you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's 11 am and these are the main stories this morning: the foreign secretary says extra time may be needed to finalise legislation for brexit. if we ended up approving a deal in the days before the 29th of march, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation. more than 20,000 physios, pharmacists and paramedics are to be recruited to work alongside gps to allow doctors to spend more time with patients. temperatures in the uk plummet, making it the coldest night of the winter so far — more snow and freezing temperatures are forecast. meanwhile it's minus 30 in chicago — as cities across the us midwest come to a standstill, in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. the number of rough sleepers in england falls for the first time in eight years. in london, numbers are up by 13%.

and a heart—warming reunion — the chance to say "thank you" to the stranger who saved this woman's life. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. i'm joanna gosling. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has that britain may need to delay its exit from the european union in order to pass crucial legislation if a deal is agreed in late march. the uk is due to leave the eu injust under two months‘ time — on the 29th march. the foreign secretary's comments come as the non—partisan think—tank, the institute for government, warns that the uk is un—prepared for a no—deal exit. they warn that a lot of legislation to replace eu laws with uk laws after brexit has yet to be passed — including bills covering trade, agriculture, fisheries, immigration and financial services. the research also raises

concerns over whether it's possible to implement the changes needed — including new processes, systems and staff required — in time by the end of march to avoid disruption. if a deal can be agreed between the uk and the eu in the next few weeks, then brexit on the 29 march will be followed by a 2i—month transition period. let's go now to westminster where i'm joined by our assistant political editor norman smith. the first time the suggestion that brexit may not happen on the 29th of march has passed the lips of a member of government. how significant is this? it is significant, because this has been talked about privately, the possibility that brexit day might have to be pushed back to get all the different pieces of legislation through to buy a bit more time, and in the past few minutes, we have also heard that the february recess four mps has gone out the window.

that, too, now, is set to be cancelled to buy more time to mps to try to get this legislation through. this of course as we had the report from the institute for government warning that there are six different key bills which it is going to be very difficult to get through by march the 29th, never mind rolling over all those different trade deals, making sure new it systems are in place, new border controls, new border staff, a vast amount of work still has to be done. and so it now appears that within government, yes, they are opening up the option of delaying brexit, albeit they seem to be talking about a sort of technical delay of perhaps just a few weeks. this was the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, when he was asked about that possibility. secretary, jeremy hunt, when he was asked about that possibilitylj think asked about that possibility.” think that depends on how long that process takes. i think it is true that if we ended up approving a deal in the days before the 29th of

march, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation. but if we are able to make progress sooner, then that might not be necessary. we can't know at this stage which of those scenarios would happen. but your sense is that it might go right at the end of march? i think it is difficult to know, but what you can say is that whereas a week ago none of us knew whether this was going to be possible, we are fiow this was going to be possible, we are now in a situation where it clearly is possible. there are lots and lots of herbals, no one is saying that this isn't going to be challenging, but we do now have a consensus challenging, but we do now have a consensus in parliament and we can use consensus in parliament and we can use that. this, however, is potentially politically fraught, because mrs may has always given the clear impression that we will be leaving on march the 29th, pretty much come what may, even though she has occasionally just much come what may, even though she has occasionallyjust given herself a little bit of linguistic wriggle room. bear in mind, of course, we had the leader of the house, andrea leadsom, a couple of weeks ago on

the telly saying we might need a bit more timejust to the telly saying we might need a bit more time just to get all the legislation through. in the past half an hour, she has told mps they can forget about their holiday plans ina can forget about their holiday plans in a fortnight or so, because they are going to have to stay here to get the legislation through. this was her in the commons a short time ago. mr speaker, the house will know that recess dates are always announced subject to the progress of business. in this unique session of parliament, and in light of the significant decisions taken by the house this week, it is only right that i give the house noticed that there are currently no plans to bring forward a motion to agree dates for the february recess, and upper house may therefore need to continue to sit to make progress on the key business before the house. i realise that this is short notice for colleagues and house staff, but ido for colleagues and house staff, but i do think our constituents will expect that the house is expected to continue to be able to make progress

at this time. so, real-time pressures on the government as we move up to the buffers of march the 29th, with the offer it seems of buying a little more time if the eu will allow us. this is perilous country, because the danger of a little bit of delay is what starts asa little bit of delay is what starts as a few weeks could potentially slip into a few months, so this is very, very dangerous territory for the government, albeit they may have no option if they are to get this crucial legislation through parliament in time for brexit. thank you very much, norman. let's talk more about the preparedness of the country for a no—deal brexit. with me now isjoe 0wen from the independent think tank the institute for government. joe is one of the authors of the new report into the uk's readiness for brexit. welcome. what is the conclusion?” think it is looking at it now with so think it is looking at it now with so little time to go, i think it is very unlikely we will be ready, and pa rt very unlikely we will be ready, and part of that is a reflection of

challenges of getting new systems up and running, and new people on the ground, but it is also just a reflection of what a humongous task this is to do within just three yea rs, this is to do within just three years, and there is so much that is not within the government's control in order to be ready, so a whole host of businesses will need to be ready to adapt to new rules, systems, regulations, paperwork, it systems. and then there is the question of how the eu response. a lot of this, the uk is having the kind of guess, and they have spend a lot of time trying to work out how they think the eu will respond. the eu has said so far that we would apply the letter of the law. the letter of the law is going to mean significant disruption, particularly in areas like the ports. but something that actually maybe, if the time came, the eu would act more pragmatically. but that is a very difficult basis. things we literally

just don't know, then, how it would happen in the event. give us some specific examples of if processes we re specific examples of if processes were followed to the letter, as you are saying the eu is indicating it will be, you gave the example there ofan area will be, you gave the example there of an area like ports. there are loads of examples out there in the media of what might happen, but how much can we absolutely bang on?l good example is around airports and aeroplanes and flights. letter of the law would have been that uk flights didn't have a legal basis necessarily to carry on flying to the eu, but what the eu have said is that in that area, and this is one of the few areas where they have said something, they would make a unilateral step to give the uk 12 more months the continuation, so what we would see in this big area, in this whole host of areas, there will be individual circumstances where the eu might be willing to ta ke where the eu might be willing to take a unilateral measure to mean things flow with greater continuity

than they would if they applied the letter of the law, but we don't know that until we get some certainty from them. so if they can do it with the airports, why not with everything? this comes to the question of whether the eu was willing to give a departing member state who leaves without a deal with £39 billion in its back pocket, uncertainty around citizens‘ rights and the irish border, whether it will say, you can carry on as if he we re will say, you can carry on as if he were a member state and we will continue allowing things to flow through the ports. they will have to apply the letter of their law, and there may be opportunities for them to ta ke there may be opportunities for them to take unilateral measures. but the idea of them just by passing laws for a departing member state i think will meet with a great amount of consternation across europe. so what we have heard from jeremy hunt today is that britain may need to delay the exit from the european union if we are kind of on the cusp of a deal towards the end of march. is it

clear how long different processes might take around that? at what point could we go to the eu? 27 nations would need to agree a delay and say we do need a little bit more time. in terms of an extension of article 50, a lot would depend on what extension is for, how long we are asking for, and whether the eu thinks that is realistic and achievable. so if it is an 11th hour request, because the key piece of legislation to implement the deal is stuck in parliament and hasn‘t gone through the right number of votes yet, and the end is in sight, then i would imagine it‘s relatively straightforward for them to say we could give you a few more weeks or days, or whatever it is, if, could give you a few more weeks or days, orwhatever it is, if, come mid—march, the uk says there is another vote in parliament that says we wa nt another vote in parliament that says we want to change the backstop, and we want to change the backstop, and we wa nt we want to change the backstop, and we want to change the backstop, and we want to change the backstop, and

we want to change different elements of the deal, the eu‘s approach to then granting an extension would be very, very different. so i think it all depends on whatjeremy hunt was talking about this morning, this key piece of legislation that will be required to implement the deal in uk law. lots of people think that this so—called meaningful vote is the big parliamentary hurdle, but that then needs to get turned into legislation, so there will be vote after vote after vote on that, and thatis after vote after vote on that, and that is where the risk lies the government in timing out, even if they can get a deal in their preferred schedule of a couple of weeks‘ time. preferred schedule of a couple of weeks' time. joe, thank you very much. all day we are going to be looking at the state of readiness for brexit and what preparations are being made both here and across europe. later on this morning at 11.30 we‘ll be joining forces with radio 5 live in a special programme putting your questions, about how you can get ready for brexit, to our experts. we are taking your calls live on air

from 11:35am. 20,000 more staff, including, physiotherapists and paramedics, will be recruited over the next five years to work alongside gps in england. the nhs says this will allow doctors to spend more time with the patients who need them most and increase the range of services at local surgeries. our health correspondent catherine burns explains. so we‘re going to do your blood pressure now... gps in england see a million people a day, but they have been warning for years that they need extra support, that they are dealing with more patients with ever more complicated health problems, and not enough doctors. it is estimated they are about 6,000 short. but now, nhs england has announced what it is calling an army of staff to help gp practices. it will be paid for as part of the £4.5 billion investment announced in the nhs longterm plan earlier this month. we‘re going to see see an opportunity for more physios, more pharmacists, more practice

nurses, and that will in turn free up gp time, so that they have more time to spend with the patients who need their care most. and there is genuine optimism over this. the royal college of gps says it hopes this means we will finally turn a corner towards making general practice sustainable. but there is a question, too, about where these 20,000 extra staff will come from, as many other parts of the nhs are also having problems hiring and keeping enough workers. catherine burn is, bbc news. with some breaking news to bring you about equal pay a supermarket chain asda, asda has lost the first of three stages of an appeal against the ruling that the stores and warehouse colleagues deserve an

equal hourly pay rate. the company has also been ordered to pay costs, and he‘s been denied the right to appeal. the next stage, which is a ruling over if work is notjust comparable but of equal value is expected in may, and just a bit of background. asda is just expected in may, and just a bit of background. asda isjust one expected in may, and just a bit of background. asda is just one of a number of supermarkets facing such claims, but it is the furthest along in the process. so this ruling will potentially apply to other supermarket chains in a similar position, and collectively they are estimated to be potentially liable for back pay of £8 billion. a coroner has ruled that inquests into the deaths of five people who died in the 1974 guildford pub bombings are to resume more than a0 years after they were suspended. the four soldiers and one civilian died when the ira blew up a pub they were in. joining me from woking is our correpondent duncan kennedy. duncan, explain what is happening. joanna, this all goes back to that

night in october joanna, this all goes back to that night in 0ctober1974 joanna, this all goes back to that night in october 1974 when the joanna, this all goes back to that night in 0ctober1974 when the ira did bomb two pubs in guildford, and one of them, as you say, five people died, three men and two women. an inquest was opened shortly after, but it was adjourned because of the criminal proceedings that then began. that in turn led to the conviction of those four people we 110w conviction of those four people we now know to be called the guildford four, and after that, after they went to jailfor life, the four, and after that, after they went to jail for life, the coroner said, there is no point in having another inquest, because all the fa cts ca m e another inquest, because all the facts came out at the criminal trial. but then fast forward 15 yea rs trial. but then fast forward 15 years to 1989, and the guildford four had their convictions quashed because they were innocent. still there was no inquest, and 30 years later now, after pressures from the families of those who died, the surrey coroner here, richard travers, said he will finally after 45 years resume those inquest because it is in the public interest, and because the families of those bereaved people want it to happen. but there are all sorts of

logistical problems involved in that. to discuss that, i‘m joined by a lawyer who represents one of those people who died, the lawyer christopher stanley. christopher, you represent the family of an hamilton who died, and also the family yvonne tagg, who survived. what is their reaction to the fact that this will be resumed? we welcome this decision by the senior coroner. 0ur welcome this decision by the senior coroner. our clients are not here today because they live in the north of england. i think they will be very pleased with this decision, as it was they who decided we should apply to resume the inquest about two years ago, and therefore they have their result today, and i will talk to them later about their reactions in depth. what they want to come out of these inquest all this time later? they want to be pa rt of this time later? they want to be part ofan this time later? they want to be part of an investigation. they have never been part of any investigation into the deaths of their loved ones or the injuries in miss tagg's case and those of her colleagues. they have been excluded all of these

years. they felt that they had some form of certainty with the conviction of the guildford four, and that was then placed into doubt and that was then placed into doubt and has been no investigation into their losses. we know the guildford four didn‘t carry out these bombings. but they want to find out who did? obviously victims want to know why their loved ones died and who might be responsible. that is not always the purpose of an investigation like this within the colonial process. nevertheless, this will depend on how evidence and witnesses are produced, and how evidence is disclosed and what it leads to, that may touch upon who was responsible. mr stanley, thank you very much indeed. the coroner, richard travers, has already said he won‘t be identifying the ira people who carried out this, that is beyond the scope of his inquiry. he also said there will be logistical issues like finding witnesses, getting their memoriesjogged, this like finding witnesses, getting their memories jogged, this all happened 45 years ago. and what will happened 45 years ago. and what will happen next, joanna, is that there will be a series of pre—inquest hearings to set out the scope of this inquest, and then the inquests

themselves will resume probably sometime later this year. thank you, duncan. an update on our headlines: the foreign secretary has said britain‘s withdrawal from the european union could be delayed if a deal is not agreed by the 29th of march. 20,000 more staff, including, physiotherapists and paramedics, are to be recruited over the next five years to work alongside gps in england. temperatures in the uk reach minus 14 — making it the coldest night of winter so far — with more snow is forecast today. and in sport, manchester united are close to selling midfielder marouane fellaini to chinese super league club. it is understood the belgian international has already passed a medical. liverpool extend their lead at the top of the premier league to five points instead of seven. jurgen klopp is content with the draw against leicester. and uncapped

32—year—old joe denly will open to england in the second test against the west indies in antigua later. former captain alistair cooke has called his selection a brave decision. i will be back with more on those stories just after half past. at least seven people have died after a blast of polar air hit parts of the us and canada, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 40 celsius in some places. the authorities are warning people to stay indoors as much as possible, and not to breathe too deeply or talk whilst outside. efforts are also being made to bring homeless people off the streets. kim gittleson reports. eerie steam over lake michigan, and a wall of white in illinois. it is hard not to be cold just looking at the images out of the midwestern united states, where icy airfrom the north pole has led to the coldest weather in a generation, bringing life here to a standstill. the weather is frigid, blizzard—like. the wind is ridiculous.

doesn‘t stop, you can‘t see anything. temperatures fell to —30 degrees celsius in chicago, colder than parts of antarctica, and a state of emergency is in place in illinois, wisconsin, and michigan. authorities have warned that the extreme temperatures are life—threatening, and thatjust minutes outside can lead to significant frostbite. and, after utility companies made an appeal to conserve energy, general motors said it would suspend operations at 11 michigan plants. businesses, schools and government offices have been shut, flights grounded and travel disrupted. but it‘s not all misery. some use the extreme weather as an opportunity for experiments. yeah — stiff as a board, frozen shirt. and, at temperatures this cold, boiling water tossed into the air turns immediately to snow. although temperatures

are expected to rise above freezing by the weekend, scientists have warned that climate change makes these extreme weather events likely to happen more often. kim gittleson, bbc news. well, here, the uk has had its coldest night of the winter so far, with temperatures dropping to minus 14 celsius in aberdeenshire. yellow weather warnings are in place for snow, ice and fog with widespread travel disruption also expected. southeastern trains said 29 trains were being cancelled or altered and the rac has warned it‘s expecting at least five call—outs per minute. 0ur weather presenter nick miller is with me now. -14, nick? 44, nick? if -14, nick? if you want it in a decimal point, i can give you —14.4 in aberdeenshire, the met office tweaking that is the lowest temperature in the uk since february 2012. we certainly don‘t get that low every winter. it has been the

lowest temperature of the winter so far in allfour lowest temperature of the winter so far in all four home nations of the uk as well, so topcliffe in north yorkshire the lowest in england so far this winter, and there has been a lot of fog and ice around to start the day so far. what has been largely dry start to the day, but extremely wintry out there, foggy, icy conditions, and there is worse on the way. there is snow on the way? yes, we a weather sister coming in —— a weather system coming in, it is just touching core in —— a weather system coming in, it isjust touching core model at in —— a weather system coming in, it is just touching core model at the moment, and that will turn to snow across the south—west. elsewhere through southern england and parts of the midlands as we go through the night. you can see its advance here, so night. you can see its advance here, so conditions as people are heading out this morning, conditions are certainly going to get worse from the south—west through this afternoon and elsewhere as it pushes further north and east overnight. an indication of some of these snow totals, the hyatt numbers you see tend to be on the high ground, but

there is now a met office amber warning issued, the warning has been upgraded and it is for the area you can see shaded in amber here from hampshire across a large part of the south—west, with the exception of cornwall in south—east wales, and this could be a very quick 3—7 centimetres of snow accumulating in this warning, so conditions deteriorate very quickly, and then more of southern england, the midlands, wales, east anglia, will wa ke midlands, wales, east anglia, will wake up to snow tomorrow morning, and we know what sort of effect that could have. and how long is it likely to last? it doesn't look as if tonight is going to be as cold, but we are clearly in the grip of it at the moment. next week, after some more potentially snowy weather systems over the weekend, some of them might start to snow before turning to rain, next week it does look like it will be less cold. thank you very much. we could know at least it is not as cold as it is in the states, that is incredible. long way to go yet! thank you very much, nick. some

breaking news to bring you. nor jones who was jailed for the killing of janet in flint has had jones who was jailed for the killing ofjanet in flint has had his eviction quashed for decades later after the real killer was caught due to dna evidence. more on that later. the number of rough sleepers in england has fallen for the first time since 2010, according to official statistics. figures show thatjust over four and a half thousand people were sleeping outside on a single night, down 2% from 2017. earlier we spoke to our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan who explained the stats. a single night snapshot, they have a count of the number of people out on a particular night. a mixture of counting and estimates. essentially they have gone down by about 2% on last year, that is the first fall since 2010, it is only a small fall, but certainly it will be welcomed by the government. the fall in the

number has been driven by what has been happening in the rest of england as opposed to in london. in london the numbers have actually gone up by 13% this year, and in the rest of england they have gone down by 6%, so there is evidence that people are coming to the capital, and if you look at the detail, coming to cities as opposed to leaving some of the surrounding areas. you mention that this counting is done on a single night. how accurate is it because of that? there are complaints about it, and certainly the charities, a lot of homelessness charities and outreach teams involved amongst rough sleepers, they say they are inaccurate, doesn‘t matter, the numbers have consistently gone up since 2010, they are now 165% higher than in 2010, and every year the numbers go up, the charities say the numbers go up, the charities say the numbers are inaccurate. so if you are ina

numbers are inaccurate. so if you are in a rural area, numbers are inaccurate. so if you are in a ruralarea, you might not be able to find people. there is an issue to do with tents, if you come across a tent but you can‘t engage with a person in the tent, sometimes a person is disqualified if they person counting is not sure if they are rough sleeping or maybejust person counting is not sure if they are rough sleeping or maybe just out for some other reason. so there are criticisms of them, but these are official figures, they are the way they have been counted since 2010 which is why we can say that the numbers are much higher of rough sleepers since 2010, but also they have fallen slightly last year.” have fallen slightly last year.” have just spotted in the detail 64% of these people were uk nationals. what is the government saying at the moment about what it is doing in terms of policy in this area? what they have been doing is for the past few months they have powered up this thing called the rough sleepers initiative, so in england they are spending tens of millions of pounds opening essentially in the short term some hostels and shelters and things, hoping to move into some longer term strategies to try and deal with the overall problem. their

goal is to eradicate rough sleeping by 2027. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. simonetti here. hello! we have got some really wintry weather on its way. you have just some really wintry weather on its way. you havejust heard some really wintry weather on its way. you have just heard from some really wintry weather on its way. you havejust heard from nick about the snow that is moving in. we are going to see that rain turning increasingly to snow as it comes through the south—west. elsewhere it is bright, sunshine in northern and eastern areas, but temperatures this afternoon no better than to— five degrees. it is in the south we will focus our attention, this band of rain, sleet and snow moving its way through many southern areas giving a covering of snow overnight tonight, and amberwarning covering of snow overnight tonight, and amber warning enforced the disruption likely into friday morning, temperatures not as low but it will be culled across northern

parts. during friday, it will ease away and there will be drier weather, there could be snow developing later across the far south, but as we go through the day, it is largely dry and bright towards northern and western parts, butjust a reminder that through the rush—hour tomorrow disruption because of the snow. goodbye. hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has said britain‘s withdrawalfrom the european union could be delayed if a brexit deal is not agreed until late march. 20,000 more staff, including, physiotherapists and paramedics, are to be recruited over the next five years to work alongside gps in england. the number of rough sleepers in england has fallen slightly for the first time in eight years. but in london numbers are up by 13%. temperatures in the uk reach —14 — making it the coldest night of winter so far — with more snow forecast today. meanwhile temperatures in the united states are again

falling, with the prospect of a record low being recorded in the mid west overnight. and coming up in ask this — we‘ll take a look at the state of readiness for brexit and what preparations are being made both here and across europe. we will be taking your questions live on the use channel and on bbc radio 5 live. sport now. hello, i‘m hugh ferris and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. our top stories. a torrid time for a club coming to an end? yes, it is deadline day but not in china but manchester united

tool does this morning that the deal for mona fellini is agreed in principle. he is flying out to china, medical is done and they have to put pen to paper on a deal which isa to put pen to paper on a deal which is a bit ofa to put pen to paper on a deal which is a bit of a strange one because most manchester united fans i‘m not great fans of his fights manchester united also view him as being a symbol of what‘s going rogue since 2013. he was the first signings still needing innate is seen as symbolic rather than something which was necessary. the next one will be a surprise, a familiar name arriving at burnley? that's right, peter crouch celebrated his 38 d yesterday and he will be needing to buy name from stoke. it is a strange deal because it will involve the striker

from badly going to stalk. yes, crouch still scenario to everybody. scored goals wherever he has been. very popular character and suitable but difficult to see that at 38 what he will be adding to burnley but yes, that looks like it is going through. and younger men coming in for leicester city. yes, coming from monaco. it looks like he has had a medical, one of the younger players at the club. that deal looks like it has been done. eg in silver who came to leicester, this is this switch, he signed in 2013 that kidnapped the because the deal was done 14 seconds after the deadline so the new monaco

manager he is a fan of silver so he wa nts manager he is a fan of silver so he wants him and to london so come solicitor online. thank you very much forjoining us. a week of dropped points for the prmeier league title contenders... this time leaders liverpool can only draw with leicester... but they still go five clear of manchester city. it was a cold night, snow on the pitch at anfield, sadio mane opened the scoring after a couple of minutes to give liverpool the perfect start but england defender harry maguire levelled for leicester in a good away performance and result. liverpool are five points clear, but failed to maximise the opportunity after second placed manchester city were beaten on tuesday. elsewhere, chelsea had an evening to forget. thumped 4—nil by bournemouth, in their biggest league defeat in more than 20 years. boss mauricio sarri said the result was “his fault“. the rest of the night‘s results are on the bbc sport website and app.

that‘s all the sport for now. hello and welcome to this special programme. the emma barnett show on bbc radio 5 live and joanna gosling on the bbc news channel are joining forces to take questions from you — our viewers and listeners. i‘m emma barnett and i‘m joanna gosling. it‘s just under two months to go now until the 29th march — the date on which the uk is due to leave the eu. over the next half an hour or so we‘ll be answering your questions about how life might look after brexit with the clock ticking down. given the current uncertainty, is there anything you can do to get ready — whether you‘re a business, or a private individual? and how might life be different after 11pm on that all—importa nt friday. you can get your questions in now — use the hashtag #bbcaskthis, if you want to text us, the 5 live text number is 85058 or you can email us on askthis@bbc.co.uk.