you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh, the headlines... singing from the same hymn sheet — the prime minister sends 30 government ministers out across the country to sell her brexit deal ahead of next week's vote. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. back online — mobile operator 02 says its data networks have been restored after a day of disruption for millions of smartphone users. attacks on cash machines nearly double in four years, as thieves use ram raids or explosions to rob atms, leaving rural communities cut off from cash. british sailor susie goodall, the only woman in a round the world yacht race, awaits rescue in the southern pacific ocean after her boat was damaged in a ferocious storm. and with christmas just

around the corner, what's more environmentally friendly — a real or artificial tree? we'll put the christmas tree to the test. and in sport, a fresh row over premier league tackling, as it's confirmed that liverpool defenderjoe gomez has broken his leg. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at 9. with just days to go until mps in the house of commons decide whether to back theresa may's brexit agreement, senior ministers across government are making a renewed push to convince the public that it's the best deal available. it comes amid continuing anxiety in downing street that nearly 100 conservative backbenchers could rebel against

the government next week. let's have a look at this morning's developments. the prime minister has deployed 30 government ministers to visit schools, hospitals and businesses across the uk today, as she attempts to sell her brexit deal. rebel backbenchers have dismissed a possible compromise over the deal‘s most controversial element, the northern ireland backstop. the suggested amendment, which would mean parliament would have to approve the decision to trigger the backstop, has come under criticism from the dup and brexiteers alike. and health secretary matt hancock has moved to reassure the public that medical supplies would be protected in the event of a no—deal brexit, saying planes could be used to fly in drugs, and medicines given priority access through gridlocked ports. we can talk about all these developments with our political

correspondent jonathan blake. john afoa is at westminster for us. good morning. to you. let's talk about those 30 ministers going gci’oss about those 30 ministers going across the country, is it going to make any difference do you think when it comes to the meaningful vote next tuesday in parliament? well, so far there has been little sign that this strategy of going over the heads of mps and appealing directly to the public to sell theresa may's brexit deal in the hope that it will somehow change mps' minds' little sign that that is working. but we will see today 30 ministers out and about all over the uk, meeting people in schools, on factory floors, sitting around a table with small businesses, chatting to people in butchers shops, potentially theresa may has to hope, to give the sense that the government has faith in her deal and that it is

persuading people to back it. but if she's hoping that these people will suddenly put pressure on their mps to change their minds and back her deal, there's little sign so far that that plan has worked. it really is here at westminster now, where this will be decided, not out and about in various parts of the uk, because we've had days of debate now, we've got two more days to come next week before that vote on tuesday evening. and the health secretary, matt hancock, who himself will be visiting portsmouth today, acknowledged to us earlier that there is still a challenge to convince many of his parliamentary collea g u es convince many of his parliamentary colleagues that theresa may's deal is the right one. well, clearly there are some colleagues who disagree with the details of the deal, others who are calling for a second referendum. i think if you look at this deal in the round, it delivers on the referendum result in a way which

supports the economy, allows close trading ties with europe and then will allow us to get onto all the other brilliant things this country can do, like the £1 billion that we're putting into the nhs today, into a&es around the country, mental health facilities and some of the most cutting—edge hospitals that there will be in the world. sol think everybody should get behind the deal. and we can expect to hear more of that sales pitch from government ministers today. what else can the prime minister do? there was talk last night of an amendment, another vote before the big vote, which would promise to give more of a say to parliament if and when the backstop arrangement came into place. that agreement to avoid a ha rd place. that agreement to avoid a hard border with northern ireland if a trade deal cannot be done in time. the signs are from the reaction from the dup, which props up theresa may's government, as well as conservative brexiteers, are that they are not buying that because

they are not buying that because they say the written agreement between the eu and the uk is a matter of law and there's very little that parliament can do to change that. and jonathan parr but matt hancock has also been talking about what planning is also going on in the event of a no deal brexit to ensure that medicines get into the uk, what has he had to say on that, because obviously, that is an area of huge concern for many people? yes, and we have heard a lot of talk about stockpiling medicines to ensure that supplies don't run out in the event of a no deal brexit, when there might have to be extra regulatory and customs checks out the uk border. and this morning mr hancock spoke about fast tracking lorries coming across the channel and chartering extra aircraft to ensure that supplies were kept up to an acceptable level, here is what he had to say... we need to make sure that in all eventualities there is unhindered flow of medicines for people who need them. that work is

ongoing. there's further details that we are releasing today, including about how we will prioritise medicines if there is a blockage at the border. i'm confident that if everybody does what they need to do, then we can have that unhindered flow of medicines. but the best way to avoid a problem in this area is to support the prime minister's deal, because under the deal that she has agreed with the european union, then we will have that unhindered flow of all goods, and we will be able to leave the european union, deliver on the referendum result and continue the referendum result and continue the close ties and trade unhindered with the european union that people wa nt with the european union that people want to see. the government argument again there for backing theresa may's deal and avoiding no deal, which is really the most powerful hand, i think, which is really the most powerful hand, ithink, ministers now which is really the most powerful hand, i think, ministers now have to play, to say, you might not like everything that is in this deal, it might not be perfect, but it's the

only one that will get us out of the eu, it's the only one on the table, and the alternative is the potential serious implications of leaving the eu without a deal, or no deal at all. many of the options that could happen after the vote on tuesday, which is still four days away. a bbc investigation has found that academics from ethnic minority backgrounds are being paid up to a quarter less than their white colleagues at some of the uk's top universities. research into pay at russell group universities also found that the salary gap nearly doubles for women from bame backgrounds. the association said it was unable to comment on recruitment practices. rianna croxford reports. these are some of the best universities britain has to offer the world. but not if you're an ethnic minority academic. a bbc fir found academics from black and arab backgrounds earn around £15,000 less than average. £15,000 less on average.

the gap is smaller for asian and chinese academics. but then it gets even bigger for ethnic minority women. if you are for instance a woman of colour, not only do you experience an ethnic penalty within the labour market, you also experience a gender penalty. so they're even more disadvantaged than women. many were too afraid to speak publicly, they felt frustrated, ignored, that they were overqualified or underpaid. 0ne lecturer told me that she felt like a third class citizen. another used the term cheap labour. this person has been working at leeds university for three years. she believes her experience wasn't taken into account. i know people who have come from nonacademic grounds from nonacademic backgrounds and they've come and got better paying and higher grade jobs, which makes me sometimes question, did i make the right choice to come to this country, because it's like throwing 18 years

of my life into the bin. in response, leeds university said they pay ethnic minority and white staff a comparable level for the same level of work. the government is currently consulting on ethnicity pay reporting. this may go some way to breaking down these barriers, and restoring value to people's lives. rianna croxford, bbc news. oxford and cambridge universities accept more students from just eight private schools than from almost 3,000 english state schools put together, according to research by social mobility charity the sutton trust. they say more needs to be done to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds. oxford university said it's aware it must work harder. cambridge said more support should be made available to pupils before they choose their a—level subjects. the mobile network 02 has said all of its data services have been restored. the company said a review will be carried out to discover why 32 million uk customers were unable to get online yesterday. 0ur correspondent jon donnison has more.

for many these days, life without a fully—functioning smart phone is almost unimaginable. the cameras might have been working at this christmas market in manchester, but for 32 million 02 customers, not much else was. we've not been able to use facebook. the thing is, i don't think you can send on imessage either. send messages on imessage either. train times, to get us home. just not good, basically. in london, bus arrival screens which work off the 02 network were also out of action. a first world problem, you might say, but also very much one of our time. it's a digital catastrophe of the 21st century. we are out of internet, out of services, out of our loved ones neraby, out of capacity of payments. the 02 network owned by telefonica said the problem was a global one and down to equipment supplied by the telecoms firm ericsson.

we know it's a software issue. it's impacted an ericsson component, which has impacted networks across the globe injapan, in china, and of course here in the uk. 02 says services should be back to normal this morning and that it will be carrying out a review with ericsson. the question is now being raised as to whether customers might be able to claim compensation. jon donnison, bbc news. the chief financial officer of chinese technology giant huawei is due in court in canada later on friday for a bail hearing. meng wanzhou was arrested in vancouver at the request of the united states. american media say her arrest is related to an investigation into possible violations of sanctions against iran. the company has described the action as unreasonable, and in a letter to suppliers said

the business will continue as usual. 0ur beijing correspondent stephen mcdonnell reports. chinese tech giant huawei is today at the forefront of global trade tensions, and the drama will play out in canada in the coming hours, when a senior executive appears in court. chief financial officer meng wanzhou was arrested in vancouver while in transit, and reportedly faces extradition to the united states following alleged breaches of washington's sanctions against sales of technical equipment to iran. if this is the reason for her to be taken into custody, the chinese government says it is still being given no explanation for it from either canada or the united states. claiming such detention without a reason is a human rights violation. translation: i can't discuss the details of this case here but what i can tell you is that after learning about it, we've made solemn representations to canada and the us.

we've demanded that both parties immediately clarify the reasons for this detention and that they immediately release the detailing to protect that person's legal rights. the company has also issued an open letter to its suppliers and partners saying it, too, has received very little information regarding her detention. adding that it strictly abides by all international laws. but according to canada's prime minister, this is all a routine extradition procedure. i can assure everyone that we are a country of an independent judiciary and the appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case without any political involvement or interference, as must be the case. however this is a case, obviously, before the courts upon which there is a publication ban and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. however, the timing of this us request to have a senior chinese executive arrested seems extraordinary, coming as it does at the beginning of a 90—day truce

in the escalation of the trade war. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell reporting there from beijing and we can speak to him now. stephen, interesting to see not only the expected negative reaction from the expected negative reaction from the chinese government to this, but also more widely, from the chinese public on social media and from the chinese media as well? yes, absolutely. and people here arejust waiting for meng wanzhou to appear in court so they can get some sort of detail as to why she's been arrested. now, the latest suspicion is that it's some sort of alleged international banking fraud, i guess you could call it, where funds are being moved around to try and get around us sanctions and do some sort ofa around us sanctions and do some sort of a financial transaction with iran. mind you, i should add, this is just iran. mind you, i should add, this isjust going to iran. mind you, i should add, this is just going to be an

iran. mind you, i should add, this isjust going to be an initial appearance in court, it could well be that none of these details are fleshed out to any great extent and it is just fleshed out to any great extent and it isjust some fleshed out to any great extent and it is just some sort of an appearance where they set further dates. also, this could go on for months, because if she appeals against the decision, i mean, there's some talk amongst legal experts that it would take years and imagine, this is all going onjust as china and the us are trying to work their way through this huge trade dispute, it couldn't have come ata trade dispute, it couldn't have come at a worse time and is only adding to tensions between these two giants. and stephen, as a number of countries and businesses have excluded huawei from public procurement practices, what is it that they are so worried about? yes, and the latest we are hearing is from japan, the chinese government via the foreign ministry, hasjust said it is very concerned by the decision from the japanese government to not allow government

businesses to buy certain ultimo equipment. and where this all goes back to, for example, is like the decision in australia to not allow huawei to build the 5g network, is because security agencies, especially the so—called five eyes security agencies, have advised governments that huawei cannot be trusted because it is too close to the government here, that they can build in back doorways of spying by allowing huawei to build communications infrastructure. huawei argues that it is a private company completely separate from government. but it hasn't stopped countries paying attention i guess to that advice from various security agencies, and it is all pretty much being led by washington. some breaking news coming into us, the ukip mep and former leader of the party paul nuttall has become the

latest key figure in the party to announce his resignation in protest at the decision to appoint tommy robinson as an adviser. you will remember earlier this week that nigel farage said he was quitting ukipfor nigel farage said he was quitting ukip for the same reason. and we are also hearing that ukip's leader in scotland, david coburn, has quit the party, ina scotland, david coburn, has quit the party, in a statement the mep said ukip had been infiltrated the english nationalists and was obsessing with an anti—islam agenda. mr cockburn was the first and only ukip politician elected in scotland in 2014. he says he will serve the final months of his term in the european parliament, making the case for brexit. so, more woes for ukip. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister sends 30 governement ministers out across the country in a push to win over critics of her brexit deal, ahead of tuesday's vote.

a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. mobile operator 02 says its data networks have been restored after a day of disruption for smartphone users. in sport, tackling is back on the agenda in the premier league, liverpool say defenderjoe gomez will be out for up to six weeks after breaking his leg in the win over burnley on wednesday night. four team sports have been given a chunk of money to help them compete at the next 0lympics, skateboarding, table tennis and weightlifting, just three of the sports to benefit ahead of tokyo 2020. and a surprise exit at the uk snookered championships as judd trump is knocked out byjoe perry. ronnie 0'sullivan is in action later. more sport in about 40 minutes. —— 20 minutes. the man appointed by the government to carry out a review of britain's railways has told the bbc the system is flawed and in need of reform.

in his first broadcast interview about the issue, the former chief executive of british airways keith williams says public trust has been lost after periods of severe disruption. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge has more. when problems hit, like in october on main routes between the west of england and london, the disruption can be huge. 0ur rail system is at bursting point. pretty much everyone says fundamental reform is needed. so on a visit to manchester and preston, where overcrowding and punctuality are persistent problems, the man in charge of finding solutions told us the trust of passengers had been lost. keith williams, the former boss of british airways, is running a review on behalf of the government, but he insists he's being open—minded. i'm independent, you know, for me, all options are on the table, so i think we should look at everything, and ourjob is to come up with a recommendation for government, of whatever persuasion, to take forward.

so you will look at the balance between public and private? we should look at everything, i think we should look at the balance between public and private, yes. mr williams also said investment should be prioritised for regions like the north of england, and he said the complexity of the system and a lack of accountability, are two issues he will address. tom burridge, bbc news, in preston. let's get more on this. i'm joined by andrew white, from the rail magazine. andrew, she shake morning to you, there's a story on our bbc news app this morning about a commuter whose train has been late 100 times since timetable changes in may, so if we ta ke timetable changes in may, so if we take that as a stopping point, and thatis take that as a stopping point, and that is a story which is reflected the many commuters, kid williams has got quite a job on his hands, hasn't he? he certainly has, and really what we're finding is, it legacy of being the first to have railways in the world. our system is creaking,

we need more investment various points of the railways, and it's all about trying to work out what is the best way of doing it. ever meant obviously wants to suggest that it is investing more money than it ever has done, but passengers are paying more money for theirfares has done, but passengers are paying more money for their fares than they have ever done as well, so it's about trying to find the right balance and seeing how we can move forward. do you think it's going to be possible to find the right balance, where parts of the network are privately owned and parts are publicly owned ? are privately owned and parts are publicly owned? i think the ownership of it is a little bit of a myth, we need to try to work out a correct way of getting the two bits to talk together. the private companies are extremely well regulated, they're companies are extremely well regulated, they‘ re bound companies are extremely well regulated, they're bound by franchise agreements, you could argue that the franchise agreements themselves what is the problem here. but it's about trying to work out the balance between those. lots of

people are suggesting nationalisation could be the issue, but basically network rail, which is being held up as quite a lot of the problems in some of the infrastructure capacity issues that we have, and the delays that we have,is we have, and the delays that we have, is a nationalised industry. so we need to be looking at the front methods here. so you're saying that's not necessarily the answer, rationalisation? not really. ithink it's something to look at, but different types of ways of working. in scotland it's a different system, we have the scotrail alliance, which is the operator running very closely in conjunction with network rail in scotla nd in conjunction with network rail in scotland to provide a better service, talking to each other on a much more flatter basis. and that seems to work very well. it's something that's been suggested by chris grayling, the transport secretary, for the east coast line, of working in this sort of

partnership way of putting the track and the train operator back together, as it used to be in the very old days, in steam days. but it's about trying to work out, there's lots of other operators, all access operators, who use those lines, and it's about making sure that their passengers aren't inconvenienced as well. and we had chris grayling apologising earlier this week for not asking the right questions, in his words, around the timetabling chaos earlier in the year, does the rail industry think that it has an effective transport secretary currently, would it like to see a change there, do you think? i think there's lots of people outside of the industry who would like to see a change, i don't know if the industry itself is particularly that bothered by that. i think that we need to make sure that new procedures are put in place and we need to see, allow time for

new changes to bed in first. that's the problem, that often we jump straight in and change a load of things and then we don't give it enough time to bed in. so really whatever is decided by this review, and weather a government of any colour is going to take it forward, they really need to give it a lot of time to bed in and see how it goes and benefits passengers and freight users, too. let's find out what is going on on the victoria derbyshire programme this morning. the chances are, you will have received an e—mail trying to steal your money. but if you received one which knew one of your passwords, what would you do? thousands of people are believed to have been targeted by scammers who claim they have hacked into their web cam and filmed them while they

we re web cam and filmed them while they were watching pornography. also on the programme, just two days ago he was announced 0sca i’s the programme, just two days ago he was announced 0scars host and comedian kevin hart has now stepped down over an outcry over homing phobic tweets which he wrote seven yea rs phobic tweets which he wrote seven years ago. we will be bringing you that from la. thank you very much for that, see you very soon. 14 sports have been given three million pounds to help them compete at the next 0lympic and paralympic games. they're all benefiting from uk sport's aspiration fund ahead of tokyo 2020. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks is at london's largest indoor skatepark in dagenham. and some people feeling very happy this morning, natalie? absolutely and, of course, skateboarding being one of them. , they're one of four tea m one of them. , they're one of four team sports who are receiving funding, skateboarding is a brand—new sport for tokyo 2020 and it is hoped that this money will help them in their quest to get around the world and to get to the events that will qualify them for

tokyo. 0f events that will qualify them for tokyo. of course uk sport was all about delivering medals, this feels like a bit of a softening of approach, a lot of these sports probably will not trouble the medal table and for a lot of them just getting there will be massive achievement. i am joined getting there will be massive achievement. iam joined by getting there will be massive achievement. i am joined by lucy campbell, who is serverfor great britain, how will this money help you? i think it will help the gb team massively in getting us to the events all around the world, the coaching, the training, just being able to put 100% into trying to fiver the olympics. because when you go around the world and you see other athletes who have got full got full funding, full kit, do you look on enviously at times? almost, i guess! but i mean... for you personally, being able to get to places like hawaii and the maldives, these events for surfing, it is going to make a to your life, even though it is lot of not a lot of

money, it will make a difference? definitely, just to be inconsistent waves, for the training, definitely, just to be inconsistent waves, forthe training, it definitely, just to be inconsistent waves, for the training, it will lift our level up massively. what do you think the olympics will mean the surfing, of course it is done on the coast, you need to be able to live in those places, but for kids who are trying to get into it, do you think it will help them aspire to become servers in the future? massively and i think for them to look at it and think, it is a career pathways and they can chase that goal and have that dream to become a professional so far, i hope it gets so professional so far, i hope it gets so many people into surfing. —— professional surfer. of course it pales into significance compared to the likes of rowing which gets £32 million for the olympics but it is a start and next year is when all the qualifying events begin for these athletes, that's when the real hard work starts. now let's hear from the chief executive of table tennis england,

sara sutcliffe. how much money have you received as a result of this? 200 some to £5,000, which was what we bid for and which was available to us and we are delighted. is it a bit more on top? -- 270 £5,000. i think it will allow us to take the bare bones of a performance programme over the next 18 months and put flesh on it. which ritual we have got the right level of sport science support and training camps, bringing the squad together, training with other international nations, the kind of thing which we could not really afford to do. let me put it another way, if you weren't getting this money, what would you not be able to do, what difference do you think it would make in your preparations for tokyo ? would make in your preparations for tokyo? we would still absolutely be targeting qualification for tokyo and we are on target to do that trip but we would have to pay back the

programme, it would be more barebones, we will be relying on the goodwill of other nations to host asked the training camps. in the past we have had to use sport psychologists pro bono or physiotherapists and that is not good enough, when you are trying to compete at the international level. the men's team were quarter—finalists at the rio 0lympics without the same support. whilst at the games they have the support but not in the lead—up. whilst at the games they have the support but not in the lead-up. so what are your ambitions in terms of medals for the next 0lympic what are your ambitions in terms of medals for the next olympic games and paralympic games?” medals for the next olympic games and paralympic games? i think realistically, we would love to medal at the tokyo 0lympic realistically, we would love to medal at the tokyo olympic games. and i think it is fair to say that the british pa ralympic and i think it is fair to say that the british paralympic programme definitely will medal at the paralympics and definitely will medal at the pa ralympics and they definitely will medal at the paralympics and they do have running uk sportfunding. paralympics and they do have running uk sport funding. probably realistically, 2020 four was more our target, to be able to get to the point of really meddling but actually meddling is not beyond possible at each, we got bronze medal at the world championships two yea rs medal at the world championships two years ago so it is completely

possible, they are capable of delivering that. and of course success breeds success, the irony is that if you get more money and perhaps achieve those medals, then it attracts more money, so it'sjust getting that start? it was the same team, the same athletes going to compete. it was disheartening, only losing out to the mighty china who went on to win the mighty china who went on to win the gold medal, to not get that level of support. but they don't give up and they go into schools and provide the inspiration to the next generation. it is about bringing the next generation through. congratulations on the funding and the best of luck with the programme. thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. good morning. windy conditions

today, potentially disruptive conditions across northern part of the uk. heavy rain this morning and it is moving south and east, clearing away giving sunny spells and blustery showers for many into the afternoon. it is the winds across the northern parts of northern ireland and on to the west of scotla nd northern ireland and on to the west of scotland where we could see gusts of scotland where we could see gusts of 70, perhaps 80 miles an hour. but quite widely across scotland with wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph and heavy rain continuing across the north on the west of scotland as well. hill snow to come as well. elsewhere, sunny spells, blustery showers which will be heavy, thundery as well. temperatures will drop down as the day goes on. so about seven to 10 celsius. the winds in northern areas could cause some problems. 0ver celsius. the winds in northern areas could cause some problems. over the weekend it stays windy, showers on saturday and dryer and chilly by sunday. goodbye. hello this is bbc news.

the headlines: singing singing from the same hymn sheet... the prime minister sends 30 government ministers out across the country to sell her brexit deal ahead of next week's vote. if you look at this deal in the round, it delivers on the referendum result in a way that support the economy, allows close trading tries with europe and then will allow us to get on to all the other brilliant things this country can do. a bbc investigation finds black and arab academics at the uk's top universities earn a quarter less than white colleagues. back online — mobile operator 02 says its data networks have been restored after a day of disruption for millions of smartphone users. attacks on cash machines nearly double in four years as thieves use ram raids

or explosions to rob atms leaving rural communities cut off from cash. british sailor susie goodall — the only woman in a round the world yacht race, awaits rescue in the southern pacific ocean after her boat was damaged in a ferocious storm. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. around the country, senior members of the government are being dispatched to try to sell the prime minister's brexit deal, but with about 90 conservative backbenchers threatening to rebel, attention is turning to the question of what might happen next. some, like the former tory minister, jojohnson, want another referendum but others think the uk should try to adopt a relationship similar to the one norway has with the eu.

mrjohnson joined the labour mp stephen kinnock on the today programme this morning. mr kinnock warned both the prime minister's agreement, and leaving the eu without a deal, were fraught with danger. the problem is that both are very risky. the prime minister's deal is full of fudge and waffle, it's a leap of faith. we don't really know what we are getting. and they're also tremendous risks associated with the second referendum proposal. you mean from your perspective, that leave might win? risks are also massive division in the country and also the impact on parliamentary sovereignty. it's ourjob as mps to step up now and solve problem. norway plus clearly doesn't deliver on brexit. if the referendum result was meant to have been all about immigration and taking back control, it really does neither of those. because the single market means we would still have freedom of movement? we will be bound by all

of the obligations to accept freedom of movement and we would become an even bigger rule taker than we would be under the prime minister's deal. i think basically it would see has become a nation of lobbyists camped outside the european parliament in brussels. how undignified and outcome for brexit would that be? particularly on this point, stephen kinnock, about freedom of movement, you'll know that many people, including labour voters voted to leave, particularly on the issue of immigration? 0n the point of the mandate, for me, a 52—48 mandate is a mandate to move house, but stay in the same neighbourhood. i've always felt there is a mandate for soft brexit, that's what 52—48 means. i've also always felt there is a majority in the house of commons for a soft brexit. 0n free movement of labour, as your report rightly pointed out, articles 112 and 113 of the eea agreement providing a treaty—based basis for an emergency brake and the renegotiation. i absolutely accept we would think very, very carefully before using that measure,

because of the risk of retaliatory measures. but it's there in the treaty, it's a solid platform of renegotiation. it's clear that could not be used as a systematic means of doing immigration management by the uk and we wouldn't be able to enter this in bad faith, expecting to be able systematically to use the emergency brake to control freedom of movement. that simply would not be accepted. millions of 02 customers are breathing a sigh of relief this morning as data services return to normal after 24 hours of disruption. many people were unable to access the internet yesterday, and some couldn't make calls. the company said software problems were to blame. as telecommunications expert professor nigel linge, explained to breakfast, if one part of the network fails it can lead to widespread problems. we are all familiar with the visible pa rt we are all familiar with the visible part of that network which are the radio masts we see by the side streets and on tops of roots. they are connected to create a national

network. but that has to be connected to the rest of the world. so that has to be connected to the international telephone network and the internet. so there is a point on the internet. so there is a point on the 02 network will it connects to the 02 network will it connects to the internet. that point of connection is what fail. so although the 02 network itself was working, nobody could get off it onto the internet. it is a bit like at home when you have broadband and you refer to your broadband route in your home. that is the gateway from your home. that is the gateway from your house to the internet. imagine if that failed. that is what happened to 02. this interconnect is a computer and the computer runs on software. the problem is the software. the problem is the software. you don't just software. the problem is the software. you don'tjust have one of these, networks are designed to cope with failure. so you have several and if one fails, you have a back—up and if one fails, you have a back—up and they are geographically

distributed and so on. however, if those are all provided by ericsson and ericsson is the problem, you lose the primary and the back—up at the same time. it seems to be a softwa re the same time. it seems to be a software faults. all software comes with what are called certificates. isa with what are called certificates. is a validation that the software is said to run. that certificate expired so the software... something was literally passed its sell by date? you could put it that way, yes. and 02 say they will continue to keep an eye on their systems. a short while ago, they said on twitter... showbiz now and us comedian and actor kevin hart has stepped down from hosting next year's 0scars following an outcry over homophobic tweets he sent a decade ago.

earlier the comedian said on twitter... and that story is the most read on the bbc website today. hart quits as 0scars host amid tweets row. he doesn't want to be a distraction and there have been some hints that he should apologise and step down. it seemed he wasn't going to do that initially, but now he has decided to. you can read all of that in the

story. and if we then go down to our most watched of the day. the buzzcocks lead singer dies at 63. further down is a story i mentioned briefly a second ago in our discussion about the railways under review of rail services in britain. this is a man whose train has been late 100 times on his last 100 journeys. he has been sharing his problems the bbc. he travels between malton and leeds and his train has been late 100 times since the timetable changes in may. oxford and cambridge are being accused of being so socially exclusive that they recruit more students from eight top schools than almost 3,000 other english state schools put together. the social mobility charity the sutton trust say that the universities are failing to attract talent from a wide range of backgrounds. as the founder of the trust told radio 4's today programme earlier, not all of the strategies used

to find students from less advantaged families are effective. we don't think bursaries are very effective. we have a summer school at cambridge for 600 kids. but it's not enough scale to make a big difference. there are thousands of schools and colleges that don't send anybody. so it is a big problem. what would make a difference? there area number of what would make a difference? there are a number of things. we have put are a number of things. we have put a report out about it. i could go into detail but they have something more interesting to say on this whole subject. we have a programme where we take working—class british kids and we get them into the top american universities. there are now 350. they are in yale, princeton,

mit, harvard. all the places we know about. they get full funding which is £200,000 and they are coming in with lower grades in a—levels... that is interesting and you have talked about this scheme on the programme before, but the whole idea of lower grades is resisted by universities. cambridge says lowering grades would place unfair pressure and some think the university cannot support. you have to have a baseline above which stu d e nts to have a baseline above which students need to be. there are far more students than there are places. like other universities doing this? 0ne like other universities doing this? one reason is they are looking to balance the class. working—class british kid to balance the class because you learn more from the kids you are with than you do from the professors. sport now and for a full round up,

from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. we are starting with arsenal. they will be reminding players of their responsibility because they have been pictured in hailing laughing gas. the paper says the balloon was filled with nitrous oxide, which is not illegal and the pictures are from august, which is before the current premier league season began. tackling is back on the agenda in the premier league of the liverpool confirmed joe gomez has broken his leg. he will be out for up to six weeks. it happened at burnley on wednesday. sean dyche has defended his player saying it was a fantastic tackle butjuergen klopp has

compared the match to ten bowling. that story dominating the back of the papers because shaun burrows has moved the story on. he said if my players were putting in these heavy tackles, then daniel sturridge was a cheat, he dived and it is a shame to see a club like liverpool resorting to cheating. antics they would not have fallen to in the past, he says. soa have fallen to in the past, he says. so a bitter taste in the mouth of the bat burnley liverpool match. 0n the bat burnley liverpool match. 0n the back of the times, morgan gibbs—white, the teenager who was instrumental in their win over chelsea, he is 18 years old and they have a profile of him looking at whether he will be instrumental, not only for wolverhampton wonders but also england in the future. he is pa rt also england in the future. he is part of the under 17 squad that won the world cup in india. a bright spark in the world of english football. could be instrumentalfor wolverhampton one is. on the back of

the telegraph, interesting expose. not about concussion and player injuries in rugby. now the focus turns to mental health in the sport. 62% of ex—professionals are suffering from mental health problems. half have had financial problems. half have had financial problems after leaving the sport. calling for more support for rugby professionals when they leave the game. ben stokes and alex hales will find out if they will face any more punishment after the fight outside a nightclub last day. ben stokes was found not guilty of a freight earlier this year but spent the last couple of days in front of a cricket disciplinary panel. they are both charged with bringing cricket into disrepute. looking at the top of the scottish premiership table and you will see kilmarnock. they are top of the midweek results went their way. it is the first time they have been on top of the league in 20 years. it has got lots of people in scotland asking if

they can do a leicester. something staring into the chilly air. after victory over livingston, kill monarch find themselves at a strange altitude, the summit of the scottish premiership above rangers and celtic. something to get excited about unless you are the boss. celtic. something to get excited about unless you are the bossm doesn't mean anything unless it is after december. back to business tomorrow. the game against celtic next you can forgive him not wanting to get ahead of himself but kill monarch have beaten celtic this season and from where they were when the managerjoint, season and from where they were when the manager joint, anything season and from where they were when the managerjoint, anything seems possible. last 0ctober, caley were bottom and they ended up fifth and they pushed on even from there. clark had a point to prove having been sacked by west brom and reding. so how has he turned things around.

his unassuming manorand so how has he turned things around. his unassuming manor and the simplifying things for the players. the players are responding they know thejob the players are responding they know the job that is required. they are staring monochrome memories of the tea m staring monochrome memories of the team in the 60s that won the league. since colour tv, they have faded. their last trophy was a league cup in 2012. judging by the size of the town, their ground, their bank balance but they don't have any right to win titles. but neither did leicester. that is what my son said la st leicester. that is what my son said last night, he said we are going to doa last night, he said we are going to do a leicester. why not? they have beat celtic and rangers. why can't we do it again? why not would serve asa we do it again? why not would serve as a good motto for this side. rangers and celtic do have games in hand, but after years of slumber and in the words of their manager, the

fa ns in the words of their manager, the fans are allowed to dream. given the odds on leicester, place your bets now. the sports news is at 6:30pm on the bbc news channel. but thatis 6:30pm on the bbc news channel. but that is all from each by now. as we've been hearing, the number of cash machine robberies in the uk has nearly doubled in the last four years, according one of the biggest atm operators. ‘cardtronics' says there were more than 720 attempts to steal cash last year. less than half were successful. ron delnevo is the executive director for the atm industry association in europe. hejoins me now. more than 700 attacks in 2017 and that was up 20% on the year before? there have been big increases, anita. if these attacks continue at this rate, might it lead to there being fewer atms around ? this rate, might it lead to there being fewer atms around? there are

already fewer around, they used to be 70,000 in the uk. the latest figures i saw, is we have 65,000. bank branches are closing and atms being taken away. we cannot afford to lose atms through crime because we are losing enough through bank closures and atms being removed from those branches. to what extent do hear from the public saying we don't have access to cash in our area, in rural communities and so on? have access to cash in our area, in rural communities and so 0mm have access to cash in our area, in rural communities and so on? it is a huge issue because now the bank branches have gone and taken their atms with them, often there is only one independent atm in the village of all small town. if it gets hit by criminals it could be nine or ten miles to the nearest atm where people can get cash. it is serious for the community, especially people who cannot travel and also the businesses in the community because they cannot do business because

there is no cash in the community. they cannot do business because there is no cash in the communitylj know there is no cash in the community.” know you have some thoughts on the justice system gives out for people who are found guilty of committing this crime? we should take a very serious attitude towards this crime. it isa serious attitude towards this crime. it is a crime against communities, not just atms and it is a crime against communities, notjust atms and property. 0bviously when explosives are involved, life is at risk as well. people can be killed and their sentences available that mean these criminals can go to prison for 15, 18 or 20 years. you think the punishment is inconsistent? in courts we are seeing people get six or eight year sentences and in others, 18 year sentences. we need more police resources. i know everybody said that, but we need more police resources devoted to this crime because it is a very serious crime. it is depriving people of their livelihoods in some

cases and threatening communities all around the country. we need to see this addressed as a serious crime and when the criminals are caught, as they almost always are, they need to go to prison for lengthy sentences. thank you very much for talking to us. with christmas just around the corner what kind of tree should you buy, a real fir or a plastic fake? millions of us buy christmas trees each year but what impact does this have on the environment in long run? and should you go real or reusable? the bbc‘s lora jones explores. it is the ultimate christmas decoration and british people by millions of them every year. but what impact does the christmas tree have on the environment? should you go fake or fir. have on the environment? should you go fake orfir. first, the natural tree. 7 million chrisman ‘s trees

are bought in the uk each year with three quarters being grown here. it ta kes three quarters being grown here. it takes up to 12 year to grow a typical christmas tree. during this time it has a positive impact on the environment because it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and nitrogen from the soil. but once it is chopped down it starts releasing emissions back into the atmosphere. transporting detry can contribute to its overall carbon footprint so buying a treat locally grown can help keep its carbon footprint down. but the biggest potential environmental impact for a natural christmas tree comes from its disposal. if it ends up in landfill its carbon footprint will be higher. because organic matter, which decomposes away from oxygen produces methane, greenhouse gas contributes to global warming. it is better if your treat get incinerated or compost it. it can reduce its carbon footprint by up to 80%. you can find out from your local council what

happens to it wants to throw it out. if you have the space, you can buy a potted christmas tree which you can keep over the next year and use again next christmas. what about a plastic christmas tree? here, the biggest impact comes from production. artificial trees are usually made out of a combination of battle and plastic. the production and process of which can significantly increase the tree's carbon footprint. most artificial trees are made in china which means they have to be packaged and ship to they have to be packaged and ship to the uk. the good news is you can reuse plastic tree. how many years do you have two keep it to have a lower environmental impact? experts think it is about ten years, but that it think it is about ten years, but thatitis think it is about ten years, but that it is a rough estimate. it depends on the size of the tree. if you do decide to throw out your plastic tree it is most likely to end up in landfill as it's not currently recyclable. 0verall, your choice of christmas tree has a small

impact on your annual carbon footprint. to give you a better idea, driving 12 miles in an average sized petrol car produces as much greenhouse gases as buying and natural tree. if you get an artificial tree, it is equivalent to driving 135 miles. of course, there are other factors you might want to consider. but, in terms of environmental impact, reuse for artificial trees and disposal for natural trees are just two factors you might want to keep in mind. a rescue mission is under way to reach a 29—year—old british sailor whose boat was destroyed in a storm during a solo round the world yacht challenge. susie goodall is the youngest competitor in golden globe race. jon kay has more. the boat is destroyed, inside and out, is destroyed. this is the call

susie goodall make when her boat flipped over. in the southern pacific ocean, alone, injured and thousands of miles from dry land. we rolled and i flew across the cabin andi rolled and i flew across the cabin and i think i was knocked out for a moment or two. the 29-year-old set sail injuly and was coming fourth in one of the world's most gruelling event when she hit a most ferocious storm. speaking before the race, she knew the southern ocean would be the toughest part of her round the world challenge. i am sure there will be times down there when i will think, what the hell am i doing? this is horrendous, the boat isjust like what the hell am i doing? this is horrendous, the boat is just like a rag doll, being chucked around all over the place and you can do nothing about it. this chinese cargo ship is the closest. it has been diverted hundreds of miles through challenging seas to rescue her. we are unsure whether they will launch are unsure whether they will launch a small boat to go over and recover herand a small boat to go over and recover her and come back and bring it on

board again because of the state of the sea. if it is impossible, the captain will have to manoeuvre a 190 metre vessel as close as he can to the yacht. susie will literally have tojump. the yacht. susie will literally have to jump. on the yacht. susie will literally have tojump. on social media the yacht. susie will literally have to jump. on social media she said all she wants is a nice cup of tea. china has launched what it's calling a giant panda culture alliance. it's aimed at stabilising the breeding of one of the world's most vulnerable species, along with protecting habitats. the alliance was launched in sichuan province, which is home to one of a number of panda breeding programmes. this week two panda twins, which were born in an austrian zoo, were flown to sichuan to be resettled in a nature now it's time for a look at the weather. simon, how are things looking? it is

windy across northern part of the uk. we are likely to see some travel disruption throughout the day. heavy rain moving south—east at the moment across england and wales, but there will be sunny spells and showers behind that. it is the wind gusts across scotland, 60, 70 and perhaps 80 mph, continuing throughout the afternoon with heavy rain moving into northern and western areas. snow over the higher ground as well. elsewhere the rain clears but there will be heavy showers moving into northern and western parts, the odd rumble of thunder here. blustery conditions and temperatures dropping away. as the rain clears away, seven to 10 degrees. into the weekend, it stays windy, especially saturday night in the south—west. showery on saturday and on sunday it will be drier, chilly but some sunshine. goodbye. hello.

it's friday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm chloe tilley. the revenge porn helpline has told this programme that increasing numbers of people are falling victim to a scam where fraudsters use one of your passwords in their email. kieran clare got an email where scammers claimed they'd hacked into his webcam and filmed him watching pornography. tory brexiteers have branded as "desperate" an attempt by the government to find a compromise before the crucial brexit vote in the commons. it comes as mps travel around the country trying to gather last minute support for the prime minister's brexit deal. it's a good delphi britain and it's the best deal and it allows us to deliver on brexit and get on with