this is bbc news i'm martine croxall. the headlines at seven. the duke of edinburgh has visited a hospitalfor a precautionary check—up following yesterday's car crash in norfolk. this eyewitness described the moment he pulled the duke to safety. he was able to turn over and that was the first time i saw his face, and i realised i was holding the duke of edinburgh. a buckingham palace spokesman said contact has been made with the two woman injured in the collision, and well wishes exchanged. a prescription problem — patients complain of long delays in getting painkillers and anti—depressants, as pharmacists warn of shortages in over 80 common medicines. three men are jailed for life for murdering five people when they blew up a shop in leicester, in an attempted insurance scam. president trump has rejected claims that he instructed his former lawyer to lie to congress about his business links with russia. season's greetings for one essex art dealer — who has brought banky‘s latest artwork for a six—figure sum. good evening, and welcome

to the bbc news. buckingham palace has announced that the duke of edinburgh has been to hospitalfor a check up, after being involved in a car crash at sandringham last night. doctors have confirmed that he had no injuries of concern. police in norfolk say they're investigating the crash and will take ‘any appropriate action.‘ an eyewitness who helped the prince who's 97 out of his overturned landrover car, described the scene of the collision, at a road junction near the sandringham estate, as "horrendous." the woman driving the other vehicle in the crash was treated in hospitalfor cuts, while herfemale passenger broke her wrist. a 9—month old baby who was also in their car, wasn't hurt. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford reports from sandringham

it was the devastating car crash that the queen's 97—year—old husband simply walked away from. his land rover freelander had ended up on its side, and a nine—month—old baby boy had been taken unharmed from the other car. roy warne was the first to the scene, telling me what had initially caught his eye. i saw a car somersaulting across the road from my right. it was tumbling. it was turning over. he rushed to help the clearly elderly driver of what was a land rover freelander, but at first the man's legs were trapped. when his left leg moved, his right leg became free and he was able to turn over and that was the first time i saw his face and i realised i was holding the duke of edinburgh, and i said something to myself, something like, "blimey",

but probably a bit stronger. roy warne then helped the duke out of the car, through the sunroof. he walked away from his car and asked if other people were all right. so, his kind of immediate concern at that point seemed to be for the well—being of the people travelling in the other vehicle? he was much more concerned about other people than himself. in the aftermath, the duke told police the low winter sun had been a problem yesterday afternoon. he mentioned that he was dazzled by the sun, which would have been directly in front of him from the direction of his travel, would have been right in his eyes at horizon level. police are still looking into the crash that they say they're going to investigate just like any other road traffic accident, but it seems that what happened is with the sun low in the sky, the duke of edinburgh pulled out into this busy road

and was in a collision with a blue kia. his car then tumbled down the road, ending up here, with the driver's door on the ground and he then had to be helped out of the vehicle. whatever the outcome of the investigation, there will now be questions about whether the duke of edinburgh should stop driving. all drivers in the uk over 70 have to renew their license every three years. this notorious stretch of road has claimed five lives in six years. by chance, it was up for discussion at a council meeting today, where it was agreed the speed limit should be reduced from 60 to 50. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are michael booker, the deputy editor for the daily express, and the daily mirror columnist, susie boniface. pharmacists are warning they're struggling to obtain some common medicines including painkillers

and anti—depressants, leaving patients complaining of delays in getting the drugs they need. the bbc has learned there's been a big rise in the number of medicines being placed on the "shortage of supply" list for england. increased global demand and the rising cost of raw materials, are being blamed for some of the shortages. here's our health correspondent catherine burns. this drug, as you can see, has gone completely red. as we film, the realisation that another drug is running low. has now gone completely out of stock. now we will have to shop around to make sure customers and patients continue to get access to this medicine. it is not unusual for this to happen. problems with supply and demand for medicines. in fact, every month, the government agrees to pay a premium for some drugs where availability is low. what is unusual is the number of drugs they are doing this for. lists are published every month, showing which medicines are in such short supply. injanuary 2015, there were 12. the highest number was in 2017, well

before brexit became a pressing issue. at the end of last year, there was a surge from 45 in the autumn to the most recent figure, 80. many of the shortages have been for commonly prescribed drugs like a drug used to treat high blood pressure and naproxen, a common anti—inflammatory. wendy turner can struggle with everyday tasks. she has a condition which means she is always in pain. she says naproxen keeps it down to a manageable level. i've got tablets left for today and tomorrow and then they are gone. i'm worried and a bit scared about it and it's stress. if she can't get any in time, she will have to take a less strong alternative. pharmacists say there is almost always something else to try, as long as people get most people won't notice this and will

still be getting their prescriptions filled as normal but i've spoken to others who are really worried, especially people with long—term conditions. one woman told me she has tracked down her medicines online in america. others say they are sharing with friends. one man told me he is having to cut tablets in half to guess the right dosage. all of those have risks. there are several possible reasons why this is happening, from increased global demand to the rising cost of raw materials. some in the industry think there could be an element of so—called unconscious stockpiling along the supply chain ahead of a possible no—deal brexit. but the government and others say there is no evidence that is happening. i don't think brexit is the factor at the moment. it's too early, we are too far away. the nhs has been good at getting drugs at good prices but they are global and if they get a good price for their products somewhere else in the world, they might be supplying those other countries

in priority to the nhs in the uk. the government says it is working closely with the industry to make sure patients get the medicines they need. catherine burns, bbc news. the government's financial watchdog, has warned that the long term plan to improve the nhs in england —which was announced last week— could be threatened by growing waiting lists and staff shortages. the national audit office also says it will be difficult to make the nhs sustainable, without a long—term funding settlement for social care. the prime minister has spent the day speaking to other european leaders, and meeting members of her cabinet, to discuss the future of her brexit deal, overwhelmingly rejected by mps earlier this week. mrs may is due to present new plans to parliament on monday. here's our political correspondent ben wright reports. mr gove, are you confident of getting the brexit deal you want? what now? today the prime minister continued to listen, with cabinet ministers trooping in and out to share their advice with the prime minister who has a brexit deal the house of commons hates and the eu

insists cannot be changed. tight—lipped, but for brexiteers, i don't believe we could have an an independent trade policy if we stayed in a customs union. the reason for that, in a customs union, with the european union, we would have to apply a european trade law without having a say in how it's made. he is happy to sign agreements with australia but won't sign up to a customs union compromise which might lead to cross—party support in parliament for a new deal. while some in theresa may's divided cabinet are telling her leaving the european union without a deal would be ok, others, particularly a camp dubbed the gang of five, urge the prime ministerfind a cross—party solution to this crisis, to compromise and to rule out what they think would be the disaster of a no—deal brexit. and of course, there is very little time on monday, the prime minister will make

a statement in the commons setting out the government's plan b and mps will start to put forward their alternative ideas as amendments to that motion. the following tuesday will then see a series of crunch votes on all of that. as things stand, exactly two months later, the uk are set to leave the eu, whether parliament has agreed a brexit deal or not. the former foreign secretary toured a circumstances to delay the uk's departure. reinforce peoples view that there is some kind of plot going on at westminster to stop this thing. here, competing ideas to break the political paralysis are being argued over and many mps do see the merits in asking for some more time. if we need further negotiation and article 50 is extended for a few months,

until the summer, i don't have a problem. a few months. and i don't think the public... they are reasonable on this. theresa may spoke to eu leaders but her headache is here, trapped between the demands of her divided party and a fractured parliament. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. three men have beenjailed for life for murdering five people, in an explosion at a shop in leicester last february. aram kurd and arkan ali will each serve a minimum of 38 years, while hawkar hassan was given 33 years. the court heard they caused the explosion, as part of an insurance scam. this report by sima kotecha contains distressing images from the start. shortly after 7pm, a massive explosion in the basement of a shop.

and killed the five people inside it. three men were responsible: hawkar hassan, arkan ali and aram kurd. this afternoon, all were sentenced to life injailfor murder. today mearks the end of a long and complex today marks the end of a long and complex investigation and will provide, i hope, some closure to the families, whose strength, resolve and dignity throughout the last year has been nothing short of remarkable. the men deliberately caused the explosion as part of a plan to profit from a false insurance claim. their victims, 46—year—old mary ragoobar, her two teenage sons, sean and shane, shane's girlfriend, 18—year—old leah reek. all were enjoying a quiet sunday evening in theirflat. i don't think you ever get over it. no. it's still not real, if you know what i mean? we know she's gone, but to see her walk out the house and never, ever see her again... yeah.

it hurts all the time, doesn't it? yeah. also killed in the polish supermarket below the flat, 22—year—old viktorija ijevleva, a co—conspirator who they left to die because she knew too much about their plans. this empty space is a constant reminder of what happened last february on that incredibly cold evening. this community still feels the shock of the fire that resonated around this city. jose ragoobar said his world was shattered after losing his wife and sons. his youngest son, scotty, was the only one to survive the blast. every day i cry. i cried every day, because everything you do... you think of them. thejudge described the men as exceptionally callous and deceitful, who, he said, haven't shown the time is approaching quarter past

seven. the headlines on bbc news... buckingham palace says the duke of edinbrugh has visited hospital as a precautionary measure following yesterday's car crash in norfolk. pharmacists warn of a shortage in supply of many basic medicines, including painkillers and anti—depressants. three men are sentenced to life in prison for the murder of five people following an explosion in a shop in leicester — the old bailey's been told the pilot of a vintage aircraft that crashed killing 11 people at the shoreham airshow in 2015, did nothing to recover from a stunt which had gone wrong, until he was just a hundred feet off the ground. andrew hill is accused of 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence. he denies the charges. a bbc news editor has been cleared of naming the victim of a sexual offence

in a live broadcast. arif ansari, who's the head of news at the bbc asian network, checked and approved a reporter's script in a rape trial, that named the victim, wrongly stating it was a pseudonym. such victims are automatically given lifetime anonymity by the law. the jury in the trial of two men charged over the hillsborough stadium disaster, which claimed 96 lives, has been told safety standards were very different in the 80's. the former sheffield wednesday club secretary graham mackrell denies two safety charges, while the police match commander david duckenfield, denies the gross negligence manslaughter, of 95 liverpool fans, in april 1989. judith moritz reports from preston crown court graham mackrell was a safety officer without any safety training. sheffield wednesday's former club secretary qualified as an accountant, thejury heard, yet in 1989 he was responsible for safety at the hillsborough stadium.

he is accused of turning a blind eye to the way fans were going to make their way through the turnstiles and failing to make contingency plans. jason beer qc, defending mr mackrell told the jury that 30 years ago the role of a safety officer was a new concept. he said they mustjudge him by the standards of the time. the court also heard that the structure and the layout of the hillsborough ground were approved before mr mackrelljoined the club. the stadium was a prestigious venue, used to hosting big matches but the jury was also told that there had been previous problems with overcrowding before the fatal crush in 1989. eight years earlier spurs played wolves in an fa semi cup final when a crush in the crowd began, police allowed fans onto the touchline. you can see them sitting along the pitch having got out. the court heard from spurs supporters james chumley who wasstfipped—i saying a police officer told him

leppings lane was the stadium's worst end and he added the situation was always the same at big games. when the crush happened in 1989 96 lives were lost. their families are now sitting through a criminal trial, nearly 30 years after the disaster. democratic politicians in the us say they will investigate allegations that president donald trump directed his ex—personal lawyer to lie to congress. a buzzfeed news report claims mr trump instructed michael cohen to lie about plans to build a trump tower in moscow — at a time when the president denied having any business ties to russia. the story alleges "trump received 10 personal updates from michael cohen and encouraged a planned meeting with vladimir putin." mr trump has denied ever directing his former

lawyer to break the law. he responded on twitter quoting the fox news correspondent kevin corke, "don't forget, michael cohen has already been convicted of perjury and fraud. lying to reduce his jail time!" michael cohen was president trump's longtime personal lawyer and fixer. he is cooperating with prosecutors — and was sentenced in december to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of tax fraud and lying to congress. the intelligence committee will investigate the claims, says its chairman adam schiff — who wrote on twitter: "the allegation that the president of the united states may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with russia is among the most serious to date." let's speak to anthony zurcher in washington: anthony, how serious are these allegations it twists and turns the story.

absolutely and i think one of the most interesting thing about the bus speed article wasn'tjust that michael cullen making these allegations about donald trump —— michael:. the story contained more than that, it said there was documentary evidence that substantiated these allegations, e—mailand substantiated these allegations, e—mail and text messages as well as accou nts e—mail and text messages as well as accounts from people within donald trump's business empire thing that donald trump specifically directed michael cohen to congress during the time of the trump tower negotiations in moscow. that has people pointing back to tuesday when donald trump's attorney was testifying before the senate and he was asked about what would constitute obstruction of justice. in your memo you talked

about the cohen decision and you talked about obstruction of justice and you already went over that, which i appreciate. you wrote on page one that a president persuading a person to commit perjury would be obstruction, is that right? yes. any person who persuade another... any? 0k. you also said that a president or any person convincing a witness to change testimony would be obstruction. is that right? yes. so if there were some reason to believe that the president tried to coach somebody to testify or not to testify, that could be obstruction of justice? yes, under an obstruction statute, yes. and democrats are saying they are going to investigate these allegations, they want baby on the once trying to do this? —— they will not be the only ones doing this? absolutely not, the editor of bus speed have is this evidence in her

hands. she's just not king at plush—mac she is looking at allegations of the structures of justice and prior to this, a lot of this had been about whether the former fbi richter constituted an attempt to obstruct justice former fbi richter constituted an attempt to obstructjustice or on pressure on members of the congregation to back off. to it you have actual tangible evidence of donald trump trying to change the testimony of eight key witness before congress and in past impeachment proceedings, but bill clinton and the ones that were started against richard nixon, these kind of allegations of obstruction of justice were invited kind of allegations of obstruction ofjustice were invited as grounds for impeachment. thank you. uk retail sales fell by more than expected last month, after consumers brought forward their christmas shopping, to november. the latest figures from the office for national statistics also show that online shopping in december accounted for a fifth of all sales, exacerbating the problems

of established names like marks and spencer. m & s this week identified more stores that will close. our business correspondent, emma simpson, has been to bedford, where the once—resilent high street there, is now feeling the pinch. bedford has escaped the worst of the downfall on our high streets, but it faces a big challenge now. it's m&s, the cornerstone of this town centre is set to shut. i don't want to lose our m&s. it is the heart of our town. i think it will die. i think the town will die. will you miss it? terribly. it is really sad. do you buy your clothes there? no. i do a lot of online shopping sfiiiiszé—fl? ;§‘%§i§nfiis{;§. 1:55:17: making the numbers add up.

something has got to give. so how was christmas? booming. some people might be thinking, what on earth are you doing, taking on a shop? yeah, it was a bit of an impulse buy. but, this shop offers much more than just a few sweets in a sweet jar.

i still believe that there is a need to have a retail experience that isn't sitting behind a computer. marks and spencer had a long history here, too. nearly 90 years. that is not enough these days, though. it says it needs fewer, better storage for its long—term survival. —— better stores. but it will leave a big old gap for this town and others to fill. emma simpson, bbc news, bedford. a shopping centre in fife is up for auction, with a starting price ofjust one pound. the postings in the town of kirkcauldy, is owned by a pension fund, and fourteen of its twenty one shops are currently vacant. the sale is the latest sign of the pressures facing the uk high street. family and friends have gathered near petworth in west sussex for the funeral of dame june whitfield. the veteran actor died peacefully last month at the age of 93. her absolutely fabulous co—sta rs joanna lumley and jennifer saunders were among the mourners

at all hallows church in tillington. reverend debbie smith who led the service described her as ‘an adorable, much—loved woman, known as a national treasure and a role model to many‘. ant mcpartlin has returned to work following months off screen. he stopped his tv work in march, after a conviction for drink—driving. this afternoon, he was back recording auditions for "britain's got talent" with his on—screen partner, declan donnelly. the series will air on itv later this year. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there, we have certainly had a wintry feel to the weather today, not just because it wintry feel to the weather today, notjust because it was cold but we have also seen some sleet and snow over the hell is. coming from that area of cloud moving slowly eastwards so it will not be as cold as it was last night when we had temperatures down to minus 11 in scotland. sun chris peltier in there but on the whole lot of cloud to

come tonight, a bit more patchy rain around and fora come tonight, a bit more patchy rain around and for a while some sleet and snow over the hills of northern england and into scotland. a touch of frost, frost is far only at all tonight but not the low temperature as we had last night but temperatures did not rise much at all today over the hills of scotland and northern england. some such open in scotland, some showers towards the northern isles will continue through the day. showers for northern ireland, especially across the eastern side of the country. not much but northern england. what a weather —— wetter weather for wales. towards the south of england, east anglia and may well be dry with a few showers in the morning but fine weather for the flooding part in the afternoon. he lot of cloud but a dull day for most of us. some sunshine and northern scotland. in between those heavy showers in the south—west of england, the book bigger temperatures here. much colder further east. we should tend to lose the showers overnight,

pressure is tending to build across the uk but at the same time we have this very weak front pushing down from the north west and had about we have rock and cloud and a touch of frost. damages minus one or minus two. that week weather from their producing a little rain and perhaps some sleet or so. header that we should see some sunshine at times across england and wales. and north—westerly breeze and temperatures typically six celsius so staying cold. early next week we have got a stronger weather front bring it more rain and some snow over the hill fog setback that should clear and we will get into more of a north westerly wind. that is going to be cold enough but the wind direction changes as the week goes on and we are likely to pull in eight north easterly wind which will make it feel that bit colder. with the cold air continuing their is still the threat of snow and ice.