into sunday the also severe gales. into sunday the strong winds and sleet and snow eventually clears away from the northern half. and through sunday and it will brighten up with plenty of sunshine. showers in the south and west. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2pm: theresa may says there is still work to do on the brexit deal and admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean claude juncker. it it is in the overwhelming interest of all our people. in the eu and the uk, to get this done and as quickly as possible. safely on land — at last. the british yachtswoman susie goodall whose boat capsized in a solo round the world race arrives in chile. rocketing to the edge of space — virgin galactic‘s spaceshiptwo passenger rocket travels 50 miles above the earth — and brings space tourism one step closer. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. chelsea fans stand accused of

offensive behaviour once again, first alleged racism at the weekend, no alleged anti—semitism during the europa league last night, more at half past. and some weather warnings? that is right, amber warnings in place for the weekend for snow and ice, i will reveal all later. thank you, also coming up. you'll make what is it? it's an instant camera. it was thought they'd been lost for ever — two recordings of morecambe and wise shows are discovered in an attic in sierra leone. there was nothing nebulous or hazy about the atmosphere when theresa may was caught on camera having an animated conversation with european commission presidentjean—claude junker in brussels this morning.

let's go to brussels now — and join my colleague ben brown. good afternoon from brussels, where, in the last hour, the prime minister has said it is "possible" to get further clarification and assurances from the eu over the brexit deal and particularly the so called irish backstop, the mechanism to stop a hard border on the island of ireland. theresa may said it was in the "overwhelming interest" of both the uk and the european union to get her deal over the line. mrs may also said she had a "robust discussion" with the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker after reports that he said the british approach to

all of this was nebulous and imprecise. at this council meeting i have heard a series of discussions with my fellow leaders on the brexit deal andi fellow leaders on the brexit deal and i was crystal clear about the assurances which are needed on the backstop having heard the views of mps in the house of commons. i reiterated that it is in the interests of the eu as well as the uk to get this over the line. a disorderly brexit would be good for no one. at 27 level, the eu level have published a series of conclusions. the eu made clear that it is theirfirm conclusions. the eu made clear that it is their firm determination to work speedily on a future relationship or alternative arrangements which ensure no hard border by the 31st of december 2020 so that the backstop will not need to be triggered. if the backstop was ever triggered it would apply only temporarily, and the eu would use its best endeavours to negotiate and

conclude expeditiously the subsequent agreement that would replace the backstop. that the eu stands ready to embark on preparations so that negotiations on the future partnership can start as soon as possible. as formal conclusions these commitments have legal status and therefore should be welcomed. as i have always said, the guaranteed way of avoiding the backstop is to have the future partnership in place by the time the implementation period is over. eu is very firmly committed to this course. but mps will require further assurances and i have discussed that this morning with my eu partners including jungle juncker, donald tusk and others. i note that there has been reporting that the eu is not willing to consider any further clarification, the eu is clear, as i am, that if you're going to leave for the deal, this is it. but my discussions with colleagues today have shown that further

clarification and discussion following the councils conclusions is in fact possible. there is work still to do and we will be holding talks in coming days about how to obtain the further assurances that the uk parliament needs in order to be able to approve the deal. i say again, it is in the overwhelming interest of all our people, in the eu and the uk, to get this done and as quickly as possible. that was the prime minister talking a short while ago at her news conference as the summit winds down. with me is our brussels reporter, adam fleming. let's talk about the gossipy bit first because there was not very heated exchange, you have been doing some light reading, basically saying she was unhappy thatjean—claude juncker had cost the british approach nebulous, i suppose it symbolises the kind of stand—off there has been. this started last

night, a midnight press conference given by donald tusk, and jean—claude juncker, jean—claude juncker said the uk had not given enough information about its vision for the future because he wants to get on with the negotiations about the future relationship on the economy and trade and security. then he said the fact is that the uk the situation is really nebulous. we thought the two things were linked, he was talking about the uk government position. then when the cameras go around the table of the summit room, you see the leaders chatting and it is meant to shown that they are all members of the same club and get along but today it should be upset, jean—claude juncker having a heated conversation with theresa may where she looks really angry and if you zoom right in and look at her lips you can see her say you called me nebulous and he says me? did i? and she says yes you did. throughout the morning they have spoken a couple of times and theresa

may mate said he clarified he was talking about the standard of debate in the uk about the eu and brexit in general was nebulous, a bit fact free. if he said people need more fa cts free. if he said people need more facts to have a debate none of this would have been a story but he chose that particular word which i also imagine is very offensive to theresa may who prides herself on being a details person. she has come here looking for assurances particularly about the backstop, it was not in the conclusions of the summit, even what happened in the draft, that they would look for further assurances and offer them, they are not going to do that. but now she is saying she is having meetings with eu leaders today and maybe they will? if it was not about the irish border which is about peoples lives in the peace process this would be quite funny because what is going on here? the story again started a couple of days ago with a draft document eu leaders were to sign up

to last night, paragraph five of the document said something along the lines of the eu is ready to look at what further assurances it can give, the british understanding, and whisper it quietly, the british were involved in drafting that document even though it's against the rules, they expected a two stage process with the leaders saying let's pursue other avenues of reassurance and come back together injanuary and publish more documents, which suit we can do. we were told there was a platter of legal instruments they could choose from to provide those reassurances. overnight that paragraph was struck out, paragraph five went and not a single eu leader was in support of it when they were meeting without theresa may last night. now at least in the mind of theresa may that paragraph is back because she says she has been speaking to eu leaders and they are prepared to do more assurance. i suspect theresa may will be back in brussels next week, if not her, her chief european adviser and

negotiator will be here working out what those assurances are, or they will not because the leaders have said they will not do it. who knows? and even she gets them will they be to persuade mps which takes us with that killer question directly to westminster and alex forsyth to a nswer westminster and alex forsyth to answer it, even if she gets what she wa nts answer it, even if she gets what she wants here in brussels, is it going to be enough for parliament? wants here in brussels, is it going to be enough for parliament7m wants here in brussels, is it going to be enough for parliament? if it's clarification she is now aiming for i think the frank answer is no. we know there are so many people not just brexit supporters but the dup and some on the labour benches who are so strongly opposed to this backstop that anything short of a legal guarantee the uk can pull out of it when it wanted or affixed end point will not cut it with them. what we are hearing from the eu and the tone of the prime minister, she said she hoped for further clarification but i don't think that in and of itself will be enough to win the support she needs. we are in

this period now where we knock on the early new year this is where the robbie a vote in the house of commons on the brexit deal, but meaningful vote, so unless something changes its hard to see how theresa may gets that deal through the houses of commons and it's unclear as to what happens at that point. theresa may herself will be meeting eu leaders and trying to seek reassu ra nces eu leaders and trying to seek reassurances that will get it over the line but i think the sense in westminster at this stage is that thatis westminster at this stage is that that is going to be a very tough ask. having said all of that there area ask. having said all of that there are a couple of weeks over the christmas period were a lot can change and the situation has changed in the past, theresa may looking time and again like she has her back to the wall and she somehow finds a way through. at this point with time running so close to the brexit date it's getting increasingly difficult to see what that path is with theresa may's option is quickly being shut down. some people have speculated she is trying to run down

the clock, trying to put the vote as late as possible to concentrate the minds of members of parliament who would be worried about a no—deal brexit so that in the end they will be pressurised into voting for her deal. from the beginning theresa may has framed this as her deal or no deal so i think that was the hope, that it might concentrate minds but then she introduced another thought which was her deal or no deal or no brexit. trying to persuade people on both sides of the argument that those brexiteers who do not want the chance of living the chance of leaving the eu or those concerned about leaving with no deal should meet in the middle and back her. but that tactics not worked up to this point and we have had senior people including amber rudd, the work and pensions secretary saying she does not believe parliament will allow no deal situation so that almost takes the sting out of the threat, she thinks parliament. unblock that or find another route. the problem is

this, whatever route you choose, whether it's leaving without a deal, whether it's leaving without a deal, whether it's leaving without a deal, whether it's looking at the home of a model forfuture relations, whether it's a second referendum or as labour wanted to general election, there just is as labour wanted to general election, therejust is not as labour wanted to general election, there just is not a majority in parliament for any one of those options. we are still in deadlock and right now what your healing from brussels does not seem like that's going to be what breaks the deadlock and things forward. thank you very much alex. theresa may came to the summit with low expectations saying she did not expectations saying she did not expect an immediate and she's not got that. the summit failed to give her what she wanted in terms of looking at new assurances on the irish backstop but she has said at her news conference today that she is still in talks with eu leaders looking to get those and that is still she believes very much on the table, we will have to and see. lets talk to our reality check correspondent chris morris.

such an uphill struggle for the prime minister, it looks like she had frankly failed to get what she wa nted had frankly failed to get what she wanted but she was trying to make the best of it in her news conference and indicating there is still hope, she still going to have talks with eu leaders to try to get what she wants in terms of reassu ra nces what she wants in terms of reassurances on the backstop. yeah, in some ways we're getting into the semantics of a legal guarantee. she is right to point out the statement night was a formal conclusion of the european council and therefore its a legal statement. but what it is not as a guarantee which changes the nature of the irish backstop which is what many conservative backbenchers and in eyes on the dup we re backbenchers and in eyes on the dup were hoping for. so it's the nature of the legal guarantee i think which will continue to be discussed with other countries. what i don't think there is any prospect of forgetting is language which is not in conformity with the legal guarantees

which are already contained in the language of the withdrawal agreement including the protocol in ireland so i think that's a problem. the broader problem and it was the basis of the spat if you want to call it that, between the prime minister and jean—claude juncker is what that, between the prime minister and jean—claudejuncker is what does the uk want? there is a sense of frustration at not so much with the prime minister herself but with the entire political situation, the gridlock in westminster. many british people feel that same sense of frustration, what is going on, what more than two years after the referendum does the uk want from this process? we still not come to a conclusion about that. as we have been talking to alex forsyth about the clock is ticking and time is getting closer to the moment we leave the eu and we know the commons vote will not be untiljanuary. that's the problem. we have not come to conclusions but the clock continues to move. there will be further discussions, we know the prime minister today had specific discussions with donald tusk,

emanuel macron, angela merkel, and at official level those discussions will continue. the government has said it will hold a meaningful vote in parliament as early as possible, as soon as possible injanuary, certainly before january 21. heaven knows what other parliamentary manoeuvres we might see in the interim, perhaps other attempts to oppose from opposition benches or her own but that is the government intention. but because it is all so uncertain the eu is also saying we are continuing or we are accelerating our plans for a no—deal brexit, for the uk leaving the eu next march with no deal at all and next march with no deal at all and next week on december the 19th they will put out a whole raft of documents with really specific detail of the kind of plans they are making at the moment unilaterally to safeguard their own interests. one of the questions is if the clock keeps ticking without an agreement is at what stage if at all the sites

come together and say we have to manage something to take off the worst possible consequences of no deal. briefly, do you think she will be disappointed? she came here looking for something from you, give me something i can take back to whence minster and they did not give it to her, the factors we have been discussing that she feels they were maybe slightly insulting to her.“ you look at the fact that the uk is intending to leave the eu it's a lwa ys intending to leave the eu it's always been the case since the referendum if push comes to shove between supporting the country that wa nts to between supporting the country that wants to leave and a country that is staying in this case ireland, the other 26 are going to fall in behind ireland. some people say hang on, britain is far more important, it's bigger and more important economically, it is important in security terms but do not underestimate the strength of feeling about keeping the rest of the eu together. also keeping the sanctity if you like of the single

market. it sounds a bit pompous but talking about sovereignty in the uk and the importance of not having a border in the irish sea for many people who run the eu the sovereignty means the sovereignty of the single market because many people believe that is the eu's greatest achievement push forward by margaret thatcher, ironically, and they don't want to see anything which will call that into question because i think many people think the whole point of the eu would start to be under threat. thank you, chris. the analysis of what has been going on over the last couple of days, a conservative mp saying yesterday that theresa may would need a christmas miracle at this summit, ithink need a christmas miracle at this summit, i think everyone agrees that she has not got it. back to the studio. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european

commission president jean—claude juncker. safely on land — at last. the british yachtswoman susie goodall — whose boat capsized in a solo round—the—world race — arrives in chile. rocketing to the edge of space — virgin galactic‘s spaceshiptwo passenger rocket travels 50 miles above the earth — and brings space tourism one step closer. and in sport, chelsea have condemned fa ns and in sport, chelsea have condemned fans who sang and to meet it —— sign anti—semitic chants in the europa league game last night. manchester and london are on a shortlist of five cities to host the atp world tour finals five cities to host the atp world tourfinals in 2021, the end of seasons tournament is currently held at the o2 arena until 2020. and ashley giles looks set to replace andrew strauss as the director of cricket as the national team at gears up cricket as the national team at gears up for cricket as the national team at gears upfora cricket as the national team at gears up for a home world cup and an ashes tour next year. let's stay with brexit and talk to elouise todd —

ceo of best for britain, an organisation fighting to keep the uk open to eu membership. good afternoon to you. so, the prime minister, we have seen her in brussels, it might not have gone her way entirely but she's sticking to her plan. she is sticking to her plan but nobody wants her plan back in london and across the country. we are seeing unprecedented levels of people coming out against the plan in all the polling that we see and what else is happening is people are shifting, not only do they want increasingly to stay in the eu, more and more people want to have final say ? where is the evidence for that? we will launch the 8000 person poll in november and people are coming out with pulling all the time that says 56% of the country are in favour of staying and there was a yougov poll at the weekend which further and when you put the sting in the eu against theresa may's deal

it was 62% in favour of staying in. more importantly a bigger number of people want the public to take it out of the politicians hands and for people to have the final say. gosh, i have got a feeling of deja vu about all of this but the point will be made again and again that the people had their say and that is why we are where we are. there is no sense of deja vu because two years ago when there was a vote nobody could have predicted we could be in this unholy mess we are in now. the politicians in westminster cannot agree on a path forward. there was a clear mandate given to theresa may to go and find specific reassurances as has been said in your reports, not only did she not get them but it seems to have receded over the last 24 seems to have receded over the last 2a hours or so so how is she going to get that deal through parliament? it does not seem that there is a coherent majority in parliament for any particular kind of brexit. and while she has had problems in the

negotiation there is another problem here which is brexit itself. either we go in the direction of taking more laws and keeping our economy aligned but being a huge rule taker and having no control, or we isolate ourselves economically and do an enormous amount of economic self—harm especially to the polar places. neither version worked, she tried to do something in the middle and people don't want it so you have to say at some point when do we stop trying and let the people decide. if a majority of people want to leave the eu then that is the decision the people will take. you would be happy with that, two referendums with that result would be enough? it's not about the same referendum, it would be the first time the public can see an actual prospectus. i don't think we had a referendum before where there was no detail attached to it. we know about the spurious lies which were told. on both sides it has to be said. before it gets to that point, sorry, before it gets to

a vote in parliament, would you, i have been reading what you have been saying on twitter and you agree with the idea of the labour party should come and pre—empt it with the vote of no confidence? what i have said is it would be great if the labour party actually go through the motions of what they said at the conference which is in order to get backing of public votes they would try and push for a vote of no confidence. nobody thinks it would succeed in getting a general election, but if that is what it ta kes to election, but if that is what it takes to get them on—board that's what we to see. do you have a concern, you have been courting polling figures up until now, but when those who perhaps voted remain see how europe is treating the prime minister, we can see the wordsjon corre is using it like nebulous, are there some people might worry are turning against europe who might have previously voted for it? in the

context of the campaign both sides could air their arguments but it would be very much a focus on what is in the deal, what we currently have and let's have that debate. europe would not be much of a part of that. we need the chance to get the discussion going and the positive thing is over two and a half years we have all learned an awful lot more than we knew in 2016 when we first went to the polls. let's have the confidence to put it to the people and if theresa may is confident in her deal then she should be able to put it to the people too. on the ballot paper if there was another referendum what with the question, or questions be? well definitely we need as in any negotiation if you do not decide to go there you can stick to what you have. the option to stay should be on there. it would be fair to put theresa may's deal to the ballot because it's the first time we got a clear idea of what brexit means and

one of the problems with the campaigna couple one of the problems with the campaign a couple of years ago is that everybody could deliver their own version of brexit when they were on the campaign trail and talk about fa ntasyla nd on the campaign trail and talk about fa ntasyland freight now on the campaign trail and talk about fantasyland freight now we have a real living breathing version of brexit. at least those two then it would be for parliament and the electoral commission to decide exactly what else to add to that or how to phrase it. this is where the complication comes because those that say no deal is still preferable to base and then you split the brexit vote and that is a plan that many of youse who support remain are being accused of engineering. many of youse who support remain are being accused of engineeringlj think it would be imperative to be a fair ballot paper and the electoral commission would not have any of that and we would not want to have the pattern! lead vote split. it needs to be an honest debate. conducted correctly, not in a

divisive way of the last campaign, but engaging people, making sure they understand the options for all of us, we can bring the country together and make sure there is a solution to this that more people are behind than we had two mac years ago. thank you so much for your time. the christmas market in strasbourg has reopened, three days after an attack by an islamist gunman in which 3 people were killed and another 13 were injured — including one with severe brain injuries. heavily armed french police and soldiers are manning checkpoints. the attacker, cherif chekatt, was killed in a shootout with police in the city on thursday night. france's interior minister said the market was re—opening — as the country wouldn't give in to fear. a british yachtswoman whose boat capsized in a storm in the south pacific has finally arrived in chile, a week after being rescued by a cargo ship. susie goodall, who's 29, had been competing in the solo golden globe round the world race.

she spent two days adrift in her damaged boat before she could be picked up by a chinese cargo ship. we have the first pictures of her stepping onto dry land and we will bring you those later. well, our correspondent duncan kennedy has been at her yacht club on the isle of wight. she has just reached land she hasjust reached land in chile after spending a week on a freighter which brought her back from 2000 miles out in the ocean and the two days before that she was on a yacht which had been wrecked by a storm, lost its mast, very much in fear of her life. she managed to get the distress signal out, a passing freighter came and picked her up and brought her back to shore. somebody who knows her here is ben, the fact she's made land, what is your reaction? fantastic news for her and

herfamily reaction? fantastic news for her and her family especially and all her supporters, the experience she has been through, one of the most remote places on the planet, being wrecked, such good fortune there was a ship with the ability to get alongside her safely and in those conditions are real test to get her on board safely and back to llandysul really pleased. you have known her and trained with her, how resilient is she to have survived this? when we first heard the broadcast of her radio call, she was shaken but you could hear she was calm, she had thought through it, the level of resilience was quite remarkable. she trained and worked here with us as an instructor and always hugely positive and committed, very proactive. the third sailor to have to be rescued in this race, any reason to call these races off because of the danger?” reason to call these races off because of the danger? i think the opposite, i think they are one of the few things left out there which show a real taste of human courage

and fortitude and adventure. all the sailors that are doing this are well prepared and know what they are getting themselves into. that was the latest. now, the weather, we are getting a change and a warning already about what is in store? yes, i bet you are glad to be back in the studio. yeah, but it is about a bit more than me! yeah, i'm going to recap why it's been cold. this is the usual set up we get in the uk, the last few days it's been cold, strong winds coming from east and south—east which is why i mentioned you being outside. the cold air being in because the high pressure over scandinavia, meanwhile and this is often how snow arrives we got more mild air moving off the atlantic, moisture filled airand as it off the atlantic, moisture filled air and as it bumps into the cold air and as it bumps into the cold air we've got the warnings out for snow which could be disrupted. this is the low pressure with my other

air behind it but on the leading age this is where we see heavy snow and also ice, could see freezing rain in that as well which is pretty rare in this country, strong winds moving north and from sunday afterwards we are intoa north and from sunday afterwards we are into a more mild run of wind so we lose the cold air. we are in mid—december, how unusual is it to have this kind of alert? it's not unusual, last year we had snow fall at the end of november so this will be our first significant destructive snowfall which is why the met office have issued an amber warning and also strong winds and heavy rain, through saturday and on into sunday into a central and northern parts of the uk, host of things going on. further south it will be wet and windy and there could be local flooding. you better give us the forecast. i will do. it's going to be very u nsettled i will do. it's going to be very unsettled throughout this weekend, in the short—term into next week things will be getting more mild

after that rain moves through but it's a lovely afternoon across many central and eastern areas with lots of sunshine around. a few showers across eastern areas, a few of these could be wintry in nature and fact. particularly into the south—east, we have got a weather front pushing into the west of the country across northern ireland which will bring rain but also increasingly turning wintry as it bumps into the cold air. we start saturday morning on a cold and frosty one particularly central and eastern areas, notice out waste 6 degrees for belfast and plymouth as the moisture laden milderair plymouth as the moisture laden milder air makes inroads. this low pressure i showed you earlier, hurtling into the cold air. a lot of disruption likely, just from the rain the snow and the ice but also the strong winds which will be affecting england and wales later in the day, keep tuned to local radio and head online to see all the

latest weather warnings. going through saturday this is the picture to start the morning, dry and cold and frosty across central and eastern areas, turning wet and wendy, northern ireland, wales, central and southern england and the rain will be persistent, expect to see minor flooding rain will be persistent, expect to see minorflooding in a rain will be persistent, expect to see minor flooding in a few places and the winds picking up, as we head through the afternoon the rain bumping into the cold airfrom through the afternoon the rain bumping into the cold air from east anglia into northern england we will see heavy snow falling, notjust anglia into northern england we will see heavy snow falling, not just to higher ground, even lower levels could see 2—5 centimetres, on the hell is in the north pennines up into the grampians and hide lines 10-20 into the grampians and hide lines 10—20 perhaps more, with winds picking up drifting and blizzard conditions likely. very nasty weather to end saturday, the system continues to move north, taking heavy snow across northern parts of scotla nd heavy snow across northern parts of scotland and gail is moving to england and wales squeezing the isobars. sunday could take a bit of a breather, looks like be quieter, a

tale of two cast, wintry weather will move away from scotland but there will be a legacy of ice left behind but milder air moving up from the south and the west, sunny spells and a few showers, temperatures between 8—10. an improving picture as we head through the weekend but there are weather warnings in force, stay tuned or head online to see the latest. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean claude juncker. safely on land at last... the british yachtswoman susie goodall whose boat capsized in a solo round the world race, arrives in chile. rocketing to the edge of space — virgin galactic‘s spaceshiptwo passenger rocket travels 50 miles above the earth and brings space tourism one step closer. sport now on afternoon live.

chelsea fans once again under the spotlight? this will be a minority of chelsea fans what we have seen from a small group of them. accused of racially abusing raheem sterling at sta mford of racially abusing raheem sterling at stamford bridge at the weekend and now last night, accused of chanting anti—semitic chants. the clu b chanting anti—semitic chants. the club have issued a strongly worded statement saying anti—semitism, any other kind of race related or religious hatred is abhorrent to the clu b religious hatred is abhorrent to the club and they stress the overwhelming majority of their fans would find it particularly disgusting. but a few that have brought the club into disrepute have shamed chelsea and they will face the strongest possible action. the

brighton manager has been asked about this in his pre—match press conference this week. inclusion in our game means banishment at top—level, management at board level, management if i'm looking at the fa and the premier league, having that type of inclusion in the top roles and of course, i've spoke on many occasions about what i felt about a lack of black managers at the highest level as such and as i say, what is good for our game is total inclusion. i think that's what everybody wants to see. total inclusion to battle that type of prejudice we saw at stamford bridge and last night.

london and manchester are on a shortlist of cities to host the atp world tour finals from 2021. a shortlist of five city has been released that may be the next post, london is still on the shortlist. they may stay there. manchester also on the shortlist as well. the end of season tournament for the world's top eight male players has been in london since 2009 and that agreement expires in 2020. a decision on the next host city will be made by march at the earliest but it would be great to see it stay in london or come up to manchester. it's the fight that everyone has been hoping, would happen — and anthonyjoshua has confirmed he does want to fight deontay wilder next year. he'd already booked wembley for the 13th of april, all‘s that's missing is an opponent. joshua holds the ibf, wbo and wba belts but the winner

of this bout would make one of them the undisputed champion of the heavyweight division. after wilder's draw with tyson fury earlier this month, there has talk of a possible rematch, but most boxing fans want to see either fighter face joshua, who has said he's "not interested in fury because he's not the champion". justin rose is on course to finish the year as world number one. he needs to finish in the top 12 at the indonesian masters. and at the end of second round, rose is eight under par and is currently tied fifth. three indonesian players lead the way — poom saksansin out in front on 1a under. former england spinner ashley giles looks set to replace andrew strauss as england's director of cricket strauss is stepping down as his wife is undergoing cancer treatment. giles is finalising the contract details to take over — he used to be england's one day coach and will be taking over at a critical time, with a home world cup and an ashes tour to australia next summer. two england forwards

who were injured during the autumn international series will be back in action for their clubs this weekend. saracens lock george kruis has recovered from a calf problem and starts against cardiff blues in the champions cup tomorrow. and sale welcome back flanker tom curry. that's all the sport for now. a syrian refugee hailed as a hero for helping to save 18 people from drowning during the crossing from turkey to greece, has told the bbc of her despair after being arrested and put in prison three years later. sara mardini was detained on the island of lesbos in august and faces charges including people—smuggling and spying, all of which she denies. she was speaking to our correspondent richard galpin after being released on bail last week. after more than three months in prison in greece, sara mardini is back amongst college friends here in berlin, at least for now.

this, her adopted home where she was granted asylum. she told me the prospect of being put on trial in greece in the coming months hangs over her heavily and how during the past few months in prison, she despaired of ever getting out. thinking about the outside, thinking about everybody, and if i would be able to see them again. with the situation i'm just thinking about everything and i end up not having any sleep. the night was my worst friend. just two years ago she and her sister were hailed as heroes here in germany, receiving awards for helping save lives. like many syrians fleeing the civil war, they had made the perilous crossing from turkey to greece, but only just. when their overcrowded boat started taking on water the two sisters, both elite swimmers, jumped in, and helped pull it to lesbos, swimming for more than three hours through big waves

and strong winds. i was looking to everybody. i could see that we might die. i knew if i wanted to make it i was going to make it. all of the people on the boat believed that we were going to make it and we wanted to make it. but earlier this year when sara returned to lesbos as a volunteer for an ngo helping refugees and migrants she was arrested. the police accusing her and several others of being part of a criminal organisation and spying amongst other charges. all of which they strongly deny. i wasn't scared, actually. because i knew what i had done and my team had done, which was totally legal. we had a very strong procedure, legal procedure, with the team, rules that we have to follow as volunteers. activists believe what has happened to sara and her colleagues is part of a crackdown by the greek authorities on ngos which help refugees and migrants.

and other european countries are doing the same. it is definitely a very worrying trend. i have monitored three, four, five cases in place where volunteers for ngos have faced absurd charges which could ruin their lives. sara is hoping the charges will be dropped. if she is convicted sara could face up to 25 years in a greek prison. an international conference in poland will try to finalise a deal today on how to tackle climate change. but delegates from almost 200 countries are yet to agree how to implement the paris climate accord — reached three years ago. our environment correspondent matt mcgrath is at the conference in katowice and sent this update. it's looking much more likely that we will get an agreement here in katowice poland, but whether it's a strong or weak agreement remains very much in the balance. overnight, the polish presidency produced a new text that has many elements that negotiators

here are happy with. it includes the fact that there will be one common rule book for all countries, with flexibility for poorer countries. there will be a compliance mechanism that makes people who don't put forward their plans in time, they will be hauled up in front of a committee. there will be a call for greater ambition from countries by 2020, and there will be a recognition of science in the document. you'll remember last week, the saudis, the us, kuwait and russia objected to a critical scientific report being included. that seems to have been resolved. but it's not all plain sailing. there are many big issues still to be resolved. the question of language, how strong the language is, is important. there's also the question of what's called loss and damage. this is a key issue for many developing countries who are looking for compensation for damage caused to them by climate emissions over decades. at the moment, it's only a footnote in the document. they are certain to be very upset about that and it's certain to be a red line for them.

so lots more talking and discussion to be going on here. the meeting is supposed to finish this afternoon, but the likelihood is that it will continue into the night and maybe well into saturday before an agreement is reached. jamie robertson is here — in a moment he will be telling us what's hot and what's not in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live: theresa may says there is still work to do on the brexit deal — and admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker. safely on land at last... the british yachtswoman susie goodall, whose boat capsized in a solo round the world race, arrives in chile. rocketing to the edge of space — virgin galactic‘s spaceshiptwo passenger rocket travels 50 miles above the earth and brings space tourism one step closer. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. a new report suggests wages are still worth around a third less than they were a decade ago, in some areas. research from the trades union congress the tuc shows the average worker has lost nearly £12,000 in real earnings since 2008.

travellers at some uk airports are barely being offered one us dollar for each of their pounds, following a month of brexit uncertainty. those exchanging pounds at the uk's biggestairport, heathrow, are finding as little as $1.05 coming back across the counter. and one in seven homes could be paying more than they need to for broadband and could get faster services for the same or less money, according to the regulator ofcom. new research suggests that half of uk homes have not taken up faster services even though they are available. china, the united states, how are things? good and bad. exports, they

bought1.5 things? good and bad. exports, they bought 1.5 tonnes of soya beans. they will be lifting tariffs for three months on us cars. on the other hand, some people are saying about the soya beans, 1.5 tonnes is 0k about the soya beans, 1.5 tonnes is ok but it's not great, we need more. the other thing is the diplomatic spat over the chief financial officer of huawei in vancouver. president trump has brought this into the trade sphere, as it is, he says it is about trade and part of trade negotiations. so things from a point of view are not great. a little bit of yes and a little bit

of no. samira hussain, north america business correspondent. on the one hand if you look at the fa ct on the one hand if you look at the fact china is removing these tariffs, it is a good thing because there has been a lot of uncertainty when it comes to this truce, so to speak, that was negotiated. this is an encouraging sign that they are removing some of these tariffs, even though it was expected but the fact it is going ahead is confidence building. it is a specially confidence building on the backdrop of what is happening with the huawei executive and the fact she has been arrested in canada on the request of the american authorities. there is an arrest tit—for—tat going on with the american and chinese officials

in the two countries. does this reflected in the markets? many times i have said the markets are going up and down because of trade relations with china, what is the feeling at the moment? there is a lot of market movements and if i look at the bourdy and seeing mostly read, but markets are looking towards the federal reserve meeting that will be happening next week. there has been a lot of talk about the federal reserve what their plans will be for upcoming rate hikes in 2019. even though we are expecting a rate hike to come next week. christmas is right around the corner so we will see light trading volumes and that means we will see a lot more fluctuations before sa nter means we will see a lot more fluctuations before santer makes his way yonder. that is a lovely expression. the dow is down, 1%. volumes are

lower. dax down, the ftse is down. it is weak at the moment the pound, if you want to go abroad for christmas. you should have bought your currency earlier. thank you very much, jamie. a statue of emmeline pankhurst has been unveiled in st peter's square in manchester to mark 100 years since the day women voted for the first time in a general election. thousands marched from the pankhurst centre, the birthplace of the suffragette movement, to st peter's square beforehand. a young girl from a local school made the case for the statue to the council. asa as a young person this statue means

a lot to me and my generation as a symbol of a woman who did good for the women of manchester, a symbol of quality and a symbol of manchester being a modern, forward—looking city. i look forward to the future. three, two, one... cheering and applause isn't she amazing? rightfully here as well. it's the busiest week of the year for royal mail as it endeavours to deliver millions of cards and parcels in time for christmas. our business correspondent,

ben thompson was at a sorting office this morning in swindon. this place is clearly pretty busy. they will deal with 2 million parcels and letters every day until christmas. they have taken on extra staff to make sure they have enough to cope with it. you are one of the bosses. you are from the greetings card association. how do you get this right every year? it is a massive undertaking. it is. we have a great operational team. we start planning injanuary ready for the special event. we bring in 23,000 support workers to support our core 120,000. we take on extra parcel facilities. dedicated centres to support the christmas peak. a huge amount of planning and a huge effort. what is interesting is we are told we are sending fewer letters but christmas cards are still big business.

we sent! billion christmas cards last year in the uk. the british send more than any other nation. 18—34—year—olds are sending more cards than a generation ago. cards are the way to send a special message. we buy those cards on the high street so that is good news as well. 94% of cards are bought in a high street store. online is obviously also a factor but people like to see the card and feel it and open it. nice to see you. just a few top tips, you have still got time to send the cards you need to. if you are sending second—class they have to be in the post by the 18th of december and first class by the 20th of december. special delivery you have another couple of days. here's some sunshine

for morecambe and wise fans — two episodes believed to be lost since their original screening in 1968 have been uncovered in sierra leone in west africa. they'll now be shown at a special event at the british film institute, as well as broadcast on bbc two over christmas. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson has had a preview. morecambe and wise — as found in africa. what is it? i told you, instant camera. how do you work it, you're supposed to say. i wasn't going to say... if you don't it'll throw me! i was going to say, i didn't know you were interested in it. oh, yes. these two episodes from the 1968 bbc series were lost, erased to make room for new recordings. but the archivist philip morris tracked down copies, which he found in a derelict cinema in sierra leone. the british film institute says it's a very significant find. any find is important but this one

is particularly important because it features two of the most beloved entertainers we ever saw on british television. some of the material might be quite shocking to modern audiences, share because there's 12 minutes of them stereotyping the irish. and they also make irajokes. as we know, the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. when you look at these things through the eyes of modern sensibility you can be shocked at the material. but as radio 4 extra say when they sometimes have to play dubious material, listeners are reminded that this programme was made in less enlightened times. i think that covers a lot of the bases when you say that. the two episodes will be shown tomorrow for the first time in 50 years at the bfi's missing believed wiped event in london. bbc two will screen colourised versions on boxing day. these are not the only tv treasures which have been unearthed. that is a bit much, isn't it? i have done rather well, haven't i, basil?

you certainly have. never mind we've got something else for you that's a bit better value. have you? yes. it's a marvellous group. yes? do you know who it is? the kinks! the bfi event will also include a basil brush show from 1968, which was discovered in nigeria. the finalfive minutes have been painstakingly restored, allowing people to see the only surviving recording from the time of the kinks performing their single, days. # i won't forget a single day, believe me. basil seemed to enjoy it. thank you very much, the kinks. that was smashing. and an episode of sid james's sitcom citizenjames has been unearthed during the clearout of a tv station in monaco. what are you doing down here, then? i am down here for the week. well, i am not very strong! last seen in 1962, the day out featured a guest appearance from his carry on costar liz fraser,

who died this year at the age of 88. finds like this give hope that more lost tv will be found. 97 doctor whos and 514 top of the pops are still missing. colin paterson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's stav. there is some severe weather on its way in time for the weekend. the met office have issued an amber warning for snow and ice which will lead to some significant disruption. this evening and overnight will be cold and dryfora evening and overnight will be cold and dry for a large part of the country apart from wintry showers to

the east. rain will be gathering out west turning to snow as it pushes into this cold air and it will be another cold night, particularly frosty for saturday morning across central and eastern areas. this area of low pressure running into the cold air in place across the uk is going to bring this strong winds, heavy rain and also snow and ice. the met office have issued an amber warning for snow and ice for saturday and sunday across central and northern parts of the uk. likely to cause significant disruption in places on some of the snow could be heavy with blizzard conditions over the hills in the north with also strong winds. keep tuned to your bbc local radio. this is the picture for saturday's starting dry, cold and frosty across central and eastern areas. the west will be turning wetter and windy. this rain turning to snow. for northern ireland, much of wales, central and southern england, it will be wet throughout

the day and increasingly windy. we could see localised flooding in place. sleet and snow from east anglia, into northern england and into scotland where we could see up to five centimetres at lower levels and more in the central belt and ten to 20 centimetres on the higher routes. increasingly strong winds, the high wind—chill will feel bitterly cold and there will be drifting and blizzard conditions. the snow will continue through much of scotla nd the snow will continue through much of scotland during saturday night. a swathe of gales affecting england and wales as we head into sunday morning. but the whole system pushes north and into the north sea. bit of a breather on sunday. the severe weather clearing away from central, northern scotland and taking the sleet and snow with it but i still remaina sleet and snow with it but i still remain a problem. further south it should be brighter on sunday with good spells of sunshine, although there will be heavy and blustery showers across the south—west. something a bit milder moving in to

most areas. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 3pm: theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker it it is in the overwhelming interest of all our people, in the eu and the uk, to get this done, and as quickly as possible. president trump's former lawyer, michael cohen, says the president knew it was wrong to order the payment of hush money to two women who alleged affairs with him. safely on land — at last. the british yachtswoman susie goodall — whose boat capsized in a solo round the world race — arrives in chile. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. it is abhorrent and it brings shame on the club, chelsea have once again

had to speak out against the behaviour of fans who've used offensive language. we will have more at have passed. and let's get a weather warning. after a quiet couple of days the weather is looking severe as we head to the weekend, with the met office amber warning issued for snow and ice. all the details later on. insta nt ice. all the details later on. instant camera ? tubes they'd been lost for ever — two recordings of morecambe and wise shows are discovered in an attic in sierra leone. theresa may says britain will have more talks with the eu in coming days about how to obtain ‘further assurances' on her brexit proposals, which might

placate her backbenchers. let's go to brussels now — and join my colleague ben brown. good afternoon from brussels where the prime minister has said it is ‘possible' to get further clarification and assurances with the eu over her brexit deal, and particularly the so called irish backstop — the mechanism to stop a hard border on the island of ireland. theresa may said it was in the ‘overwhelming interest‘ of both the uk and the european union to get her deal over the line. mrs may also said she had a ‘robust discussion' with the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker after reports that he had called her nebulous. he then clarified that and said he was talking in general terms about

the debate on brexit being nebulous. it seemed she was reassured by that and said it was a robust discussion. let‘s listen to angela merkel who is giving a news conference right now. translation: reiterated that it was important for us that the future relationship between the european union, the united kingdom should be a relationship in which each partner can freely develop, we want a close partnership with great britain, we have also been clear as to the extent that we only see the backstop asa extent that we only see the backstop as a reinsurance should we not succeed in negotiating a final agreement about our future relationship within the transition period. it‘s important we overcome the period in which the backstop is applied should we need the backstop. we also pointed out once again that as far as the european union is concerned we would be doing everything in our power, that we

expected great britain to do everything in its power to help bring this about. we were clear as to the fact we don‘t want a disorderly brexit. this is why we negotiated withdrawal agreement with the united kingdom and also we were very clear about that yesterday, stressing the point to theresa may that once the withdrawal agreement has been accepted we will begin with the negotiating of the future partnership. as regarding the framework for negotiations i would like to thank the austrian presidency, they have prepared a so—called negotiating box giving us the structure for the budgeting. we will have to continue to work on that ? that is angela merkel we expect to hear from the commission presidentjean—claude juncker in a minute and council president donald tusk, we will bring you that life as well. let‘s go back to what theresa may was sitting at her news

conference a couple of hours ago. a lot of people saying she is going to go back to london effectively empty—handed but she said the discussions are continuing as far as she is concerned, with eu leaders about getting further eu assurances on the backstop. at this council meeting i have held a series of discussions with my fellow leaders on the brexit deal and i was crystal clear about the assurances which are needed on the backstop having heard the views of mps in the house of commons. i reiterated that it is in the interests of the eu as well as the uk to get this over the line. a disorderly brexit would be good for no one. at 27 level, the eu have published a series of conclusions. the eu made clear that it is their firm determination to work speedily on a future relationship or alternative arrangements which ensure no hard border by the 31st of december 2020 so that the backstop will not need to be triggered. if the backstop was ever triggered

it would apply only temporarily, and the eu would use its best endeavours to negotiate and conclude expeditiously a subsequent agreement that would replace the backstop. that the eu stands ready to embark on preparations so that negotiations on the future partnership can start as soon as possible. as formal conclusions, these commitments have legal status and therefore should be welcomed. as i have always said, the guaranteed way of avoiding the backstop is to have the future partnership in place by the time the implementation period is over. eu is very firmly committed to this course. but mps will require further assurances and i have discussed presidentjuncker, donald tusk and others. i note that there has been reporting

that the eu is not willing to consider any further clarification, the eu is clear, as i am, that if you‘re going to leave for the deal, this is it. but my discussions with colleagues today have shown that further clarification and discussion following the councils conclusions is in fact possible. there is work still to do and we will be holding talks in coming days about how to obtain the further assurances that the uk parliament needs in order to be able to approve the deal. i say again, it is in the overwhelming interest of all our people, in the eu and the uk, to get this done and as quickly as possible. theresa may speaking earlier. the commission president had said the british requests for assurances he had been vague and theresa may countered that by saying she had been crystal clear in what she is asking for. also jean—claude junker

used the term nebulous last night. he said it was a reference to the general debate in britain about brexit, but she took it as a reference to her but what exactly does nebulous mean? we saw that little argument or slight spat anyway between jean—claude junker and theresa may where she appeared to say did you call me nebulous and he said he was talking about the general level of debate. let‘s talk to chris morris. iam not debate. let‘s talk to chris morris. i am not going to ask you to analyse the work nebulous for us but i suppose it‘s a bit of a symptom that things have not gone that well. they have not gone as well as she might have not gone as well as she might have hoped but what she wants is something quite the opposite of

nebulous, she wants something legally binding and she pointed out in the clip that you played, that because there are no formal conclusions from that meeting of the 27 other countries, they have legal force. that‘s not the same as a legal guarantee which is what many of her backbench critics want. our legal guarantee that somehow the text of the withdrawal agreement and the bits that refer to the backstop we re the bits that refer to the backstop were changed. that‘s the one thing which is not really on offer. you can perhaps have some sort of additional clarification but i don‘t think you can have anything which would go against, legally, the text in the withdrawal agreement itself. so that‘s a problem for her still and more broadly, this idea that was expressed, the frustration of what to do the uk want, not the prime minister herself, but the entire uk political system, is causing what happens next both here and

there? we will see discussions continuing behind the scenes on potentially further clarifications, i would not rule out the possibility of another legal text appearing to clarify further what the backstop really means, not changing the withdrawal agreement itself. but then the government has said that as soon as possible injanuary, by the zist soon as possible injanuary, by the 21st at the latest there will be a meaningful vote in parliament. so anything more that you can give theresa may to clarify and help her along i think they will try to do as long as it doesn‘t break the legal boundaries. but the eu is worried as we have discussed and that is why they are stepping up their preparations for planning for no deal. next week on december 19th they will put out a whole host of documents on how the eu is preparing

for the prospect of the eu leaving the eu in march next year without any deal at all. thank you. let's get the dealfrom any deal at all. thank you. let's get the deal from westminster with alex forsyth, some people say the prime minister‘s particularly vulnerable after the confidence vote, although she survived it she was winded and there is a view here that may be that you could have helped her a little more than it has, let‘s hear from alex forsyth. we know there are so many people not just brexit supporters but the dup and some on the labour benches who are so strongly opposed to this backstop that anything short of a legal guarantee that the uk can pull out of it when it wanted or a fixed end pointjust will not cut it with them. what we are hearing from the eu and the tone of the prime minister, she said she was hoping from further clarification, but i don‘t think that in and of itself will be enough to get the support she needs, we are in the period now

where we know that come the early new year that is when there will be a vote in the house of commons on the brexit deal, that meaningful vote. so unless something significant changes between now and then it‘s hard to see how theresa may gets that deal through houses, the house of commons and it‘s unclear what happens at that point. theresa may herself, she will be meeting eu leaders and trying to seek the reassurances that will get it over the line but i think the sense in westminster at this stage is that that is going to be a very tough ask. having said all of that, there are a couple of weeks over christmas for your a lot can happen and change and the situation has changed in the past. theresa may has looked time and again when she has had her back to the wall and found her way through. at this point with time running so close to the brexit date it‘s getting increasingly difficult to see what the path is with theresa may‘s quickly shut down. some people are speculating she‘s trying to run down the clock,

trying to put down the vote as late as possible, to concentrate the minds of those worried about no deal so in the end they are pressurised to vote for her deal? from the beginning theresa may has framed this as her deal or no deal so i think that might concentrate minds but she introduced another thought which was her deal or no deal or no brexit. trying to persuade people on both sides of the arguments, those who do not want the chance of losing the chance of leaving the eu as well as those who are concerned about leaving without a deal that they should meet somewhere in the middle and back her but that‘s not worked up and back her but that‘s not worked up to that point. senior people including amber rod singh she does not believe parliament would allow a not believe parliament would allow a no deal situation which takes the sting out of that threat, but

whatever route you choose, where it is leaving without a deal, looking ata is leaving without a deal, looking at a whole other model for future relations, the second referendum or as labour wanted to general election, there is not a majority of parliament for any one of those options. we are still in deadlock and right now what you are hearing from brussels does not seem like that‘s going to be what breaks the deadlock and move things forward. alex forsyth our political correspondent. we will look at how the european press are reporting what is going on here. with me is dorata bawolek — eu affairs correspondent at the polish broadcaster — polsat news. thank you very much for being with us. tell us, is brexit a big subject for you and your viewers at home because there are a million people of polish origin living in the united kingdom, so i guess there is an interest? it's a huge story since two years. an interest? it's a huge story since two yea rs. every an interest? it's a huge story since two years. every time there is a big summit connected to brexit of course

we are reporting on it all the time. and we always also take a look at the angle of the poles who are leaving to go to the uk. all the eu countries, apart from britain the next country in europe which is concerned about brexit is poland because we have 1 concerned about brexit is poland because we have! million concerned about brexit is poland because we have 1 million citizens living in the united citizens. the kingdom. and they have relatives who are worried about what the future holds? and some of them came in 2004 when wejoined the holds? and some of them came in 2004 when we joined the eu, holds? and some of them came in 2004 when wejoined the eu, so holds? and some of them came in 2004 when we joined the eu, so they are already set up for their lives, they send their children to school and ta ke send their children to school and take mortgages, they have bought houses. they have strong links with the united kingdom and they don‘t know what is going to happen because we still don‘t know after two years of negotiations what will be the conditions of brexit, if these people who are there for 14 years

will have the right to work and life and profit in the uk or will they have to go? will they be treated com pletely have to go? will they be treated completely differently? they feel really anxious. i think they also have the reason is because work, even at this summit we are now talking that it will be hard brexit without a deal finally. the prime minister says time and again people like that living in the uk don‘t have to worry about the future. there but they don‘t understand, many of them do not understand brexit. they know that brexit in a way happens because of migration so they already felt two years ago that they already felt two years ago that they became a kind of scapegoat in they became a kind of scapegoat in the uk and now they think as we are realising brexit and making it happen that it will touch them and influence them. most of the people

don‘t really understand the details we are discussing here so they are worried. especially young people who like i said have obligations in the uk, who have children going to school and these polish children living in the uk, sometimes they are more british than polish. what is going to happen to them? would you say fewer people from poland are coming to the united kingdom to work? for sure, there are statistics, there is data about that. there are much fewer polish people wanting to go and set up their life in the united kingdom and of course there are many who now lives in the uk and are thinking of coming back. i have many friends, i know people that are considering the return or they are already on their way. for you as a journalist here to try and report some of the menu shy of the brexit negotiations, especially talking about the backstop and the backstop to the backstop and the backstop to the backstop on the irish border

question, it must be pretty confusing for some of your viewers? i think if there is one positive thing in brexit it is that thanks to our reporting about it now polish people also know really well the situation in ireland and northern ireland, what is the border, what is the problem. i think before brexit not many people knew the details and now even the polish people watching tv in poland know there is this problem with ireland. which is difficult for us to explain of course. and of course the way we reports is sometimes different to yours because you have your british point of view, we have a polish and european point of view. sometimes when i listen to the british journalists reporting next to me and i think my reporting way is com pletely i think my reporting way is completely different because we don‘t think it‘s a problem that theresa may, that her arguments are not accepted because she is representing just one eu capital

here, london, it is one of 28 countries which are in the eu. but there is paris and madrid and rome, why the leaders of these countries from these capitals should fulfil everything what london wants? we are equal here. i think for theresa may asa equal here. i think for theresa may as a negotiator i think she‘s doing quite well. let‘s not forget she is facing 27 other leaders. 66 million people in the uk, in the eu there are 512 million people and the leaders who are coming here from these 27 countries cannot go back to their countries and say we did everything which theresa may asked us for because otherwise they will have problems at home. they also have problems at home. they also have to protect their reputation and they have responsibility in front of their voters. great talk to you and get the polish perspective on brexit. and the backstop! thank you so much for being with us. that‘s

just about it for me for now, still waiting for the news conference from donald tusk and jean—claude juncker, that will be interesting to get there perspective on what they think they have or have not given theresa may and whether or not she is going back to london empty—handed. but that‘s it for me in brussels, more in the coming hour but back to the studio. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker. more trouble for chelsea — this time over anti—semitic songs — just days after four fans were suspended for racist chanting. safely on land — at last. the british yachtswoman susie goodall — whose boat capsized in a solo round the world race — arrives in chile. and we will have more on that story,

chelsea condemning fans who sang anti—semitic chants during last night europa league game saying that they have shamed the club. manchester and london on a shortlist of five cities to host the 80 pt world tour finals from 2021, the end of season tournament is currently held at the o2 of season tournament is currently held at the 02 until 2020. and ashley giles looks set to replace andrew strauss as england‘s director of cricket as the national team gears up for of cricket as the national team gears upfora of cricket as the national team gears up for a home world cup and ashes series next year. more on all those just after half past three. a fourth person has died, and several more were seriously injured, after a gunman attacked a christmas market in strasbourg on tuesday evening. police in the french city are questioning relatives of the attacker cherif chekatt, who was killed in a shoot out with police on thursday night. the market has now reopened with tight security. donald trump‘s former lawyer says the president directed him to pay money to two women who alleged having sexual affairs with him.

in an exclusive interview with abc news‘ george stephanopoulos, michael cohen, who‘s been sentenced to three years in jail, said mr trump acted because he was very concerned the allegations he directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters including the one with mcdougall which was really between him and david packer and then david packer‘s council. i just him and david packer and then david packer‘s council. ijust reviewed the documents. in order to protect him. igave the documents. in order to protect him. i gave loyalty to someone who truthfully does not deserve loyalty. he was trying to hide what you are doing, correct? and he knew it was wrong? of course. when you think about it, when you look back do you know what you're doing? about it, when you look back do you know what you're doing ?|j about it, when you look back do you know what you're doing? i am angry at myself because i knew what i was doing was wrong, i stood up the world yesterday and i accepted the

responsibility for my actions. the actions that i gave to a man who as i also said i was loyal to. i should not be the only one taking responsibility for his actions. so he is still lying? yes. a 16—year—old boy who carried out a horrific attack on a lithuanian schoolgirl before dumping her body on a park bench has been found guilty of rape and murder. the body of 14—year—old viktorija sokolova was found in a park in wolverhampton in april. it‘s believed the boy used a hammer to batter her to death, and had originally persuaded her over facebook to meet him. a five week old baby who was attacked by two dogs near peterborough last month, has died. reuben mcnulty was seriously injured after the incident in yaxley, cambridgeshire. the family‘s two staffordshire bull terriers have now been destroyed. the award—winning rapper j hus has beenjailed for eight

months for carrying a knife outside a shopping centre in east london. the musician appeared at snaresbrook crown court under his real name momodou jallow. the court heard the 23 year—old had 6 precious convictions for 10 offences, going back to 2011. a british yachtswoman whose boat capsized in a storm in the south pacific has finally arrived in chile, a week after being rescued by a cargo ship. susie goodall, who‘s 29, had been competing in the solo golden globe round the world race. she spent two days adrift in her damaged boat before she could be picked up by a chinese cargo ship. and these are the first pictures of her stepping on to dry land. well, our correspondent duncan kennedy has been at her yacht club on the isle of wight. she has just reached land she hasjust reached land in chile after spending a week on a freighter that brought her back from 2000 miles out in the southern ocean and the two days before that she was on a yacht which had been wrecked by a

storm, lost the mast, very much in fear of her life. managed to get the distress signal out, a passing freighter came and picked her out and brought her back to shore. somebody who knows her well is bain, the fact she‘s made land, what is your reaction? two fantastic news for her and her family especially and all her supporters. the experience she has been three or being wrecked in the middle of the ocean, one of the most remote places on the planet. such good fortune there was a ship with the ability to get alongside her safely and in those conditions are real taste of seamanship to get her on board safely and get her back to land. how resilient is she? when we first heard the broadcast of her radio call out after it yes she was shaken but we could hear she was calm and had thought through it, the level of resilience is quite remarkable. she

trained and worked with us as an instructor and always hugely positive and committed, proactive. the third sailor to be rescued in this race, any reason to call off these races because of the danger? absolutely the opposite! they are one of the few things left which show a real test of human courage and fortitude and adventure. all the sailors doing this are well prepared and know what they are getting into. duncan kennedy reporting. food production is responsible for a quarter of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming, according to a recent study by oxford university. the environmental impact of different foods varies hugely — and there have been calls for better labelling to help people understand the carbon footprint of the food they eat. the bbc has designed a new calculator to help find out the climate impact of different foods. our correspondent helen briggs has more. choosing lunch can be confusing when it comes to thinking about the planet. what‘s better — chicken or beef? and how does your daily coffee habit contribute to climate change? when we asked shoppers

to check the environmental impact of popular foods, they were surprised. that is really good, it makes people more aware of their consumption. i would be quite interested to look at the impact of meat. that is why i don't eat it... twice a week. equivalent to driving a regular petrol car 113 miles. that is incredible. and there is how it compares with other drinks. you would never have thought of that, would you? never. i think that is, yeah, mind blown. we kind of know, unconsciously, it has an impact. but we still do it, you know what i mean? it is such an easy... to go into a supermarket and buy your eggs. but you don't realise, oh, my god, this has... like, yeah, this has an impact. research shows people tend to underestimate the difference their food choices make to climate change and other environmental issues, such as water and deforestation. when it comes to environmental impact, there‘s lots to take into account.

greenhouse gas emissions from the beef in this burger. water used to feed the cows and the food they eat, plus land used for grazing. we are going to go to brussels because donald tusk is at the podium. we promised concrete steps to strengthen the union today leaders delivered on this promise. first with an agreement to create a common backstop for the single resolution fund. and second we agreed to give the stability mechanism stronger powers to prevent and manage financial crisis. these two decisions which mean changing the treaty as soon as possible significantly strengthen the monetary union. additionally finance minister importantly it will be

adopted in an inclusive format by all the member states in the context of the long—term eu budget. today leaders also adopted conclusions on the single market, climate change, migration, disinformation and the fight against racism and xenophobia. on disinformation i want to highlight the concern among leaders that this threat to our democracy is deliberate, large—scale and systemic. and it‘s not going away, but rather growing. we are determined to counter this threat. the actions proposed by the commission and the external action service should be implemented immediately by the appropriate authorities are well ahead of the european elections. i want to close

by thanking the chancellor for a very energetic and very focused austrian presidency. your achievements speak for themselves. like the continued introduction of migration into europe, the start of talks with egypt and the league of arab states. the progress on internal security or the banking package. mr president, mr chancellor, these translation: we have demonstrated we are approaching projects that require translation: we have demonstrated we are approaching projects that require decision translation: we have demonstrated we are approaching projects that require decision and translation: we have demonstrated we are approaching projects that

require decision and decisiveness. translation: we have demonstrated we are approaching projects that require decision and decisiveness. i would like to thank the austrian council presidency and the federal chancellor because the austrians have listened to the european union and have shown true leadership. that is not always the case. not all presidents necessarily fit that mode but in this case the austrian presidency did. in the european parliament, a great deal of criticism was levelled at the austrian presidency, but today i only heard words of praise. everyone has praised the federal chancellor and the austrian federal government in all of its various variants because under their leadership we have made true progress. this morning, under the chairmanship of donald, we discussed the reform of the eurozone. my impression is we

are making progress but the progress is not sufficiently rapid. but that is not sufficiently rapid. but that is nothing new, but is always the case. the commission had put forward its own proposals for the reform of the eurozone in may and at that juncture, we propose two separate functions. want to support structural reforms which would be combined with an instrument to encourage the apportionment from those states not members of the eurozone. then there is widescale support for the first instrument to provide support for structural reforms. however, there is less enthusiasm about the fekir labour

are looking from ciaran designed to cope with external and occasional internal shocks. we have agreed that work should continue on the basis of the commission proposal, which was proposed at the end of may and then of course there may be possible amendments following the usual legislative procedure. taking both of these elements together we will have a volume of 50 billion euros, which we would then like to have included in the mff. i am satisfied with the outcome of these discussions, even if i would like to

be have spontaneous movement to improve the stabilisation method, which we proposed, but it will be included in the multi—annual financial framework because in the long term, we cannot live without instruments which will enable us to react to external shocks. instruments which will enable us to react to external shockslj instruments which will enable us to react to external shocks. i am less happy because the commission has proposed seven initiatives. five of them are close to agreement, but it was not possible to convince colleagues today to adopt these five proposals because the two missing elements, i don't have to explain this because we are specialists of this because we are specialists of this question and we pursue our work on this information. there was broad agreement amongst colleagues that we should continue as a commission with our citizen's dialogue. we have

organised this since the beginning of our mandate. reaching 150,000 people, that is not enough. i don't know how many people are following these debates on the technical basis they have. it is not enough, but nevertheless we are continuing this explanation exercise. on fake news, we proposed a few years ago some instruments, but the fake news show is not only to be found in the camp of the fake news corp i made it very clear to the european council that some of the prime minister sitting

around there, they have the fake news show. like saying guilty for the brexit fake news when he's saying that my one response of for the brexit fake news. let's not be the brexit fake news. let's not be the responsibility of others. let's check who is the news faker. translation: thank you president us, jean—claude juncker. i would translation: thank you president us, jean—claudejuncker. i would like to thank you for the good cooperation with the council and the commission. it hasn‘t always been easy to work with 28 member states and three institutions but the cooperation has worked very well so i am grateful to

you for that. it has been an intensive six months during these last six months, but i think it has been successful. we have had 35 dialogues with the european parliament and we have concluded them. we managed to achieve 60 agreements in the council. of course, the big, overriding issue has been brexit mamat has overshadowed everything else. the last two days have been useful to discuss certain questions with theresa may and create some more clarity than there will be a vote in the british parliament injanuary. the deal that was negotiated is a good dealfor both the deal that was negotiated is a good deal for both sides. the deal that was negotiated is a good dealfor both sides. we hope this deal will find support in both parliaments eventually. as

presidency, we have tried to focus debate on a few points and i would like to remind you of those briefly now. under the motto europe that protects, we have tried to focus debate on security, protecting our well—being by competitiveness, being active, europe being active beyond its borders to export security, rather than import insecurity. an area of security, i am grateful all member states have agreed on a declaration on the fight against anti—semitism. we held a conference with jewish communities from anti—semitism. we held a conference withjewish communities from all over europe and in many countries, jewish people no longerfeel over europe and in many countries, jewish people no longer feel safe over europe and in many countries, jewish people no longerfeel safe in europe and are leaving europe to go to israel. i am pleased we were able to israel. i am pleased we were able to adopt that declaration. also the

fight against illegal migration, is to strengthen from tax and increased personnel resources. here we are supporting the commission proposal. u nfortu nately supporting the commission proposal. unfortunately there are some member states still blocking that proposal. the strengthening of this has succeeded as regards of strengthening of the mandate regarding cooperation with other countries which is particularly important for cooperation with the transit companies to reduce illegal migration flows. i am pleased three yea rs migration flows. i am pleased three years after 2015, we have now reached a point where illegal migration has been significantly reduced. the number of arrivals in europe has fallen by 95% and the

central mediterranean route has been closed de facto. in italy, for several weeks now, there have been no more arrivals. however, to many people are still drowning in the mediterranean. but many, many fewer have drowned than in 2015 and 2016. the second focus was preserving, protecting welfare, well—being. i am very pleased that on completion of the digital market, we managed to launch a number of decisions and on the mff, we have been positively surprised that at the end of the day we have managed to pass on a ready negotiation box to the romanian presidency. as answering, allow me to say a word about the west balkans, because it is close to our hearts. building on the bulgarian

presidency‘s achievements, several new chapters have been opened and thank you for the good cooperation. translation: let me add one point because i omitted to mention the fa ct because i omitted to mention the fact that i am very happy with the work of which the austrian presidency has done on the future mff. this is the fifth occasion i have witnessed work on the mff and this is the occasion which we tabled our proposal very early, but this is the first time the council presidency has made such rapid headway and are very glad the austrian presidency has been in a position to produce the negotiating box which will allow the romanian presidency to make rapid progress. it was decided that after the

romanian elections, it will be possible for this to be taken up again. this i think is to the credit of the austrian presidency because they have been able to hold wide—ranging debates and discussions on these technical elements and this isa on these technical elements and this is a task they have completed with a great deal of skill. just one last word on the protection of our external borders. this is one area where i am slowly losing my patience. it is not something the president should say to the council, but i did say there was a white elephant in the room and that is hypocrisy. everyone is urging others and inviting us time and time again to increase the controls at our external borders. and everything

which we have in place is to be stepped up. we had a proposal, 10,000 further officials up to 20, i read a report which said it is going to take too long. we need to step up these reinforcements and the work on this, which is why we came forward with new proposals which set by the end of 2020, we had to have 10,000 office rs end of 2020, we had to have 10,000 officers in place doing the job we ask them to. for years now, all member states have been saying everywhere to the papers and parliaments, we have to step up the protection of our external borders, which is why i was taken aback to see a certain number of countries, particularly those in the front line are now refusing to even contemplate strengthening our external borders. so please, never tell me again we

should strengthen our external borders if you don't include our proposals. we have a few questions and we start with the gentleman on the fifth row. i am from the financial times. theresa may in her press conference , financial times. theresa may in her press conference, said the uk would be holding talks in coming days with the eu on brexit. is it possible to know exactly what the process is going to be now, the order of events going to be now, the order of events going forward from today and basically when we are going to be back here dealing with brexit again? on euro reform, the statement adopted today covers certain issues and other issues are not mentioned like developing the banking union with a deposit guarantee scheme. there's what set out the statement, is it, is that what is going to be done to complete the euro and will that make the eurozone ready to

withstand the next crisis? it was clear from the very beginning of this process that we want to facilitate certification process. on the continent and in the uk. yesterday‘s conclusions are quite clear. we have to treat it as a good sign. i mean that we are ready to reconfirm our assurances and our goodwill and good faith when it comes to so—called backstop. i have no mandate to organise any further

negotiations. we have to exclude any kind of reopening negotiations on the withdrawal agreements. but we will stay here in brussels. i am at prime minister theresa may‘s disposal. it is myjob and my pleasure to be in contact with the prime minister on all relevant issues. it is good to be informed that we will stay in brussels over christmas. i will not stay in brussels over christmas. i had so many meetings with prime minister theresa may, who is a good friend. i am admiring her because this is a woman of great courage doing herjob in the best way possible. i am

supporting her. not as far as all the elements are concerned but i am supporting the way she is dealing with the matter. what we have to discuss now is the future relationship. we decided yesterday under the chairmanship of president donald tusk, after an approval by the two parliaments, the british one and the european one, will start the negotiations of the future relations. because i was following, second by second, the debate in the house of, and i noticed there was a deep mistrust in the house when it comes to the european union. that is not a good basis for future relations but in order to prove to them we mean this seriously, the

negotiations on the future relations and that we mean it seriously we don't want this backstop being a permanent instrument, then we have to discuss and start our negotiations. it was crystal clear that nobody in the room didn't want to reopen, in anyway, the withdrawal agreement. there withdrawal agreement. there withdrawal agreement will stay. these are two different instruments. one is legal and the other is political. i think we have to bring down the temperature and these attacks coming from westminster against europe and

the european commission, we will not respond in the same way. although i would like to do it. there was a question about europe, what was the question? i was insisting one of my colleagues in the council will continue to work on the completion of the button marked, including the deposit guarantee. the risks are going down, the bank loans have been halved since 2014. so these major risks no longer exist but we have to work, nonetheless, on the risk reduction. so our proposals concerning the

capital market union will be taken under examination. the next question goes to the gentleman in the third row. stewed translation: he mentioned the motto europe protects. frontex has more but it is taking a long time to increase its staff to 10,000. what about what has happened to this europe that protects? maybe i could kick off on this one? if you

see this development in comparison to previous years it‘s extremely positive. in 2015 i stated our opinion very clear. we had been arguing for years about the distribution of migrants within the european union. i was very sceptical in 2015 as to whether we could solve that problem. in other issues such as protecting the external border and cooperating with third countries we have made a lot of progress over recent months. from my point of view the meeting in june recent months. from my point of view the meeting injune was a turning point if we focus on external guy mention and cooperation with third countries. we would have liked to have seen the increase in personnel but the member states, unfortunately those on the external border are holding up the proposals. but the

mandate has been strengthened and cooperation with transit countries will reduce the number of people embarking on the trip to europe. at the moment we have a situation, when people set out for europe and they are rescued by european ships, they are rescued by european ships, they are taken, after their rescue to europe. but if the libyan coastguards who we are providing training for, if they can rescue people if the egyptians can rescue more people, the ship will not continue to europe, they will be brought back to africa. this will deter people from setting off in the first place. that way to europe will be close, they will be just taken back to north africa and that removes the basis of the business of the traffickers in human beings as

well. people will not want to take the risk any more. so the strengthened mandate has been decisive and donald tusk and i have started talks with egypt‘s that has been very helpful. italy and other states are supporting the libyan coastguards. it means there are 95% fewer arrivals than in 2015 and as regards the subterranean route, we have close that route. translation: could ijust add, this whole question of extending our core protection is an urgent matter. if we had 10,000 more officers on the external borders, that would be 8.7% of our border protection agents. since everyone is saying we have to

step up protection, it will mean it would only be understandable and plausible for member states to actually put... we have been presenting in the last weeks, some proposals. if you allow me i would like to underline one thing, after what i have read and what i have heard in some newspapers and tv stations, we have treated prime minister theresa may with the greatest respect, all of us. and we really appreciate the efforts by the prime minister to

ratify the common agreement. my impression is that in fact we have treated prime minister theresa may with much greater empathy and respect than some british mp's, for sure. respect than some british mp's, for sure. i have to add to that theresa may is a good friend of ours. we have the highest respect for the british prime minister because she has to deliver a very difficultjob. the two of us were prime minister‘s, we had to face motions asking for our resignation, it will happen to sebastian in a short period of time! it already happened! so we are sympathising with theresa may. i have the highest respect for the british prime minister. may i say

one statement because i was in the media and! one statement because i was in the media and i think not all rumours, i was in the meeting, not the media, and not all rumours in the media really go in line with how the meeting was. the problem isjust that we have two mac different positions but that's all. theresa may was i think a tough negotiator in the meeting and also made her point very clear and on the other side of the eu 27 are united which is good and also we are able to make our point clear. i think not all the rumours about the meeting are probably true. merry christmas. studio: so, the president of the european commission describing theresa may as a good friend, seeing he is admiring of her, she is a woman of great courage. he said. and they are in the last few moments you

heard him trying to defuse what is being seen as a growing row over the use of the word nebulous. he said he did not know the word nebulous, it was a translation and he said he was referring to the general debate around that particular sense of how the british were approaching the debate. but an attempt to defuse that row. we will bring you more from brussels very shortly but in the meantime let‘s have a look at the meantime let‘s have a look at the weather. severe weather on the way for the weekend is particularly central and northern parts of the uk. we end friday on a fine note but increasing amounts of rain into western areas bumping into cold and turning to snow to start in the morning. through saturday morning this area of low pressure will push its way north across the uk bringing

somewhere the wet and windy weather. the met office have issued an amber warning with snow and ice causing some disruption particularly on the roads through northern england into scotland. wet and windy weather continues to push north and east during saturday as those winds touch gale force, it will be wet through the day as the rain continues to move north we will see an increasing chance of snow. bitter, cold day in the north, slowly turning milder in the north, slowly turning milder in the south. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker. i was following, second by second, the debate in the house of commons andi the debate in the house of commons and i noted that there was a deep mistrust in the house when it comes

to the european union. president trump‘s former lawyer, michael cohen, says the president knew it was wrong to order the payment of hush money to two women who alleged affairs with him. coming up, we have all the sport with catherine. in the last few minutes ashley giles the former england spinner and one—day coach has been confirmed as the new director of cricket replacing andrew strauss, more on that and the rest of the day is a sport at half past. and wintry weather on the way? that‘s right, looking treacherous into the weekend with snow and freezing rain and ice, stay tuned to the forecast and join you later for a full weather round—up. theresa may says britain will have more talks with the eu in coming days about how to obtain ‘further assurances‘ on her brexit

proposals, which might placate her backbenchers. let‘s go to brussels now — and join my colleague ben brown. hello from the summit here in brussels, which is now officially over, we‘ve been getting news conferences from the leaders including theresa may, who said it‘s possible to get further clarification and more assurances about the brexit deal with the european union, and in particular on the so—called irish backstop, the mechanism to prevent the return of a ha rd mechanism to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of ireland. she said it was in the overwhelming interest of both the united kingdom and the european union to get her deal over the line in the house of commons, to get the british parliament to approve it.

she also said she had had what she called a robust discussion with the president of the european commission jean—claude junker and said she president of the european commission jean—claudejunker and said she had told european leaders that mps need more certainty on the backstop issue. i was crystal clear about the assurances which are needed on the backstop having heard the views of mps in the house of commons. i reiterated that it is in the interests of the eu as well as the uk to get this over the line. a disorderly brexit would be good for no one. at 27 level, the eu have published a series of conclusions. the eu made clear that it is their firm determination to work speedily on a future relationship or alternative arrangements which ensure no hard border by the 31st of december 2020 so that the backstop will not need to be triggered. if the backstop was ever triggered it would apply only temporarily, and the eu would use its best

endeavours to negotiate and conclude expeditiously a subsequent agreement that would replace the backstop. that the eu stands ready to embark on preparations so that negotiations on the future partnership can start as soon as possible. we have had a news conference from jean—claude junker at the commission president and the european council president donald tusk as well. interesting that there was what has been perceived here as a bit of a spat between jean—claude junker and theresa may where it all started really with news conference last night, where he talked about the british approach seemed to talk about the british approach as being nebulous and imprecise and theresa may being vague on what she wanted from the eu. she was clearly irritated by that this morning when she saw irritated by that this morning when she sanean—claude junker here irritated by that this morning when she sanean—claudejunker here at the summit, we could not hear what

she was saying but lip—reading was pretty clear, that she said did you commie nebulous? he at his news conference explained he was talking more about the level of debate back in the united kingdom, he had been listening he said to the debate in the house of commons on brexit, did not like the tone of the debate and he was saying that was nebulous. he then went on to be very complimentary indeed about the british prime minister as did donald tusk, they both had warm words describing her as a good friend doing her best for her country. describing her as a good friend doing her best for her countrylj think at the very first moment, she thought that i criticised her by saying yesterday night that the

british position was nebulous. i did not, by the way, i did not know it was translated to be nebulous. but i did not refer to her but to the overall state of the debate in which, as i told you earlier, i was following the debate in the house andi following the debate in the house and i cannot see where the british parliament is heading. and that is why i was saying that it was nebulous, foggy in english. so it was not, i was not addressing her. jon corre junker there. talking about why he used the word nebulous. it's about why he used the word nebulous. it‘s been cold nebulous— gate here. theresa may was saying she is

looking for further talks on getting assurances on the let‘s talk to adam flemming our brussels reporter who has been listening to that news conference, first of all, there‘s been a bit of not bad blood but a slightly fractious atmosphere which all started with the news conference from donald tusk, from jean—claude junker last night and spilled over i know they are trying to make their good friends? i have been watching the big screen where you can see the leaders coming and going and jean—claude junker has left leaders coming and going and jean—claudejunker has left the building and is a lot love, he shook everyone‘s hand, he was kissing the policeman, i don‘t know if this is because it‘s the last summit before christmas but he‘s in a good mood. last night at midnight, president jean—claude junker said the uk

position was nebulous and that was taken by an insult as theresa may. she arrived today with a face like thunder and there is the infamous footage from inside the room, the camera is capturing the leaders mingling at the start of the summit and you can see she was angry with him. you can see her lips forming the word nebulous and then she says you called me nebulous, she is having a real go at him. then she said she spoke to him a couple of times and he clarified that he was talking about the state of the political debate in britain about the eu, a phrase he repeated in his press co nfe re nce . the eu, a phrase he repeated in his press conference. he said the situation was a bit foggy. but there is still a bit of a diss there because the situation is foggy because the situation is foggy because people have not been uniting around her vision for a brexit deal so in around her vision for a brexit deal soina around her vision for a brexit deal so in a way he was still giving her a bit ofa so in a way he was still giving her a bit of a diss and he ended it by saying we are such good friends we we re saying we are such good friends we were kissing by the end of it which is an image i do not want to think about. not often we get the front

row on a diplomatic spat like that. let‘s move on to the conclusions of the summit. we should not paint this asa the summit. we should not paint this as a disaster for theresa may, the summit. we should not paint this as a disasterfor theresa may, she came here saying she‘d not expect an immediate breakthrough but let‘s talk about the positives about what she may have got out of this that she may have got out of this that she will be pleased with. she got the written statement signed by the 27 that says the northern irish backstop is an insurance policy. if it comes and it will be temporary and the eu will continue to use their best endeavours to negotiate a future trade deal with the uk even if the backstop has been triggered. this is where it gets complicated, uk officials are happy with that because that legal phrase, best endeavours, commits the eu to certain types of behaviour. if the uk feels the eu is not working fast enough towards a trade deal they could take it to the independent arbitration panel that is set up in the withdrawal agreement. to them thatis

the withdrawal agreement. to them that is a legally binding and politically binding commitment from the eu to do what they can to avoid the eu to do what they can to avoid the backstop coming in. the problem is it took me about 40 seconds to explain it to you so it‘s not exactly a bumper sticker that theresa may can take back to parliament and her opponents want it gone, they don‘t want to garnish around it. the thing i would pick out, in the draft we saw before the whole thing started, there was that lying saying the eu would look at providing, trying to find more reassurance for britain on the backstop and it was cut out, taken out of the text and it must be a huge disappointment for the prime minister. we should not over exaggerate it, the uk was looking forward to a two stage process which would start today and continue with officials working on more language, more reassurances and interpretations. there is not going to bea interpretations. there is not going to be a formal process, but listen

carefully, not going to be a formal process , carefully, not going to be a formal process, that means you can have an informal thing which does not look like a process, i think of the uk comes forward in private, with some precise things they want, may be a document the uk can sign up to, some language that you can come up with or something, a precise idea rather than just or something, a precise idea rather thanjust a or something, a precise idea rather than just a vague guarantee then i think the eu would be prepared to consider it and i do wonder if that is what theresa may was doing when she had a series of low—key meetings with other people like emmanuel macron and angela merkel, it‘s all designed to be done away from the cameras. she was making it clear the talking was continuing. it will not be done in a high profile way like this, then the day before the meaningful vote in westminster or the week before when it finally comes in january, will some reissuance be forthcoming? it works for the eu because they don‘t have to see their concessions ripped

apart in the newspapers and it works for theresa may and think about the sense of drama when brexit day is even closer than it is now under reassurance that might have looked a bit rubbish today might look much more impressive when it‘s on the 17th of january. more impressive when it‘s on the 17th ofjanuary. a more impressive when it‘s on the 17th of january. a rabbit more impressive when it‘s on the 17th ofjanuary. a rabbit out of more impressive when it‘s on the 17th of january. a rabbit out of the hat maybe? thank you adam flemming, our brussels reporter. let‘s go to westminster and see what they are making of it, chris mason our political correspondent can tell us. it was interesting listening to jean—claude junker, saying he it was interesting listening to jean—claudejunker, saying he was watching the debate in the house of commons and horrified at the tone of the debate and that is what he was talking about when he said the word nebulous, but what our politicians making about what is happening here? the interesting thing picking up on that conversation with adam is, and to continue with the animal theme are talking about rabbits out of hats is whether we will get a mirror image in the next few days

potentially in the next few weeks after christmas, whether it is simplya after christmas, whether it is simply a big gap between what is perceived to be something significant in brussels and whitehall and how it goes down here. you will remember a couple of years ago the whole business, the whole renegotiation david cameron went through before the eu referendum where there was a sense in brussels and whitehall that the prime minister vein, had secured some pretty significant concessions and yet they were perceived by many here particularly on the brexit side as adding up to not much. the prime minister coming back with an elephant but it‘s perceived to be a mouse, there is a difference in interpretation of scale of what is achieved. in the short term the prime minister will return to london, go to mps on monday for the usual reporting back of an eu summit and frankly she won‘t have a vast amount to be able to say as adam was reflecting on, a 42nd explanation at

best to try and talk about the garnish the eu has vaguely talked about in terms of reassurance. this hoped—for potential breakthrough following on from these private discussions at the end of the summit that adam was speculating about but that‘s not going to amount to anything one would assume that the prime minister can elaborate on and any detail come monday so it could be yet another, and there have been cou ntless be yet another, and there have been countless ones of these in the last few weeks, afternoon where the prime minister stands before mp‘s and has a rough ride for a long time. then i guess she will hope things go a little quiet for a couple of weeks over christmas and potentially through whichever channel she can they try and find something she can attach to the conversation before that meaningful vote in the middle of january. as things stand it does not seem like she can come back with anything that would substantially shift the dial because she could persuade dozens and dozens and dozens

persuade dozens and dozens and d oze ns of persuade dozens and dozens and dozens of conservative mp‘s onto her side of the argument from the opposing side of the argument and still not have the numbers to get it through. thanks very much indeed. the prime minister has now left the summit, heading back to london at the end of a summit that as we have been hearing has given her some things but other things she might have wa nted things but other things she might have wanted she‘s been disappointed about, nothing you could call a game changer in her attempts to get her brexit deal through the british parliament. lets hear from the lets hearfrom the irish prime minister leo varadkar, he has been talking here in the last half an hour or so at the end of the summit and giving us his take on the whole irish backstop issue and the withdrawal agreement itself. the major topic of discussion from our point of view at the summit was brexit and finalising the withdrawal

agreement. getting it over the line which we are very keen to do. i am satisfied with the draft conclusions which were agreed last night. those conclusions say we endorse the withdrawal agreement. we will proceed with its ratification and it is not open for renegotiation. we also reemphasised our wish to develop a close relationship with the united kingdom after it leaves the united kingdom after it leaves the european union and we want to embark on discussions on the future relationship as soon as the withdrawal agreement is ratified by westminster. we reemphasised that we will make our best endeavours to ensure its concluded expeditiously so it‘s not necessary to extend the transition phase or invoke the backstop. the european council also underlined its support for the backstop as an insurance policy to avoid a hard border and also emphasise that it had to form part of the withdrawal agreement and i should say even though this may not

be fully appreciated all the 27 prime minister‘s and their delegations understand that the backstop relating to ireland, the protocol in ireland and northern ireland is not just protocol in ireland and northern ireland is notjust an irish issue, it is there for three reasons essentially, it is their first of all to ensure there is no hard border on our ireland between the northern and republic of ireland thus securing the peace and the good friday agreement. secondly it is there to make sure that the open border does not become a back door to the single market, it‘s about the integrity of the single market as well and making sure that border which will remain open does not become the door to the single market because it‘s not just become the door to the single market because it‘s notjust a political border between ireland and the united kingdom, it is also a border between the european union and what will become a third country. and for a third reason which is to make sure that no side is able to use the threat of a hard border as leverage

in the negotiations on the future relationship because the backstop by definition puts in place a legal assurance there can never be a hard border on the island of ireland no matter what the circumstances, it is an all—weather guarantee. matter what the circumstances, it is an all-weather guarantee. the irish taoiseach leo varadkar. theresa may are leaving the summit, she said when she arrived here yesterday that there would not be any immediate breakthrough, she did not expect that and she‘s not got it. she might have got some progress here and they are, might be disappointed with some of the text released and perhaps the atmosphere where eu leaders were saying she needed to be clear in her presentation of exactly what britain wa nts presentation of exactly what britain wants in terms of selling this brexit deal to the house of commons, she said in response to that she had been crystal clear. there had been disagreements but at the end of it all donald tusk and jean—claude

juncker praising her and seeing she isa juncker praising her and seeing she is a good friend of theirs and the eu's. is a good friend of theirs and the eu‘s. that‘s the latest from brussels. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker. mrjuncker counters, saying he wasn‘t referring to mrs may in his "nebulous" comment but the overall state of the brexit debate in britain. president trump‘s former lawyer, michael cohen, says the president knew it was wrong to order the payment of hush money to two women who alleged affairs with him. and chelsea have condemned fans who sang anti—semitic chants during last night europa league game saying they have shamed the club. it comes after allegations of racist abuse directed at raheem sterling last weekend. ashley giles is confirmed as the new director of cricket for england are replacing andrew strauss as the national team gears up for a home

world cup and ashes series. and the battle of the paralympic superstars, kadeena cox beats dame sarah storey to win britain‘s first ever track world cup pa ra— to win britain‘s first ever track world cup para— cycling gold medal. donald trump‘s former lawyer says the president directed him to pay money to two women who alleged having sexual affairs with him. in an exclusive interview with abc news‘ george stephanopoulos, michael cohen, who‘s been sentenced to three years in jail, said mr trump acted because he was very concerned the allegations would become public. he directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters. including the one with mcdougall which was really between him and david packer and then david pecker‘s council. ijust reviewed the documents in order to protect him. i gave loyalty to

someone who truthfully does not deserve loyalty. he was trying to hide what you are doing, correct? correct. and he knew it was wrong? of course. looking back did you know what you were doing? of course. looking back did you know what you were doing ?|j of course. looking back did you know what you were doing? i am angry with myself because i knew what i was doing was wrong, i stood up before the world yesterday and i accepted the world yesterday and i accepted the responsibility for my actions. the actions that i gave to a man who asi the actions that i gave to a man who as i also said in my elocution i was loyal to. i should as i also said in my elocution i was loyal to. ishould not as i also said in my elocution i was loyal to. i should not be the only one taking responsibility for his actions. so he is still lying? yes. we can speak to our washington correspondent gary o‘donoghue iam i am wondering how worried president trump must be watching interviews like this? we don't yet know is the honest truth. that‘s a little surprising because everyone has been

sitting around frantically refreshing their feeds of twitter etc waiting for some kind of response from the president to this interview. so far there has been zilch. i imagine he‘s pretty seething in the sense that what michael cohen has done is put the president slap bang in the middle of a great big conspiracy to break election law and a conspiracy then makes it more of a crime rather than a civil offence. bear in mind i think this is one convicted liar accusing someone else of being a liar so you have to take that into account. but at this sort of stage there is a feeling i think that perhaps there‘s not much in it for him to continue to make stuff up. and of course the special counsel robert miller are looking into those allegations of russian collision has said that michael cohen has been helpful and credible in the assistance he‘s been giving to that enquiry. making the point that

nothing went through the trump organisation without trump knowing about it. absolutely right, he said everything was run by him, he would bark out orders and they would get done. in one of these deals involving karen mcdougal, she was the playboy centrefold back in 2015, michael cohen effectively says the deal which was done with the publisher of national enquirer to pay money to her in order to keep the story quiet was organised with trump in the room with the head of emi, david, he said he did not organise that, he was on looking at sorting out the documents and am! is working with authorities and the intention of the payment was to assist the president and keep things quiet. good to talk to you gary,

thank you. french authorities say a fourth person has died following the attack at christmas market in strasbourg on tuesday. the market reopened today with tight security. police in the french city are questioning relatives of the attacker cherif chekatt, who was killed in a shoot out with police on thursday night. a 16—year—old boy who carried out a horrific attack on a lithuanian schoolgirl before dumping her body on a park bench has been found guilty of rape and murder. the body of 14—year—old viktorija sokolova was found in a park in wolverhampton in april. it‘s believed the boy used a hammer to batter her to death, and had originally persuaded her over facebook to meet him. a five—week—old baby who was attacked by two dogs near peterborough last month, has died. reuben mcnulty was seriously injured after the incident in yaxley, cambridgeshire. the family‘s two staffordshire bull terriers have now been destroyed. the award—winning rapperj hus has been jailed for eight months for carrying a knife outside

a shopping centre in east london. the musician appeared at snaresbrook crown court under his real name momodou jallow. the court heard the 22—year—old had six previous convictions for ten offences, going back to 2011. a british yachtswoman whose boat capsized in a storm in the south pacific has finally arrived in chile, a week after being rescued by a cargo ship. susie goodall, who‘s 29, had been competing in the solo golden globe round the world race. she spent two days adrift in her damaged boat before she could be picked up by a chinese cargo ship. and these are the first pictures of her stepping on to dry land. well, our correspondent duncan kennedy has been at her yacht club on the isle of wight. she has just reached land she hasjust reached land in chile after spending a week on a freighter which brought her back from 2000 miles out in the southern ocean and the two days before that she was on

a yacht that had been wrecked by a storm, lost to the mast, very much nearly in fear of her life. managed to get the distress signal out, a passing freighter came and picked herup and passing freighter came and picked her up and brought her back to shore. somebody who knows her very well is ben here, then, the fact she‘s made a land? well is ben here, then, the fact she's made a land? fantastic news for herand she's made a land? fantastic news for her and the family and her supporters. the experience she has been through in the middle of the southern ocean, one of the most remote places on the planet. such good fortune there was a ship with the ability to get alongside her safely, in those conditions are real test to get her on board safely back to land. how resilient is she to have survived this? usually, when we first heard the broadcast of her radio call out, yes she was shaking and you could hear she was calm and thought through it, the level of resiliency quite remarkable. we

trained and worked here as instructors and always hugely positive and committed, very proactive person. the third sailor to be rescued as part of this race, any reason to call them off because of the dangers? absolutely the opposite! they are one of the few things are left out there which show a real test of human fortitude and courage and adventure. the sailors are all well prepared. a rocket plane belonging to the virgin galactic space programme has successfully blasted to the edge of space, reaching 50 miles above the earth. we‘ve just had these pictures — this is an in flight video of virgin galactic‘s spaceshiptwo, vss unity, soaring to the edge of space, having been released at 50,000 feet from its mothership. time for a look at the weather.

we have got warnings and they are serious. looks like it‘ll be quite a dangerous situation, snow and freezing rain bringing severe ice. i will start by showing you the setup, we‘ve had very cold air moving off in your continent and high pressure over scandinavia and it‘s been a severe wind chill, strong winds too. the orange colours moving from the south—west, moisture filled milder air moving in an area of low pressure and this is often how we get the snowfall during the winter in the uk, it‘s this moisture bumping into the cold air which will turn into snow and freezing rain and all the ice but notice how tightly packed the isobars are, looking at severe gales too. you‘re using the term freezing rain,

is that not hailstones? it's is that not hailstones? it‘s not, a lot of people do not know what frozen rain is in this country, it‘s actually super cool rainwater which starts in the cloud as snowflakes, moves to a layer of slightly warmer air because we will get the milder air moving in, it melts but ends up being super cool, droplets of liquid just below freezing and the minute it falls on the ground whatever it touches, pavements, fences, roads instantly turn to ice. what about your face, does that feel like ice? it will not freeze in your face, it is warm. but on a cold surface it will instantly freeze. in america they are used to it, ice storms, i don‘t know if you‘ve seen pictures of pylons covered in ice and collapsing from the weight, trees and power lines and things, it causes a lot of damage. this is what we‘ve got, amber warnings in force

for snow and ice across meant central northern areas. the warning areas to show for the ice risk extends, freezing rain risk, the north midlands much of northern england into central and southern scotla nd england into central and southern scotland and also some heavy snow as well for its central portions of scotla nd well for its central portions of scotland so an amber warning, a lot of people out, one of the busiest weekends in the run—up to christmas. quite a few sporting events going on, people heading out for that too. it could be really dangerous. we need to keep watching the forecast because those maps change as we get closer. absolutely, but quite certain on this and quite a lot of urgency people should be aware of this ice risk. but it‘s a short lived spell into next week turning milder and the run—up to christmas looks like it could be wet and windy at times but on the milder side. a short lived severe cold snap. and the first significant one of the season. it has been cold the last few days.

chillier today. weather fronts pushing into northern ireland bringing thicker cloud. it is going to bea bringing thicker cloud. it is going to be a cold evening. under the clear skies tonight, much like last may will turn colder the widespread frost but we have the weather system pushing into southern and western areas with outbreaks of rain. milder air getting areas with outbreaks of rain. milder airgetting in. areas with outbreaks of rain. milder air getting in. but some of the rain turning to sleet and snow in the rest of the uk. this is the area of low pressure moving from the south—west. as it pushes into the cold air, this is where will see the disruptive snow and ice and freezing rain. with all this going on, there will be disruption. you have to stay tuned. this is the pick of the saturday, central and eastern areas, cold and frosty start and the rain

will be piling in two southern and western areas. going to be wet the central and southern england. it will be rain as the milder air will be getting in. there could be some standing water and minor flooding. further east, wet snow at east anglia, northern and central and southern scotland. turning back to rain across england but we have the problem of freezing rain so ice will bea problem of freezing rain so ice will be a risk. over the hills, maybe 20 centimetres. significant disruption to the higher roots. and with the wind strengthening, we will see blizzards and also drifting snow. the wind will be a feature across central and southern parts of the country. gales up to 60 mph and maybe more. it could be quite disruptive to end the day. as we head into sunday, something quieter as the low clears the north and ta kes as the low clears the north and takes it snow and sleet with it. watch out for a legacy of ice across

northern areas. the milder air will slowly be getting into central and southern parts. temperatures creeping up close to 10 celsius. a brighter day for sunday with some sunshine but showers across the south on the west. stay tuned to the forecast and head onto the bbc weather website to check out the latest warnings. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: theresa may insists the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker. mrjuncker denies calling mrs may "nebulous" saying he was describing the overall state of the brexit debate in britain. he says there was no will to reopen negotiations on the withdrawal agreement. president trump‘s former lawyer, michael cohen, says the president knew it was wrong to order the payment of hush money to two women who alleged affairs with him. chelsea football club is in trouble again — this time over anti—semitic songs just days after four fans

were suspended for racist chanting. the british yachtswoman susie goodall, whose boat capsized in a solo round the world race, arrives safely in chile. we are talking about chelsea and problems with a small number of fans? twice in the space of a week. there were problems at stamford bridge at the weekend. now i wait in the europa league as well. widespread condemnation for what is, the club insist the minority of theirfans. the the club insist the minority of their fans. the anti—discrimination group fair believed the football fa ns group fair believed the football fans are using it as a cover for their own racism and prejudice. they think it is a wide indication of the political situation in great

britain. chelsea condemned a minority of their fans for anti—semitic chants during their 2—2 draw in hungary last night. four of them were banned after racially abusing the manchester city player raheem sterling. chelsea have said it is apparent, behaviour like this brings shame on the club. but a lot of reflection in football about the wider problem about a lack of inclusion in the sport. discrimination in general as raheem sterling said, media representation of white players versus black players. i‘m chris hughton, the manager brighton & hove albion, he was asked about it in his press conference. he has spoken a lot about prejudice, inclusion and respect. this is what he had to say. any racial events in our game, which we are trying as hard as we can to eradicate, are always going to happen. you hope, you hope that it

is something that doesn't escalate. sometimes when times are hard, they become more prevalent. but racism holds no place in our game. it holds low place in society. but unfortunately there are always going to be incidences. perhaps he was picking up on the sentiment from fairas picking up on the sentiment from fair as well, it is the political atmosphere perhaps? a wider reflection on the rise of the right across europe at the moment which means some fans may be in more of a position to express their prejudices. let‘s talk aboutjose mourinho, big match against liverpool. always a big match, those bitter rivals. standby for a classic jose mourinho obscure analogy. this is about a lack of investment. he it‘s not the only reason for

liverpool‘s 16 point lead over his manchester united side. liverpool have spent around £100 million more than one chest united in the summer, butjose mourinho than one chest united in the summer, but jose mourinho has than one chest united in the summer, butjose mourinho has suggested other reasons are preventing his tea m other reasons are preventing his team from competing at the top.“ is notjust team from competing at the top.“ is not just about spending team from competing at the top.“ is notjust about spending money team from competing at the top.“ is not just about spending money and strengthening the squad. a football team is more than that, a football team is more than that, a football team is more than that, a football team is not just team is more than that, a football team is notjust about spending the money. the football team is a bit like a house. house is notjust about your furniture. you have to do work in the house and when the house is ready, then you by the furniture and you spend money on the best possible furniture and then you are ready to live in an amazing house. does he feel at home in what could be an amazing house? ashley giles has been confirmed as england‘s new managing director of cricket. he sta rts managing director of cricket. he starts next month and will be

responsible for the strategy coaching and management. he comes at a critical time with the whole world cup and ashes season next summer. he replaces andrew strauss, who stepped down due to his wife undergoing cancer treatment. kadeena cox, the first british para a hint to win gold medals at two sports in rio has won britain‘s first track world cup para— cycling won britain‘s first track world cup pa ra— cycling title won britain‘s first track world cup para— cycling title and had to be britain‘s most successful paralympian, dame sarah storey to do it. it was a bit of a surprise, i have only been back a week so to pull out a half decent time, i was happy. quicker than i have pull out a half decent time, i was happy. quickerthan i have been going in training. i guess performing on the world stage is what i like doing. and beating a certain dame? it is not her main event so i guess i will take this on. that is all the sport from me, have a very good weekend. now on afternoon live,

let‘s go nationwide and see what‘s happening around the country, in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. ‘peter cooke is in southampton to tell us more about county lines —— how affluent teenagers are being targeted by gangs who come from big cities to sell drugs in the south. and mary rhodes is in birmingham where bin workers will take industrial action over christmas in the latest twist in a dispute which saw rubbish pile up on birmingham‘s streets last year. members of the unite union were balloted towards the end of november, after it was claimed "secret" payments were made to workers, who did not support last year‘s strike action. i have almost given the whole story away. first to peter cooke, who has been investigating gang crime in england and wales. peter you‘ve been hearing how these gangs are recruiting school children to run drugs for them? yes, gangs are no longerjust using

teenagers they know from their own ethnic groups or locality, they are actively recruiting youngsters from established state and public school, outside takeaways and shops because people in school uniform who are sent to deliver drugs in a town or city are less likely to be bigger by the place. i have met one mother whose son was recruited and ruined this way, was promised clothes and french. two years ago her family‘s life was turned upside down. her son ran away nearly 200 times in nine months. he has survived being stabbed by the gang he was trying to leave and now she fears what else children like as could be dragged into. we have hidden her identity to protect her family. is not now limited to one section of society as it may have been before, the fact that my son, from a very good school with a distinctive school uniform, very well spoken, respectable kid, he's never going to be stopped by the police.

he's a good bet, he's a clean skin and those who are pulling the strings don't get their hands dirty if he's picked up. you've got a kid who's doing you want them to do, what is to say that they're not then going to be taken to the next step? and for me, the next step is radicalisation. you mention this was a growing problem, how big is it? nearly 90% of problem, how big is it? nearly 9096 of police forces say they have seen cou nty of police forces say they have seen county line activity and this involves the use of weapons, including knives and sometimes guns. the south suffers more than most given the number of counties with close proximity to london where many of these gangs are based. across hampshire, dorset and the thames valley, nearly 250 children from the capital have been arrested in the last 18 months and the mother we spoke to say she fears for her son‘s future. what ever plans, hopes you had for your son or your child,

they don't exist in that way that they did before this started. so you are now happy if you are just accepting the very bare minimum and that very bare minimum at the moment looks like keeping him alive. the police say a dozen just bring misery for local users were floods the area with drugs which in turn leads to violence. the major drug dealerfrom london has been sentenced to six years after setting up sentenced to six years after setting up its operation in southampton. two fellow gang members were arrested for the attempted murder of a man in a city. detectives are looking into the attempted murder of a young boy in oxford, which was linked to cou nty in oxford, which was linked to county lines. peter, presumably you will have more at 6:30pm on bbc one? yes, that‘s right. will have more at 6:30pm on bbc one? yes, that's right. mary, what is

this action about? it is about alleged payments to some bin collectors during a long—running dispute. last year, the rubbish piled up on the streets for about three months. unite union say members in birmingham have been denied a council payment which they say was giving to gmb workers who didn‘t go on strike last year. gmb say this is inaccurate and misleading. thousands of tonnes of rubbish was piled up in bin bags on the streets for three months last summer as a result of collectors going on strike. that was called over the council‘s attempt to modernise the service and save £5 million a year which threatened more than 100 jobs. according to unite, the ballot resulted in a 72% turnout, 92% of those who voted agree to take some form of action. the union says there is still an opportunity to avoid that. we have taken the decision to give the

council the opportunity to consider their position and an opportunity to return to us. we are conscious about the disruption back can because the people of birmingham and we have given the council an opportunity to come back to put right what they have put wrong in the first place. if they don't, this dispute will be escalated very quickly and then the council will have two answer the people of birmingham. when does it start? unite said the work to rule sta rts start? unite said the work to rule starts on the 29th of december. that means it could escalate to a full on strike, so at the moment workers will be only doing their contract shall hours and returning to base for their breaks. there is likely to bea for their breaks. there is likely to be a repeat scenes last summer which involves infestation of flies, mice and rats. the council have said they

have asked the unite union to suspend industrially action while they take this dispute to the conciliation service. we will have plenty more of this at 6:30 p:m.. mary, thank you and peter cook, welcome to the... i have forgotten the name of this programme, nationwide. it has been a long week. when you stand out in the cold your mind is addled. thank you, mary. if you would like to see more on any of those stories you can access them via the bbc iplayer and remember we go nationwide every weekday afternoon at 4:30pm here on afternoon live. the army has failed to meet its recruiting targets every year

since it outsourced the contract to the private company, capita — that‘s the finding of a report by the watchdog that oversees public spending. the national audit office says it problems left recruits waiting almost 11 months to start basic training — and that nearly half of those applying dropped out during the process. our defence correspondentjonathan beale says this goes back to a 2012 decision to give the contract to capita — intending to save money. the army closed down recruiting offices in the high street and had a centralised online application process. the system hasn‘t been working properly, it is four years later and over budget and it is taking would be applicants 321 days to get through the applications and half of the people are dropping out. it is called trs, defence recruitment system. some soldiers

call it doesn‘t recruit soldiers. capita and the army said they underestimated the complex city of the system but insist it is improving. but they don‘t think they will be hitting their recruitment targets for new soldiers until 2022 which is when capita contract runs out. i just want to show you some pictures from brussels taken earlier this morning at the european parliament, where we see an unusual greeting by the president of the european commission, jean claude—juncker. here we see mrjuncker saying hello to people on his way in to the building when he appears to flick the hair of a female colleague back and forth. the woman in question is pernilla sjolin, deputy head of protocol, european commission. let‘s have another quick look and katie cannot believe what you saw.

no, we‘re not seeing it again, it will be seared into your meram daily—macro memory. what would you say that was, over friendly? maybe it was inappropriate? it hasn‘t happened to me in many years. headlines in a moment, but first let‘s bring you the headlines. theresa may says the eu is prepared to give further assurances about the brexit deal — but admits having a "robust" conversation with the european commission president jean—claude juncker. mrjuncker counters saying he wasn‘t referring to mrs may in his "nebulous" comment but the overall state of the brexit debate in britain. president trump‘s former lawyer, michael cohen, says the president knew it was wrong to order the payment of hush money to two

women who alleged affairs with him. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. a new report suggests wages are still worth around a third less than they were a decade ago, in some areas. research from the trades union congress the tuc shows the average worker has lost nearly £12,000 in real earnings since 2008. travellers at some uk airports are being offered little more than one us dollarfor each of their pounds, following a month of brexit uncertainty. those exchanging pounds at the uk‘s biggestairport, heathrow, are finding as little as $1.05 coming back across the counter. and — one in seven homes could be paying more than they need to for broadband and could get faster services for the same or less money. that‘s according to the regulator ofcom. new research suggests that half of uk homes have not taken up faster services even when they are available. let‘s get a bit more

on these stories now and first, theo, wages. we heard a couple of days ago that wages are rising faster than inflation, the fastest in ten years. but the past ten years have been awful. according to analysis from the tuc, one inflation has been taken into account, british workers have lost nearly £12,000 on average over the past decade. their pay packets haven‘t kept up with rising prices. and in some more affluent parts of the country, their pay packet is about a third thinner than it should be. we normally take a look at the markets, but this week has been a roller—coaster? look at the markets, but this week has been a roller-coaster? you might remember some of the developments we have seen this week, simon? we had the cancellation of the vote in parliament on the brexit deal. then later on we had the calling of the vote of confidence and theresa may won the vote and then went back to

the european union trying to get an improvement on the deal. the markets have been reflecting this uncertainty. shares dipped at the start, they rallied a bit after the vote of confidence and now the ftse 100 is heading into the weekend down on the day but in positive territory for the week. the pound has been wavering? that has been significant and it has lost against the dollar and it has lost against the dollar and your the euro. more against the dollar because the euro is so weak. but it has tracked political developments very closely. the fall ofa developments very closely. the fall of a couple of cents on the week is an great if you need to get dollars and so on. but the question now is, with this uncertainty, how far will it go? simon derrick, chief markets strategist, bank markets strategist, bank of new york mellon. with all this uncertainty, there is no sign of it coming to an end, so

where will the pound go from here? that depends what happens over the next six weeks. there is a wide range of possibilities. in some ways we have seen whether pound is a bit like a rabbit in the headlights. given there are so many possibilities, it cannot decide which way to go. what you are seeing isa which way to go. what you are seeing is a bit ofa which way to go. what you are seeing is a bit of a rise in the cost of insuring against volatility. we have the same levels you would have seen going into the referendum in 2016. people have the view that there could be an extreme move in either direction, but the key is, either direction. the only good news for the pound this week is when we saw theresa may win the confidence vote. that has given it a little bit more stability. you can see quite clearly, in a thin market, bad news can hit it quite badly. if we get into the second or third week in

january and no sign of a breakthrough, presumably we will see further falls? at that point people will start to think, if we cannot get a deal through, what is the default position? the default position is without any agreement in parliament, we end up with no—deal brexit. if we get most towards the january the 21st date without the sign ofany january the 21st date without the sign of any material change, sterling could come under real pressure. last year‘s loews where a little over 1.20 and the historic lows, they are set in 1985 below 1.10. soa lows, they are set in 1985 below 1.10. so a little bit of space.|j lows, they are set in 1985 below 1.10. so a little bit of space. i am looking at the share markets and often we see the ftse100 rallying when the pound falls because a lot of companies on the listing earned their money abroad and bring it back, report their profits in pounds. but we‘re not seeing it at the moment, is it a sign the uncertainty is rattling the share markets as well? i think it is. it

is not just markets as well? i think it is. it is notjust the uk, france and china have had particular issues in recent weeks. but when it comes to the uk, it is about the broader, brexit story. you are right, we aren‘t getting the same lifts from the ftse 100 companies you would expect when we see the sterling weakened. that is an indicator as to how nervous this market is. nobody knows where it‘s going to go. thank you very much. let‘s catch up with the markets. there they are. the ftse 100 is up on the week but is down 0.5% on the day. the dow is down quite sharply, 1.5%. the pound against the euro, as you can see, not worth a great deal compared to what we had a few months ago, particularly against the dollar. in may, £1 is worth about 1.40 8 cents.

thank you very much. a statue of emmeline pankhurst has been unveiled in st peter‘s square in manchester to mark 100 years since the day women voted for the first time in a general election. thousands marched from the pankhurst centre, the birthplace of the suffragette movement, to st peter‘s square beforehand. a young girl from a local school made the case for the statue to the council. as a young person this statue means a lot to me and my generation as a symbol of a woman who did good for the women of manchester, a symbol of quality and a symbol of manchester being a modern, forward—looking city. i look forward to the future. three, two, one... cheering and applause. isn't she amazing?

rightfully here as well. that‘s it from your afternoon live team for today, next the bbc news at 5. now, let's get the weather. severe weather on its way for the weekend. likely to lead to disruption but more on that in a moment. this evening, overnight will be cold and dry apart from a few wintry showers in the east. rain will be gathering out west turning to snow across western fringes of the country as it begins to push into this cold air and it will be

another cold night. particularly frosty for saturday morning across central and eastern areas. this area of low pressure running into the cold earth across the uk will bring the strong winds, heavy rain and also the snow and the ice. the met office have issued an amber warning for snow and ice on saturday and sunday across central and northern parts of the uk. likely to cause significant disruption in places and the snow could be heavy with blizzard conditions over the hills and the north as we will also have very strong winds. this disruption is likely so is it to your bbc local radio. the west will be turning wetter and windier and this rain will turn increasingly to snow. for northern ireland, wales, central and southern england it will be wept throughout the day and increasingly windy. we could see some localised flooding in places from this heavy rain. on its leading edge, we see the sleet and the snow from east

anglia east midlands into northern england and on to scotland where we could see up to five centimetres on lower levels. maybe more through the central belt and up to 20 centimetres over the higher grounds. with the wind chill, we see some drifting and blizzard conditions. this heavy snow will continue to much of scotland during saturday night and into sunday morning. the swathe of gales of fact england and wales as we head into sunday morning. the whole system continues to push north into the north sea. little bit of a breather on sunday. severe weather clearing away from central and northern scotland, taking sleet and snow with it but ice will remain a problem. further south, brighter through sunday with good spells of sunshine, although there will be heavy and blustery showers. something milder moving into most areas. today at five — theresa may fights to save her brexit deal. she leaves the summit here in brussels still looking for more concessions from the eu.

the prime minister admits having ‘robust‘ conversations at the summit — but insists she can still win the assurances she needs to sell the deal at westminster. i reiterated that it is in the interest of the eu as well as the uk to get this over the line. a disorderly brexit would be good for no one. eu leaders say they want to help mrs may get her brexit deal through parliament but won‘t reopen negotiations on the agreement itself. we have to exclude any kind of