this is bbc news. these are the top stories developing at 11... cabinet crunch talks for a no—deal brexit. ministers meet for a special session as the government publishes contingency plans for driving licences and passports. it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. one of the consequences of leaving without a deal, as reg retta ble leaving without a deal, as regrettable and unlikely as i think that would be, i am confident we could get a good deal, but we need to prepare for all eventualities. life—threatening waves and rainfall as hurricane florence bears down on the east coast of america. a weather warning for asia as well — thousands evacuate the coastal areas in northern philippines as a super typhoon approaches. challenging times forjohn lewis as profits slump 99%, its boss says uncertainty over brexit is partly to blame. also this hour, tougher sentences for people found guilty of assaulting emergency services workers.

the new law will double the amount of time offenders can be sent to prison for. and a miracle recovery for this 10—year—old boy, after falling face first on a meat skewer. good morning. it is thursday the 13th of september. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. theresa may is holding a special three—hour cabinet meeting to discuss the preparations for a no—deal brexit. the meeting comes as the government prepares to release its latest set of guidance papers on the implications of leaving without a deal, including on mobile phone roaming charges, passports and driving licenses. meanwhile, the brexit secretary

dominic raab has said the uk will not pay its divorce bill to the eu in the event of a no—deal. our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. since last summer, you've been able to go anywhere in the eu without paying extra for calls, texts, or data included in your mobile phone tariff. but if britain left the eu without a deal, that could end. the government has said consumers will be protected. we'll also get details on what might happen to driving licences. currently, those issued in the uk are automatically recognised across the eu. but a no—deal brexit could change that, too. it could also affect how eu countries treat british citizens travelling abroad on holiday, with reports that anyone with less than six months left on their passport could be turned away. the brexit secretary dominic raab has said that leaving the eu without a deal is highly unlikely, but there are still big sticking points in the negotiations to reach an agreement. how to avoid a hard border in northern ireland is one major stumbling block.

yesterday, conservative mps opposed to the government's plan set out their alternative solution and called on the prime minister to change her stance. now, theresa may is sticking firmly to her plan, but she knows many in her party don't like it, and talk of a leadership challenge this week may continue if she comes back from brussels with a deal her own mps don't like. jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. our assistant political editor, norman smith is outside downing street. hello to you. as we could ever closer to march next year, what are your thoughts on the mood of the cabinet in the meeting today?” think it will be a fairly sanguine mood inside. because, let's face it, there is now a realistic prospect

that if theresa may doesn't get a deal, or if her chequers deal is voted down in parliament, that we could indeed be leaving the eu in april next year without any sort of deal. there is no real pressure to put in place credible plans in the event that we do not manage to secure some sort of agreement. that is part of what today is about. it is part of what today is about. it is trying to ensure that individual departments are seriously looking at what it might mean for their individual areas, trying to make sure each different government department is across what other people are doing. and, yes, to give some departments a bit of a kick up the backside to get a move on with preparations. there is also, let's be honest, an element of political theatre about this. it is also designed to send a message to the eu that mrs may is indeed serious that if she can't get a deal, yes, she is prepared to walk away from the table without any agreement. that is why we have heard from dominic raab, the

brexit secretary this morning, saying, look, if you guys don't give us saying, look, if you guys don't give us the deal we want, we are not going to give you the £39 billion divorce bill that you want. i wouldn't pay the amount that has been agreed as part of the financial settlement, but i think we would recognise our strict legal obligations, and i think that would be significa ntly, substantially lower. and of course it's notjust the issue of quantum. i come back to that. it's the rate of payment, and the way in which it's done. and we will be haggling for every penny, and paying effectively the bare minimum. i think you could expect that. i think we just need to be clear about that. that's nothing new. the prime minister said it this week, i said it before and i think it's well understood because, of course, the eu say that there is no deal until we get the whole deal. interestingly, mr raab wrote a article in the daily telegraph this morning. i thought he struck quite a cautious note about the possible locations of no deal, acknowledging

that there would be delays and disruption, and costs for business, and that no deal was certainly not better than negotiating some sort of free trade agreements. you talk to some of the ardent brexiteers, however, and they remain very, very relaxed about the idea of going onto world trade organisation terms. listen to bernard jenkin, he was asked what people would make of it if we went out a deal. i don't think people will notice. honestly, the idea that somehow there is going to be a blockade of the channel ports, and — as the brexit secretary says himself — we're not going to run out of food, we're not going to run out of medicines. this is absolutely absurd. unless the eu are such a bad organisation that they want to inflict these problems on their own people, and on particularly ireland, as well as ourselves. i don't think they want to do that. i think sense will prevail. the other part of the stick waving

exercises for number 10 to wave a bit of a stick at some of mrs may's own backbenchers, who are highly critical of the chequers plan. the thinking being tojust critical of the chequers plan. the thinking being to just try and put the squeeze on them, to say if you do not like the chequers plan, then really we are heading to no deal and all that entails. part of it is just putting a bit of pressure on them in the hope that some of them will blink and crack, and come round to supporting her chequers plan. norman, thank you very much. let's get more reaction from the labour mp and chair of the commons brexit select commitee, hilary benn. he's in our westminster studio. thank you very much for your time today. so, picking up on this notion of stick waving that norman smith was talking about, do you think this morning was the right time for dominic raab to talk about the divorce bill and non—payment thereof, if there isn't a deal?” think the government should be focusing on trying to get a deal. of

course, it is prudent to plan for no deal. but now that we know that no deal. but now that we know that no deal would be the worst possible outcome, for the government to be planning how it would deal with delays at ports, queries about whether our driving licences would operate. we saw from the last group of documents published in august, queries about the payment of pensions to british citizens living in other european countries. we need to focus on getting a deal. but i think the focus on no deal is, in part, about trying to handle the open warfare that has affected the conservative party when it comes to brexit. the subject matter being discussed today, of course, is deeply relevant to many people, what will happen to mobile phone charges in the event of brexit, a deal or no deal, passports, driving licences. how concerned deal, passports, driving licences. how concerned are deal, passports, driving licences. how concerned are you about these areas and what are your hopes for the best outcome in what we might hear today? of course i am

concerned. that is why i say that no deal would be the worst possible outcome. it would be very damaging to the country, to business, and it would affect people's lives, as the government is now finally admitting. but i don't think on the european side they really believe that we would want to walk away without a deal. i think the problem at the moment is this. it took the government two years to come to an agreement in the cabinet about what it is they were going to ask for. the problem is that the centre of thatis the problem is that the centre of that is an arrangement for customs and a common rule book, which, when we saw michel barnier at the select committee in brussels last week, he told us was not acceptable to the european union. now, the government propose that, because they recognise not only do we want tariff free trade, we want to keep trade friction free, so that those lorries coming off the ferries at dover can continue theirjourney, acting at the lifeblood for british industry. therefore, the problem the prime minister has now is that the eu has said, i'm afraid that is not

acceptable. there is another way of achieving the same outcome, which is for the united kingdom to remain in a customs union. but the government's redlines prevent them from taking this step. the prime minister has an important choice to make. business will not thank her if we end up with no deal because her red lines prevented herfrom getting a sensible dealfor red lines prevented herfrom getting a sensible deal for british industry, investment and the jobs it supports. how concerned are you about the comments from the brexit secretary this morning, thinking that when it comes to the crunch point that mps will vote for a deal of some sort, simply because they do not want to plunge into the relative unknown of a no deal scenario. presumably, you would like things to be rather firmer than that, presumably, you would like things to be ratherfirmer than that, not leaving mps just depending be ratherfirmer than that, not leaving mstust depending on be ratherfirmer than that, not leaving mps just depending on a hunch, awkward feeling?” leaving mps just depending on a hunch, awkward feeling? ithink leaving mps just depending on a hunch, awkward feeling? i think that goes to the heart of it. if we end up goes to the heart of it. if we end up with a deal which has a fairly

vague political declaration, because the first part of these negotiations we re the first part of these negotiations were never going to reach agreement about all of the detail about our future relationship, consumer rights, data, all of the things that have to be negotiated in part two once we have the transition period, if mps sit there and say, you know what, you asking us to vote for something when we have absolutely no idea what the future may bring. after all, we have more negotiating leveraged now than when we have left, and the reason for that would not be because it is not possible, is still not possible now to get greater certainty, it is because the government battle has adopted red lines that get in the way of a sensible brexit. in those circumstances, parliament might turn around the government and say we decline to approve this deal because it is missing certain things which you could now go and ask for. that remains to be seen, depending on the

shape of any agreement that is eventually reached. i hope very much there is one. because that is what we all want. hilary benn, thank you very much. breaking news in the last few moments, two russian men with the same names as moments, two russian men with the same names 3s those moments, two russian men with the same names as those accused by the uk over the novichok poisoning in salisbury have appeared on the russian state backed television, saying they were tourists visiting salisbury cathedral. he will have heard from russia, in the wake of the uk government naming is two individuals, dismissing the uk's claims that the men were in the country to carry out this mission, the poisoning with novichok. a little bit more detail, actually, coming in on this story. two men who look like the suspects, the suspects identified by police in the uk as

the key suspect in the salisbury poisoning have appeared on our tea, they confirm that they are the men in the footage. this is coming from sarah rainsford. —— have appeared on rt. translation: you really look like the pictures shown to us by the uk, who are you? klose we are those shown to you in the pictures. they are our real names. even now when you're talking about it, to tell the truth, you look very nervous. when you're life is turned upside down in a moment, one day it has changed our lives. on

the cctv footage, the famous coats and sniggers in salisbury, are those people you? yes, that is us. what we're doing there? our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town. salisbury, a wonderful town? we visit this wonderful town. salisbury, a wonderfultown? yes. there is the famous salsbury cathedral, famous not only in europe but the whole world. it is famous for its 123 metre spire, it is famous for its clock, one of the first ever created in the world that is still working. ruslan boshirov and alexander petrov, saying that they were tourists, visiting salisbury cathedral and their friends had been suggesting for a long time that they visited the town. the two men confirming that they are the two men seen in the footage revealed by police in the

uk. the government said these were the two suspects in the novichok poisoning, appearing on the state backed tv station, rt. thousands of people are continuing to leave their homes in north and south carolina, as hurricane florence closes in. the storm has weakened slightly, but heavy rainfall and flooding is still expected. our north america correspondent, laura trevelyan reports. here is the view of hurricane florence from space, as this powerful storm barrels across the atlantic towards america's east coast. if you have been asked to evacuate, don't wait. leave now. you put your life at risk by staying. the waves are beginning to pound the beach, as hurricane florence bears down on us. she poses a triple threat to life and property. storm surge twice as high as me, hurricane—force winds and catastrophic flooding, after what could be very heavy rainfall. the storm is expected

to stall and linger here. bill and charlotte hardison are obeying the order to evacuate. charlotte experienced the devastation of hurricane hazel here in 1954, and she's not hanging around. i just dread it for everybody. i dread it for us. i want my house to be here when i come back. but some plan to ride out the storm, like john and lloyd, who are braced for whatever it may bring. it's our home. we want to stay and make sure everything is ok and looked after. most have heeded the warnings though and fled. the monster storm is fast approaching. laura trevelyan, bbc news, north carolina. joining me now from wilmington in north carolina is cbs correspondent, mola lenghi. hello to you. are you feeling the

hurricane approaching now? you know, anita, the conditions have started to worsen here in the last hour or two. certainly not hurricane conditions, not even tropical storm conditions. we are feeling the wind started to pick up a little bit. for the most part, still very mild. in the most part, still very mild. in the next 2a hours we are expecting conditions to worsen progressively, especially going into the evening and the night hours. and this time tomorrow is when florence is expected to impact and make landfall on the carolina coast. what is all sense of how many people are heeding evacuation warnings, and how many are saying they are going to ride out the hurricane? well, millions of people up and down the coast appeared to have heeded the warnings here over the last 48 hours. we saw a mass exodus from north carolina, down to south carolina, people

moving west, moving inland to evacuate the most vulnerable coastal communities. by and large, most people have heeded the warnings. a lot of the beach towns in rights phil beach, all the way down to myrtle beach in south carolina, they are myrtle beach in south carolina, they a re really myrtle beach in south carolina, they are really ghost towns. that is something that is a good thing as far as emergency officials are concerned. you will always have some people that try to ride the storm out, especially once you start moving a little further inland, where the hurricane effects will have died down a little bit. there, the concern is flooding, rain. that sort of stuff. you will see more people hungry down in their homes and trying to ride it out. along the coastal communities, the really vulnerable areas where florence is supposed to not just vulnerable areas where florence is supposed to notjust make impact, but also kind of meander down the coast and linger down the coast, really potentially do some damage, these people, by and large, have heeded the warnings. they have told me time and time again, some of the

people i have spoken to has said that this one just feels different. this storm feels different. these are people that experienced hurricane at the hurricane. some people have lived here for decades, if not a generation, they have seen their share of hurricanes. the people around the north carolina coast, they sense that this will maybe different. that is why they have decided to head to save the ground. our weather presenter matt taylor is here to explain the science behind the hurricane that's forjoining me. i think he said 24 hours or so until we expect florence to make landfall, is that right? this is a massive storm. if we look at the satellite imagery of it, it cove rs a n at the satellite imagery of it, it cove rs an area at the satellite imagery of it, it covers an area the size of the uk and ireland, and it isjust barrelling towards them at the moment. as you said, it will be 24 hours before we see the centre of the storm getting very close to

land. that is when you will see the worst of the conditions begin. we are hearing that florence, as she approaches the coastline, is slowing down. what does that mean about the impact of this hurricane? it is coming up against a big area of high pressure to the north and west, which is almost buffering it, slowing it down. if it lingers around the coast offshore for any longer, you are still bringing in all of the moisture from the sea. you will see phenomenal amounts of rainfall. it's going to worsen the impacts of the storm surge. we are talking about potentially a four metre storm surge, as high as a double—decker bus. rainfall amounts as it lingers across the areas and only slowly moves inland, equivalent toa only slowly moves inland, equivalent to a years worth of rain in birmingham over three days. they are talking about catastrophic flooding and life threatening storm surge. the wind is only a small part of this, even though we are talking about gusts of 139 mph. even though it is downgraded to a category two storm, it is still extremely dangerous. but it is not the only

really big storm? by far the strongest storm of the years in the western pacific, to the east of the philippines. it is the equivalent of a category five hurricane, the strongest you can get. there is a bit of good news, the storm eye will be pushing a long a sparsely populated part of the philippines. it will go to hong kong or south—west china next week, areas which have had a lot of flooding recently. that could be an ongoing story as well. cabinet crunch talks for a ‘no—deal‘ brexit: ministers meet for a special session as the government publishes contingency plans for driving licences and passports. life—threatening waves and rainfall as hurricane florence bears down on the east coast of america. challenging times forjohn lewis

as profits slump 99%, its boss says uncertainty over brexit is partly to blame. in the sport, a former premier league footballer has urged clubs to hirea league footballer has urged clubs to hire a counsellor to help players with mental health. at his lowest point, he considered taking his own life. a 25 second advantage in the to the —— tour of spain. and paul collingwood is retiring from cricket, 22 years after making his first—class debut. he played in 28 test matches and led england to victory in 2010. i'll be back with those stories and more later. more on that headline story now.

thejohn lewis partnership has announced its profits were virtually wiped out in the first half of the year. profits at the retailer fell to almost zero in the first half of its financial year as its department store chain battled to match discounts by rivals. its chairman — sir charlie mayfield — spoke to the bbc‘s today programme about the results. i would obviously prefer that we were reporting a profit this morning. i would obviously prefer that we were reporting but there are very clear reasons, and they basically tracked back to what is going on in the market. this has been the most promotional market we have seen, at least for ten years. and the biggest single reason for the decline in profits is all about margins. and the biggest single reason for the decline in profits is all about margins. so, basically, all your rivals are selling things for a giant discount, and you are having to follow suit? well, this year... i mean, last year was quite a promotional year. but this year there has been twice as many extravaganza days as there were a year ago. and actually, the discounts have been even deeper. and we are never knowingly undersold, atjohn lewis. so, of course, we are matching that. and that affects margins. and it costs us in terms of profit.

our business correspondent emma simpsonjoins me now. john lewis has been one of these stores that managed to navigate its way through the woes of the high—street fairly unaffected. but actually we have dramatic news today? the figures are extraordinary. here is a business that made nearly £5.5 billion of sales, but was only able to eke out £1.2 million of profit for the first half of the year. you are right, it isa half of the year. you are right, it is a bit ofa half of the year. you are right, it is a bit of a bellwether. and i think what these figures show, it lays bare the challenges that we are seeing on the high street right now and department stores in particular. the other striking thing is that john lewis posted a loss of £19.3 million for the first half of the year. that is something that hasn't happened for a very long time. give us happened for a very long time. give us the detail of what is behind this? you heard charlie mayfield

talking, a lot of it has been down to price matching. john lewis have a policy of never knowingly being undersold. it has had it for 96 yea rs. undersold. it has had it for 96 years. you have seen rivals like debenhams and house of fraser discounting like mad. they have been on sale practically for the whole of the year. sojohn lewis asked to price match that. that has costed many millions of pounds. there are other factors. you have many millions of pounds. there are otherfactors. you have seen many millions of pounds. there are other factors. you have seen a wea kness other factors. you have seen a weakness in stirling, that has pushed up costs, making it more expensive to bring goods in, for instance. also, we're not buying as much home. we are buying more electrical thatjohn lewis, much home. we are buying more electrical that john lewis, but much home. we are buying more electrical thatjohn lewis, but that has impacted margins as well. it is a bit ofa has impacted margins as well. it is a bit of a perfect storm. they say in the second half of the year that is the big part of the year forjohn lewis and they are expecting to do much better there. there will be healthy profits in the back half of the year. john lewis partly blaming brexit, although dominic raab says

there is a temptation for businesses not doing well to blame brexit. john lewis is trying to make itself it, i guess, to weather storms by cutting some of the debt. did you say it was a 96—year—old trademark of being never knowingly undersold, is it going to have to change that? he was asked about that today and he said absolutely no. that policy is there for the good times and the bad. he said it was an important part of the relationship with the customer and it is going to stay. thank you very much. this the number of people in england waiting for nonurgent operations is at its highest level in more than a decade. that's according to the latest figures from nhs england. the total on the waiting list for routine surgery is at 4.12 million,

and that was the highest since august 2000 and seven. negotiations between british and french fishermen to end the row that has come to be known as the scallop wars in the english channel have collapsed. french fishermen have confronted their british counterparts in the channel in recent months — and industry leaders had been working to agree compensation for smaller fishing boats to stop fishing for the molluscs during a period when the french are banned under domestic law. the head of the french normandy fishing committee says the british rejected the last offer made. people found guilty of assaulting emergency services workers are to face tougher sentences. the new law, coming into effect from november, will double the art of time offenders can be sent to prison from six months to a year. attacked while on duty.

this bodycam footage shows a man, who was laterjailed, attacking police officers. that's four times! and this offender was filmed spitting 24 times at an officer. latest figures show there were 26,000 assaults on police officers and 17,000 on nhs staff. attacks on prison officers and firefighters are also on the rise. of course, for the very serious assault, you could still be put away for life. but we are now saying that if you spit at a police officer, if you threaten them, same with a prison officer, the sentence will be double what it was yesterday. there is already an offence of attacking a police officer, but the new law means that for the first time, similar protection will be extended to any emergency worker, including search and rescue staff, paramedics and volunteers. judges will also have to consider tougher sentences for other offences, such as gbh and sexual assault, if the victim is an emergency worker. the legislation will also give the power to take blood samples, with consent, from people who have spat at, or bitten emergency workers and exposed them

to the risk of infection. failing to provide a sample would be an offence. jenny kumah, bbc news. now it is time for a look at the weather forecast. let's get the latest from simon king. rather chilly this morning across many parts of england and wales had clear skies and those clear skies have translated into lovely blue skies at the moment. for much of england and wales, you have some sunshine like this one in northamptonshire. we will keep some sunshine into the afternoon. some fair weather clouds developing. more cloud the further north you go across england coming to scotland and northern ireland. a few showers drifting away into northern parts of england. still in the west of scotland. foremost it is a dry afternoon and the temperatures are getting up into the middle high teens, perhaps up to 20 celsius in

the south—east. through tonight, we will see clear skies again for england and wales and that means temperatures will get down to single figures, with cloud thickening up across scotland, northern ireland. here there will be our breaks of rain moving in. it is that rain that will move gradually southwards throughout friday. quite wet at times across scotland, northern ireland, eventually into wales. further south and east, largely dry and bright, temperatures again in the high teens. goodbye. this is bbc news. our latest headlines... the cabinet is meeting to discuss preparations for a no—deal brexit. ministers will then publish guidance on what would happen to mobile phone roaming charges, passports, and driving licenses. us officials are warning that hurricane florence remains extremely dangerous. it's weakened to a category two storm as it approached north and south carolina. but weather forecasters fear it may cause catastrophic floods when it hits the coast late on thursday or friday. thousands of people have begun evacuating coastal areas

of the philippines as a super typhoon approaches the country. the weather service there says it the stronger typhoon of the year so far. profits atjohn lewis have plunged by 99% in the first half of the year. it says it's been hit by the large number of sales and promotional events among its competitors. people who assault emergency workers such as nhs staff, fire crews and paramedics are to face longer prison sentences. the measures will come into force in november. and coming up, meet the ten—year—old boy who survived falling face first on to a meat skewer. sport now. good morning. a former premier league footballer has urged clubs to employ a councillor to help players

with their mental health. marvin sordell started his career at watford, played in the top flight for burnley and bolton and represented team gb at the london olympics. he suffered from depression for years and at his lowest point attempted suicided. from the age of six years old when you start playing football you are told what to do. and if you are playing for an academy side as a young player you get told what to drink, when to drink it, what to eat, how to recover, jim programmes, conditioning. even when you are away you get all these things. i think when it comes to the serious issue like depression and mental health, players are expected to then of their own back speak to someone. wea re rs, their own back speak to someone. wearers, like i said, in the moment you feel like you are a burden on people so you don't want to speak to people so you don't want to speak to people about it. it is difficult

when you are already not used to doing things off your own back to then do something like that as well. luke shaw could play for manchester united this weekend, that is despite suffering concussion during england duty. he was stretchered off in the match against spain and fa guidelines say that a player who suffers concussion should not play within 14 days. that is unless certain conditions are met. british cycling remains on course for a clean sweep of the grand tours. chris froome won the giro d'italia, geraint thomas the tour de france, and now simon yates is just a few days away from winning the vuelta a espana. fog was a factor on stage 17, and yate's lead was trimmed ever so slightly. however, he finished strongly enough to maintain a 25—second advantage over alejandro valverde. four stages remain with the finish line in madrid on sunday. the former england one—day captain paul collingwood is retiring

at the end of the season — 22 years after making his first—class debut. he played in 68 test matches, was part of three ashes winning sides and led england to victory at the icc world t20 in 2010. collingwood's final game for durham, at the age of 42, will be at home to middlesex, starting on 24th september. there's a huge fight in las vegas this weekend — gennady golovkin takes on saul canelo alvarez for three middleweight titles. it's a rematch, after theirfirst bout was controversially declared a draw. golovkin told the bbc‘s boxing correspondent, mike costello, that breaking bernard hopkins record of middleweight title defences is a huge motivation for him. it is very important to me. i know s0 it is very important to me. i know so many great fighters, legends, heroes, in the middleweight

division. if i beat the record i will be one step closer to a legend. it is huge for me. there are those who say he can make adjustments in the way that you can't from the first fight. what is your response to that? eight years as a champion. respect. since arriving in las vegas, one or two people have said to me he is smaller, he's going to be weaker. translation: it is then suggesting that in their own heads but i am preparing in the last few days. you are going to see the same man, days. you are going to see the same marl, same days. you are going to see the same man, same muscles, same size, same everything. the sport fight to look forward to. i'll have more for

you in the next hour. some news coming into words about the fatal accident on the m5 near taunton. we are told it happened around 8:40am this morning with one lorry and seven cars confirmed to have been involved. we are told sadly there are two fatalities and a number of seriously injured people have been taken to hospital. that detailed just coming in about a terrible accident on the m5 near taunton earlier this morning. if we get more details we will bring it to you. the two men named as suspects in the poisoning of sir guy scribble —— sergei skripal and his daughter have told the state owned tv channel. they went to see the

cathedral before returning by train. who are you? translation: we are those that you see in the pictures. are those your real name is? yes, they are our real names. to tell the truth, you look very names. to tell the truth, you look very nervous. names. to tell the truth, you look very nervous. what would you look like? when your very nervous. what would you look like ? when your life very nervous. what would you look like? when your life is turned upside down in a moment, injust one day it's changed our lives. on the cctv footage from london you wore those sneakers and jackets. were

those sneakers and jackets. were those people you? yes, it was us. what were you doing there? our friend had suggested we visit this wonderful town. sells brick of famous town? it is famous in the whole world for its 123 metres to the its clock. that is the two men identified by the uk as the suspects in the novichok poisoning in salisbury saying that they were simply tourists visiting the town. people found guilty of assaulting emergency services workers are to face tougher sentences. the new law, which will come in to effect from november, will double the amount of time for which offenders can be sent to prison, from six months to a year. jenny kumah reports. the rcn has been campaigning for a

change in the law. i assume you are pleased? it is the first law of its kind in england and wales covering health care workers. yes, we think it will make a real difference and it will make a real difference and it sends out a strong message that assaults against nhs health care workers are not to be tolerated. you think the law as it stood was not making a difference? there were sentencing guidelines that recommended assaults against workers we re recommended assaults against workers were treated more seriously. but by what we have been told by our members, it has not actually been put into action. it is a challenge to get a case to go to court in the first place and if it does then it is quite hard to get any sort of sentencing. you a sense as to why

more prosecutions are not arising from assaults on staff?” more prosecutions are not arising from assaults on staff? i think in the nhs it is a challenging situation. quite a few assaults are from patients who may be confused, not aware of what they're doing. so in some cases it is appropriate to go down a criminal route. there is a lot of under reporting as well, so people think nothing is going to be done so what is the point in reporting it? so i think this act will send out a strong message that actually this is not acceptable to assault and nhs nurse or a health ca re assault and nhs nurse or a health care worker. and the full force of the law will be against you. underlining all this of course are these attacks on people who are there to help others in times of need. can you tell us about some of the stories you have heard about these assaults? absolutely, it is a heartbreaking to hear some of the situation is our members find themselves in. punching, bites,

equipment being thrown at them and even sexual assaults as well, sickly when they're on their own either in a patient‘s home or an isolated part ofa a patient‘s home or an isolated part of a hospital. it is notjust the physical part of these attacks, it is the psychological impact as well. that can stay with people for a long time after the physical scars have healed. absolutely, it is not good for anybody, least of all the nursing staff who are being assaulted. as a final thought, presumably you would like to see some more prosecutions coming through the system ? some more prosecutions coming through the system? publicity around those prosecutions presumably to send the message out that this will not be tolerated and there is a tough action? absolutely. we want to say campaign behind this to push this forward and ultimately we want this forward and ultimately we want this to have a deterrent effect. we don't want to fill prisons, we know they are already stretched. nurses working prisons as well tell us

about situations they find themselves in. we want to see prosecutions but also a really strong message about the deterrent effect of this bill. absolutely, thatis effect of this bill. absolutely, that is moving forward. other parts of the system need to work, the nhs need to do more to prevent these assaults from happening in the first place with things like safe staffing which is a factor that can contribute to things not escalating. the inquest into the deaths of five people killed in the westminster terror attack last year is continuing at the old bailey. our correspondent helena lee is there. bring is up—to—date with what has been happening so far this morning. well, so far this morning we have been hearing more evidence into the death of andreea cristea, she was the remaining tourist who was on holiday in london with her boyfriend when she was hit by khalid masood's

carand when she was hit by khalid masood's car and flung into the river thames. her boyfriend came to court today to tell the hearing about the moments before the attack happened. we heard in court from her boyfriend, he came to court and he described the moment he realised that something was going badly wrong. he said in court, "suddenly i heard some screaming and noises in front of me. i heard something hit something, people were screaming." he then went on to tell the court how he saw the car zigzagging towards them and then he went on to say, "it was very quick. everything was very quick." the next thing he felt was a burning sensation in his left foot. that is because the car had run over his foot. he told the court he heard another bank, probably his girlfriend been hit. he then describes how he frantically searched for his girlfriend

afterwards along westminster bridge. he said he even went towards khalid masood's car, thinking perhaps she was under the vehicle. then he got in touch with some police officers to say that he thought she was in the river. he also rang her mobile phone and it rang, which he told the court he thought was positive. but then sometime later he found her telephone and also her classes in a pool of blood close to where the attack happened. and she was knocked over. andreea cristea was taken to hospital, she spent two weeks there but she died in hospital. her boyfriend has now finished giving evidence here and we are now hearing from various witnesses who were involved in the search for andreea cristea in the river thames. helena, thank you for that update. public health england has been criticised for working on a new campaign alongside a charity funded by the alcohol industry.

in a letter, almost 50 health officials say working with drinkawa re will "significa ntly damage" the agency's credibility. it follows a campaign encouraging middle—aged people to have more alcohol—free days. public health england says it hopes this will be the first step in a long—term partership with the charity. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, is with me now. this is interesting because public health england is very much saying we are doing the right thing here, despite these criticisms. indeed. there is a separation to be made here between the message on the way that it here between the message on the way thatitis here between the message on the way that it is being delivered. nobody that it is being delivered. nobody that i have spoken to has any argument with the campaign itself, which is encouraging people to take less alcohol, at least they dry for two days a week. but there is a tie—up with a charity that is funding in the main with the drinks industry. two days after the was

launched, a minister resigned because he said it was not good in terms of the relationship between public health and alcohol. now we have seen this letter signed by 50 public health experts, notjust in alcohol but drugs and tobacco as well, and they are saying this decision to work with drink aware poses a credibility issue. it says that many of the funders of this charity undermined the message is that people should drink less alcohol, which obviously is contrary to what public health officials would like to see. public health england just simply not bad advice on when ahead. they're saying that you have to work with the industry, aren't they, if they are going to address the problem of too much drinking and they‘ re address the problem of too much drinking and they're trying to encourage people to not drink for a couple of days a week. that is exactly their argument. they say this particular charity is independent, even though its funding does come from the major breweries

and alcohol industry. they say they get about 10 million people every year viewing their website. these people are interested in alcohol m essa g es people are interested in alcohol messages and engage with these people perhaps it will have an impact. and the impact been that it will reduce the consumption of alcohol. the problem of course is that there has been previous evidence provided by public health england themselves that these m essa g es england themselves that these messages in the main do not change behaviour, so it will be really interesting to see at this new approach does lead to people drinking less. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... two men suspected of carrying out the novichok nerve agent attack appear on tv saying they are innocent, appearing in the town only as tourists. cabinet crunch talks for a ‘no—deal‘ brexit: ministers meet for a special session as the government publishes contingency plans for driving licences and passports.

life—threatening waves and rainfall as hurricane florence bears down on the east coast of america. i'm victoria fritz — in the business news... from retail hero to zero — profits at the john lewis partnership have fallen by 99% — as the retailer stands by its "never knowingly undersold" price match promise. its decision day for policymakers around the world — as central bankers decide on interest rates in britain, the eurozone and troubled turkey. and — how free will we really be to roam after brexit? the government has promised that free roaming will continue in europe even if the uk leaves the eu without a deal, despite warnings by phone providers. let's start with a grisly anniversary. its been ten years since the start of the financial crisis that rocked the world. some countries have yet to reach equilibrium. but could we be about to be hit by another economic bust—up — and if we were, would the world be ready to face it? the former prime minister gordon

brown has been speaking to our business editor, simonjack. he feels the world could be sleepwalking into meltdown. and i feel we are sleepwalking into the next crisis. i feel that this is a leaderless world and i think when the next crisis comes, and there will be a future crisis, we will find that we neither have they fiscal and monetary room to manoeuvre that we had in 2008, 2009. or the willingness to take that action. but perhaps most worryingly of all, we will not have the international cooperation that was necessary to get us out of this worldwide crisis. that's one light performance from

john lewis looks like it may have come to an end because profits have fallen to almost zero in the first half of the year. its results, which include waitrose, showed profits for the six months to 28july sank 99% from last year to £1.2 million. the retailer also warned that full—year profits would be "substa ntially lower". the company is rebranding its stores tojohn lewis & partners and waitrose & partners to highlight the chain's 85,000 members of staff, known as "partners" who are given an annual bonus based on the chain's profits. john lewis partnership chairman sir charlie mayfield said the retail sector was facing "challenging times". he said it is the most promotional market we have seen in nearly a decade. joining us now is maureen hinton, global retail research

director at global data. these promises they have two customers and members of staff are costing them dear. yes, it is. u nfortu nately costing them dear. yes, it is. unfortunately they have this price promise which is part of the store's dna really answer they have to stick to it. and because the retail sector is so challenged at the moment and we are cutting back on essential spending, there is so much discounting going on across the board that it is really hitting them. ten years at least covering these kind of stories. we have been talking about discounts for years, why now? i think now it has really hit the department store site because we are still spending on food, you can see that waitrose has made a profit. it was the department store. i think it is symptomatic of the difficulties that retailers face across the board. we were cutting down our spending on non—food

essentials, on non—food overall and big—ticket items. we are spending more on technology and you get very little profit from technology. so it is just getting little profit from technology. so it isjust getting much, much little profit from technology. so it is just getting much, much tougher for retailers out there and the fact that they have to price match all the time and there is so much discounting and it can't really planned for that because it depends on others, they are impact in its planning. it is really hitting its profits while costs are going up across the board for everyone as well. there is also a bit of a brexit row erupts in today. the brexit row erupts in today. the brexit minister has been talking about this and he gave short shrift to companies using brexit as an excuse for poor profits. he didn't specifically mentionjohn lewis but using those kind of comments are justified? they are to a certain extent although since the referendum the pound has really hit sourcing from retailers. the problem is it is very difficult to do any kind of

planning because nobody knows exactly what is going to happen. so that kind of overlying problem of what can you do in the future because we have no idea what the plans are is really hitting any kind of future planning. and investment as well. debenhams down 10% at the moment. we're also looking out for what is going on with interest rates. the bank of ingram will be telling us at midday what they're setting interest rates at. there is going to be plenty more on that story throughout the rest of the day here on the bbc news channel. but for me that is it. a 10—year—old boy in the american state of missouri is recovering

after he was attacked by wasps and fell from a tree house, face—first on to a meat skewer. the thin spike that went through xavier cunningham's head "miraculously" missed his eyes, brain, spinal cord and major blood vessels. the cbs correspondent, amy anderson, takes up the story from kansas. this is just one of those stories you won't soon forget. nearly 100 medical professionals here at the university of kansas health system got together this weekend to save this little boy's life. tonight, after all he has been through, he is recuperating withjust a little band—aid on his face. he came in and he had this thing just sticking out... it is nearly unimaginable to think of how gabrielle miller must have felt when she saw her son's face on saturday. ten—year—old xavier had been hit in his tree house in harrisonville playing when a swarm of yellow jackets began to attack him and his friends. as the boy scrambled to get down the ladder, xavier fell right onto the rotisserie skewer the boys had found in a field and stuck in the ground. miller says the ride to the hospital in harrisonville was gut—wrenching. he said, "i'm dying, mom." doctors in harrisonville immediately transferred xavier

to children's mercy, and they immediately transferred him to the university of kansas health system. this is one artery, this is another, and this is the device passing immediately adjacent to those vessels. rather than sending him directly to surgery, doctors spent hours gathering information from brain surgeons, emts and other specialists, preparing for a surgery that was about as delicate as could be. if this was a millimetre closer it probably would have been an un—survivable injury. the skewer had a barb on the end of it and doctors were concerned pulling it out could cause tremendous tissue damage or even death. we didn't know if we should cut it and try to pull it through the opposite side, to not have to go back through the tissues with the barb there. once it was finally time for surgery on sunday morning, it was xavier who was comforting his parents. he said, "why are you guys so upset? it's all going to be ok." the surgery was a huge success. the most important thing was that

as it passed through there, i don't know why, itjust missed everything important along the way. just one day after that surgery, xavier has been playing his favourite football games on xbox and resting very comfortably with a tiny band—aid on his face. and xavier got some more good news this afternoon. he was told he will be back out on the football field in as little as two weeks. in kansas city, kansas, amy anderson. an absolutely incredible story there. coming up at 12pm more from moscow. the revelations from those two men, identified by the uk as suspects in the novichok poisoning. you're watching bbc life. —— bbc

newsroom life. let's get the weather now. we started off this morning on a chilly note, temperatures as low as to dash for celsius in rural parts of england but it means we have started the morning with sunshine. it is quite sunny out there at the moment, this is in suffolk. even in the countryside we have that blue sky in northamptonshire. there is more cloud at the further north you go. it is fair weather cloud really but there could be some showers across northern and western areas. you have that sunshine across southern areas, gradually you will see the cloud filling in. there are a few showers around, mostly across scotland, northern

ireland and one or two into the far north of england. those becoming few and far between. here there will be sunny spells. sunny spells continuing the further south you go and temperatures getting up to 16 degrees in northern parts. potentially 20 in the south—east. tonight with clear spells again for england and wales, temperatures dropping into single figures. more cloud towards scotland and northern ireland. outbreaks of rain moving its way in. that rain will continue to move south and east would during friday. a wet start to the day, a 5°99y friday. a wet start to the day, a soggy commutes. eventually it will brighten up across much of scotland into the afternoon. sunny spells in the south—east and maximum temperatures 15 to 19. this is bbc news. i am annita mcveigh. two men suspected of carrying out the salisbury nerve agent attack appear on russian tv claiming they only visited the town as tourists.

translation: our friends have been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town. translation: salisbury? a wonderful town? translation: yes. cabinet crunch talks for a ‘no deal‘ brexit: ministers meet for a special session as the government publishes contingency plans for driving licences and passports. life threatening waves and rainfall as hurricane florence bears down on the east coast of america. a weather warning for asia as well, thousands evacuate the coastal areas in northern philippines as a super typhoon approaches. challenging times forjohn lewis as profits slump 99% — its boss says uncertainty over brexit is partly to blame. also this hour, tougher sentences for people found guilty of assaulting emergency services workers. the new law will double the amount of time offenders can be sent to prison for. and a miracle recovery for this 10—year—old boy,

after falling face first onto a meat skewer. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the two men named as suspects in the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter yulia in salisbury have said they were just visiting the town as tourists. the men, named as alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov, told the state owned tv channel russia today that they saw the cathedral, before returning to london by train. translation: you really look like the pictures shown to us by the uk. who are you? translation: we are those that

were shown to you in the pictures, ruslan boshirov and alexander petrov. translation: are those your real names? translation: yes, they are our real names. translation: even now, when you are talking about it, to tell the truth, you look very nervous. translation: what would you look like ? when your life is turned upside down in a moment, injust one day which changed our lives. translation: and the cctv footage from london, you walk in those now famous coats and sneakers in salisbury. are those people you? translation: yeah, that's us. translation: what were you doing there? translation: our friends have been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town. translation: salisbury? a wonderful town? translation: yes, there is the famous salisbury cathedral, famous not only in europe but the whole world.

it's famous for its 123 metre spire. it's famous for its clock, one of the first ever created in the world that's still working. our correspondent sarah rainsford is in moscow. quite a lot of detail about salisbury cathedral and the height of the spire. what is your analysis of the spire. what is your analysis of this? well, they certainly know a lot about salisbury cathedral than i ever did, that is perhaps a little unusual coming from two men that russia today are claiming our a salesman, one of them from siberia. i think the obvious thing to say from this is that the two men that have appeared do look very much like, if not identical to, the two men who were captured on cctv footage in salisbury. they have identified themselves as being those two men. lots of curious and confusing factors to it. remember,

uk police, when they announced the suspect‘s names and identities, a week or so ago, they said that they believed that the names that they we re believed that the names that they were giving where aliases. these two men have said they are their real names, ruslan boshirov and alexander petrov. but they were in salisbury, but they gave a quite extraordinary explanation of why they went there. allegedly they headed from moscow, flying into london, and then to salisbury, purely as tourists, to see the cathedral and the 123 metre spire. that is what they are saying. whether we believe that or not, i suspect an awful lot of people in the uk in particular will not give that any credence at all. it certainly fits with moscow's line that the information coming out of the uk, that the uk doesn't really have any knowledge about that situation, is what moscow was saying. moscow says there is no

evidence, but the cps says there is enough evidence to charge them with multiple crimes in salisbury, against multiple victims. the russian case appears to be that because there is no picture of two men smearing a nerve agent onto the house in salisbury, there was no evidence. everything else is irrelevant. there have been officials on television almost every day laughing at the case that has been drawn up by the uk, they have called it a soap opera, they have called it a soap opera, they have called a nonsense. they have said it is the theatre of the absurd. seeing these men make claims that they went to see the clock, it really fits into that kind of tone, that kind of response from russia. we can speak now to dr andrew foxall, who's the director of the russia and eurasia studies centre at the henry jackson society a think tank that advocates the robust spreading of liberal democracy. thank you for your time. the phrase

there was theatre of the absurd, and many people would say that is what this is? she was exactly right with her analysis, i would say that they appeared on afternoon live yesterday, and we joked appeared on afternoon live yesterday, and wejoked if appeared on afternoon live yesterday, and we joked if we would hear from these individuals that they may say they had just been visiting as tourists to the cathedral. i think what we have seen isa cathedral. i think what we have seen is a theatre of the absurd. i think it is frankly laughable, the excuse seems to be that, for whatever reason, if they were really tourists in salisbury, why stay in east london? perhaps they were also visiting local tourist attractions there. if they were tourists, let's remember they are russian citizens,

we have a situation where two russians go to salisbury, but are put off visiting the cathedral because there was not much snow melt left on the ground. frankly i think it is laughable. but it is not by any it is laughable. but it is not by a ny stretch it is laughable. but it is not by any stretch unique. you might recall in recent years when the crab and has been caught out, undertaking aggressive and frankly brazen acts of foreign policy, it has used this excuse as well. so, 2014, when the annexation of crimea took place, you might recall little green men appeared on the peninsula and undertook the annexation, the kremlin said they were civilians, they were holiday—makers, when the kremlin's presence, or russian's military presence was proven in ukraine, again they said they were holiday—makers. in syria, the russian presence there, the

so—called private military contractors, also said to be private citizens. the actions of the dnc, sorry, the actions of russia undertook when attacked the dnc, hillary clinton, and a number of other of individuals and organisations e—mails, that is said to have been undertaken by citizens, albeit to use the kremlin phrase, patriotic hackers. this is a view of the cramond says in situations. the denials are no longer plausible. moscow, the kremlin, knows that the uk believes these two individuals are the key suspects in the novichok case, the salisbury case, and yet here they are, appearing on state backed russian television. what is the kremlin signalling with the interview? well, first of all, the kremlin's argument to date has been that, first of all, that russia was in no way involved in the poisoning, and secondly, if it were involved, then any evidence is fabricated.

with the interview today, we get at least recognition that some of the evidence, if not all of the evidence that the uk has produced, and which has been backed by western allies, is not fabricated. the interview seems to confirm that the cctv results, the images are real. the kremlin is, in a sense, simply laughing at the west. it knows that the uk, because russia doesn't extradite its citizens, is not able to bring these two individuals to justice in the uk. as mentioned yesterday, speaking to your colleague, this does not mean the police can't go to moscow to interview them, but that seems very unlikely, given the treatment that the metropolitan police received when they went to interview and island —— andre lavoie, and the

suspects in the case of alexander litvinenko. a tweet, delighted at alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov we re alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov were able to see the world—class attraction salisbury has to offer, but strange to come all this way for two days while carrying novichok in their luggage, says two days while carrying novichok in their luggage, sastohn two days while carrying novichok in their luggage, says john glen. two days while carrying novichok in their luggage, sastohn glen. he also said that they are open for business, but these statements are not credible and do not match the widely accepted intelligence they have on the individuals. that is the reaction from the mp for salisbury, john glen. a special cabinet meeting is occurring to prepare for a no—deal brexit. the government barker was going to publish guidance on mobile phone roaming, passports and driving licences in the event of not reaching an agreement. let's go to our persistent political editor norman smith, outside of downing street. i don't know if you are hearing anything out of that meeting

yet? well, it hasjust broken up, no words of wisdom from ministers as they left. we will get the technical papers setting out some of the difficulties that consumers and businesses might face in the event ofa businesses might face in the event of a no—deal at about one o'clock. the thinking seems to be imparted to make sure the government has credible plans in the event of no—deal. in part to give some department a kick up the backside to get a move on with their no—deal planning. there was also the political, theatrical aspect. the desire to underscore to the eu that this is not a great big bluff, that we arejust pretending this is not a great big bluff, that we are just pretending we might walk away if we can't get some sort of agreement. it is to try to crank up the pressure on the eu. also, we heard from the brexit secretary dominic raab, saying if we don't get the deal we want, you are not

getting the £39 billion divorce bill that you want. the other part of this is all so to try to put a bit of pressure on the tory backbenchers who are opposed to her checkers plan the eu dust chequers plan. the thinking being if they are faced with a choice between chequers and no—deal, some of them might blink and come round to backing mrs may's chequers plan. what was interesting this morning, dominic raab was, i thought, striking a fairly cautious note about exactly what no—deal might entail, saying that it would involve delays, disruption, difficulties for business, and saying that moving onto world trade organisation terms is not as good as being able to strike our own trade agreements. in other words, just trying to sketch out some of the very real difficulties involved in no—deal. i think the hope would be that it begins to get a bit of

traction with tory mps, actually, do we really want to leave the eu without any sort of arrangement? therefore, at the last minute, when it is brought back to parliament, perhaps they will be convinced to support mrs may. it is a high—stakes game. there are a significant number of very committed brexiteers who, at the moment, seem pretty determined not to support mrs may, come what may. the stakes are high, but that is part of the thinking, the whole no—deal planning, the whole no—deal kavanagh no—deal planning, the whole no—deal kava nagh that we no—deal planning, the whole no—deal kavanagh that we have seen today. —— cabinet. more on the main story is coming up on newsroom live. now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. in fact, let's stay with the brexit

coverage. that no—deal cabinet meeting is breaking up in downing street and we can get the thoughts now of theresa villiers, in the westminster studio. good afternoon. the meeting is just westminster studio. good afternoon. the meeting isjust breaking up. i don't know if you have heard any indications about what has been discussed and how the meeting has gone? only what i have heard from norman smithjust gone? only what i have heard from norman smith just now. i gone? only what i have heard from norman smithjust now. i think gone? only what i have heard from norman smith just now. i think it is a hugely important task for the government. they had to make sure that the country is ready on the day, whether there is an agreement with the eu or not. did you think it was helpful in terms of the timing for the brexit secretary to talk about not paying the divorce bill if about not paying the divorce bill if a deal is not reached?” about not paying the divorce bill if a deal is not reached? i think it was sensible of dominic to make that point. that has kind of always been the case. but i think it is

important to ensure that the eu are well aware that we don't feel bound to pay that 38 billion in all circumstances. it depends on getting an agreement. getting an agreement depends on the european union choosing to take a rational and reasonable approach. could it be viewed slightly antagonistic to say on the one hand, of course, we want to get a deal, but if you won't give us ideal, we will not pay the £39 billion? —— give us a deal. us ideal, we will not pay the £39 billion? -- give us a deal. the government has repeatedly sought to understand the eu concerns, but there are times in a negotiation when you do have to be tough. i think on the money it is very sensible for the secretary of state to be clear that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. if there isn't an agreement with the eu at the end of the process, they certainly don't get 38 billion. just remind our viewers what your view is ona no remind our viewers what your view is on a no deal scenario. can britain

honestly cope with that?” on a no deal scenario. can britain honestly cope with that? i think we can. obviously, we trade on world trade association terms with many of our closest trading partners. people do billions of pounds of business on wto terms with the eu. but there are potentially problems with disruption. wto covers trade and not other issues, where we currently have contracts and arrangements with the eu. so, the preference, of course, is to get an agreement. it is also vital that the government does everything possible to prepare for the eventuality, the contingency of not being able to get an agreement because the eu are not behaving reasonably or rationally. we are going to hear more very shortly about the planning for a no—deal scenario in relation to passports, driving licences, mobile

roaming charges. things that are very tangible to a great majority of people. but if we look at, say, mobile roaming charges as one example, we have heard from some of the big mobile companies hear that, ultimately, it will depend what mobile companies on the continent decide to do. that isn't really taking back control, is it? well, the government is clearly working to ensure that people do not have to face new roaming charges. i welcome that. we are running out of time, the clock is ticking, the government needs to demonstrate, with clarity, that they are tackling these kinds of issues and have plans in place. the first duty of government is to prepare contingencies, even those we hope will not occur. charges will go up hope will not occur. charges will go upfor hope will not occur. charges will go up for british mobile users, though, can they? the government is taking us seriously, and it is like the other issues related to other parts of the european union. we need to

see proof that ministers and the government minimise any potential disruption occurring after we leave the european union at the end of march. ok, thank you very much indeed. we have just march. ok, thank you very much indeed. we havejust had a government response in relation to the interview given to russia today by the two men identified by the uk as the suspects in the salisbury novichok poisoning. the government saying the police and crown prosecution service have identified these men is the prime suspect in relation to the attack in salisbury. if you heard the cliff from the interview the two men gave, they said they were merely tourists visit in salisbury cathedral. the government response goes on, the government is clear that these men are officers of the russian military intelligence service, the gru, who used a devastatingly toxic illegal chemical weapon on the streets of our country. we have repeatedly asked russia to account for what

happened in salisbury in march. today, as we have seen throughout, they have responded with obfuscation and lies. the two men saying they are indeed one and the same as the men identified in the cctv footage, that we are seeing right now, but they say they were tourists visiting cells were cathedral. —— salisbury cathedral. the headlines, two men suspected of carrying out the salisbury nerve agent attack appear on russian television, claiming they only visited the town as tourists. cabinet crunch talks for a no—deal brexit. ministers meeting for a special session as the government publishes contingency plans for driving licences and passports. the bank of england has cut interest rates on hold. it comes a month after raising rates for only the second time in more than a decade. now time for the sport.

premier league footballer has urged clu bs to premier league footballer has urged clubs to hire a counsellor to help players with mental health. marvin sordell, who played in the top flight sordell, who played in the top flight for burnley and bolton, suffered from depression and at his lowest point he attempted suicide. you know, from the age of six years old, when you start playing football, you are told what to do. if you are playing for an academy side as a young player, you are going to get told what to drink, when to drink it, what to eat, how to recover, when to do your gym programmes and conditioning stuff. even when you are away from the club, you get told these things. i think when it comes to a serious issue like depression and mental health, players expect to then go and speak to someone. like i said,

in the moment, you feel like you are a burden on people, you don't want to speak to people about it anyway. it is difficult then, when you are already not used to doing things off your own back, to do something about that as well. luke shaw could play for manchester united this weekend, despite suffering concussion on england duty. he was stretchered off during england's nations league match with spain. fa guidelines state that a player that suffers concussion should not play for 14 days unless certain criteria is met. he could play against watford after being treated in what manchester united have called their enhanced ca re united have called their enhanced care setting. british cycling remains on course for a clean sweep of the grand tours. chris froome won the giro d'italia, geraint thomas the giro d'italia, geraint thomas the tour de france on simon yates is a few days away from winning the vuelta a espa na. a few days away from winning the vuelta a espana. fog was a factor on his lead was cut, but he finished strong enough to maintain a 25 second advantage over alejandro

valverde, going into the 18th stage. it all finishers in madrid on sunday. paul collingwood is retiring at the end of the season, 22 years after making his first—class debut. the former england one—day captain also played in 68 test matches and was part of three ashes winning science. he led england to victory in the world twenty20 eight years ago. his final game for durham, at the age of 42, will be at home to middlesex, starting on the 24th of september. that is all of the sport for now. you can get the very latest on the website. you can see it behind me. see you later. thousands of people are continuing to leave their homes in north and south carolina, as hurricane florence closes in. the storm has weakened slightly, but heavy rainfall and flooding is still expected. our north america correspondent, laura trevelyan reports. in fact, laura joins us from

wilmington. it looks relatively calm behind you, but that is almost certainly going to change?m behind you, but that is almost certainly going to change? it is indeed. the storm is about 200 miles away from us and within about 24 hours it is due to make landfall. we are going to expect hurricane force winds overnight tonight. just behind me, you can see one of the barrier islands on the north carolina coast. it is under a mandatory evacuation order. most people have indeed left, because the governor of this state has said that this is a disaster on our doorstep and it is coming in. there is a triple threat from this hurricane. the hurricane force wind, the storm surge, which could be twice as high as me, and then prolonged rainfall. 24—36 hours, which is likely to lead to flooding along the coast and inland. so, that

is why people are listening to the warnings. they remember what happened with hurricane harvey in houston, where the storm also stalled and produced this incredible rainfall. people here are getting right out. you talk about a mandatory evacuation order, but what happens with the people that refuse to budge? presumably there is a cut—off point at which the emergency services who try to get them out safe you are on your own? yes. i have spoken to a couple of the diehards who intend to ride out the storm. they are well aware. they have been told by the governors of all five states that have declared an emergency here on the east coast that if they are in danger they have to wait until the storm is over before they can expect to be rescued. it is a big risk that people are taking. although hurricane forint is now category two, one point it was category four, it still has winds of 110 mph and the potential to do more damage to

the potential to do more damage to the storm surge and flooding. this isa the storm surge and flooding. this is a life—threatening event. nonetheless, some people are still preparing to ride it out, although they know nobody will come to their aid until it is over. fakie very much. and darren burnett is here with me in the studio to talk more about this. darren, when can we expect florence to make landfall? as we have heard already, we have heard what i was about to say. you are going to say a little bit more? obviously i will say a bit more with a bit of science in there as well. it is unusual for a hurricane to form in the mid—atlantic and make his way to california... sorry, california? that would be very unusual, carolina. you can see the cloud, the outer bands of cloud and then the rain coming in. we seem to get hung up on if it is category two or three. category two still has sustained wind of 110 mph. gusts of

130 mph. adding ten mph will not make much difference, it is still a very powerful hurricane. it will cause a lot of damage. but it is the fa ct cause a lot of damage. but it is the fact that it is slowing down that is the major concern. is it going to make landfall, is it going to run southwards across the coast to south carolina? that southwards across the coast to south carolina ? that is southwards across the coast to south carolina? that is the tricky bit. but it is slowing down. because it is slowing down your guy to have a storm surge for longer. the storm surges always greatest to the north of the central the hurricane. the north of wilmington, for example. we could see a storm surge up to 13 feet. that is twice my height as well. you can imagine the wall of water coming inland, with a coastal inundation, pushing its way up the streets as well. that is what is likely to happen. add to that the rainfall, a huge amount of rain because it is slowing down. 20 or 30 inches of rain. that is a year's rainfall for birmingham, for

example. you could get up to 40 inches of rain. that is up to my stomach. that amount of rain falling in the space of a few days because it is slowing down. at the flooding to the coastal inundation from the storm surge, there is going to be widespread flooding and it is going to bea widespread flooding and it is going to be a serious disaster. when we talk about it being downgraded to category two, that is very much relatively speaking hugely destructive. the fact it is slowing down, the rain will keep going for longer and you still have extreme and powerful storm surges. longer and you still have extreme and powerful storm surgesm longer and you still have extreme and powerful storm surges. it is not the only huge storm we are keeping an eye on. let's talk about the philippines. very active, also in the west pacific. it wasn't long ago that we had one making landfall in japan, and then a violent typhoon, equivalent to category five, this is the top end of the scale. this is mangkhut, bearing down on northern parts of the philippines. it is

probably going to make landfall in northern parts of the philippines on friday night. this is not a particularly well populated area. there is a lot of mountains. a lot of the energy will be taken out as it moves overland, but nevertheless you're going to get similar amount of rainfall, a similar amount of storm surge. the windows could be strongerfor a while. storm surge. the windows could be stronger for a while. thank you for bringing us up to date. a lot of talk about over the next 48 hours with those weather events. let's focus on the weather at home now. we can focus on the weather at home now. we ca n cross focus on the weather at home now. we can cross the newsroom and join ben rich for the latest. nothing on that scale in the uk weather but fairly split fortunes today. the best of the brightness and sunshine is to be found across southern and south—eastern areas after what was quite a chilly start. the temperature is bouncing back, perhaps up to 20 degrees. north and west we have extra clouded in northern ireland, north—west england. a bit of patchy rain and we

will continue to see cloud and patchy rain feeding across the northern half of the uk as we go through the evening and overnight. clea r, starry through the evening and overnight. clear, starry skies again, but there will be more of a breeze than last night. i don't think it will get as cold as last night. relatively mild under the cloud and rain in the north. this rain across northern ireland, southern scotland, pushing into northern england and wales as we go through the day tomorrow. to the south—east of that, a largely dry day with some cells of sunshine. the northern half of scotland seeing a mix of sunshine and showers and a decidedly cool feel. 12. nowhere, 1920 in the south—east. as we head towards the weekend and into next week, southern areas are likely to warm up, further north and west some spells of wind and rain at times. hello, good afternoon, this is bbc news. our latest headlines. two russian men named by the uk government as a suspect behind the salisbury nerve agent attack have denied they are responsible. appearing on russian television they

said they travel there as tourists. ourfriends said they travel there as tourists. our friends have been said they travel there as tourists. ourfriends have been suggesting said they travel there as tourists. our friends have been suggesting for a long time that we should visit this wonderful town. salisbury, a long time that we should visit this wonderfultown. salisbury, a wonderful town? yes. the cabinet has met to discuss its preparations if britain cannot reach agreement with the eu over brexit. passport, driving licences... hurricane florence has been downgraded to a category two storm as it approaches the us but officials warned it remains extremely dangerous. florence's winds have dropped to 110 mph, still very, very strong but it's slow moving nature means it could lingerfor it's slow moving nature means it could linger for days it's slow moving nature means it could lingerfor days bringing catastrophic flooding. meanwhile in asia, thousands of people are evacuating coastal areas in the north of the philippines as the strongest typhoon of the year approaches. profits atjohn lewis have fallen to almost zero in the

first half of the year. the company said its price match policy had been severely tested by discounts at its rivals. and coming up, former employees of lehman brothers reflect ten yea rs employees of lehman brothers reflect ten years on from the financial crash. the two men named as suspects in the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter have said they were just visiting the town as tourists. the men named as alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov told the state—owned television channel rte that they sought cathedral before returning to london by train. you look like the people shown that was ina look like the people shown that was in a pitcher in the uk. who are you? translation: we are those who were

shown to you in the pictures, ruslan boshirov and tap—in one. shown to you in the pictures, ruslan boshirov and tap-in one. are those your real name is? yes, they are our real names. to tell the truth, you look very nervous. what would you look very nervous. what would you look like? when your look very nervous. what would you look like ? when your life look very nervous. what would you look like? when your life is turned upside down in a moment, injust one day it changed our lives. on the cctv footage from london you walk in those coats and sneakers in salisbury. others people you? yes. what were you doing there? our friends have been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town. salisbury, long time that we visit this wonderfultown. salisbury, a wonderfultown. salisbury, a wonderful town? yes. wonderfultown. salisbury, a wonderfultown? yes. there is wonderfultown. salisbury, a wonderful town? yes. there is the

famous salisbury cathedral, not just in europe but in the whole world. it is famous for its 123 metres by, it is famous for its 123 metres by, it is famous for its 123 metres by, it is famous for its clock, the first ever created in the world that is still working. the conservative mp for salisbury and south wiltshire has called the statements not credible. he tweeted that he was delighted the two men saw the attractions salisbury had to offer but that it was very strange to come all this waiverjust but that it was very strange to come all this waiver just two but that it was very strange to come all this waiverjust two days while covering novichok in the luggage. he said the do not match the widely held intelligence we have on the two individuals. the mass collection of data in the uk has been found to have violated privacy rights. the case was taken out after the surveillance gathering was exposed by the us whistle—blower edward snowden. a government spokesperson has said that the regulation of investigatory powers act has already been replaced to ensure more

safeguards. let's get more on this. just explain a little bit more detail, clive, what is a detailed story. it all goes back to the revelations from the american intelligence whistle—blower edward snowden. he revealed that the uk was ripping vast amounts of data of these transatlantic cables, this is communications data. the two, the where and when of communication. not the content of the communication. that led to a challenge by a group of rights organisations on journalists that went to the european court of human rights. at the time, the law they were looking at was the when the case crystallised in 2000. that is what the court was looking at. this morning, it has found that essentially the regime under that act of parliament, under the law, breach human rights because it was not sufficiently, the gathering of this data was not sufficiently

oversight. so not the principle of collecting data but the execution of it? the government may be breathing a sigh of relief that the court found that having amassed data collection regime that that could be complying with human rights but it is all about the oversight, filtering, the targeting and the old regime was found wanting and breached article eight which is the right to privacy on one hand and also the article ten which is the right to free expression. since then we have had new act and the government points out that that has enhanced protections, in particular what it calls the double lock where if ministers offer warrants for surveillance powers, judge has two approvers as well. that regime i should add is now being tested in the uk courts so it is a shot across the uk courts so it is a shot across the uk courts so it is a shot across the uk government's boughs. the number of people in england waiting

more than 18 weeks from nonurgent operations is at its highest level ina operations is at its highest level in a decade. nearly 504,000 waited more than the 18 week target time in july, according to the latest figures from nhs england. the total on the waiting list for a routine surgery on the waiting list for a routine surgery at 4.12 million was the highest since august 2000 and seven. the serious crash has shut part of the m5 motorway in somerset. the road is closed in both through actions between junction 24 and 25 for taunton. it follows a collision between two lorries and several lorries —— and several cars this morning,. the inquest into the deaths of five people killed in the westminster terror attack last year is continuing at the old bailey. our correspondent gave at this update a short while ago. so far we have been hearing more evidence into the death

of andreea cristea, you may remember she was the romanian tourist who was on holiday in london with her boyfriend when she was hit by khalid masood's car and flung into the river thames. her boyfriend came to court today to tell the hearing about the moments before the attack happened. we heard in court from her boyfriend, he came to court and he described the moment he realised that something was going badly wrong. he said in court, "suddenly i heard some screaming and noises in front of me. i heard something hit something, people were screaming." he then went on to tell the court how he saw the car zigzagging towards them and then he went on to say, "it was very quick, everything was very quick." the next thing he felt was a burning sensation in his left foot. that is because khalid masood's foot to my car had run over

his foot. he told the court he heard another bank, probably his girlfriend been hit. he then describes how he frantically search for his girlfriend afterwards along westminster bridge. he said he even went towards the car thinking that perhaps she was under the vehicle. and then he got in touch with some police officers to say he thought she was in the river. he also rang her mobile phone and it rang, which her mobile phone and it rang, which he told the court was positive. but then sometime later he found her telephone and also her classes in a pool of blood close to where the attack happened and she was knocked over. andreea cristea was taken to hospital. she spent two weeks there but she died in hospital. her boyfriend has now finished giving evidence here and we are now hearing from various witnesses who were involved in the search for andreea cristea in the river thames. helen

the reporting. negotiations between british and french fishermen to end the row that has become known as the scholar was in the english channel have collapsed. french fishermen have aggressively confronted their british counterparts in the channel in recent months — and industry leaders had been working to agree compensation for smaller fishing boats to stop fishing for the molluscs during a period when the french are banned under domestic law. the head of the french normandy fishing committee says the british rejected ‘the last offer made.‘ public health england has been criticised for working on a new campaign funded by the alcohol industry. in a letter, 50 organisations said it will significantly damage the agency's credibility. it follows a campaign encouraging middle—aged people to have more alcohol free days. public health england said it hoped it would be the first in a long—term partnership with the charity. our correspondent explained why public

health england is defending its decision to team up with drink aware. there is a separation to be made here between the message and the way that it is being delivered. nobody that i have spoken to has any argument with the campaign itself, which is encouraging people to drink less alcohol. at least to stay dry two days a week. the problem is the tie—up with drink aware, which is a charity that is funded in the main by the drinks industry itself. on tuesday, just a day after this campaign was launched, the government's alcohol adviser resigned because he said this tie—up was not good in terms of what it was saying about the relationship between public health and alcohol. now we have seen this letter signed by 50 public health experts notjust in alcohol but drugs and tobacco as well and they say this decision to who work with drink aware poses a problem for public health england. it says that many of the funders of this charity actually undermine the m essa g es this charity actually undermine the messages that people should drink less alcohol, which obviously is

contrary to what public health officials would like to see. public health england simply ignored that advice and went ahead with this tie in any way. they're saying you have to work with the industry essentially if they are going to address the problem of too much drinking and they‘ re address the problem of too much drinking and they're trying to encourage people to not drink two days a week. that is exactly their argument. this particular charity they say it is independent, even though its funding does come from the major breweries and alcohol industry and they say they about nine to 10 million people a year viewing a website. these people are interested in alcohol and messages related to alcohol and if we can engage with these people than perhaps it can have an impact and the impact being that it will reduce the impact being that it will reduce the consumption of alcohol. the problem of course is that there has been previous evidence provided by public health england themselves that these kind of messages in the main do not change behaviour. so it will be really interesting to see

whether this new approach leads to people drinking less. calls for buffer zones outside abortion clinics have been rejected by the home secretary sajid javid. in a statement, he said that although the home office review found cases of harassment and damaging behaviour, they were "not the norm" and having protest free areas around uk clinics "would not be a proportionate response". with us now is rupa huq, who is the mp for ealing central and acton and a vocal campaigner for national abortion buffer zones. for those who are not familiar with this story, tell is about the idea behind these buffer zones. this story, tell is about the idea behind these buffer zonesm this story, tell is about the idea behind these buffer zones. it came to my attention because i have a clinic in ealing and even before i was the mp i think it is for 23 yea rs now was the mp i think it is for 23 years now there has been a standing protest by people. it has got more and more sinister and intimidate three. people who have got dolls of foetuses, weird pictures of babies in different states, and they patrol

the clinic. they have been outside the clinic. they have been outside the years and years impeding the progress of women who need to have what is a medical procedure done. even the staff who work there were unable to get in there because their access unable to get in there because their a ccess was unable to get in there because their access was blocked. i started asking about this in parliament. ealing council went down a bylaw route as well and actually we have had some success in ealing that now those people have moved away from the gates of the clinic, so women can get in there. it is distressing, i have the statement here. it is a difficult and distressing process as it is without these protesters in women's faces when theyjust it is without these protesters in women's faces when they just want to access legal health care. but now the government opened up a review, last november under amber rudd, to look into having a national solution and rather disappointingly, although they acknowledged that there are problems there, this is a thing that

there is can be no change in what they're saying, which is a disappointment to me and many other people. this is notjust in ealing problem, it happens up and down the country at many, many clinics. see you're not saying that you do not wa nt you're not saying that you do not want the protest to happen but if they are happening you want the matter distance from the clinics? ‘s that's right. it is 100 metre radius in ealing because it is upsetting for women to have this. with any other nhs procedure you would not have, i don't know, and obesity clinic and people with placards saying that that people should be banned or something. it isjust not appropriate for them to be outside the clinic and in ealing there is a safe zone where they are allowed to do it, which is not in view of the gates and it is limited in number because it felt like a mob mentality often. so when you take your campaign now? is question in the house of commons this morning and the equalities minister seemed synthetic. what they seem to be saying in their conclusion is that

the numbers are not sufficient. but i think the numbers are not sufficient. but ithink any the numbers are not sufficient. but i think any intimidation of women is a bad thing. i am going to be getting a meeting. they also did a report recommending these. if you just shove the burden onto local or daugherty is, that cash—strapped as it is, it is not good to be top of their priorities. women are having to runa their priorities. women are having to run a barrage of abuse just have an nhs procedure done. a look at the headlines now atjust an nhs procedure done. a look at the headlines now at just after 115 pm. two men of suspected of carrying out the salisbury nerve agent attack appear on russian television claiming they only visited the town as tourists. kava nagh claiming they only visited the town as tourists. kavanagh crunch talks for a no—deal brexit. ministers have been meeting for a special... special contingencies for driving licences and passports. on the bank ringland has kept interest rates on hold, a month after raising them for

only the second time in a decade. saturday marks a decade since the failure of the us banking giant lehman brothers. the collapse became one of the most infamous moments of the crisis, leading to worldwide market chaos and leaving thousands of bankers out of work. at its headquarters in london for a half thousand people left theirjobs, many carrying cardboard boxes with their belongings. it was the largest ba n kru ptcy their belongings. it was the largest bankruptcy in us history. the moment when the credit crunch spiralled into a full—blown financial crisis. workers cleared their desks too. watched by the uk's media, including me. emma, what have you gleaned forest? well, the mood here is grim as you expect. thousands of workers leaving tonight wondering if they

will have jobs to return to. ten yea rs will have jobs to return to. ten years on, so will have jobs to return to. ten years on, so what did happen to all those workers? somewhere just new recruits starting their careers in the city. like this man, joining lehman brothers straight out of university. this bag was given to all new recruits will be joined. as all new recruits will be joined. as a veryjunior all new recruits will be joined. as a very junior employee we all new recruits will be joined. as a veryjunior employee we did not really see what was coming. there was also quite a lot of propaganda inside the building. i remember posters in the elevator saying theme and brothers will not be affected by the global financial crisis. so, owen, what our our q3 priorities? the global financial crisis. so, owen, what our our 03 priorities? he went on to set of own company lending to small businesses.” went on to set of own company lending to small businesses. i guess the scarred me in many ways and i wa nted the scarred me in many ways and i wanted to set about creating my own company. be a force for good and the antithesis of what i'd seen. i'm trying to use what i've learned

and bring it to normal people. so, basically trying to democratise finance, and personal finance. how do you feel about being part of that industry at that time, which wreaked havoc? it felt awful, being part of lehman of the time. and it was extremely hard and stressful. so now i'm trying to give back, i'm trying to build a better business. but it was difficult. it was hard. for some people today, it's not a good sign to be an ex—lehman employee. here's another one. moscow graduate nikolay storonksky. nikolay‘s created a new disruptive digital bank. he understands why his fast—growing business has more rules to follow today. there was a lot of risk—taking and not wise risk—taking.

because i experienced everything myself in 2008, when i read the regulations now, because of obviously applying for a banking licence, to become a bank, i really understand where it's all coming from. few saw the crash coming, but there is now a new generation of financial entrepreneurs, determined to do things differently. emma simpson, bbc news. quite remarkable story if you have not seen it yet. a ten—year—old boy in the state of missouri who is recovering after he was attacked by wasps and fell from a tree house race first onto a meat skewer. the finns bike miraculously missed his eyes, brain, spinal—cord and major blood vessels. our correspondent ta kes blood vessels. our correspondent takes up the story from kansas.

nearly 100 medical professionals here at the university of kansas health system got together to save this little boy's life. tonight, after a ll this little boy's life. tonight, after all years been through he is recuperating with just a little band—aid on his face. recuperating with just a little band-aid on his face. he came in and he had this thing sticking out. band-aid on his face. he came in and he had this thing sticking outm is nearly unimaginable to think how gabrielle miller must have felt when she saw her son's face on saturday. ten—year—old exactly eight. as a boy struggle to get down the ladder, he fell on the skewer. miller says the right to the hospital in town was gut—wrenching. right to the hospital in town was gut-wrenching. he said i am dying man. ican gut-wrenching. he said i am dying man. i can feel it. gut-wrenching. he said i am dying man. ican feel it. doctors immediately transferred him and then play immediately transferred into

another hospital. this is one artery and here is another, this is the device passing immediately adjacent to those vessels. rather than sending him directly to surgery, doctors spent hours gathering information from brain surgeons, preparing for a surgery that was about as delicate as can be. if this was a millimetre closer, probably it would have been an on survivable injury. the skewer had a bar on the end of it and doctors were concerned pulling it out could cause tremendous tissue damage or even death. we did know if we should track at a bullet through the opposite side to not have to go back through the tissue with the barbs there. want it was finally time to surgery on there. want it was finally time to surgery on sunday morning, it was xavier who was comforting his pa rents. xavier who was comforting his parents. eye he said why you guys upset, is going to be ok. the surgery was a upset, is going to be ok. the surgery was a huge upset, is going to be ok. the surgery was a huge success. upset, is going to be ok. the surgery was a huge success. the most important thing is as it passed

through there, i do not know why but it missed everything important on the way. and just one day after that surgery, the way. and just one day after that surgery, xavier has been playing his favourite games on xbox and resting very constantly with a tiny band—aid on his face. and xavier got some more good news this afternoon, he was told he will be back out on the football field in as little as two weeks. amy anderson, in kansas. what a lucky, lucky boy. good to see him smiling and looking so well. now, leads is listening to piano music as the ukip is one of its most prestigious competitions. pianos have been popping up in precincts and places all around leeds. the reason, to celebrate the leeds international piano competition. the steps of the town hall have been turned into a giant keyboard. ifeel like tom hanks in big.

the leeds international piano competition has been taking place every three years since the start of the ‘60s and is a truly global event to find the best young pianist in the world. the finalists this year come from as far as china, russia and the usa. and the judges, who are concert pianists themselves, have been giving impromptu performances in the centre of the city in what has been dubbed the world's smallest concert hall. this is great. it is noisy but... it doesn't matter, music wins out. yes. oh, what a lovely, magical thing. it was such a tedious day. i had nothing but boring things to do and i am absolutely uplifted by it, it is just magnificent. the build—up to the final has included the impressionist alistair mcgovern returning

to his alma mater, the university of leeds, to talk about taking up the piano at the age of 49. it has sort of taken over my life, i must admit, i can't wait, i itch, i salivate, if i see a piano in a room i want to play and i keep wanting to learn pieces and my frustration at starting late in life is thinking of the pieces i will never play. the event is trying to make sure that rather younger people are encouraged to take up the instrument. press any notes you want, one at a time if you want. brilliant. competitors, including this man, have been going into schools to give demonstrations. i will try to turn that into a piece of music. did you know you were that good at composing music? no. we have to get out of a concert

hall, take it into schools, and the idea is that years later they will come into the concert hall, they will have had the experience, you just plant the seed. and it has appeared to work. we were not short of volunteers at blenheim primary school willing to make their debut on the instrument and let us film the outcome. is it first time you have ever played the piano? yes. wow! although this lot could probably do with a little bit more practice. ina in a moment it is time for the one o'clock news with jane hill. but let's ta ke o'clock news with jane hill. but let's take a look at the weather forecast. good afternoon. split fortu nes forecast. good afternoon. split fortunes in the uk weather today,

including a bit of whether blue rain for some but not thing like we're seeing on the other side of the atlantic. hurricane florence bearing down on these coasts of the us. a category two storm with wins in the centre around 110 mph. they will push closer to the shoreline of the next couple of days, very heavy rain, persistent rain likely to cause flooding and rough seas close to the coast. a really dangerous speu to the coast. a really dangerous spell of weather. back home it is quieter, some rain at times to the next few days but south—eastern area is still likely to stay dry. you can see from the earlier satellite picture a lot of sunshine across lower areas. through tonight we will continue to see areas of cloud and patchy rain moved into northern ireland, western scotland and some in northern england. further south the sky will remain clear. it will not be as chilly as last night. not

as chile tomorrow morning, once again why was it the best of the sunshine. this rain moving into northern england and wales bringing outbreaks of rain. tending to fizzle as it moves southwards. for the far north of scotland and mix of sunshine and showers. 12 degrees for stornoway. we start the weekend with high pressure trying to bend its way in. most places will start saturday onafine in. most places will start saturday on a fine note but there are frontal systems waiting in the wings said things will cloud over during the day island, western parts of scotland. further south and east is where we will give the best of the dry weather. sun sunshine, temperatures the likes of london and norwichjust beginning temperatures the likes of london and norwich just beginning to creep up and that process will continue on sunday. uncertainty about the progress of these weather fronts south eastwards but you are likely to see some rain. the best chance of

holding onto some sunshine in east anglia. temperatures up to 22 degrees but always cooler and fresher the further north and west you are. into next week, spells of wet and windy weather but for many it is also turning a bit warmer. two russian men appear on state tv to say they're wrongly accused of the salisbury poisonings, they say they were just tourists in the city. the men admit to being in salisbury in march. they say they'd been encouraged by friends to visit the sights. there is the famous salisbury cathedral. it is famous for its 123 metre it is famous for its 123 metre spire. we'll hear more about that television appearance, live from moscow. also this lunchtime. preparing for a no—deal brexit the cabinet meets to discuss contingencies, in the event of no agreement between britain and the eu. any responsible government would need to be prepared for the unlikely and regrettable scenario where the negotiations don't reach a positive conclusion. a positive conclusion. a dramatic fall in profits

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