the prime minister hits back after president trump attacks her brexit deal. as she begins a tour of the uk to sell her brexit agreement, theresa may insists that trade deals will be possible. we will be able to do trade deals, to negotiate trade deals, with countries around the rest of the world. and as regards the united states, we've already been talking to them about the sort of agreement that we could have in the future. we'll be live in westminster and belfast, where the prime minister arrives this afternoon. also this lunchtime.... home at last — the british academic, released from jail in the united arab emirates, thanks his wife for helping win his freedom. a bus company is fined more than £2 million for ignoring warnings about a driver who killed two people. are rescued in the channel as they try to make it to the british coast.

and a postcard from mars — nasa's latest probe sends back its first picture of the red planet. and coming up on bbc news, former england rugby union international sam burgess has blamed what he calls individual egos and selfish players for their early exit from the last world cup. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the prime minister has insisted that the uk will be able to strike trade deals around the world after brexit. it comes after president trump suggested the withdrawal agreement sounded like a "great deal for the eu" and might hamper a future trade deal between the us and the uk. in another blow for mrs may, the former defence secretary sir michael fallon warned that her brexit deal is ‘doomed' and said he'd vote against it. but today, the prime minister has embarked on a uk—wide push to sell her brexit plan,

with visits to wales and northern ireland. our political correspondent, chris mason, reports. the big brexit boat is a fortnight away. suddenly, it feels like a general election campaign with one candidate, the prime minister, and one policy, her brexit deal. the stock today, mid wales. one policy, her brexit deal. the stock today, mid walesli one policy, her brexit deal. the stock today, mid wales. i am here today at the winter fair at the royal welsh hearing from farmers and manufacturers the importance of the certainty that the deal brings, the importance of the free trade area, and the ability to continue to export well with the european union in the future that we seen that bitter political declaration for our future relationship on trade with the european union. but her critics are everywhere. this man, glass of water in hand, used walk into this radio studio all the time to defend the government. take a listen to him

how. the government. take a listen to him now. my fear is this deal actually just gives us the worst of all worlds. no guarantee of smooth trade in the future and no ability to reduce the tariffs that we need to conclude trade deals with the rest of the world. so unless the commons, i think, can be persuaded somehow that those things are possible, yes, thenl that those things are possible, yes, then i think the deal is doomed. with friends like that, the prime minister could do without what you are about to hear from the president of the united states. who does he think is the winner in the negotiation between the uk and european union? sounds like a great dealfor the eu european union? sounds like a great deal for the eu and european union? sounds like a great dealfor the eu and i think we have to do this... i think we have to ta ke to do this... i think we have to take a look seriously at whether or not the uk is allowed to train because, you know, right now if you look at the deal, they may not be able to train with us. downing street insists an independent trade policy is possible under its plan, but with criticism raining down on the prime minister, people on all sides of this debate are now marshalling their arguments, hoping

that their plan and replace hers if, when, it is defeated. some passionate brexiteers say leaving the eu with no deal is fine and they reckon the vision of mrs may is the worst in history and they are not surprised by the intervention of president trump. he is not only pro—british, pro—brexit, believing that nation states should make deals together, but from day one of being elected, he saw a big all—encompassing trade deal with the uk as being a very important thing for our two countries. and for him to say, i am not protectionist, i believe in free trade when it is between countries that are equivalent. from those arguing for no deal to those arguing for no brexit, some young campaigners gathered in westminster this morning to make their case. if you get the feeling anything could happen in the next few months, you mightjust be onto something. in a moment, we'll speak to our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, but first, our assistant political editor,

norman smith, at westminster. norman, unwelcome interventions for the prime ministerfrom people who are supposed to be her friends and allies. but she is hitting back. she is, but you have to wonder if at her morning meetings, mrs may must feel like, have any of you got any good news? there is a sense this is beginning to slip away from mrs may. yesterday, she had another mauling in the commons. overnight, president trump saying her deal was a good dealfor the eu trump saying her deal was a good deal for the eu and trump saying her deal was a good dealfor the eu and sir michael fallon‘s intervention. there is a sense that some of those middle ground mps who have not previously expressed a view are now beginning to turn against mrs may. during which, mrs may is away from westminster, and barking on this nationwide tour. and there is a view i think amongst some supporters that maybe she might be better spending her time trying to strong—arm tory

mps in the tea rooms and bars and committee rooms of westminster, rather than spending her morning at the royal welsh showground in the winter back, lovely though that might be. thank you very much. and the prime minister is heading to northern ireland next. yes, many northern ireland next. yes, many northern ireland next. yes, many northern ireland businesses have brought lee welcomed the deal. they say it is not perfect but would remove the need for any hard border between northern ireland and the irish republic and prevent any immediate disruption to train. theresa may can take light relief from some of that support. —— trade. when it comes to the different regime from the rest of

the uk. this is the dup leader arlene foster speaking to our political editor this morning. i think the disappointing thing for me is that the prime minister has given up, and she's saying, this is where we are and we just have to accept that. but she may have given up on further negotiations and trying to find a better deal, but i haven't given up. i believe in a better way forward, i believe we must find that. now, it is important to say that some of the northern ireland parties, including sinn fein, have cautiously welcomed this deal, but it is the dup's vote that counts when it comes to parliament. thank you very much indeed, from belfast and thanks to norman smith, our assistant political editor, at westminster. so what trade deals could britain strike with other countries, under the terms of theresa may's brexit deal? our reality check correspondent, chris morris, is here. president trump critical of the

brexit deal overnight in terms of doing a possible trade to deal with the united states, does he have a point? the political declaration between the eu and uk approved on sunday talks about an independent trade policy, but as long as we are ina trade policy, but as long as we are in a post—brexit transition or if there were to be a single customs territory under the so—called backstop plan, we would not be able to implement free—trade deals, cutting tariffs on goods with the united states or any other country around the world. it is notjust about tariffs, it is also that regulation more broadly. we have heard about things like chlorinated chicken and hormone treated beef which are treated differently in the united states to europe, it is also like big business like chemicals or pharmaceuticals. you are either in one of the big regulatory regimes around the world, the eu, or you can lea n toward around the world, the eu, or you can lean toward the united states. it is not entirely either all but there is

a choice to be made and of the uk wa nts to a choice to be made and of the uk wants to be be close to the eu in the future, it will be more difficult to do trade deals with the united states. we can look at the numbers, it is worth remembering those are the numbers for uk trade with the united states last year, big numbers. look at trade last year with the rest of the eu. 112 billion export to the us and 274 billion to the eu, the eu 27. a lot of big companies here save the eu is a massive consumer market right on our doorstep so they are encouraging the government to lean towards those eu rules and regulations. chris, thank you very much indeed. chris norris. judges at the european court ofjustice are considering whether the uk could halt brexit and remain in the european union without permission from the other member states. a cross—party group of british politicians has brought the case, arguing that parliament could stop brexit if mps vote down the prime minister's deal. ministers say the case is only hypothetical, as the government has no plans to remain in the eu. a bus company has been fined more

than £2 million after it ignored warnings about a driver who crashed into a supermarket, killing two people. the midland red bus careered into the sainsbury‘s store in coventry three years ago, killing a seven—year—old boy and a pensioner. the trial heard the driver, who was 77 at the time, had mistaken the accelerator for the brake. kathryn stanczyszyn reports. the moment kailash chander lost control of his double—decker bus failing to break, pressing hard on the accelerator instead. seconds later, it smashed into a supermarket, killing seven—year—old rowan fitzgerald, sitting at the front of the top deck. 76—year—old dora hancox, who had been crossing the road that afternoon, was also killed. the court heard it was looking more people were not injured. kailash chander was 77 at

the time of the accident and was diagnosed afterwards with dementia, his driving had become increasingly erratic. mr chander had had several previous crashes with repeated complaints by customers, and six months prior to the crash, he had been assessed in house. bosses were told fatigue was affecting his driving. on the day of the accident, kailash chander had already worked a 75 hour week. he was deemed unfit to stand trial at a previous hearing. the bus company, pleading guilty to two helton said the offences, admitted that they later act had tragic consequences. or own detailed policies were not followed closely as they should have been. there were failures at an operational level with supervision and we deeply regret the opportunities that were missed to act decisively on warning signs. in a statement, the fitzgerald family said their lives have been changed forever. we will always feel anger over the cruel and unnecessary way rowan

died. angerand cruel and unnecessary way rowan died. anger and not only the driver, kailash chander, but also a bus company which we feel did not do enough to stop the driver being a danger to us. midland red says it has made key changes and now has a much more robust safety measure in place, but thejudge much more robust safety measure in place, but the judge said the £2.3 million buying reflects the fact the public was put at risk notjust on that day, but four months beforehand. the british academic freed from jail in the united arab emirates yesterday has arrived back in britain. matthew hedges was welcomed home by his wife daniela tejada and members of his family. the durham university phd student was pardoned yesterday after being sentenced to life in prison for spying. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams is here. and he has put out a statement thanking his wife. that is right, they crept in this morning and were escorted out of heathrow away from the cameras but there was a

statement shortly afterwards, matthew hedges has described it as a very surreal moment. it is just six days ago he was facing a life sentence for alleged spying. as you say, he singled out the work of daniela, his wife, and says he could not have done this without her. seeing her and my family after this ordeal, he says, is the best thing that could have happened. the state" her, saying she is overjoyed and exhausted, pointing out the family needs some time to process everything they have been through. no one, she says, should never have gone through what he did and it will ta ke gone through what he did and it will take him time to heal and recover. he is very overwhelmed. i don't think we necessarily will see him in the short term. one other thing, jeremy hunt foreign secretary, very much engaged in this in the last few weeks, he says the country is relieved and delighted to have you home. he has also banned, as has the family, the efforts of the embassy in the uae and the foreign office.

she has also thanked. thank you very much. two boats, each carrying nine migrants, have been stopped in the channel. one of them included an 18—month—old child. in the past month, a hundred people have been picked up attempting to cross the channel. simonjones reports from dover. in the cold and the dark, nine migrants, some children, bound on a tiny boat, despite repeated warnings that people are putting their lives at risk trying to cross the busiest shipping lane in the world, it is continuing. well, it's unprecedented what is happening at the moment, and it's like crossing the m25 on foot during the rush hour. it is the busiest thoroughfare for shipping in the world, there's over 400 commercial shipping movements a day, they do not have lighting, they do not have experience, they've got an inadequate boat. they're very, very lucky to be alive. the french authorities rescued

another nine migrants in the early hours. the dover lifeboat was involved in one of this morning's rescue operations, and down there beside it, you can seejust how small the boat on which nine migrants were found is, risking their lives in the cold and the dark. over the past month, more than 100 migrants have succeeded in getting across the channel in small boats. most have claimed to be from iran. it's thought many have flown into serbia after the country began offering visa—free access to iranians to boost tourism and trade, then heading to northern france, with the goal of getting to the south coast. we need to see the home office and the french authorities working together to find these people traffickers who are behind this and stop them in their tracks, before there is a tragedy in the middle of the english channel. the home office says borderforce patrols have been stepped up, but some are warning that if this continues, the rescue operations could turn into the recovery of bodies. simonjones, bbc news, dover. it is quarter past one. our top story this lunchtime...

theresa may has insisted her brexit deal will not stop britain doing trade deals with the rest of the world, after president trump said it does threaten an agreement with the united states. and coming up... one ofa one of a kind, tributes are paid to the wartime code breaker baroness trumpington, who has died at 96. coming up on bbc news, jose mourinho says his manchester united team can watch their champions league match on tv tonight if they don't fancy the pressure of playing in front of their own fans at old trafford. a 10—year—old boy who had a rare blood disorder has been reunited with the man who helped save his life. rupert cross was diagnosed four years ago and spent months in a specialist unit at great ormond street on a course of chemotherapy. but his life was changed when a man whojoined the bone marrow register because he saw a woman he liked in the queue for donors turned out to be a match. the chance encounter transformed both their lives,

as look east's robbie west reports. so, all of these i've got to have? yeah. 0h! that's why you have a drip. iwould be sick, like, everywhere. rupert spent more than 80 days in a specialist treatment unit, diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. the six—year—old's immune system was failing right in front of his parents‘ eyes. i remember the time when his hair was falling out, and i was in with a nurse and i was just stroking his hair, and it wasjust coming out in clumps. i would have done anything to have swapped places with him. it's... it's such... it's such a horrific experience. his only option was to find a willing bone marrow

donor who was a close enough genetic match. unknown to rupert, in basildon, someone was about to join the register who had the potential to save his life. billy higgins works in a bank. a charity had set up outside and was signing up bone marrow donors. he's the first to admit his initial reason forjoining the register wasn't all about helping others. yeah, ended upon the register because the girl i liked was in the queue. due to the complexities of rupert's condition, billy had to have an operation to remove some of his bone marrow. rupert has gone on to make a full recovery. billy went to hemel hempstead to meet rupert and his family. he was joined by the girl that he was flirting with in the queue to become a donor. she had to come along, really, seeing as now she's his wife. hi. pleased to meet you. nice to meet you! hi. how you doing, rupert? good, thank you.

you all right? yeah. i feel... i feel very lucky. i can't believe, like, that someone has... i don't know, i can't put it into words. he's a superman. i'll take that one! rupert needed a hero, and in billy he got one. robbie west, bbc news. a police watchdog says a crisis in mental health services is putting an intolerable burden on police in england and wales. the inspectorate of constabulary claims officers are being forced to respond to tens of thousands of incidents every year which should be handled by mental health specialists. our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, reports. he was a talented musician, but for many years sean rigg suffered from severe mental health problems, paranoid schizophrenia. in august 2008, he was arrested and restrained by police after reports he'd attacked people. the 40—year—old was taken to a police station, but he collapsed and died in hospital.

an inquestjury said police had used an unnecessary and unsuitable level of force. what you need is care. when somebody is being restrained, somebody is vulnerable, the excessive force that's being used, that shouldn't happen. we are where we are, police are involved in this. the watchdog that monitors police in england and wales says they should be far less involved in cases like this. in a report it says officers are picking up the pieces because the mental health system is broken. the report says when mental health patients need help, 50% of the trips to hospital or a safe place are made by police, not ambulance. it takes about three hours for police to deal with someone who is mentally unwell. in london, five people with mental health problems called police 8600 times last year, more than anyone else. the police are called to stepping out of hours when other

services go home, so we see the volume of calls to police peaking at around four or five o'clock in the evening weekdays when other practitioners are going home. and we see that as other mental health services pushing the risk and demand on to the police just because they are a 24/7 service. police leaders have welcomed the inspection report. they say the health service must stop passing the buck. this report must now put a full stop to everything that we've said before. there is a crisis, it needs to be dealt with and there needs to be some action. so i completely support what's being said. the government says it's planning to spend an extra £2 billion a year on mental health services in england and has already reduced the use of police custody for those in need. danny shaw, bbc news. a study of graduate pay shows women with degrees gain more financially in their first few years of work than men do. the institute for fiscal studies found that by the end of their twenties, female graduates

earn 28% more than other women. for men, the difference is only 8%. lauren moss reports. choosing to go to university can be an expensive decision. the average student leads with £50,000 of debt. for the first time, a report has examined whether graduates later make that back. it appears women are getting a better return on their investment. on average, by the age of 20 men, a female graduate earns £6,700 a year more than a woman who did not go to university —— by the age of 29. a man with a degree earns £2700 a year more than a man without. the subjects studied makes a big difference, with maths, science and medicine likely to lead to better wages than the creative arts,

english philosophy. we see lots of men studying at institutions with zero or negative returns by 29. this return is likely to grow through men's 30s as graduate men tend to earn at a faster rate through their 30s than non—graduate men. for women, we see non—graduate men. foi’ women, we see a non—graduate men. for women, we see a large average return of around 26%, that varies but it is pretty consistently positive. these figures are only a snapshot of average earnings at 29. they don't look into what may happen next in life and how that could impact, such as how they woman has children it could affect her income and how male graduates tend to add more later. some students think the findings might affect what people choose to study. there are quite a lot of degrees that are not as employable. i think it should impact people's choices, if many drives you. maybe people are discouraged to studying art or literature, but i

feel like it is something to think about. the government is to review university tuition fees. the focus will turn to which institutions offer the best value for money. a good degree will be worth the investment. i want to see universities competing to offer the best quality value for money degrees to young people. asa to young people. as a student is prepared to send off their ucas applications early next year, questions continue about how well—prepared they will be for life after university. a health think tank is warning that thousands of cancer patients are dying unnecessarily each year because nhs england has failed to improve care quickly enough. a study by the health foundation found england had failed to close the gap with countries that perform better — such as canada. our health correspondent, nick triggle, reports. over the last 20 years, there have been four national cancer strategies. each has promised the best care for england. but the health foundation said, while there had been progress, the nhs was still lagging behind. its analysis shows that

only on breast cancer have the health service managed to actually close the gap with the best performing systems. the report warns the lack of progress is costing lives. each year, 135,000 people die from cancer. but 10,000 of those could be prevented if care was as good as in other nations. the key problem is one of late diagnosis. people who are diagnosed late have a much less good chance of surviving five years than those who were diagnosed early. and so we have got to make it easier for patients to access their gp, for gps to investigate and refer on and for diagnostic services to be there so that people can be diagnosed in a rapid way. the think tank wants to see better access to tests and scans to speed up diagnosis, but it said services were being undermined by a lack of staff and equipment, which is delaying how quickly patients are seen. the government has already said it aims to tackle this.

last month, the prime minister promised the number of cancers being diagnosed early would increase from one in two to three in four over the next ten years, thanks to the extra funding being provided to the health service. the department of health and social care said more details would be unveiled in the long—term plan for the nhs, which is expected to be published soon. nick triggle, bbc news. scientists at nasa say they're beginning to gather data from mars after successfully landing a probe on the surface of the planet yesterday. the insight spacecraft has already begun to send its first images back. it'll now begin its mission to study the interior of mars, making it the only planet — apart from earth — that has been examined in this way. our science reporter victoria gill sent this report from mission control in pasadena. touchdown confirmed! relief and joy at mission control. after plunging through the martian atmosphere at six times the speed of a bullet, nasa's insight spacecraft safely planted its feet

on the surface of mars. now the science begins. it's going to be a really busy two or three months for us. i am really hoping that the energy and the feeling today is going to carry me through those next few months, because it is going to be needed. when we get our first marsquake we will get a bunch of images over the next few days. and it is incredible to be on this mission and say, "tomorrow when i come onto my shift i will see an image of mars that nobody has seen before." it's already sending snapshots back to earth. insight‘s cameras will examine its surroundings in detail, so scientists can select exactly where to place its scientific equipment. it will listen for martian earthquakes and drill deep into the planet to study its inner structure. as the insight lander studies the deep interior of mars robotically, it will be sending its data back here, to mission control nasa in california, and people will work out exactly how rocky worlds like earth, mars and the moon actually formed 4.5 billion years ago. they lovingly call this

the centre of the universe. the two—year mission is now under way to build a picture of the hidden depths of the red planet. victoria gill, bbc news at nasa's jet propulsion laboratory, california. tributes have been paid to the conservative peer lady trumpington, who has died at the age of 96. she worked as a code breaker during the second world war and spent nearly four decades in the house of lords. colleagues describe her as one of a kind and an utterjoy. our parliamentary correspondent, sean curran, looks back at her life. a pillar of the establishment with a rebellious streak, jean barker, better known as lady trumpington, packed a lot into a long life. she was a land girl on lloyd george's farm. and a code—breaker at bletchley park. churchill visited us. he said, "you are the birds that laid the golden

eggs but never cackled." and that was the important thing, was that we never talked. she was appointed to the house of lords in 1980 and served as a minister under bothjohn major and margaret thatcher. we were really good friends, but if i didn't agree with her about something, i said so. and that was very good for her because it gave her a chance to know what the opposition might say to her. in 2011, she famously gave a two—fingered salute to a colleague who had referred to her age during a debate. her v—sign lead to more on—screen opportunities, including an appearance on have i got news for you. i would like to know why, at the age of 90, i've had to sign a piece of paper in order to be on the show to say i wasn't pregnant.

laughter. the prime minister led tributes from the current generation of politicians. theresa may said lady trumpington was a formidable figure in british politics whose kindness and humour would be sorely missed. the chair of the foreign affairs committee, tom tugendhat, recalled meeting her and praised her amazing life of service. and the conservative mp tracey crouch called her mischievous, charming and supremely intelligent and warned those at the pearly gates they had no idea what was about to hit them. in 2014, she published her bestselling memoirs, coming up trumps, although she told one interviewer she had neither written nor read the book. lady trumpington, who's died aged 96. time for a look at the