borisjohnson says brexit is an opportunity for britain — and not something to be feared. in a major speech before the next round of negotiations, the foreign secretary was trying to reassure those who are anxious about brexit. brexit need not be nationalist but can be internationalist. it's not an economic threat, but a considerable opportunity. not un—british, but a manifestation of this country's historic national genius. we'll have the latest reaction from brussels and westminster. also this lunchtime: minnie driver quits as a ambassador for oxfam, as the government says all charities must have proper safeguarding policies. jacob zuma says that is no reason for him to resign as president of south africa, despite the anc saying he must go. there's a pervasive lack of trust among disabled people about how their welfare claims are assessed — according to a parliamentary committee.

she didn't give me a physical assessment. i was sat down the entire time. i was very... very cross about that. and at the winter olympics, team gb's curling teams get off to a flying start as they launched their medal campaigns. flying start as they launched their medal campaigns. and coming up in the sports on bbc news: liverpool are hoping to follow the lead of manchester city and spurs in the champions league tonight, when they play porto in the last 16. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the foreign secretary has said britain's departure from the eu is an opportunity, not something to be feared, and that the decision to leave cannot be reversed. in the first of a series of speeches

by government ministers in advance of key talks with eu negotiators next month, borisjohnson said brexit will mean britain will stop paying huge sums to brussels, and will take back control of its borders and laws. our political correspondent, leila nathoo, reports from westminster. a not so funny welcome party to greet borisjohnson as he arrived to deliver a speech this morning. the very people he wants to reach out to, there is still against britain's departure from the eu. his message, brexit cannot be stopped. and understand your ease, but there is nothing to fear. brexit need not be nationalists, but can be internationalist. it is not an economic threat, but a considerable opportunity. not un—british but a manifestation of this country's historic national genius. ici run the risk in making this case of

causing further irritation. but i must run that risk. boris johnson return to familiar themes of the leave side of the referendum campaign, taping back control of laws and embracing the world beyond europe. brexit is about we engage in this country with its global identity, and the energy that can flow from that and i absolutely refuse to accept it is a un—british spasm of bad manners. it is not a sign from the cliffs of dover, it is a legitimate and natural desire for self government of the people, by the people, for the people. self government of the people, by the people, for the peoplem self government of the people, by the people, for the people. it is the first in a series of speeches in the first in a series of speeches in the coming weeks in which senior ministers will set out what downing street is calling a road map to brexit. theresa may will address security and other cabinet ministers will cover the devolution of powers reclaimed from brussels, international trade and workers' rights. the comet has been under pressure to settle on a position and

offer more detail about what britain wa nts offer more detail about what britain wants its relationship with the eu to look like after brexit. boris johnson's speech today was heavy on rhetoric but did not go far enough for his critics. this was a big exercise in hypocrisy frankly from the foreign secretary. first of all, he made and commit about taking back control. of course, the parliament oi'i control. of course, the parliament on behalf of the people. but every step of the way during these brexit negotiations, he and his government have withheld information from parliament and the people and the impact of brexit. we now have to acce pt impact of brexit. we now have to accept the fact we have had the referendum, we are not having a second, we are not part of the single market of the customs union but we are taking back control. the government hopes the hill divides and look to the future but ministers are fast approaching the point where they must collectively declare what that looks like —— the government is hoping to heal divides. in a moment, we'll get reaction

from adam fleming, in brussels. but first, to our assistant political editor, norman smith, who's in westminster. what do we make of it, what the people make about where you are? borisjohnson said people make about where you are? boris johnson said an people make about where you are? borisjohnson said an ambitious aim of trying to reach out and reassure former remainers and praising many former remainers and praising many for what he called their noble views and the sceptical europeans, saying that the brexit is not a peace sign from the white cliffs of dover. but at times, it sounded as if we were backin at times, it sounded as if we were back in the blood and gore of the brexit trenches, back in the referendum campaign. and that served to highlight how divisive the brexit issue was and raises the question about whether opinion really has moved on or whether we do still remaina moved on or whether we do still remain a fundamentally divided nation when it comes to brexit. and in that context, whether boris johnson was the relay that message

of reassurance. because for many remainers, he is the bogeyman of brexit, a man loathed by many remainers for his approach and some of his claims during that campaign. it is also quite a long time to leave it before trying to reach out to reassure people. more than 20 months since the campaign. and in terms of detail, there was not much in the speech. looking for remainers the clasp on to. i am left with the thought that the person he will be most reassured by the speech is theresa may in downing street because what we did not get today was borisjohnson because what we did not get today was boris johnson off because what we did not get today was borisjohnson off piste. slalom and away on his own version of brexit. when he was pressed today about what sort of deal we should get committee repeatedly and loyally stopped, referring back to previous speeches by the prime minister. so i think theresa may will be pleased. as forformer remainers, the initial

reaction has hardly been very sympathetic. thank you. adam fleming is in brussels. boris johnson's wasn't the only speech this morning about the eu. yes, jean—claude juncker, the president of the european commission, the organisation that i’u ns commission, the organisation that runs the brexit talks on their side day—to—day, was doing a news conference today. he was in a jolly mood, as he often is, making jokes about what eu leaders order for their coffee during the summit. but his mood change when a journalist asked about this allegation from borisjohnson asked about this allegation from boris johnson that asked about this allegation from borisjohnson that he was all about building an eu superstate. look at this. some in the british political society are against the truth, pretending that i'm a stupid, stubborn federalist, that i'm in favour of a european superstate. i'm strictly against a european superstate. we are not the united states of america. we are the european union,

which is a rich body because we have these 27, 28 nations. the european union cannot be built against the european nations. so, this is total nonsense. jean—claude juncker then went on jean—claudejuncker then went on to say, to unveil plans about reforming the eu, it involved and potentially a bigger budget and is directly elected president. so some would say he went on to make borisjohnson‘s point, because that does sound like something on the road to a eu superstate. in terms of how the speech has gone down here, people in these offices here were listening and they will read later this afternoon. but the fact is, it does not make a huge difference to the negotiations at the moment. they are waiting for a formal british position on the attitude to their future relationship with the eu after brexit and that will come from the prime minister and not boris

johnson. thank you. the actor minnie driver has resigned as an ambassador for oxfam, saying she's horrified by the sex scandal claims at the charity. it comes as oxfam's regional director in asia has told the bbc she is aware of past abuse cases involving the charity's workers in the philippines, bangladesh and nepal. matt cole reports. what happens in haiti? that is the focus of the charity commission enquiry which holds its first meeting with oxfam today. but now a seniorfigure in the meeting with oxfam today. but now a senior figure in the charity says had been largely unreported cases in other countries as well. there were cases in the philippines. there were also cases in bangladesh. there will be slow as coming forward in bangladesh. as far as i know. —— there were whistle—blowers coming forward. there was also a case in nepal. it was after the 2013 super

typhoon yolande in the philippines that some cases took place but then and now, the questions about perpetrators being flagged to other agencies. not yet, but that is a practice we need to start because the funny thing about cases like this is, we always see them as reputational risks. but the way to manage reputational risk is not to keep silent. a sector wide problem, then. in matter on which the international development secretary has today been talking. no organisation is too big or our work with them to complex for me to hesitate to remove funding from them if we cannot trust them to put the beneficiaries of aid first. on the specific case of oxfam, some supporters have already reacted. from friday to monday, 1270 people cancelled their direct debits, four times the normal daily cancellation

rate. and on monday, 70 81—off donations were made, a record how this year. and 44 new direct debit was set up, the most since march last year in one day. however, one celebrity supporter, actress minnie driver, has ended her ambassador's role, saying... oxfam's major corporate partners are taking a different approach. waterstones has given a statement of support saying the charity's work is of great value. marks & spencer is as the co—operative bank and heathrow airport say they are taking the matter seriously but will monitor the situation for now. in the meantime, the international developers secretary penny mordaunt says as part of her push for a sector wide culture change, she will hold talks tomorrow with the

national crime agency and all eyes will turn to friday by when oxfam has been told it must provide a nswe rs has been told it must provide answers about future safeguarding policies. south africa's president, jacob zuma, says efforts by the country's governing anc to oust him from power are unfair. the party has threatened mr zuma with a parliamentary motion of no confidence tomorrow, if he refuses to step down today. earlier, police raided properties belonging to the wealthy gupta family, who are close to mr zuma, and three people were arrested. the party has threatened mr zuma with a parliamentary motion of no milton nkosi is injohannesburg. the anc have been urging him to go for a long time, what is going on? yes, president zuma is digging in his heels. he gave an interview to the local public broadcaster and he is explaining that he has been victimised and he has never defied

the organisation. but at the same time, he said he will give a statement later today. president jacob zuma's days are numbered, literally. his governing african national congress wants new party had cyril ramaphosa sworn in as president within the next couple of days. but in a statement earlier, he said attempts to unseat him were unfair. people are saying is uma must go. my problem is that it is not a new thing, it has been said the in higher year, not a new thing, it has been said the in higheryear, including people saying this, they are all saying it. they themselves never provided a result. the net is also closing on president zuma's friends. the controversial gupta family. this morning, on the priority —— armed

police known as the hawks arrived in thisjohannesburg police known as the hawks arrived in this johannesburg suburb. gupta family had been accused of using their friendship family had been accused of using theirfriendship with family had been accused of using their friendship with president zuma to wield enormous influence for their business interests. they and president zuma denied the allegations. local media reports say police have arrested three people including one of the gupta brothers. and so the dilemma that president jacob zuma is basing of whether to resign or to defy his party is in pa rt resign or to defy his party is in part linked to what happened here this morning. this compound belongs to his family and friends in guptas and the police have come here to rate them for corruption about allegations of dodgy government contracts. among those who would be targeted by the police and the corruption scandal, known here as state capture, a minister in zuma's cabinet and possibly president

zuma's son, seen here with two of the guptas. 2a years after the end of apartheid, south africa finds itself at a crossroads again. this time, with self—inflicted wounds by those who helped to liberate its people and white minority rule. and there you have it. but the anc has today on the parliament to call for a vote of no—confidence. they wa nt for a vote of no—confidence. they want cyril ramaphosa in within days so presidentjacob want cyril ramaphosa in within days so president jacob zuma's want cyril ramaphosa in within days so presidentjacob zuma's days are indeed numbered. thank you. there is a ‘pervasive lack of trust‘ among people with disabilities in how their welfare claims are assessed, according to the commons work and pensions committee, which says reports there is a ‘pervasive lack of trust‘ among people with disabilities in how their welfare claims are assessed, according

to the commons work and pensions committee, which says reports by private contractors are riddled with errors. it also says claimants don't trust assessors to record evidence of their conditions accurately. the government insists the system works well for the majority of claimants. in how their welfare claims are assessed, according anastasia is having a good day. but it's not always like this. most days she is constant pain. the 24—year—old has multiple sclerosis. she used to work full—time, but now she struggles to leave the house. on the days she can get out, anastasia totally relies on her car. she applied for a disability benefit and was assessed at home by a health care professional from a private company. on the days she can get out, anastasia totally relies on her car. she applied for a disability benefit and was assessed at home by a health care professional from a private company. anastasia told her 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. as a result, anastasia lost her higher rate disability benefit, which meant she lost her car. although she successfully appealed that decision, her experience is far from a one—off. today's report identifies a culture of mistrust around the whole process. it says the government's low bar for what it is what is considered acceptable leaves room for assessment reports to be riddled with obvious errors and omissions. it also says assessors risk being viewed as a best lacking in confidence and at worst, actively deceitful. nurses are expected to assess four or five clients a day... but this former nurse, who worked as an assessor for a few weeks before quitting, has today anonymously told the bbc she was disgusted with the system. i had a lady come to my service, dropped off. in my mind, in my experience over 20 years working with people with learning disabilities, this lady had learning disabilities. when i made my report on my observations, it was sent back and the auditor made me change it and said there was no evidence that she had learning disabilities at all. we have asked the government to record all these key assessments, interviews. the government said it is going to put this idea out to consultation.

we pointed out to the minister when she was before the committee that literally everybody has agreed except the government that they shouldn't do this. so this consultation clearly is going to be the government talking to itself. the government says it is exploring options to promote greater transparency and trust and that assessments work well for the majority of claimants who said they were happy with their overall experience. but with current contract is up for review and targets being consistently missed, it is uncertain who will carry out these assessments in the future. nikki fox, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime. in a major speech before the next round of negotiations, the foreign secretary tries to reassure people anxious about brexit. and coming up — high winds at the winter olympics force organisers to postpone more events — we'll be live in pyeongchang. coming up in sport.

the flying tomato claims an historic third gold. american snowboarder shaun white wins the halfpipe title in pyeongchang. and with it the usa's 100th gold in winter olympics history. the prescription tranquiliser xa nax is being sold illegally to children by dealers using social media sites, the bbc has discovered. several young people have been left needing hospital treatment after taking the drug. the home office says it's taking action, and has called on social media sites to crack down on the practice. lauren moss reports. when we would by acid, it would be like £10 a tab and then he would sell us xanax on the side. it's a dangerous lifestyle that is growing in popularity. chef started using drugs when he was 111.

some substances were too easy to find online. weed, mdma, cocaine, xanax. are dealers using social media as a platform to sell drugs? certain dealers online, on like social media. sometimes you can, it is possible now to let go on instagram and find a drug dealer. behind websites usually used for sharing photos and contacting family and friends lurks a criminal underworld where drug dealers are hiding behind a screen. they invite users to message them through an anonymous at, —— app. it's possible to make an order, pay and arrange delivery all in a matter of minutes. one of the dealers i found an instagram sent me this package in the post. inside is a free sample of his product which he claims is xanax and diazepam, tranquilisers usually used to treat anxiety. and you can see he sent me nine tablets. the dealer hopes if i am satisfied with this, i will then place a larger order

and it is all virtually untraceable. there is some school of thought, essentially, which thinks because these are prescription drugs in some countries that it is ok and that they are going to be safe. that is absolutely not the case. so when things are bought online, it is really easy for dealers to make counterfeits, for example. we are not sure of the dosage. i think there does have to be some responsibility put on these social media giants essentially to tackle it. i notified facebook and instagram about the accounts and asked for an interview. no one was available but they sent separate statements saying, "buying or selling drugs of any sort is not allowed" on either platform and the accounts i showed them have been removed for breaking community guidelines. both sites are asking anyone who sees this content to report it and say their teams will work quickly to take it down. but it only takes seconds to set up new accounts and with the trend among teenagers apparently only worsening, it's a war that will not be easy to win. lauren moss, bbc news. and viewers in the south east

can see more of that investigation at 1:30pm, straight after this programme. the kremlin has denied any knowledge of russian mercenaries fighting in syria, after a number of its citizens were among those killed in a us—led airstrike in the east of the country. america says it killed more than 100 fighters in the strikes last week. the russian mercenaries are said to have been hired by private military firms backing syrian pro—government troops. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. just two months ago, vladimir putin flew to syria to declare mission accomplished. he told his troops the motherland was proud of them, and ordered many of the soldiers home. but russians are still fighting in syria. and it's notjust their regular forces who are suffering casualties. these men are amongst what is reported to be a large group

of russian mercenaries who were killed in the syrian serbian province of deir ezzor one week ago, the result of air and artillery strikes by the us—led coalition. among those killed was stanislav matveyev. he went to fight in eastern ukraine, and was then hired to fight in syria. "they were sent into battle like animals, without any protection", his widow says. "the russian government should seek revenge for the sake of the wives and their children". and what's the kremlin saying about this? not much. and the reason the kremlin has made little comment about this is that the russian authorities have never spoken before publicly about russian mercenaries in syria, or about the private military companies believed to be recruiting them. and that's why these reports of casualties are so embarrassing for moscow. presidential candidate

grigory yavlinsky says the mercenaries have no legal basis for being in syria, and are a danger to russia. when you have in the country some structures which are almost military structures, and you have no control on them, it's dangerous for the country, it's dangerous for the people, it's even dangerous for the president. up till now, this has been the public face of russia's military operation in syria. the kremlin would have preferred to keep it that way. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. 30 years after one of the most notorious murders in british legal history, there are calls for sentencing guidelines to be changed to reflect serious miscarriages ofjustice. lynette white, a 20—year—old sex worker, was stabbed to death byjeffrey gafoor in cardiff in1988. but gafoor was convicted 13 years after three other men — known as the "cardiff three" — were wronglyjailed for the murder.

wyre davies reports. 20—year—old lynette white was stabbed 50 times in a frenzied attack in a rundown cardiff bay flat which she used to meet clients. witnesses spoke of a bloodstained white man fleeing the scene but under pressure to get results, detectives arrested five local black men. innocent! despite repeated denials and a lack of evidence, three were convicted. known as the cardiff three, their convictions were eventually quashed amid huge public outcry. a subsequent south wales police investigation unearthed the real killer, security guard jeffrey gafoor. but this wasn't the first miscarriage of justice and the damage to the force's reputation was done. it is somewhat in the dna of the force now, i've got to say, our determination not to fail in this way again steels my resolve everyday make sure that our investigations

are of the highest quality. campaigners who say that jeffrey gafoor should've got a much longer sentence for the sadistic murder of lynette white say that murderers who allow innocent people to sufferfor their crimes are the most contemptible criminals of all. in sentencing jeffrey gafoor, the judge made specific reference to how he had knowingly contributed to ruining the lives of innocent men. including john actie who was originally charged with the murder and spent years in prison. jeffrey gafoor, you know he could be out ofjail any time soon, you know. we done 16 years between us. and he could be coming out and he hasn't even done 16 years yet. speaking to bbc wales investigates, one influential voice says changing sentencing policy to reflect miscarriages of justice could be an option. there certainly are people who believe that when jeffrey gafoor was sentenced, not enough account was taken off the fact that he had allowed innocent people to spend time in prison as a result of his actions.

and of course this is a matter that is being looked at within the criminal law now. 30 years on this notorious case left many victims. including one who her family say should never be forgotten. wyre davies, bbc news. and you can see a special report looking at the murder of lynette white on the bbc news website. after elise christie's crash in the speed skating final yesterday, britain is still looking for it's first medal of the winter olympics in south korea, and focus switched today to the curling, which began overnight. team gb won medals in both the men's and women's curling at the last games in sochi, and both british teams have got off to a successful start in pyeongchang. our correspondent david ornstein is there for us now. it really was bitterly disappointing

for elise christie and she has taken to social media to say she is heartbroken but looking forward to her remaining events. she still has more medal opportunities and talking of medals of the biggest stars of winter sports was bidding earlier today to make history and he did not disappoint. he needs 95.25 and the run of his life. they call him the flying tomato. shaun white, he of red hair and snowboarding flair. he has landed it! oh, my goodness! with his final run, the american saved his best until last to stun his rivals and become the first snowboarder to win three olympic titles. i'm really proud to come out on top today and i'm really thankful for those guys honestly because they pushed me to get to this point, to be able to do these kinds of events. elsewhere, the weather continued to disrupt the games with the women's slalom and biathlon postponed, the latest events to fall foul of high winds.

there were no such problems at the indoor venues where if the mere presence of north korean skaters on south korean ice was significant, the display of tae—ok ryom and ju—sik kim was magnificent. supported by a band of more than 200 cheerleaders, they qualified for the pairs final in style. with britain's wait for a first medal ongoing, attention this morning turned to curling. the men took silver four years ago and although this is a new team, they picked up where their predecessors left off. what a win for great britain. with a sudden—death victory over switzerland in their opening match. they're one of the teams you'd expect to be near the podium at the end of the week so i'm very pleased to get off to our first olympics in such a good performance. we kind of struggled a wee bit but we pulled it together and really pleased to get the win. eve muirhead would like to try and finish this here. bronze medallists in sochi,

the women wanted gold here and started as they plan to go on, by dominating a team of olympic athletes from russia. and she has done it superbly well. next up, it's the united states tomorrow. well the men's curlers are back on theice well the men's curlers are back on the ice as we speak, trailing canada but still with a long way to go in that competition. meanwhile a potential storm brewing in the skeleton competition, some nations are said to be questioning the legality of the new skin suit to be worn by the british athletes including lizzy yarnold. team gb say they've done nothing wrong and the governing body of skeleton have approved those suits. that event is getting underway tomorrow.