you're watching bbc news at 9am with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: theresa may is trying to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet this morning to finalise the agreement amid spanish concerns about gibraltar. the prime minister will be taking your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12:30pm. the united arab emirates says it wants to find an amicable solution to the case of british academic matthew hedges, who was convicted of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. shoppers hitting the black friday sales are being urged to check that the deals are worthwhile. and coming up in our morning briefing at 9:30am, just watch this. the record breaking efforts of one gymnast from leeds. and in sport, england's women are through to the final

of the world t20 after a dominant eight—wicket win over india. they face australia on sunday. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at 9am. the prime minister will today try to sell her brexit deal directly to the public as eu diplomats meet in brussels to finalise details of the agreement and address the 11th—hour objections raised by spain about gibraltar. the prime minister will answer questions about the deal in a special programme here on the bbc news channel and 5 live at 12:30pm. but a new threat to the deal has emerged as spain's prime minister claimed he would veto the deal, which is expected to be signed

off by member states at a summit on sunday, unless there were changes. eu rules mean that no single country is able to block the agreement, but continued spanish opposition could be politically awkward. in a moment we will talk to gavin lee in brussels but first to westminster and our political correspondent nick eardley. theresa may trying to sell this deal to the public, wanting to address public questions directly and perhaps the two mps who are feeling uncomfortable with the deal, i can sell this to the average person on the street. yes. you heard the prime minister say that yesterday. she thinks people just want her to get on with thejob. thinks people just want her to get on with the job. she thinks it delivers on the key elements that people wanted

in the eu referendum, things like ending free movement, taking back of control of things like laws and borders and i suspect that is the argument she will make this morning when she takes those questions from the public, that there still is the best one we can get at the same time as delivering the close economic war pollution that is good for the uk economy. even if she does win some of those arguments she is still facing a massive challenge in the house of commons. we saw that yesterday. she was on her feet for 40 yesterday. she was on her feet for a0 minutes before anybody spoke in support of her deal. she is struggling to get her own party on save never mind opposition parties. we saw a reminder ofjust how was that there are some of that opposition is. dominik grabbed telling the bbc that the terms of the brexit deal on the table are worse than staying in the european union. he is somebody who campaigned

to get out, he does not want to stay end, he would prefer if we went back to get a better deal. he is saying what the prime minister is offering now is worse than what we have as members of the european union so she has a huge mountain to climb as she is going to get that through parliament. she has this issue with spain. in terms of the arithmetic on a meaningful vote that is looming as well. the arithmetic seems improbable. yes. it seems almost impossible to see how theresa may is going to get the deal through parliament in the next few makes dominik weeks. most opposition parties are united completely against it. the dup seeing as it stands they will not cold for it and

they prop up the government as it stands. then you add in the conservatives who have expressed grave reservations about what the prime minister is planning on the irish back stop or the european court ofjustice role in the future oi’ court ofjustice role in the future or that they think this keeps us too close to europe and the long—term. it is very hard to how she gets over the line and gets a majority on this. then the big question if that we re this. then the big question if that were to fall in parliament is what happens next and the truth is we do not know the answer to that, all bets are off. thank you. before we go to brussels, i will play you a clip from gibraltar‘s minister who said gibraltar wants direct engagement with spain and does not need to be vetoed into being brought to the table. i hope this is not

going to be the final issue on the table because we worked very hard and have reached agreement with spanish colleagues in respect of gibraltar‘s role in the withdrawal process and that has been drawn out but in good faith we have worked together and delivered. what people should note is that spain does not need an article in the treaties in the future declaration or the withdrawal agreement to bring gibraltar to the table. gibraltar has demonstrated we want a direct engagement with spain on issues. spain is the physical and geographical gateway to europe for gibraltar. we recognise that and there is no need for us to be vetoed into being brought to the table. the chief minister of gibraltar. we can discuss this with gavin lee in brussels. the spanish prime minister pedro sanchez saying that spain wa nts a pedro sanchez saying that spain wants a legal guarantee that in the future relationship document it will multiply that any agreement in the

future relationship document will multiply to gibraltar unless the spanish government allows it. the chief and instead of gibraltar trying to defuse that situation. will he succeed? it is one thing for the chief minister to say we want relations, we have told the spanish that, he was in madrid a few days ago, but it is different, the spanish view is that it wants a legal text to clarify under international law that spain will have a say with the uk, that it is separate to overall future negotiations with the uk. almost a tacit admission that gibraltar is entirely a british overseas investment and of course spain describes gibraltar as a colony still and does not recognise it as a british 0verseas territory but they

are not fighting that, they want a say on the future. rewind a few weeks, i spoke to pedro sanchez and he told me that brexit was no issue over gibraltar, he said british negotiators were doing a greatjob, so two things and we are trying to decipher the might decipher the effects. the text of the withdrawal agreement, the text agreeing the relations between the eu and the uk, the spanish say they need something like 18 words added to it which is that gibraltar should be subject to spanish british decisions and is excluded from that. that is one instance, they want these words. secondly there are elections in a few weeks. andalucia borders gibraltar where 10,000 spanish workers work. pedro sanchez has been accused of being too soft. is it

domestic politics that he is suddenly very vocal? 18 words and domestic politics, a lot to consider. 0ne country alone cannot vetoed this deal from being signed but clearly the eu 27 would love to have unanimity on this. if they cannot get spain on board, if spain is not happy, is there any chance they would stop the signing ceremony on sunday or will they place on? pedro sanchez has been clear. while he is saying in his tweet last night he is saying in his tweet last night he has spoken to theresa may and he is not happy, he said it in english not spanish to make sure it hit the right audiences, legally they cannot, it is a qualified majority, so if 20 of the 27 agree then it

will go through. you could argue they have. european diplomats say they have. european diplomats say they have. european diplomats say they have been so close, you could not get a feather between them in terms of trying to divide the european union in terms of every other issue, suddenly be spanish are saying no. that becomes a problem for the eu who want to say this is unanimous. the closing carton of the first act of this brexit moment and they do not want the spanish not being on board suddenly. and theresa may will take your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12:30pm. email your questions to askthis@bbc.co.uk or you can text

them to to 85058 or use #bbcaskthis. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, says he's had constructive talks with the united arab emirates about the fate of a british academic who's been jailed for spying. the uae has faced strong criticism after matthew hedges was sentenced to life imprisonment at a court hearing on wednesday. keith doyle reports. it's been two days since matthew hedges was given a life sentence for spying in the united arab emirates. he was arrested six months ago, while researching for his phd thesis. the foreign secretary demanded his release, insisting he is innocent. but the uae has been defiant, saying he was properly tried and convicted. however, a further statement from the uae yesterday indicated a change of tone. it said... the foreign secretary described it as an olive branch and last night, matthew hedges' wife had her first meeting withjeremy hunt, whom she

had earlier been critical of. he has assured me that he and his team are doing everything in their power to get matt free and return him home to me. this is not a fight i can win alone and i thank the foreign office and the british public, for now standing up for one of their citizens. after the meeting, the foreign secretary tweeted that he had a constructive phone conversation with his counterpart in the uae. he said... later this morning, the united arab emirates ambassador is expected to give a statement at the emirates embassy in london. the intense diplomatic pressure of the past few days has moved this case along. there may well be further developments today. matthew hedges and his family hope there are and that they lead to his freedom. keith doyle, bbc news.

the former english defence league leader tommy robinson has been appointed as an advisor to the ukip leader gerard batten. the party said mr robinson, whose real name is stephen yaxley—lennon, will advise on rape gangs and prison reform. mr robinson's currently banned from joining ukip under rules which barformer english defence league and british national party members. ukip's former leader, nigel farage, is calling for a vote of no confidence in mr batten after the appointment of mr robinson. there's no realistic prospect of the government meeting its own deadline to install smart energy meters, according to a report from the national audit office. every home in britain is supposed to have a smart meter by 2020. they allow readings to be made remotely and are supposed to help customers save money. well, speaking earlier to bbc breakfast, rob cheesewright from smart energy gb, the campaign to promote smart meters, said that despite the rising costs, consumers will see the benefits in the long term.

0ur role is to help people understand the benefits and for people who are getting smart meters they are saving 3% on energy which is enough to power their house for a three for a week. they love their smart meter. this is benefiting people but there are economic consequences of it taking longer than we would like and that is the challenge. fundamentally it is working for people who have them and it is going to work for our energy infrastructure. well, joining me now is michael kell from the national audit office, who is the author of that report. they will show as the exact cost of whatever we are doing around the house. there are more readings so goodbye to estimated bills. why is the government not on track to meet its own deadline to install them?

two reasons. the first is that when the government is deciding what kind of smart meter system to adopt for the country they went for a technically more complicated system. they underestimated the complexity and that means the roll—out has taken longer than they expected. the other reason is that consumers have not been as enthusiastic as the government hoped they would be. you have these first—generation smart meters and second—generation smart meters and second—generation smart meters and second—generation smart meters and there is an issue. what happens if a consumer has a first—generation smart meter and wa nts to first—generation smart meter and wants to switch energy suppliers? with first—generation around 70% of cases people who had a smart meter ran decided to switch supplier, the first—generation smart meters stopped working fully so it becomes like a traditional old style meter. in all there are nearly

1,000,001st—generation smart meter is not working properly. people have to stick with the more expensive ta riffs to stick with the more expensive tariffs or lose the benefit of having a smart meter in the first place. yes, so it is undermining the rationale for the programme. has that that a lot of people of saying to their supplier to an appointment to their supplier to an appointment to have the new meter fitted because they are waiting for the second—generation meters? they are waiting for the second-generation meters? that may be part of what is going on. most people are happy with their smart meter. 7a% of people who have smart meters are happy with them. you do not think the government is going to be on track to meet its deadline but how will it get this programme rolling out more effectively? the main thing it needs to do estimates show that when a smart meters installed that people get the energy efficiency advice that they are meant to get at the time the meters installed so they can make best use

of it and they are more likely to change their energy consumption as a result of having a smart meter. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet this morning to finalise the agreement amid spanish concerns about gibraltar. the united arab emirates says it wants to find an "amicable solution" to the case of british academic matthew hedges, who was convicted of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. england's women love the shortest form of cricket. they have reached the final of the world g20, beating india by eight wickets. they will face australia tomorrow. day one of

the third and final test for the men injuly cup and the tourists from england are going nicely. into the final weekend of rugby union international is wales are aiming for a clean sweep when they take on south africa in cardiff. that will make it nine test wins in a row. if you've walked past a shop or visited a retailer's website in the last few days, you might have noticed a few subtle hints that today is black friday. the shopping phenomenon, which began in the us, has now moved globally with millions of people expected to snatch up items from now until the end of cyber monday. but there are concerns that people looking to bag a bargain are being duped and that some deals are misleading. the bbc‘s consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been with shoppers in wrexham to learn about the tricks

deployed to make us spend. morning! it's discounted afternoon teas on offer here over the black friday weekend. salted caramel cake, please. yep! staff and customers are hoping to get good deals wherever they're shopping. looks fantastic. there we go. i was walking past the shop and i saw the big sale sign. oh, "i can see someone is in there, i'll go and have a look to see what they've got." even if you don't need it... you buy it! you're thinking, "i've got an offer here, even if you don't need it!" i've brought a consumer psychologist with me to help us see through the tactics retailers use. after about 12 minutes, you just get mentally exhausted. we put people in the brain scanners and got them to shop online, and we see they get mentally exhausted, and their decision—making process changes, and they suddenly started saying, "it's a yellow sign, it's glossy, it says best buy, i'll get one of those," and they don't start thinking and analyse it.

does that sound familiar? any of you zone out after 12 minutes? yeah! when it comes to online shopping, do you think you've made some daft decisions? i did it yesterday! i was looking for a dress for the work christmas party, it was, like, a 30% off discount on the third website i'd been on. i wasn't shopping for something specific, just something for that party. then i was looking at what they had available. the 30% discount had a countdown timer, you've only got 70 seconds left to order, so i checked out, got a few more things i maybe wouldn't have bought otherwise. i definitely by the end thought, "i don't really care any more. i need something, i don't even know what i'm buying!" it's weird! with a certain price and you get the free shipping, "i'll buy a bit more to get the free delivery." exactly, yeah! how do you know it is actually cheaper? how do you know what they're saying is true?

that's a question for the advertising standards agency. it's theirjob to spot any fake or misleading deals. of course, the rapid pace of change with online means it sometimes feels quite hard to keep up. the sheer volume of products that are on offer at times like black friday means there's inevitably going to be some stuff going on out there that isn't treating people fairly and is misleading people, but we're here to make sure we deal with any problems we can. with more fake deals and clever retailers working out the best ways to get us to spend, really saving money is harder than you might think. i think you believe you're getting a good deal, but now with obviously everything we've discussed today and the tactics people use, it does make you question if what we're spending is as good of a deal as we actually think it is. coletta smith, bbc news, wrexham. our business correspondent dominic o'connell is here. you have got your cynical hat on. it

isa giant you have got your cynical hat on. it is a giant marketing gimmick. amazon brought it to us ten years ago and bizarrely the rivals seem to have jumped on board. we were talking to bricks and mortar retailers this morning who say that it is worth doing even though it is playing the online giants' game. they will do for times as much trade today as on a normal friday and that of the department store chain which has its challenges. they think it is worthwhile to drive people to the shops. the reality of the bargains is entirely suspect. it sounds like we are literally buying into it but we are literally buying into it but we have to be careful and checked we are getting a genuine bargain, that is the message. absolutely. anybody who shops online will now online pricing is infinitely flicked dominic flexible. there is no

guarantee that what you are buying today might not have been cheaper earlier. no guarantee about black friday meaning that deals are cheaper. this is an important period for the retailers especially those bricks and mortar retailers. bricks and mortar retailers are under pressure, particularly department stores, mothercare had terrible results yesterday. between now and the january sales is when the rubber hits the road for these retailers under pressure. a quarter of their profits over the next six or seven weeks and we will know who has been the winner and the loser in the first couple of weeks of january when they get the trading updates which encapsulated what has happened over the christmas season. does this shift the spending or does it increased spending overall? are they simply pulling forward seals the mood have made anyway in the christmas period and are they

replacing the discounting the traditionally dead after christmas and bringing it forward to now? for and bringing it forward to now? for a lot of retailers it is a crazy marketing driven game and not really that good for price and managing sales at all. let's get some of the morning's other news now. two brothers wanted by police in merseyside over suspected drug trafficking offences have been arrested in thailand. joseph and gregory mulhare from wirral were detained on the 17th of november in pattaya by thai immigration police. they are suspected of trafficking cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine in the uk. two policemen have been killed during an attack on the chinese consulate in the pakistani city of karachi. medical officials say two civilians also died when three suicide bombers attacked the building. police say all the diplomats inside are safe. china has condemned the attack and urged its ally to ensure the security of chinese citizens. junk food adverts are to be banned on the entire transport for london network,

in a bid to reduce childhood obesity. nearly a0% of ten and 11—year—olds in the capital are overweight or obese. the scheme is backed by child health experts but the advertising association said it would have little impact. if you think about the impact of this particular ban, it will have an impact on tube travellers, for example. this will lose revenue from advertising for tfl, and that will potentially have an impact on the fares that passengers have to pay. so in a sense, tfl passengers may be suffering from this. fiona bruce is in talks with the bbc about taking over as presenter of the discussion programme question time. ms bruce currently presents the news at six and ten as well as the antiques roadshow. current host david dimbleby will leave the show in december after 2a years. the gases that are driving up global temperatures have reached a record high in the past year. a major source of carbon dioxide is power stations that burn coal.

they account for one—third of all greenhouse gases produced worldwide, and environmental groups say chinese companies are building dozens more of these plants. one of the latest is in serbia and our science editor is there. 0ne one of the big concerns among climate scientists is the amount of coal that is burned around the world. that is what is happening at this power station in serbia, the coal is burned to produce water to produce steam is to drive turbines to generate electricity. in many countries around the world coal is an important means of generating power but hear of the problem. look at the top of the chimney. a great plume of smoke emerging, a lot of polish and you can see and carbon dioxide you cannot see that hangs around in the air and warms the atmosphere. in serbia they want to

expand this place, just as britain and other countries are moving away from coal they want to almost double the capacity of this power station. they are going to do it with the help of china. already there are chinese construction workers on site. there are signs in chinese. they are financed by a chinese bank and there are environmentalists who worry about the role of china in expanding the use of coal around the world. this conveyor belt ferries call from a mine nearby to the power station. what is it like for local people living with us? many have jobs in the mine and the power station but others we have spoken to say there is an enormous environmental impact, dust rising from the call, air polishing, ash covering their houses and gardens, and it is about health problems as well. they worry about the mine and the power station expanding and that is the kind of thing echoed in many

parts of the world. people more and more concerned about the environmental health and climate impacts of the coal industry. the detective investigating the novichok poisoning in salisbury has told the bbc that the amount of nerve agent found near the scene could have killed thousands of people. the bbc‘s panorama programme has also revealed new cctv images showing two russian military intelligence officers believed to be responsible for the attempted murder of former spy sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia. police officer nick bailey ended up in intensive care while investigating the case. he's been giving his first interview since it happened. such an outrageous, dangerous way of doing something that it angered me as well. i said all along, "i want to walk out of hospital with my wife," which we did in the end. and being able to do that, to walk out of hospital after two and a half weeks

of going through what i went through, was incredible. bbc panorama's jane corbin is here. thank you for coming along to talk about this programme. listening to nick bailey, it is quite remarkable on an individual level and a family level what he and his nearest and dearest have gone through. yes. he told me that physically he was doing well. he was recovering well, but psychologically it was a much longer haul. he unwittingly contaminated his police station and then his whole because he went to the house and he was the first into the house that night, he touched the door handle and the novichok was put upon the door handle. he was wearing a

forensic suit, he got it from his gloves onto his face, he was obviously very ill and he contaminated his family home. everything had to be destroyed, the family had to move, their cars, everything in the house, everything that belonged to his children had to be destroyed. that is something that has taken him a long time to come to terms with. and he has recovered from all of this? an extraordinarily he remained conscious throughout while he was in hospitalfor conscious throughout while he was in hospital for two conscious throughout while he was in hospitalfor two and conscious throughout while he was in hospital for two and a half weeks. he was conscious of what was happening to him. he said he found it very confusing because so little was known about this deadly nerve agent, novichok, nobody was sure in the hospital how to treat their patient, but also how to protect themselves. he said nurses would come in dressed head to foot in protective gear just to come in dressed head to foot in protective gearjust to give him a sandwich. and two minutes later his wife and children would be allowed to visit him. it was very confusing

for him. i think he is doing well. he is out, he hopes to return to work, and that is really what i think is his goal. so you have the impact on him as an individual, on his family, and then you take into consideration the possible impact, what could have happened to many thousands of people if the novichok that was contained in this perfume bottle ha rd that was contained in this perfume bottle hard been spread over a wide area? as you know, the novichok was inafake area? as you know, the novichok was in a fake perfume bottle. this is what the would—be assassins would use to put onto the door handle. when they left the house, they threw it away. the police are not sure exactly where. it was found a bin later by charlie rowley, who sadly poisoned himself and also his partner, dawn sturgess, who died. we we re partner, dawn sturgess, who died. we were told by the police that the amount of novichok still in that bottle was significant, and could possibly, if it had been exposed to the wider public, could have killed probably thousands of people, which

is indeed showing just how reckless this act was. very good to talk to you. thanks for coming to tell us more about your programme. victoria derbyshire with what she's got coming up in her programme at ten. in 30 minutes we are expecting a statement from the united arab emirates' ambassador about the case of matthew hedges, the academic jailed for life for spying. could there be movement on his case today? we will bring you the statement live and get reaction from one of his friends. join us at ten o'clock on bbc two, the bbc news channel and online. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather forecast. not as cold as yesterday morning, but we have a lot of cloud, misty and make the conditions out there. towards the south—west of the uk,

this area of low pressure and weather front is bringing this area of low pressure and weatherfront is bringing us this area of low pressure and weather front is bringing us some showers. those showers in the south—west became quite heavy perhaps, even thundery later on this afternoon. elsewhere, looking mostly dry except north—east england and eastern scotland. here, some showers continue to feed in. the best of any brightness would be across northern ireland, south—west scotland and northern england. the maximum temperatures this afternoon getting up temperatures this afternoon getting up to about seven or 11 degrees. the heavy showers will continue across the south—west, some fairly high rainfall total leading to flooding issues. elsewhere, of cloud, misty and murky conditions, largely frost free night to come. into saturday, rain expected across southern coastal counties, otherwise dry. brightness in northern areas, sunny spells on sunday as well. goodbye. hello this is bbc news. theresa may is trying

to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet this morning to finalise the agreement amid spanish concerns about gibraltar. the prime minister will be taking your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12.30. the united arab emirates says it wants to find an "amicable solution" to the case of british academic matthew hedges, who was convicted of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. shoppers hitting the black friday sales are being urged to check that the deals are worthwhile. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. we'll return to our top story and the eu officials meeting today, focused on coming to

an agreement on what happens to gibraltar, post brexit. spain aren't happy with what's being proposed, with the prime minster tweeting that his position on the matter is far away from theresa may's. pedro sanchez says he'd be willing to veto brexit if there are no changes. well the chief minister of gibraltar was on the today programme earlier — here's his response to that tweet. when this news broke, i was in madrid, negotiating with marco aguiriano the next steps of the memorandum of understanding which are referred to in the protocol of the withdrawal agreement. and that was a very positive meeting. i thought it actually boded well for the future. we were talking about starting the process of purchasing for the future. so, generally, spain should not think that we need to be dragged to the table in any particular way. but that's why i used the word political. the suggestion we were hearing

yesterday from our europe editor, the suggestion actually is that there is a local election in andalusia and this is all about that, and not about anything else? well, hardly local. it's quite a large region. but to be fair, i think it's important that we look at what people are saying about the deal in the united kingdom. people are saying the withdrawal agreement represents a failure of negotiation. you've just got to look around europe and ask the french, or indeed the spanish, in relation to the issue of gibraltar, and many others, how angered they are by the arrangements that are in the withdrawal agreement that the commission has now said is completely closed and cannot be reopened. because if it's opened for one comma or one full—stop on gibraltar, it's going to be reopened on any of the other issues that people in westminster say they would like to see done again. and the french, and all the others. so, farfrom a failure of negotiation, what this deal represents, what the prime minister brings to the commons, is actually a compromise arrangement where nobody wins100%, but that is what a negotiation is about, but we gain a lot. it should be seen through the prism. here the education secretary has been defending the government's plans, saying that the deal

would get through parliament. speaking to bbc breakfast, damian hinds was questioned on whether britain would still have to pay financial installments to the eu after brexit. in the implementation period, it is well known that there are contributions to be made during that period. but we stop open—ended, ad infinitum payments going to brussels in large quantities. that sounds a little vague to me. i mean, after the 29th of march... no, sorry... after the 29th of march, do we continue paying a we pay a lump sum, don't we? this 39 billion, which has been agreed. do we carry on paying monthly sums of money to the eu, and when do they stop? how much are they and when do they stop? well, we are in the current budget cycle, without getting into too much of the technical detail. so the agreement is that we carry on our current payments in that budgeting cycle during the course

of the implementation period. but part of the whole point of our leaving the european union is we then stop giving forever these large annual payments. when do we stop? at the end of the implimentation period. 0k, and all those payments stop them? that's the date at which they stop. but, of course, the backstop arrangement, if we didn't come to an arrangement by then, we carry on paying after that date? no, so, the backstop is not about carrying on payments. look, to be very clear about this, we will be a sovereign, independent nation. there may be individual programmes that you want to take part in, but that would be our decision, it's a decision for the british parliament. that's the important thing. people want to make sure we have control over our money, as well as our borders and our laws, so we can make these decisions ourselves. well as well as her cabinet, theresa may is also receiving support from some of the newspapers,

the daily mail's headline this morning is "let's get on with it". the paper says the pm has wrestled with mutinous mps and slippery eurocrats to get a deal. however it's the divorce bill that's come in for critcism in the sun. "black fri—may" is how they describe it — today being black friday of course — saying britain is giving the eu the deal of the century by handing over £39 billion. let's look at the most read stories of the bbc news website. black friday is at number three. top tips, and for cyber monday. they say fingers are poised and trolleys are primed for the annual pre—christmas sale. there are suggestions british shoppers will spend £7 billion in

the sales frenzy this year, an average of £220 each. but if you read down through the article, you will find lots of tips on how to check that what you are paying is actually a good price and that you are getting the bargain that you think you are getting, and that prices have not been inflated in advance of black friday. nigel farage, has said he's "appalled" that ukip leader, gerard batten has appointed the english defence league founder tommy robinson as a special adviser on rape gangs and prison reform. speaking to the today programme, mr farage said he was appalled by the decision and denied that his rhetoric during the eu referendum sowed an early seed for tommy robinson's appointment to ukip. no, iwant no, i want to talk about real issues, issues that politicians are afraid of, issues about uncontrolled mass immigration, illegal immigration, the growth of terrorism across europe, the huge mistakes that the eu made... but he had

posters with syrian refugees... how do you know they were syrian refugees? why were they refugees when almost every single one of them was a young male? hardly any of them would have qualified as refugees. i wa nted would have qualified as refugees. i wanted to have these conversations. but to do so from a political party... but that is the point, it isa party... but that is the point, it is a conversation that leads to this and leads to the appointment of tommy robinson. if you don't have this causation, you don't get parties like ukip doing well, you don't get referendums, then the far right does exist. if i have one real achievement in british politics, i did pretty much single—handedly kill off the bnp. nigel farage there. some amazing pictures, you might have spotted them in the headlines, about the gymnast setting a horizontal bar backflip record. this is in the most watched section on the bbc news website. let me play that level.

this is ashley watson. he is a leeds gymnast and has set a guinness world record by propelling himself nearly six metres, five —— five .87 metres between horizontal bars. that is quite something. he gets a lot of momentum going and launches himself from one to the other. he is 26 and he did this at leeds gymnastic club with two independent witnesses. he has been in the great britain squad since he was 15 and said he was surprised nobody else had tried it before. he succeeded on his eighth attempt. and very happy he is, proving the old adage, if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. well done to him. that is it from the morning briefing. a plane that has no jets or propellers has successfully flown for a distance of 60 metres. this prototype uses technology which is greener and quieter than traditional aircraft. scientists say the flight could open up the possibility of carbon—neutral air travel in the future. very interesting new technology be

used in that plane. sport now, and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. mike bushell is there. how are you? i love those gymnastic pictures. they have been wowing us all morning. so have england's cricketers. the england women's cricket team has a chance of a adding more silverware to the 50 over world cup they won a year ago. they will take on india tomorrow night. the world cup finals have become a habit for england's women and they made reaching this one relatively simple. india won the toss and opted to bat, but they

struggled on a poor speech on the pitch. heather knight dr wickets in two balls. sophie ecclestone and ki rsty two balls. sophie ecclestone and kirsty gall and finished with two a piece. the world cup final was calling. the english batters got off toa calling. the english batters got off to a poor start. tammy beaumont and dani wyatt were both dismissed early on for a combined total ofjust nine. amyjones was made of sterner stuff. an aspiring partnership followed, with both making half centuries. the housemates learning feedback are leading their team to a co mforta ble feedback are leading their team to a comfortable victory unsealing england's place in the final. having claimed the one—day world cup last year, england are just one game away from being crowned double world champions, something they haven't done since 2009. victory against australia on saturday night will surely seal their place in the history books. i'm joined by former england

international lydia greenway. you played many twenty20 matches. what does this mean, to which the final ain? does this mean, to which the final again? it is huge. after the success of last yea r‘s world cup again? it is huge. after the success of last year's world cup win, the sell—out at lord's, for the girls to go out with expectations put on them from the public, the media, to actually go and make the final, i think that is fantastic. you know, the way that they played in the semifinals was brilliant to see. how important is it to have those bonds, the friendship, the partnership of 92 between natalie and amy, and they are housemates. how important is that for the team ? are housemates. how important is that for the team? it is big. a lot of the girls are based in loughborough, where the national performance centre is. often you are driving past and you see them going all around. it plays a big part. when you are out there in the middle, and times get tough, you can spot, 0k, middle, and times get tough, you can spot, ok, i know she is under

pressure, i know she's feeling it. that is really important. fantastic. the only thing between them and the title is the rather big obstacle of australia. three times champions. judging by the way that australia thrashed the west indies? from looking at the teams that have made the final, it is the two best teams in the world playing against each other. if australia win it this year, it will be the fourth time. england will not be naive in the fa ct england will not be naive in the fact that they are up against probably the best team in the world. it is tomorrow night, midnight hour time saturday night. where is your heart and had? what are you thinking, the grand final? my heart a lwa ys thinking, the grand final? my heart always says england. my head says i cannot call it. it is too tight to call. if anything, cannot call it. it is too tight to call. ifanything, if cannot call it. it is too tight to call. if anything, if history is anything to go by, england have a lot of robustness in their team. thank you for coming in. 0n the other side of the world, head

of us in terms of time zones, aim and are going for a series whitewash. they made a sluggish start with rory burns and keatonjennings both going cheaply. jonny bairstow and skipper joe root took up the reins, before root dropped a clanger on a6 and scooped his shot into the waiting hands of gunathilaka. but bairstow is still going strong — he's on 87. england will be proud of themselves. no cricket on the back pages today for obvious reasons but there is a real spread of stories. the guardian one of those reporting on the on—going delay with tottenham's new stadium — pochettino hinting the hold up could go on even longer, saying they need to be patient. sadio mane's new contract at liverpool dominates the star sport — he says agreeing to stay on is the best decision

of his career. and the sun's headline writers have had a bit of fun with "granieri" — claudio ranieri has apparently taken advice from his 99 year—old mother, before naming his first fulham line—up. renata is a huge football fan and supports roma. but she has taken fulham as a second tea m but she has taken fulham as a second team for obvious reasons. mothers a lwa ys team for obvious reasons. mothers always support their son. it's the last weekend of the grand prix season too. we have radio commentary from abu dhabi this afternoon. and on 5 live at seven darren fletcher brings you the friday football social — he'll be looking ahead to the weekend's action with former liverpool defender stephen warnock. don't forget sportsday at 6.30 this evening on abc news. —— bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal

to the public as eu diplomats meet this morning to finalise the agreement amid spanish concerns about gibraltar. the united arab emirates says it wants to find an "amicable solution" to the case of british academic matthew hedges, who was convicted of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. mixed numbers on the us markets. president trump has threatened to close the whole of the us—mexico border if disorder breaks out there, as several thousand central american

migrants reach the frontier. the mostly honduran migrants — now in the border town of tijuana — say they are trying to escape economic hardship and gang violence. the authorities at the border expect other groups of central americans to join those already there, bringing the number of incomers to about 10,000. mr trump says he has authorised thousands of troops at the frontier to use lethal force if needed — although the defence secretary says military police will be unarmed. she's one of the oldest nominees of the bbc‘s 100 women series this year. setsuko takamizawa is 90 and yet she's decided to learn a language which was banned when she was at school because of the second world war. the bbc caught up with her in tokyo and asked why she decided to learn english now. setsuko ta kamizawa setting

setsuko takamizawa setting an example for us all! it's become a christmas tradition and essential viewing for millions on german tv. but british comedy sketch "dinner for one" has never been shown here. now, nearly a0 years since making comedian freddie frinton a househould name in europe, it will finally get it's uk premiere. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been to find out more. the same procedure as last year, miss sophie? a 90th birthday party. the host's friends are dead, so her loyal butler plays every guest, getting more tipsy as the evening goes on. dinner for one is watched by millions in germany every new year's eve. at manchester's christmas markets, german traders say it's essential viewing. every child in germany knows dinner for one. they're waiting for it the whole year. we always thought it started being famous over here and then, somehow, you know, swapped over to germany. in 1963, english comedy actor freddie frinton's music hall

performance was turned into a german tv programme. the whole thing was filmed in one 15 minute take. ten minutes later, it became an annual institution. my brother and i impersonated this all the time. now, his son, mike, is guest of honour for its much delayed uk premiere at a weekend of slapstick here in campbeltown. at almost like seeing him doing it in a theatre, live. this is the one thing he really enjoyed doing. it was his baby. when you go to germany and tell people that you are freddie frinton's son, what kind of reaction do you get? if i meet a german in the street, i will say, you know my father. he's freddie frinton. the reaction is always brilliant. people want to have their picture taken with you, selfies. he slurs drunkenly. 0rganisers believe the sketch will be appreciated by a british audience. freddie frinton is a comedy genius. his timing is perfect. it's an absolute masterpiece of slapstick. 50 years after his death, his reputation continues to grow. a freddie frinton stamp hasjust been issued in germany, and next year a museum dedicated

to him opens in bremerhaven. and, of course, it's already part of new year plans. i have some friends coming over. we will party at my house, and i think we will watch it before we start to have dinner. they all know they will be watching dinner for one? yes, everybody does it. it's tradition. the same procedure as last year, miss sophie? same procedure as every year. colin paterson, bbc news... well, i'll do my very best. campbeltown. thousands of people left homeless by devastating wildfires in california, have been taking part in annual thanksgiving celebrations. chefs from across the country travelled to the state to rustle up turkey, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings. 0rganisers said they served up to 15,000 people. in the next few minutes we are

expecting a statement from the uae ambassador to london about the case of matthew hedges, jailed for life earlier this week. now time for the weather forecast. we had a cold start yesterday, widespread frost. this morning, temperatures were mostly above freezing. but we had rather a lot of mist and freezing. but we had rather a lot of mistand murk freezing. but we had rather a lot of mist and murk this morning. that is from hannah spanner in sheffield. the low—pressure, those weather fronts moving in. they are continuing to stay there through the rest of today. those showers will be heavy, and they could even have some hailand heavy, and they could even have some hail and thunder mixed in. elsewhere, the mist will clear, but it will stay cloudy across a part of the uk. there will be a few breaks developing here and there to give a little sunshine. let's take a look at this afternoon. heavy showers continuing in south—west england, showers coming into dorset, perhaps

the south—west of wales. the best of any brightness or sunshine in north—west england, north—east england across northern ireland, south—west scotland also getting a bit of sunshine. elsewhere, it remains quite cloudy. across northern scotland, the showers continue to feed in an easterly wind. temperatures this afternoon are about seven wind. temperatures this afternoon are about seven or wind. temperatures this afternoon are about seven or 10 degrees. heavy showers will continue across the south—west of england, edging further eastwards along the english channel coast. largely frost free again tonight. those temperatures in towns and cities but about three or 7 degrees. saturday, the area of low pressure still with us. the weather front is still there along the english channel. anywhere south of the ma corridor we are likely to see some rain at times during saturday. to the north, there should be a few showers and east. 0therwise, dry. some brighter skies, sunshine breaking through, particularly the further north and west you are. temperatures fairly similar to today. 0nto sunday, most of the rain

will have cleared away. there is a sign now that we could see rain lingering in the south—east of england. still some showers across eastern parts as well. the general rule of thumb, the further north and west you are, it will be brighter throughout the day. next week, we start to lose the easterly and south—easterly wind you have had recently. we start to pick up weather fronts from the atlantic. as you go through mid week it could turn quite stormy as areas of low pressure start to move their way in. temperatures will start to rise up into the low teens. it does turn quite unsettled in to next week. that is it from me. goodbye. hello, it's friday, it's 10am, i'm victoria derbyshire. any moment now the united arab emirates ambassador in london is due to give a statement about the shock imprisonment of british phd student matthew hedges. his wife daniela tehada says she still doesn't even know where her husband is being held. he mentioned that his panic attacks have... have become worse. i think he'sjust

absolutely terrified at the idea of having to spend the rest of his life behind bars. we'll bring you the uae ambassador's statement live. eu officials are meeting to finalise the brexit deal ahead of sunday's