiny? we know working together with the disability benefits consortium that many disabled people have a really difficult to awful experience when it comes to being assessed for benefits so we carried out a survey of 3000 disabled people and half told us the assessment report didn't accurately reflect the answers they gave during their assessment. these assessments are being done by who? they're being done by private contractors, a source maximus and capital and there being conducted by health officials —— assos maximus and capital. but they might not know anything about your condition. we have the case of an assessor asking

someone, when did you catch down's syndrome? when might you recover from an incurable disease? the assessor might not know anything about your disability. that was recorded by the person being assessed obviously. there's questions about accuracy and i was reading some of the examples, one person saying they were in bed through the assessment and the assessor was in a chair and when they saw the assessment it said the person was able to get out of the chairand aided and person was able to get out of the chair and aided and they never sat in the chairduring chair and aided and they never sat in the chair during the assessment. things like that i would imagine leave no confidence in the system —— unaided. disabled people say they have very little confidence and trust in the system and that of course is borne out in the number of people that go on to challenge the assessment decision and when they do get to appeal stage actually more often than not they are likely to see the decision overturned in the disabled person's favour. that tells you really the assessment is not

accurate as it is. what happens then when you have capita, the one delivering... 0ne when you have capita, the one delivering... one of the bodies delivering... one of the bodies delivering these assessors, it says all our qualified healthcare professionals a re all our qualified healthcare professionals are fully trained and are dedicated to delivering a professional and empathetic assessment for all claimants. it doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong. where's the link missing in terms of educating these bodies and making sure these assessments are done properly and thoroughly? half of the people we surveyed said the assessor didn't understand their disability or health conditions so there's clearly a need for better training. does mencap talk to the likes of capita to offer training and offer insight into what's being missed? we do try to advise those assessors on how they can make their processes more accessible for disabled people. that is certainly the case. but it's also not just about the assessor but also

how they bring in specialist evidence as well, so that might be a specialist medical professional for example, or it might be family, friends, support workers, employers, who can also provide that evidence so you can build up the full picture about how their ability affects them ona about how their ability affects them on a day—to—day basis. about how their ability affects them on a day-to-day basis. better qualified assessors i would imagine are more expensive, so is there a fear that if you pay for that back could take away the money there is available for benefits? at the moment the government is spending millions of pounds administering the appeals process, it spent £100 million over the last two years fighting against disabled people in the tribunal is challenging these things. we think that money would be better spent upfront to make sure you get the assessment right first time and disabled people don't have to challenge it. rob, thanks for

talking to us. rob holland from mencap. let us know what you think about that. the headlines. that is the headline. that pervasive amount of lack of trust with disabled people over how their welfare claims are assessed according to a collection of mps. the foreign secretary borisjohnson says supporters of brexit must reach out to people who are angry and despairing about leaving the eu naga has been saying today in your house you don't do valentine's day because there is love every day of the year. they're genuinely is, i don't need a day to tell my partner i love don't need a day to tell my partner ilove him. don't need a day to tell my partner i love him. -- there. and you don't need the commercialisation? no. isn't there a proper reason for it, saint valentine, he protected people, a priest or member of the community, people wanted to be married but it was against the law.

i like the historical aspect. lots of people getting in contact about how they're celebrating, dan says i'm going to work for hours in the freezing cold with eight pot noodles. is that you? no, not me. ash a noodles. is that you? no, not me. asha —— noodles. is that you? no, not me. ash a —— of hannah says she is getting a subway sandwiches. this is my favourite. leezer said in bed watching bbc brea kfast. leezer said in bed watching bbc breakfast. —— lisa. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. good morning. chilly start. lovely sunny start. look at lincolnshire a short while ago but where you have the clear skies, temperatures are at or below freezing and we saw them drop in the last hour to around —a inafew drop in the last hour to around —a in a few spots. this is the general theme where they are at the moment, in parts of england and scotland, the blue colours show where temperatures are below freezing, if you don't have blue hue avoid the

frost. in eastern england because of the cloud from yesterday —— blue you avoid. while we have sunshine through much of the morning, central and eastern areas cloud in over. outbreaks of rain coming and going in south—west england and wales —— cloud in. acting house styled of course it is the coast. 60 mph gusts are possible. rain coming and going in northern ireland. more snow over the hills, ten centimetres in places. rain and sleet to lower levels later on as temperatures rise but we could see severe gale for, 60 or 70 mph gusts in the west and a windy day across the board. chilly in the east but in the west, sunshine in belfast, maybe in plymouth, ten or 11 possible. the mildest day of the week so farfor some.

11 possible. the mildest day of the week so far for some. the mild weather sweeps out of the way as the rain goes to the near continent into tomorrow morning. chillier conditions on its way back in with snow flurries to western scotland and northern ireland and a few showers in the west. clear skies around to start thursday, low pressure to the north but the winds coming in from the west instead of the south and not as strong as today. brighter for many on thursday with good sunny spells, the best of which to the south and east, more showers to the north and west, a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow and a few centimetres possible in scotland. something less chilly holding on across the south. 0n friday morning a frosty start across the south of the clear skies, but further north, the cloud will gather without breaks of rain and hill snow again, the best weather on friday will be in england and wales with sunshine at times. before i go, let's give you a bit of romance, valentine's day summary. sunrise is red, the sky will turn grey, after the a frosty start, rain and snow on

the a frosty start, rain and snow on the way. who say i can't do romance? that's not romantic. i didn't do it very well, did i? do it again with some love. how can you say that when you don't like valentine's day and you don't like valentine's day and you said when we were listening... someone hit a nerve. your husband doesn't like pancakes. do you want to know why? he is a coeliac so he has gluten problems. thanks, matt, excellent weather. i'm in the middle of something so shall i slink off? very serious issue. yesterday we were live at birmingham airport as flights from british holiday companies took off for tunisia for the first time since a terror attack nearly three years ago. 38 people were killed when a gunman opened fire on the beach at sousse in june, 2015. afterwards, the uk government advised british citizens not to visit the country. that advice changed last summer and yesterday the first direct holiday flights arrived. 0ur reporter, emily unia, was onboard and we can now speak to her live from tunisia.

we can talk to her live from tunisia. emily, good to see you. what was the mood like on the flight, what was the mood like on the flight, must have been trepidations for the holidaymakers? yeah. some of them were quite anxious. i think a few didn't realise they were on the first flight realise they were on the first flight back but others were genuinely really excited and enthusiastic. they were year—on—year visitors to tunisia and they were quite disappointed they weren't able to come during the travel ban, but they understood the reasons following the shootings. actually yesterday there was a mood of celebration and that carried on right on through to our arrival at the airport. they handed out flowers, there was music and dancing, lots of drinks and cakes and a real sense of delight that the brits were back. visitor numbers are still low and the beach behind me is empty, the hotel i'm in is very quiet. it is the low season, the feeling is as the summer approaches things will pick up and the first

plane load of brits coming back this week is seen as a good sign. this time last year government advised barred all but essential travel to tunisia. but now package tourists are turning. this couple are visiting tunisia for the first time. there on honeymoon and the shootings on the beach in 2015 haven't put them off. i think they'll have stepped security up so i think will be perfectly safe, there's no reason for people to be worried. we're just really excited to get out there and see what it's like. you can't live infear see what it's like. you can't live in fear otherwise you'd never do anything. the return of british visitors is welcome news for tunisians who are working to put on a good show for their guests. —— who were keen. since 2015, the tourist economy has suffered. there was a 90% drop in the number of british visitors in the number of british visitors in the first four months of 2016. bookings were cancelled, hotels

closed and beaches lay empty. but now security has improved a lot. most hotels have arches like this one, they've got scanners inside and there is a much more visible police presence all around the resorts. for businesses dependent on tourism, the lifting of the travel ban and the lifting of the travel ban and the return of package holidaymakers is building expectations of economic revival. it's looking great, it's a start because all the big tour operators are coming back. rescheduling all the flights and the promotion will take some time. we have very good forecasts for the summer. it should be a great year, but not perfect. i think it's a start. the hope now is one of the most popular destinations for british tourists will return to the top spot. and the mood among the business owners here really is one of cautious optimism because they've

still got a long way to go. visitor numbers really dropped off a cliff edge at the start of 2016 following those shootings and although they have visitors from algeria, lots more from russia and other european countries, it really was the brits they were hoping to see return. the fa ct they were hoping to see return. the fact you've now got these direct flights coming back and later on in the summer they believe they will be starting to sousse as well, there's a feeling among the business owners here that perhaps some good news is just around the corner. we certainly wish everyone well. word emily, thanks very much. —— emily, thanks very much. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london news. i'm asad ahmad. a teacherfrom north london, who's been named as a top ten finalist in a global teaching award, has warned of the poor living conditions of her pupils in brent. andria zafira kou says some of her pupils at the alperton community school have to do their homework in the bathroom

because of overcrowding at home. the art and textiles teacher has been nominated for the $1 million prize for her work with deprived children, which includes giving extra classes and providing a quiet place to work. a bbc investigation shows that many vulnerable londoners are unable to get social housing which could trap in them in what's been described as a cycle of homelessness. more than 130,000 households have dropped—off council waiting lists in london since a new law allowed local authorities to restrict access to social housing. it means people with rent arrears are among those who can be kept off the list. the government says it's committed to social housing, but housing charities say the law has to change. it's being stuck in desperation all the time. you want to go to them and say, "house me," but they're discharged so they won't do anything. and you yourself don't have the financial means. you're just stuck in a place where you have no control, and that i think is one

of the worst feelings. let's have a look at piccadilly line, severe delays due to an earlier signal failure. 0ther other problems on the tube have cleared up. 0n the roads, as you head into town on the marylebone flyover, its slow moving traffic from the westway. and the m25 is slow anticlockwise between junction 27 for the m11 and junction 26 waltham abbey, following a breakdown. finally, the half tonne world war two bomb which closed city airport this week will be detonated in a controlled explosion today. the device was found at the king george v dock at the weekend. it was safely moved and towed to the essex coast, where bomb disposal experts have been waiting for the weather to improve. let's have a check on the weather now with georgina. good morning. we start the day with a bit of a hangover of cloud from the night before

and we'll have a bright spell for a time but it will be shortlived as cloud builds from the west ahead of some rain we'll see through the afternoon and into the evening. it will be windy today as well. we could see gusts of up to 35mph through the day. you can see the cloud building through the morning and then the rain following in the afternoon. fairly fragmented at first, but there will be a heavier spell for a time. temperatures up to about 7—8 celsius, the southerly wind persisting. into the night the rain moves into the east and then we're left with fairly clear skies for a time and a mild night ahead. temperatures down to about a—5 celsius and in some spots not below six. a mild day follows tomorrow. a good deal of sunshine on offer. looking largely dry, with lighter winds, and we hold onto the lighter weather for a few days. it may chilly into the second half of next week. vanessa is talking about cycle theft on bbc radio london because a bike is stolen in london every 90 seconds.

i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. hello. this is breakfast, with dan walker and naga munchetty. a committee of mps has said there is a "pervasive lack of trust" among disabled people in how their welfare claims are assessed. the commons' work and pensions committee said reports by private contractors were "riddled with errors". it recommends ministers take the service back "in house" when contracts end with private firms. the government says the majority of claimants are happy with their overall experience. the foreign secretary borisjohnson says he wants to reassure those who feel angry and alienated because of the brexit vote. in a speech later today he will suggest that supporters of brexit try to persuade worried remain voters that leaving the european union is a cause for "hope, not fear". his is the first of a number of cabinet speeches expected this week. mps have criticised the home office for seriously underestimating, what they described as the "immense

bureaucratic challenge" posed by brexit. in a report published today, the house of commons home affairs committee hits out at the government for long delays in publishing a post—brexit immigration white paper. the government has said it's considering various options and will set out its initial plans "as and when they are ready". the jury at the trial of the former football coach barry bennell, who's been found guilty of dozens of sexual offences against boys, will continue deliberations on other charges today. yesterday, the jury at liverpool crown court returned guilty verdicts on 36 counts and asked for more time to consider seven more. bennell, who appeared in court via videolink due to illness, declined to give evidence in his defence. film star minnie driver has quit as an 0xfam ambassador following claims that staff working for the charity in disaster zones paid vulnerable local people for sex. the actress resigned after 20 years with the aid agency, saying in a statement that she was "horrified" by the allegations.

0xfam said it was "grateful" for ms driver's commitment, and that it was more determined than ever to learn from its mistakes. thousands of eight and nine year olds are to be formally assessed on their times tables at primary schools in england. the tests will be trialed at nearly 300 schools this spring, before becoming mandatory in 2020. unions claim they won't tell teachers and parents anything about children that they don't already know, but ministers say the tests will identify those pupils who need extra support. the actress emma watson has spoken of her shock, at realising that there was no system in place to help people in the film industry who had been sexually harassed. she's one of a number of women who've been consulted by the british film institute and bafta, as it announces changes aimed at tackling the problem. now bfi funding will only be given to projects committed to the proposals. how i.e. filling this morning? feeling good!

do you need a pick me up? always need a pick me up. did you know that in italian pick me up tra nslates know that in italian pick me up translates as tiramisu ? know that in italian pick me up translates as tiramisu? 30 chefs baked all day to produce this large tiramisu. we aren't yet sure if eve ryo ne tiramisu. we aren't yet sure if everyone standing alongside the giant tiramisu got to sample it. i need tiramisu this morning. iand i need tiramisu this morning. i and very anti— tiramisu. you don't like food with coffee in it. it is on the list of the worst deserts available. is there a long list? i used to be very anti— trifle, but i am bordering on welcoming it into my life. iam life. i am with you on trifle, but tiramisu! shambolic. good morning. have we curled?

we are still going strong! the russians made a bit of a comeback, but we are still looking pretty good. after the men's result we get switzerland as well. it turns out we are all right at curling. people have been glued to their screens. a lot of people trying to get involved with equipment around their house. it isa with equipment around their house. it is a very impressive sport. i think when you are watching it from home it's not like snowboarding or the freestyle where you watch and think, i willjust watch it on the tv. there is something about the curling where you think, i could give that a go. i don't think i could do all of those aerial acrobatics. but i can see how you would get there. the patients. you need so much discipline and patients with curling. i feel like i couldn't curling. ifeel like i couldn't break curling. i feel like i couldn't break my neck doing it. that's about the only

thing. the patients, as you say. it's all about tactics. you think it's just a case of drawing a large rock on some smooth surface, but it's not. you have to think about where it's going to end up, where the oppositions will leave their stones. it is fascinating to watch. and we will speak to a gold medal winning curler a few years ago later, talking us through the skills. absolutely. and it is something that ta kes a absolutely. and it is something that takes a lot of skills. there a com pletely takes a lot of skills. there a completely new lineup with the men, from the one that took silver four yea rs from the one that took silver four years ago. they've already provided nerve shredding entertainment. their match against switzerland swung to and fro this morning and they were tied at 5—5. kyle smith landed the stone bang on target and they will play the defending champions canada at 11 o'clock. are you familiar with the flying

tomato, sean white? he has become a three—time 0lympic tomato, sean white? he has become a three—time olympic champion after a dramatic halfpipe final. he was in second place going into the final run and he produced some outstanding twists and turns and huge air to ta ke twists and turns and huge air to take gold. it really is an incredible result. yet another skiing event had to be cancelled because of the high winds though. the women's slalom should have featured britain's alex tilley and charlie guest but it will now take place on friday. moving away from pyeongchang now. the champions league returned last night and tottenham produced a brilliant fightback against juventus, who were last season's beaten finalists. spurs were 2—0 down inside ten minutes but harry kane and christian erikkson earned them a draw, to take into the second leg at wembley next month. manchester city boss pep guardiola said midfielder ilkay goondogan

was "extraordinary", after his side took a giant step towards the quarter—finals. he scored twice in a a—0 win at basel. it was a good performance. we are in the champions league. we were able to go to the quarter—finals, 0k, we did betterfrom to go to the quarter—finals, 0k, we did better from last to go to the quarter—finals, 0k, we did betterfrom last season to go to the quarter—finals, 0k, we did better from last season and that's the first step and after that we will see. if we go to the quarter—finals, hal we arrive in a moment. let's get more from pyeongchang now. i would say it is looking warmer than last time i spoke to you, but it's really not. give us the latest from pyeongchang. it really is. no hat today! that's a real difference. but the wind is casting behind the mountains. as you said earlier it is causing chaos again with the schedule. luckily for great britain's curl is the curling takes place inside, so the wind not a problem for them. great britain's

women got their push for a medal under way. they've won bronze in sochi and they are the reigning european champions and it was a really good start to the olympics. they are against the olympic athletes from russia. they were com pletely athletes from russia. they were completely dominant from the beginning. they won it can— three and were shaking hands afterjust seven ends. that means that eve muirhead and her gang go through and they have done a magnificent first performance, looking to add to their first medal. the men play again later and they will be playing the defending champions canada later in the afternoon, so we will keep you up—to—date with that. a lot of the talk amongst team gb and team gb fa ns talk amongst team gb and team gb fans in south korea has been about elise christie, because of course she was going for three gold medals. she is a three—time world champion, that it was heartbreak for her last

night. she crashed out of the final in the 500 metres and you can see from the stands that there was com plete from the stands that there was complete heartbreak on herface. let's hear what she had to say after that final. the beginning in the sport it wasn't cool to really want to win and you see these guys now, they want to win and they are hungry and motivated and even in the qualifying of the finals. i'm really proud to come out on top and thankful to those guys because they pushed me to get to this point, to be able to do this kind of runs. that's obviously not elise christie, thatis that's obviously not elise christie, that is in fact the legendary sean white, who won his third 0lympic title in the men's halfpipe. absolutely lead it down in the final run. he came fourth in sochi and is once again on the top of the tree and he will not be letting go of that 0lympic title any time soon. brilliant stuff from sean white. the rest of the sport on a mountain,

especially the women's slalom, has had to be postponed because of the wind. it is much warmer, a little bit of sun peeking through, but it has been incredibly windy. alex tilley and charlie guest will have to wait until friday to get their 0lympic campaign is under way. to wait until friday to get their olympic campaign is under way. thank you. i must say i do miss the hat! it has just been amazing. the weather is causing problems, but still some great results so far and it has been a pleasure to watch. ido miss it has been a pleasure to watch. i do miss the hat! thank you. the winter olympics follows us at 9:15am on bbc one this morning. britain is described as the "loneliness capital of europe", so many of us are likely to be affected by it at some point in our lives. a new bbc radio a survey aims to explore the nation's attitudes and personal experiences of loneliness. we'll meet two of the people behind

the project in a moment, but before we speak to them, let's find out a little bit more. at some point in our lives it's likely that you or i will feel lonely. it's not the same as being the which can be fine, or even relieved to get away from other people. it's that feeling of having no one you can really talk to. no one who really understands you. we can be surrounded by friends but still feel lonely and it hurts. chronic loneliness is bad for our health too. it can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke by almost a third and social isolation might make us more susceptible to everyday illnesses too, including information on the body and reducing our ability to fight in action. bbc radio a presenter claudia hammond and professor pamela qualter from the university of manchesterjoin us now. lovely to see you both this morning. why did you decide to look into this issue? loneliness is such a huge, important topic and it will affect

all of us at some point in our lives. 0ften all of us at some point in our lives. often it is temporary and that sirte but he really matters when it is chronic. —— and that's 0k. people often think it is older people and that causes a lot of misery, but it is all sorts of ages. adolescence, maybe new parents at home, at all sorts of ages people can feel lonely and you can feel lonely even when you are surrounded by other people. so you can feel lonely in a marriage or lonely with other family. one of the things we could find out through the survey that researchers haven't been able to find out already, because we have the opportunity to do it. you helped design the survey. the questions need to be put in such a way where people can feel free enough to answer but not feel bad about themselves. absolutely. we've designed the survey so people can be as honest with us as they want to be. it's hard to admit you are lonely. yeah and we tap into the

stigma around loneliness. what we find is people don't necessarily wa nt find is people don't necessarily want to talk about it, they don't talk to their friends if they ardently. so we've got a number of tasks that tap into that. give us some examples. the idea that you might be... gosh... can you think of something? we have tasks where people have to identify different facial expressions. we look and see what they think about those, whether one bit of the survey influences how they and the and there are questions about friendship and trust. it really made me think about what i look for in a friend and whether you can trust your neighbours and your community. we talk a lot about it andi community. we talk a lot about it and i suppose in the same way that mental health becomes a far more accessible topic, loneliness is as well. i think we've got a lot of charities that do great work,

talking especially about older people, something we forget is that it is at its peak in adolescence as well. we are the two points in time where we see those peaks in loneliness. what we don't know is much about the timing in between. the other points in older adolescent and the survey taps into that. it's interesting you talk about adolescence, because they are probably the people least likely to be alone, as in they are at school or social groups, what emotionally most likely are understandably likely to feel alone, if that makes sense. because they are going through so many different experiences. they are trying to find their own identity, they are moving away from the family as a source of support to find their peer group as the source of support and in that they are trying to work out who they are in the world. with the really difficult time. you got all of those things going on. you are going to feel some level of loneliness and that's why we this peak. you can't

decide what you want on the television, but what would you like to see come out of the survey? one of the things we are looking at is we wa nt of the things we are looking at is we want to know why is it that eve ryo ne we want to know why is it that everyone isn't lonely? in certain situations some people feel lonely and others don't. what is it that prevents some people from being lonely? we have to get some answers to that. and what other solutions some have found ? to that. and what other solutions some have found? there are solutions that people have found and we want people to fill it in, whether or not they are feeling lonely. anyone over the age of 16 can fill it in because then we can really work out what's going on. we spoke about happiness yesterday and there was a doctor running back survey in line with the bbc and they were saying things like exercise can make a big difference and how you deal with wings... bad stuff happens on everyone's life, but it has you deal with those things which can make a big difference. is it the same with loneliness? exactly the same. there

will be a whole host of different solutions. some will be exercise, some will be destruction with work or with other social relationships. and it is about tapping into that in the survey. we want to know what those solutions are. thank you very much. if you want to find out more about the loneliness experiment, you can ta ke the loneliness experiment, you can take part, go to the radio a website. you just have to be 16 or over. if you missed that we will put it on our social media later so you can it on our social media later so you ca n follow it on our social media later so you can follow a direct link and hopefully get involved. thanks for coming in. let's talk to matt and find out what's happening with the weather this morning. that is a glorious sky. this morning. that is a glorious sky- happy this morning. that is a glorious sky. happy valentine's day! a wonky heart cloud, isn't it? allowed yeah, almost. -- a wonky heart-shaped cloud, isn't it? yeah, almost. red skies overhead, you know what

that means, lovely shot of the morning in west yorkshire, in marston in particular, similarfor many but a chilly start, clear skies overnight with temperatures in parts of the east and south of scotland still below freezing. looking at the temperatures for the past few hours, blue is where the frost was. the greens on the far eased of england, cloud still lingering from last night, and this cloud spreading in. for the south, cloud, outbreaks developing —— far east. not a wet day but hill snow around and for late morning we will see a covering of snow in the pennines and the lake district and the fells before it turns to rain later but some parts of the east of england staying dry, you might get away with it in the west midlands. outbreaks for the next few hours in northern ireland, windy across—the—board, severe gales

in the west of scotland and severe snowfall, up to ten centimetres in the grampians, sigh of highlands and southern uplands and a mixture of sleet and snow at lower levels later as temperatures rise. 60—7 the mph gusts of in some areas. through the night the milder air almost goes away with this area of cloud and rain to the near continent, clear skies in the morning. the breeze should keep the frost and be but more showers into thursday, they will be wintry in scotland and northern ireland —— the breeze should keep the frost at bay. brighter skies on thursday. more of you will see the sunshine. the best of which will be in the south and east of england and eastern scotland. showers in the north and west, sleet and snow in scotland and northern ireland, rain, hailand sleet in western england and wales.

a cold night on friday morning. a fine day for much of england and wales, good sunny spells before cloud thickens in the west later. after a bright start in scotland and northern ireland more rain and hill snow on its way. more in half an hour. see you then, matt. let's talk house prices, they are arriving by just over 5% let's talk house prices, they are arriving byjust over 5% a year with the average uk house now costing £220,000 according to the latest house price figures. this is despite a government promised to build 1 million new homes by 2020. there are still more than 200,000 properties across england and wales empty. in liverpool they're trying a rather unusual approach to tackling the crisis and steph is checking it out this morning. you're being nosy, you're in and out of people's houses bothering them this morning! i'm not bothering them this morning! i'm not bothering them, they love having me

here i'm sure! good morning, everyone. i'm in wavertree in liverpool and here as you can see there's quite a few derelict houses. there's about 120 that liverpool city council have decided they will sell off for £1 so over the last couple of years they've been selling off some already, you can start to see some that have been done up. if you want one of these £1 houses you have to live or work in liverpool already. you have to be a first—time buyer. you can't sell the house for five years and you have to do it up with your own money. if you don't get it done in a year, or at least get it done in a year, or at least get some way to getting it done, they can take the house back off you so it's all about trying to regenerate and use those derelict houses. we're going to have a pop in here to mel and rob's house, she's done a cracking job, i have to say. i love going in people's houses but they do know i'm here! she has done it allup and they do know i'm here! she has done it all up and she's one of the

people who's been working on this poor about seven months and she's here with her kids, rosie and lola, and we have kieron from the national housing federation —— or about. mel, tell me about this, what was the house like when you got it, what did you do when you got it? -- for about. it was a shell, we got it in april, it had a hole in the roof, you could stand here and see the sky, it was damp and in a really bad way. looking at it now, how much effort has it taken? a lot, non-stop for about seven months, being here everyday working on it all day long to get it how it is now. obviously getting this house for £1 has meant you're able to get a house, you don't have a mortgage, but you've probably had to spend a fair bit on it? i think we've spent around £40,000, maybe a bit more. £40,000? yeah, £40,000. for you is this the best way to get a house, would you have been able to get one otherwise?

probably with our savings we would have got a mortgage but we would have got a mortgage but we would have struggled every month paying a mortgage with one income and three kids, it would have been really hard. your house looks absolutely gorgeous but obviously it's still in a street where there are still derelict houses, does that worry you? i'm really excited because i think everyday use the new houses getting started. work is going on. i think give it another year and it will be completely transformed. this isa will be completely transformed. this is a wonderful home for you and your kids. let me bring kieron in from the national housing association. we've seen other schemes like this in stoke, how much do they help the housing shortage problem? they add to the puzzle, they're part of that jigsaw, but if you look at liverpool, it's a problem that is pretty big. looking at empty homes in the north—west of england, there's 40,000. liverpool city council and the residents are working here on that, but housing associations can add with that and

work with local community groups and local authorities to build desirable areas and regenerate them. could we see more projects like this? definitely. we need to come up with ways of regenerating and using... also we need to build and we need to work hand in hand to solve the housing crisis. interesting, thanks for your time this morning. you're going to be on television tonight, mel, because you're part of the channel a documentary, britain's cheapest street on at 9pm on channel a. you can see the scene of you walking in the house and the problems you had when you first came in. thanks, steph, i see those croissa nts in. thanks, steph, i see those croissants are going down as well?|j croissants are going down as well?” know. rosie is really munching them down! nothing wrong with that. good old rosie! look at this. it's a piece of crinkly tin foil but on the other side it's black. it is so black, the crinkles have disappeared.

the only other thing that is blacker than this material, in the whole universe, is a black hole. shall we show you why this is so extraordinary? this is a piece of foil. this black is painted onto a piece of foil. you can see how crinkly it is and you would imagine if you turned it around you would see it is crinkly but look at that, it looks flat, it is absorbing so much light, 99%. more than 99%. if this was out of this plastic case, if you shone a torch into this you wouldn't see the light. the reason why it is in there is it is more expensive than gold. it is called ba nter expensive than gold. it is called banter black and a version of this has been designed, used to design a building in south korea. designed by a british architect, using materials created by british scientists and the structure absorbs 99% of the light that hits it. breakfast‘s graham satchell reports. it's the blackest building on earth.

this pavilion outside the olympic stadium in south korea is coated with a materia called vbx2. it absorbs 98% of the light. i wanted people to be literally awestruck and starstruck by this building, and to see it and stop in their tracks. the pavilion is the brainchild of british architect asif khan. you feel drawn into it, you want to plummet into its blackness. asif has peppered the building with small lights to look like stars. as you walk around the building, you get the effect of parallax, so it appears the stars are moving against each other, as though you were diving through the universe. this laboratory in southern england is where vbx2 and vantablack were created.

it might look like paint but vantablack is made billions of microscopic carbon nano tubes. it absorbs 99.965% of light. the only thing darker would be a black hole. the only thing darker in the universe is a black hole? is a black hole that we know of that this time. it's so black it changes the dimensionality of an object. it makes things look flat. you're seeing the lack of photons being reflected back to your eyes, and so your eyes are no longer able to make sense of what you're seeing so therefore you see it as a void or a very black area that you can't make shape or sense from. looking at black nothingness like this is a rather odd sort of experience. it's slightly vertiginous,

like you're standing on the edge of an abyss looking into a void. it's exciting and unsettling at the same time. vantablack is used in space exploration, in cameras and telescopes to reduce the amount of flair from the sun. it gives astronomers a clear view of distant stars and planets but using this nanotechnology has only just started. the possibilities of designing materials are, kind of, quite limitless. i imagine coating materials with nano materials, imagine vehicles that slip in and out of visibility, that's the sort of world that we're talking about here. so a stunning building using technology that has the potential to revolutionise photography, space exploration, architecture, design. graham satchell, bbc news. we need to go and see that building.

i need a suit made out of vantablack. even though this is black, it looked entirely grey up against this. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london news. i'm asad ahmad. a teacherfrom north london, who's been named as a top ten finalist in a global teaching award, has warned of the poor living conditions of her pupils in brent. andria zafira kou says some of her pupils at the alperton community school have to do their homework in the bathroom because of overcrowding at home. the art and textiles teacher has been nominated for the $1 million prize for her work with deprived children, which includes giving extra classes and providing a quiet place to work. a bbc investigation shows that many vulnerable londoners are unable to get social housing which could trap in them in what's

been described as a cycle of homelessness. more than 130,000 households have dropped—off council waiting lists in london since a new law allowed local authorities to restrict access to social housing. it means people with rent arrears are among those who can be kept off the list. the government says it's committed to social housing, but housing charities say the law has to change. it's being stuck in desperation all the time. you want to go to them and say, "house me," but they're discharged so they won't do anything. and you yourself don't have the financial means. you're just stuck in a place where you have no control, and that i think is one of the worst feelings. let's have a look at the travel situation now. piccadilly line, severe delays from acton town to heathrow and uxbridge following a signalfailure. and the district line has minor delays between earl's court and wimbledon also due to a signal failure. 0n the roads, as you head into town on the marylebone flyover, its slow moving traffic from the westway.

and the m25 is slow anticlockwise between junction 27 for the m11 and junction 26 waltham abbey following a breakdown. finally, the half—tonne world war two bomb which closed city airport this week will be detonated in a controlled explosion today. the device was found at the king george v dock at the weekend. it was safely moved and towed to the essex coast, where bomb disposal experts have been waiting for the weather to improve. let's have a check on the weather now with georgina. good morning. we start the day with a bit of a hangover of cloud from the night before and we'll have a bright spell for a time but it'll be shortlived as cloud starts to build from the west ahead of some rain we'll see through the afternoon and into the evening. it's going to be windy today as well. we could see gusts of up to 35mph through the course of the day. you can see that cloud building there through the morning and then the rain following in the afternoon.

fairly fragmented at first, but there will be a heavier spell for a time. temperatures getting up to about 7or 8 celsius, with that southerly wind persisting. as we head through this evening and into tonight, the rain moves into the east and then we're left with fairly clear skies for a time and a mild night ahead. temperatures getting down to about a—5 celsius and in some spots not dropping below six. a mild day follows tomorrow. a good deal of sunshine on offer. looking largely dry as well with lighter winds, and we're holding on to that milder weather for a good few days. it may turn chilly for the second half of next week, though. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and naga munchetty. a lack of trust among disabled people over how their welfare claims are decided. mps find assessors submitted reports that were riddled with errors and regularly missed quality targets. good morning.

it's wednesday the 1ath of february. also this morning: borisjohnson moves to reassure voters who he says are angry and alienated because of brexit in the first of a series of speeches from senior cabinet members. a new times table test is introduced for thousands of eight and nine—year—olds in england's primary schools in a bid to raise numeracy levels. good morning from liverpool, where the council is selling of houses for a pound. these empty houses have been bought up from families who wa nt to been bought up from families who want to renovate them into brand—new homes. i will be taking you inside some of them. good morning from a comparatively balmy all bait. both team gb's men

and women have got off to a winning start this morning. —— balmy pyeongchang. and matt has the weather. after a brighter frosty start, strong winds, rain, and hill snow on the way. your forecast is coming up in the next 15 minutes. see you then. see you then, matt. first, our main story. a committee of mps has said there is a "pervasive lack of trust" among disabled people when it comes to how their welfare claims are assessed. the commons' work and pensions committee said reports by private contractors were "riddled with errors" and quality targets had been "regularly missed". here's our disability news correspondent, nikki fox. anastasia is having a good day. but it's not always like this. most days she is unable to get out of the house. the 2a—year—old has multiple sclerosis. she used to work full—time, but now she struggles to get around. she applied for a disability benefit and was assessed at home by a health care professional from a private company.

anastasia says she told the assessor she could only walk 20 metres, but when the report came back it said she could walk further. she didn't give me a physical assessment. i was sat down the entire time. i was very, very cross about that. today's report identifies a culture of mistrust around the whole process. it says assessors risk being viewed as, at best, lacking in competence and, at worst, actively deceitful. the committee says the government's low bar for what is considered acceptable leaves room for assessment reports to be riddled with obvious errors and omissions. clearly the system needs a major overhaul, but there are some things the government could do relatively quickly to improve it. automatic audio recording of assessments for people. why not share the assessment results with the claimant at the point of claimant decision? the government says assessments work for the majority of people and it's committed to improving transparency. but with current contracts up for review and targets being consistently missed,

the future of the system is unclear. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, will address what he calls the ‘grief and alienation' of those who voted to stay in the european union in a speech later today. he says that people who voted to leave the eu should try to persuade worried remainers to focus on the possible benefits of, rather than their fears over, brexit. 0ur political correspondent, leila nathoo, is in westminster this morning: it's likely to annoy some people. what exactly will boris johnson it's likely to annoy some people. what exactly will borisjohnson be saying? boris johnson was one of the leading voices in the league campaign in the referendum more than 18 months ago. today he wants to reach out to those who supported the remaining side. —— leave campaign. he wants to recognise that there are divisions on the decision. but he will say that brexit should be about

hope, not fear, although he will recognise the anxieties of those, but he wants to stress the opportunities presented by brexit. but he has a stark warning for those who he thinks are out to thwart and stop brexit. he says if that succeeds that would be a disastrous mistake. this would be the first in a series of speeches we will be hearing from senior cabinet ministers over the next few weeks. borisjohnson will be the first of those cabinet ministers to set out his stall today. theresa may will be giving a speech on security over the weekend. then we will hear from liam fox, david davis, who will be talking about business, and the cabinet office minister who will talk about devolution. at the end of the speech number ten has promised we will be given an idea of the detail of the plan the government has for britain's relationship with the eu after brexit. lots of pressure on theresa may to flesh her plan and, with bottom lines what she

wa nts to plan and, with bottom lines what she wants to see from britain's relationship with the eu in the future. and we are going to have a goodidea future. and we are going to have a good idea of that after the speeches. thanks very much. mps have criticised the home office for seriously underestimating, what they described as, the "immense bureaucratic challenge" posed by brexit. in a report published today, the house of commons home affairs committee hits out at the government for long delays in publishing a post—brexit immigration white paper. the government has said it's considering various options and will set out its initial plans "as and when they are ready." the jury at the trial of the former football coach barry bennell, who's been found guilty of dozens of sexual offences against boys, will continue deliberations on other charges today. yesterday, the jury at liverpool crown court returned guilty verdicts on 36 counts and asked for more time to consider seven others. bennell, who appeared in court via videolink due to illness, declined to give evidence in his defence. 0ur reporter andy gill is outside liverpool crown court this morning, remind us of the background to the case? give us the background to this.

barry ben alexander former youth football coach who worked for clubs like stoke city, crewe alexander, and manchester city. —— barry bennell was a former youth football coach. he was found guilty of 36 child six offences. some of them serious, involving ten victims. they haven't reached verdicts on seven charges including four including an 11th complainant. some of the men and their families were 11th complainant. some of the men and theirfamilies were in 11th complainant. some of the men and their families were in tears 11th complainant. some of the men and theirfamilies were in tears in court yesterday as the verdicts came through. bennell is watching from prison by a cctv because he is too u nwell to prison by a cctv because he is too unwell to get to court was seen muttering when the verdicts were read out. they say he had arcade games, a pool table, exotic pets at

his home where he invited the young players he was coaching, and in some cases abused them. some of the abuse also happened on trips away and in his car. thejury also happened on trips away and in his car. the jury were told that bennell wanted them to like him. he is now looking at a fourth jail term for child six offences. the judge has told the jury to come to a unanimous decision on the remaining charges. if they don't there will be majority charges. thank you for bringing us up to date. film star minnie driver has quit as an 0xfam ambassador following claims that staff working for the charity in disaster zones paid vulnerable local people for sex. the actress resigned after 20 years with the aid agency, saying in a statement that she was "horrified" by the allegations. 0xfam said it was "grateful" for ms driver's commitment, and that it was more determined than ever to learn from its mistakes. hundreds of premature babies

could avoid brain damage if their mothers were all given a low—cost drug during labour, according to a new report. the royal college of paediatrics and child health says there are huge regional differences in the number of mothers given magnesium sulphate to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy. it claims providing the drug could save the nhs £280 million a year. the actress emma watson has spoken about her shock, at realising that there was no system in place to help people in the film industry who had been sexually harassed. she's one of a number of women who've been consulted by the british film institute and bafta, as it announces changes aimed at tackling the problem. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been looking at the plans. this sunday it's the bafta awards and, ahead of british film's biggest night of the year, the industry has announced a brand—new plan aimed at tackling both sexual harassment and bullying. it's a direct response to the harvey weinstein allegations.

hello! you can talk? of course we can talk! emma watson was one of the many actresses asked for her input. these principles are important because up until recently there were no guidelines, there was no protocol for someone that had been sexually harassed in the entertainment industry. i know this to be a fact because i've asked for principles and i've asked to see guidelines and no one could give them to me. to change this, more than a0 organisations, including bafta and the british film institute, worked on a set of eight principles which they want to be used across the film, television and video games industries. so what will actually change? every production must employ two people trained to handle any accusations of harassment. a dedicated phone line will open in april, offering free confidential help. and bfi funding will only be given to projects committed to the changes. this isn't about a set of commands, it's about a set of principles

which everyone has willingly and with huge enthusiasm signed up to. at last month's golden globe awards, almost all actresses wore black to show solidarity for the times up campaign, calling for change. the same is expected at the baftas. those behind today's announcement hope such a stand won't be needed next year. a heart—warming image of a gorilla in the arms of one of her rescuers has won the top prize at the ‘wildlife photographer of the year‘ awards. chosen by almost 20,000 nature fans, the winning snap was taken by canadian photographerjo—anne mcarthur. "pikin", a lowland gorilla, was being moved to a new home by her caretaker in cameroon. there is nothing better than a really good cuddle.

i think you might be right. and that looks like a fabulous cuddle. 0ther finalists included this image of a polar bear and her cubs after emerging from their den. we always like to learn something new. this bird is a "lilac—breasted roller" — snapped hitching a ride on a zebra in kenya. idid not i did not know that. its colours are so intense. its colours are so intense. it looks like it has been touched up on photo shop. this three—toed sloth was hanging around in the brazilian rainforest. and finally, here's an underwater image of a humpback whale and her calf floating in the waters off tonga. the winning images will be showcased at the natural history museum in london, until the end of may. i think they would be even more stunning on the wall. fabulous.

do you know what 11 times 12 is? yes. go on, then. reciting times tables was a feature of school life for many of us in years gone by. did you enjoy it when you got tested ? always. me, too. now the government is set to reintroduce times tables checks for thousands of primary school children in england from this spring. not everybody enjoyed it. opponents, including some teaching unions, are questioning the educational benefits. our business correspondent nina warhurst has been to test the maths skills of some people in manchester. my times tables? yeah, awesome. your dad is very confident, harvey, do you think he's going to be up to it? errr. .. no. start with an easy one, two sevens. 14. dad, four sixes? 24. harvey, two sixes. 12. right, anne, you are confident you know your times tables. yes i am. right, we'll start with a hard one, seven sixes are? a2. six eights are?

a8. eight nines are? 72. my goodness. 0ne times one is? 0ne. two times two is? four. three times five is? 15... some smart cookies there! we're joined now by countdown mathematician rachel riley and maths teacher gary chambers, who you might recognise from educating greater manchester. good morning to you both. yourjob is about being brilliant maths and getting the answers that no one on the panel has got. were you always good at it? i was, yes, and it is one of those things you get a lot of praise if you are good at, and

people see it as a difficult thing, so you go on and do it more, and that happen to me. but i think the problem is some people get across and get it wrong and turn off the early as well. isn't that part of the problem, it is either right or wrong? it is not like english or history were interpretation is important. with maths, you show your workings and get to the answer. we try to make our students, to make the examiners work a little bit, so if you can show the correct working, there are marks available there as well, so it is building from what you can get down on paper, so even if you only get part of it right, you get some marks. i'm sure some pupils come to secondary school who don't know their times tables. what difficulties does that cause?m gives you a break in the formula, so where they want to move on, it causes a little bit of a handbrake for them. so where you should be doing the calculation, they struggle ona certain

doing the calculation, they struggle on a certain part of it, and something as simple as a multiplication can stop the moving onto something more complex, so it is key in the big picture. rachel, we we re is key in the big picture. rachel, we were saying we enjoy being tested at school, but did you ever play that game, you stand up in the class and your teacher starts doing loads of times tables, and then you sit down when you have lost your way, the last one standing as the winner. did you do that? i never did that, i loved it but i wonder if those who don't see maths asa wonder if those who don't see maths as a strong point, it is just another, almost saying, you are not good enough. the thing i'm loving about this interview is you are so positive about maths on the way you speak about it. away from having to learn your times tables, i think the most important thing forgetting the country more numerate, because only half of adults at the moment are the right level of numerous either they should be, is having a positive attitude, and stop saying, i can't do maths, it's not for me, and passing that onto kids can. that comes from parents and teachers, and

it passes on. but there is a negative side, a lot of people watching this morning will be saying, i don't need to know my times tables to get through life, to get my breakfast, to do myjob. times tables to get through life, to get my breakfast, to do my job. the data and common sense says actually you do need maths and whether... lots of people use it without thinking about it. it is more about having a feel for numbers, you just said to me, do you know your 72 times table? i don't, but i know my 75 and my three, so i can work it out. we watch countdown, we watch you working out the maths when no one else can do it. do you think you get that at it because you're always working at it? absolutely. when i applied for myjob, i had an interview, and i had just started a maths masters at oxford, and i hadn't used numbers for four years,

soi hadn't used numbers for four years, so i had to go back to my times tables, and i was doing it in a book asi tables, and i was doing it in a book as i was commuting, and the more you do it, the more you get faster at it. on some of the celebrities who come onto the programme, they become a fuser stick about it because they improve as they practice. gary, this doesn't look like fun. it is not like... speak for yourself! i am quite excited about it. but it isn't the same as a beautiful piece of art and thinking about how that was constructed or a timeline in history or the politics of an event. how do you make this attractive and look attractive so that you can practice it and be inspired by it? it is the fantastic art of teaching. you have to break things down. what is there is irrelevant, it is the passion and drive you put into it. you get these

young people to be inspired to get involved, and once you start to break things down, you can start to piece things together, and people start to learn. everybody likes to learn, and once you start to put bits together and you make it interesting if you set challenges, you want to learn. and you might like what we're trying to do one brea kfast later like what we're trying to do one breakfast later this year because naga is taking a challenge... three of us are going back to school, and we have taken a challenge, some accepted in some refused. ijust said i was happy for others to do it! i'm too busy to do my maths gcse a game. take a look at how we are going to it. we are going back to school. in four months, you are going to sit the maths gcse from real. expand and simplify. what does that

mean? what did i get at school for maths? de. i haven't seen a maths paperfor yea rs. i haven't seen a maths paperfor years. i does wonder if! am beyond that point in my life and it is too late. we can do this, tim! yes, we can! that wasn't you saying, i am so bored, on the desk? what happens in the classroom stays in the classroom! thank you both for coming in this morning. hints of anyone who is starting again, learning again, what would you say? i would say, national numerous it is having its first big day on the 16th of march, you can go online and do a health check of your numerous e, they tell you how you are doing, and there is all the help and advice on there, otherwise everyday maths, when you are at the supermarket, use your brain first. that applies to everything, use your brain first! turn it into a game. shall we play

with the weather? you often do, so you might as well. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. 10 degrees times minus 32 fahrenheit, that equals... ? spot on! i like maths like that. a very good morning to you. this was a glorious sunrise in 0xton in nottinghamshire this morning. but a hint of red in the sky. look at the blue in the charts today, but it is diminishing from the south west as we speak. and this is the cloud responsible for that. across the southern half of the uk, the sunshine is out, central and eastern areas turning hazy, and in the west, occasional rain through the morning, a little snow on the tops of the hills but a covering of snow across the cumbrian fells, pennines and peak district with rain to lower

levels as it pushes its way eastwards. strong winds across the board today, touching gale force around the coast of england and wales, may be severe in the west of scotland. as - cloud sprinted scotland. as the cloud sprinted across scotland, we will see a little snow across the grampians, the highlands, the southern uplands. and a windy day for all, gales around the coast, severe gales for 12 across scotland, but note the temperatures. 10 degrees in belfast, warm compared to of late. into tonight, a spell of heavy rain spreads across england and wales for a time, almost clearing into tomorrow morning, then we have some clearer skies, starry skies for some, a few showers towards the west, sleet and snow for scotland and northern ireland, a coating of snow here and there to start thursday. but at least we are into something a little brighter. the wind coming in from the west, nowhere near as strong tomorrow as

today, but it will still be blustery. the best of the sunshine through the afternoon, to southern and eastern parts of the country, showers elsewhere, much as we have seen earlier this week, hail and sleet in southern areas, sleet and snow for scotland and northern ireland, but temperatures not as low as they were to start the week. into friday, the wind will be light across southern and eastern parts, but after a bright start, scotland and northern ireland turn cloudy, outbreaks of rainford northern ireland and a little hill snow for scotland. but temperatures still across the south on friday could be into double figures. cloud and rain today, but a bit more sunshine for the rest of the week. thank you. we have had a poem sent in. it says, dear matt. ithank thank you. we have had a poem sent in. it says, dear matt. i thank you for this from the bottom of my heart, let's make it clear right from the start, forecasts from you make the long days with buy, but will i get my washing dry? it went

on where you are across the country! i don't know where erika is. i will get her to look at the map and sorted out. thank you very much for that. steph is given a nod to valentine's day as well, she is house—hunting in liverpool this morning, but take a look at what she is wearing this morning. taking the love to lots of homeowners. there we are, happy valentine's day, everyone. matt is right about the weather, it is freezing here, but i am ina weather, it is freezing here, but i am in a way victory in liverpool, you can see around me lots of derelict homes. —— wavertree in liverpool. there are around 6000 empty homes in the region, so what they have been doing over the last couple of years is selling them off for £1. you can buy one of them for £1 under the proviso that you live or work in liverpool, that you are a

first—time buyer and that you use your own cash to do it up and then your own cash to do it up and then you would sell it for five years. this is one of the fabulous ones which mel has bought and dunnock. we are going to have look around. later on we can have a chat with her, because it is fascinating to see what she has done to it and how this project might help things. if you have a little look around, you can see how nice it is. that is rosy and lola, good morning, girls! we're going to be talking about the guys and chatting about the house, because this project could help to solve the housing shortage that we have across the uk. more from the bit later, but first, the news, travel and weather where you are this morning. it would be pleasant for many as we go into the afternoon. windy conditions. particularly around northern and western parts. this area of low pressure and weather fronts are moving in. you can see from the image some bright sports.

qualitatively start of the day with some frost. we hold onto sunshine across eastern areas. “— some frost. we hold onto sunshine across eastern areas. —— bright spots. this new area of rain will fall in. it will fall as snow over higher ground of wales, northern england and scotland. very cold conditions across the far north of scotla nd conditions across the far north of scotland later on. still very wet across the south—west at 3pm. strong winds around the coast of wales and south—west england. the rain clears northern ireland at this stage. scotla nd northern ireland at this stage. scotland could see up to ten centimetres of snow over higher ground and with the strong winds fairly nasty conditions. the rain not quite reaching the far south—east by this stage. temperatures between six to 12 degrees towards the south—west. this rain will continue to spread towards the east and eventually should clear away. we are looking at some clear skies and scattered showers moving into the west. some will be wintry with snow over higher ground.

temperatures would be as low as last night, for many staying above freezing, so largely frost free to start thursday. thursday should be a fine day for many. lighter winds, some sunshine across a good part of england and wales. some showers dotted around across the west of scotland, but those temperatures up, between six to 8 degrees, maybe double figures in southern areas. not feeling too bad. some wet, some sunshine, and some strong breezes. this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and samantha simmonds. a brexit blackhole for europe. how will the eu plug a $15 billion shortfall when the uk leaves the union? live from london, that's our top story on wednesday 1ath february. brexit will leave the eu

with a big gap in its budget — there could be cuts to spending and other members will be asked to pay more. we will hear from the sky shortly. —— this guy shortly. also in the programme: is the premier league losing its star appeal?