hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm julian worricker. today at 2. music: last post the prime minister lays wreaths at the graves of the first and last british soldiers killed in the first world war in belgium, to mark the armistice centenary. a car bursts into flames in melbourne after a terror attack in which a somali man stabs three people. the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard irish border after brexit — while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar maintains it will not happen. the most important thing for me is the objective and that is to give eve ryo ne the objective and that is to give everyone in northern ireland and ireland the assurance that a hard border will not develop between north and south no matter what else may happen in the years aired. ——

ahead. the uk economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to september — thanks to the warm summer weather boosting spending. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. finally, some good news for the travelling fans as england beat sri lanka on day four of the first test — to end their 13—match winless run away from home. more at 230. and we have all the weather. good afternoon. rough weather for the rest of the day, heavy rain and strong winds in the west. details to come, plus i will be answering your questions, just before half two. also coming up — thousands of people have been ordered to leave their homes as wildfires rage across northern california. hello, everyone —

this is afternoon live. good afternoon and welcome to afternoon live. the prime minister has laid wreaths at the graves of the first and last british soldiers killed in the first world war. she was at a cemetery at mons in belgium, ahead of this weekend's armistice commemorations, marking the hundredth anniversary of the end of the great war. theresa may is now in northern france where along with france's president macron, she is due to attend a tribute to the missing fighters of the somme in thiepval. we'll be live with our correspondent there in a moment. but first, our correspondent robert hall reports from belgium iamon i am on the belgian coast and the memorial commemorates british soldiers who lost their lives fighting alongside belgian soldiers

in defence of the port of antwerp, and it also symbolises a partnership which was reflected today as theresa may took the first step along the path of remembrance which will last over the weekend. the leaders of two countries which fought side by side in the first world war met to remember two soldiers whose death marked the beginning and end of the conflict. the first burials were carried out by the german army after the battle of mons in 1914 in august and the cemetery now contains more than 600 graves, commonwealth and german, spanning the entire war period. theresa may with the belgian prime minister laid a wreath at the grave of a 17—year—old privatejohn part. he had lied about his age and joined up aged 15, he had been part ofa

joined up aged 15, he had been part of a bicycle reconnaissance group and he may have died as a result of friendly fire. four years later as the minutes counted down to armistice, private george ellison fell victim to a german sniper, becoming the last british soldier to die before the ceasefire. this has aways been a place of peace and reflection, and today's ceremony herald a weekend when europe will pay tribute to millions lost in what became known as the war to end all wars. the albert memorial behind me is dedicated to belgian forces who lost their lives and all over europe millions of people will take part in tributes and in ceremonies but as this milestone passes, the first world war recedes into history, how will we continue to a member? ——

continued to remember? the machines have been working around the clock. the royal british legion's factories make overfour million poppies every year, part of a remembrance tradition which has always focused on the armistice. remembrance gives us an opportunity for stillness in a very, very busy world. and i think that that need to come together, and the national unity that we can collectively have from that, is very powerful. that sense of national grief was first expressed at the newly—constructed cenotaph two years after the armistice. ex—servicemen, widows, friends, unified by losses in every town, city and village. flowers and tears for millions who'd died. the last of the survivors have now left us. so, as world war i recedes further

into distant history, how should we keep remembrance alive? so what you've got there then is your engineer's store, 0k? let's keep on going back. historian andy robertshaw believes practical experience can help us understand why we should remember. he's reconstructed a section of the trenches here in kent to illustrate life at the front. his young visitors were united in their enthusiasm for the project, but divided on how remembrance should look in the future. you need to express it more. you can'tjust, like, let it lay in the history books at a library. you need to bring it to the school, and maybe have assemblies on it. i don't feel we should change it at all. we're still remembering them, and we're still remembering what they did. some tradition is important, but you could change it up a bit, because i think the youth will get bored of it. all around us are the battlefields of the first world war... one way of sustaining

interest is through stories. sir michael morpurgo is a master of his art. the stories are what stick, the stories are what stay. so, i think it's up to storymakers like me, dramatists, film—makers — however we tell our stories. there won't be, in 50 years' time, tears for these people, because no—one will know them. we will know it's desperately sad, but if you've known those people in your mind's eye, through a story, and you've felt it deeply that these people did do what they did, and it was important to you that they did, then it means something. bagpipes play at dud corner cemetery in northern france, the sun was setting as cadets paid tribute to the scottish regiments which served here. change may lie ahead, but the baton of remembrance is still being passed on. 0ur correspondent hugh schofield is at thiepval in northern france.

give us a sense of the significance of where you are and what is happening this afternoon. thiepval memorial is the most visited and the most symbolic of the places of remembrance for the commonwealth and great british soldiers from the first world war. we have been moved away from the actual monument because they are doing a security sweep, sadly. we had a great view of this, of these glorious arches, and on the walls are inscribed 72,000 names, the names of the soldiers who we re names, the names of the soldiers who were never found and names, the names of the soldiers who were neverfound and buried names, the names of the soldiers who were never found and buried and that gives you a sense of the scale of the slaughter that took place on these fields. behind over there is where the british lines were and in

1916 they came up the hill to where we are now and they walked into the massed ranks of the german machine guns and the slaughter was what it was. 100 years on it is a very poignant place, it is a beautiful day today, and when you wander around, the stillness and beauty of the place is what strikes you. the landscape is back to what it was before the war, a bucolic landscape, and this is a very special place, the cemeteries are dotted around, some with a handful of soldiers, because the british had a practice of burying the soldiers where they fell. but there is a sense of beauty here. people imagine the battlefields as bleak landscapes, but it is very beautiful here. thanks forjoining us. we will be back with you later for further

events when theresa may and emmanuel macron arrive. and stay with us for coverage of all events throughout the afternoon here on bbc news. and a reminder on sunday, there will be full coverage of commemorations at the cenotaph in central london, as the nation remembers, 100 years on from the end of world war one. 0ur coverage starts at 930. dojoin us for that. theresa may's allies in the democratic unionist party have accused her of breaking a promise that she'd never sign up to a brexit deal that treats northern ireland differently from the rest of the uk. the dup says a letter from the prime minister indicates she would be prepared to agree to northern ireland remaining within eu single market regulations. the chancellor philip hammond has insisted the government won't do anything that would threaten the union. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. this is what both the eu and the uk want to avoid —

a return to a troubled past with a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic. but how to keep the border free—flowing after brexit is proving difficult. the eu wants northern ireland to continue to follow their rules on customs and on some goods, until a wider trade deal is struck. but the government and dup say this would effectively create a new border in the irish sea between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. this week, the prime minister sent a letter to the dup leader, apparently to reassure her that this will not come into force. but the dup say that is not enough of a guarantee. they want the prime minister to explicitly rule out this option in any brexit agreement she reaches with the eu. we want to trust the prime minister, because she has said so many times that that is the case. but you have to judge any promise by what is actually delivered in an agreement. and from what we can see in the latter, it is quite clear

that some of the promises that are made do not conform to some of the content of the letter which has been written. all this is really about one of the most precious and rare commodities in politics — trust. the dup simply will not take verbal or even written assurances from the government. instead they want to ensure there is no mention of treating northern ireland differently from the rest of the uk after brexit in the official text of the withdrawal agreement that the government reaches with the eu. so can ministers guarantee that? just listen very closely to how the chancellor answered that question. the prime minister has been very clear about this many, many times. we will not do anything which puts our union at risk. it will not be on the withdrawal agreement? we will not do anything that will put the union at risk. the prime minister insists it would be the uk as a whole, not just northern ireland, that would sign up to any

temporary agreement, but some of her own cabinet members want certainty on when this will end. theresa may with her belgian counterpart today. these solemn images from the armistice commemorations underline the closeness of cross—channel relationships in the past. but even if the prime minister finds contemporary allies in the brexit negotiations, she could still be facing difficulties on the home front. ian watson, bbc news. in a moment we'll talk to our ireland correspondent chris page in belfast. but first to our political correspondent in westminster — iain watson. that point you made about trust. if there is a lack of trust, how can that be repaired ? there is a lack of trust, how can that be repaired? something which the prime minister would need to try to repair but whether that is possible remains to be seen. for the

dup, what they would like to see, she has tried to negotiate a draft eu withdrawal agreement which she can take to brussels and hopefully have a special summit and get it signed off, they would want to see in the text of that document a commitment not to treat northern ireland eddie differently but these negotiations have not exactly gone smoothly and they are trying to find a way round this problem —— any differently. what she's trying to convey to the eu the is that it is impossible to have a de facto border down the side of the irish sea and so down the side of the irish sea and so there will need to be a temporary arrangement beyond brexit if a trade deal takes longer to negotiate. that is where the eu are, but what they wa nt is where the eu are, but what they want in return is an absolute guarantee of no hard border in northern ireland. if you unpick that, the fear by the dup and also within the cabinet, the outcome

would look the same, and everything would look the same, and everything would seem that much the same, but it might be that northern ireland is governed by different rules and regulations when it comes to the single market and possibly the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice, so they want to see the document in black and white and the legal advice underpinning it but if she can't do that she is in potential further trouble down the line. either she gets a deal with the cabinet or the eu but she still has to get it through parliament and the ten dup votes could be crucial ina very the ten dup votes could be crucial in a very tight vote when most of the labour party are likely to oppose this, so unless she wins the dup over, they might withdraw their support. it is a difficult task but what they are asking, in terms of a compromise, to get this deal over the line, what they are asking might be too much for her to deliver. thanks forjoining us. 0ur ireland correspondent

chris pagejoins me now from belfast. how does it look where you are? the dup are upping the ansi as the brexit talks move into a sensitive phase —— upping the ante. it is all about the issue as to whether there is the potential for northern ireland to continue to follow european rules over goods. it is not customs, they said there would not be two customs territories within the uk, but that leaves open the issue of the european single market and how that would operate if the land border with the irish republic is kept open as it is at the moment. in that letter theresa may said there is a single electricity market on the island of ireland and also checks on animals as they move between northern ireland and the rest of the uk so the implication would be that if those arrangements

are not controversial maybe we could look at other arrangements to get round these brexit problems and that would not amount to a constitutional crisis for northern ireland. the dup do not see it that way and their main problem is that if northern ireland continues to follow eu rules on the movement of goods, those rules will be set in brussels and not london and therefore northern ireland will not have any influence over how those rules are set and to them it is a break—up of the union, they say. you can expect the dup to keep up the pressure on theresa may but i also think you can expect them to talk to tory backbenchers who are thinking if they don't get their way with the prime minister, this may be their next best option, to make an impact. clearly we are concentrating on the dup because there —— because of their connections to the conservatives, but what about the

other parties in northern ireland? the dup passionate campaign for the uk to leave the eu and they were the only one of the parties in northern ireland to do that. most of the others are setting themselves against the dup and most of them are critical of the dup‘s arrangement with the conservative party in westminster. sinn fein, the second biggest party in national ireland —— northern ireland, they say that the relationship between the conservatives and the dup is why there has been no devolved government in northern ireland for a while now. the dup will deny that and they will say the deal they have with the conservatives has brought lots of extra money to northern ireland, £1 billion of extra spending, and they also say is important to be in that position so

they can get the best deal for northern ireland out of the brexit negotiations. most people in northern ireland voted to remain so political opponents of the dup will make that point, but the dup one way 01’ make that point, but the dup one way or another are making their influence felt. their ten mps which the government relies on to get through votes and they will try to make the most of their influence to the maximum. chris, thanks for joining us. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. the prime minister lays wreaths at the graves of the first and last british soldiers killed in the first world war in belgium, to mark the armistice centenary. a car bursts into flames in melbourne after a terror attack in which a somali man stabs three people. the uk economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to september — thanks to the warm summer weather boosting spending. women around the world are having fewer children — a report finds half the world's countries are not reproducing

enough to maintain their current population sizes. and in sport... england's cricketsers have completed a thumping 211—run victory on day four of the first test against sri lanka to end their 13—match winless run away from home. meanwhile england's women have been dealt a major blow before the world twenty20 after all—rounder katherine brunt was ruled out of the tournament with a back injury. she'll be replaced by fran wilson, a member of the world and manchester united manager jose mourinho says he's ready to go toe—to—toe with "untouchable" manchester city in this weekend's eagerly—anticipated derby. but admits his side needs to "grow up" orface more defeats. i'll be back with more on those stores after half—past. australian police are treating as terrorism an attack on a busy shopping street in central melbourne. a somali man stabbed three people after driving a car into the city centre that was laden

with gas cylinders which then caught fire. the attacker was shot by police and later died in hospital. hywel griffith has sent this report from sydney — and a warning it includes some disturbing images. face to face with an armed attacker. 0fficers confront a man brandishing a knife. he continued to swing at them until, moments later, they shot him in the chest. the police were called after reports of a vehicle on fire. it had been driven into the heart of the city's busy shopping district before bursting into flames. gas canisters were later found at the scene. when the police arrived, they found members of the public had been attacked with a knife. one of them fatally. the attacker also later died in hospital. officers say he wasn't on a terror watch list, but he and his family, originally from somalia, were so—called persons of interest.

that person, he is now with police, he is known to police mainly in respect to relatives that he has that are certainly persons of interest to us. and he is someone that accordingly is known to both victoria police and the federal intelligence authorities. the police say the threat is over. but many here have been left shaken and anxious by what they witnessed. there have been a lot of police officers looking concerned. and friends have been concerned. it is quite graphic and quite violent and at the moment the best way of describing it is just shop. at the moment the best way of describing it isjust shop. —— shock. counterterrorism officers

are now investigating. they will need to establish whether the man was working alone or taking instructions from elsewhere. the people in melbourne this the question of whether more can be done to protect the public from such sudden and chaotic acts of terror. times are tough for the real —— return industry but figures just out said that figures have actually improved. it might be steady and measured, but the economy is growing at its fastest rate for nearly two years. on this small housing development in the ribble valley, it certainly feels like things are shifting in the right direction.

0.6% is across all industries and, of course, we are in the buoyant sector, 2.1% within construction, so, for me, it feels very exciting and, hopefully, it continues. i have been in several recessions now and it's not been good at times. you know, it really has not been good. so, no, it feels very exciting. after a slow start to the year, the chancellor's pleased things seem to be improving. 3.3 million newjobs, unemployment lower in every region and nation of the united kingdom since 2010. what we have now got to do is pivot to a focus on ensuring real wage growth and higher standards of living. it is only if wages carry on growing that we will feel the benefits of a growing economy. while construction has been growing the fastest, the services sector is the big beast of our economy and it might feel like a long time ago now, but that long hot summer is a thing that's given the figures a massive boost. we did see a one—off boost in consumer spending earlier in the third quarter,

due to the scorching summer and the world cup. consumers seem to have reined in their spending since then, after splashing out over the summer. that explains why as many as 14 shops a day have been closing this year. accou nta nts pwc say we are in the toughest trading climate in five years. as we head towards the winter, all industries are hoping to shore up the benefits of that summer sunshine. coletta smith, bbc news, near clitheroe. women around the world are having fewer children — with researchers describing the decline as ‘remarkable'. almost half the world's countries are not producing enough children to maintain their current population sizes. the study, published in the lancet, shows that back in 1950, women were having an average of 4.7 children in their lifetime. but by last year, the fertility rate halved to 2.4 children. there is a huge variation between countries. in niger in west africa women tend to have seven children, but in cyprus, they're only

having one child. 0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes reports from outside the ingleside birth and community centre in salford. we are in one of the birthing suites where women come to have children and staff say they are coming thick and staff say they are coming thick and fast here in salford but the study paints a different picture published in the lancet. they pointed three main factors, fewer deaths in childhood means women are having fewer children and greater access to contraception for women and more women entering the workforce and also education, those three factors are coming together to bring down the fertility rate and that reflects a success story. the global population is still rising because we are stilljust

global population is still rising because we are still just above global population is still rising because we are stilljust above the rate of 2.1 births per woman, below which populations start to shrink but there is the incredible variation around the globe. we are also living longer so even while the birds are falling, people are living longer and there are fewer births but more older people —— the births are falling. professor sarah harper is a gerontologist at the university of oxford and joins me now. these figures were described as remarkable by those who have looked into them in detail, do they surprise you? not at all. this is a trend we have seen in the last 200 yea rs, trend we have seen in the last 200 years, starting in europe, in the same trend has flown across the globe. the drivers you described are what were happening in europe in the last hundred 50 years and they are 110w last hundred 50 years and they are now happening in asia and that in america in particular. the important thing is education. it enables women

to enter the workforce but also keeps them out of the marriage market. niger in africa, women have seven children on average because many of them are married at 12 i have their first children at 13. it also changes their mind set —— and they have their first children at 13. one of the problems we have is overconsumption and if we can in any way stop our population reaching said, 15 billion, which is what people were talking about 20 years m, people were talking about 20 years in, that is a very good thing, but the problem is we are going through a transition. through a young population duped on the older populations and the 21st—century went see this transition and that is where the challenges come from —— to a young population to older populations. what are the implications in the short and medium

term? japan and korea have low fertility rates and they have very low death rates so their populations are living very long but many other countries, have solved the problem through migration and in the uk as we have used younger migrants to come into our societies and to boost oui’ come into our societies and to boost our workforce and that is why we are slightly younger than it would have been so migration is the world's balancing act to make sure that as populations age and the fertility rate goes down, that younger populations can coming from different parts of the world and help in this transition. that has significant political implications. it does. this is one of the problems, migration is very good for society as a whole, we accept, but clearly it has to be managed and

there can be local tensions. but basically migration is a wonderful balancing act as we reduce our numbers of children, increase the older population, but migrants can balance out the transition. thanks for joining balance out the transition. thanks forjoining us. now, the weather. among other things, we've got questions coming inforyou. we have been asking people to send in their questions on a friday afternoon. you have been in your d roves. afternoon. you have been in your droves. 0urfirst question, what is the difference between our hurricane and the cyclone? this is a question that we get asked quite a lot. the

short answer is that there is basically no difference at all. they arejust basically no difference at all. they are just storms that are fed by the warm waters of the oceans. in the indian ocean, like this one, they are known as tropical cyclones. this sort of storm can occur in other parts of the world. if it occurs in the western pacific we call it a typhoon. in the eastern pacific we call it a hurricane, also in the atlantic. they are all types of tropical low—pressure systems are just different names in different parts of the world. rain probability figures, that was the other one who we re figures, that was the other one who were going to deal with. this is quite a big thing for people who look at the weather on our app and website. this is a typical page from the bbc weather website,

running along the bottom you can see all the different rainfall percentages from 1% all the way up to 95%. people ask what does that a chilly mean. what this means is in any given weather situation, in this particular weather situation, so sunshine and showers, a front coming in from the west, a cloudy day. with that particular situation, what is the chancellor will see rain in that period. so if you could remain bucket outside your window and the percentages say 75%, 75 times out of a hundred in that situation you would find that your bucket would have rain in it. it is all down to the fact that the weather is unpredictable, particularly in showery situations. the higher the

number of these lead the greater the chance you will get wet. what else do you have for us? i have a weekend forecast and the forecast for the rest of today. there will be some rain in your bucket for the rest of the afternoon. the skies were darkening with the arrival of this swirl of cloud, a developing area of low pressure. you can see the way it is becoming more and more developed and it is this that could cause some travel problems this afternoon, particularly in western areas. heavy rain and deals with the risk of disruption. this is the radar picture for today. it is this wet weather that is the real weather maker to the rest of the day. this means paddling in across northern ireland, the south west, wales and eventually parts of southwest scotland. with that there will be

strengthening southerly winds. if you're going to be on the roads at five o'clock this afternoon, across the south west and wales, not a pretty picture. there is a met 0ffice amber warning rain here in pembrokeshire. there has already been some flooding here and could be more. the black wind arrows show costs that could be up to 70 miles an hour in exposed spots. the rain will move into northern ireland and south—west scotland, as well. here is wedge of wet and windy weather that will push eastward through the night. we will get some blustery rain just night. we will get some blustery rainjust for a time. night. we will get some blustery rain just for a time. at least it is not going to be cold, maybe that comes as some relief. 6—11d. here is the weather front responsible, diving eastward through the first pa rt diving eastward through the first part of tomorrow. there will be some rainfora time part of tomorrow. there will be some rain for a time across shetland and the far south—east of england, then

we are into a sunshine and showers today. there will be blue skies and sunshine at times, but these showers will become more widespread, some of them heavy and thundery. temperatures between 11 and 15 degrees, but not as breezy as today. into sunday, armistice day, it is the same sort of story. sunny spells and heavy showers. the problem with showers it is hard to predict where they will turn up. what's your rainfall percentages on the apple website to see how things are where you are. we will see sunshine and showers, temperatures between ten and 14 degrees. so, some sunny spells, heavy showers for the weekend, but some wet and windy weather to get through today. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: the prime minister lays wreaths at the graves of the first and last british soldiers killed in the first world war in belgium to mark the armistice centenary.

an attack on a busy shopping street in central melbourne when a somali man stabbed three people is being treated as a terrorism incident by australian police. the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard irish border after brexit, while the irish prime while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, maintains it will not happen this summer's heatwave helped the economy to grow, but cracks are beginning to show as consumers cut back on spending. sport now on afternoon live with holly and something we don't see very often — england's cricketers have won away from home. meanwhile, there's been a big blow for england's women, winning highway is a bit of a rarity. their wind over sri lanka in their opening test is their first wind in two years. england were comfortable going in

today for. sri lanka needed a pretty unlikely comeback. jack leach with the early breakthrough as he and moeen ali combined to devastating effect. moeen ali with four wickets at his best figures away from home. in the end it was jack leach with the defining moments injust his second test. they beat sri lanka by 211 runs and with the day to spare. you can't blame them for that lap of honour at the end. you can't blame them for that lap of honour at the end. meanwhile, there's been a big blow for england's women, ahead of the world t20? the world t20 begins today. news broke earlier that they will be without katherine brunt, the all—rounder. she has been ruled out of the tournament with a back injury that has been a recurring problem

that has been a recurring problem that flared up again during a warm up that flared up again during a warm up game against india on wednesday. she will be replaced by fran wilson, who was in their world cup winning squad last year. the west indies begin their defence of their title this afternoon against bangladesh in guyana. three—time winners australia will be playing back later. england won this tournament back in 2009 and theircaptain, won this tournament back in 2009 and their captain, charlotte edwards, is expecting a great contest. every tea m expecting a great contest. every team has that matchwinner, that person who can get 160 balls. every tea m person who can get 160 balls. every team has that matchwinner, but for me they have the strength in depth, australia. they have real variety with the ball. australia are my tip but they wouldn't write off any of the other teams. the west indies at home, you feel they could do something special. the tournament sta rts something special. the tournament starts at three o'clock with new

zealand up against india and there is commentary on radio five live sports extra for all three of the games today. chelsea women have been drawn against paris saint—germain in the quarterfinals of the champions league. they are the only super league side left in the competition when they are looking to reach the semis for the second year in a row. if they do the could come up against the defending champions, leon, who ta ke the defending champions, leon, who take on wolfsburg. ahead of the eagerly anticipated manchester derby on sunday, jose mourinho says his side need to grow up. they have come from behind to wind both of the last two games against bournemouth and away to juventus, butjose against bournemouth and away to juventus, but jose mourinho against bournemouth and away to juventus, butjose mourinho says they can't keep conceding first. juventus, butjose mourinho says they can't keep conceding firstm is easy to feel that we are not a tea m is easy to feel that we are not a team that is set, we are a team that a lwa ys team that is set, we are a team that always finds a way to fight back. we area team

always finds a way to fight back. we are a team that has that collective spirit to fight back, but it is not a lwa ys spirit to fight back, but it is not always possible, so if we keep conceding goals before the opponents, it will arrive the day when we cannot comeback. there was a very special hole in one for gabby logan has at the lpga event in china. takea logan has at the lpga event in china. take a look at this. this helped to a six under par round of 66 and a one—shot lead going into the final round. this happened also on her birthday! she is looking for her first tournament win on the tour. i have been waiting for this moment. i'm very lucky to share the course of the best player in the world. i had fun, i enjoyed today and that is all it takes.

world. i had fun, i enjoyed today and that is all it takeslj world. i had fun, i enjoyed today and that is all it takes. i hope she will celebrate with the cake, a home in one and her birthday. president trump and the first lady departing the us for france to take part in the armistice commemorations. donald trump is coming to paris. let's listen to him speaking before he leaves. we have hundreds of companies moving back into the united states. you see the unemployment levels are at record lows. many people in our country before they have to come in legally and they have to have merit. they have to come into a system of merit. we have everything worked out. we need some votes for the democrats, we need support from the democrats, and hopefully there will see what is going on. the reason this is

happening as we have created such a successful cou ntry happening as we have created such a successful country economic league that everybody is flooding into our country, or they want to, but that is why we are stopping them at the border. that is why we have great military there. so, donald trump speaking in the united states, he is about to get on board air force one, flying across the atlantic to paris where he is due to be among 70 world leaders in the french capital by sunday to take pa rt the french capital by sunday to take part ina the french capital by sunday to take part in a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of world war i. we will be back in northern france on that subject in a few moments as well. emmanuel macron and theresa may raju said that event very shortly. let's get more now on the dup, which has accused the pm of ‘breaking promises' over plans

to avoid a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic post—brexit. meanwhile the chancellor philip hammond is insisting the government won't do anything that puts the union at risk. we can now get the thoughts of robin swann, leader of the ulster unionist party. the uup currently holds ten seats in the northern irish assembly, but lost both its seats in westminster during the 2017 election. good afternoon. good afternoon. if you had arlene foster's position of power at the moment, would you be doing anything differently? we would. what we should be doing is supporting the prime minister to get the deal that doesn't bring the bad stuff —— back stop into play. we would be supporting the prime minister to make sure that we get that comprehensive deal that does not bring about the possibility of a backstop. i assume that you and the

dup were in the same place about what you ultimately want to see happen. we are both unionist parties, so our main aim is to ensure northern ireland's position is integral in the united kingdom. anything that comes out of the backstop that weakens our position is something that we would not support either. even about the talk about bringing in different regulatory checks on products coming from gb to northern ireland is something that we couldn't stand over. what then of the developments on the last day, the leaked letter, the comments of philip hammond is, the comments of philip hammond is, the comments of the taoiseach, he says this simply will not happen. what you take out a ball that? there is one thing i have learned in northern ireland politics when lea ked northern ireland politics when leaked anything start to come out, they argued for a reason, for somebody trying to get a position of

strength over someone else. i think we are looking at a position now that the prime minister has put it up that the prime minister has put it up to the dup, i think she has said come to westminster, support the deal, the option is the backstop, the thing you are arguing against. we are at a crucial point in the negotiations, a crucial point as to where the united kingdom accepts what the prime minister is going to put on the table. to see what a progressive deal can looked like. thank you for coming in. we will ta ke thank you for coming in. we will take you to northern france in a moment where emmanuel macron and theresa may are due to appear fairly shortly. this is in the light of the events they are commemorating the

100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. jimmy robertson is beside me. the business news in a moment. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live: the prime minister lays wreaths at the graves of the first and last british soldiers killed in the first world war in belgium to mark the armistice centenary. a car bursts into flames in melbourne after a terror attack in which a somali man stabs three people. the uk economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to september, thanks to the warm summer weather boosting spending. the business news in a moment. here's your business headlines on afternoon live: the uk economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to september. that's a good number, about what the bank of england had been expecting, and it's thought boosted people out shopping in the warm weather. however, within those three months there is a slightly worrying trend — the economy grew fast injuly and then started to slow down

in august and september. the high street may well have been the first to feel the slowdown. the accountancy firm pwc says about 14 shops are closing every day. it says it's the toughest trading climate in five years. over 1,100 stores disappeared from britain's top 500 high streets in the first six months of the year. cash machines, you may be surprised to learn, pay rates. but who pays those rates? since 2010, it was thought to be the premesis they were attached to — a shop or office. but a ruling by the appeal court has decided the bill will be shared by government and the local authority. the shops and supermarkets will be refunded what they've been paying over the last eight years — around £300 million. we were going to go now to northern

france. theresa may and emmanuel macron are now in the midst of attributes to the missing fighters of the somme in thiepval in northern france. we will watch as they jointly lay the wreath. this site commemorates many thousands of british and commonwealth soldiers who died in the first world war. it is a symbol

of anglo—french cooperation. you will see the wreath that the two leaders laid combines the poppy and the french cornflour, the two national emblems of remembrance for written and france. —— great britain and france. you will have seen events earlier this morning in temp three where she performed a similar ceremony with the belgian leader. she and president micron planning to spend some time here at thiepval under that hugely imposing the dorian darch. they will be there for a little while. theresa may said the

visit would be the chance to reflect on the time in the countries fought side by side in europe. this is very much the beginning of events throughout this weekend. i mentioned events in paris that are due to take place next sunday when about 70 world leaders will be taking part on a ceremony on the shonda lycee to mark the end of world war i, the 100th anniversary. the prime minister will be back in london laying a reader the cenotaph and attending and national service to mark the occasion at westminster abbey. 0n to mark the occasion at westminster abbey. on saturday evening, the prime minister will be at the royal albert hall at the royal british

legion festival of remembrance. the two lea d e rs legion festival of remembrance. the two leaders making their way along this long avenue with graves either side of it. making their way ultimately towards that memorial in the distance. apologies for our slightly flickering camerawork for a moment. it gives you a sense of the scale of the setting. earlier on, when the prime minister was in belgium said the wreath—laying she performed their was a fitting and poignant symbol for every member of

the armed forces who gave their lives to protect what we hold so dear, she said. she went on to say we remember the heroes who lost their lives in the horror of the trenches and the sunsets on 100 yea rs of trenches and the sunsets on 100 years of remembrance, we will never forget their sacrifice. theresa may has also quoted during the day a line from one of the most well—known first world war poets. she left a note by the resting place of privatejohn she left a note by the resting place of private john parr from she left a note by the resting place of privatejohn parr from the middlesex regiment who died on the zist middlesex regiment who died on the 21st of august, 1914. he was the first uk soldier to be killed in the conflict. this was when she was mons this morning. she left a note alongside his resting quoting that line by robert brooks, it was in that rich earth in which the dust

revealed. a sonnet by rupert brooke published in january 1915. i think we can to show you those pictures again from a moment ago, the moment that emmanuel macron and theresa may league cup wreath i was describing a moment ago, presenting both countries, and a wreath made especially for the occasion for here at thiepval. sombre scene to northern france with

theresa may and emmanuel macron. he will return there at intervals throughout the afternoon as further ceremonies take place. in the meantime we will have a look at the weather prospects. if you have plans to travel later on today, it is worth listening to this weather forecast because the skies have been looking pretty threatening, particularly in western areas. you can threatening, particularly in western areas. you can see threatening, particularly in western areas. you can see this carol of cloud, deepening area of low pressure heading in our direction. this will bring wet weather and very windy weather particularly in western parts of the uk. the potential for very heavy brion and

deals, that could be some travel disruption. this rain continuing to piling through the rest of the afternoon, northern ireland, is south—western, wales. we could see wind gusts up to 70 miles an hour in the most exposed spots. at a dream giving most cause for concern, there isa giving most cause for concern, there is a met office amber warning in force for parts of south—western wales. there is also a general warning for rain through the south—west of england and wales. the black wind arrows show the wind gusts in excess of 40 or 50 miles an hour. through the evening, the rain with the strong winds will continue to sweep eastwards. behind it, the skies will clear to a certain extent, but the showers will rattle him. temperatures overnight but dropping very far, between seven and

11 degrees. still some rain to clear from shetland and the far side is england on saturday morning. that frontal system will push away but low pressure is still firmly in charge as we head into the weekend. through the day on saturday we will see some spells of sunshine, but also a see some spells of sunshine, but alsoafair see some spells of sunshine, but also a fair scattering of showers, particularly in the south—west, but then becoming more widespread during then becoming more widespread during the day. some of these showers will be happy with the odd rumble of thunder. but the wind still coming up thunder. but the wind still coming up from the south it'll be another mild day, between 11 and 15 degrees. for sunday, it is the same mix of weather, spells of sunshine and heavy showers. quite difficult to predict exactly where the showers will turn up. some of them will be heavy, possibly thundery, but some good spells of sunshine in between. it will be breezy but mild with highs of ten up to 14 degrees. hello, you're watching afternoon live. today at 3. theresa may and the french president lay a wreath in thiepval, in northern france, to mark the fallen fighters of the somme

and this is the scene live in northern france, where the two leaders have paid their respects at the thiepval memorial. an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as a terror—related incident. the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard irish border after brexit — while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar maintains it will not happen. the most important thing for me is the objective and that is to give everyone in northern ireland and ireland the assurance that a hard border will not develop between north and south no matter what else may happen in the years ahead. this summer's heatwave helped the economy to grow — but cracks are beginning to show as consumers cut back on spending. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. england captainjoe root has been full of praise for his squad after they thrashed sri lanka

in galle but he admits selectors will have a tough job to pick a team for the second test. more from him at 330. thanks. and we'll bejoining you for a full update just after half—past. ben has all the weather. it is turning wet and windy in many parts of the uk and i will tell you where the worst of the weather will be later in the programme. thanks, ben. also coming up — officials in california order the evacuation of thousands of people as wildfires — which have already burned around 80 square kilometres of land — spread across the northern part of the state. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live.

good afternoon and welcome to afternoon live. the prime minister and the french president, emmanuel macron, are at a ceremony in thiepval in northern france, ahead of this weekend's armistice commemorations, marking 100 years since the end of the first world war. they are attending a tribute to the missing fighters of the somme where they laid a wreath a few moments ago. earlier, theresa may was at a cemetery in mons in belgium where she laid wreaths at the graves of the first and last british soldiers killed in the great war. 0ur correspondent robert hall reports from mons. near the city which saw the earliest battles of the first world war, the leaders of two countries which fought side by side met to remember two soldiers whose deaths marked the beginning and end of the conflict. the first burials at saint—symphorien were carried out by the german army after the battle of mons in august 1914.

the cemetery now contains more than 600 graves, both commonwealth and german, spanning the entire war period. last post plays mrs may, with the belgian prime minister charles michel, laid a wreath at the grave of 17—year—old privatejohn parr. john parr had lied about his age and joined aged 15. he had been part of a bicycle—equipped reconnaissance unit on the first day of the war and he may have died as a result of friendly fire. four years later, as the minutes counted down to the armistice, private george ellison of the royal irish lancers fell victim to a german sniper, becoming the last british soldier to die before the ceasefire. saint—symphorien has always been a place of peace and reflection. today's ceremonies herald a weekend when europe will pay tribute to millions lost in what became known as the war to end all wars. those were events earlier in

belgium, and now we are alive in northern france. —— live in northern france. theresa may and france's president macron are attending a tribute to missing fighters of the somme in thiepval, northern france. you can see them in conversation. they are going to spend a little while they're paying their respects, specifically with reference to those who were missing at the somme 100 yea rs who were missing at the somme 100 years ago. it is part of a weekend of events looking back to the end of the first world war, 100 years ago. and stay with us for coverage of all events throughout the afternoon here on bbc news.

and a reminder on sunday there will be full coverage of commemorations at the cenotaph in central london, as the nation remembers, 100 years on from the end of world war one. 0ur coverage starts at 9.30. dojoin us for that. theresa may's allies in the democratic unionist party have accused her of breaking a promise that she'd never sign up to a brexit deal that treats northern ireland differently from the rest of the uk. the dup says a letter from the prime minister indicates she would be prepared to agree to northern ireland remaining within eu single market regulations. the chancellor philip hammond has insisted the government won't do anything that would threaten the union. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. this is what both the eu and the uk want to avoid — a return to a troubled past with a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic. but how to keep the border

free—flowing after brexit is proving difficult. the eu wants northern ireland to continue to follow their rules on customs and on some goods, until a wider trade deal is struck. but the government and dup say this would effectively create a new border in the irish sea between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. this week, the prime minister sent a letter to the dup leader, apparently to reassure her that this will not come into force. but the dup say that is not enough of a guarantee. they want the prime minister to explicitly rule out this option in any brexit agreement she reaches with the eu. we want to trust the prime minister, because she has said so many times that that is the case. but you have to judge any promise by what is actually delivered in an agreement. and from what we can see in the letter, it is quite clear that some of the promises that were made do not conform to some of the content of the letter

which has been written. all this is really about one of the most precious and rare commodities in politics — trust. the dup simply will not take verbal or even written assurances from the government. instead, they want to ensure there is no mention of treating northern ireland differently from the rest of the uk after brexit in the official text of the withdrawal agreement that the government reaches with the eu. so, can ministers guarantee that? just listen very closely to how the chancellor answered that question. the prime minister has been very clear about this many, many times. we will not do anything which puts our union at risk. it will not be in the withdrawal agreement? we will not do anything that will put the union at risk. the prime minister insists it would be the uk as a whole, not just northern ireland, that would sign up to any temporary agreement, but some of her own cabinet members want certainty on when this will end. theresa may with her belgian counterpart today. these solemn images

from the armistice commemorations underline the closeness of cross—channel relationships in the past. but even if the prime minister finds contemporary allies in the brexit negotiations, she could still be facing difficulties on the home front. iain watson, bbc news. we can speak now to sammy wilson — the dup‘s brexit spokesman — he joins us from larne in county antrim. good afternoon. going back to the word used in that piece, trust, do you not trust the prime minister? the difficulty is this, the prime minister is being asked to sign a document which will be an international treaty, legally binding, and part of that document as we understand it will have a backstop which refers to northern ireland specifically and which she has said will require northern

ireland to be treated as different from the rest of the uk because regulations about trade and working time directive is and environment, will be determined in brussels, so it is not a case of trusting, it is a case of making sure she doesn't sign up to something which she can't get out of. all along we have said the backstop is not necessary and she should not be signing up to a legal agreement which she does not have the ability to get out of and is dependent upon the eu to release herfrom. is dependent upon the eu to release her from. the northern ireland secretary has spoken on this subject and she said, the prime minister has been clear that she is not prepared to see the break—up of the constitutional and economic integrity of the uk in any deal. if thatis integrity of the uk in any deal. if that is true, i don't understand why you don't believe that? i don't

think we will get an answer because... we lost your line for a moment. can you reply to what i said? i did not hear it. this is what karen bradley has been saying. the prime minister has been clear that she will not see the break—up of the uk, why is that not enough for you? the prime minister is being asked to sign up to something which is well be on her period —— well beyond her period in office, and she will not have the ability to save at any stage we no longer wish to abide by the terms of that because she signed up to it legally —— to say. successive governments will be tied

to that agreement. what we are saying, if that agreement requires her to have as part of it northern ireland being treated differently then she should not sign up to it and that is the only way she can be sure that she can deliver on that promise. 0h goodness. another technical issue i was not anticipating. we are having technical difficulties. one more question. she said she won't sign up to it if northern ireland is treated differently. is that not enough? in the letter it says that northern ireland will be treated differently and it will be northern ireland specific and that northern ireland will be required to align itself with the regulations of the european union. firstly, that the promise that was made that the northern

ireland assembly would have the final say is now removed from the letter she has sent to us —— thirdly stop so we have already seen, and i imagine this is at the behest of the eu, that this has now been removed and that is why we see the letter as being one which has the alarm bells ringing. we will leave it there in the interests of the general good order of your attic space. thanks for joining order of your attic space. thanks forjoining us. thank you. and now to other matters. australian police are treating as terrorism an attack on a busy shopping street in central melbourne. a somali man stabbed three people after driving a car into the city centre that was laden with gas cylinders which then caught fire. the attacker was shot by police and later died in hospital. hywel griffith has sent this report from sydney — and a warning it includes

some disturbing images. face to face with an armed attacker. 0fficers confront a man brandishing a knife. he continued to swing at them until, moments later, they shot him in the chest. the police were called after reports of a vehicle on fire. it had been driven into the heart of the city's busy shopping district before bursting into flames. gas canisters were later found at the scene. when the police arrived, they found members of the public had been attacked with a knife. one of them fatally. the attacker also later died in hospital. officers say he wasn't on a terror watch list, but he and his family, originally from somalia, were so—called persons of interest. in relation to that person, he is known to police,

he is known to police mainly in respect to relatives that he has that are certainly persons of interest to us. and he is someone that accordingly is known to both victoria police and the federal intelligence authorities. the police say the threat is over. but many here have been left shaken and anxious by what they witnessed. there have been a lot of police officers looking concerned. and i've run into friends who have been concerned. video footage has also emerged. it is quite graphic and quite violent and at the moment the best way of describing it is just shock. counterterrorism officers are now investigating. they will need to establish whether the man was working alone or taking instructions from elsewhere. the people in melbourne face the question of whether more can be done to protect the public from such sudden and chaotic acts of terror. ben knight from australian

broadcaster abc — is at the scene in melbourne — and has sent us this update. a couple of hundred metres up there is what took place after four o'clock this afternoon, an incident which police are treating as a terrorist event, and they say a man drove a four—wheel drive vehicle at speed and parked the car. by not clear what happened next, but they said the car caught fire and the man got out of the car. in what order, by not sure, but the fire in the car turned into something extremely fierce with a lot of flames and smoke. police said the two offices nearby, clearly there were a lot of police in the centre of melbourne, a couple of police officers heard the call and they arrived and then the man who had driven the vehicle there and who got out of the car began randomly attacking people nearby,

randomly attacking people nearby, randomly stabbing people. one of those people has since died and the others are still in hospital. the offender then approached the police and tried to attack them through the window and what followed was really quite remarkable and graphic. the police officers and members of the public, engaged with the man and tried to sub julien, public, engaged with the man and tried to subjulien, without using weapons, and one guy even used a shopping trolley to try to fend him off —— tried to sub duo him for top eventually one police officer drew his weapon and he shot him in the chest. he was treated at the scene and taken to the royal melbourne hospital and he has also now died. police say he was known to victorian police and they also say he was known to federal intelligence authorities, not necessarily through his own criminal history, which was

pretty minor, a few cannabis offences and driving offences, but he was known to intelligence agencies because of family connections. the police are not saying much more about that at the moment. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. theresa may and the french president lay a wreath in thiepval, in northern france, to mark the fallen fighters of the somme an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as terror—related. and the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard irish border after brexit — while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar maintains it will not happen. and asked continue sst injury to

danny idol be back about 14 shops are closing every day on the british high street, according to the accountancy firm pwc. it says fashion and electrical stores have been particularly vulnerable to online shopping, and describes trading conditions as the worst for five years. well, times may be tough for the retail industry but figures just out show the economy as a whole grew by 0.6 per cent over the summer months, as our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. it might be steady and measured,

but the economy is growing at its fastest rate for nearly two years. on this small housing development in the ribble valley, it certainly feels like things are shifting in the right direction. 0.6% is across all industries and, of course, we are in the buoyant sector, 2.1% within construction, so, for me, it feels very exciting and, hopefully, it continues. i have been in several recessions now and it's not been good at times. you know, it really has not been good. so, no, it feels very exciting. after a slow start to the year, the chancellor's pleased things seem to be improving. 3.3 million newjobs, unemployment lower in every region and nation of the united kingdom since 2010. what we have now got to do is pivot to a focus on ensuring real wage growth and higher standards of living. it is only if wages carry on growing that we will feel the benefits of a growing economy. while construction has been growing the fastest, the services sector is the big beast of our economy and it might feel like a long time ago now,

but that long hot summer is a thing that's given the figures a massive boost. we did see a one—off boost in consumer spending earlier in the third quarter, due to the scorching summer and the world cup. consumers seem to have reined in their spending since then, after splashing out over the summer. that explains why as many as 14 shops a day have been closing this year. accou nta nts pwc say we are in the toughest trading climate in five years. as we head towards the winter, all industries are hoping to shore up the benefits of that summer sunshine. coletta smith, bbc news, near clitheroe. women around the world are having fewer children — with researchers describing the decline as ‘remarkable'. almost half the world's countries are not producing enough children to maintain their current population sizes. the study, published in the lancet, shows that back in 1950,

women were having an average of 4.7 children in their lifetime. but by last year, the fertility rate halved to 2.4 children. there is a huge variation between countries. in niger in west africa women tend to have an average of seven children, but in cyprus, they're only, on average, having one child. 0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes reports from a birth centre in salford. we are in one of the birthing suites where women come to have children and staff say they are coming thick and fast here in salford but the study paints a different picture, published in the lancet. they point to three main factors — fewer deaths in childhood mean women are having fewer children, greater access to contraception for women, and more women entering the workforce and also education. those three factors are coming together to bring down the fertility rate and that reflects a success story. the global population is still

rising because we are stilljust above the rate of 2.1 births per woman, below which populations start to shrink, but there is the incredible variation around the globe. we are also living longer so even while the births are falling, people are living longer so there are fewer births but more older people. the formerfirst lady, michelle 0bama, has opened up about difficulties she had in pregnancy. in her new memoir, becoming, mrs 0bama reveals that she had a miscarriage and that both her daughters — malia and sasha — were conceived through ivf. she told the us television network — abc's good morning america that she felt "lost and alone" after her miscarriage 20 years ago and that it's important to talk about them. firefighters in california are battling two major wildfires that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. the first blaze broke

out on thursday in northern butte county, and has already engulfed more than 20,000 acres of land. further south, another fire is burning in ventura county near los angeles — a few miles from the scene of a mass shooting in thousand oaks that claimed 12 lives earlier this week. lauren moss reports. it isa it is a landscape of destruction. wild are ravaging parts of california, tearing through homes, hospitals, and california, tearing through homes, hospitals, - and schools. roads hospitals, shops, and schools. roads are gridlocked as thousands tried to flee the flames, taking only what they can carry. 0ne flee the flames, taking only what they can carry. one of the fires in they can carry. one of the fires in the northern town of paradise burned through 20,000 acres of dry forest ina through 20,000 acres of dry forest in a matter of hours. further south

in venture recounting a los angeles strong winds are hampering efforts to tackle another fast moving blaze in what has become a race against time. right now we are trying to protect exposures by stopping the fire spreading from one house to the next. it is very hard with the high winds, and very hard to see some of these homes are we are putting the water between some homes to stop the fire leapfrogging water between some homes to stop the fire lea pfrogging to water between some homes to stop the fire leapfrogging to other homes. firefighters have been battling through the day and night and helicopters are releasing water to keep on top of the raging fire and there are unconfirmed reports of casualties and it is understood some people may have been cut off. this last year has been the worst the state has ever seen for wildfires, as scenes of devastation left behind there is a red warning on the horizon that the fight against them is by no means over. communities around britain are preparing for this sunday's centenary commemorations.

villages and towns are being covered in poppies, whilst others are putting the finishing touches to religious services. duncan kennedy has been to portsmouth, where they have created a unique series of memorials to those killed in world war one. number11, number 11, edward burch. number11, edward burch. 39, earning scripts. number33, number 33, charles latham, number33, charles latham, petty 0fficer. reginald road, just one road that was home to 23 men who died in the first world war. here in portsmouth 846 roads are having plaques like this one put up in time to mark the weekend since inari, to show the extent of the losses in ordinary homes in ordinary communities. clive wrote, guildford

road. newcombe road, nearly every road. newcombe road, nearly every road at 6000 names, remembered in the places where they never returned. we are used to seeing long lists of names on warm oils and that is hard to represent the human cost of death —— on war memorials. but when he walked down the streets here you see these plaques which really brings home how bees were ordinary people like us today and they would have left the houses here to go and fight in the first world war —— how these work. it's notjust portsmouth preparing for the centenary. 0n these work. it's notjust portsmouth preparing for the centenary. on a hill in wiltshire they are finishing off the restoration of a giant map off the restoration of a giant map of australia. the map was created in 1917 by homesick australian troops based in a nearby camp. now returned to its striking original condition,

it will be the scene of a service on sunday. four years ago when i started it was a pipe dream and i saw it disappeared and i had no real idea that i could achieve it. from the white of the chalk to the red of the white of the chalk to the red of the pom. the white of the chalk to the red of the poppy, in the west midlands station road has turned into poppy road, while in gloucestershire local people have knitted over 12,000 poppies, just one of the collective and individual acts of remembrance which will take place in britain on sunday. duncan kennedy, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. the skies have been quite threatening especially in western parts, wet and windy weather sliding into my heavy rain and gale is giving the potential for travel disruption. for the south west and

wales northwest england and northern ireland, a soggy rush hour with a strong and gusty winds, up to maybe 78 miles per hour. the wet and windy weather will go east and behind it clear spells with a rash of showers. temperatures not dropping far. the last of the rain will clear tomorrow. and then a mixture of sunshine and showers but some of the showers will be heavy with flashes of lightning and thunder. still breezy, but mild. sunday, armistice day, a similar day, spells of sunshine but also some heavy showers. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: theresa may and the french president lay a wreath in thiepval in northern france to mark the fallen fighters of the somme. an acid attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people,

one fatally, is treated as a terror—related incident. the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard irish border after brexit, while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar maintains it will not happen. this summer's heatwave helped the economy to grow, but cracks are beginning to show as consumers cut back on spending. sport now on afternoon live with holly hamilton. something we don't see very often — england's cricketers winning away from home? for england and the travelling fans, away wins are a bit of a rarity. in fact, their victory over sri lanka in the opening test is their first win in two years. they've been rather dominant over the first three days, which left sri lanka with a pretty unlikely comeback. and their fears were quickly realised — jack leach with the early

breakthrough as he an moeen ali combined to devastating effect. moeen with four wickets and his best match figures away from home. in the end, it was leach with the defining moment, in just his second test. so, england downing sri lanka in galle by no less than 211 runs and with a day to spare, julian. meanwhile, there's been a big blow for england's women ahead of the world t20, which has started today? the women's world t20 has been getting under way this afternoon. enlgand have to wait until saturday to get their campaign underway, but they will be wihtout all—rounder katherine brunt — she's been ruled out of the tournament with a back injury. this is a recurring problem that flared up again during a warm—up game against india on wednesday. she'll be replaced by fran wilson, who was in last year's world cup winning squad with england's first match against sri lanka staring tomorrow in st lucia.

arsenal have said that danny welbeck has suffered a significant injury to his right ankle. the striker was carried off during their goalless europa league draw with sporting lisbon at the emirates last night. the club say he remains in hospital and will continue to be assessed and that a further update will be issued over the next 72 hours. pep guardiola believes manchester united are back to their best ahead of sunday's derby with his city side. united come into the game off the back of their champions league win atjuventus and having won at the etihad at the end of last season. guardiola knows just how significant these games are. i know the derby. i lived in barcelona for many years and i know the special derbies against real madrid and i know in germany when we played borussia dortmund, it is

special, i know that. but in the end it is three points. i understand how important it is. we lost the derby, we played quite good in that game, but in the end we were champions of the game didn't count. but in the end we were champions of the game didn't count. chelsea women have been drawn against paris saint germain in the quarter—finals of the champions league. they are the only super league side left in the competition and they're looking to reach the semis for the second year in a row. if they do, they could come up against the defending champions lyon, who take on wolfsburg in their quarter—final. the first legs are on the 20th or 21st march, with the return games a week later. 0wen farrell says his side need to throw themselves into third test match against the all blacks tomorrow afternoon. 0wen farrell says the need to be committed from the start. i think they are a very

good side. they are a size that do a lot of things very good and they are obviously a tough opponent. what we have got to make sure is that we don't depart to enter the weekend and feel our way in. we have got to make sure we threw ourselves into it and are pretty confident throughout begin with that. as i said, we prepared well this week. we are looking forward to it and i can't wait for the game to come now. that's all the sport for now. we will have more for you in the next hour. as we approach the centenary of the first world war, the prime minister has today been in belgium and france to attend commemorations. this afternoon, she's been in northern france, in thiepval, where she attended a tribute, along with president macron, for missing fighters of the somme, but earlier, she laid two wreaths at a military cemetery in mons in belgium. 0ur correspondent gavin lee was there: well, this is the military cemetery

here in southern belgium and theresa may and the belgian prime minister came here because mons was pivotal in terms of history in the first world war, the first place that the british engaged german troops in august 1914, and suffered heavy losses and retreated. it was the same place at the end of the war was the last city to be liberated by british and canadian troops. they came this way 100 years ago, this is the way canadian troops were coming in and it was on the 11th that they actually liberated mons hours before the armistice. when the british and belgian prime minister is came here they put read some graves. this is 17—year—old john parker, who was 15 at the time, he lied about his age to be invested. he was shot as he was looking towards the german lines to see where they were. there is a

handwritten note by theresa may that says there is in that the church arabist —— richard dust concealed. it is appalled by robert burke. just a few yards away, barely five steps on the other side, is the degree of george ellison, a 40—year—old, who was shot dead 19 minutes before the armistice. he also served at the outbreak of the war here in mons. he was talking to belgian civilians when he was shot by a sniper. it says here they were staunch to the end against odds aren't counted. again from a poor one. let's bring in mike stanton, a military historian. give us a sense a hundred yea rs historian. give us a sense a hundred years ago today what was going on. it seems inconceivable to us now. we're all thinking about the 11th of november, but a hundred years ago the was still going on. just over there in that landscape was fighting

and firing. you would've been able to hear the sounds of the guns firing, be able to see the flashes on the horizon as the canadians make their way towards the cemetery. on the horizon as the canadians make their way towards the cemeterym isa their way towards the cemeterym is a shared cemetery with german soldiers, as well. some of the german soldiers build the british graves. this cemetery was built by the german army. in 1917 it is unveiled in the belgian landowner gave them the land on the proviso that the germans would treat the german and british dead equally. this beautiful cemetery is a lasting tribute to the way that they treated to dead 100 years ago. thank you for talking to us. theresa may has left ear. there was a brief incident on the motorcade of theresa may, one of the motorcade of theresa may, one of the oak riders was hit by traffic as they were leaving on the motorway. we were told it was a slight injury, the belgian bremen is to provide to

see if they were 0k, and they are on their way now. theresa may is in france with emmanuel macron right in the middle of the river somme. she will then go on from there to thiepval, a memorial were hundreds of thousands of allied soldiers lost their lives around the river somme in some of the bloodiest fighting of the first world war. this is the start of the armistice and remembrance events throughout the weekend, 100 years since the end of the first world war. the prime minister has not been to thiepval. we saw those pictures of her with emmanuel macron earlier on. let's get more now on the dup, which has accused the pm of "breaking promises" over plans to avoid a hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic post—brexit. the party's ten westminster mps are key because theresa may relies on their support in important votes because she does not have a majority in the house of commons. the pm has repeatedly said that she won't accept a brexit deal that breaks up the united kingdom.

let's go back to belfast, where we can now speak to mairtin 0 muilleoir, brexit spokesperson for sinn fein. good afternoon. good afternoon. he presumably shared the dup's concerns over this. no, in fact, the majority of parties here oppose the dup possession. we voted to remain in the european union, and the majority of parties in the assembly wanted to remain. the dup are the oak riders on this. brexit will be very damaging to peace and reconciliation process , damaging to peace and reconciliation process, it will be disastrous to our economy, it will set us back in terms of the prosperity we have been making here in the last 20 years. the dup one brad said that any cost to serve narrow political interests

and it is good to see the british prime minister returned to washington was in december, pledge that there will be our backstop or better for the north of ireland in the time ahead. this comes out of a lea ked the time ahead. this comes out of a leaked letter. the prime minister has given a clear assurance that thatis has given a clear assurance that that is not necessarily word will go. you and the dup, i know you have different views on brexit, but you don't want a hard border either, do you? we know that the dup well saying one thing, that in fact one of their spokespersons has briefed the media that build the border as high as dupont. another mla said what would be wrong about the hard border? we know that in terms of going back to the past, that the dup's favoured policies, which are not familiar to those who studied the 18th century would be familiar to those who studied the years of division here, because the dup policy would make worse the

division. we had sammy wilson on earlier on that he could not have been clearer that he does not want a ha rd been clearer that he does not want a hard border. if that is the case, then he should accept what the eu 27 is saying, accept or 21 business organisations here, the greatest coming together of business organisations, said they want to stay in the customs union and single market. if sammy wilson accepts that he has to step aside from the red white and blue brexit. you know also that when you go back to what the prime minister has been saying on this, she has ruled out the customs union single market membership for northern ireland because she has ruled that either the whole of the united kingdom. and the wonderful thing she said that, she has also signed her name to a letter to michel barnier saying that she

wouldn't allow the north of ireland to have a backstop, which means that it does remain in the customs union. but that is only if the deal is done, except? i understand that, but thatis done, except? i understand that, but that is the pledge that theresa may has made on several occasions, if she can get the better deal, she will allow the north of ireland to stay aligned with the single market. she is saying different things. i am pleased that in recent days the british government seems to be returning to the solemn promise to give to the eu, and that means we have a brexit which is not a disaster for our economy, which ensures we don't have a return to a ha rd ensures we don't have a return to a hard border, iwould be ensures we don't have a return to a hard border, i would be pleased. the dupi hard border, i would be pleased. the dup i think need to accept the will of the majority here, but we want to continue on this road of progress, meaning we have to stay in the

customs union and single market. thank you very much for coming on. fly—tipping is on the rise, increasing by nearly 45 per cent in england, scotland and wales in the last five years. it costs millions to clean up, and anyone caught doing it will be fined, but it's now hoped new penalties for people who pay rogue companies to get rid of their waste will also tackle the problem. samantha fenwick reports from birmingham. imagine what it's like to have to walk through this every morning on your way to school or to work. it makes us feel unsafe. i believe that where there is rubbish, there's less respect for the area and there's more antisocial behaviour and crime. we've got a sign there that's broken, that shows the respect that they've got for the area. fly—tipping is a problem right across birmingham. this is a particularly bad area. there's household waste, fridges, mattresses and there's rotting food. there are flies everywhere, and the smell is quite horrendous. the situation has become so bad in parts of birmingham that over the past few years,

local people have started going out several times a week, cleaning up the streets where they live. it's on every single road you drive in, inner cities are a tip. the minute you report it, it gets clean, an hour later, two hours later, by the time the evening comes, the rubbish appears again. it's getting diabolical. who's tipping all of this stuff? definitely local residents. the tip is only a mile down the road, why people would dump here, i honestly don't understand it. residents here in birmingham say the problem is made worse because there aren't enough bin collections. but the council say that's nonsense. this is down to laziness. i find it frustrating that people think it's ok to do this, you know, because it isn't. no matter who we are or what issues or frustrations we face, it is not acceptable to go and take your rubbish and throw it on somebody else's back door.

some of it's got nappies in... birmingham council has a specialist team investigating these types of crimes. we've found some evidence that shows a residential address, so we'll be going along this afternoon to knock on the door to find out why the resident's address is in this rubbish. later this year, local councils in england will get powers to fine households up to £400 if they pay someone to take their rubbish and dump it in places like this. samantha fenwick, bbc news. the business news in a moment. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live: theresa may and the french president lay a wreath in thiepval, in northern france, to mark the missing fighters of the somme an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as terror—related. the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans

to avoid a hard irish border after brexit, while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, maintains it will not happen. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. the uk economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to september. that's a good number, about what the bank of england had been expecting, and it's thought boosted people out shopping in the warm weather. however, within those three months, there is a slightly worrying trend — the economy grew fast injuly and then started to slow down in august and september. the high street may well have been the first to feel the slowdown. the accountancy firm pwc says about 14 shops are closing every day. it says it's the toughest trading climate in five years. 0ver1,100 stores disappeared from britain's top 500 high streets in the first six months of the year. cash machines, you may be surprised to learn, pay rates.

but who pays those rates? since 2010, it was thought to be the premesis they were attached to — a shop or office. but a ruling by the appeal court has decided the bill will be shared by government and the local authority. the shops and supermarkets will be refunded what they've been paying over the last eight years — around £300 million. you have reported before on people being overchargesd when they stay with a service provider for several years for broadband, for insurance, mortgages, a range of things — is anything changing? maybe, there is an investigation ongoing by the competition and markets autjority — cma — received a super—complaint from citizens advice about long term customers overpaying for key

services — and we've been hearing evidence from comparison websites, who have been putting across some fairly shocking numbers. the website ismybillfair.com says just broadband customers pay £4 billion too much for their services. it is so galling because you are a loyal customer. you would pay a great deal less if you shop around. alex perrin, ceo at ismybillfair.com. how bad is this? it is actually worse than those figures. in the supercomplaint, worse than those figures. in the super complaint, they said that consumers are paying too much i! .4 billion over five categories, but

they've dug into this and our figures show that in just one they've dug into this and our figures show that injust one of those categories, broadband, people are overpaying by 4 billion. if you think about back kind of extrapolation across all five, then you think about other agrees not yet included but were we know these pricing practices exist, such as car breakdown and energy, then the problem will almost certainly run into tens of billions. it is up to the consumer to look around. services like yours or out there for eve ryo ne services like yours or out there for everyone to see, to use. if people get somewhat duped but not columns, into paying over the odds, is that not problem? i would disagree with that. for years and years, every time there has been a story like this and every time there has been an energy price rise announced,

everybody, whether they are politicians, media commentators, regulators, they have said consumers, you need to switch. if you aren't switching, effectively, it is your fault. what this super complaint states and what the evidence shows clearly is that levels of switching aren't going up. most people don't want to switch. the research that we did shows that 7996 the research that we did shows that 79% of people said they would just wish they'd got a fairer deal rather than having to switch. surely that gets to the heart of the problem in many ways. if one of the ways in which you get lower prices in this environment is by having a competitive market, by people competing. if you have a competitive market you have to have consumers being able and willing to switch from one to another. consumers are able to switch, there are lots of switching services out there. our consumers willing to switch? why

should we as consumers be forced to jump should we as consumers be forced to jump through hoops to get the same gas coming through the same pipe or the same broadband service coming through the same wire into your home even when you do switch? there are two ways that consumers can get a fair deal. 0ne two ways that consumers can get a fair deal. one is to switch, but the other is for consumers to be challenging their provider to give them a more fairer deal for staying with them. that is the service we are offering two people. i don't think that the answer going forward can be more switching because we have had so many years of switching being pushed and citizens advice are saying very clearly what is now neededis saying very clearly what is now needed is a solution for people to get there a price without needing to switch. do you think because of this super complaint anything will change? something may change but i think will take years and years. the previous super complaint made was ppi. the complaint was made in 2005.

the first refund was made until six years later. what we are calling on is for the cma and the other regulators such as the fca and 0fcom to ensure that this is pushed through much more quickly. mainly we are calling on those service providers to stop taking these customers for a ride. they need to be investing now in giving fairer deals to these loyal customers, either by working through a service like ours or by any other mechanism. what we can't afford to do as a country is wait for legislation or regulation. every day this drags on it is costing people 11 million pounds a day for broadband alone. we can't afford a six—year wait. pounds a day for broadband alone. we can't afford a six-year wait. alex, thank you very much. some breaking political news. the

transport minister, joe johnson, boris johnson's transport minister, joe johnson, borisjohnson's brother, has a p pa re ntly borisjohnson's brother, has apparently resigned from his job borisjohnson's brother, has apparently resigned from hisjob in government with reference to brexit and concerns over the state of play as regards the negotiations on brexit at the moment. i am looking for various lines that are emerging about what he has said so far. he says that the hopes that existed for the easiest deal in history have proved to be delusions, that is one of the most striking remarks of what he has had to say so far. he also adds... he is using some quite striking language here as he resigns, he says, and again i quote, that the uk is on the brink of the biggest crisis since world war ii. 0ne biggest crisis since world war ii. one to lines emerging as i scrolled through some of his comments, the uk

people should be given a final say on the brexit deal. that is another observation he has made in departing. he said my brother, boris, who led the leave campion, is has unhappy with the government's proposals as i am. there is a whole list of concerns there thatjoel johnson, who until earlier today was the transport minister, is now outlining about the breadth of negotiations, the state of play, the fa ct negotiations, the state of play, the fact that he would like to see some sort of second vote on the outcome, the suggestions earlier that this would be an easy negotiation. as far as he is concerned, that has not turned out to be true. that line about the biggest crisis since the second world war is clearly as striking one. and the fact he is the brother of borisjohnson, striking one. and the fact he is the brother of boris johnson, who striking one. and the fact he is the brother of borisjohnson, who has been so prominent in the pro brexit

campaign throughout. boris johnson resigned as foreign secretary because he couldn't stomach the so—called checkers deal. all of those factors playing into whatjoe johnson has said as part of his resignation. i think we can go to chris mason, our correspondent adds westminster. what do we know? this is extraordinary. the resignation from joejohnson, is extraordinary. the resignation from joe johnson, the minister for transport, he is the mp for 0rpington in south london. he has resigned in terms, the language was not dissimilar to the video he has posted online in the last few minutes, complains that are similar about the brexit plan from his brother. some of the key quotes from

the video he has posted online, talking about the uk barrelling towards an incoherent brexit, which would leave the uk in and insubordinate position relative to the eu with no say over rules for vast swathes of our economy. he picks up on a quote, a slogan that was used in the past, 15 years ago, talking about being in europe and not run by europe, saying that the brexit deal that the prime minister is trying to secure would ensure that the uk was out of europe, but much of the economy was still run by it. so, very, very critical of the prime minister. joejohnson it. so, very, very critical of the prime minister. joe johnson is it. so, very, very critical of the prime minister. joejohnson is a relatively junior member of the government, but here we are right in the sprint finish, as the prime minister will hope it is to getting that withdrawal agreement, trying to

find some sort of package that she can sell to parliament and sell to the european union, and here is someone the european union, and here is someone who was within the tent until a couple of minutes ago, publicly saying he cannot whether the idea of defending what it looks like the minister could be about to secure. so is if we needed reminding of the turbulence that brexit is causing, here is another case of it. thank you, chris mason at westminster. good afternoon. the skies have been looking threatening in western parts of uk. some the wet and windy weather sliding its way in. heavy rain and gale is given potentialfor travel disruption. for the south—west, four wheels, north—west

england, northern ireland, south—west scotland, as soggy rush—hour, with gusts up to 70 mountain are possible. the wet and windy weather will sweep its way eastward through the night, behind that some clear spells with showers rattling in. cabbage is not falling far, from seven — 11 degrees. the rain will hang around in the very south of england and shetland in the morning, but that will move off and there will be showers. it will be breezy and mild. for sunday, a similar sort of day. there will be some spells of sunshine, but also some spells of sunshine, but also some heavy showers. hello, you're watching afternoon live. today at 4. transport ministerjo johnson resigns over brexit, saying "the choice being presented to the british people is no choice at all." theresa may and french president emmanuel macron lay a wreath in thiepval, northern france, to mark the missing fighters of the somme. the two leaders attended the ceremony

at the thiepval memorial, which commemorates more than 70,000 british and commonwealth soldiers. an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as a terror—related incident. the dup accuses theresa may of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard irish border after brexit — while the irish prime minister, leo varadkar maintains it will not happen. the most important thing for me is the objective and that is to give everyone in northern ireland and ireland the assurance that a hard border will not develop between north and south no matter what else may happen in the years ahead. this summer's heatwave helped the economy to grow — but cracks are beginning to show as consumers cut back on spending. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. england cricket captainjoe root has been full of praise for his squad after wrapping up their first overseas test victory for more than two years —

we'll hear from root at 430. what about the weather? wet and windy, especially in the west. that will move east, to lead to a weekend of sunshine and showers. what is high pressure actually mean? i will tell you at 430. thanks. also coming up — 0fficials in california order the evacuation of thousands of people as wildfires — which have already burned around 80 square kilometres of land — spread across the northern part of the state. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live. in the past few minutes,

the transport minister and brother of borisjohnson has resigned from the government over brexit. speaking on social media he said the brexit deal "will be a terrible mistake. " he also said that the choice being presented to the british people "is no choice at all" and called for the public to have a final say on brexit. political correspondent chris mason is in westminsterfor us. this has just appeared this hasjust appeared on this has just appeared on twitter in the last ten minutes so we have not heard directly from jo johnson or reaction from downing street. jo johnson is the mp for 0rpington in south london and the ministerfor transport and he was a campaigner for remain unlike his brother but much of the critique he sets out in this video he has posted on social

media is very similar to the one articulated by borisjohnson the former foreign secretary when he stood down from the government a few months ago. in the video he talks about this being a incoherent brexit where the uk would be in a subordinate relationship to the eu and that it would not be acceptable and that it would not be acceptable and that it would not be acceptable and that there is a gulf between what was promised in the referendum and the fire in the proposed deal before the country —— and the offer. what is striking, he then mentions, he says it is imperative we go back to the people and check that they are to the people and check that they a re co nte nt to the people and check that they a re content to to the people and check that they are content to proceed on this basis. he is advocating it would appear another referendum. there have been very few conservative mps who have advocated another referendum, who have joined who have advocated another referendum, who havejoined the

people's vote campaign, who had the big march in central london a couple of weeks ago. whether it he is of the view that he would like to back remain or he would now prefer a clear and true brexit, we have to wait and see, but clearly is not happy with the direction the prime minister is taking on this proposed arrangement that she hopes to put before her government and cabinet and parliament in a matter of a few weeks. you raise a question i was pondering. you get to the point where he says although he voted remain he desperately wanted the government to make a success of brexit and at times he says he believes that was possible. is this one of these times or not? exactly.

is he now was the view that there is only, you can't do brexit by halves. if you are going to deliver brexit you have got to deliver it properly and in the view of the brexiteers means not messing around in leaving the single market and the customs union. making a break as quickly as possible. he clearly feels this arrangement the prime minister is striking is a compromise too far. and that involves the uk and the uk economy remaining far too close to the european union after brexit while crucially no longer exerting any control over the rules under which those parts of the economy would be governed. what is striking is the language that he uses, which is the language that he uses, which is very similar to the argument put forward by his brother a few months ago even though they were on opposite sides of the referendum

argument. it shows the political dangerfor the prime argument. it shows the political danger for the prime minister argument. it shows the political dangerfor the prime minister in trying to find a compromise. you can understand why downing street would try to do that, she is trying to unite a party and a parliament and country that was divided down the middle by brexit, but if you go for a compromise and stand in the middle there a danger you get hit traffic coming in both directions and this appears to be a case of doing just that. chris, thanks forjoining us. more on that to come later. the prime minister and the french president, emmanuel macron, have taken part in a ceremony in thiepval in northern france, ahead of this weekend's armistice commemorations, marking 100 years since the end of the first world war. they attended a tribute to the missing fighters of the somme where they laid a wreath this afternoon. we'll be live with our correspondent there in a moment. 0ur correspondent robert hall reports from mons in belgium. near the city which saw the earliest

battles of the first world war, the leaders of two countries which fought side by side met to remember two soldiers whose deaths marked the beginning and end to remember two soldiers whose deaths marked the beginning and the end of the conflict. the first burials at saint—symphorien were carried out by the german army after the battle of mons in august 1914. the cemetery now contains more than 600 graves, both commonwealth and german, spanning the entire war period. the last post plays mrs may, with the belgian prime minister charles michel, laid a wreath at the grave of 17—year—old privatejohn parr. john parr had lied about his age and joined aged 15. he had been part of a bicycle—equipped reconnaissance unit on the first day of the war and he may have died as a result of friendly fire.

four years later, as the minutes counted down to the armistice, private george ellison of the royal irish lancers fell victim to a german sniper, becoming the last british soldier to die before the ceasefire. saint—symphorien has always been a place of peace and reflection. today's ceremonies herald a weekend when europe will pay tribute to millions lost in what became known as the war to end all wars. 0ur correspondent hugh schofield is at thiepval in northern france. what has been happening? after an hour ago it ended but it was a very moving and quiet and serene moment which brought the two leaders together. you can see the thiepval

memorial which is a remarkable memorial, right here on a battle at the somme where the british army we re the somme where the british army were trying to storm a german positions behind me, and they are still german trenches behind me. —— there are. on the walls are names of more than 7000 british and commonwealth soldiers and they are the people whose bodies were never discovered —— 70,000. 0n the people whose bodies were never discovered —— 70,000. on top of that you have two out all the bodies that we re you have two out all the bodies that were found in some of them are here —— you have two add all the bodies that were found and some of them are here. this was also a place of french and british understanding and togetherness and that is what they came together here to mark and to memorialise. they laid a wreath on

the tomb of the unknown soldier and walked through the graves and were shown the graves of one french soldier and one british soldier by a couple of young volunteers from the commonwealth war graves commission. the british soldier was from the same regiment as theresa may's paternal grandfather which was pointed out to her, and they spent a good 20 minutes talking quietly to these volunteers and reflecting on these volunteers and reflecting on the scene and what it might have been like at the time and what it means today. they were talking about the personal stories which of course lay behind everyone of these graves and names on the wall. it is striking how much time they took to properly look around the area you are in. i want to ask about the forthcoming couple of days. this is the start of a weekend of events taking place most obviously in france and elsewhere to remember the

centenary. it is. theresa may has come over because today is the only day in her calendar in which she could take part. the british have their memorials, of course. part of their memorials, of course. part of the british tradition is marking it on sunday, of course, but emanuel macron has wanted to turn this into an international occasion in france —— emmanuel macron. and also to make a political point about the need for international cooperation of the multilateral side of international relations, amid fears that that is being worn away in the new world in which we move. he is marking today, the british relationship, and tomorrow the german side is being remembered as angela merkel takes pa rt remembered as angela merkel takes part ina remembered as angela merkel takes part in a ceremony with him at a

place north of paris where the armistice was signed, in the railway carriage on the 11th of november. and a similar railway carriage is still there in the clearing in the forest which is well known to any french schoolboy and schoolgirl. they will be there reflecting on that moment. then we have the actual day on sunday were president macron will bejoined by day on sunday were president macron will be joined by world day on sunday were president macron will bejoined by world leaders day on sunday were president macron will be joined by world leaders like donald trump and vladimir putin for a memorial, and that will then move into something which is slightly nebulous but which the french take serious the witch is a three—day peace forum —— seriously. three days of discussions in paris about the need for peace and multilateralism. from an anglo—saxon perspective it is slightly nebulous but it is seen by the french president as a way of

reinforcing the notion which springs from the first world war the importance of nations doing things together to achieve peace. thanks for joining together to achieve peace. thanks forjoining us. and stay with us for coverage of all events throughout the afternoon here on bbc news. and a reminder on sunday there will be full coverage of commemorations at the cenotaph in central london, as the nation remembers, 100 years on from the end of world war one. 0ur coverage starts at 9.30. dojoin us for that. we are continuing to monitor reaction to the resignation ofjo johnson, the transport minister. this is from his brother on twitter. borisjohnson was in favour of

leaving butjo johnson was borisjohnson was in favour of leaving butjojohnson was in borisjohnson was in favour of leaving butjo johnson was in favour of remaining, but borisjohnson says they are in agreement over their dismay at the direction of the government. borisjohnson very much with his brotherjojohnson on borisjohnson very much with his brotherjo johnson on his resignation despite the fact they we re resignation despite the fact they were on opposite sides of the actual referendum debate at the time. staying with brexit. theresa may's allies in the democratic unionist party have accused her of breaking a promise that she'd never sign up to a brexit deal that treats northern ireland differently from the rest of the uk. the dup says a letter from the prime minister indicates she would be prepared to agree to northern ireland remaining within eu single market regulations.

the chancellor philip hammond has insisted the government won't do anything that would threaten the union. well, let's look at the issues raised in that report further: i'm joined byjon tonge — professor of british and irish politics at the university of liverpool, he often writes for the belfast telegraph. this is a moving story. as ever. let's stay with the border and the lea ked let's stay with the border and the leaked letter and what this may mean. what is sure interpretation of where this debate has gone today? —— law. the prime minister wants to talk about a uk wide customs territory to the dup but that is not good enough for the dup because they also want reassurance that there will be a single regulatory uk wide market and owed divergences and the extra checks —— and no divergences

and no extra checks on goods going from northern ireland to great britain, and the dup, farfrom supplying confidence to the government, by supplying trouble because the dup smell difficulties and they think the backstop to the backstop, northern ireland being pa rt backstop, northern ireland being part of a eu single market, is a live possibility and in the dup's worldview that pushes northern ireland ever closer to a united ireland. they will be part of a eu protectorate as they would see it and that is not what the dup once they say that is not part of what was given to them as a guarantee —— wa nts was given to them as a guarantee —— wants and they say. this is if a deal is not done? that's right. but it appears the prime minister and the government is prepared to align

itself more broadly with the eu in terms of customer and so we would be aligned with eu customs territory. it is more than just customs. the only single market that matters is the single market of uk, for northern ireland, but that is not the view of the eu in terms of managing the issue of a hard border. for the eu you can only have single market alliances across the island of ireland and that is the anywhere you can manage the border. the issue was fudged last december which was because of the wording which was contradictory, and the dup are not bluffing in terms of threatening to end the confidence and supply deal. the numbers potentially would be catastrophic for the government. if the dup word to swap sides, there would be too many numbers against the government's legislation, they would not be able to pass anything.

but the more the possibility is raised that they did get support from labour, that would marginalise the dup's ten, they would be less important if there was to be cross— party important if there was to be cross—party support for a soft brexit. he raised the possibility of the dup bluffing and i was about to suggest can you really conceive of them swapping to the extent that they go across and backjeremy corbyn? —— they go across and backjeremy corbyn? —— you raised. they go across and backjeremy corbyn? -- you raised. they have said they would back the government ona said they would back the government on a vote of confidence. if a crucial vote was lost they would back the government because they do not want a jeremy corbyn led labour party. you would still end up with the government unable to pass any domestic legislation if the dup were able to swap sides. her set of allies are diminishing, theresa may,

and so the parliamentary arithmetic could not be more difficult for the government to manage and that includes within her own party. let's finish with those developments. jo johnson resigning. he is not a cabinet minister but he is a rank below. and he is borisjohnson's brother makes it more interesting. what do you take out of that? clearly he has concerns it is not what people have voted for and it also gives momentum to the idea of the so—called people's vote and the second referendum because the government's options appear to be narrowing. they could go and ask the eu for a better deal but that seems unlikely. the deal that is on offer does not pass the so—called six tests of labour so it is unlikely to get through parliament and that means what can theresa may do? call an election? that is high risk. 0r

put the issue back to the people? the dynamics of change with the resignation ofjo johnson and the dynamics of change with the resignation ofjojohnson and the prime minister appears even more beleaguered this afternoon and she was 24 hours ago. good to have your thoughts. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. transport ministerjo johnson resigns over brexit, saying "the choice being presented to the british people is no choice at all." theresa may and the french president lay a wreath in thiepval, in northern france, to mark the missing fighters of the somme. an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as terror—related. and in sport... captainjoe root has praised his england squad after they beat sri lanka in galle but that the selectors have a tough job to pick a team for the second test. arsenal's danny welbeck remains in hospital where doctors are continuing to assess the damage to his ankle after he was injured during last night's europa league tie with sporting lisbon. the club have descirbed his injury as significant.

and manchester united manager jose mourinho says he's ready to go toe—to—toe with "untouchable" manchester city in this weekend's eagerly—anticipated derby. i'll be back with more on those stories at 430. australian police are treating as terrorism an attack on a busy shopping street in central melbourne. a somali man stabbed three people, one fatally, after driving a car into the city centre that was laden with gas cylinders which then caught fire. the attacker was shot by police and later died in hospital. hywel griffith has sent this report from sydney — and a warning it includes some disturbing images. face to face with an armed attacker. 0fficers confront a man brandishing a knife. he continued to swing at them until, moments later, they shot him in the chest. the police were called after reports of a vehicle on fire.

it had been driven into the heart of the city's busy shopping district before bursting into flames. gas canisters were later found at the scene. when the police arrived, they found that members of the public had been attacked with a knife. one of them fatally. the attacker also later died in hospital. officers say he wasn't on a terror watch list, but he and his family, originally from somalia, were so—called persons of interest. in relation to that person, he is known to police, he is known to police mainly in respect to relatives that he has that are certainly persons of interest to us. and he is someone that accordingly is known to both victoria police and the federal intelligence authorities. the police say the threat is over. but many here have

been left shaken and anxious by what they witnessed. there have been a lot of police officers looking concerned. and i've run into friends who are also concerned. video footage has also emerged. it is quite graphic and quite violent and at the moment the best way of describing it is just shock. counterterrorism officers are now investigating. they will need to establish whether the man was working alone or taking instructions from elsewhere. the people in melbourne face the question of whether more can be done to protect the public from such sudden, chaotic acts of terror. hywel griffith, bbc news. about 14 shops are closing every day on the british high street, according to the accountancy firm pwc. it says fashion and electrical stores have been particularly vulnerable to online shopping, and describes trading conditions

as the worst for five years. well, times may be tough for the retail industry but figures just out show the economy as a whole grew by 0.6% over the summer months, as our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. it might be steady and measured, but the economy is growing at its fastest rate for nearly two years. on this small housing development in the ribble valley, it certainly feels like things are shifting in the right direction. 0.6% is across all industries and, of course, we are in the buoyant sector, 2.1% within construction, so, for me, it feels very exciting and, hopefully, it continues. i have been in several recessions now and it's not been good at times. you know, it really has not been good. so, no, it feels very exciting. after a slow start to the year, the chancellor's pleased things seem to be improving. 3.3 million newjobs, unemployment lower in every region and nation of the united kingdom since 2010.

what we have now got to do is pivot to a focus on ensuring real wage growth and higher standards of living. it is only if wages carry on growing that we will feel the benefits of a growing economy. while construction has been growing the fastest, the services sector is the big beast of our economy and it might feel like a long time ago now, but that long hot summer is a thing that's given the figures a massive boost. we did see a one—off boost in consumer spending earlier in the third quarter, due to the scorching summer and the world cup. consumers seem to have reined in their spending since then, after splashing out over the summer. that explains why as many as 14 shops a day have been closing this year. accou nta nts pwc say we are in the toughest trading climate in five years. as we head towards the winter, all industries are hoping to shore up the benefits of that summer sunshine. coletta smith, bbc news, near clitheroe. time for a look at the weather.

more questions to answer? they have been coming in thick and fast. we have been asking people to get onto the bbc weather twitter to send questions about the weather. questions about how it really works and those processes behind it. the first question to answer... i have to say, you need sunshine to see a rainbow at all, that is one of the ingredients, the other thing is rain and that is why we are satiate with showers basically. —— associate it with. it is an optical illusion, really, the sunshine shines into the raindrop and the raindrop refracts the light. it bends the light and it

splits the light into its component colours so the spectrum is actually split into many different colours. we see that as a rainbow. heavy ever seen a we see that as a rainbow. heavy ever seen a rainbow and thought maybe you could get to the rainbow? —— have you ever. find a pot of gold. the disappointing thing is, you can walk as far as you want and you will never get to the end of the rainbow, evenif never get to the end of the rainbow, even if you see people standing where you think the rainbow is, they will be looking at the rainbow further in the distance as well. illusion shattered. and now high pressure and low pressure? this is a good question because we talk about this a lot. this is a picture of the rainbow. there is the end of the rainbow. there is the end of the rainbow. laughter this is the next question. what is pressure? we talk about these things all the

time. we show you charts like these, high pressure and low pressure, and you have probably got the message that low pressure tends to mean u nsu btle that low pressure tends to mean unsubtle weather and wind and rain but high pressure tends to mean settled weather, but what actually is low and high pressure? it is essentially the amount of pressure pressing down on the earth, high pressure is where we have air descending through the atmosphere, squashing down on the earth's surface and that tends to dry out so we don't see many clouds. we see fine weather and dry weather and because the air is pushing down high pressure can be reluctant to move. low pressure is the opposite, the air is rising, and that can happen for a few reasons, because there is very cold air in the atmosphere and maybe because the air on the surface

gets warm but warm air rises and the water vapour condenses into water droplets and that gives cloud and rain and also the rising motion can set the air spinning and that is why one of the reasons it often turns very windy. tap the barometer and you will find out. exactly. one other question, do the clouds feel like cotton ball? i'm afraid, they don't. i made up of water droplets and they wet and cold and often you get isaac towers —— they are made up of water droplets and they feel wet and cold and often you get icy clouds. what about the forecast? low pressure is appropriate because that is bringing a soggy end to the dave many western parts of the uk. that is how it looked in falmouth in cornwall —— to the day. this book of cloud has been deepening and this is

what has been bringing some very wet and windy weather especially into western areas so far and windy weather especially into western areas so far today. as we go through the afternoon rush hour, if you are going to head onto the roads, the potential for travel disruption and heavy rain, and the bbc radio stations will keep you up—to—date. this is the radar picture, very heavy rain pushing in across northern ireland and wales and the south—west, cringing into the south west of scotland and a strengthening southerly winds —— fringing. let's have a closer look. these are the areas that are likely to have the worst of the weather to the rush—hour, cornwall, devon, somerset, the south—west of wales is covered by a amber warning. we have had flooding here already and that is likely to have more problems with further rain. into north west england. the black wind arrows show the wind gusting fast. eastern areas

getting away lightly for the next couple of hours but even here wet and windy weather will be sweeping through during the night. and then by the first bite on saturday, a bit quieter. —— the first hour on saturday. low pressure in charge of the scene up to the north west. the frontal system is the band of rain sliding through in the night, still hanging around across shetland. if you are up early enough. and then we get into a day of sunshine and showers and some of the showers will be heavy and thundery. becoming more widespread as we go through the day after being initially in the south—west. still breezy but not as windy as it is out there at the moment. armistice day, similar weather, sunny spells and showers, but the problem with showers, difficult to predict where they will

turn up and when, but where ever you are, expect the odd passing downpour but equally spells of sunshine. still breezy but also relatively mild. it looks wet and windy for the rest of the day and pretty unsettled for the weekend and that is all because of low pressure. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: transport ministerjo johnson resigns over brexit, saying "the choice being presented to the british people is no choice at all". theresa may and french president emmanuel macron lay a wreath in thiepval, northern france, to mark the missing

fighters of the somme. the two leaders attended the ceremony at the thiepval memorial, which commemorates more than 70,000 british and commonwealth soldiers. an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as a terror—related incident. sport now on afternoon live with holly hamilton. england are celebrating success in sri lanka. good afternoon. no more travel sickenss for the england fans. those trips to bangladesh, australia, india and new zealand all forgotten with their first overseas test victory for more than two years, downing sri lanka at their galle stronghold by 211 runs with a day to spare. well, for the hosts it was always a tall order after england's performance across the first three days. they would have needed to score a record 462 to win. but england made a steady start in the morning before taking

the last five wickets after tea. spinners moeen ali and jack leach did most of the damage. ali taking four wickets for 71 runs while leach finished with figures of three for 60. between them, england's three spinners took 16 wickets in the match, the second best return by english spinners in a test since 1958. joe root must be happy. england's victory ended their 13—match winless run away from home. their losing run overseas stretched back all the way to 30th october 2016 when they lost to bangladesh in dhaka. butjoe root says getting results on foreign soil isn't just an english problem. it's not just us. it's notjust us. it's not like we are the only side that struggled

away from home. it is very difficult to win test matches abroad now. i think that makes it even sweeter when you do come to a very difficult venue when you do come to a very difficult venue like golf and managed to win games. hopefully, we can build on this and it is notjust a one—off for us. we can go to candy with huge amount of confidence and look to still improve and get better. england have suffered a blow ahead of the women's world t20. they will be without all—rounder katherine brunt for the tournament due to a back injury. this is a recurring problem that flared up again during a warm—up game against india on wednesday. she'll be replaced by fran wilson, who was in last year's world cup winning squad with england's first match against sri lanka staring tomorrow in st lucia. ahead of the eagerly anticipated manchester derby on sunday, united managerjose mourinho says his side will try and go toe—to—toe with manchester city. united come into the game off the back of two good wins but mourinho appreciates just how the task will be this weekend. we played too difficult matches away

against two very good teams, chelsea and juventus, and we managed to get good results. even if the good results were not in our pockets, the performances were there, the positive attitude was there, so we are going to try. manchester city is are going to try. manchester city is a very powerful team. manchester city is a very powerful team. britian's tony bellew has weighed injust a pound heavier than 0leksandr usyk ahead of their undisputed world cruiserweight title fight. bellew came in at 14 stone 3 pounds, compared to usyk‘s 14 stone 2. the unbeaten ukranian's wba, wbc, ibf and wbo belts will all be on the line at the manchester arena. it's only the sixth time in men's boxing history that all four titles have been contested.

there's live commentary on bbc radio 5 live from around 10.30pm tomorrow night. england co—captain 0wen farrell says they must throw themselves into their match against the all blacks. the two sides meet at twickenham tomorrow afternoon. england haven't beaten the world champions since december 2012 and farrell says they have to be committed from the start. i think they are a very good side. they are a side that do a lot of things very good and they are obviously a tough opponent. what we've got to make sure is that we don't dip our toes in the water at the weekend and feel our way in. we've got to make sure we throw ourselves into it and are pretty confident throughout. as i said, we prepared well this week. we are looking forward to it and i can't wait for the game to come now. that's

all the sport for now. hugh woozencroft will have more for you in the next hour. now on afternoon live, let's go nationwide and see what's happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. let's go to amy garcia, who joins us live from ripon cathedral, north yorkshire, where remembrance day events will be held this sunday to mark 100 years since the end of the first world war. also ahead of this weekend's armistice centenary, steve humphreyjoins us live from the tank museum in bovington, dorset. so, amy, what's happening in ripon? welcome to the beautiful ripon cathedral, made even more stunning

by these pretty little netted poppies that are at dotted around the city. there are 50,000 of them dotted all over the place and they have been created by groups of residents who have formed knitting grips. some have even been shipped in by knitters all across the world. since they went on display here in ripon, the city has attracted 4,000 extra visitors and the man responsible for all that is stuart martin. i am delighted with it. it has far surpassed our vision. we wanted it to be a fitting tribute for those people who made the ultimate sacrifice. it is way, way better than we envisaged it. ultimate sacrifice. it is way, way better than we envisaged itm ultimate sacrifice. it is way, way better than we envisaged it. it is not just the better than we envisaged it. it is notjust the poppies that better than we envisaged it. it is not just the poppies that will better than we envisaged it. it is notjust the poppies that will be drawing in the crowd this weekend in

ripon. there will be a special procession throughout the city is followed by a remembrance service at the cathedral. if you thought the city looked stunning now with the poppies, wait until tonight. there will be a huge display that projects on the side of the cathedral and it isa on the side of the cathedral and it is a big cascade of poppies. tonight's look north has a special pro ra we will be live at ripon cathedral throughout the whole programme. it is all dedicated to remembrance. we have been following a group of young cadets who were taken to the somme in northern france were many of the men lost their lives. we will be joined on the programme i dan metcalfe. he is the artist who is behind a memorial here at the cathedral. it is a really clever and effective art installation that has been made from poppy seeds and mud collected from passchendaele. we will also have music from a vintage

group and we will chill you that beautiful projection of the poppies on the side of the cathedral. it is programmed not to be mixed, 6:30pm tonight on bbc one. steve, what remembrance events are happening where you are? this evening's bbc south today programme will come live from the tank museum at bovington in dorset as we mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. it is an important location because ta nks is an important location because tanks were crucial in winning the warand tanks were crucial in winning the war and this is where the tank crews we re war and this is where the tank crews were trained. reading some of the amazing stories here of the tank meant you get a real insight into how tough the conditions where, with many having to make the ultimate sacrifice. in the programme tonight we have the story of andrew, who is 80 years old and his dad was one of six brothers who went out to fight from their small village in surrey, ina from their small village in surrey, in a story that was typical of so

many families at that time, not all the brothers came home. three of them were killed in the last year of them were killed in the last year of the war. andrew and his son richard did a personaljourney to france to remember his uncles and paid tribute to them. you were so cruelly taken from the family by that bullet on your first day of active service on the western front. the memories of the western front. the memories of the grievous losses are family suffered remain with us to this day. you'll also be talking about efforts back home to help wounded soldiers? yes, of course, of those who did come home, many suffered serious injuries. many large country houses across the country were turned into military hospitals forwarded soldiers, where women played a key role. 0ne soldiers, where women played a key role. one of those was highclere

castle, the home of the downton abbey tv series. we sent a very familiarface to abbey tv series. we sent a very familiar face to find out more about that. join me, hugh bonneville, as i discover more about the crucial role that high clear castle and other great houses played in helping soldiers during world war i. we will have lots more from hugh barnacle and here at the tank museum at bovington on the 100th anniversary of the first world war. 0ur programme starts tonight on bbc one at 6:30 pm. if you would like to see more on any of those stories duke and access them on the bbc iplayer. true statements made in the last

hour. it concerns the resignation of jojohnson, the hour. it concerns the resignation of jo johnson, the transport hour. it concerns the resignation of jojohnson, the transport minister untiljust jojohnson, the transport minister until just before four o'clock this afternoon. a downing street spokesman has said this, the referendum was the biggest democratic exercise in the history of this country and we will not under any circumstances have a second referendum. the prime minister thanksjo second referendum. the prime minister thanks jo johnson for his work in government. the second referendum reference picking up on something he has said in a quite lengthy social media contribution, a post on twitter that explains his reasons for stepping out of government and one of the things he has said in their lengthy twitter statement is that he would like there to be some form of second vote

because the negotiations are not offering anything like the kind of deal that he would have liked. he was a remainer. his brother, boris johnson, one of the most famous figures in the leave campaign. jo johnson has said in his statement that he was hopeful, despite the fa ct that he was hopeful, despite the fact that he wanted the uk to remain in the eu, that the negotiations would result in a successful brexit, but he is not impressed, it would seem, with the negotiations as they stand. 0ne seem, with the negotiations as they stand. one more reaction to the broader picture. the johnson resignation, a lot of the breadth of the bread is a debate today was concentrating on what will happen on the border between northern ireland and the republic. this is what arlene foster, the dup leader, has now said. she said her party would not be able to support the government's current proposals to brussels. this relates to this league letter. she said, i think we

need to wait until the cabinet meets to see how they view where the prime minister is at the moment, but clearly if this comes to parliament in the current form, we would not be able to support it. arlene foster has denied that her party had issued", ominous warning, and said this, i think it is the factual position that we would not be able to support something that separates northern ireland from the rest of the united kingdom. that has always been our position. she also said, that the dup's disagreement with the prime minister did not leave the parliamentary deal with the government on shaky ground, that of course is a reference to the arrangement that has been in place between the dup and the conservatives since the most recent election. she said, the dup had entered into the confidence and supply deal because of wanted to see stability in the government and

deliver on the brexit referendum result. mrs deliver on the brexit referendum result. m rs foster deliver on the brexit referendum result. mrs foster said we don't believe that the minister's letter shows that we are not delivering on that. that is what arlene foster is saying with regards to that leaked letter at the moment. firefighters in california are battling two major wildfires that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. the first blaze broke out on thursday in northern butte county and has already engulfed more than 20,000 acres of land. further south, another fire is burning in ventura county near los angeles, a few miles from the scene of a mass shooting in thousand oaks that claimed 12 lives earlier this week. lauren moss reports. it is a landscape of destruction. wildfire ravaging parts of california, tearing through homes, hospitals, shops, and schools. roads are gridlocked as thousands

try to flee the flames, taking only what they can carry. one of the fires in the northern town of paradise burned through 20,000 acres of dry forest in a matter of hours. further south in ventura county near los angeles strong winds are hampering efforts to tackle another fast moving blaze in what has become a race against time. right now we are trying to protect exposures by stopping the fire spreading from one house to the next. it is very hard with the high winds, and very hard to see some of these homes, so we are putting the water between some homes to stop the fire leapfrogging to other homes. firefighters have been battling through the day and night — helicopters are releasing water to keep on top of the raging fire. there are unconfirmed reports of casualties and it is understood some people may have been cut off.

this last year has been the worst the state has ever seen for wildfires. as scenes of devastation were left behind, there is a red warning on the horizon that the fight against them is by no means over. in a moment, the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live: transport ministerjo johnson resigns over brexit, saying "the choice being presented to the british people is no choice at all". theresa may and the french president lay a wreath in thiepval, in northern france, to mark the missing fighters of the somme. an attack in melbourne when a man stabbed three people, one fatally, is treated as terror—related. here's your business headlines on afternoon live: the uk economy grew by 0.6%

in the three months to september. that's the strongest quarterly figure since late 2016. it seems to have been boosted by warm weather injuly, which encouraged people to go out shopping. but that momentum wasn't sustained throughjuly and august — and business investment was down. more gloom on the high street. the accountancy firm pwc says about 14 shops are closing every day. it says it's the toughest trading climate in five years. 0ver1,100 stores disappeared from britain's top 500 high streets in the first six months of the year. an aircraft belonging to ryanair has been seized by the french authorities in a row over money. the boeing 737 was about to fly 149 passengers from bordeaux to stansted. the french civil aviation authority said it was trying to recover subsidies paid to the airline which were later deemed illegal. well, plenty to talk about on a friday afternoon. let's start with trouble

on the high street and it's getting pretty tough out there? more than 1,100 stores disappeared in the first 11 months of the year, according to the accountancy firm pwc. lots of pubs and restaurants also went out of business as well. now you always get some churn, with places closing down — but not enough new outlets are opening up to make up the difference. so what's going on? well, the internet is a big part of it, of course — more and more people shopping online. but there are other factors too — reduced consumer spending and chancing tastes, whcih have a big impact on chain restau ra nts for exa m ple. and what's this about the bank of england getting financial firms to pretend they're under cyber attack? it's an exercise to test the financial sector's ability to withstand a major cyber—attack. the bank of england has had some 40 firms, including leading banks, taking part in a one—day ‘war—gaming' exercise designed to simulate what would happen

in the event of an attack. regulators and the treasury are also involved. so they'll be able to see how innstitutions and their staff react, how quickly they can recover and i guess look at what mistakes they make. there are no winners or losers — it's meant to be a learning exercise, so that the system can be made more robust. and then we have the uk economy — growing at its fastest rate since 2016. sounds impressive. up to a point. it's certainly been a strong quarter overall. remember the start of the year was pretty weak, weighed down by the beast from the east, that period of very cold weather — which took its toll on things like construction. and there's clearly been some recovery since then. july was certainly strong, with warm weather and the effects of the world cup — all good. but that momentum wasn't maintained through august and september. in fact, there was no growth at all in either month so for more on this, i'm joined now by monique wong, who's an investment manager at coutts. a strong quarter but that recent weakness has to be

a worry, doesn't it? yes. not stick away from the fact that 0.6% is a strong quarter and a lot of that is associated with hot weather spending at the beginning of the summerand it weather spending at the beginning of the summer and it does point to as slower finish towards the end of the year. if you think about it, it still comes out at 1.25%, 1.5% growth for the year and while that doesn't blow out the lights, it is still strong enough for the bank of england to contemplate raising interest rates. if we get a business friendly brexit as well. that kind of optimism doesn't seem to be shared by the retailers at the moment. the report that you talked about was very sobering for the high street. i think it does ring true. it speaks to the trends we have seen

in terms of the changing face of the uk high street, asked changing shopping habits and 20% of uk retail sales i is conducted online. we are simply not going to the shops as much as we used to. in the shops, they pay higher rents, how your business rates than online retailers and it renders them less competitive. the chancellor in his budget is trying to even my dad playing field. talking about imposing a digital tax on big online retailers, reducing business rates, they are a good initiative, but maybe not enough, and too late for many. what about war-gaming these cyber attacks? the bank of england does this every couple of years to check the resilience of the financial system in the event that we get a big cyber attack. totally

makes sense in increasingly digital world that we live in. we are consta ntly world that we live in. we are constantly opening new accounts, giving out basic personal data and for the banking system, payments in banking can be massively compromised if we had a huge attack, so the messages i think that the bank and the regulators are taking this seriously. thank you very much indeed. that's all the business news. arlene foster has spoken now. let's see what she had the save. i think we need to wait until the cabinet meets to see how they view where the prime minister is at the moment, but clearly if this comes to parliament in the current form we would not be able to support it. it is our factual position that we would not be able to support something that

separates northern ireland from the rest of the united kingdom. there is nothing new in any of that. we were just reiterating that to the prime minister. are you prepared to withdraw support from theresa may? it is not about anything to do with that, this is a saying to the prime minister, you have sent us a letter that contained your current proposals. we cannot support that. we would not be able to vote in a meaningful vote in that way. do you trust the prime minister? it is not a question of trusting the prime minister, it is about her proposals for exiting the european union. remember, this is before she goes to brussels to negotiate with them on what they believe is possible, but currently, as it stands, we could not support her proposals. does that leave your confidence and supply agreement on shaky ground?” leave your confidence and supply agreement on shaky ground? i don't think so, that agreement was entered

into at a time of great national instability. we wanted deceased ability in the government at that time and we wanted to deliver on a breadth of boat that had been taken. we don't believe that the prime minister's letter showed that we are delivering on that brexit vote, so we will have to revisit all of that brexit vote, so we will have to revisit all about if those goes to meaningful boat. have you sought assurances since you meaningful boat. have you sought assurances since you received the letter? we are writing back to the prime minister. that will be done tonight. so that is arlene foster saying that dup would not be able to support the government. that's it from your afternoon live team for today. next, the bbc news at 5.00pm. some wet and windy weather sliding their way in. there is potentialfor travel disruption due to the wind

and rain. the south—west, wheels, northern ireland, south—west scotland, a soggy rush—hour with strong winds, gusts up to 70 miles an hour in the most exposed spots. the wet and windy weather will move its way eastwards overnight. behind it, clearer spells but a rash of showers rattling across. tomorrow, the remains of that room will move away from the south of england and shetland. behind it there will be some brightness but some heavy showers with the possibility of thunder. for a sunday, a similar sort of day. there will be spells of sunshine, but also some heavy showers. today at five — transport minister jojohnson resigns over brexit, saying "the choice being presented to the british people is no choice at all. jojohnson — brother of former foreign secretary borisjohnson and a remain voter — said the uk is on the brink of the biggest crisis

since the second world war, and that the final deal should be put to the people in another referendum and in the last few minutes — the dup leader arlene foster has said her party couldn't support the government's current proposals on brexit — she accuses theresa may of breaking promises. we'll have the latest from westminster and we'll be hearing from mrjohnson about why he's resigned. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm. the prime minister and the french president, emmanuel macron, jointly lay a wreath at the thiepval memorial as part the first world war.