also this morning: another resignation over brexit. the universities and science minister, sam gyimah quits calling the prime minister's plan "naive". aftershocks rock alaska after a devastating earthquake strikes its biggest city. in sport — one of the biggest come backs ever that's how tyson fury, sees his return to the ring, as he flexes his muscles for the last time, before his heavyweight showdown with the man in the mask, deontay wilder... a right royal game of real tennis. i take on prince edward, as he tries to breathe fresh life into a 600 year old sport. a cloudy affairfor a cloudy affair for the first weekend of december. some may see brightness later. it's saturday the first of december and we start with some breaking news. the former american president, george bush senior, has died aged 94. he served in the oval office between 1989 and 1993, succeeding ronald reagan, before losing out to bill clinton. he made a fortune in the oil business in texas and also became head of the cia.

in april, he was admitted to a hospital intensive care unit with an infection, a week after the death of his wife barbara. his son, george w. bush, who also became president, released this statement a short time ago. he described his father as a man of the highest character and said he was the best dad any son or daughter could ask for. president trump has paid his tribute in the last couple of hours, he said his example lived on and would "continue to stir future americans to pursue a greater cause". the former american president barack obama has also paid tribute, he said america had "lost a patriot and humble serva nt". our north america editorjon sopel looks back at his life. i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states...

that george herbert walker bush had reached the highest office in the land almost seemed predestined. he was born into a family of wealth, privilege and politics. his father was a us senator. george attended yale, before volunteering for the navy in world war ii. he was shot down over the pacific, his rescue remarkably caught on film. peacetime took him to texas, where he made a fortune in the oil business, and then came the lure of politics. he was elected to congress, served as an ambassador, and became head of the cia, before pitching to become the republican presidential candidate in 1980. he lost to ronald reagan, but reagan put him on the ticket, and served as vice president. in 1988, he had another crack at the presidency, this time successfully. but there were new uncertainties notably iraq's annexation of kuwait in 1990. margaret thatcher told him to stay firm, apparently saying, "this is no time to go wobbly, george." he didn't.

iraq will not be permitted to annex kuwait. and that's is not a threat, it's not a boast, it'sjust the way it's going to be. a wide coalition was forged, and operation desert storm began. the ground war would lastjust 100 hours, in a decisive victory for american military expertise and superiority. i can report to the nation, aggression is defeated. the war is over. cheering. the 1992 election pitched the patrician bush against the young, charismatic, and hitherto—little—known democratic governor from arkansas called bill clinton. his clear advocacy of a new vision for america swept him to a decisive victory. so help me god. congratulations. within a decade, there was another bush in the white house, george w. bush senior was the last of america's cold war leaders, and the demise of communism during his period was managed deftly, as former soviet satellites embraced the values

of democracy and freedom. george herbert walker bush remained active into old age, even parachute—jumping in his 805. atta boy! and, of course, the one constant throughout all that, his wife, barbara. they were married for over 70 years. john major has paid tribute saying, george bush was a family man and pa rt george bush was a family man and part of the american people's family. he served with dignity and grace. he said, he is quite simply one of the most deep down, decent

people i have ever known. we're keeping an eye on comments coming in and tributes from former presidents, which have come in this morning. also, this morning, we spoke to a political analyst. can you give us a sense of how america will think about george bush senior, as we tend to refer to him here? well, what we're seeing is the loss of an era, actually, this was the last president to preside over a nation where you were able to actually see republicans and democrats come together and get things done. more importantly, this was a man who ran for president and who many believe have the most impressive resume of any one in the modern era. and of course, no one had actually been elected to the presidency coming from the vice presidency in over 100 yea rs, from the vice presidency in over 100 years, so from the vice presidency in over 100 years, so he was a trailblazer in so many ways. it is also important to

note that after his presidency, many saw him as a one term president and of course that may have dogged his legacy, he became to be seen as a true elder statesman, working closely with the man who actually vanquished him, bill clinton, in a number of humanitarian efforts. will we ever see an instance where you have two former presidents, republican and democrat, working together in humanitarian ways again? that is something we haven't seen since the likes of a george herbert walker bush. i am looking at the statement from donald trump, and first lady, milani trump, he is picking up on some personal aspects. we will remember him for his devotion to family, especially the love of his life, barbara. the two of them became very significant figures, possibly in a different way

from any presidential couple or first lady previously. that's right, these were two people who were together for over 70 years, they we re together for over 70 years, they werejoined at the hip, if together for over 70 years, they were joined at the hip, if you will. and while the former first lady perhaps was not may be as proactive in working on policy issues like we have seen from, say, hillary clinton, she was still very much a mainstay, not only in the white house but clearly in his presidency. and it is clear she was the matriarch of the family because, watching, as her son, george w bush, became president and alsojeb bush, she clearly had a stronghold over the family and this was very much a political dynasty, an american political dynasty, an american political dynasty, an american political dynasty, that we're seeing coming to an end, unfortunately. what happens now in terms of official reaction? well, this is

washington and because of the stature of this president, surely he will be remembered and mourned by a nation and i am sure many of the fa rewells we will nation and i am sure many of the farewells we will see, mainly from former presidents, we know how close he was to bill clinton, so we can expect a reaction to the very warm, given the many years of dedication and service to this nation and actually transitioning this country from the cold war place, and so on, i think the memorials we will see will be very touching and heartfelt asa will be very touching and heartfelt as a result. reflecting on the death of george bush senior, who died this morning. a statement was released at 5am this morning, he died at the age of 94. theresa may has suffered another blow to her hopes of winning

the backing of mps for her brexit deal after another cabinet resignation. the universities and science minister sam gyimah who voted to remain in the eu referendum, has announced he's quitting his job in protest at the prime minister's withdrawal agreement. we're joined now by our political correspondent jonathan blake with the latest. there is a lot happening, before this big commons vote. yes, the latest resignation has taken the number of ministers who have quit the government to ten, and this shows that mps and those within government are still making up their minds about whether they can actually support her deal in that parliamentary vote one week on tuesday. he had a specific reason to resign, as science and universities minister, the galileo satellite project developed by the eu, and it will block the uk from accessing as a result of it leaving the european

union. he says the government approached that has been naive but he has bigger problems with the deal asa he has bigger problems with the deal as a whole, he said it will leave britain worse off and it will be surrendering our voice, our vote and oui’ surrendering our voice, our vote and our veto. he wrote in the daily telegraph this morning that... so, stinging criticism from a minister who was seen as a rising star and until now had been loyal to theresa may. significant also that he was a campaign for remaining in the referendum and voted to remain in the eu is largely those who have resigned from government have so far been on the other side of the apartment. there are those on both sides of the brexit debate who do not like this deal in equal measure. some comfort for the prime minister this morning, michael gove, environment secretary, is leading voice, of course, in the leave

campaign, writing in the daily mail to urge mps to back the prime minister. we will be talking to sam gina in about one hour. theresa may urged the crown prince to hold the murderers ofjamal khashoggi to account as he meets world leaders on the sidelines of the g20 summit in argentina. later today, president trump will meet president xi jinping of china at the summit to discuss the trade war between their two countries. a series of aftershocks have rocked the us state of alaska after a devastating earthquake struck its biggest city, damaging buildings and forcing people to run into the streets. the quake was centred about seven miles north of the city of anchorage. it sent residents scurrying for cover and briefly triggered a tsunami warning for coastal areas. there are no reports of serious injuries. the fbi has launched an investigation after the records

of five—hundred—million customers of the hotel group marriott international were involved in a data breach. the hotel chain said the guest reservation database of its starwood division had been attacked, exposing the personal data of customers, including some payment card numbers. starwood's hotel brands include w hotels, sheraton, le meridien and four points by sheraton. it is. there's a lot going on this morning, we heard about the death of george bush senior and we're getting of reaction about that and also bringing new will of course the very on brexit, with the universities minister, last night resigning in protest at theresa may's plan. let's speak to the culture secretary now. we got the news at 5am from george bush senior‘s family that he has died, at the age of 94. many

tributes coming in this morning. i just wonder if for a moment you might talk to us about how you see his legacy. i think he was a fundamentally decent man and clearly in politics for the right reason. i worked as an intern in 1992 and i remember clearly in the buildings i worked in washington, dc, in how much high regard he was held, he was immensely respected across the political aisle and he will be much missed from american politics. voices like his, of moderation, common—sense, decency and dignity, are common—sense, decency and dignity, a re exactly common—sense, decency and dignity, are exactly what we need in politics, all across the world, so i think he will be very much missed. politics, all across the world, so i think he will be very much missedlj don't want to bring a parallel to where we are now but those words will resonate deeply with people right now as we approach the brexit vote in the commons. ijust want your thoughts first of all, michael

gove has been writing and we sometimes led by comments in the papers, michael gove is writing in the papers today and his comments whether the deal, as it is, he is backing theresa may, the deal, as it is, he is asking himself the question, is it 100% what i wanted? the answer is no but it is the best we can get. do you put yourself in the same position? it is not ideal but it is what it is? yes, they think most people will but most people also understand that this extends beyond politics and negotiation is about compromising you don't generally get everything you don't generally get everything you want and we haven't got everything we had wanted here but the question is not, for my collea g u es the question is not, for my colleagues in parliament and ministers and everyone else to consider, the question is not, does this deal compare favourably with the idealised version of brexit i had in my head? and everyone will have a different idea. that's not the question. it is, how does it

compare with the realistic, available alternatives? and when you look at those on the content of this deal, then i think people will start to have a rather more favourable view of this deal than some currently do. 0ver view of this deal than some currently do. over the next ten days, that is exactly the process collea g u es days, that is exactly the process colleagues will have to go through. and you will be well aware of the resignation of your colleague, who was the universities and science minister. those people who have taken the minister. those people who have ta ken the trouble minister. those people who have taken the trouble to read his letter, may find it troubling. he says, in the fullness of time, the public will wake up to thwart this so—called deal in tales, neither leave no remain voters will be pleased. this is someone who has watched and seen first hand, as you have, as this process has faltered, and he has chosen this moment in time to say, no, it is not right. first of all, i regret very much that sam is leaving the government,

he has done a good job in a number of roles but i do not agree with him on this. and i think you need to look at the deal as a compromise. but as a balance between two things, the british public have said clearly to us, that they wanted to leave the european union, that they wanted to get back control of their borders, they wanted to stop spending billions of pounds sent overseas to brussels every year. this deal achieves those things. but also, they will want to make sure we can carry on trading with the eu, it is still a large market for us, and to do that as efficiently as possible. my do that as efficiently as possible. my department has particular connections with the tech sector, we wa nt to connections with the tech sector, we want to make sure boundaries are as limited as possible and continue with a flow of trade across borders. getting the balance in those key areas was always going to be a

compromise and we have done that in this deal, so don't expect everyone to love this deal but i do expect people to look at it, consider the realistic alternatives and is recognise that what we have achieved is meeting people's expectations. the other thing i would race, i'm sure you understand people's frustration that when theresa may, even yesterday, she was on the way to the g20 and refuses to engage in any way in what will happen if you, she, loses that pivotal vote. this is ten days away now. do you not think the public has a right, whatever they voted, whatever they wa nted whatever they voted, whatever they wanted to happen, they have a right to know where we will be in 11 days' time? and the refusal of theresa may and yourself, i'm sure, to engage in any way in what happens next, i mean, that's almost irresponsible, isn't it? let me address this

directly and i think the prime minister would too. there are only three options, either accept the deal she has negotiated and which is on the table for us, or accept there will be no deal, or go back to the british public and say, you got it wrong last time, you're going to have to have another go. i think there would be serious economic consequences to no deal, serious democratic consequences to having a further vote, so, ithink democratic consequences to having a further vote, so, i think the deal is the best option available and it is the best option available and it isa is the best option available and it is a good dealfor us is the best option available and it is a good deal for us and the is the best option available and it is a good dealfor us and the eu to move forward. these are the choices. asa as a secretary of state and as an mp, are you prepared for being responsible for taking this country into a no—deal scenario? this is what it is getting down to. lots of people think come the crunch you simply would not do that given the

alarm that you and your government have expressed about what the consequences would be. the reality is if you lose the vote you will try and do something, you are notjust going to sit by and wait for it all to go wrong. first of all, the government has been making preparations for no deal as any responsible government must do. secondly, no deal may not be a choice but it might be the outcome if we don't have an alternative. my objective is very clear. it is to do a deal so that people can move on from what has been an immensely divisive period in our history, a deal that balances the need to give people what they voted for in the referendum, a return of our sovereignty on borders, on laws, on money, but also maintains our economic relationships which are so important for so many sectors of our economy. that is the balance we are seeking to strike, it is the balance this deal does strike, perfect though it isn't, i entirely agree

with those who say that, it does strike that balance and it's very important over the next ten days that people don't think about this in comparison with some idealised version of what they would ideally like brexit to be but think about it in terms of the reality. the reality is, we have those three choices, i know which one i prefer and i think for most people in this country they don't want to see the serious democratic consequences of going back for yet another vote, much less the perpetuation of this very divisive argument, and neither do they want to see that they would lose our opportunity to maintain good economic relationships with the european union while regaining that sovereignty in those important ways. secretary of state for culture, media and sport, thank you. it is 8:22am. louisa has the weather and i'vejust it is 8:22am. louisa has the weather and i've just noticed it is 8:22am. louisa has the weather and i'vejust noticed i'm it is 8:22am. louisa has the weather and i've just noticed i'm wearing the weather on my shirt, rainbows and rainy clouds, which is what we have seen. perfect, snow jumper standing by

have seen. perfect, snowjumper standing by in case? i have! not to say that, snow! snow! ? but it's the beginning of december and i'm sure snow is on the way at some point. we are in the middle of this westerly flow, this is sunday's weather and this is today's weather moving on from the atlantic and with wind coming in from the south—west it isa wind coming in from the south—west it is a mild sauce so across england and wales temperature is above average for the time of year but there is rain around again and the rain is starting to spill in across the south—west and the wind is picking up, along the channel coast stretching all the way up into northern ireland and north—west as well. further north of that it is not too bad, we have some clearer skies across eastern scotland, a bit on the chilly side. we will come back to that in a moment. looking at the finer detail of where the rain is sitting we can see an improving picture across cornwall and wales, still cloudy but the rain is easing, the bulk of the weather through 9am and 10am in the south—east and east

anglia. fairly showery as we move across northern england and northern ireland, scattering of lout showers in western scotland but eastern scotland, despite a chilly start, he should have some sunshine and parts of aberdeenshire you might cling onto some sunshine for the rest of the afternoon. the rain that sweeps steadily east and behind we keep the brighter conditions but still a fair amount of cloud around. look at these temperatures, 11—14d across much of england and wales, 6—9d in scotla nd much of england and wales, 6—9d in scotland and northern ireland. 0vernight tonight we start relatively quiet but there is more wet weather moving on from the atlantic, some of it heavy in the south. by dawn tomorrow morning we will perhaps see some heavy stuff lingering across much of southern and western scotland. we start tomorrow with rain sweeping through but it is going to be an improving picture across much of england and wales. the centre of the low sits into the far north of scotland, behind it quite breezy and plenty of isobars on the charts but it looks

like england and wales will be drier with showery rain in the north. back to you. louise, thank you very much. you're watching breakfast. time to look at this morning's newspapers. the astrophysicst, tamela maciel is here to tell us what's caught her eye. thank you forjoining us. nice to see you. what have you picked out? 0ne see you. what have you picked out? one of the things you have picked out this morning is about galileo and the science minister who resigned over the galileo project. and the science minister who resigned over the galileo projectlj resigned over the galileo project.” saw the news coming yesterday and i hoped there would be a space story but maybe not this particular space story because it comes in the wake of brexit. this is the story about the galileo gps sets of satellites, a european union funded operation, 13 of them are in orbit and there are plans to launch a few more in

the next few years but basically it is gps, what we use every day in our satnavs, financial transactions, agriculture very much embedded in our daily lives. that is something that we as a part of the european union have been contributing to. the uk has built some of the galileo satellites, it was bidding to host one of the data centres in the uk, u nfortu nately one of the data centres in the uk, unfortunately that contract went to spain earlier this year. this story is theresa may pulling out, essentially, we are no longer going to be negotiating for access to the encrypted part of galileo, which is a more high accuracy location service and they are going to look at may be building their own set of satellites. so that's really the big story at the moment. this is what the science minister has quit over? yes. his feeling reflects many in the space industry in the uk, which is that it is going to be difficult after brexit, going to be difficult to have access to things we had

access to before, specifically on this programme because it is european funded. he has obviously thought it is a worse deal. it is a complicated situation but those people in favour of more control over what we decide to do would say this gives us freedom to do deals with other people, to maybe have our own technology independently. with other people, to maybe have our own technology independentlym with other people, to maybe have our own technology independently. it is definitely not a question of whether the uk can build another gps set of satellites. it has the expertise and it has the facilities, there are big companies here and it is extremely good at building space satellites. the question is the cost and in a post brexit economy, does it want to invest in something that could be greater than £5 billion in order to launch a set of satellites when something more accurate than what we currently have is currently under way. so you're taking us from what happens up there to what happens beneath the seas. what is this story? this story is from the guardian, a lovely story of citizen science. seismic enthusiasts, people

who act really like studying ripples through the earth, seismic waves. they noticed some unusual signals earlier in november. there was this long kind of rumble off the coast of madagascar on the 11th of november and it wasn't detected by any normal earthquake detectors. it wasn't the right frequency, it wasn't right. this thing travelling at 900 mph? yes, it rippled around the world but ata yes, it rippled around the world but at a slower frequency that wasn't detected automatically but are citizen scientists noticed this and put it on twitter and said this is a really strange looking bit of data andi really strange looking bit of data and i don't quite understand it. university of southampton academic downloaded the data and had a closer look and it wasn't an earthquake but actually an underground chamber, a magma chamber, a bunch of lover in it kind of emptying out suddenly below the ground. that movement of that much material caused this rumble. it wasn't quite an earthquake but was noticed by

citizen science. i love these sort of stories because humans are good at picking up patterns that we can't automatically detect and they noticed the strange things. just feeling or sensing something literally? no, just looking at data and graphs and picture and they are able to pick up things we cannot programme a computer or a detected —— detector to pick up automatically. what about train times? can they pick up that? are you a regular train user?” times? can they pick up that? are you a regular train user? i am. i don't have a car, i live in less time this headline caught my eye because it is talking about train prices going up next year by about 3.1%. some season tickets are edging towards the £10,000 mark per year, so this is true for the swindon to london line also true for the leicester to london line, which is where i live. we really feel it every time we go to london for a meeting orfor every time we go to london for a meeting or for pleasure

every time we go to london for a meeting orfor pleasure if every time we go to london for a meeting or for pleasure if you every time we go to london for a meeting orfor pleasure if you do not book in advance you are looking at upwards of £100, £10,000 a year asa at upwards of £100, £10,000 a year as a huge effect on local economies and who can commute back and forth. of course, network rail say this is needed investment, they need to keep the price moving with inflation. i just think, as many people note, it isa just think, as many people note, it is a kick in the teeth for passengers. they feel the services are not getting better but they are paying more. after the strikes and all of the delays, coming up to manchester i was delayed by an hour due to the signalling problem. it is a feeling, as you say, we are not getting the service we are paying for. one thought, the papers were too late for the news about george bush senior. have you got a thought about how he will be viewed and his legacy? we often talk about legacy, don't we? huge respect from both parties, democrats and republicans, coming together to pay huge respect, very much honouring his calm under

pressure. we had the collapse of the soviet union during his reign, the first iraq war. i think it will be a similar outpouring we saw withjohn mccain where it is cross party support and respect for his leadership. a time when there was may be more respect for politicians generally. for many americans i think it feels like a completely different era compared to the current administration. it's interesting. you have one of the story picked out. yes, you were talking about congested trains, and now congested roads. people should not have parcels sent to their office. yes. 1st of december, people thinking about buying christmas parcels. i'm sure, if like many of us, you buy our parcels we order them to the office to be delivered because that's convenient and that's when we are around, particularly in london. the mayor has said please think about having your parcels delivered elsewhere, not to your office because many people work in central london where the offices are and it's causing huge congestion. you

have delivery trucks trying to get there, people using taxis in the centre of london. why would you want the parcel delivered to your office? because you are there during the day. if you miss it when you are at home. then you don't get the note and when you get home you have to find time to go to the depot. that is completely understandable, i think we all do it, but particularly for london, he is saying they will invest in putting these collection stations around smack tubes and supermarkets in the suburbs around london to make it easier to pick it up london to make it easier to pick it up on yourway london to make it easier to pick it up on your way in. very good, you will be back in an hour. go and have a cup of coffee, thank you. ever bought anything online, charlie? i have! i have! i have. i've never had anything delivered here, i wouldn't do that. have you have something delivered here? yeah, actually! did it get to you? yes, once it had gone through the usual checks because we get dodgy thing sometimes but there we are. stay with us, headlines coming up.

we had better move on. the stay with us, headlines coming up. good morning, welcome to breakfast with steph mcgovern and charlie stayt. louise will have all the weather before nine o'clock, michael have all the sport. main story. the former american president, george bush senior, has died aged 94. he served in the oval office between 1989 and 1993, succeeding ronald reagan, before losing out to bill clinton. he made a fortune in the oil business in texas and also became head of the cia. in april, he was admitted to a hospital intensive care unit with an infection, a week after the death of his wife barbara. his son, george w bush, who also became president, released this statement a short time ago. he described his father as a man of the highest character and said he was the best dad any son or daughter could ask for. president trump has paid his tribute

in the last couple of hours, he said his example lived on and would "continue to stir future americans to pursue a greater cause". the former american president barack obama has also paid tribute, he said america had "lost a patriot and humble serva nt". i think he was a fundamentally decent man. i worked on his campaign in 1992. i remember clearly in the buildings i worked on in washington have high regard he was held on. he was immensely respected across the political channels. he will be much missed. voices like his moderation,

common—sense, decency and dignity are common—sense, decency and dignity a re exactly common—sense, decency and dignity are exactly what we need in politics across the world. he will be much missed. tributes coming in this morning. john major said above all else is george bush sr was a family men and the american people were pa rt men and the american people were part of that family. he said he felt privileged to have worked with him and that he became a lifelong friends. . .. also this morning: another resignation over brexit. the universities and science minister, sam gyimah quits calling the prime minister's plan "naive". aftershocks rock alaska

after a devastating earthquake strikes its biggest city. there are no reports of serious injuries. the fbi has launched an investigation after 500 members of the hotel marriott group were involved in a data breach. the database has involved in a data breach. the data base has been involved in a data breach. the database has been attacked, exposing the data of customers, including some payment card numbers. halsey —— hotels include the sheraton, meridian and four points by sheraton. the memoir of michelle obama has become the best selling book release this year. the book

reveals difficulty in her marriage and criticises president trump, writing she could never forgive him for suggesting her husband was not born in the us. those are the main stories. we have a big fight coming up stories. we have a big fight coming up this evening. in los angeles. it is tyson fury. did people ever believe this comeback would happen. he was suffering a bang. do people think it would come back to this point? he has lost a installing. he had a special diet and no mackie as the chance to win a world heavyweight crown. i cannot believe that he has

lost ten stone in weight. he's used to defying odds because he did not have much chance of survival because he only weighed £1. now he is 69. this will happen at four o'clock in the morning. —— six it is less than six months since his return to the ring and despite losing all that weight he steps into the ring three stone heavier than his opponent. listen as to whether that is an advantage. the american wbc heavyweight crown is the prize. we have a report from los angeles. he believes the wind woke up one of

the greatest comebacks of all time combined with alcohol and drug problems. he has lost all that week can come back, look at the problems he has suffered from. it ranks with one of the best comebacks of all time. he stunned the world three yea rs time. he stunned the world three years ago with a surprise win against vladimir credential. this is against vladimir credential. this is a matchup which has the great and the good of this sport intrigued. he is loud, he is the only big man in

america right now that is taking on the british so it is a great fight. it isa the british so it is a great fight. it is a great matchup. he is more of a puncher, right—handed. when it comes to tyson fury, he is obviously a mover, he is tall. a different style, he is more of boxer. this is where it will all happen, staples centre. the home of the la lakers. deontay wilder and tyson fury‘s date with destiny just a deontay wilder and tyson fury‘s date with destinyjust a few hours away. one of the biggest nights of the yearfor boxing one of the biggest nights of the year for boxing fans. it will be understandable if neil warnock has a sore head this morning, it is the 70th birthday, happy birthday. last night his side came from behind to beat wolves 2—1. it was the perfect birthday present for his manager.

third premier league win this season which moves them out of the relegation zone until this evening at least. i will sleep well tonight. iam not at least. i will sleep well tonight. i am not getting any younger. moments like this you have to treasure. that is why i am in the game. i love when the whistle goes, you see your family and the fans are clear, it is an amazing feeling. it will be extra special. yes, i have all the kids with me. i know sharon has organised it but it is a nice steady night. if we had lost it would not have been as good as it would not have been as good as it would have been. now it will be a nice happy evening. will he get special birthday cakes? you would hope so. you are going to get him a cake? i could send him a cake. he will be expecting a cake. solihull

will be expecting a cake. solihull will be expecting a cake. solihull will be in the third—round draw of the fa cup for the first time. they beat blackpool. an impressive performance. it could have been better, i record crowd found them finding the net in the first half but it was disallowed for offside. there is no dan walker on the sofa this morning, he has made the trip to maidstone where football focus comes from at lunchtime. it has an interview with chris spalding and end —— the england international talks about his vegan diets. totte n ha m talks about his vegan diets. tottenha m fa ns talks about his vegan diets. tottenham fans will see inside the new stadium at a special event two weeks tomorrow. 6000 fans will be picked from a ballot in charge £1 to help the club test the new ticketing system. it is a 62,000 capacity seat ground, two months after it was due

to open. there will not be any football, they would just get a look at the new stadium. that is good. absolutely. in rugby union premiership, exeter chiefs have lost the first time this season. league leaders were beaten by harlequins. value for money. jo march crossing the line securing a bonus point and the line securing a bonus point and the victory. their first victory away from home. in netball, england beat uganda in the second test. they have taken the series with the game to spear. they started strong and never looked back. game three is on sunday. england were denied when at the hockey cup during their match with china. the first goal scored

from a penalty. then china went ahead. england took the lead in the final quarter but china equalised in the closing seconds. great britain won gold in the opening day of the track cycling cap in berlin. the tea m track cycling cap in berlin. the team came from a long way down to beat australia. their second successive win. in the men's team sprint, the one silver. if you're setting a quiz this weekend, through their sin. setting a quiz this weekend, through theirsin. in setting a quiz this weekend, through their sin. in what sport do you find giraffes in the penthouse? —— through all this whining in. in what sport do you find giraffes in the penthouse? charlie? realtennis. you're absolutely right. how many points? that is one more than i have

got. it is realtennis, points? that is one more than i have got. it is real tennis, the court replicates the streets. this year it started off as a street game. henry viii gave it royal approval, and it was played by kings and courtiers. but now, one of his family's descendants is trying to take it to the masses again. # come and see the real thing. # come and see the real thing, come and see. # come and see the real thing. # come and see the real thing, come and see.

i used to have a problem with lawn tennis. i always found the net was too high and the court too small. and this game is great, because you can actually hit the ball as hard as you like, and it stays in play, and it's fantastic. you don't have to go around the garden to try and pick up the balls afterwards. the earl has been sharing his passion, this week completing a year—long challenge to play at each of the 50 surviving courts across the world, more than half in this country, raising awareness that they are open to all, and funds to help give thousands of children a chance to play. i was really surprised, because i thought we were just going to be playing tennis, but then i saw these racquets. and you thought... i thought these are not tennis racquets. the racquets are bent, crooked and much smaller, and the ball doesn't bounce as much, and it is much harder. there we are. i think it's different. you can use the walls and you have the penthouse, and the grill, and it's a bit more excitement than ordinary tennis. you can hit it kind of as hard as you can, and out is really high up. this is the forerunner to every other racquet sport. you can see why — a huge, open sport, with the elements of going off the walls like in squash.

although it can only bounce once off the floor, it can go off the walls, the side, the roofs, the ledges, up to ten times — even more than that. it started out as a street game, so nothing is quite what it seems. if you can imagine the street, so none of the buildings all quite sort of match up, and there are shops and cafes with awnings out, and of course, so you have to compensate for all of that. didn't break anything. which is why when by royal appointment it was time for a game, the earl kept aiming for my buttress, which is the bit of wall that juts out. off the buttress, did you see? that was special. there are so many different ways to score — hitting the nested area, and getting the bells to ring in the so—called winning gallery. that's another point for me. the weird thing is, because the ball is solid, it's closer to cricket. and it's not about a huge swing, it's about just timing. and of course, the modern game

of tennis, lawn tennis, only came about in the late 1800s, 18705, when they invented something called vulcanised rubber, and that was the first time a ball had bounced on grass. so this game has been played for centuries. it is much older, and it's got a fascinating history. pretty soon, i was history. let's face it — the skills have been in the earl's family for some time now, even though more of us are again getting to grips with it. so the challenge to go round the world has finished. you can hire a court. instinctively, people are thinking, how do you get to it and

is it expensive? you can hire a court. some schools are doing deals we can get in for free and court. some schools are doing deals we can get in forfree and get a session with the courts. just try and spread the word. thank you, we will see you later on. let us find out what is happening with the weather. good morning everybody. it is the first weekend of december but temperature wise it will be mild. this front is bringing some rain it will not last. it has brought rain across the south—west, stretching across the south—west, stretching across wales and northern ireland. when is close to the channel coast, 40 miles an. it is moving through and by the middle of the morning, we will see the improvement across

cornwall and parts of south wales. nine o'clock, it will move to east anglia where it will linger for a time but even here we will see an improvement into the afternoon. she lay in nature across north england and northern ireland. a scattering of showers across the north west of scotla nd of showers across the north west of scotland but in the east of scotland, the best of the weather. a chilly start with glimpses of sunshine which might remain until the afternoon. not feeling warm outside but elsewhere it is a milder story. after the rain clears, we have a strong south—westerly wind with temperatures of 11 up to 13 degrees. overnight tonight, we keep the clear skies in eastern scotland, a touch of light frost here. patchy fog. not long before the next front moves in from the atlantic bringing wet weather. heavy rain across the south fort payne. persistent rain first thing in the morning across

southern scotland. —— across the southern scotland. —— across the south for a time. the rain will linger in scotland, especially in the far north. elsewhere it will be breezy with a scattering of showers. not too bad. most of those she was close to the west coast with the westerly wind driving the showers. top temperatures, six to 9 degrees. remaining on the mild side. thank you very much. just keeping with our top story, george bush sr died this morning. we had a comment from sirjohn major who gave his response this morning. he said he felt privileged to have worked with george bush sr. even more privileged to become a lifelong

friend, he was quite simply one of the most deep down, decent people i have ever known. we will be going to america to get more reaction to read the programme. nearly 70,000 carers are being told they must repay an average of £1,400 of the allowance they get for looking after a severely disabled person, because they earned too much to qualify. what is this all about? having to pay back £1400, this is a lot of money. it is. some are going to have to go back more years and pay back thousands of pounds. it is about a benefit called carer‘s allowance, you can get £64.60 a week carer‘s allowa nce. you can get £64.60 a week carer‘s allowance. it is £1 85 each hour

you can get £64.60 a week carer‘s allowance. it is £185 each hour but thatis allowance. it is £185 each hour but that is the strict earnings rule. if you are more than £120 a week, you lose the lot. an mp mentioned a case where a woman who was just 10p over the £120 lost her benefit and had to repay it. it is a benefit which is very important but the earnings rule is very strict. we are talking about people who are so vital to society these unpaid carers, what has happened to be done to this? these unpaid carers, what has happened to be done to this7m these unpaid carers, what has happened to be done to this? it is ha rd to happened to be done to this? it is hard to know. the dwp could have spotted this week by week, it has access to real—time information about people's income. one person i spoke to yesterday had claimed this benefit, knowing that his son who he had been looking after all his adult life with lose a similar amount but george wanted control of the money because his son was a drug addict so

the net loss to the state was 30p a week but the dwp is pursuing him for £20,000 they say he always and they are making himself his house. it is are making himself his house. it is a tough regime they are operating. it is unbelievable. you mention one case but a staggering case is how many people were talking about? yes, 70,000. it is close on one in ten who get the benefit. this is why mps have said this is gross incompetence, systemic feeling and shocking ineptitude, that was frank field calling for an ardent inquiry into this. he says were the dwp has not followed up information, these debts should simply be written off. what has the dwp said? they said to us, we have a duty to the taxpayer

to recover money in all cases of fraud or error and there are safeguards in place to ensure repayment is taken to account their individual circumstances of people. let us hope that is true in most cases. thank you very much. we look forward to more on that. this week marked the 50th anniversary of the release of one of the most revered albums of all time is by van morrison. the singer from albums of all time is by van morrison. the singerfrom belfast has been a huge influence. singers have been drawn and to his home city to see the sights and sounds of his influence. for me it is the best album ever

released belfast is celebrating its songwriting genius.” released belfast is celebrating its songwriting genius. i would like you —— welcome new to this tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of astral weeks. fanatics celebrating the 50th anniversary of astralweeks. fanatics as celebrating the 50th anniversary of astral weeks. fanatics as they are often described as making a pilgrimage to the place their hero calls home. here we are on the corner of hind ffred street were van morrison was born on the 31st of august 1945. traces of the city are everywhere in his music.” august 1945. traces of the city are everywhere in his music. i will play you some of this track, you can imagine yourself at home with his pa rents, imagine yourself at home with his parents, on the endless summer nights, not like today. just round the corner, this childhood haunt has

recently been rescued from overgrown obscurity and put on the grid for visitors. the whole future is one of his best—known songs, brown eyed girl. -- his best—known songs, brown eyed girl. —— the hall features. that huge heads came in 1967, a year later his most critically acclaimed album came. i think at the heart of astral weeks is a very strong side of belfast and what it meant to van morrison. this bbc radio presenter has met the man himself a number of time. he said there are only two stories and music and that is leaving and going home. this music is about yearning which has changed the lives of people and it has gone global. from a small country like northern ireland, van morrison has

made his mark. he says it all. other local artists are hoping that the flare which flourished here will rub off on them. i will never stray from the lion's road. we are no act what many people would consider to be the holy of holies for van morrison. on the street made famous by this song on the astral weeks album.” the street made famous by this song on the astral weeks album. ijust think he's a wonderful ambassador for belfast. it is a continual source of inspiration through his music. it resonates about belfast and we're very lucky he is fund of belfast. it is the legacy of a legend and the city needs to make the most of his musical magic. it is great when music has the ability to

endure like that. yes, really lovely. stay with us, headlines coming up. eight minutes ago a sunbeam stroke —— struck out into deep space. it did not bounce of course, it was not absorbed, when it reached our atmosphere it continued. this particular sunbeam dot—mac good morning welcome to breakfast with steph mcgovern and charlie stayt. our headlines today... the former us president george bush sr has died at the age of 94. the news was announced in the past few hours by his son george w bush who described him as a man of the highest character. george h w bush was the 41st us president and was vice—president to ronald reagan. we'll be live in the united states with the reaction. also this morning: another resignation over brexit.