the main trading partners of the us have reacted angrily to president trump's plans to steep tariffs on steel and imports. some within his own party are expressing concern. russia's president putin has unveiled a new range of nuclear weapons which he says could invade nuclear defence shields is targets around the world. a nuclear missile capable of travelling to five times the speed of sound are ready or being developed. the weight the relatives and friends of more than 100 girls kidnapped in nigeria goes on. it has been over a week since they were taken by boegl iran militants. some have them have been telling the bbc the pain they have enjoyed since they went missing. —— spoke of iran. time now the thursday in parliament. hello and welcome to

thursday in parliament. coming up on this programme... the government says it's scrapping stage two of the leveson inquiry into press standards, claiming the media landscape has changed. but the news gets a furious response from labour. a breach of trust and a bitter blow to the victims of press intrusion. here, here. questions on the beast from the east to the transport secretary as snow causes chaos across the uk. also on this programme... peers call for more regulation on the use of facial recognition technology. these techniques are extremely powerful, but they are out of the bag. the train has left the station, or whichever metaphor you want to use. and after 81 countries add folic acid to food to try to prevent birth defects, questions as to why the uk hasn't. isn't it a disgrace that we haven't

got to the point of preventing that suffering in our own country? but first, the government is to abandon the next stage of the leveson inquiry into press intrusion. the culture secretary, matt hancock, also told mps that he would repeal an existing law which would make newspapers pay the legal costs of people claiming libel, even if the case was thrown out. the announcements were greeted with dismay by labour, who said the decision was a "bitter blow" to the victims of press intrusion. the conservatives opposed the second stage in their election manifesto. matt hancock reminded mps that the first stage had cost £48 million. we do not believe that reopening this costly and time—consuming public enquiry is the right way forward. so considering all of the factors in the house today, i have informed sir brian that we are formally closing the enquiry.

but we will take action to safeguard the lifeblood of our democratic discourse and tackle the challenges our media face today, not decade ago. those changes included the rise of social media. and falling newspaper circulations. he felt the new self regulator, ipso was working better than the previous system. and he was overturning section a0 of the crime and courts act, which would see local media paying costs in libel cases, whether they won or lost. he quoted one response to a consultation on the measure. he went on to say that section a0 risks, and i quote, "damaging the future of the paper that you love and that the impact will be to make it much more difficult for papers to survive." these are not my words, mr speaker, but the words of alastair campbell, talking about the chilling threat of section a0. and if anybody knows about threats to the press, it's alastair campbell.

at national and local levels, a press that can hold the powerful to account remains an essential component of democracy. we need high—quality journalism to thrive in the digital world. we seek a press and a media that is robust and independently regulated and that reports without or favour. without fear or favour. the leveson inquiry was triggered by the phone hacking scandal, and cases such as that of the murdered schoolgirl millie dowler, whose mobile phone was accessed by reporters. part two was supposed to cover unlawful press activity and relations between journalists and the police. labour's spokesman, tom watson, has campaigned on press intrusion, and his office has received around half a million pounds from his fellow privacy campaigner, max mosley. labour has said it will receive no more money from mr mosley, after a row about a racist by—election leaflet he published in 1961. tom watson referred to that at the beginning of his remarks. if i thought for one moment he held

those views contained in that leaflet of 57 years ago, i would not have given him the time of day. he is a man, though, who, in the face of great family tragedy, and overwhelming media intimidation, chose to use his limited resources to support the weak against the strong. he said the announcement was a breach of trust to families, like millie dowler‘s. let me close with the words of former prime minister, david cameron, to the leveson inquiry in june 2012. i will never forget meeting the dowlerfamily in downing street, to run through the terms of this enquiry with them. and to hear what they had been through and how it had redoubled, trebled the pain and agony they had been through over losing millie. i will never forget that.

and that is the test of all of this. it's not, do the politicians or the press feel happy with what we get? it is, are we really protecting people who have been caught up and absolutely thrown to the wolves by this process? that is what the test is. the secretary of state will prosper politically from his statement today, but he's failed that test. what is in this for the victims of phone hacking and press abuse? what does the secretary of state say to the dowler and hillsborough families and other victims, the other countless victims of the appalling press abuse? there is nothing in this, the promises that were made to them by a conservative prime minister and the legislation that was voted on by the secretary of state. times have not changed for the victims and there is nothing in this for them. what i've said and what i will say

to them, is that we have to make sure that the media and news industry that we have in the uk, can hold the powerful to account and respond to today's challenges. whilst newspapers often make the life of an elite intolerable, they make complacency impossible. as a formerjournalist, secretary of state, i am utterly dismayed by your statement today. i value freedom of the press, but does the secretary of state not see the sad irony in talking about how the press has held the powerful to account and then closing the door on our opportunity to hold the powerful voices of the press to account on behalf of the victims? now, more than ever, newspapers play a vital role in holding both government and opposition to account. and he's absolutely right that rather than looking backwards at the events of ten years ago

and adding to the costs of local newspapers, we should be supporting newspapers in meeting the challenges of the internet giants. john whittingdale. now to transport questions, where unsurprisingly the impact of the current wintry weather was on the agenda. the ‘beast from the east‘ and storm emma have led to trains being cancelled across the uk. alongside commuter chaos, flights have also been delayed or cancelled, while driving conditions have been treacherous on many roads, with scotland and the north east of england among the worst affected. forecasters are warning of more disruption to come as the freezing weather continues. 0ne mp wanted an investigation into why some services had struggled. i wonder if my right honourable friend, after this snow event is over, asks some serious questions or even review, why it is when we have an event like this, we still are not, in any way in some cases, prepared.

for example, i discovered yesterday that heathrow is busy off—loading flights because they can't cope with it. whereas... it is regional flights. what i am saying to my right honourable friend is, given all of that, places like gatwick and other airports are able to cope. does he not think it's ridiculous that in some airport they simply unable to cope and others in uk can? mr speaker, i knowa number of members are here today because the lights to regional airports have not been able to go and i hope and i expect us to be able to sort that out today, as quickly as possible. though it is important the transport system is run safely. because one of the benefits of the expansion of heathrow airport is that airport will become more resilient to difficult situations like this week and it will mean connections to regional airports are more reliable.

this week, all weeks, passengers want up—to—date information about delays and cancellations. south eastern trains website has failed to provide any live time update in any single rush hour this week. today included. will my right honourable friend bear that in mind when the franchise comes up for renewal? my honourable friend is a powerful champion for constituents in bromley and chislehurst and he's right to expect that south—eastern provides prompt, accurate and timely information so the passengers can have the journey quality they deserve. questioning then focused on the east coast main line and the decision to end early the rail franchise run by stagecoach and virgin. on monday, the chief executive of stagecoach said he knew there was a problem with the east coast finances weeks after taking over the contract in march 2015 and that he'd been talking to the department about it the two years. then why didn't the secretary of state put together a contingency plan for the route, given that his department

was in dialogue with the operator over the difficulties? mr speaker, the secretary of state had two years to sort this mess out and isn't it simply incredible that he still doesn't know what to do? he can't do his sums because i have not been secretary of state the two years. but let's be clear, we have been planning... i have been secretary of state for 18 months, mr speaker, he can't do his sums. and since i became aware that there was a problem on this route, mr speaker, we have been doing careful contingency planning so we have a long—term plan for this route and we have short—term options. we can't actually put those short—term options into place until the appropriate moment arises, when they are necessary and we are prepared for that moment when it arises and we will deliver the alternatives. given that the tax payers already lost out on over £2 billion of premium payments, can the secretary of state advise the house whether the financial ramifications of the termination of the franchise are now completely

known and concluded ? in the alternative, what sums of money are earmarked to settle any further system gaming demands of mr branson and mr souter to litigation or arbitration? i am afraid mr speaker, the labour party cannot do it sums. we have no more written off £2 billion of money than they wrote off {1.4 billion when national express collapsed. because the reality is, and always has been in recent times, a profitable railway that, whatever happens, will continue to generate a substantial return for the taxpayer. it is about time they did their sums properly rather than misrepresenting the reality. you're watching thursday in parliament, with me, alicia mccarthy. still to come... a chance for mps to show off their language skills as the commons celebrates the national day of wales. dydd g yl dewi hapus. a happy st david's day. but before that, in the lords, there

was a call for better regulation for the use of facial recognition technology by the security service and the police. biometric software can identify someone by comparing a photo or video to a stored face—print. it's used for security but also increasingly by private companies. 0ne peer, who said she'd been arrested but not charged while attending a peaceful protest, raised concerns. i am very concerned that this technology is being used with a database full of illegal images of innocent people, and i include myself in that number. it seems that the facial recognition technology is using the police national database, which contains tens of thousands of people who were never charged, nor convicted of an offence. it is six years since the high court ruled that the policy for retaining the mugshots of innocent people was unlawful. but the police still do it and they still upload them the police national database.

the government's solution in 2017 was to allow individuals to write to the police asking to be deleted. thatjust isn't good enough. although it's still at a very early stage of development, as far as its use in the criminaljustice system is concerned, i have no doubt that it will eventually be accepted by the police and the courts as a quick and reliable method of eliminating the innocent from suspicion, as much as for identifying and convicting the guilty. but he added there were no national or international standards for how implement its use. these techniques are extremely powerful, but they are out of the bag. the train has left the station, or whichever metaphor you want to use on this concern. the chinese site has introduced a system whereby you can smile to pay. i am not aware that any similar

system is being adopted in the uk or in other western countries, but the point is, that technique is there. it is only a matter of time before non—state actors start to use these techniques are far more widely than is currently the case. 0ne peer and former m15 chief stressed the benefits in counter terrorism and was impressed with a system he'd experienced. i was going into a building the other day and there was a facial recognition system at the door and it immediately and accurately identified me as myself and was able to do it on the basis of a 12—year—old photograph taken from the internet. so this is notjust about police custody records, you can do it without any of that stuff and a lot of people are doing so in the private sector. for example, the durham police force are now using body worn

image cameras to create a trouble— makers data base. which is totally against the principles of data protection and against the spirit of not using this type of technology for intelligence gathering tools. but as there is no legal status, there are no proper regulations and no independent oversight, they are getting away with it. the home office minister said biometric data was critically important in law enforcement. my lords, maintaining public trust and confidence is absolutely key. achieving this involves a more open approach in development and deployment of new technologies. we remain committed to ensuring that our use of biometrics, including those provided to law enforcement partners is legal, ethical, is transparent and is robust. she also said the government was committed to creating a framework so that organisations could innovate with biometric data in an ethical and transparent way. staying in the lords the government

was accused of intentionally delaying a decision on putting folic acid in flour and bread to help prevent some birth defects. one in every 500 to 1000 pregnancies in the uk is affected by neural tube defects, like spina bifida, which damages the nervous system. 81 countries have introduced mandatory folic acid fortification in food. the original study into this was published in 1991. i had four small children and was involved in the issues of maternal health. in the intervening time, i now have four small grandchildren. 81 countries have acted on this british publicly—funded research, which has saved untold suffering throughout the world. isn't it a disgrace that we haven't got to the point of preventing that suffering in our own country? a recent study by universities

in london found that there was no need for an upper limit on the amount of folate which could be put in flour. i think the noble lady is completely right in what she says. i think going forward, one of the reasons that perhaps there hasn't been movement on this up until now is because of the problems with the upper level, which clearly this report says is not a problem. and if the upper level is no longer needed, it would provide reassurance on the safety the mandatory fortification and i think proceedings are going to go ahead. there are two main reasons why the government may feel resistant to this. one is, i think we have discarded now, the dosage level is not toxic at all. the second is, we don't want to be described as a nanny state. if the noble lady would take a tuna and sweetcorn sandwich at the bishop's bar, she will find in the wheat that we already add calcium,

iron, preservative e282 treatment agent e300. nanny state ? this folic acid is certainly vital, does she agree? yes, i don't think as far as his concern, the nanny doesn't come into it, certainly not as far as we are concerned anyway. it is interesting the department for health, the officials told me the department of health's mailbag apparently has been from the general public, saying they don't want mass fortification in their food. but that will all be part of any proceedings going forward in discussions. but that isn't what is holding us up at the moment. lady chisholm added the government was not intentionally delaying a decision on this, it was waiting to get approval from several of its departments before it could proceed. ministers have been warned that urgent action is needed to ensure foreign fruit and vegetable pickers can continue to work

in the uk after brexit. mps from all parties have called for clarity on the rules that will apply to seasonal migrants after march next year, and many called for a new visa scheme for agricultural workers. kirstene hair, who secured today's debate, said an estimated 80,000 seasonal pickers came to work in the uk last year and it was expected that 95,000 would be needed in 2019. but she said it was getting increasingly difficult to recruit workers. without sufficient farmers, crops are left to rot in the field. a scene which was unfortunately witnessed last year. some farmers, for the first time, had to watch their wonderful premium produce waste away in the fields, as the workforce by late in the season have disbursed. a recent survey conducted by nfus horticultural members between january and february this year had some startling outcomes, which i hope will convey the seriousness of the current situation.

100% of those who were contacted said they were concerned all very concerned about the impact labour shortages would have on their businesses in 2018 and beyond. 0ne former i spoke to said that yes, he had always sought british workers to come and work on his farm. in six years, he did have one who applied and lasted precisely two and a half weeks. so, we're not going to find, in the uk market, jobs market, people who are going to replace all of the people who are working in a seasonal capacity at the moment. the uk production of fruit and vegetables is a great success story for our country. it is a growing industry that we should be supporting. but, unless we fix this labour shortage, prices will go up, fewer people will be able to afford british fruits and vegetables. that growth may well reverse and we will see a share of the fruit and vegetables that we consume

that we currently consume british produce be replaced by imports. the strong feeling that i've had during these discussions, both in the select committee and the appg, was that an ideologicalfervour for brexit amongst certain ministers and with... we voted to stop freedom of movement and that is our approach, no matter what evidence we have that this will harm the british economy. what we are seeing now in agricultural businesses is it is collateral and an issue. it threatens the viability and survival of so many farms in my constituency. i try to figure out, why are they so resistant about putting forward a seasonal

agricultural workers scheme. it can only be about immigration. if only the clare balding: can tell me why is there a reticence to put in place a scheme? it is all about immigration isn't it? kirstene hair called for the urgent introduction of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme. it is imperative we act now, our farmers cannot plan. it is an industry in turmoil. it is critical to business that those arriving during the implementation period will have certainty they can stay long term. we have stated throughout negotiations revalue eu citizens and the contribution they make to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the uk. arthur is those eu citizens and their family members who arrived our resident and are eligible after five years of continuous and lawful residence, to

apply for indefinite leave to remain. caroline nokes. march the 1st is the meteorological start of spring, hard to believe right now, it's also st david's day and a chance for a few non—welsh speakers to have a go at the traditional greeting. cani can i wish everybody is dydd g yl dewi hapus. iam can i wish everybody is dydd g yl dewi hapus. i am told that is happy st davids day in welsh. dydd g yl dewi hapus. happy st davids day. and how about with a scottish accent and this is how it should be done. dydd g yl dewi hapus. happy davids day. congratulations to the leader and the shadow leader for using the welsh language. which we

we re allowed using the welsh language. which we were allowed to use recently in the welsh grand committee in this house andl welsh grand committee in this house and i was pleased to make a speech in the welsh language. as the leader considered whether that very welcome extension could be extended into the chamber now that technology makes it perfectly possible to have a freewheeling house of commons style debate using translation equipment? but there was some bad news for those wanting more talk when the beast from the east meets storm emma, one of the victims is the business of this house. at the request of welsh members, the scheduled debate on saint david stay and welsh affairs this afternoon has been cancelled so they can travel home safely. the weather intruding on commons business once more, something pete wishart was keen explore — sort of. there are only two real items of business and that is the beast of the east and the foreign secretary.

0ne the east and the foreign secretary. one is out delivering havoc and chaos wherever it goes on the other is of course the beast from the east. pete wishart with an entirely spontaneous gag. and that's it from us for now but do join me at 11:00pm on friday night on bbc parliament for our round up of the week in parliament. we'll be looking back at the big events of the last few days here at westminster, and looking at brexit and devolution. as wales and scotland ramp up the pressure on the westminster government to make sure powers over things like food and fishing go to them after brexit. but for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye hello, we have seen treacherous

conditions quite widely across the uk. and scenes like this as a result of the heavy snow earlier on, we had this red warning from the met office for the south—western parts of wales. we still have some warnings of more snow to come as we head into the morning. across northern ireland and scotland and through the central belt and the north—east of england, frequent snow showers and those warnings expire at ten a:m.. this amber warning that the south where we have seen the focus of snowy weather noticeably across hampshire. that is due to storm emma which has pushed northwards into the cold are, the beast from the east, the cold easterly wind, the snow is pushing further away from the south—west and perhaps things will be so bad by the time we get to the end of the night. but it will be cold but not as cold because there is cloud around and we still have the strong easterly winds. there is the threat of more

snow on friday. we have the snow showers across scotland and the north east of england & full belt. snow threatens northern ireland and we could see more snow arriving in southern parts of england and on to wales, especially into the afternoon. how quickly and widely in moves northwards, still a lot of uncertainty. we still have this bitter easterly wind. another cold day to come. but things will change over the weekend. instead of the bitter, easterly wind we will push up bitter, easterly wind we will push up something more from the south. this is less cold air and it will percolate its way north slowly but surely over the next few days. cold winds for the northern half of the uk and snow showers coming in off the north sea. we may have a lot of cloud further south but the most pa rt cloud further south but the most part it will be dry. still the threat of rain coming into southernmost counties, 0verland and over the hills, the threat of snow. messi picture for saturday. the winds easing down and temperatures

won't be so low. snow working northwards towards the borders of northern england on sunday. to the south of that we may see some rain and perhaps some sleet and snow mixed in. but it is not as cold and not going to be purely snow as it has been, a mixture of wintry weather. temperatures rising, even across scotland will be as low as recently. we will lose the cold, easterly wind. still be cold for most of us this weekend but not as cold and still the risk of rain and snow. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america

and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a potential trade war looms as president trump announces he'll impose steep import tariffs on steel and aluminium. one of russia's new generation of nuclear weapons unveiled by president putin — he says they can evade us defence systems. the agony goes on for the parents of the latest schoolgirls kidnapped in nigeria — they tell us their stories. and hoping for oscar glory — the profoundly deaf six—year—old who'll be joining the stars on the red carpet this weekend.