so is the green beam where it's aiming at? proton therapy works by targeting cancers very precisely. it causes less damage to surrounding areas than normal radiotherapy and is particularly effective for younger people. children have tissues which are still developing and are very, very sensitive to radiation. so anything you can do to spare those normal tissues from the effects of radiation treatment, the better it will be for them in the long term. how i feel about this is very, it's very nerve—racking. and i'm quite nervous about it. but if it makes me better, i'm happy about it. proton beam therapy first hit the headlines four years ago when the parents of ashya king took their child abroad to get treatment. ashya eventually had the therapy in the czech republic and his parents say he is now cancer—free. mason's treatment starts today. it will take six weeks. he's already looking forward to life after proton therapy. i'm going to try and be good in school again, science,

like, i always love. and i'm going to try and go to university, and try and become a doctor. i will be proud of whatever he wants to be. but i'm sure whatever it is, it will be fantastic. there is hope here of a better future. graham satchell, bbc news, manchester. time for a look at the weather. here's mel. winter has established a itself over the last day or so and it may be less cold towards the weekend but that will be short lived. we had some wintry showers across kent and those continued through the afternoon. but away from that plenty of spells of winter sunshine. some cloud and rain for northern ireland where that less cold air is starting to make inroads. parts of scotland and the north of england barely

getting above freezing today. under the clear skies by night as temperatures will plummet. that is away from northern ireland where we keep that cloud and those showery outbreaks. there could be some snow over higher ground but not exclusively higher ground. and because it is really cold there is the risk of some icy stretches and freezing fog. so cold start to thursday. here is the warm front introducing that slightly less cold airand that introducing that slightly less cold air and that continues to move east as we had through thursday. introducing more cloud and showers which is built into parts of the western half of the uk. the best of any brightness across eastern england and art into scotland. here temperatures remain in low single

figures worse out to the west temperatures doing a little better. so as we had to thursday night and into friday here is the warm front continuing its journey east. into friday here is the warm front continuing itsjourney east. but look what follows behind, a cold front. so all that effort the slightly less cold air makes largely gives way to cold air heading towards the weekend. but for friday it isa towards the weekend. but for friday it is a slightly milder day. more in the wake of cloud and some showers once again but in between some brighter spells. but the cold front already starting to show its hand across parts of scotland. the rain becoming heavier as the day goes on but temperatures back in double figures. the rain works its way down the country heading into saturday. that opens the floodgates to much cold airand we that opens the floodgates to much cold air and we will notice that on sunday. that's all from the bbc news at one

, so it's goodbye from me , and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. good afternoon, here's your latest sports news. england's test series against the west indies starts in the next half an hour in barbados. captainjoe captain joe root captainjoe root has lost the task. they are going to field first. dan norcross from the test match special team is with me. interesting team news. stuart broad missing out. very interesting. there was a lot of talk about the pitch. it is hard to describe. it is quite scrubby. pictures in the west indies have gradually got a little bit

slower. they were hoping this would be better for the pace slower. they were hoping this would be betterfor the pace bowlers. they have calculated this will take spin. they have left out stuart broad, which is interesting. they have gone for adil rashid. that is an attacking move by england. you might have thought they would have gone for a holding bowler. but they have gone for a leg—spinner. having lost the toss, they will not be bowling last. we will have to wait and how that turns out. england are on a fantastic run of form. it is a very big yearfor them. fantastic run of form. it is a very big year for them. it is an enormous yearfor english big year for them. it is an enormous year for english cricket. you have the world cup taking place in england and then the ashes in the summer. england and then the ashes in the summer. this could be an epic year to rememberfor summer. this could be an epic year to remember for england. summer. this could be an epic year to rememberfor england. it has not got off to the best start by losing that toss. we shall see. i think there are a lot of interesting things that need to be sorted out in the test team. the top order and

indeed the fact that stuart broad is the first one to be sidelined. the elder statesman of england's bowling, jimmy anderson and stuart broad, it is the younger man that is being eased out first. i would expect him to come back for the ashes. in these conditions, it is interesting that they have made that decision. the west indies have a good record against england on home soil and not bad away. not at all. england struggle in the west indies. they have only one there once in the last 50 odd years. people underestimate the west indies at their peril. they have excellent pace bowlers and ara young inexperienced side with the batting. england will be favourites but they a lwa ys england will be favourites but they always at their game against england. it will be interesting to see how this pans out. and you can follow the action with live text commentary on the bbc sport website and join everyon on the cricket social online

and on the app from 1:45. we saw one of the great comebacks at the australian open today as serena williams was knocked out in the quarterfinals. the seven—time champion in melbourne came from a set down and was 5—1 up in the third but squandered four match points against karolina pliskova she also turned her ankle as her opponent stormed to victory. williams was targetting a record equalling 24th grand slam singles title but it's the czech seventh seed who advances to the semifinals. she'll play naomi osaka next. world number one novak djokovic is through afterjapan's kei nishikori retired in the second set of their quarterfinal after three five set matches a thigh strain put paid to his chances of making it any further. djokovic is on for a hatrick of grand slam titles and looking to make it a a record seventh in melbourne. he'll face lucas pouille for a place in the final. scotland flanker hamish watson

will miss the entire six nations, they've confirmed that he's got a broken a hand. lots more on the bbc sport website. learning to program computers, or coding as it's known, is becoming an essential skill, and one that children are being taught in primary schools. it presents particular challenges for visually impaired children, but there is help on hand in the form of a new teaching aid, as our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones reports. i think we need six... theo who's blind and his sighted friend ollie have a common passion — computer programming or coding, and now there is a way

they can do it together. a system where theyjoin up these pods to build a programme. music plays. ok, and then we need to loop all of that. at the moment, many children start learning coding with a simple visual programme called scratch but that doesn't really work if you're visually impaired. well, sadly i wasn't able to do any coding before this came along because what was happening was the class were doing scratch and i wasn't able tojoin in. how interested are you in computer coding generally? very interested! on a scale of one to ten, it's definitely ten. this physical computer coding language will now be available to schools around the world. it's taken four years to develop and the microsoft researcher in charge of the project had a very personal reason the getting involved. plays piano. cecily morrison's son ronan was born blind and that got her thinking about how visually—impaired children could be included in coding lessons. so we need one play statement and we put it in a loop... working with her microsoft

colleagues, she decided that what was needed was something that combined music with a physical coding language. each of these is a single line of code. it's one statement in your programme and children connect these pods together to create multiple lines of code and then they can run their code and to understand how their code is working. dozens of children have been testing what's now called code jumper. i think it's an excellent invention. i hope to make it more accessible and develop apps for them. i think it's an excellent invention. it really helps visually—impaired people to code. and it helps the two of you kind of cement your friendship?

yeah. yes. now codejumper is coming out of testing and into the real world, the hope is that it make learning to code easier and more fun for everyone. theresa may and jeremy corbyn have clashed over brexit in the house of commons this morning. let's get more now from our assistant political editor, norman smith. thank you so much. prime minister's questions dominated by brexit, as usual. jeremy corbyn asking theresa may to rule out no deal and she was pointing him for not turning up to the talks. theresa may did not quite seem to rule out a customs union, i

thought, and i was not quite sure she rode out delay beyond march 29. was i imagining things? let's mull it over. jeremy corbyn asked theresa may pretty straight, are you going to rule out a customs union? we know she does not want to go down that road but do you think she has left that door open? i certainly hope so but i am not sure it is going to be enough to get labour to vote for it. we have our six tests and one of them is to make sure that workers' productions continue. and of course we have got our tests which say a strong say in future trade deals and i not sure how we get that either. todayit i not sure how we get that either. today it was a curiously bloodless affair. it feels like both parties are going through the motions and

we re are going through the motions and were waiting for the real action with those important votes on tuesday. that other thing i thought i heard was theresa may not quite saying absolutely categorically she is going to take us out on march 29. she wants to end it is what the legislation says. do you think she has left herself any wriggle room and delay? i think she has to, if she has any sense. we have heard reports even the cabinet is split on this point. having a slightly ambiguous tone when she is talking about these things is probably the right things to do but she is also aware that if there is one majority for anything in this place, it is to rule out no deal. we do not want to go careering off the cliff edge like lemmings. we insist on having a delay if we cannot get to a satisfactory resolution, whatever it may be, on march the 29th, and i think she is wise to leave that door open, if she can. as she got the political room for delay because i imagine it would ignite an explosion

on her back benches, where brexit to be pushed beyond march 29? unless she was forced to? she does not have a lot of room for manoeuvre at all and the reason she is keeping options open needed by no means clear she can rely on votes from just the conservative party anti dup to get a brexit deal through. that is why she keeping the option open and reaching across the chamber to build a centre ground coalition for a softer brexit. that is not my preference. my references still the deal on the table. there were signs yesterday that some of the iciness was starting to thaw because my pro brexit colleagues sense they are losing the prize altogether. the real winners were those campaigning for a second referendum with the intention of stopping brexit ultimately. let mejust intention of stopping brexit ultimately. let me just ask you about that. jacob rees—mogg is giving a speech now in which in the

advanced reading of 80 adopts a much more conciliatory approach, talking about reaching a feasible deal. do you think the brexiteers, despite all the rhetoric, at the end of the day, faced possibly with losing brexit, will come on board behind theresa may and that will get the deal through? theresa may and that will get the dealthrough? this is theresa may and that will get the deal through? this is a fascinating question. you would have thought for people that have spent the best part of 30 years or more campaigning for this one thing in british politics, which is to get us out, when faced with a deal that gave certainty about the uk leaving at the end of march this year would have seized it with both hands and the fact they did not last week sends a powerful signal about where their state of mind is at. i think most will eventually come round to this deal andi eventually come round to this deal and i think some are so entrenched in their positions that any sense of compromise or trade—offs or working pragmatically to deliver brexit is just off the scale for them. we know there is now a concerted move to try and engineer this delay until the end of the year, being led by yvette

cooper. how do you view that because your priority is a so—called people's vote? are you supportive of that or do you think that might thought your desire of getting a people's vote? not at all, they are entirely compatible. we would need an extension of article 50 for a people's vote. the timeline we think we can get through that parliament is as little as 16 weeks, more likely around 22. we would be able to do it before the european elections but come what may, that is the first step. i am very supportive of that amendment and i suspect that it may well pass next week. we will have to see. as we all know, these things come into play and new things will come and some will fall away. we will have to wait until monday to see what comes and what we are able to vote on. there is a suspicion that this is a front for trying to move opinion towards a so—called norway option or a customs union. what we see is a triple lock next

week. we have rachel reeves whose amendment says rule out no deal, dominic grieve saying give parliament the time to debate it, and yvette cooper saying, if she has not got something by the 26th of february, in order to avoid businesses triggering their no—deal brexit plans, we need an extra amount of time and that amount of time is not to sit and twiddle our thumbs, that is for a significant democratic piece of work and of course, that would be a people's vote. the brexit that was promised has not... cannot be delivered. a ha rd has not... cannot be delivered. a hard brexit is not in anyone's interest. let the people have their say. but to get your desired outcome of the people's vote, you need

jeremy corbyn on the front branch labour party to come on board. and there is no way you are going to get it. our policy was clear. jeremy corbyn's team site is merely an option. they are not saying it is something they would back. option. they are not saying it is something they would backm option. they are not saying it is something they would back. it is the party policy as agreed by the members and unions at conference that we would look at all options, including a people's vote and at the end of the day, it is going to be the remaining option. there is another way. the people's vote is also theresa may's way of keeping any deal she may come back with a life. there may not be quite enough on the hard right who will come round and equally, there are remaining conservatives who may not be enough. the people's vote is the way for the government to keep that dealer lie. we are -- keep that deal alive. that is it from today. tomorrow i suspect events will be

dominated by len mccluskey under the union leaders going into downing street for coffee and tea. perhaps they might do better if they had beer and sandwiches! in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. rescuers in the channel islands are spending a second day searching for a missing light aircraft, which was carrying the new cardiff city player, emiliano sala. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. signs that leading brexit supporters might be prepared to compromise on theresa may's deal, if she can get more assurances from brussels. tesco's former finance director is cleared over a £250 million fraud and false accounting scandal. time now for the business news. sony has become the latest japanese electronics firm to say it will move its european headquarters from the uk due to brexit. the company said it would help avoid customs issues tied to britain's exit from the eu. rival panasonic, which moved its headquarters last year to avoid potential tax complications from brexit.

banking giant santander says its to close 140 branches, after a review of how customers carry out their banking. the bank says it will try to find alternative jobs for the 1,270 staff affected by the closures. shares in metro bank have fallen by nearly a quarter after it released its full year results for 2018. it reported a jump in pretax profits for the year, but said growth slowed in the final quarter. in early trade in london its shares slumped by 24% to £16.68p. let's return now to our top story — sony is set to move its european headquarters from the uk to the netherlands to avoid disruptions caused by brexit. the company says the move would help it avoid customs issues tied to britain's exit from the eu. it is the latest japanese company to flag a move to the continent in response to brexit. yesterday, uk appliance maker dyson announced it was moving its headquarters to singapore, from malmesbury in wiltshire, although it said it had nothing to do with brexit. sales on the high street were down

2%, but in a familiar tale, the firm's travel and airport shops continued to do well. laith khalaf, who is a senior analyst at wealth managers hargreaves landsown, explained why sony has taken the decision. if you look at what sony is doing, it is more symbolic than substantial. it is moving headquarters but its operations and jobs in the uk are going to remain but that symbolism does matter at the moment because we are at a crucial stage in the brexit process and there is lots of political pressure at westminster and this news does not do anything to allay that. this comes on the day that spanish—owned bank santander said its closing 140 branches, putting 1,270 jobs at risk. the bank blamed the closures on "changes in how customers are choosing to carry out their banking". the link today said it is increasing

the fee pays operators to keep remote free to use machines available. members are the 35 firms who issue cards used in the machines. so, your members are all in agreement then that something needs to be done. yes, what is happening is the way in which we pay for things is changing. we are using co nta ctless things is changing. we are using contactless cards more and online shopping more. what we do know is that there are still large numbers of people who either need to or want to use atms and that is white is important we protect the geographic spread that we have today. that is why we are introducing these premiums. they would increase the number of financial support available to make sure that as usage falls, they continue to be commercially viable and they are not

at risk of closure or changing. why don't your members just close their own atms instead? santander today closing yet more branches, including their cashpoints, i assume. closing yet more branches, including their cashpoints, iassume. do closing yet more branches, including their cashpoints, i assume. do you feel clubbing together in this way is better? link has 35 different members. link provides the commercial incentives that will drive our members to maintain this really important broad geographical coverage, in terms of branch closures, so link is not involved in bank branch closures, however it is important that when a bank branch closes, a free to use atms still available in that area. if a bank branch were to close and there were no atm rest in that area, link would work with members to install a replacement nearby. this is going to cost a lot of money. it might sound

like it would but what we are doing is subsidising the least used atms, these by their definition are not doing a huge volume of cash withdrawals and that is why we are giving them this financial support. many thanks. staying with banking for the financial markets. metro bank shares have fallen by more than 30% today. that was after full year results that really did disappoint investors, due to a slowdown in business in the last quarter. the pound is trading at its highest since november, it made indications we have been hearing about today, the traders at least think that brexit is becoming less likely and it is more probable they will be a delay to brexit. also brent crude up on the board, recovering a little after falling earlier this week. that's all the business news. ant and dec were named as best tv presenters for the 18th time at the national television awards last

night, despite ant mcpartlin taking a break from a number of tv shows, after his arrest for drink driving last year. the biggest winners of the night were bodyguard and emmerdale, both taking home two awards. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba was there. cheering and applause. the national tv awards is the year's biggest night, celebrating the small screen's most popular shows and stars. few have been more successful than ant and dec, who, up until this year, had won 17 times in a row. many wondered after ant‘s drink—driving conviction, though, if the public would vote them winners an 18th time. ant and dec! we want to say thank you to everybody. i mean, i really don't feel like i can accept this award this year. the one reason we've won the award this year is because of this guy. ma'am. kim. ma'am, this is ps budd, the new ppi. pleasure to meet you, ma'am. bodyguard, tv‘s most popular drama for years, was a double winner. its star, richard madden, winning best drama performance and the show won best new drama. appropriate recognition for a programme so compelling

which is great, kind of thrilling. it was exciting to kind of, to see that and for the amount of people that enjoyed that week to week, and managed to kind of go through all these theories in our head and do it together was something different and new. for the fourth year in a row, the prize for best talent show went to... strictly come dancing! cheering and applause. thank you so much to everybody at home. without you, so thank you! where are you going?! peter kay's car share won best comedy. lizo mzimba, bbc news, at the national television awards. time now for a look at the weather forecast. normal winter service resumes. it will be turning a little less cold as we head towards the weekend but it will be short lived. we have seen some wintry showers down into parts of kent through the morning and they

will continue as we head through the afternoon. away from that, plenty of crisp winter sunshine. some lingering fog and we have more cloud and patchy outbreaks of rain for northern ireland. wintry showers for scotland, mainly over the highlands and the northern isles and it is called. in some parts of scotland and into northern england, temperatures long to make it above freezing. cold by day and called by night. under those clear skies, temperatures are going to drop away quite quickly. that is away from northern ireland where we will hang on more cloudy outbreaks and patchy rain. showers moving into northern england added to the midlands, falling as rain and sleet. snow over higher levels but not exclusively higher levels but not exclusively higher levels. they will continue their journey down to higher levels. they will continue theirjourney down to the south and theirjourney down to the south and the east. but it is going to be told. there is the risk of icy stretches and some patchy freezing fog around first thing tomorrow morning. here is our warm front. it

will edge its ever closer eastwards as we head through the day on thursday. introducing more cloud ahead of it and there will be further outbreaks of patchy rain. those showers will work their way into the midlands and clear down to the south and east. the best of any bright weather through the eastern half of the country. more cloud working its way in with outbreaks of patchy rain but it is here we will notice a difference in the temperatures, between seven and nine celsius. our warm front is not giving up. it continues itsjourney eastwards as we head through the night on into friday. but look what follows on behind. a cold front. the work that warm front dies, introducing less cold air, will be replaced by much colder air by the time we get into the weekend. but before we get there, most of us will feel the benefits of that less cold air through friday. there will be more cloud around, outbreaks of patchy rain and they will be some bright intervals from time to time

but through scotland, we will start to see that cold front shelter time. heavy and persistent rain as we go through the afternoon. at the difference in the temperatures, 11 celsius, widely in double figures. add cold front will move its way southwards overnight into saturday, introducing much colder air behind it. we could see some snow on the back edge of that rain and it will feel cold as we go into sunday. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2... signs that leading brexit supporters might be prepared to compromise on theresa may's deal — if she can get more assurances from brussels. there is good news for us to hope that a reformation of this deal could be achieved and made acceptable. hopes fade of finding missing cardiff city footballer emiliano sala alive — as the search operation continues off the channel islands. survivors of violent and sexual

crime are being "re—traumatised" by the government's compensation body — it's accused of needlessly forcing them to repeat traumatic details. this should not be a process that is not victim—friendly. it should be a process that compensates victims without traumatising them yet again.