how do you start it again? the real geoffrey wellum was a modest man who said he was just doing his duty. we were, after all, fully armed fighter pilots doing a job, which was... defending our country against the king's enemies. and with geoffrey wellum's passing, of the few, only a handful remain. we don't want medals. we don't even want to be thanked but it's nice to be remembered because if we are remembered, it covers the whole lot of us, those that survived and those that paid the extreme sacrifice. squadron leader geoffrey wellum, who's died aged 96. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. well, many of us will see some rain at some point today which begs the question, when did it last rain

where you live? of course, the weather has been so drive for so long, rain and infrequent visitor during this very dry summer. on the satellite, a lump of cloud working down from the northwest, this is one weather front and another one working in the england. this one had been expected to stay across northern france but it has moved further northwards, bringing wet weather into kent and also a good pa rt weather into kent and also a good part of sussex. as we go once through the afternoon, we will continue to see rain across this pa rt continue to see rain across this part of the world. for scotland and northern ireland, most of the rain has eased through, the weather front still bringing wet weather across eastern scotland but we have plenty of showers following and it will stay quite cloudy and relatively cool compared with recent days. the band of rain will bring wet weather across particularly mid wales with heavy rain, and getting into the west midlands. the rain across kent and sussex will on and is here. then they should be

fewer showers for england and wales and perhaps more in the way of sunshine. further north and west, where frontier bringing cloud and the prospect of rain into the far north—west of northern ireland along with western scotland. ties up to 29 celsius to south—east england —— pies. it will get hotter into the early stage of next week. temperatures could reach here early in the week. it will be humid as well. this area of rain, just a little blip, then back to business as usual with more of that hot summer as usual with more of that hot summer weather in the next week. chris, thank you. just a reminder of oui’ chris, thank you. just a reminder of our main story this lunchtime... theresa may speaking in belfast

saying the eu needs to evolve its position on the irish border. time tojoin the news position on the irish border. time to join the news teams where you are and time for the sport is on the bbc news channel. good afternoon. it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. i'm chris mitchell. we start with the golf. birdies in the rain for rory mcilroy and tommy fleetwood. the leaderboard at the open on day two is starting to change. some of the big names, expected names, appearing... john watson is there for us. john, some of these big guys now are starting to roll the ball—mac m, —— ball—mac in, starting to look good? yes, let's start with the brits, with the changing conditions, more stick on the fairways and the greens proving more receptive, certainly the case for tommy fleetwood today who moved to 5—under, really

impressive road from him, producing three birdies in his front nine and three birdies in his front nine and three in his back nine, in what was a bogey free round frame. tommy fleetwood, the world number ten, who holds the course record at carnoustie. he was delighted, walking away, hiding an impressive score. as did rory mcilroy, one shot further back on ll—under —— carding and address of store. but a bogey at 15 saw him drop a shot further back —— an impressive score. consecutive 69s for rory mcilroy. still out at the moment is tiger woods, who is level par, slightly inconsistent round for him. three bogeys, three birdies, soa round for him. three bogeys, three birdies, so a little up and down for tiger woods today who has found himself in the rough at times. but let's look at the leaderboard where we will see we have a new leader currently in zachjohnson, the two—time major winner. won and opened previously of course. he is on 6—under. —— won an open. kevin

kisner, the overnight leader, and we can see tiger woods is currently level par at the moment. it will be a really interesting afternoon to, of course, chris, because as we know the fields will be cut at the end of the fields will be cut at the end of the second day, heading into the weekend, and we could see some big players miss that projected cut, expected to be around 3—over, so we could see the world number one just doing it dustin johnson could see the world number one just doing it dustinjohnson misses out. that is it from carnoustie at the moment and i will hand you back to jane in london. many thanks from john, and apologies to cut the sports build and short because we will head back to brussels. we have been talking about that speech in belfast by the pro—minister and this is the eu reaction. let's hear what they are saying... we agreed that more efforts are needed. so the withdrawal agreement can be

concluded. this will be exhilarated with a view to declaring a political declaration on the framework for the future relationship, and the eu work and preparedness needs to be stepped up. it was a unanimous situation when we discussed about the unity of the 27. it is absolutely key we keep up the 27. it is absolutely key we keep up the unity of the 27, and we fully support michel barnier and his team and ask him to virginia negotiations in line with our agreed positions. —— asking to continue negotiations. we also stress that for the member states it is a key issue that the irish border issue is solved. we still have no substantial progress on an operational backstop for the irish border. both parties are agreed that we need a backstop, and without a solution we have no deal and no transition. it is our aim to

reach a deal until october. the outcome is crucial because at the end of the day it is about the future of the people, businesses and european borders. the european union will continue to pursue its analysis of the white paper in line with the principles set out by the european council. i wa nt to set out by the european council. i want to thank michel barnier for his job and may i hand the floor to him? bonjour. .. translation: thank job and may i hand the floor to him? bonjour... translation: thank you, everyone , bonjour... translation: thank you, everyone, for being so patient. i would like to begin by thanking austria and the austrian presidency. i would like to wish them all the best but i would also like to thank them for having given us the opportunity at the beginning of their presidency to have a general

affairs council meeting. it was a long meeting, very intense meeting, but a very useful one for both my team and myself. everyone had the opportunity to share their analysis, their ideas, to put questions. i often say, ladies and gentlemen, that the unity of the 27, referred to there, unity confirmed today, it wasn't god—given, it is a unity that is achieved by listening to each other, by listening to the institutions, the european parliament, as well as the council, and for my team and myself, there is and for my team and myself, there is a degree of transparency and objectivity that we are going to continue applying, listening to each and every member state. so thank you very much, austrian presidency, again, for having taken this initiative, and as i say i would like to wish you all the best for the austrian presidency, because you're the north of the presidency

ata you're the north of the presidency at a key moment, because it is during the austrian presidency that we will have to reach an agreement oi'i we will have to reach an agreement on these negotiations with the uk, an agreement on the withdrawal as well as the political decoration. there are 13 weeks left. at the moment our main aim is to continue and conclude on the withdrawal agreement. as you know, what is in green is agreed so it percent has already been agreed with the british, then in parallel to this, once we have finalised this agreement, we need to work with the uk to come up with a joint political declaration on the future relationship. now, this morning, as requested, i shared our analysis with the 27 ministers. this was at the end of a new week of

negotiations, and in the light of the discussions we had yesterday with the new brexit minister, dominic raab, i had a very useful and cordial meeting with him yesterday. as you know, a few days ago we received the uk's white paper oi'i ago we received the uk's white paper on the future relationship. as you know, this white paper is the result ofa know, this white paper is the result of a very intense internal debate in the united kingdom, a debate that was necessary, and i think we've all seen that this debate in the uk is not over yet. as i said to the ministers, there are several elements in this white paper that does open the way to a constructive discussion leading to the political declaration on future relationship. let nick watt a few of the positive elements. the proposal for a free—trade agreement, which will be at the very heart of our future economic relations. now, basically,

we have an key proposal they are, that this was part of the council guidelines, namely that we need a free trade agreement. the second element, a commitment to a level playing field, especially regarding state aid and the rules on employment and the environment, and thirdly a broad convergence on the need, in fact on the absolute need, to cooperate on both internal and external security. on this point, what is actually very important and positive in the uk white paper is the guarantees that are going to be provided for defending fundamental rights and the recognition of the role to be played by the european court ofjustice as sole arbiter. why is that important? because this breakthrough, with the support of

the uk and the european court of human rights, means that the exchange of data will be made easier between the uk and us, whilst protecting the fundamental rights of citizens. so this opens up the possibility of us extending our offer on internal security cooperation in particular. as to the future economic partnership, the white paper has raised the series of issues —— three series of issues which i put forward, and we have questions we have put to the uk and we await answers. firstly, the white paper proposals, we need to see if they are compatible with the principles set out by the 27 heads of government and state at the european council meeting in march. in fact, even before march, when the negotiations began in june in fact, even before march, when the negotiations began injune 2016, these were principles reiterated by these were principles reiterated by the foreign minister. integrity of the foreign minister. integrity of

the single market and a customs union, the indivisibility of the four freedoms, and the respective economy of the 27 member states... these are the key elements that will need the mandate of the european council. in my mandate, and i will be scrupulously respecting them right at the end. of course our main aim is to protect the eu's single market, to protect what we are at this moment in time. let me give you one example. the uk says that they are willing to align itself on the eu standards for goods, but only for goods that are checked at the border. the uk consequently would not align itself to our food rules as regards gm alls, pesticides,

because the respect of these rules is not checked at the border —— gmos and pesticide rules. this was in fa ct and pesticide rules. this was in fact made clear to us. how can we protect consumers in europe? we have a duty of care to protect consumers and the single market. on which basis could be except the free circulation of goods? so that is a question we have put to the uk. the second question. are these white paper proposals workable? are these white paper proposals workable ? are are these white paper proposals workable? are they applicable without any additional complexity or additional bureaucracy? five sample, additional bureaucracy? five sample, a regulatory alignment on goods —— for example. and in doing also on the facilitated customs arrangements as proposed by the uk. as you have seen as proposed by the uk. as you have seen would mean two tariffs would be

applied, either the uk seen would mean two tariffs would be applied, eitherthe uk or union tariff or goods that are going to go to the uk market or whether they are going to go to the european market. so this creates practical problems. for example, how can the customs services verify the final destinations of the goods so as to choose the correct tariff and ensure that they apply the correct tariff? is there not a major risk of fraud? what would be the financial and administrative extra costs for businesses, given this new dual system? businesses, given this new dual system ? brexit cannot businesses, given this new dual system? brexit cannot and will not justify additional bureaucracy. what would the impact be if the uk has tariffs lower than the eu tariffs? what impact would it have on the finances of the member

states? and such a complex system would also raise the more fundamental question, how could the eu delegate the application of eu tariffs to a country that is no longer a member state, that is no longer subject to out state, that is no longer subject to our rules of governance? and is it possible, is a legally feasible, and then a third set of questions we put to the uk... either british proposals in the interests of the eu? as we said, our aim is to protect the interests of the year these negotiations —— are the year these negotiations —— are the british proposals. by definition, a common rule book for goods would not only cover services, because the uk wants to be free to divert on the rules for services. now, as you know, in any product —— diverged on the rules. for example, your telephone. between 20—40% of

the value of this good is linked to services. so how will we avoid unfair competition via the services? because the uk would be free to diverged on services. so how can we avoid unfair competition? how good an autonomous british trade independence be feasible? —— how could an autonomous. how can we allow that, how can we avoid uk companies having a significant competitive edge these the eu companies? —— regarding the eu companies? —— regarding the eu companies? these are the significant questions are put to the uk delegation. speking in english:

speaking in english: our main focus will and must be the finalisation of the agreement. let me repeat, it is the prerequisite. also for the transition period, and for creating the trust that we need, to build a solid partnership for the future. this requires in particular, as you mentioned, a legally operative backstop, an all—weather insurance policy to address the issues of ireland and northern ireland, and all 27 member states insist on this. why? we are committed to protecting ireland and northern ireland against the consequences of brexit, and to preserve the good friday agreement

in all its dimensions. i said this on my last visit to ireland, northern ireland, a few weeks ago, where i engaged with stakeholders across both communities. both communities. let me simply recall the commitment taken by prime minister theresa may to have a backstop, in her letter to president tuskin backstop, in her letter to president tusk in march, and the respect of this commitment is essential. and i made clear yesterday, the dominic raab, that we are not asking for border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. what we need is checks on goods, checks on goods, because the uk wants to leave the single market, the customs union, and our common commercial policy. we cannot afford to lose time on this issue. and this is why we have

invited the uk to work on the backstop next week. we are open to any solutions, any solutions, as long as they are workable and can be transformed into a legally operative text in time for the withdrawal. even if you want to reach a deal, it is also our responsibility to be prepared for all scenarios, including a no deal. the european council said we have to step up preparation at all levels for all scenarios. and the communication adopted yesterday by the commission should be read in this context. we are encouraging national administrations and companies to use the time we have, because it is short, very short, to accelerate these preparations. finally, ladies and gentlemen, we have to lead a course. . . and gentlemen, we have to lead a

course... translation: on the outstanding issues, in the withdrawal agreement. this of course includes the issue of ireland and northern ireland, the most serious issue, but also the british military basesin issue, but also the british military bases in cyprus and obviously gibraltar. each of these issues is important and we need an agreement on each and every one of these issues, agreement on them as necessary prior to us adopting the withdrawal agreement. they are necessary. with the uk, we also need to draw up the joint political declaration on our future relationship. this is by october. at this stage in negotiations, we don't have many weeks left, but actually it is not a matter of needing more time, it is a matter of choosing the right decisions and being absolutely clear, because after all we are creating an international, legal

treaty, so we need legal certainty and legal clarity. so the earlier we can achieve this certainty and clarity, the earlier we can start discussions on our future partnership. we want this to be as ambitious as possible, not only on trade and on the economic front, but on other areas of common interest. and also so we can have a strategic partnership, it would have an internal security aspect to it, as well as a foreign policy and respect aspect to it. thank you. weird as a microphone for a couple of questions. we address microphone for a couple of questions. please tell us a couple of questions. please tell us who you are, and we will. —— we now have time for a couple of questions. from the, guardian. michel barnier, you raised these questions, was that a polite way of saying no to the british proposals?

can you also say how much agreement on these points you expect in the political declaration, and are you conscious of the fact that the british pro minister will find it difficult to sell that political declaration and to sell the withdrawal unless there is sufficient detail? —— the british prime minister. is that a factor weighing on your mind? thank you. translation: first of all you will find that i am always very polite. i can put issues and disagreements and alerts in very, very polite terms, andi alerts in very, very polite terms, and i will continue to do this, because as i have been saying from the outset in my attitude as a european negotiator, there will never be any trace of aggressiveness oi’ never be any trace of aggressiveness or of desire for revenge, anything

like this, for quite a number of reasons. i work and i wish to work on the half of the 27, and the european parliament, towards an agreement, the an orderly withdrawal, and of course future relations. it is within that constructive spirit that we have read and will continue to examine the ideas which the united kingdom has published, which is a good thing of course because it facilitates the discussion. i recalled a number of positive and important points in the white paper which will be useful elements when it comes to constructing an agreement on the various chapters or points of a future political decoration, future relations, and of course that applies to the point of economic religions as well, there we still have quite a number of questions. questions which we are asking, to be able to better understand how the uk proposals might work. for example, an customs. there are issues there that we on the commission services don't understand. it needs to be

workable. clearly, these proposals and ideas likely fill complied with the guidelines from the european council, the four freedoms, the guidelines from the european council, the fourfreedoms, the integrity of the single market. we're not going to negotiate on those, of course, because that is what the uk wishes to leave, and we need to find best possible relations, never to the detriment of the single market and the unity of that market. irish times. you will be aware that mrs may has made a speech in belfast today in which she has reiterated her belief that the only way to do the backstop is on an all uk basis. i wonder if you would respond to that. you've already largely rejected that proposal. is

there a way forward on that? secondly, there have been reports the commission is preparing an alternative draft to the protocol. is that the case? and how far has that developed? translation: in these negotiations, i've always tried to say things simply, and also always tell the truth. this is the most serious and most difficult problem. the european council and the member states insisted that if we are to have a withdrawal agreement, and we want an orderly withdrawal, they insisted that we have a legally workable solution in the withdrawal agreement on ireland. and then if we find a

better solution in the future relationship, then we can replace one by the other, but in the meantime if we want a withdrawal agreement we need an operational solution in order to preserve the good friday agreement in all its dimensions, so as to avoid a hard border. this was also agreed to buy theresa may. that's all i can say. obviously, i listened to speeches, i follow visits, but this was agreed in march in a letter addressed by theresa may to the president of the union council, donald tusk. —— of the european council. now, we, ourselves, have been creative and flexible in our work. we have proposed one solution, but as i said earlier on at no moment whatsoever

was at our intention to create a border in the irish sea between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. we have never wanted that, but we need to find the right place and the right time to carry out checks, checks that we need to protect consumers and to protect the single market. so what really is at stake here is the work that has to be done, pragmatic work, pragmatism, we need to look at which checks have to be carried out. now, we have the lists of all the checks that have to be carried out at external borders that are currently carried out at the borders of the uk, finland, greece and portugal. these checks are already carried out, a whole host of checks, so we have to look at the list of checks to be carried out and see how on the island of ireland we can carry out these checks. we talk about technical

controls on the goods. obviously there is no problem with this situation of people. —— circulation of people. i would plead with you, please, let's the dramatise —— take the drama out of this whole issue of the drama out of this whole issue of the checks and the backstop. we need to ta ke the checks and the backstop. we need to take out the drama. that is my answer, and i would just like to reiterate what was agreed on at the earlier levels of the negotiations, and today's ministers agreed we need to respect what has been agreed already. politico. given the difficulty of ireland border issue and if there is no deal, no withdrawal agreement, there is also no backstop, is there any reason you couldn't push the discussion of the backstop into the transition which provide its own backstop, the standing place transition, and give yourself the 21 months more to talk about ireland issue? is there a reason why it absolutely has to be

donein reason why it absolutely has to be done in the withdrawal treaty before march 29, 2019? for ireland and all parts of