hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at two: scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. senior mps from both sides of the commons join forces in a bid to stop a no—deal brexit. the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. isaid a i said a process used against me was unfair, are and biased, tainted by bias. i also said i was not guilty of any criminality. the first of these has been established, the second is to come. and a fear of more avalanches in the alps after heavy snowfalls kill several skiers and climbers. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. padre carrington will be europe's

next ryder cup captain. he will be in charge of the team going to wisconsin in 2020. more at half—past. and the lifeboats are out! you've been working so hard lately simon, i think you need some relaxation. i'll be taking you through idea at the beachin be taking you through idea at the beach in an hour. —— a day. also coming up: it could climb a five—foot wall and jump a five foot gap — and could prove invaluable to emergency rescues following natural disasters? this walking 4x4just one of the concepts being unveiled at a show in las vegas. hello, everyone.

this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. if you were watching afternoon live yesterday you will have seen — and heard — it all for yourselves. the moment mp anna soubry was shouted down as a "nazi" whilst i interviewed her and that was followed by unpleasent scenes as she was jostled and baracked as she crossed the road to parliament. unpleasant, yes, but against the law? well, that's something scotland yard says it's now investigating. and commons speakerjohn bercow has demanded police tackle what he calls "aggressive, threatening and intimidating" behaviour towards politicians outside parliament. it is frankly intolerable if members of parliament and journalists go about their business in fear. this situation cannot stand. i have written with force, passion and politeness to the commissioner of the metropolitan police seeking a

review of policy. today there were more officers on duty outside the houses of parliament, but we and the protesters weren't there. scotland yard says it's reassessing the situation in westminster and is looking into whether any laws were broken yeterday. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw has been speaking to deputy assistant commissioner laurence taylor, commander for brexit preparations, about the situation. it is important to realise that policing brexit is challenging. it isa policing brexit is challenging. it is a contentious issue with opposing views from a number of people. our role in the police service is to the saudi people's motor protest by balancing rights to everybody including politicians, members of the public and protesters —— our role is to police people's right to

protest. we take any allegation of criminal offence very seriously. we have taken all the allegations from yesterday, we are looking into all of those and taking advice as to whether any of the incidents yesterday make any criminal thresholds and then we can determine which action we might want to take according to the outcome of that investigation. inside parliament, senior mps from both sides of the commons have joined forces to try to stop a no—deal brexit. they're using an amendment which would give the government powers to amend tax laws to make them work after brexit only if a deal is agreed. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. —— vicki young. this is parliament trying to assert itself. people look at the situation with brexit, at the moment there is a deal that doesn't seem to have the backing of parliament and everyone was legally that the position is the uk would leave the eu on march 29 without a deal and yet there are

dozens, hundreds of mps who say that they will not allow that to happen so they will not allow that to happen so the question you always get is, how can they stop that happening given it is the legal default position? i think this is an example of the kind of way they would try to do it, by amending laws, legislation thatis do it, by amending laws, legislation that is going to the house of commons, and there's a lot of it to get through. this particular one is the finance bill which puts the budget effectively into law. today, downing street and the prime minister's official spokesman spoke about this via yvette cooper and said the effects are not desirable but would be more significant. it could show the numbers in the house of parliament and house of commons againstan of parliament and house of commons against an ordeal scenario —— no deal scenario. if there is a majority against no deal, it becomes difficult to govern if you are the government is trying to do that and

can't get legislation through, you have numinous mps, especially those on your own site, trying to stop it, trying to change bill is going through parliament, so that makes it very difficult and it shows yet again that when it comes to brexit, not having that large majority that theresa may was hoping for before the general election, it's making life very difficult for her. the other top doing the rounds is that there may be a push to delay article 50 -- there may be a push to delay article 50 —— other top. that was denied by the brexit secretary but without we on that? this came up at a briefing for journalists, the on that? this came up at a briefing forjournalists, the prime minister's official spokesman was asked and he said it is not the case and the prime minister reaffirmed during the cabinet meeting that it is not policy or the position of the uk government to extend article 50. this comes from newspaper reports saying that eu officials were telling people that people from the uk side, uk officials, were putting

out feelers to see whether it was likely to be possible. the point about extending article 50 is that the government would have to want to do it first of all and every eu country has to do with it and the eu has made it pretty clear they would only do so if it was for a particular reason, if it wasn't so that the uk government had time to get a certain piece of legislation through parliament for example. they would not just through parliament for example. they would notjust indefinitely decide if they were going to extend article 50 so at the moment it doesn't seem to be something that is being seriously looked at and theresa may denying that it is government policy doesn't mean, depending on what happens next week, that it is off the cars completely. adam fleming joins me from brussels. this was a source as saying uk officials were testing the waters about postponing brexit. is now evidence of that beyond what the telegraph says they have seen. i have not been able to any eu

officials on the receiving end of any feelers about extending article 50 but when you mention it here, officials say it is logical for british officials to do that because they did not invent the concept of extending article 50, the authors of article 50 dead. it says in black and white that the authors can —— the authors of article 50 did. they are getting their ducks in a row for looking at other options. when vicky talks about the default option in westminster being no deal, brussels says the default could be extending article 50, you just don't want to do it. at interesting. the point is each eu member individually has to give the 0k to this. someone might wa nt to give the 0k to this. someone might want to cause a problem. when you talk to people, they say this

probably wouldn't be a problem with the uk did eventually ask for it to be extended and is the was saying, it has to be one of two conditions, either a short technical extension to help legislation gets through westminster and get the deal in place domestically, or it's because there has been a big change in the political in the uk, a referendum on election on the horizon or a policy about brexit so it would be difficult to fulfil one of those two conditions. there is a lot of discussion and theory about how long discussion and theory about how long discussion could last for. would it last for a maximum of up to the 23rd of may because that is when the european parliament elections take place? could the uk take part in elections if it wasn't going to be a member state? could it be later, the ist ofjuly because the new european parliament doesn't take up its seats until then. there's lots of speculation but it is a bit of a parlour game speculation but it is a bit of a parlourgame in speculation but it is a bit of a parlour game in brussels rather than something official that's going to happen. there's a sense of deja vu

again about everything. next tuesday is going to devote and they will be watching the television they are as much as they are here. of course, although you get a lot of speculation here that theresa may is going to lose the vote and will not get the deal through parliament and it is only there that the eu will act together for the reassurances. then you speak to people who say, thatis then you speak to people who say, that is —— there might be taught from donald tusk orjean—claude juncker about the backstop but it would be setting out the position on the backstop, not changing the content, and the eu says we have already set out our position on the backstop. it came in at the dim sum at conclusion from eu leaders when they met at the week before christmas. they are prepared to clarify what they see as misunderstandings about the backstop but they will not change the deal

u nless but they will not change the deal unless something really, really drastic happens in the uk. strangely, no one is talking about the channel four brexit movie from last night. no one has seen it yet! thanks for bringing that up, great publicity for channel four! the scottish government acted unlawfully while investigating sexual harassment claims against former first minister alex salmond, a judge has ruled. the scottish government now admits it didn't properly follow its own procedures when it investigated the claims. a separate police inquiry is taking place into the allegations against mr salmond, which he denies. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is at the court of session in edinburgh. lorna. this was a fairly dramatic events today. . yes, and caught on camera as well so people who were not in the courtroom see the arguments, the

submissions being made. this was a specially convened hearing today and tha nkfully specially convened hearing today and thankfully the scottish government —— and the scottish government did not come out of it looking positive. they were ordered to pay alex salmond's costs. today, the scottish government admitted it breached its own guidelines by pointing an investigating officer that it acted unlawfully and conceded in his legal fight against alex salmond. alex salmond arriving at court for a hearing against the government he used to lead. a review into that government's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct against mr salmond — allegations that he denies. the last time mr salmond was in court room two, in scotland's highest civil court, he was being sworn in as first minister. today, it was to his submissions by his legal team to thejudge, lord pentland, that the scottish government acted

unlawfully while investigating the allegations and that the investigation be dismissed. the decision is unlawful in respect that it was taken in circumstances which were procedurally unfair and in respect that it was tainted by apparent bias. the allegations date back to events alleged to have taken place five years ago in the run—up to the scottish referendum, when mr salmond lived and worked here at bute house, the official residence of a serving first minister. mr salmond was accused of sexual misconduct by two female civil servants. in court, the scottish government admitted to one key mistake in its handling of the complaints, and agreed that its inquiry into the allegations must be set aside. the scottish government now accepts that, in relation to one specific aspect of the procedure, there was a failure, which vitiates the investigation, and hence the decision under challenge. mr salmond called on scotland's most senior civil servant, leslie evans,

who had been in charge of the investigation, to resign. a former first minister of scotland requiring to take the administration of the scottish government to court to establish that point should not have been necessary, and the person who is responsible for that — that institutional failure — the permanent secretary to the scottish government, should consider her position and take the appropriate action. in a statement, the scottish government's permanent secretary, leslie evans, said... the scottish government has said it will consider reinvestigating the complaints, but only once ongoing police have concluded. lorna gordon, bbc news, edinburgh. today was about the handling, not

about the allegations themselves, allegations which alex salmond strongly denies. nicola sturgeon, scotland's first minister, has commented and says that leslie eva ns, commented and says that leslie evans, scotland's top civil servant, has her full evans, scotland's top civil servant, has herfull confidence. ms sturgeon will be making a statement in a couple of hours in the chamber at the scottish parliament. as to mr salmond, he says he is happy and says he is vindicated and will take time to digest the legal position and consider his options going forward. the roof of the home of former russian spy sergei skripal is to be dismantled by military teams in the wake of the novichok attack. detectives believe mr skripal and his daughter yulia first came into contact with the poison when it was sprayed on the door handle of their property.

the operation is part of the clean—up following the attack by russian military intelligence agents last march. officials say the risk to public health remains "low" but wiltshire council has warned neighbours of about four months of disruption. you're watching afternoon live. these are our headlines: scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. senior mps from both sides of the commons join forces in an attempt to stop a no deal brexit. the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. in sport, pod trick harrington is confirmed as the ryder cup captain for the competition in wisconsin in september. gary rowett is sacked from stoke

after eight months. england welcome back commonwealth goldman joe harton as england welcome back commonwealth goldmanjoe harton as the build—up to the netball world cup —— commonwealth gold winner. a bbc investigation has found that young victims of sexual assault aren't being forensically examined in a critical time period at some privately run referral centres. doctors say they've also seen incorrect recording of injuries and evidence contamination. faye kirkland — who is also a gp — has this report for us. we have spoken to eight doctors who wanted to blow the whistle on the poor care in some sexual assault referral centres run by private companies. one doctor, who works across multiple centres and needs to remain anonymous, says she is aware of ten cases where young children were not forensically examined within three days of being assaulted because the staff were not available. ten children missing out on forensic samples is quite a significant number.

when you lose the forensics, that is something you cannot get back. probably a quarter of the statements i look at have something that concerns me. dr helena thornton reviews evidence, typically including videos of genital examinations. i have seen one dvd where gloves were not worn. i have seen one dvd which did not show the injuries that were documented to have been there. it's very distressing when, if... to feel that somebody at their, possibly most vulnerable ever, having been through a traumatic experience, has then been let down. do you think we are letting people down? ido, yeah. the first three days of forensics are crucial for young children. but four doctors have told us that, in the last two years, they have seen cases of young children who have not been

forensically examined within 72 hours, because there has been no—one who has been qualified to examine them. for nine months, the crown prosecution service refused to provide us with an audit of forensic evidence from a centre run by the company primecare produced in 2009. but the information commissioner has now ordered its release. all 13 cases went to court, but the audit reveals widespread failings. only one provided acceptable documentation of injuries. and there were just two cases where the correct forensic samples were taken. in one instance, where a victim was raped, no samples were taken from these areas. in a statement, the cps said the centre fell short of standards but, following the report, they worked alongside the police to formulate an improvement plan. primecare has since been incorporated into allied healthcare. it said the audit was historical and the centre was now run

by a different provider. i think it is absolutely terrible to read that report. i am so shocked. the victims‘ commissioner now wants to see change. i would like to see proper training, not just a two—day training. and i think, more importantly, we need to have annual inspections. if we are not being inspected and accredited, that does not give confidence for victims. nhs england, whojointly commissions the services with police chiefs, said it had not been made aware of the concerns, but called on the doctors to report them to the forensic science regulator. it now says it plans to set up a whistle—blowing hotline for people with concerns. the cqc, the regulator for the health care, says it has now changed the way it inspects services, but we understand this still doesn't include reviewing forensic medical evidence itself. faye kirkland, bbc news. a former youth football coach who was due to go on trial accused of the sexual abuse of boys under 16 has died in a car accident.

peterborough crown court heard that michael "kit" carson was killed in a single—vehicle car crash yesterday. the 75—year—old worked had worked for peterborough united, cambridge united and norwich city football clu bs. at least seven people have died and several others are missing after heavy snow storms in the alps. there are three metres of snow in some areas and more is forecast later in the week. the authorities say skiers face a high avalanche risk across parts of central europe. eliza philippidis reports. roads are blocked, schools are closed. getting out to do the food shop is almost impossible. but, even so, people are trying to clear pathways to get out of their homes. with so much snow already on the ground and more on the way, officials say the chances of further avalanches are high. translation: here in the bavarian alps

it has snowed a lot the last few days. the bavarian avalanche warning institute has issued a level four warning, the second—highest, which also poses a high risk of avalanches in unsecured skiing areas. in central and northern austria, up to 1.5 metres of snow has already fallen since the middle of last week. this greenhouse in salzburg collapsed under the weight of the snow. the fire brigade, with the help of local residents, have been shuffling the snow of the other roofs to try and stop them collapsing. translation: we've tried to get the snow away from between the greenhouses so more snow can escape, to ease the pressure on the building and make it safer. in southern austria, it snowed all day. many roads are blocked. the situation is very difficult. people have been stranded in villages and the helicopters deployed for avalanche control have been grounded because of the bad weather.

translation: more than 500 residents are cut off, but i've spoken with the mayor and he said everyone is calm. with around 80 centimetres of snow forecast in austria from tuesday, things look set to remain difficult. president trump is to make his first primetime tv address to the nation as the partial government shutdown in the united states continues. it's now in it's 18th day, making it the second longest in history. the president is expected to talk about his plans for a border wall with mexico. the cost of the wall is at the heart of the political row with congress that saw nine government departments close on december 22nd. the north korean leader kimjong—un is in beijing for an unannounced visit. it's his fourth summit with his closest ally, president xijinping, and comes amid reports that preparations are under way

for another meeting with president trump. the us president said at the weekend that a location would be announced shortly. china's support is considered crucial for any nuclear deal. our correspondent laura bicker sent us this update. well, the signal's that north korea isjust basically renewing its friendship with china. before last year, kim jong—un had spent six years in power without going to see his closest ally and his main source of both trade and aid — around 80—90% of north korea's trade comes from china. but, if he was going to meet other global leaders, if he was about to step on to the international stage, well, he probably thought it was time that he met president xi in beijing first, before he met other leaders. so, the last time he'd kind of gone to beijing was before, first of all, before his first historic summit with president moonjae—in, and then secondly, before his summit with president trump. so, either he's going perhaps for strategy talks, or he's

going as a courtesy, or a bit of both, to try to show china what it means to north korea. thousands of penguins become stranded on the coastline of south america every year, and most of them are females. why it happens has been a mystery for years, but now scientists believe they may have found the answer. the female penguins travel longer distances for food, making it more likely they get into difficulty. here's our science reporter laura foster. sounds like a donkey, but it is actually a magellanic penguin calling for a mate. and these penguins, they mate for life. but every year, when breeding season is over, they head to the water to feed. not much was known about where they went until recently, when a team of scientists used trackers to follow a small group and found the males and females went different ways. the males, who are bigger and thought to be stronger swimmers, would fish in deeper waters,

whereas the females travelled further, preferring to search for food in shallower places. researchers say because they're tending to swim further, they're more likely to run into trouble. they usually appear stranded on the beach once they die at sea. and other times they arrive to the coast in bad condition, because they were not able to get enough food, and so they go to the beach to die. they found the females would venture further than the males, shown by this highlighted area. some even migrate as far as the waters off southern brazil, whereas the males would be happy travelling just as far as uruguay. this could be of great concern, and in particular because it's the female birds that are being stranded further north. and, of course, they need to be back at their colonies so that they can reproduce, and so they can maintain a viable bird colony and a viable population. the penguins are literally being transported in military aircraft and being flown back south towards their colonies.

it's not known exactly what causes these strandings, but the fishing industry and man—made pollution is often blamed. magellanic penguins aren't endangered, but fewer females could affect future numbers of this species. the team in patagonia are going to continue studying the same group to learn more about the routes they take to see what more can be done to help these penguins. time for a look at the weather. we were talking about beachwear. we were talking about beachwearlj thought we were talking about beachwear.” thought we should cheer you up, you we re thought we should cheer you up, you were standing in the cold yesterday. this is rio. yesterday, a0 degrees

on the beach. sadly for you, we couldn't afford the plane! this is what we got instead. look at this beach near athens today. very unusual but not unheard of. we associate crease with sunshine because it is so far south but it has a large northern area —— we associate greece. a big area of pressure has been pulling down cold air. it is the perfect mixture to produce massive amounts of snow. greece hasn't had the worst of it,

there is worse coming for germany and austria in the next 2a hours. it could be quite serious. closer to home,, there's lows of sun outside, it is better than yesterday, but these are the emergency services in cromer. that's ben —— that a bin lorry! for the next couple of hours, it

could be a wash—out. for the next couple of hours, it could be a wash-out. i'd rather be in westminster! here is the satellite picture, there's a lot of sunshine at the moment. the high pressure is bringing in the northerly breeze. for most of us, it's a dry story with plenty of sunshine, but because the air is coming from the north from an arctic direction, it's a chillierfeel than yesterday, top temperatures of seven to nine celsius. this skies will stay clear through this evening and overnight but the wind will be lighter than that which is a key thing because it means we are setting up for a widespread frost. the frost is not particularly severe, perhaps as low as minus the celsius in rural spots in scotland.

many towns and cities stayjust above but it will be a chilly start to wednesday and a chilly day on the whole. the wind will be a little bit lighter but it will still be coming in from lighter but it will still be coming infrom a lighter but it will still be coming in from a northerly direction, a is a sunshine in the east with sunshine on the north sea, thicker cloud and rainfor on the north sea, thicker cloud and rain for scotland. temperatures in single figures at best but with the wind it will feel considerably colder. for some of us, feeling closer to freezing, and the end of the week, high pressure is still with us but moving about a little bit which will take some slightly milderair bit which will take some slightly milder air from bit which will take some slightly milder airfrom the bit which will take some slightly milder air from the atlantic into the northern half of the uk, so back into the mild yellow, the south still in blue. thursday we see temperatures coming up across scotla nd temperatures coming up across scotland and northern ireland to nine or 10 celsius. further south, still in be chilly side and a grey

side, not the cheeriest of days on thursday but there is a lot of fine weather around. the end of the week looks pretty similar, we the messier quite a lot of cloud and the mild are at the messier quite a lot of cloud and the milder air will continue to drift south, so much so that by the weekend, it is a milder story with some grey skies at times. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament — where a pro—remain mp was called a nazi iam i am sorry, but i find this astonishing! we do apologise if you are offended by what you are hearing. senior mps from both sides of the commons join forces in an attempt to stop a no deal brexit. the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. and a fear of more avalanches in the alps after heavy snowfalls kill several skiers and climbers. sport now on afternoon live.

talking about the ryder cup. padraig harrington. remember when europe swept to the unlikely victory against the usa. tough task, one of the toughest in sport, to take a european team out to the us to defend the ryder cup on us soil, one of the most partisan crowds in sport, padraig harrington will be europe's next ryder cup captain. the rivalry, it is unparalleled, singing, he will be in charge of the team going out to wisconsin in september, 2020. if you're a winning captain, the glory

will be on your card for ever, if you are not the winning captain it will always be your fault...! you are not the winning captain it will always be yourfault...! he says it is a decision he has not taken says it is a decision he has not ta ken lightly. says it is a decision he has not taken lightly. i know we are going toa taken lightly. i know we are going to a new venue, it is an away match, and we will have on average three more rookies coming into the team, andi more rookies coming into the team, and i have to be a part of that team and i have to be a part of that team and ensure that i find an edge to make the team perform to the best of their abilities, get the most out of them and hopefully get a win. who will he be up against? the us are yet to name their captain for the ryder cup in 2020 but leading contender is fred couples, also steve stricker. moving to football, chelsea playing tonight, there is as much attention on who is on the side of the pitch as who is on it. we have been hearing about the bad atmosphere around westminster and the brexit debate and a bad

atmosphere around football, lots of reports of racial and anti—semitic abuse, and chanting, and chelsea manager maurizio sarri has urged the fa ns manager maurizio sarri has urged the fans of the club not to sing offensive songs about their opponents, tottenham, in the semifinal tonight, they have been under the spotlight in recent weeks after a number of high—profile incidents and around 5000 chelsea fa ns incidents and around 5000 chelsea fans will be at wembley tonight, accompanied by stamford bridge stuart, an indication of how seriously this problem is being taken. —— stamford bridge stuartstewards. blues fans have been under the spotlight in recent weeks after a number of high—profile incidents. this is their first match against tottenham since anti—semitic chants resurfaced last month at a europa league tie in hungary. we need the support of our fans, but i want the support to be for us, rather than chanting against the

opponents. -- stewards. the football association is looking into claims that the wales and crystal palace goalkeeper wayne hennessey made a nazi salute. his club—mate max meyer, who is german, posted a picture on social media, showing hennessey at a team meal. hennessey says he was waving at the person taking the picture and shouting to them. he said that "frozen in a moment" it looked as though he was making a completely inappropriate gesture but he would never do that. stoke city have sacked manager gary rowett, only eight months after he took charge. they're mid—table in the championship and that draw —— they‘ re mid—table in the championship and that draw with league one side shrewsbury in the fa cup at the weekend seems to have been the tipping point. all members of his coaching staff have also left. stoke say they want to appoint rowett‘s successor as quickly as possible. england have named a 28—strong women's squad for the upcoming training camp in qatar. among those returning from injury is birmingham city

striker ellen white, england's player of the year last season and the league's top scorer — she's been out of action for the past few weeks with a back problem. the lionesses travel to doha on tuesday to continue their preparations for next month's shebelieves cup in the united states and the world cup in france this summer. one of england's gold medal winners from april's commonwealth games returns to the netball squad for their last test before the world cup later this year. shooterjo harten was a core member of the side that beat australia to take the title and after three months out with a knee injury, she's back for the quad series, which starts on sunday. england will be taking on australia again, along with new zealand and south africa. serena guthrie captains the side, as ama agbeze is still injured. we will have to find whether they can find that peak form that won them commonwealth gold and when perhaps the world cup on home soil. that's all the sport for now. let's get more now on the row about abuse and harassment of mps in the increasingly tense and even

hostile brexit debate. yesterday the pro—eu campaigner femi oluwole who came to the aid of the conservative mp anna soubry also faced abuse from protestors. earlier he spoke to my colleague joanna gosling and told her what it was like being in the middle of the protest. unfortunately this is becoming more common, people have forgotten that there is a line, calling somebody names is one thing, physically harassing a sitting mp, getting up in herface, and harassing a sitting mp, getting up in her face, and physically stopping her from entering parliament, in her face, and physically stopping herfrom entering parliament, her place of work, that clearly crosses a line. what were the police doing, we re a line. what were the police doing, were their police around? yesterday i went were their police around? yesterday iwent up were their police around? yesterday i went up to a police officer and shook his hand, before the incident with anna soubry because i was grateful for the work he was doing and the work all of them were doing, keeping on top of protesters, when i arrived at parliament, they were putting one into a police van, it was only because they were distracted doing that, that they

started abusing me, because police we re started abusing me, because police were distracted, they were generally doing a good job. given the fact anna soubry had been in an incident withjames goddard, anna soubry had been in an incident with james goddard, the anna soubry had been in an incident withjames goddard, the person leading the group of thugs a couple of months prior to that, given they had shouted abuse at her on live television, it was clearly an increased security risk around anna soubry when she stepped off that stage, so there should have been some degree of protection but there was not. we can argue that more funding needs to go to police in general across the country but we all know that when there is a heightened security risk, there should be people making sure that person is protected. did you literally step in to help her because you felt you needed some help and it was not forthcoming? six oi’ help and it was not forthcoming? six or $0 help and it was not forthcoming? six or so of them crowding around her, getting right up in herface, i try to make sure i was as close as possible to them, try not to escalate the situation by putting myself between them physically because that would cause a brawl,

but it was not ideal. i could not leave her alone until i was in the parliament —— i did not want to leave her alone until she was in the parliament. police are looking at whether criminal thresholds have been met, is that a fair reaction? yes, it is important, there are three main possible issues, public order offence, harassment and then assault, or harassment, it needs to bea assault, or harassment, it needs to be a continued process, given that there has been an incident with james goddard, and anna soubry, a couple of months ago, there is a pattern of offensive behaviour. as for assault, they need to have done something that intentionally makes the other person feel like they are about to be attacked, that requires the police to review the footage. i understand why they want to take the time to get this right, it is an area outside parliament where they wa nt area outside parliament where they want to avoid that more than they should. we have had viewers getting

in touch on this, expressing, i have lost the tweet, as i went to read them out, but basically, summing up what they have been saying is, why would you want to go into politics when you see that sort of thing happening. and politicians don't give a good example of what goes on during pm cues, verbal abuse they are, what do you think is leading to this very febrile atmosphere on the streets ? this very febrile atmosphere on the streets? i can speak from experience, online, despite only going on to twitter in 2016, i get racial abuse every day, abuse every minute, threats of violence every couple of months and somebody posted my home address last february, massive twitter accounts on the far right have been posting horrendous racial conspiracies against me. this is the environment we are currently living in. and more on brexit,

this time about the planning for march 29th, the date we leave. the shadow transport secretary andy mcdonald has blasted the decision by the government to award the british company seaborne freight a contract to run ferries in the event of a withdrawal without a deal. he told mps it "violates every current best practice guidance issued by whitehall" because the company has no vessels and has never run a channel service. mr mcdonald secured an urgent question in the commons on the matter. mr speaker, this is a shoddy and tawdry affair and the secretary of state is making a complete mess of it. this contract is very likely unlawful and violates every current best practice guidance issue by whitehall. when will he realise that this country cannot continue to suffer the consequences of his gross incompetence. why is this calamitous secretary of state still in post? i'm not even going to address the idiocy that the party opposite, the honourable gentleman has just come

up honourable gentleman has just come up with, he has made a number of allegations which i suggest he makes elsewhere, i will simply say this, this government has let a contract for which we will pay no money until or unless ferries are running. other matters, there are no reasons, due diligence we have done, to believe any of those involved in the business are not fit to do business with government. we are not spending money unless these ferries operate, i say again. chris grayling. the government is being urged to spend more than £200 billion over the next 20 years on social housing in england. the charity shelter says around three million new homes are needed to solve what it's calling a ‘crisis'. the government says providing quality and fair social housing is a priority. john maguire reports. it's tea—time for single mum lola and her young family in bristol. put onion in it.

they were living in private rented accommodation but were evicted, and have been housed by the local council as an emergency case. lola is thankfulfor a roof over their heads but says the uncertainty is stressful. people like us who just want a home, we don't want a six—month let, we don't want to be turfed out after a year, we need somewhere that's going to be a permanent home, and that's just not something that's possible nowadays, so it'sjust a constant kind of worry. i'm in limbo, basically. following the grenfell tower fire, the housing charity shelter brought together a panel of 16 independent commissioners to consider the crisis in homelessness. they admit their call to build 3.1 million social houses in england over 20 years is ambitious, but insist action is essential now. it is a big amount of money, but it does create an asset for government and, indeed, for the country and, most importantly, it solves a housing crisis, or goes a long way to solving a housing crisis which, i think, affects everyone in our country. the commission claims that savings in housing benefit and increased tax revenue would help the scheme to pay for itself inside a0 years.

in a statement, the communities secretary, james brokenshire, said... the prime minister has previously pledged to get a grip on the housing crisis. this report by shelter offers one solution to a problem that remains complex but urgent. john maguire, bbc news, bristol. maryam moshiri is here... we were having a huge row about who should be the nextjames bond... but thatis should be the nextjames bond... but that is private! laughter in a moment she

will be telling us what's hot and what's not in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. senior mps from both sides of the commons join forces in an attempt to stop a no deal brexit. the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. here's your business headlines on afternoon live sales at morrisons rose 3.6% in the last nine weeks to january — giving the supermarket its fourth consecutive christmas of growth. but growth at stores was just 0.6%, the rest of the sales were from its wholesale business. morrisons supplies amazon with groceries to sell to amazon customers. sales at aldi rose by 10.a per cent over christmas. amazon has eclipsed microsoft to become the world's most valuable listed company. the online retailer was valued at $797 million when the us stock market closed last night, after edging past microsoft. that's valued at $789 billion. jeff bezos, the founder of amazon, is the world's richest man, with a fortune of $135 billion, according to bloomberg's billionaire index.

the average uk house price rose by 1.3% over the year to december — hitting just under £230,000, according to new figures from the halifax. the group says it expects the year ahead ot be steady with continued stability in house prices with prices rising between 2% and a%. there was a time when microsoft seemed unassailable but as you have just said, amazon, overtaking them. it'll be interesting to see, that is the founder, jeff bezos, i have interviewed him, he is... he talks about it a lot(!) laughter simon one, marion zero. round two(!) he isa simon one, marion zero. round two(!) he is a really nice guy, but he did have a really weird to laugh...”

was going to say, he could afford to! amazon have overtaken microsoft, what is it mean, it means, well, the figures change, it was apple until apples woes over china, and sales of iphones making the value dropped to just over $700 billion, but ultimately, these tech companies are extremely valuable and there is a lot of money floating around, someone lot of money floating around, someone who knows more about this than i do... is it some mirror -- samira? it is, it is almost as if you can read autocue(!) laughter first time that i have ever been accused of that! laughter have you ever interviewjeff bezos? i have not but a lot of people talking about amazon, i think it is more about microsoft, as has been

rightly pointed out, at one point we thought that microsoft was unassailable, but then they went through this period where, you know, they were not making money, people talking about the death of microsoft. and the ceo of microsoft pulled the company out of the doldrums, and it is now emerging that —— doldrums, and it is now emerging that -- it doldrums, and it is now emerging that —— it has now emerged as a really valuable company by focusing on businesses rather than consumers. the fact that it was the most valuably valuable public traded company, that is an incredible story for microsoft. what about where you are in terms of traders and investors, how important is this kind of competition between these big tech companies? it isa it is a fascinating talking point, competition between apple, amazon

and microsoft, i think many people believe that probably amazon is going to, it has taken over and it will keep going in this direction. one, because of the news we heard from apple in terms of the slowing down of sales, of its iphones. and two, amazon says its sales of alexa, the home devices that have the artificial intelligence, and that are now connecting to all your other devices, those have really been very strong over the holiday period. a lot of people think, amazon has ove rta ke n lot of people think, amazon has overtaken and will probably continue on that upward trajectory. samira, as always, lovely to speak with you. looking at the markets, morrisons, it has recovered somewhat, share price wise... they have just released the most amazing sales... not that amazing, sales are rising but a lot of them are from wholesale markets, sale to amazon, sales

products to amazon, they then go on to sell from amazon fresh. last year, much better christmas. is not as rosy as they might seem. 0.6% growth in stores, thatis might seem. 0.6% growth in stores, that is the key thing, we are expecting, you know, a little less than that, however, it was the biggest fall on the london market, it has recovered some of that. the us and china are going to be seeing low level representatives meeting to discuss a possible resolution to the trade war. unlikely, but any talking is better than no talking, except when it comes to simon mccoy(!) and the pound is lower against the euro, i cannot tell you why. the south korean car manufacturer hyundai has...

did i say that wrong? hee—un—dai? ..anyway, has shown off a small model of a concept car it says can activate robotic legs to walk — at 3 mph — over rough terrain. hyundai say the "elevate" is also able to climb over walls and jump over a 5ft gap which the company say could be useful for emergency rescues following natural disasters. the project has been in development for three years and was unveiled at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. our technology reporter dave lee has been to the fair to see what other new technologies and inventions are being showcased. welcome to ces. this event is something of a special preview before the main show, so that the press get a chance to see some of the new ideas. follow me.

tell me what this is. this is a robotic laundry folder. it helps you fold your entire laundry load in underfive minutes. how lazy do you need to be to have one of these in your home? instead of just folding your clothes? it takes ten seconds to fold a shirt. i ask you how lazy do you need to be to have a dishwasher at home? washing the dishes takes a lot longer than folding clothes, though. i would beg to differ, i mean it takes quite a while and you need to get to that quality. what is the... apart from wagging its tail, i hope it's its tail, in my face, what is this for? it's for comfort, giving you a sense comfort and to relax. the more you scratch, the more excited it gets. the more you scratch, the more excited it gets?! yes. so you take that large central factor, shrink it down to something this size, place it in the store, no distribution, it's fresh, no preservatives, and it's cheaper too because a lot... almost half the cost of the loaf at the store distribution. so how do you make sure that when someone grabs their bread, it's not going to be too doughy in the middle or something? so, we're constantly... there's a constant loop, i mean, down to the millisecond of development, proofer, mixing. all this stuff is constantly being developed, and we have

sensors, we have eight different readings we are taking to make sure it's a quality loaf. i don't think it's unfair to say that a lot of what we've seen here is kind of "half—baked." many of the ideas that are at this show will never go sale. more from there a little later. some remarkable projects that have been unveiled. if you have seen this before, i make no apologies for seeing it again, we cannot get enough of this. the rather sleep—deprived son of california's new governor gavin newsom, who stole the show at his father's inauguration speech in sacramento. two—year—old dutch newsom wandered onto the stage, complete with his blanket and dummy, until eventually his mother and older brother were able to coax him back to his seat. probably the most popular part of

the speech, but i don't want to get onto the politics of it...! a look at the weather forecast now. rather more generous amounts of sunshine across the uk today, but thanks to the clearer skies, which will stay with us through this evening and overnight, it will be a frosty start to tomorrow. however, wednesday promises to bring us ple nty of wednesday promises to bring us plenty of sunshine once again. high pressure keeping things quiet, but we are on the easterly flank of it so we are we are on the easterly flank of it so we are sat in northerly wind, cutting down across the north sea, thatis cutting down across the north sea, that is already making things feel chillier, temperatures through the evening rush hour quite well into single figures but as the evening progresses with clear skies as promised, and with wind lighter than la st promised, and with wind lighter than last night, quite a widespread frost will develop. nothing excessively severe in rural parts of scotland we will be looking at lows of —3 but just about everywhere catching frost, by the time we get into the first part of wednesday. the payoff is, that they will start with a lot of sunshine.

let's look at the temperatures, the day as a whole, pretty similar to tuesday, just slightly lighter wind, reading in from the north sea, could see one or two coastal showers, over the course of the day, warm front will tip into the north west of scotland, introducing more cloud and patchy rain. wednesday, pretty quiet today but a chilly one. factor in the wind, and for many, temperatures will feel quite close to freezing. talking about a warm front, here it is on the front, —— chart, does what it says on the tin, slightly warm aircoming in behind it says on the tin, slightly warm air coming in behind it, coming off the atlantic, and that will push its way into scotland, and eventually, northern ireland, as we go through thursday, accompanied by thicker cloud and drizzly outbreaks of rain. miles a day for the northern half of the uk, still pretty chilly to the south, perhaps more cloud around in general as we look at the latter pa rt of

general as we look at the latter part of the week. temperatures in double figures for glasgow and belfast, height of seven on thursday. still quite a lot of cloud around on friday, and it will work its way south. by the time we get to the weekend, looks like they should be mild for both days, westerly breeze, a lot of cloud around, if you write a few brighter spells here and there. hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at three: scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. we were made aware of a number of allegations and we are currently assessing them as to whether they meet the criminal threshold. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful.

isaid i said that the process used against me was unfair, unlawful and biased, tainted by bias. i also said that i was not guilty of any criminality. the first of these has been established, the second is to come. and a fear of more avalanches in the alps after heavy snowfalls kill several skiers and climbers. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. kat downes is here. padraig harrington is europe's new ryder cup captain. he will be the man in charge when the team goes to defend the cup they won in september in wisconsin on us soil in 2020. i'll have more that have passed. —— at half past. we've seen lots of sunshine but as the skies clear

overnight, prepare for a chilly start to wednesday but hopefully there will be decent sunshine to be found too. also coming up: it could climb a five foot wall and jump a five foot gap — and could prove invaluable to emergency rescues following natural disasters. this walking axajust one of the concepts being unveiled at a show in las vegas. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. if you were watching afternoon live yesterday you will have seen — and heard — it all for yourselves, the moment mp anna soubry was shouted down as a "nazi" whilst i interviewed her, and that was followed by unpleasent scenes as she was jostled and baracked as she crossed the road to parliament. unpleasant, yes, but against the law? well, that's something scotland yard says it's now investigating. and commons speakerjohn bercow has demanded police tackle what he calls "aggressive, threatening, and intimidating behaviour" towards politicians outside parliament. it is frankly intolerable if members

of parliament — and journalists — go about their business in fear. this situation cannot stand. i have written with force, passion and politeness to the commissioner of the metropolitan police seeking a review of policy. today there were more officers on duty outside the houses of parliament, but we and the protesters weren't there. scotland yard says it's re—assessing the situation in westminster and is looking into whether any laws were broken yeterday. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw has been speaking to deputy assistant commissioner laurence taylor, commander for brexit preparations, about the situation. it is important to realise that policing brexit is challenging.

it is a contentious issue with opposing views from a number of people. our role in the police service is to make sure we facilitate people's right to protest while balancing rights to everybody including politicians, members of the public members of the public and protesters. we take any allegation of criminal offence very seriously. we have taken all the allegations from yesterday, we are looking into all of those and taking advice as to whether any of the incidents yesterday make any criminal thresholds and then we can determine which action we might want to take according to the outcome of that investigation. inside parliament, the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated", while other senior ministers are understood to have voiced their concerns

at a meeting of the cabinet in downing street this morning. this comes as senior mps from both sides of the commons have joined forces to table an amendment to try to stop a no—deal brexit. labour's yvette cooper is one of these mps. there is a real risk that because the government hasn't built up any consensus behind a positive way forward that we end up with no deal by accident as a result of brinkmanship, delays and drift, but i think that's why parliament is now has to be sensible and say, we have two rule out the worst option, we have to make sure we can prevent the kind of damaging no deal that would hit the manufacturing industry so ha rd hit the manufacturing industry so hard and would also put our policing and security at risk. while the conservative mp crispin blunt opposes the amendment. (sot) there is a majority in the house of commons that were remainers and many of them are utterly determined to

overturn the result of the 2016 referendum despite the fact all of them in 2017, maybe with the exception of kenneth clarke, stood ona exception of kenneth clarke, stood on a platform to implement that result, the labour party and the conservative party and the majority of the house of commons voted to give notice of an article 52 the eu so we give notice of an article 52 the eu so we need to get on with this, we need to get it done —— article 50 two the eu. but people are going to make it more difficult and stop it if they can which is frankly irresponsible. the sensible majority should not be tolerating it but will have to work through the difficulties until the 29th of march. our chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster. the business secretary greg clark is in no doubt as to what should happen. yes, he as someone who lobbies and represents businesses in this country has been very clear for months now that he thinks that no

deal would be incredibly bad for business and for the economy and he is willing to say it publicly and others are too and i think this goes to the heart of that question that people always ask which is, how can parliament stop no deal from happening given it is the default legal position? i think this amendment put forward today by mps of all parties is one of the ways they can try to do it, to disrupt they can try to do it, to disrupt the workings of parliament, to stop the workings of parliament, to stop the government governing because evenif the government governing because even if there is no deal there will still need to be legislation and laws will need to be passed and theresa may does not have a strong majority here in the house of commons. if she loses the support of the dup she loses that majority so it isa the dup she loses that majority so it is a major headache for the government. interestingly during the lobby briefing to journalists are rare, the prime minister's spokesman spoke about the yvette cooper amendment and said it is not desirable but the effect would be inconvenienced rather than anything

more significant. whether we should read into that that the government is willing to accept it given the 12 conservatives have signed up in favour of it, we are told not to necessarily assume that but it does show the problem that there is and it does show how mps are working cross— party it does show how mps are working cross—party is to try to stop and no deal scenario. of course, there are some who want to go back on the referendum result, some wanted to be different and don't want brexit to happen at all but there are also a lot of mps who are willing to accept the referendum result but they would not contemplate a no deal scenario and that is what theresa may is hoping will be at the forefront as we go into next week and i vote on tuesday, they will be thinking that they cannot stomach the idea of no deal and that people will rally around her deal, but at the moment there aren't many signs of that. but anyone who thinks the vote on tuesday means that we move into the next phase may be mistaken because theresa may could say, i'm going back to the eu and i will be back

and then there might be another vote. yes, i think no one knows about point. the cabinet spoke about no deal preparations and we asked whether they discussed plan b if the deal isn't passed and were just told that what they did discuss was that the assurances that are needed in orderfor it to the assurances that are needed in order for it to get through parliament and that work is ongoing, we are told. when we will know about assurances from the eu is another matter, we assume mps on all about those before they come to vote next week but it is pretty clear from the eu side they are not talking about anything legally binding on this so—called backstop trying to make sure that it never comes about in the first place and that is the message theresa may has been trying to get across far along time, that neither side wanted, it's only ever going to be temporary, of course, it is proving to be a major stumbling block in getting that deal through next week and if it doesn't get

through, then no one knows what might happen after that but it is a case of trying again if the vote is close should not be ruled out. thank you, vicky young. i spoke earlier to our brussels reporter adam fleming and asked him about a story in the daily telegraph that officials are testing the water about a possible extension to the date britain is set to leave the eu. no evidence of that beyond what the telegraph says they have seen. i have not been able to any eu officials on the receiving end of any feelers about extending article 50 but when you mention it here, officials say it is logical for british officials to do that because they did not invent the concept of extending article 50, the authors of article 50 did. it says in black and white that the departing country can ask to extend the two year timeframe. just officials getting

their ducks in a row for looking at other options. when vicki talks about the default option in westminster being no deal, brussels says the default could be extending article 50, you just don't want to do it. interesting. the point is each eu member individually has to give the ok to this. some might want to just cause a problem. when you talk to people, they say this probably wouldn't be a problem if the uk did eventually ask for it to be extended and, as vicki was saying, it has to be one of two conditions, either a short technical extension to help legislation gets through westminster and get the deal in place domestically, or it's because there has been a big change in the politics in the uk, a referendum on election on the horizon or a policy about brexit so it would have to be to fulfil one of those

two conditions. there is a lot of discussion about how long discussion could last for. would it last for a maximum of up to the 23rd of may because that is when the european parliament elections take place? could the uk take part in european elections if it wasn't going to be a member state? or could it be later, the 1st ofjuly, because the new european parliament doesn't take up its seats until then? there's lots of speculation, but it is a bit of a parlour game in brussels rather than something official that's going to happen. what about the day we leave? the shadow transport secretary has questioned the government's decision to award seaborne freight the award to award seaborne freight the award to run ferries. he says it he told mps it "violates every current best practice guidance issued by whitehall" because the company has no vessels and has never run a channel service. mr mcdonald secured

an urgent question in the commons on the matter. this is a shoddy and tawdry affair and the secretary of state is making and the secretary of state is making a mess of it. this contract is very likely unlawful and violates every current best practice guidance issued by whitehall. when will you realise that this country cannot continue to suffer the consequences of his gross incompetence? why, mr speaker, is this a calamitous secretary of state still in post? mr speaker, i'm not even going to address the idiocy that the honourable gentleman has just address the idiocy that the honourable gentleman hasjust come up honourable gentleman hasjust come up with. he has made a number of allegations i suggest he makes elsewhere. this government has let a contract for which we will pay no money until ferries are running. that is responsible use of public money. there is no reason to believe that any involved in those business —— this business are not fit to do business with government. we're not spending money on most these ferries

operate —— unless these ferries operate. the scottish government acted unlawfully while investigating sexual harassment claims against former first minister alex salmond, a judge has ruled. the scottish government now admits it didn't properly follow its own procedures when it investigated the claims. a separate police inquiry is taking place into the allegations against mr salmond, which he denies. our correspondent lorna gordon has been following the story. this was a specially convened hearing today and and the scottish government did not come out of it looking positive. they were ordered to pay alex salmond's costs. today, the scottish government admitted it breached its own guidelines by pointing an investigating officer that it acted unlawfully and conceded in its legal fight against alex salmond. alex salmond arriving at court for a hearing

against the government he used to lead. a review into that government's handling of allegations of sexual misconduct against mr salmond — allegations that he denies. the last time mr salmond was in court room two, in scotland's highest civil court, he was being sworn in as first minister. and in today, it was to his submissions by his legal team to thejudge, lord pentland, that the scottish government acted unlawfully while investigating the allegations and that the investigation be dismissed. the decision is unlawful in respect that it was taken in circumstances which were procedurally unfair and in respect that it was tainted by apparent bias. the allegations date back to events alleged to have taken place five years ago in the run—up to the scottish referendum, when mr salmond lived and worked here at bute house, the official residence of a serving first minister. mr salmond was accused of sexual misconduct by two female civil servants. in court, the scottish government admitted to one key mistake in its handling of the complaints, and agreed that its inquiry into the allegations must be set aside.

the scottish government now accepts that, in relation to one specific aspect of the procedure, there was a failure, which vitiates the investigation, and hence the decision under challenge. mr salmond called on scotland's most senior civil servant, leslie evans, who had been in charge of the investigation, to resign. a former first minister of scotland requiring to take the administration of the scottish government to court to establish that point should not have been necessary, and the person who is responsible for that — that institutional failure — the permanent secretary to the scottish government, should consider her position and take the appropriate action. in a statement, the scottish government's permanent secretary, leslie evans, said... the scottish government has

said it will consider reinvestigating the complaints, but only once ongoing police have concluded. it's important to note that today was all about the procedure is followed by the scottish government in their handling of this investigation, not about the substance of the complaints and the allegations themselves. allegations which mr salmond strongly denies. miss sturgeon, nicola sturgeon, scotland's first minister, has commented and says leslie aslam ‘s —— leslie evans has full confidence. she will be making a statement in a few hours' time at the chamber at the scottish parliament. as to mr

salmond, he says he is happy to be vindicated and will now take time to digest the legal decision and consider his options going forward. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament — after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. and in sport, padraig harrington is confirmed as europe's next ryder cup captain for the competition in wisconsin in september 2020. stalk sack gary rowett after just eight months in charge. england welcome backjoe hart into the squad as they build—up to the netball world cup. the roof of the home of former

russian spy sergei skripal is to be dismantled by military teams in the wake of the novichok attack. detectives believe mr skripal and his daughter yulia first came into contact with the poison when it was sprayed on the door handle of their property. the operation is part of the clean—up following the attack by russian military intelligence agents last march. officials say the risk to public health remains "low" but wiltshire council has warned neighbours of about four months of disruption. a former youth football coach who was due to go on trial accused of the sexual abuse of boys under 16 has died in a car accident. peterborough crown court heard that michael "kit" carson was killed in a single—vehicle car crash yesterday. the 75—year—old had worked for peterborough united, cambridge united and norwich city football clu bs. a bbc investigation has found that young victims of sexual assault aren't being forensically examined in a critical time period at some privately—run referral centres. doctors say they've also seen incorrect recording of injuries and evidence contamination.

faye kirkland — who is also a gp — has this report for us. we have spoken to eight doctors who wanted to blow the whistle on the poor care in some sexual assault referral centres run by private companies. one doctor, who works across multiple centres and needs to remain anonymous, says she's aware of ten cases where young children were not forensically examined within three days of being assaulted because the staff were not available. ten children missing out on forensic samples is quite a significant number. when you lose the forensics, that is something you cannot get back. probably a quarter of the statements i look at have something that concerns me. dr helena thornton reviews evidence, typically including videos of genital examinations. i have seen one dvd where gloves were not worn. i have seen one dvd which did not show the injuries that

were documented to have been there. it's very distressing when, if... to feel that somebody at their possibly most vulnerable ever, having been through a traumatic experience, has then been let down. do you think we're letting people down? ido, yeah. the first three days of forensics are crucial for young children. but four doctors have told us that, in the last two years, they've seen cases of young children who have not been forensically examined within 72 hours, because there has been no—one who has been qualified to examine them. for nine months, the crown prosecution service refused to provide us with an audit of forensic evidence from a centre run by the company primecare produced in 2009. but the information commissioner has now ordered its release. all 13 cases went to court,

but the audit reveals widespread failings. only one provided acceptable documentation of injuries. and there were just two cases where the correct forensic samples were taken. in one instance, where a victim was raped, no samples were taken from these areas. in a statement, the cps said the centre fell short of standards but, following the report, they worked alongside the police to formulate an improvement plan. primecare has since been incorporated into allied healthcare. it said the audit was historical and the centre was now run by different provider. i think it is absolutely terrible to read that report. i am so shocked. the victims‘ commissioner now wants to see change. i would like to see proper training, not just a two—day training. and i think, more importantly, we need to have annual inspections. if we're not being inspected and accredited, that does not give confidence for victims.

nhs england, whojointly commissions the services with police chiefs, said it had not been made aware of the concerns, but called on the doctors to report them to the forensic science regulator. it now says it plans to set up a whistle—blowing hotline for people with concerns. the cqc, the regulator for the health care, says it has now changed the way it inspects services, but we understand this still doesn't include reviewing forensic medical evidence itself. at least seven people have died and several others are missing after heavy snow storms in the alps. there are three metres of snow in some areas and more is forecast later in the week. the authorities say skiers face a high avalanche risk across parts of central europe. eliza philippidis reports. roads are blocked, schools are closed. getting out to do the food shop is almost impossible. but, even so, people are trying to clear pathways to get out of their homes. with so much snow already

on the ground and more on the way, officials say the chances of further avalanches are high. the bavarian avalanche warning institute has issued a level four warning, the second—highest, which also poses a high risk of avalanches in unsecured skiing areas. in central and northern austria, up to 1.5 metres of snow has already fallen since the middle of last week. this greenhouse in salzburg collapsed under the weight of the snow. the fire brigade, with the help of local residents, have been shuffling the snow off the other roofs to try and stop them collapsing. translation: we've tried to get the snow away from between the greenhouses so more snow can escape, to ease the pressure on the building and make it safer.

in southern austria, it snowed all day. many roads are blocked. the situation is very difficult. people have been stranded in villages and the helicopters deployed for avalanche control have been grounded because of the bad weather. translation: more than 500 residents are cut off, but i've spoken with the mayor and he said everyone is calm. with around 80 centimetres of snow forecast in austria from tuesday, things look set to remain difficult. president trump is to make his first primetime tv address to the nation as the partial government shutdown in the united states continues. it's now in it's 18th day, making it the second longest in history. the president is expected

to talk about his plans for a border wall with mexico. the cost of the wall is at the heart of the political row with congress that saw nine government departments close on december 22nd. well, ahead of that address to the nation, mr trump's vice president mike pence has been speaking to major garrett from cbs news ahead of that address. when the president addresses the nation tonight, he will be laying out the facts to the american people of what is a genuine humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. as we sit here today, nearly 60,000 people over the past several months have attempted to come into our country illegally but for the first time, the predominant number are families and unaccompanied children and it simply is overwhelming, the ability of our customs and border patrol, to deal with it and to that human trafficking, the flow of narcotics, the apprehension in the last year of 17,000 individuals at our southern border with previous criminal histories and the american people

will hear from the president tonight that we have a crisis and we have to address it in the time has come for the democrats to come to the table and start negotiating notjust to end the partial government shutdown but to address the humanitarian and security crisis at the border. the idea of this national emergency going around the appropriation process is something the president has suggested? the countries waiting to find out, will he use tonight's pulp it to say that? the president was asked if it was something he was considering he said it was something we are looking at. that was a few days ago. congress should do its job and come to the table. why can't the rest of the government unaffected by dhs, the department of home and security funding, be funded and then deal with this issue separately? why must there be a partial government shutdown affecting all these agencies that have nothing to do

with this underlying debate? really for two reasons, number one, these are the bills that were remaining at the end of the year. you can separate them out, you did that when you put in the house. right, but the fa ct you put in the house. right, but the fact is we have also listened to democrats. they are calling for changes in our ability to accept applications for asylum at our embassies in guatemala, el salvador and honduras. that would require a change in the state department appropriations bill so what the president is saying is, let's resolve this issue with the crisis on the southern border. if there are other changes and other bills, let's make those changes. the south korean car manufacturer hyundai has shown off a small model of a concept car it says can activate robotic legs to walk — at 3mph — over rough terrain. the elevate is also able to climb over walls and jump over a 5ft gap which the company say could be useful for emergency rescues following natural disasters. the project has been in development for three years and was unveiled

at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. and we'll hear much more from there when we look at the business news very shortly. now, bohemian rhapsody has proved a box office hit, and not just at the cinemas but at buckingham palace too. the guards there have been filmed performing the famous queen song just hours after the film scooped two golden globe awards. let's have a listen to the band of the grenadier guards, who gave this rendition of the song yesterday. they play bohemian rhapsody melody bohemian rhapsody there, not

performed by queen but probably listened to by her. let's get the weather. it looks like the clear skies will stay with us this evening and overnight. northerly wind. to ease and at this time of year it is setting us up for a widespread frost to develop. this evening and overnight, still the chance of the jabber drifting into northern scotland, 12 running into north sea coasts but essentially a fine night and the frost is pretty widespread,, not severe, lows of minus three celsius in rural parts of scotland. some towns and cities will stayjust above. add very good—looking day

with a lot of sunshine, a little hazy towards the nazis thanks to high cloud of the day goes on, some rain pushing into the northwest of scotland. we must factor in the wind on wednesday. add that on but for many of us will feel closer to freezing. this is bbc news. our latest headlines... scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament yesterday after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. we are aware of a number of allegations from yesterday and we are currently assessing those as to whether they meet the criminal threshold. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. i said that the process used against me was unfair, unlawful and tainted by bias. i also said that i was not

guilty of any criminality. the first of these has been established, the second is to come. a fear of more avalanches in the alps after heavy snowfalls kill several skiers and climbers. sport now on afternoon live. catherine downes is there and we are talking golf and the ryder cup and padraig harrington and the fact that he knows the cause quite well! he has, but has not had great luck they complained the pga championship there in 2010 and 2015. he does face one of the toughestjobs in sport. this is him being introduced at the golf nationale in september in paris when europe pulled off that surprise

victory over the usa in the ryder cup. he was a vice captain then and has been vice captain on two previous occasions for the european tea m previous occasions for the european team but the task, to take a european team across the atlantic to the us to play the ryder cup on us soil in the face of those us funds, that has to be one of the toughest tasks that sport has to offer —— us fans. he says it is a huge honour even to be asked. i know that it really does reflect on my legacy whether i am a successful ca pta i n on my legacy whether i am a successful captain or not, it is not something i strolled into. the time it looked like it was right and i was the right person and right place and right time in my career but i had to think about this, did i really wa nt had to think about this, did i really want it, want to put myself out there? ultimately i'm doing this for the right reasons, because i really wa nt for the right reasons, because i really want to be a successful captain. fred couple is an steve

stricker are the leading contenders to beat us team captain come september 2020 but we will find out who they pick later this year. and talking football, problems off the pitch for chelsea? yes, there been a lot of bad blood around westminster which you have been talking about, the abuse of mps and going about theirjob on college green but there seems to be a lot of abuse and hatred around football pitches as well. chelsea manager maurizio sarri has urged the club's fans not to sing offensive songs about their opponents, tottenham, in their league cup semi—final first leg tonight. blues fans have been under the spotlight in recent weeks after a number of high—profile incidents. around 5,000 of them will be at wembley, accompanied by stamford bridge stewards. they will be coming from the chelsea ground over to wembley to make sure the situation is in hand. this is their first match against tottenham since anti—semitic

chants resurfaced last month at a europa league tie in hungary. i think that we need the support of ourfans of i think that we need the support of our fans of course. but we would like to have their support for us, not against the opponents. the football association is looking into claims that the wales and crystal palace goalkeeper wayne hennessey made a nazi salute. his club—mate max meyer, who is german, posted a picture on social media, showing hennessey at a team meal. hennessey says he was waving at the person taking the picture and shouting to them. he said that "frozen in a moment" it looked as though he was making a completely inappropriate gesture but he would never do that. they are investigating. stoke city have sacked manager gary rowett, only eight months after he took charge. they're mid—table in the championship and that draw stoke city have sacked manager

gary rowett, only eight months after he took charge. they're mid—table in the championship and that draw with league one side shrewsbury in the fa cup at the weekend seems to have been the tipping point. all members of his coaching staff have also left. stoke say they want to appoint rowett‘s successor as quickly as possible. one of england's gold medal winners from april's commonwealth games returns to the netball squad for their last test before the world cup later this year. shooterjo harten was a core member of the side that beat australia to take the title and after three months out with a knee injury, she's back for the quad series, which starts on sunday. england will be taking on australia again, along with new zealand and south africa. serena guthrie captains the side, as ama agbeze is still injured. a chance for england's anete paulus to pit their wits against the best in the world —— netball is. thank you. the government is being urged to spend more than £200 billion over the next 20 years on social housing in england.

the charity shelter says around three million new homes are needed to solve what it's calling a "crisis". the government says providing quality and fair social housing is a priority. john maguire reports. it's tea—time for single mum lola and her young family in bristol. put onion in it. they were living in private rented accommodation but were evicted, and have been housed by the local council as an emergency case. lola is thankful to have a roof over their heads but says the uncertainty is stressful. people like us who just want a home, we don't want a six—month let, we don't want to be turfed out after a year, we need somewhere that's going to be a permanent home, and that's just not something that's possible nowadays, so it'sjust a constant kind of worry. i'm in limbo, basically. following the grenfell tower fire, the housing charity shelter brought together a panel of 16 independent commissioners to consider the crisis in homelessness.

they admit their call to build 3.1 million social houses in england over 20 years is ambitious, but insist action is essential now. it is a big amount of money, but it does create an asset for government and, indeed, for the country and, most importantly, it solves a housing crisis, or goes a long way to solving a housing crisis which affects, i think, everyone in our country. the commission claims that savings in housing benefit and increased tax revenue would help the scheme to pay for itself inside a0 years. in a statement, the communities secretary, james brokenshire, said... the prime minister has previously pledged to get a grip on the housing crisis. this report by shelter offers one solution to a problem that remains complex but urgent.

john maguire, bbc news, bristol. £a5 million of funding will be made available to train 900 new social workers working with vunerable children in england, the government has announced. the profession is facing huge challenges at the moment. according to the charity frontline, who will recruit and train the new staff, there are 6,000 vacancies in the field. navtej johal reports. i'm working with quite a lot of young people who are kind of known to youth offending services, so i work in a team working with teenagers. john was trying to forge a career in theatre, but after experience working with young people abroad, he decided to become a social worker and applied for a training programme run by the charity frontline. i would not have been able to afford, at that point, to do a kind of masters programme. i was not in a financial position to take the time off work and also to pay for that course. so the way that frontline is funded was really helpful to me, but also,

because it was a work—based route, it was really attractive to me. the government is hoping others will followjohn's lead. today, it is announcing £a5 million of new funding to train 900 children's social workers on frontline's programme in 2020 and 2021. this organisation, it is a voluntary organisation. it does particularly good work and has been very effective in bringing new people into thinking about moving into social work, and we have had great success with that. despite today's announcement, there is concern that this funding simply doesn't go far enough. the latest figures show there are almost 6,000 vacancies for children's social workers across england, and problems with management, caseloads and bureaucracy mean that retaining staff can often prove difficult. frontline, which was set up by former secondary school teacher josh macalister six years ago, says it believes the money will make a difference. it is obviously in a system that has lots of challenges,

and there are lots of challenges with caseload numbers and supervision and funding overall. but you only start to get that system better by bringing more great people in, supporting them, making sure they've got manageable workloads and giving them the high expectations that they need to do life—changing work with children and families. it has been challenging, really challenging, and i have enjoyed it a huge amount. it's a really exciting profession, because i think you are constantly challenged and you experience new things all the time. with the funding now in place, the hard work of recruiting those who have what it takes to do the job, and stay in thejob, begins. navteonhal, bbc news. let's get more now on the metropolitan police response to the complaints about the security situation around parliament. the controversy began when conservative mp anna soubry was barracked during a tv interview and then mobbed when she crossed parliament square.

well, our home affairs correspondent danny shaw has been speaking to deputy assistant commissioner laurence taylor, commander for brexit preparations, about the situation. i think it is really important firstly to recognise that policing for brexit is a really challenging issue for the police service. we know it is a contentious issue with opposing views from a number of people also our role in the police service is to make sure we facilitate peoples right to protest but do that while balancing the needs of everybody which includes politicians, our own staff, members of the public and those who wish to protest so that people can go about their daily business as usual.” think everyone would appreciate that and expect that statement but the scenes we saw yesterday crossed a line, didn't they? we are obviously taking any allegation of a criminal offence very seriously and we have taken all the allegations from yesterday and are looking into them and are taking advice as to whether any of the incidents met any

criminal threshold. then we can determine which action we might want to ta ke determine which action we might want to take according to the outcome of the investigation. this involves the incident relating to anna soubry and others? yes, we were made aware of a number of allegations from yesterday and we are currently assessing them as to whether they meet the criminal threshold and what a police accident should look like on the back of that investigation. how does assessing the allegations actually look? what do you have to do? you have the footage. we need to understand the evidence and to speak to officers who are at the scene and understand from a legal perspective whether the threshold is met for any criminal offences and then we need to make sure that we take the appropriate action in the circumstances to deal with the findings of the investigation. is calling someone a nazi a criminal offence? that is pa rt nazi a criminal offence? that is part of what we are assessing, to understand if that meets the criminal threshold for a crime. what about haranguing, and that is what it looked like, an mp as she walked into the house of commons questioned

it looked like she was surrounded and stopped from getting to the place where she works. as part of the assessment we're looking at that particular incident, as to whether we believe it meets the criminal threshold. it is important as well that people have a right to protest and people do have a right to voice their opinion. as i mentioned earlier, the critical role for the police is to ensure we balance that against the needs of everybody so politicians should be allowed to go about their work. my officers should be allowed to do their work. and my plea to people who wish to protest is, by all means come up come and protest but please respect the views of others and recognise the boundaries within which you wish to voice your opinions. when you look back at what happened yesterday, do you think, honestly, that it was well policed or do you think perhaps that officers should have stepped in earlier? we have reviewed the policing down at westminster. i have given it very clear direction to officers that if substantive

offences a re officers that if substantive offences are witnessed at the scene ido offences are witnessed at the scene i do expect a rest to be made and i do expect us to intervene if people are prevented from going about their daily business. that would seem to be an indication that you feel it is not as well policed that you would have liked it to be? it is really important that we are always able to review our policing response and that we look to improve it wherever we can. we have put measures in place are certainly up to the 15th and the vote in parliament when we will review again the policing activity outside westminster. what can we expect to see outside parliament today? you can expect to see visible policing. you will see us see visible policing. you will see us engaging with the protesters and you will see hopefully a reassuring policing presence so that everybody within the area of westminster feels assured that we are taking activities there very seriously. and more officers? there are more officers than we had before christmas? . you officers than we had before christmas?! you expect that to continue? we expect the policing response to all the brexit preparation to continue and we will continue to review that to see if it is appropriate to what we have to deal with. and what work is going on

behind that seems to look at some of the individuals that mine were involved in this? as always, we do a lot of work behind—the—scenes. critically, we engage with people in good involved with the process, we wa nt to good involved with the process, we want to talk to people and explain what our policing activity is. we also do a lot of work with the parliament and stakeholders within parliament and stakeholders within parliament so we can reassure them and work with them so they can continue their important business whilst we police activity outside. that was deputy assistant commissioner lawrence taylor. maryam moshiri is here. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. scotland yard investigates the scenes outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. sales at morrisons rose 3.6%

in the last nine weeks to january, giving the supermarket its fourth consecutive christmas of growth. but growth at stores was just 0.6%, the rest of the sales were from its wholesale business. morrisons supplies amazon with groceries to sell to amazon customers. sales at aldi rose by 10.a% over christmas. amazon has eclipsed microsoft to become the world's most valuable listed company. to become the world's most the online retailer was valued at $797 billion when the us stock market closed last night, after edging past microsoft. that's valued at $789 billion. jeff bezos, the founder of amazon, is the world's richest man, with a fortune of $135 billion, according to bloomberg's billionaire index. the average uk house price rose by 1.3% over the year to december, hitting just under £230,000, according to new figures from the halifax. the group says it expects the year ahead to be steady with continued stability in house prices with prices rising

between 2% and a%. rather depending on where you live. and what will happen with brexit. tech innovation is in focus today. it is. it is the consumer electronics show which is held in las vegas. there are a500 exhibitors... i love these pictures! this is the latest innovation from you and i which is a cart with legs -- high you and i which is a cart with legs —— high online ——. i -- it —— it reminds me of something from star wars. they say could gets into rugged terrain. it would be useful in traffic! you would drive over everything. there are a lot of other

things at the exhibition that might be your cup of tea including a tv screen you can be your cup of tea including a tv screen you can roll up and open up like a projector screen. dave lee has been at the show has sent this report. welcome to ces. this event is something of a special preview before the main show, so that the press get a chance to see some of the new ideas. follow me. tell me what this is. this is a robotic laundry folder. it helps you fold your entire laundry load in underfive minutes. how lazy do you need to be to have one of these in your home? instead of just folding your clothes? it takes ten seconds to fold a shirt. i ask you how lazy do you need to be to have a dishwasher at home? washing the dishes takes a lot longer than folding clothes, though. i would beg to differ, i mean it takes quite a while and you need to get to that quality. what is the... apart from wagging its tail, i hope it's its tail, in my face, what is this for? it's for comfort, giving you a sense comfort and to relax.

the more you scratch, the more excited it gets. the more you scratch, the more excited it gets?! yes. so you take that large central factor, shrink it down to something this size, place it in the store, no distribution, it's fresh, no preservatives, and it's cheaper too because a lot... almost half the cost of the loaf at the store distribution. so how do you make sure that when someone grabs their bread, it's not going to be too doughy in the middle or something? so, we're constantly... there's a constant loop, i mean, down to the millisecond of development, proofer, mixing. all this stuff is constantly being developed, and we have sensors, we have eight different readings we are taking to make sure it's a quality loaf. i don't think it's unfair to say that a lot of what we've seen here is kind of "half—baked." many of the ideas that are at this show will never go sale. quite. the more you scratch it, the better it gets? very dodgy! it is

pre—watershed, simon! better it gets? very dodgy! it is pre-watershed, simon! yes, but we do like the clothes folder.” pre-watershed, simon! yes, but we do like the clothes folder. i don't really bother folding my clothes! do you? clearly really bother folding my clothes! do you ? clearly not! zoe kleinnman is our technology reporter. she has been to the show so many times but this year they have kept you here! because you are far more useful to talk about it with me. loads of innovations, some of them a better stranger than others but what are the big things people have been talking about? imagine i have the desert sun on my face and the lights of the las vegas strip behind me! what is interesting about ces is you get the big brands, panasonic, samsung, and also a little start—up, anybody who has an idea and can get enough dollars go along can go and exhibit and exhibit and that is how you tend to see the great and good and the completely mad. you always

see a lot of massive tv screens you need a huge hause to fit these things. there is a big drive to get bigger and brighter and thinner tv sets, once that roll up and one that you can put together and dismantle so you can put together and dismantle so if they break you can get a new one. that is the idea from samsung that will come to market soon. lg showed off a roll—up screen last year that it says will go on sale this year. it is great, it is still massive, you need a big hause but it will fold away into a little strip at the bottom that you can put on your mantelpiece. and the bread—maker in the piece there, what are the big trends to look out for? i think what we are seeing so far this year is a lot of gadgets that wa nt this year is a lot of gadgets that want to communicate with your digital assistant, your amazon eco,

whatever approximate datum make a product it is and speech recognition is still a big thing, being able to integrate your home so you are issuing commands by voice. also a lot of smart home security. lots of smart door bells which have started to come out and we get more of them, ones that fit differently, once with two cameras to make the field of vision better because however you fix it, there will be big areas you cannot see. we are seeing a lot about. a few things we think let that make less of, less 3d printing which has been massive in previous years. you could get a 3d printer to head and shoulders made of you, i don't recommend it! and also what i wa nt don't recommend it! and also what i want that we will see, because the show opens today, is people being less overt about sensors. last year it was about tracking you, your sleep, your blood pressure, your heart rate. we have had so many privacy scandals in 2018 that people are much more aware about what happens to your data and i wonder if it will make the new firm is a bit

more cautious about wanting to take it off you. thank you very much. i don't know about all these home gadgets when you give commands.” had one and whenever i ask her to do something, i always thank her afterwards! i can't stop myself! i'm going to buy one and change its name to simon! it is the only time what simon says goes! briefly, the ftse 100 is doing pretty well, talks starting between china and the us, low level representatives but the trade war, there are hopes this could help alleviate some of that issue. the london and european markets doing pretty well. morrisons isa markets doing pretty well. morrisons is a big loser on the london market, disappointing christmas sales. so you later, thank you. thousands of penguins become stranded on the coastline of south america every year and most of them are females. why it happens has been a mystery for years, but now scientists believe they may have found the answer. the female penguins travel longer distances for food,

making it more likely they get into difficulty. here's our science reporter laura foster. sounds like a donkey, but it is actually a magellanic penguin calling for a mate. and these penguins, they mate for life. but every year, when breeding season is over, they head to the water to feed. not much was known about where they went until recently, when a team of scientists used trackers to follow a small group and found the males and females went different ways. the males, who are bigger and thought to be stronger swimmers, would fish in deeper waters, whereas the females travelled further, preferring to search for food in shallower places. researchers say because they're tending to swim further, they're more likely to run into trouble. they usually appear stranded on the beach once they die at sea. and other times they arrive to the coast in bad condition, because they were not able to get enough food, and so they go

to the beach to die. they found the females would venture further than the males, shown by this highlighted area. some even migrate as far as the waters off southern brazil, whereas the males would be happy travelling just as far as uruguay. this could be of great concern, and in particular because it's the female birds that are being stranded further north. and, of course, they need to be back at their colonies so that they can reproduce, and so they can maintain a viable bird colony and a viable population. the penguins are literally being transported in military aircraft and being flown back south towards their colonies. it's not known exactly what causes these strandings, but the fishing industry and man—made pollution is often blamed. magellanic penguins aren't endangered, but fewer females could affect future numbers of this species. the team in patagonia are going to continue studying the same group to learn more about the routes they take to see what more can be done

to help these penguins. laura foster, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. we have not done too badly in terms of sunshine today and it looks like clear skies will stay with us this evening and overnight. northerly winds will start to ease and that is setting us up perfectly for a widespread frost. this evening and overnight, still the chance of the odd shower drifting into northern scotland, one or two in north sea coasts but essentially a fine night and by the small hours, the frost is pretty widespread. not especially severe, only down to —3 in some rural parts of scotland and some towns and cities will stayjust above freezing. a good—looking day with a lot of sunshine, a little hazy towards the north sea thanks to some high cloud. some rain

eventually pushing into the north—west of scotland in the afternoon. temperatures are sliding further into single figures and we must factor in the wind. add that on and for many it will feel closer to freezing. hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at a: scotland yard is to enhance its police presence outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. we were made aware of the number of allegations from yesterday and we are currently assessing those as to whether they meet the criminal threshold. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister, alex salmond, was unlawful. i said that the process used against me was unfair, unlawful and biased, tainted by bias. i also said that i was not guilty of any criminality. the first of these has been established, the second is to come. a fear of more avalanches in the alps

after heavy snowfalls kill several skiers and climbers. coming up on afternoon live: all the sport. europe will be defending the ryder cup in wisconsin in september 2020 and patrick harrington will be their captain. more on that have passed. you look as though you are getting caught the! last time, we talked about beachwear. time to get your thermals out, we are going to the mountains, back in half an hour! it could climb a 5 foot wall and jump a 5foot gap and could prove invaluable to emergency rescues following natural disasters.. this walking axajust one of the concepts being unveiled at a show in las vegas. if you were watching

afternoon live yesterday you will have seen and heard it all for yourselves. the moment mp anna soubry was shouted down as a nazi whilst i interviewed her and that was followed by unpleasent scenes as she was jostled and baracked as she crossed the road to parliament. unpleasant, yes, but against the law? well, that's something scotland yard says it's now investigating. and commons speakerjohn bercow has demanded police tackle what he calls aggressive, threatening, and intimidating behaviour towards politicians outside parliament. it is frankly intolerable if members of parliament and journalists go about their business in fear. this

situation cannot stand. i have written with force, passion and politeness to the commission of the metropolitan police, seeking a review of policy. today there were more officers on duty outside the houses of parliament but we and the protesters weren't there. scotland yard says it's re—assessing the situation in westminster — and is looking into whether any laws were broken yeterday. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw has been speaking to deputy assistant commissioner laurence taylor, commander for brexit preparations, about the situation. policing brexit is a really challenging issue. our role in the police service is to make sure we facilitate people's right to protest but it includes politicians, our own staff, members of the public and

those who wish to protest so they can go about their daily business as usual. i think everyone would expect that statement but the scenes we saw yesterday crossed the line, didn't they? we take any allegation of a criminal offence very seriously. we have taken all the allegations from yesterday, we are looking into all of those, taking advice as to when the incidents met criminal thresholds then we can determine which action we might want to take. inside parliament, the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit ‘should not be contemplated‘, while other senior ministers are understood to have voiced their concerns at a meeting of the cabinet in downing street this morning. this comes as senior mps from both sides of the commons have joined forces to table an amendment to the finance bill to try to stop a no—deal brexit. labour‘s yvette cooper is one of these mps. there is a real risk that

because the government hasn‘t built up any consensus behind a positive way forward that we end up with no deal by accident as a result of brinkmanship, delays and drift, but i think that‘s why parliament now has to be sensible and say, we have to rule out the worst option, we have to make sure we can prevent the kind of damage a no deal that would hit the manufacturing industry so hard and would also put our policing and security at risk. while the conservative mp crispin blunt opposes that amendment to the finance bill. there is a majority in the house of commons that were remainers and many of them are utterly determined to overturn the result of the 2016 referendum despite the fact all of them in 2017, maybe with the exception of kenneth clarke, stood on a platform to implement that result, the labour party and the conservative party and the majority of the house of commons voted to give notice of article 50 to the eu so we need to get on with this, we need to get it done, but people are going to make it more difficult and stop it if they can, which is, frankly, irresponsible. the sensible majority should

not be tolerating it, but will have to work through the difficulties until the 29th of march. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in the central lobby of the houses of parliament. phrases like making mischief, surely we are beyond that? but i think there is obviously a move by some mps who want to try and stop no deal, and the way that they are choosing to do it at the moment is to amend laws and bills that are going through at the moment. so todayis going through at the moment. so today is supposedly about putting the budget into law with the finance bill but they want to try and use it to maybe make things a bit difficult for the government. i am joined by the former brexit minister who was with me now. you are on the side of

those who do not agree with theresa may‘s deal at the moment. what do you make of people like yvette cooper and nicky morgan in your own party who are saying no deal should not be contemplated? party who are saying no deal should not be contemplated ?” party who are saying no deal should not be contemplated? i completely disagree with their position. no deal has to be an option on the table for many reasons, not least for our negotiating strength with the eu, but also it might be the ultimate outcome if the prime minister's deal is rejected by the commons next week. and the government needs maximum flexibility to prepare to do what it has to do to prepare to do what it has to do to make sure that the country, businesses and individuals are in the best position for no deal. hundreds of mps say they will not allow no deal to happen, they will amend bills, they will make sure the government cannot govern effectively in order to stop that because they believe it would be so catastrophic for the economy. the truth is a

government run to take through no deal would not be able to govern.” disagree with that as well. if you ask a lot of mps who are supposedly against no deal, it is very hard for them to explain exactly how they would stop no deal. there is no express mechanism in parliament, there is no act of parliament or motion they can pass which stops the government from delivering a no deal or as government from delivering a no deal orasi government from delivering a no deal or as i prefer to call it a clean global brexit. the legal default position enshrined in law is that the uk will leave the eu on the 29th of march with a deal without a deal, and that is the position. it is very ha rd and that is the position. it is very hard to stop that in its tracks. there are big arguments about whether a deal on wto terms, no deal scenario, would be good or bad, and those arguments will continue, but isn‘t the problem now and january that actually the government, the

country, is not ready for a no deal scenario? the country need certainty. when i speak to constituents and businesses on my pa rt of constituents and businesses on my part of the world, all they want to weld his what will happen with just over two months until brexit. we are on the final lap and people need to know. we have had over two years to prepare for this and unfortunately we are still in the state of high uncertainty which is unacceptable. that is why when this deal which is totally u na cce pta ble that is why when this deal which is totally unacceptable because it is not one of the referendum or deliver brexit and it is a betrayal of the 2016 vote, when that gets defeated, the government will fully embrace no deal preparations, ensure there is certainty for businesses and individuals so we can position ourselves to minimise disruption, but also make the most of the opportunities which come from a wto brexit such as saving £39 billion, that can be invested into services

orto that can be invested into services or to prevent disruption from no deal, and start trading more freely with many countries around the world. thank you very much indeed. that amendment put forward by yvette cooper and others should be debated in the next couple of hours also. what we don‘t know is whether the government is willing to accept it or whether they will take it let the go ahead and see whether they get defeated or not. the scottish government acted unlawfully while investigating sexual harassment claims against former first minister alex salmond, a judge has ruled. the scottish government now admits it didn‘t properly follow its own procedures when it investigated the claims. a separate police inquiry is taking place into the allegations against mr salmond, which he denies. our correspondent lorna gordon has been following the story. this mess is likely to cost the

taxpayer after they were ordered to pay alex salmond‘s costs. today the scottish government admitted it breached its own guidelines by pointing an investigating officer who had prior engagement in the case, acted unlawfully, and as a result conceded in its fight against alex salmond. the last time mr salmond was in court room two, he was being sworn in as first minister. today it was to his submissions by his legal team that the scottish government acted unlawfully while investigating allegations and that the investigation was dismissed. the

decision is unlawful. the decision is unlawful in respect that it was taken in circumstances which were procedurally unfair and in respect that it was tainted by apparent bias. the allegations date back to events alleged to have taken place five years ago in the run—up to the scottish referendum, when mr salmond lived and worked here at bute house, the official residence of a serving first minister. mr salmond was accused of sexual misconduct by two female civil servants. in court, the scottish government admitted to one key mistake in its handling of the complaints, and agreed that its inquiry into the allegations must be set aside. the scottish government now accepts that, in relation to one specific aspect of the procedure, there was a failure, which vitiates the investigation, and hence the decision under challenge. mr salmond called on scotland‘s most senior civil servant, leslie evans, who had been in charge of the investigation, to resign. a former first minister of scotland requiring to take the administration of the scottish government to court

to establish that point should not have been necessary, and the person who is responsible for that — that institutional failure — the permanent secretary to the scottish government, should consider her position and take the appropriate action. in a statement, the scottish government‘s permanent secretary, leslie evans, said... the scottish government has said it will consider reinvestigating the complaints, but only once ongoing police have concluded. in the next half—hour, nicola sturgeon is expected to make a

statement to the scottish parliament on this issue and we will bring you that as soon as that gets under way. we will take you to holyrood. the roof of the home of former russian spy sergei skripal is to be dismantled by military teams in the wake of the novichok attack. detectives believe mr skripal and his daughter yulia first came into contact with the poison when it was sprayed on the door handle of their property. the operation is part of the clean—up following the attack by russian military intelligence agents last march. officials say the risk to public health remains "low" but wiltshire council has warned neighbours of about four months of disruption. it‘s been 30 years since a british midlands airplane

crashed on the m1 in leicestershire — killing a7 people. 126 people were on board the flight from heathrow to belfast when it had to make an emergency landing — many of the surviving passengers suffered life changing injuries. today, victims families, survivors and many of those first at the scene of the tragedy have gathered in the village of kegworth, to remember the people who lost their lives. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: scotland yard is to enhance its police presence outside parliament — after a pro—remain was called a nazi. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. patrick harrington is confirmed as europe‘s next ryder cup captain 2020. the chelsea boss has urged fa ns 2020. the chelsea boss has urged fans not to sing offensive songs about their opponents tottenham in their league cup semifinal first leg tonight. england welcome back commonwealth gold medal winnerjoe hart into the squad as they build up to the nipple world cup. —— to the netball. president trump is to make a primetime tv address to the nation

as the partial government shutdown in the united states continues. it‘s now in its 18th day, making it the second longest in history. the president is expected to talk about his plans that a border wall with mexico is needed — one of his campaign pledges. the cost of the wall is at the heart of the political row with congress that saw nine government departments close on december 22nd. our washington correspondent gary o‘donoghue joins me now. gary, what are we expecting him to say, what mood will he be in? he will be in a competitive mood, as he a lwa ys will be in a competitive mood, as he always is on this issue. i think you will attempt to turn the argument around and get on the front foot because what little polling there is on the subject of the border and the shutdown we are going through at the

moment has been trailing so he wants to change the argument i‘m sure. the question will be whether he declares a national state of emergency, something he has been threatening to do for a few days. that potentially would allow him to use money from the department of defence to start building the war without congressional approval. but there is a good chance that would end up in the courts and face legal challenges as well. there is a lot riding on this tonight for him. don‘t forget this tonight for him. don‘t forget this was central to his appeal to the people that voted for him in 2016. the white house clearly believes this is a big test for the administration and that it cannot be seen administration and that it cannot be seen to back down on this, given how much store was put bite to get him elected in the first place. getting him elected in the first place, and pa rt him elected in the first place, and part of that was the promise of this wall that would be paid for by

mexico, and that‘s the problem he that promise? it is kind of that. the cost of the thing is one thing. although the current narrative for the white house is that the wall will be paid for by mexico because of the new trade agreements that donald trump has brokered to replace nafta. he says that the nature of that means it will be paid for over and over again by mexico because of the deal he has cut. but there is a separate upfront cost which he is trying to get out of. congress at the moment, he wants 5.5 billion, they say no. eventually i think they will have to get to some kind of deal which includes much more than money for the border wall and security. the democrats can feel they will extract a lot out of this. the difficulty they have, and this isa the difficulty they have, and this is a strategic mistake they have

made in the last few days, is to talk about the wall as immoral, because once you do that it becomes very difficult to start handing over money is part of a deal, even if you get something good out of it. that has made a lot of democrats uneasy. let‘s return to the news that commons speakerjohn bercow has described the abuse and harassment of mps outside parliament "a type of fascism" and called for a change of policing policy. he said recent incidents, including tory mp anna soubry being verbally abused yesterday were "intolerable". anna soubry has spoken to the bbc in the past few minutes — she was speaking to our home affairs correspondent danny shaw. iam fine, i am fine, i am going about my business, as i normally do, and looking forward to getting in the chamber and putting the finance bill soon. chamber and putting the finance bill soon. what of the police told you about the events yesterday and your safety? their understanding of

things is there is no threat to my safety. the real concern is the threat to democracy, the idea and aim is to shut people up, like me, and to stop you guys from doing your job, which cannot be right in a free robust democracy, as we all believe in. i have no problem with people protesting. these are the responsible who represent the majority of leave voters in the remain supporters behind them, that has been going on for a long time, this is a very small group of far right extremists who just want to undermine democracy. especially for a lot of my colleagues, particularly labour colleagues, it is aboutjo cox because the person that murdered her was not the sort of person who comes and hangs around parliament, he was almost empowered by those types of extreme... extremists in our society that unfortunately brexit uncovered. it is almost

giving people a feeling that they have a right to speak and behave like that and in a free society, in a great democracy, they do not because they are trying to undermine democracy. that feelings run high, passions run high, people can shout, can‘t they? people can accuse you of a number of things, can‘t they? can‘t they? people can accuse you of a number of things, can't they? of course they can, and i do not have a problem at all with a good lively robust debate. one of my constituents came up to be before christmas and gave it to me both barrels, if you like. i thought he was rather rude but i would not complain about it for one moment. it would not enter my head to ring the police will make any form of complaint. there is nothing wrong with that in a democracy. we want people to be able to speak to their politicians and protest. what has been happening has gone way beyond that but it is a minority. it is a small group of right—wing extremists. we know how they behave.

they racially abused people and they do seem to pick on women, so we all know where they are coming from, it isa know where they are coming from, it is a tiny minority. there are people on the other site as well who have been attacking brexit supporters. on the other site as well who have been attacking brexit supportersm they have, i am not aware of the sort of behaviour, but it doesn‘t matter, it is all unacceptable. it doesn‘t matter who it is, who it is aimed at, it is unacceptable, and i have to say i am not aware of broadcasters being targeted in the way that has happened. laura kunz berg ran the gauntlet in december, kay burley from skye, faisal islam, and your cruise have to be put up with it as well, it is not a cce pta ble with it as well, it is not acceptable in a modern democracy, there is a very clear distinction between peaceful lawful protest and some of the scenes that we have seen in the last six weeks here at parliament. your viewers know the

a nswer to parliament. your viewers know the answer to the police. there has been lack of action the police.” answer to the police. there has been lack of action the police. i was going to ask if that. do you feel let down by the police? definitely yesterday. i am not saying, let down by the police? definitely yesterday. iam not saying, go let down by the police? definitely yesterday. i am not saying, go on a restless person! i know that the police have the right powers and the skills and most of them have the common sense to know how to police, keep people safe while supporting democracy, how to do it. yesterday they did not do it. they did the wrong thing where they can refused to intervene so one of your producers, i knew nothing about the centre afterwards, had said, you should scoot her across the road. i approached those two police officers who refused to do that and that speaks volumes. are you crucial by the statement police have made today about intervening where necessary? the mets have made a policy decision that was wrong and it looks like they have change that decision. if i can put it that way, a senior police

officer in nottinghamshire has contacted me, and it is absolutely clear that might nottinghamshire police would behave very differently. i‘m not saying they would have arrested anybody, they would have arrested anybody, they would have arrested anybody, they would have maintained law and order, they would allow me to say what i wa nted they would allow me to say what i wanted to say, they would have allowed broadcasters like yourselves to carry on broadcasting, and it would have allowed me to go unimpeded about my course of work. it is all we ask for. with this change what you do, your habits, the route you take to parliament? this debate is clearly going on for some days. these people are not around today, so i am absolutely going to use the entrance i normally use. we cannot be intimidated. this is a very small group of extremists, and whether they come from left or right, we must not be intimidated or let our great democracy be undermined in any way by these extremists. the south korean car

manufacturer hyundai has shown off a small model of a concept car it says can activate robotic legs to walk — at 3mph — over rough terrain. the elevate is also able to climb over walls and jump over a 5ft gap which the company say could be useful for emergency rescues following natural disasters. the project has been in development for three years and was unveiled at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. time for a look at the weather. iama bit i am a bit nervous! what on earth is that picture? anyone? he is on five, but you had better be careful! steady, now! none of this newsroom catchiness! i thought it was a whole

marsh! there you are, handsome! this time you have gone to the true dose mountains! it has been snowing in cyprus, which is good news for the british troops because that‘s where they can practice some of their skiing. there are ski resorts in cyprus. not everybody thinks that is a first port of cool. they might not necessarily have the with them. let‘s see the bunny rabbit! moving on to something a bit more serious. this is the proper stuff making the news. this is slovakia. the snow not entirely out of the question or problematic. this is slovakia, i would not fancy driving any of those because at the moment, a lot of snow, icy, and strong winds across europe so even snow, icy, and strong winds across europe so even once snow, icy, and strong winds across europe so even once the snow has fallen, it is getting blown around so fallen, it is getting blown around so getting created problems. lives

are actually being lost. snow is sitting on people‘s reeves, causing those to cave in, and the focus for the coming days is not much better. this is austria. austria pretty kitted out the wintry weather, all the ski resorts and stuff, but even the ski resorts and stuff, but even the ski resorts are grinding to a halt with the volume of snow, access roads closing and dangerous conditions, and avalanche risk right at the top of the scale. so that is the beast in the east at the moment? the beast of the east, the stratospheric warming you love to hear us talking about, that signal has shown up in our weather models and there is signs that cold weather from the east could head our way at the end of january. from the east could head our way at the end ofjanuary. but let from the east could head our way at the end of january. but let me show you our next child. one area of low pressure into greece. this is we had making windy for scotland this is what we are now getting causing this problem. these lows will carry on

driving into central europe for the next few days so more snow to come to the weekend. the chaos is not over yet. we though sit on the flank of that low and it is a quite a story for us today. a lot of fine weather, problems with high tides, but in the next few days, fairly plain sailing, high pressure, tonight, clear skies, whence falling lighter, and extensive frost but nothing like the wintry weather i have shown you. temperatures around freezing and many ruble spots, above in the towns and cities. tomorrow, good looking guy on the whole, patchy high cloud in the east drifting in of the north sea, the odd shower, but that sunshine will pull you. when you step outside it will be chilly. these are the daytime highs, into single figures, add on the wind and for many of us it will feel closer to freezing. towards the north—west however, you

can see something different, thicker cloud and rain getting in to the north—west of scotland, and that is a weak warm front, not bringing much in the way of rainfall but the clue is in the name, it will drag not warmerair in by is in the name, it will drag not warmer air in by the time we get into thursday. it will however bring thicker cloud, so there is a payoff for those martyr conditions. chilly in the south with the south, but at least temperatures should get back into double figures for the likes of belfast and glasgow whereas london, surrey seven, chilly then we have been for a while. for the end of the week, the story continues with that milderair week, the story continues with that milder air sinking its way south. we are setting up a grey weekend with average temperatures. fingers crossed they will be brightness but if you are a fan of the sunshine tomorrow will likely be your day but it will be chilly. we can go straight to holyrood where nicola sturgeon is made in a

statement following the court case involving alex salmond. the scottish government received two formal complaint of alleged misconduct by alex salmond during his time as first minister. those complaints came from two separate individuals. the completes were investigated under the procedure for handling of complaints involving current or former ministers which i will refer to from here on is the procedure. as members are aware, that was signed off by me and came into force in december 2017. as part of that procedure, i formally delegated response ability for investigating complaints of this nature to the permanent secretary. the new procedure formed part of a wider review of the scottish government policies and processes for addressing inappropriate conduct that the permanent secretary was asked by the cabinet to undertake in the wake of the metoo allegations. that was confirmed to parliament by

john swinney on the first datum of the 31st of october 2017. in august 2018, following the conclusion of the investigation into the complaint raised about his conduct, alex salmond sought a judicial review of the procedure and the way in which it had been applied to him. this morning, the court of session accepted a joint minute from the scottish government and alex salmond settling the action forjudicial review. the permit secretary issued a statement earlier detailing the reason for the decision to settle this case and i think it is also appropriate for these matters to be set out at least in summary to parliament. therefore, as far as i am able in light of the terms of the settle m e nt am able in light of the terms of the settlement and perhaps more importantly, the ongoing police investigation, i will seek to provide parliament in this statement and in the questions to follow with as much detail as i can. the decision to settle the case was taken by the permanent secretary with might support when it became

clear that, in one procedural respect only, albeit an important one, the application of the procedure could be perceived to have been flawed. in november 2018, mr salmond adjusted his petition for judicial review to advance a ground of challenge based on interaction between the complainant and the person who was subsequently appointed as investigating officer before the complaints were formalised. in late december 2018, the work being undertaken to produce releva nt the work being undertaken to produce relevant documents to the court in advance of the full hearing that was scheduled for next week led the government to reassess its position in relation to that ground of challenge in light of the full picture which was then available. after reassessi ng picture which was then available. after reassessing all the materials available, the permanent secretary concluded that an impression of partiality could have been created based on one specific point. contact

between the person appointed as investigating officer and the two complaints in advance of and around the time of the complaints being formalised in january 2018. the time of the complaints being formalised injanuary 2018. this prior contact was in the form of welfare support and guidance which was provided to the woman making complaint and was provided to the woman making complaintandi was provided to the woman making complaint and i think it is important to stress, presiding officer, that this support and guidance was in itself entirely legitimate and indeed entirely appropriate. as was set up in the court of session this morning, the government does not accept claims that this was in any way encouraging the complaints nor is there any suggestion that the investigating officer it did in fact act in a partial way or that i that the investigation or the decisions reached were in fact partial. the scottish government is also confident that in all other respects the procedure which was followed was fairto all the procedure which was followed was fair to all concerned. however, as members will be aware, it is a

well—established principle that a such as this must notjust to be impartial in fact, it must also be seen impartial in fact, it must also be seen to be so. it is on that basis that permanent secretary decided to settle the case and agree that the decisions she reached about the complaints at the conclusion of the investigation should on that ground alone be set aside. it is important to note, is a simple matter of fact, that the settlement today has no implications one way or the other for the substance of the complaints orfor the credibility of for the substance of the complaints or for the credibility of the complainants. the judicial review was never about the substance of the complaints, it was about the process of investigating those complaints. it will be open to the scottish government to reinvestigate these complaints subject of course to the views of the complainants but for reasons that i‘m sure the chamber will understand, this will be considered only when the ongoing police investigation has concluded.

it remains my view that the government was right to begin an investigation when serious complaints were made and not allow them to be swept under the carpet because of the identity of the person complained about. while, in this one respect, the operational application of the procedure was flawed, the scottish government considers the procedure itself to be robust and it does remain in place. however, the permanent secretary has rightly instructed a review of the procedure‘s application in relation to the specific point which has arisen in order to ensure that employees can have confidence in the process that will be applied should there be a need in future to investigate complaints about ministers orformer investigate complaints about ministers or former ministers. investigate complaints about ministers orformer ministers. there is one final point about the process that i wish to make in light of today‘s developments. the government has not at any time made public either the outcome of the investigation or the substance of

the complaints and that will remain the complaints and that will remain the case. as i have already briefly mentioned and members will appreciate, there is an ongoing police investigation that must be allowed to take its proper course. the government could also, as i have just observed, reinvestigate these complaints in due course. in these circumstances, it would not be appropriate for me or anyone else, for that matter, to say anything at this stage about the substance of the complaints. questions have also been raised in the past about meetings i had with alex salmond during the investigation and i want to address that issue now. i met with him on three occasions, on the 2nd of april last year at my home in glasgow, on the 7th ofjune in aberdeen ahead of the snp conference, and at my home on the 1ath ofjuly. conference, and at my home on the 1ath of july. i conference, and at my home on the 1ath ofjuly. i also spoke with him on the telephone on the 23rd of april and the 18th ofjuly. i have not spoken to alex salmond since the

18th ofjuly. on the 2nd of april, he informed me about the complaints against him which, of course, in line with the procedure, the permanent secretary had not done and he set out his various concerns about the process. in the other contacts, he reiterated his concerns about the process and told me about proposals he was making to the scottish government for mediation and arbitration. however, i was a lwa ys and arbitration. however, i was always clear that i had no role in the process and i did not seek to intervene in it at any stage. nor indeed did ifeel intervene in it at any stage. nor indeed did i feel under any intervene in it at any stage. nor indeed did ifeel under any pressure to do so. in conclusion, it is deeply regrettable, perhaps that is an understatement, that, as a result ofa an understatement, that, as a result of a failure in the proper application of one aspect of the procedure, the scottish government has had to settle this matter today. the permanent secretary has already

this morning apologised to all involved. in echoing that, i want to express my regret in particular for the difficult position that the complainants have been placed in. i know the permanent secretary has spoken directly to both women. i can only imagine how difficult the decision to raise concerns as well as the publicity around this investigation at the judicial review must have been for them in recent months. they had every right to expect the process to be robust and beyond reproach in every aspect of it, and to reach a lasting conclusion, and i am sorry that, on this occasion, but has not been the case. it is fair to say that, in recent months, all organisations have grappled with the challenge of ensuring fairand have grappled with the challenge of ensuring fair and robust processes for the investigation of complaints which can sometimes be historic in nature. it is because we, i

personally, take that task so seriously that the scottish government is determined to learn and apply lessons from this case so that any member of staff raising complaints in future can have confidence that every aspect of the process applied will be robust. ensuring a robust complaints process is part of the responsibility of every organisation, to provide a safe and respectable working environment, and i as first minister and determined that the scottish government will live up to that responsibility. thank you possibly first minister will now take questions on the issues raised in a statement and i intend to allow up to 20 minutes for after which we must move to decision time. jackson ca rlow. must move to decision time. jackson carlow. thank you, i know this is the subject of an ongoing police investigation which none of us must prejudice and given the detail of

the statement from the first minister, we will wish to reflect further. the person minister rightly mentioned the two complaints at the ce ntre mentioned the two complaints at the centre of this matter and honestly the trouble is that good intentions to wards it ended up with little if the government cannot meet basic standards of competence. what we have witnessed is to dash deeply disappointing, a question of investigation and seen an assembly civil war played out at the expense of the taxpayer to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal costs. let me turn to some questions. firstly, in november last year, the first minister said, i questions. firstly, in november last year, the first minister said, lam absolutely satisfied that i, the snp and the scottish government have acted entirely appropriately at all stages. now we learn this was not the case. why only two months ago was the first minister confidently insisting she had got everything right? did she just not know what was going on in our own office? secondly, and i think of crucial interest, paragraph 12 of the

scottish government procedure provides for the first minister being involved at the conclusion of the process only when the outcome of the process only when the outcome of the investigation is complete. in the investigation is complete. in the light of this, why was the first minister involved in a series of meetings and phone calls with mr salmond about which come with respect to the latter, we are only being told today for the first time? this seems completely inappropriate in terms of the guidance within the procedure that the first minister herself said that she had signed off just months before. and finally, we ask this. we have learned a lot in re ce nt ask this. we have learned a lot in recent months about the need to support victims of sexual harassment. in the wake of the event today, does the first minister think it more or less likely that complainants will have the confidence to come forward if this is the example of the scottish government, what hope is there of reassuring others? does she not agree that above all else, having the confidence to come forward when issues like this arise must be something that people have total confidence in doing? cani

can i thankjackson carlow for his wishes allsop i i , i will not respond to the more blatant political elements to that because i don‘t actually think it is appropriate and some of his comments about civil war are simply ludicrous andi about civil war are simply ludicrous and i don‘t think if i was to respond on that basis it would do justice to the seriousness of the matter at hand. let me turn to the serious questions. he asked about complainants and i think it is absolutely essential that we keep the interests of complainants at the heart of this. the scottish government took steps, as did many other organisations, to put in place a procedure for dealing with complaints of harassment including complaints of harassment including complaints of harassment including complaints of sexual harassment. that procedure, in my view, is robust and it remains in place. in one aspect of the application of that procedure, the scottish

government processes have fallen short and i deeply, deeply regret that and that is something the scottish government has to reflect seriously on and something it has to be determined to learn lessons about. in terms of the quote of something i said, i will not quote it back, but to be a fact that i was satisfied with the actions of the snp, iand satisfied with the actions of the snp, i and the scottish government had taken, this is an investigation that has nothing to do with the snp so that has nothing to do with the snp soi that has nothing to do with the snp so i would refer to myself and the scottish government. at that point, i believed that was the case. today, with the exception of the one aspect that the government has conceded was flawed, i still believe that all of the aspect of the application of the procedure by the government was fair and robust. that is no comfort to anybody because that one flaw has led to the decision today. he asked ifi led to the decision today. he asked if i simply did not know what was going on in my government. we get to the nub of it here. i did not know

what was going on in the investigation because the procedure saidi investigation because the procedure said i should not know what was going on in the investigation. i was informed by the esk —— by the investigation, yes, by alex salmond, but i did nothing to intervene in that process as a result of any of that. and i think that is an important point and one that i am very clear on. lastly, in terms of does this make it more or less likely for complaints to come forward —— complainants. i am absolutely clear that my responsibility and the responsibility and the responsibility of the government is to make sure that we encourage, enable, empower people with complaints to come forward by putting in place robust procedures and by doing everything we can to make sure those processes are beyond reproach. if mistakes are made, as a mistake was made in this case, in good faith but nevertheless a

mistake was made, it is absolutely incumbent that lessons are learned in order that we can ensure, collectively, that we encourage anybody with a complaint to come forward and feel that the complaint is treated seriously and appropriately. cani can i thank the first minister for advance sight of her statement. the first minister not be held responsible for the actions of her predecessor but she is in the end responsible for the actions of this government. and this government is letting these women down badly. let's be clear, it takes an unflinching courage to step forward and challenge powerful men and powerful institutions. which is why they deserve so much better than this. it is also why it is paramount that their treatment, their access to support and representation, and their access tojustice to support and representation, and their access to justice must to support and representation, and their access tojustice must be a priority. this is a question of

competence, but it is also a question of trust. if this government cannot be trusted to deal competently with a case involving a former first minister of this country, what trust and confidence can other women have in this government's handling of their complaints of harassment? this is extremely serious. so, apart from a review of procedures, what further action is the first minister now prepared to take to restore trust, to restore confidence in her government to's handling of present and future harassment complaints? cani and future harassment complaints? can i thank richard leonard for his questions and i say firstly, i am responsible for the scottish government, that is why i am standing here accountable to parliament in the right and proper way, notwithstanding in this case, because of the procedure, i was not

personally involved in the conduct of the investigation but nevertheless i absolutely accept my responsibility to answer these questions and also now, given the error that has led to the situation we are in today, to make sure that appropriate steps are taken to learn and apply any lessons that are required. i have said already, i will say again, i deeply regret the position that two women had been placed in and that is incumbent on not just placed in and that is incumbent on notjust me placed in and that is incumbent on not just me but placed in and that is incumbent on notjust me but the government in its entirety, to make sure that we give confidence to women in future. if they come forward with complaints, not just women, if they come forward with complaints, notjust women, anybody who comes forward, that those complaints are treated seriously in the processes applied are robust. pa rt the processes applied are robust. part of that responsible if the is to be clear, not to try to make excuses, but to be clear in fact of certain things are not allowed those to be lost. the government has put in place a procedure that is robust, in all but one aspect which of

course is important because it had led to the situation we are in today but in every other aspect of the government is confident that that procedure was applied correctly. in terms of the error that was made, the review that has been instructed today by the permanent secretary, it is important to allow that to happen and not to pre—empt any conclusions that. but i will happily give an undertaking today to report back to parliament on the outcome of that review and any steps that are being taken as a result of that. finally, i stayed in my statement, the permanent secretary has spoken to the two women involved to apologise, to offer support. it will be open in the future for the scottish government, dependent on the views of the complainants, to reinvestigate these complaints but of course that consideration has to await the conclusion of the police investigation. i understand the permanent secretary has spoken to or is speaking to in the course of the day trade unions in order to give assurances there about how these

complaints will be taken forward. i don‘t want anybody in this chamber to be in any doubt about how seriously i treat this situation. i think it is incredibly important that people have confidence in processes and it is because of that that i feel so regretful at what has happened here today and feel the responsibility not just happened here today and feel the responsibility notjust for happened here today and feel the responsibility not just for what happened here today and feel the responsibility notjust for what has happened but to take whatever action is required to ensure that situations like this cannot happen again in the future and i will undertake... studio: the first minister, nicola sturgeon, under some pressure after the scottish government emitted acting unlawfully while handling sexual harassment case against alex salmond but keen to stress that the events were nothing to affect the complainants, the substance of the complaint or indeed the credibility of the complainant. further questioning for the first minister. we will pull

away from that. maryam moshiri is here. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. scotland yard is to enhance its police presence outside parliament after a pro—remain mp was called a nazi. the business secretary, greg clark, has told mps that a no—deal brexit "should not be contemplated". the scottish government admits its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former first minister alex salmond was unlawful. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. sales at morrisons rose 3.6% in the last nine weeks to january, giving the supermarket its fourth consecutive christmas of growth. but growth at stores was just 0.6%, the rest of the sales were from its wholesale business. morrisons supplies amazon with groceries to sell to amazon customers. sales at aldi rose by 10.a% over christmas. amazon has eclipsed microsoft to become the world‘s most valuable listed company.

the online retailer was valued at $797 million when the us stock market closed last night, after edging past microsoft. that‘s valued at $789 billion. jeff bezos, the founder of amazon, is the world‘s richest man, with a fortune of $135 billion, according to bloomberg‘s billionaire index. how have the markets been behaving? not a particularly bad day. the london market has closed up 0.7a%. volumes are a bit thin, traders are a bit reticent about getting into the market ahead of the possible

meaningful vote on brexit next week but we have had representatives from the us and china starting talks on trying to find a resolution to the trade war between the countries and that has lifted the mood among investors. morrisons was a big loser as you can see. i investors. morrisons was a big loser as you can see. | assume investors. morrisons was a big loser as you can see. i assume the computer is broken on the cac? when it says there are like that, nothing has happened ? it says there are like that, nothing has happened? itjust means it has basically closed at the same level where it opened. at a719. unless the computer is broken! tom stevenson is investment director at fidelity worldwide investments. let‘s talk about morrisons because they had disappointing sales figures to some degree and the markets did not like what they had to say. we

had some industrywide sales figures for the 12 weeks running up to christmas today and they showed that we spent a record amount in the supermarkets over that period, nearly £30 billion which is £450 million more than last year but the trouble for morrisons is that it is not going to the right supermarkets. it is all going to the discounters, the likes of aldi and lidl whose sales are growing at about 10% a year but morrisons sales are only up by less than 1%. there is a battle between the big four supermarkets, most of it we will hear from this week, and the discounters. let's talk about amazon and microsoft. amazon has overtaken microsoft as the worlds most valuable listed company and looking at the markets, but has continued. i had a look at just before i came into the studio

and the situation at the close last night is still the same. amazon's value isjust a night is still the same. amazon's value is just a fraction above $800 billion and microsoft is still lagging 20 billion or so behind but you have to put this into context. three months ago, all of these tech stocks were flying high. apple was worth more than $1.1 trillion, and was it was close behind. they had a dreadful fourth quarter, falling by 25-30% in dreadful fourth quarter, falling by 25—30% in some cases. the thing about microsoft is it hasjust held steady, it is old economy technology if you like and amazon, which went way ahead with apple, they have falle n way ahead with apple, they have fallen back. today, with the resurgence in technology the first few trading days of the year, amazon has pushed ahead. and finally, talking about the wider markets and sentiment, these low level talks between the us and china are still

an important step to many?” between the us and china are still an important step to many? i think so. an important step to many? i think so. the market has been worried, i mentioned the big falls in the last quarter of last year, the market has been concerned about two things, one of which is the trade wars and the other is tightening interest—rate policy in the us. in the last few days we have had good news on both fronts. j powell, the chairman of the federal reserve, has indicated that interest rates might rise a slow and not as far as people expected and now we have heard that talks will roll over into a third day under president has been tweeting that they are going very well. on both fronts the markets are quite happy. tom stevenson, good to talk to you. you are saying that the data is delayed by 15 minutes. i'm saying that it is hard to believe my

computer is not behaving! it‘s very good. let mejust computer is not behaving! it‘s very good. let me just show you. it is actually up 1.2%. the other one is the percentage. there you go. you could stay there, it looks darker and is better for our audience!” could stay there, it looks darker and is better for our audience! i am here to help! i might be wrong. say that again! i‘m shocked you said that again! i‘m shocked you said that once! never wrong for long. that is someone else‘s motto! now, bohemian rhapsody has proved a box office hit, and not just at the cinemas but at buckingham palace too. the guards there have been filmed performing the famous queen song, just hours after the film scooped two golden globe awards. let‘s have a listen to the band of the grenadier guards, who gave this rendition of the song yesterday... of the song yesterday. band plays bohemian rhapsody.

they are very good but it is missing something! we can move next to what is happening here. that‘s it from your afternoon live team for today. next the bbc news at five. that is with huw edwards. time for a look at the weather. here‘s susan powell. hello, we have not done badly with the sunshine today and it looks like clear skies will stay with us this

evening and overnight. the northerly wind will also ease and that is setting us up perfectly for a widespread frost. this evening and overnight, still the chance of the odd shower drifting into northern scotland, one or two in the north sea coast but essentially a finite and by the time we reach the small hours of the frost is pretty widespread. probably lows of —3 in some rural parts of scotland and some rural parts of scotland and some towns and cities will stayjust above first thing wednesday. a good—looking day, a lot of sunshine, a little hazy towards the north sea thanks to some high cloud with some rain pushing into the north—west of scotla nd rain pushing into the north—west of scotland in the afternoon. temperatures are sliding further down into single figures and we must factor in the wind. add that on and for many it will feel closer to freezing. today at 5, scotland yard says the police presence outside parliament is to be boosted — after some mps experienced abuse and intimidation. the conservative anna soubry

was called a ‘nazi‘ and ‘scum‘ yesterday , because of her opposition to brexit, drawing this response today. in a democracy, we want people to be able to speak to the politicians and we want people to be able to protest. what has been happening has gone way beyond that, but it is a minority. a very small group of right—wing extremists. we‘ll have the latest from westminster, and we‘ll be talking to a former met police superintendent. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. the brexit secretary casts doubt on claims — that brexit could be delayed , if mps reject theresa may‘s