work, is a source relationship will work, is a source of uncertainty. business responds to uncertainty by slowing down investment. households respond to uncertainty by postponing big purchases. that has a dampening effect on the economy. yes, it has an impact. as we go through this year, i would an impact. as we go through this year, iwould hope an impact. as we go through this year, i would hope and expect that, as we deliver more and more clarity about what the future of our relationship with the european union will be, we start to see that affect unwinding, businesses starting to deal with the backlog of investment, and households feeling a bit more confident about making big purchases. all of those things will have a positive effect on the economy. is pin as you can see from the backdrop, speaking in washington, dc, not new york. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has warned there is still a chance that talks on britain's withdrawal deal from the bloc could fail. mr barnier said that while three—quarters of the deal had been agreed, the irish border issue remained a key stumbling block.

our correspondent gavin lee is in brussels and gave us the latest. this is the eu chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, making crystal clear that while three quarters they are in agreement on between the uk side and the eu side on the brexit deal, or the withdrawal agreement that both the uk and the european parliament have to ratify by march next year, the last 25%, well, because of the serious issues involved, he said it could be problematic and it risks failure comic he said. the chief problem being the border between the republic and northern ireland. this is what he had to say on french tv earlier today. translation: for the moment, we are preparing the orderly withdrawal of the uk with 25% is not agreed. that includes serious issues, especially the question of ireland. the other issue today is that some newspapers have been reporting that there are problems

between the british under the european side when it comes to the northern ireland border specifically. the bbc understands that the eu have said they have ruled out, line by line, the two chief proposals being put forward of how you solve the issue. one of them is having what they call a partnership for customs, basically all of the duties paid for on the northern ireland side by the british government for goods going to the eu, and having an alignment, basically having technology used for scanning, a trusted scheme for vehicles and smaller vehicles being able to move freely through that 300 mile border. the eu side, we understand, say at the moment it simply is unacceptable, it is inappropriate for the size of the border. the british side, a spokesperson for the prime minister saying today that they believe that is not their understanding of the negotiations so far and they will keep going ahead, they believe there isa keep going ahead, they believe there is a reachable solution. essentially, there are more rounds of talks, but four, before a key summit of the eu injune. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines: commonwealth leaders meeting

in windsor today agree that prince charles will, one day, succeed the queen as head of the organisation. goon but not forgotten — after nearly 22 years in charge, arsene wenger will step down as arsenal manager at the end of the season. the clear up in salisbury continues, as government scientists warn the decontamination of nine hot spots could take months. specman just to explain, normally at this time on a friday you would expect the film review with mark kermode. we haven't forgotten about it, it is coming. however, we are waiting for a news conference from the heads of the commonwealth. the film review is coming up at 8.1i5 tonight. you can see it as usual and it will run as usual over the weekend as well. not running in this

slot because we are waiting for that news c0 nfe re nce to slot because we are waiting for that news conference to get under way. it is the formal end of the commonwealth meeting. it hasn't quite got under way yet, but once it does get under way, we will carry that for you. let's talk about another big event. this sunday's london marathon promises to be one of the hottest in the history of the event. organisers have warned runners to take precautions — with temperatures forecast to exceed twenty degrees. but anticipation is running high for other reasons, mo farah is competing in the men's race for the first time since quitting his track career, as our sports correspondent, joe wilson, reports. this is the same mo farah. what's different is the distance and the scenery. on the track, he beat everyone, everywhere, but moving to the marathon — 26 miles, 35 years old, he warns us to be realistic. is going to be totally different.

it's one of the big marathons in the world. it has brought in most of the best runners. the best runners do turn up here, so sunday's race is going to be a difficult one. i'm ranked number 27, so we'll see! but the thing is, mo, knowing you, you're not going to have gone on this marathon journey without thinking it's going to end in glory. it has to end in tokyo with a gold medal, doesn't it? no, it is possible, and my aim is to be able to run as many marathons as i can, to learn about them, and to run decent times. he's got about 30 seconds to get across that line. in 1984, a welshman called steve jones who worked for the raf completed his first marathon in chicago. he ran the distance quicker than anyone ever before. jones still holds the british marathon record set in the 1980s. does he think farah will break it on sunday? without a doubt, in my mind. even if the conditions

are warm at the weekend, where has he been training? he has been training in ethiopia. i don't see much snow or rain around in the many pictures i have seen of him training, so this is going to be like a training run for him. but for the masses, the heat will be a challenge. this year, think carefully before wearing fancy dress, the organisers advise. but the marathon will always push runners to the limit, that is the point. remember this from last year? david wyeth helped to the finishing line by matthew rees, two strangers united, and they are back this year, urging competitors to be sensible. you've got to pay attention to the weather, you've got to rein in the pace and maybe this year isn't the one for a pb, but it's certainly going to be one to be enjoyed. and you're not going to be stopping for this guy this year, no? well, i hope not, we'll bothjust run our own race and see each other at the end. matt is a great runner and he's even more inspired these days to get out in front and stay out in front, don't cross paths with me! as for mo farah, well, he knows what the photographers need. london's organisers acknowledge he's being paid a lot to compete here, but told me he is worth every penny.

joe wilson, bbc news, tower bridge. full coverage on bbc television and radio. we're expecting the closing news conference at the commonwealth heads of government meeting in the next few minutes. let's get thoughts of ben brown, following this throughout. he is at buckingham palace. that was the focus of all of the pomp and ceremony focus of all of the pomp and ceremony yesterday. we close tonight with confirmation about succession. yes, really i suppose it was here yesterday morning at the palace, in the ballroom, where the queen started the ball rolling on the issue of succession, she said, it is my sincere wish that when the time

comes her son and heir prince charles takes over as head of the commonwealth. it is not a hereditary position, so they have to agree that. we understand they have done at the closed session at windsor castle today. this news conference we are about to see, at marlborough house, we may or may not get an official announcement on that. we are not quite sure how that is going to be announced. certainly, there area to be announced. certainly, there are a lot of other issues. maybe this question of succession has overshadowed the summit, but there are plenty other important issues they were talking about, leaders that represent 2.4 billion people around the world, a vast swathes of the world's population. they have been talking about environment, protection of the oceans, the blue charter as they call it, how best to stop the pollution of the oceans with plastic and much else besides. they have also been talking about cyber security in the wake of the threat from russia about the global security order as well. and trade,

from britain's point of view, trade is very important in the post—brexit era, when we leave the european union we will be looking for new trading partners within the commonwealth in particular. here are the leaders. theresa may, the british prime minister, will speak for about five minutes. the secretary general as well of the commonwealth, patricia scott. there will be taking statements afterwards, but opening statements first. on the seat of your chairs when you came in, the commonwealth is issuing five press releases today, plus a communique. it is all there for you to read. it is also all online on the commonwealth website and we have e—mailed it to all chogm accredited journalists. we have a fabulous turnout of heads of government to tell us how the week has gone. my immediate right, theresa may, prime minister of the united kingdom. to her right, patricia scotland, secretary general of the common wealth. next to her,

the president of ghana. next to the president of ghana is keith mitchell, the prime minister of grenade. finally, the prime minister of samoa. there is one thing we can all agree on, what a fabulous host the uk government started out to be. i would like to ask theresa may, the prime minister of the uk, to give her remarks. prime minister? thank you very much. this week, we have demonstrated that the commonwealth is united, not only by a common history, but by a common future. a future in which we work together for the benefit of all of our citizens and for the wider world. when many of the greatest challenges we face are global in nature, the bracket of the commonwealth, spanning six continents and a third of the world's population, offers a unique perspective on helping to forge the

global solutions we need. no other organisation has our geographical and cultural diversity, while giving all nations and equal role, and equal voice, and an equal standing. this week we have come together to reach a series of shared commitments that will help to build a more secure, more sustainable, more prosperous and fairer future for all. this is the first time that security has been a central theme of our leaders meeting. we have shown our leaders meeting. we have shown our resolve to stand together in defence of the rules—based international system, and in defiance of those that threaten us all by seeking to undermine it. earlier this month, the assad regime violated international rules on the most egregious way by using chemical weapons in an indiscriminate and barbaric attack on its own people. while of a much lower auger of magnitude, the use of a nerve agent on the streets of salisbury in the

united kingdom last month is part of a pattern of disregard for those same global norms that prohibit the use of chemical weapons. at this summit, the commonwealth has shown that it will play its part in a renewed international effort to uphold the global norms that say these abhorrent weapons should never, ever be used. the communique we have agreed today expresses our unanimous opposition to the use of these weapons, and our commitment to strengthen the effective limitation of the chemical weapons convention. we must also update our shared international norms so they can protect us from you —— new and emerging threats online. we have assembled the most geographical diverse commitment on cyber security commitment. the, well cyber declaration will help protect our people and businesses from ever more sophisticated digital threats, and counter those who would abuse the

freedom of the internet to undermine our values, our security and even our values, our security and even our democracy. when it comes to building a more sustainable future, there are few more authentic voices than the commonwealth, with many island states severely affected by extreme weather events and the scourge extreme weather events and the scourge of plastics polluting our oceans. indeed, we are in london today because of the devastation wrought by cyclone pam in 2015. we are proud of every nation of the commonwealth has ratified the paris agreement. we are united behind the effo rts agreement. we are united behind the efforts to limit the average temperature rise. after summit, we have taken specific action to protect oceans with the first—ever combo blue charter.

we are tackling the scourge of plastic pollution. we are already seeing a series of commitments that can mark the battle to save our notions. —— oceans. belize will ban plastic bags, forks and other single use items by 2019. new zealand has announced a ban on microbeads that will come into effect injune. the bahamas is planning to ban plastic bags this year and the uk has pledged to ban plastic straws, steer and plastic stand cotton buds. it is only the beginning of what would be our agenda for our time in office. a more sustainable future also means stepping up the fight for better

global health. with over 90% of commonwealth citizens living in malaria affected countries, the, well has a particular duty to lead international efforts to tackle this deadly disease. so, earlierthis week i called on commonwealth leaders to pledged to half malaria across the commonwealth by 2023. i am pleased this has been agreed today. in building a more prosperous future, it is the mob booed first, wealth summit to make a unanimous statement on the need to fight protectionism. i declaration on the connectivity agenda on trade and investment will help expand investment will help expand investment and boost commonwealth trade to a value of $2 trillion by 2030. we will play a leading role in shaping the future of global trade policy am using our unique perspective to ensure that free and fair trade is truly works for everyone. this includes stepping up effo rts everyone. this includes stepping up efforts to share the technical