hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2: the foreign secretary says britain's departure date from the eu could be delayed — if a deal isn't struck until the last minute. 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. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — hugh. the second test between england and west indies is upon us. west indies won the toss. england batting first — hope to do better than 77 all out — second test in antigua just getting underway. more in the next hour.

they couldn't have done much worse! thanks hugh, and chris fawkes has all the weather — chris. we will take a look ahead at what is going on in north america, but more significantly for us at home, we have a band of snow working in across wales and southern england. this is highly likely to bring some disruption our way over the coming hours. we will have a closer look at that later on. thanks chris. also coming up, we'll meet ii—year—old yuvan thakkar — who has a form of leukemia — and has become the first nhs patient to receive a therapy that uses the body's own cells to fight cancer. hello everyone, this is afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. the foreign secretary says that the uk may need to delay its exit from the european union if an agreement is only reached in the final days. jeremy hunt said "extra time" might be needed,

meaning an extension to the deadline of march 29th — depending on how much progress is made in the coming weeks. number 10 has insisted that the government is committed to brexit in two months‘ time. here's our political correspondent iain watson. the uk is due to leave the european union two months from now, time again, the prime minister has said the departure date is march the 29th. today, one other cabinet minister suggested there could be some flexibility. 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, that might not been necessary. the report from the independent institute for government, a think tank linked to the civil suggested the uk isn't ready to leave the eu at the end of march unless there is a deal. you heard from jeremy hunt this morning that getting a deal signed

in brussels is one part of the challenge, and the next part will be getting mps to back it, but after that you still have to pass legislation. that's why they could be the need for an extension even if things go to plan in two weeks‘ time for the government. but mps will be working hard to try to meet the agreed eu exit date and we are told today their february half term break could be cancelled. it is only right i give notice that there are currently no plans to put forward a motion to agree dates for the february recess. the government still things it can get a deal by replacing the northern ireland backstop to replace a hard border with alternative arrangements. a sunset clause, an agreed date when the backstop would expire, or technological solutions. the slight flaw in all of this is that brussels has already

rejected time limits to the backstop, or a unilateral uk exit, and the prime minister herself has previously given short shrift to yet to be invented technological solutions. today, senior mps have been in downing street to discuss exactly what to say to brussels on the backstop, but the leader of the opposition believes all of this is rather late. i asked the prime minister about this yesterday and she was incredibly vague, both in the commons and the meeting i had with her later on, and it's possible there would have to be an extension in order to get an agreement, because we cannot leave the eu on march 29th without an agreement. frosty relations between the government and opposition and between britain and brussels may have to thaw if the uk is to get a sustainable deal. joining me now from westminster is our chief political correspondent — vicki young. the criticism over no deal is that

we are not ready for that. now, the foreign secretary has said that even if there is a deal, we might have to push the date back a bit.” if there is a deal, we might have to push the date back a bit. i think if there is a deal, it is likely more straightforward. he really only have to get the withdrawal agreement put into law. it is not easy, it is a bill, it has to go through the commons and lords and it can be amended. but it is doable. the other things alongside it, the immigration system, you don't need as quickly, because the point of the deal as it stands is that you have the transition period, when nothing changes for almost two years for top if there is no deal, you need an awful lot of legislation. in either scenario, you could be looking at a technical extension. the eu has made it clear that they would consider that, if it is for something specific. so if it was the case that the deal had gone through, but the bill was not put through parliament, they could extend it. it makes

brexiteers a little bit queasy. they think it could be an excuse to defy brexit and maybe even to keep declaring it. this is what the cabinet minister, brexiteer and transport secretary, chris grayling, had to settle stop —— had to say. we are not talking about extensions, we are sitting down with brussels to work out the best way forward. we intend to leave the european union on the 29th of march, and that is the prime minister's focus, she has been very clear in the commons about at this week. so you wouldn't support a short extension? i think we need to get on with the job of completing the deal, working out the final partnership with the eu and leaving on the 29th of march, as promised. andrea letson said the house will sit through february, which means they scheduled recess may not happen. a lot of people are saying they shouldn't have been off for so long that christmas either. the issue here is that they were going off for recess in february, and are now being told they would be. there is the question of what exactly they

will be doing if no deal is being passed by parliament, because if you look at next week's business, there is no government legislation there at all. they are concerned, even though these bills are supposed to be going through, they are concerned it could be hijacked by one side or other of the brexit debate and amended or changed, so they have been resisting doing that. come the week of the 13th or 14th of february, if nothing is passed, i am not sure what they will do and if allan not sure what they will do and if all an week, but they will have to cancel any plans that they have. the other bigger issue, before talking about getting things through polmont, the extension of article 50, is that theresa may may have to get a deal that will get through parliament. there was a report into day's newspaper suggesting that one thing that might be enticing labour mps over to her way of thinking is to promise that there might be some government money for their particular area, to help with deprivation, to help with investment in those places. the labour mp, john mann, who has been voting with the government on several points of

brexit up to now had this to say about this proposition. we already discussed money, we discussed money and the suggestion that there should be a major fund some weeks ago. would that be in an exchange for a vote, perhaps? no, not at all, not in the slightest. and i vote for brexit, so hopefully it gets through. no, what has been suggested is that there is a deficit in the country, for those communities that have not had investment in them. what i want to see is i want to see, when we leave the european union, significant investment in new technologies, new jobs, science, industry, in areas like mine, and all the other areas in the country like mine. so now, this is not transactional politics, this is about getting a national fund that, however people vote in the end, a national fund. particularly, the areas that voted leave the most are the areas that have not had that investment. major investment, transformative investment, that's what i want to see.

this is all very well, but watching the european parliament yesterday and hearing from european leaders, there doesn't seem to be any sign of that brinkmanship. when they say no, it seems to be no. they say what they are waiting for is clarification from the prime minister about what she means as an alternative to the backstop, because it is one thing for parliament to say, we would accept this deal if the backstop is not in it, but they have to come up with something else. she is considering other options, such as a time limit, but interestingly, other senior conservatives has seen her two day for a meeting for their proposal, which is interesting today. it is something that was brought up a few months ago and dismissed by the prime minister previously. we will have to see if she thinks about it again now. she needs to come up with an alternative plan and go to brussels and put it to them. meanwhile, we are heading closer to

that deadline of the end of march. thank you for that update. just a reminder — if you're finding any of the language around brexit confusing, you can use our online jargon busting guide to check the most used terms and phrases. all you need to do is go to bbc.co.uk/brexit or the bbc news app — and click on brexit jargon explained. businesses on both sides of the channel have concerns about what a "no deal" brexit may mean for their industries. adam fleming has been speaking to fishermen in belgium, who rely on british waters for more than half of their catch. back to its home port in belgium after nine days at sea, sea currently shared among eu countries. the crew have been catching gurnard and cuttlefish off the coast of cornwall and east sussex, which means every single fish being unloaded now has been caught in british waters. proof of belgium's reliance on the uk's rich fishing grounds. if there is no deal, the eu has said things can stay

broadly the same until the end of this year if the uk promises the same. but no one knows for sure, and the owner has nowhere else to go. the boat is too small to go to deeper water. and also to go to the north waters. so i really don't know what i'm going to do. if a no—deal brexit means karel and his crew can't fish, brussels has said it will provide some compensation. at the daily auction in ostend, fish is bought and sold at the click of a button. the uncertainty is clear. if you are worried about a no—deal brexit, no—deal, put your hands up. yeah, no—deal, wow. nearly everyone. they are worried about the rules for their boats using british ports, and if no deal means extra paperwork. there is also a big question

for the belgian government. if a belgian fisherman catches a fish in uk waters, is it belgian or british? if it's british, then in future it could be subject to more checks, because it will count as an import from a non—eu country. the industry here says things would be clearer with the 21—month transition period that is in the brexit deal. there is not much you can do within the eu and certainly not as fisheries representatives about this, so i understand that prime minister may is now going to open up negotiations again, and that in the eu there were a lot of responses about there is not a lot of room for manoeuvring. so how this is going to end up, we don't know, i don't know. on the belgian coast, if you pardon the pun, they feel they're caught in the middle. some people won't forget that pun!

as we've heard the foreign secretary jeremy hunt has said brexit could be delayed, if a deal is not agreed until late march. he said "extra time" might be needed to pass the necessary legislation. joining me now from westminster is the former head of the civil service from 2012 to 2014 and now crossbench peer — lord kerslake. good afternoon to you. good afternoon. about but the middleweight in, but what he's saying is the obvious, isn't it?|j think it is. it is welcome that we are getting more candour from think it is. it is welcome that we are getting more candourfrom senior government ministers about the reality of some form of extension. the only question for me is is it weeks or months? the programme is nowhere near through parliament, evenif nowhere near through parliament, even if we drop all the holidays and extend the hours, it will be an incredible struggle. out of 600 statutory instruments, the secondary legislation, only about 100 have been dealt with. the time is running

out here, and we risk doing some very rushed work, which we then repent at leisure. it is notjust legislation, it is the processes, systems, staff will be required. would you be tearing your hair out if you were still in thatjob now? would you be tearing your hair out if you were still in that job now?|j think if you were still in that job now?” think i would be very anxious about the situation, and i am sure they are, of course, civilservice the situation, and i am sure they are, of course, civil service pride themselves on being able to respond quickly to situations, but the truth is, if we really want to be confident about a no—deal brexit, we would have needed to start preparing the day the referendum happened and spent a lot more money and not earlier. the risks are enormous here, andi earlier. the risks are enormous here, and i think civil servants i very much aware of them. we have heard from various successive brexit secretaries saying they won't negotiate in public, they will not give the government position away. has that secrecy backfired in that the people who have to make this

work don't know what they are supposed to be doing? there is a lot of concern in businesses and in community organisations that they haven't been brought in to the loop, there hasn't been an openness or sufficient openness about the preparations. my concern is that in the absence of information, people will form their own judgments. the risk is what they do, whether they hold or do all sorts of things like that, actually makes the situation worse. there is a complete imperative, to be as open and honest with the public as is possible. 0therwise, with the public as is possible. otherwise, i think the problems will be greater than they already will be. the trouble is, you know this better than anybody, there is human nature. if you rely on medicines only think they may be at risk, you are going to stockpile, aren't you? of course. i'm old enough to remember a shortage of sugar when i was a student, and there was no shortage at all. the mere rumour that there would be shortages

created the shortage. that is the sort of thing that we are likely to see happen here. i really worry about that impact as much as i worry about that impact as much as i worry about the intrinsic issues themselves. we were talking on the basis of a late deal, we haven't addressed the no deal scenario. i don't want to use the word panic, but presumably, no one knows what happens the day after that happens on the 29th of march, if it does. nobody does truly understand what will happen. as we just said, it is down to the behaviour of large numbers of people. certainly, even with a deal, similar to the one that the government are now proposing, i think the timetable is too tight. without a deal, there are enormous risks here. notjust big risks in terms of services or goods, i think a big risk of an economic shock. we had a very vulnerable time in the

global and the uk economy, and i think this is something that could ta ke think this is something that could take us over the edge. a lot of people watching will know that you voted remain, you have that view, they will say, there is another remain voter who is spreading that concern and fear. with your former head of the civil service hat on, what would happen on a no deal basis in this country the day after it happened? i think there would be a lot of confusion and chaos will stop i recognise that people will say, you are bound to say it will be worse than it actually is. there is nothing in it for me to do that, nor for those who support remain. there isa for those who support remain. there is a report out today by the institute for government, and again, people say they voted remain, so can you trust them? the scale of the information we now have about the consequences of no deal is so great that you have to be an extraordinary

optimist to think that things will go well. i have that report in my hand right here. the really concerning bit is they go through the legislation required, the stages it has reached so far, and frankly, there is a long way to go. completely. 0n there is a long way to go. completely. on one of the bills, the trade bill, —— the trade bill, the lord has said they need more information on government policy. that bill is going through committee stage, but it won't go to report stage. yes, we can cancel the holidays, extend the hours, but the risk is it gets bundled through and people aren't happy with it, or it doesn't get through properly at all. and we can't justifiably doesn't get through properly at all. and we can'tjustifiably put people's livelihoods at risk in this way, it is not responsible government. lord kerslake, thank you for joining government. lord kerslake, thank you forjoining us. and we're looking at the state of readiness for brexit all day here on the bbc news channel.

later today at 3.30, we'll be putting your questions to our experts. get in touch using #bbcaskthis. you can also text on 61124 and email askthis@bbc.co.uk new figures suggest investment in the uk car industry has fallen nearly 80% in the past three years. the society of motor manufacturers and traders said brexit uncertainty had put the industry on red alert. our business editor simon jack is in our business unit for us now. they have been consistent over the last months and years, saying that uncertainty was causing problems, but now, it seems that the figures speakfor but now, it seems that the figures speak for themselves. it is no secret that it has been a rough 18 months for the car industry. we have had 6000 job losses atjaguar land rover, 900 in the last 18 months and 1000 jobs threatened at ford. that is not to do with brexit, there have been other issues affecting the sector, like the uncertainty

following diesel gate, we have had falling sales and big markets like china, and also new regulations which have held up production. what is stark about today's figures is that in 2015, investment in the uk car industry was £2.5 billion and it has fallen every year since then. last year, it was just under £600 million, a fall of nearly 80%. it can be lumpy car investment, but those are stark figures. that is aboutjobs of those are stark figures. that is about jobs of the future. it those are stark figures. that is aboutjobs of the future. it has been admitted there are other issues, but a lack of investment is brexit related, and it is said that a no—deal brexit is the biggest threat to the competitiveness of the uk car industry in a generation. they are desperate and have found some of the shrillest warnings of the danger it could do to this sensitive, pan—european supply chains, they want it seen it take off the table. this is notjust what

people are saying, these numbers and investment are what people are doing. when you talk about supply chains, thisjust in time doing. when you talk about supply chains, this just in time supply chains, this just in time supply chains, their work almost to the minute. if is a no deal, or a delay to a deal, again, that will face problems. someone like jlr is bringing in about 5 million components a week, and i have been there, i went to the bmw factory and followed a wing mirror. the yellow wing mirror arrives on the production line as the yellow mini is arriving down the line and off it goes and they produce one every minute. it is notjust whether the components get up. in the supply chain, isa components get up. in the supply chain, is a supplier, one, two, three notches down the supply chain, if they aren't ready or their components are arriving, it is puts the entire operation at risk. they

don't have the warehouse space to stock these parts. honda looked into this and they said to put nine days of parts together, it would require the biggest building in the world. it is no wonder they have been perhaps sounding some of the biggest alarms about brexit. they also say that whilst they hate no deal, the lack of investment, they are not a massive fan of deferring this longer. you have been talking about delaying it, they say this uncertainty will just keep uncertainty willjust keep the investment and suppress it much longer, so they hated no deal, they are not a big fan of delaying it either. when a yellow door mirror goes a long and goes boomp like that, that's a good word! you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: the foreign secretary says britain's departure date from the eu could be delayed — if a deal isnt struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — as the region shivers in a deadly

cold snap known as a polar vortex. and in sport: england have made a less than impressive start against the west indies. they are currently 4—1 in the first innings. marouane fellaini's time at manchester united is almost over — the midfielder has agreed terms and passed a medical as he looks to join chinese club shandong luneng. and centre manu tuilagi is set to make his first six nations start in six years after being named in england's side to face in their opening match on saturday. i'll be back with more on those stores. at least 12 people have died in the united states as a result of some of the coldest temperatures in the country for a generation. in chicago, record lows are expected as a result of the bitter cold caused by airfrom the north pole. several states have declared a state of emergency — with many schools, colleges

and businesses closed. chris buckler sent this report. it is minus 27, 28 celsius as i speak to you at the moment. it has been dropping. we are expecting it to get to about minus 30 celsius. but here in the windy city, there are warnings about wind—chill that is making it feel even colder, and in some parts of the midwest, it has already felt below minus 50 celsius. now, there is snow and there is ice, and as you just mentioned there, if you take a look behind me, you will see that the river is completely frozen over. here in chicago, it is so incredibly cold. the only way to describe it really is it is painfully cold. my face, my ears, my fingers are very, very cold, despite the fact that we are taking precautions. and of course, that's one of the big concerns for people. there are people who are homeless, they have been taken to warming centres in some cases just to try and keep them warm tonight.

but this is dangerously cold, and already there have been some people killed. in traffic accidents because of the ice and snow, but also from just being exposed to this cold. it is so cold at the moment but meteorologists will tell you thatjust ten minutes standing in this kind of temperature can give you frostbite, and already apparently people have gone to the hospital because of that problem. and i will say that we have shelter just beside us here, we are at a hotel where we can get heat and we can get warmth, we are not too far away, and we are also wearing plenty of equipment. but that is the worry, that people are going to go out into this, and i have to say, here in chicago, people in my opinion have been sticking to that. as we were driving into chicago this evening, the roads extremely quiet. as i talk to you now, around me, very, very quiet streets, people are staying off the roads. and it is, very simply, a once—in—a—generation kind of cold, this.

there are chances that this could become a record for chicago tonight. they think it's probably going to be a couple of degrees off the record for all—time cold. but there are also people who are frankly enjoying it. you've probably already seen that there are people who have been using water pistols, putting hot water into water pistols and then firing it, and it immediately freezes as you hit the cold air. i have got myself a thermos mug here, and this will give you an idea of how cold it is. if ijust unscrew this and i throw this in towards the water, you will see it immediately goes into steam and ice, and thatjust gives you an idea of how painfully cold it is at the moment, but very simply, people have been advised whenever they can to stay in and to stay out of this kind of cold. meanwhile severe weather warning has been issued for this afternoon and evening as heavy snow is expected in parts of the uk. the amber alert, issued by the met office, covers parts of the south west of england

and south wales. it means there is likely to be transport disruption and power cuts also possible. and we'll have a closer look at what the weather will be doing in about 15 minutes. —— in about three or four mac minutes' time. the inquests into the deaths of five people who died in the guildford pub bombings 45 years ago are to resume. three men and two women died in 0ctober1974 when the ira blew up a pub in guildford. four people accused of carrying out the attacks had their convictions quashed and were released after serving 15 years in jail. violence and self—harm in prisons are "unacceptably high", thejustice secretary has admitted, after figures showed a twenty per cent rise in the number of assaults in the year to last september, compared with the previous year. david gauke said the statistics for england and wales were "disturbing," with over 33,000 incidents. labour says staff and budget cuts are to blame the government wants to give new powers to police and courts

to tackle knife crime in england and wales. under the proposed knife crime prevention 0rders, suspects as young as 12 could be monitored, and restrictions imposed on their movements, whom they associate with, and their use of social media. breaching an order would carry a jail term of up to two years. you can let us know about anything you want to talk about, find me on twitter for this. there are record—breaking cold weather in many areas. what is interesting is that at the end of december, we had a sudden

stratospheric warming, which we can be stratospheric vortex and broke in to two pieces, one that lauded around this area of north america. what then happened and has been happening is that we have seen a build of pressure across the arctic isa build of pressure across the arctic is a direct result and consequence of that stratospheric warming. then we have started to get cold winds coming from siberia, across the north pole, and into the united states. so it is all linked back to the sudden stratospheric warming that we had at the end of last year and the start of january. in times of the temperatures, they have been truly astonishing. these are maximum temperatures. i have seen them as low as —46, but factor in the strength of the wind, the wind—chill ta kes strength of the wind, the wind—chill takes it into the minus 50s and —60 ts, takes it into the minus 50s and —60 ‘s, that is why it is so dangerous to be outside. look at the changes, you're going minus 16 two 11! 11 will be a heat wave in anyone's

book. people advised to be not outside and not to take bigger breasts outside, to walk around and actually, that is mild for a place like chicago and detroit, 11 or 12 degrees is above average for this time of year. so a huge turnaround, he will lose the wind coming from the north pole and the siberian flow ofair, and the north pole and the siberian flow of air, and replace it with something from a westerly direction. you and i were talking about this earlier, we mentioned it is like having damp armpits, i think it was the phrase used. in terms of what the phrase used. in terms of what the weather does, when the snow comes down... i was trying to come up with an idea, it is cold evaporative cooling, so you probably know we are getting snow today, because there are severe weather warnings. it does have something to do with your armpits. it is to do with evaporative cooling. it is a process where precipitation starts off as snow, and as it comes down, it melts. in nothing, it takes energy out of the atmosphere, so it cool

the atmosphere down. the next bit of snow can go a little bit lower, then a bit lower, then all of a sudden, it is on the ice's servers. it is the same process of cooling the atmosphere, it happens when you sweat, you get the sweat on your skin, when it evaporates, that is what cools you down. it is not the sweat, it is having it evaporate. it is cold evaporative cooling, it is important with today's weather. in the next few hours, a lot of us will see this. and just in the last half an hour, we have seen the first signs of this. it is snowing on the coast of cornwall, if it is snowing on the coast, it will come inland. there has been some rain mixed in, in the southern areas. but it is this process of evaporative cooling that is important. this system is working m, is important. this system is working in, the rain is transitioning to snow, as the process works in. we will get that transition, the heaviest snow will be across south—west england and wales. that is where we are likely to see some

problems with the met office and weather warnings in force. we could see around 5—10 centimetres across south—west —— south—west england. the thing about this snow is that onceit the thing about this snow is that once it has changed, it will come down heavily. there is not much you can do about that in terms of quitting, so it probably will be that some of the roads are a bit of a struggle to keep open. the a38 looks vulnerable, the m5, they could all see problems towards the rush hour this evening. the snow will work into southern england as welcome come towards the south—east, but the amount we see their across south—east england is a little bit more variable. nevertheless, we are looking at significant snow and ice is also an additional hazard. away from the snowy south of the uk, overnight, we will start to get some showers across north—eastern can. further showers in the northern scotland. aside from that, clear skies, it will be a cold night and it will turn icy. price across

anywhere in the uk into friday morning there may still be some snow in the south west of england, but the wind is coming from a different direction, across north—east england. he, we are looking at someone england. he, we are looking at someone true showers, england. he, we are looking at someone true showers, some snow england. he, we are looking at someone true showers, some snow in the north—east of england and further wintry showers for northern scotland. we could see some further problems as we go on through friday. perhaps 1—3 centimetres of snow building in some of the hills across east england. another cold day, 3—4 degrees full stop through the weekend, we still have the wind on saturday, so further showers in the north and east, but on sunday, we have another area of low pressure reading about different across the uk. that will hit the cold air, so we may see some snow across the high ground in northern england, northern england and scotland, this may transition to rain, but we will have to ta ke transition to rain, but we will have to take a look at that. there is still the potential for some weather problems as we head into the weekend. in the short time, it is

wales and south—west england that we will see some problems with heavy snow. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: the foreign secretary says britain's departure date from the eu could be delayed — if a deal isn't struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment and production in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. 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%. and coming up in ask this at 3.30pm - we'll take a look at the state of readiness for brexit and what preparations are being made both here and across europe. sport now on afternoon live. so england are batting first — after last week's humiliation, i'm wondering how many wickets not

n ot exa ctly not exactly a vintage performance so far. you remember, england obliterated in the first test against the west indies. 32—year—old joe deadly has making his test debut. he held hoping the button. england have lost a wicket, roddy barnes was caught out forjust a four. england, as you can seek 9—1, so four. england, as you can seek 9—1, so lots of improvements to be made over the next few days. you can follow all of the development on the up. we will move on. what do you we re up. we will move on. what do you were me to say?! its transfer deadline day in england and scotland — tell me about the biggest moves so far?

there is one in the summer, and one injanuary there is one in the summer, and one in january as well, but that will be the end of it untiljuly. the final day of the january transfer window is upon us without any astounding moves taking place, although some manchester united fans may beg to differ, because marouane fellaini's on his way to china. leaving united after nearly six years and willjoin shandong luneng in the chinese super league after the two clubs agreed a deal. another deal that has been finalised is denis suarez‘s loan move to arsenal — this is how they announced it on social media. hejoins from barcelona, and is a man that manager unai emery knows very well having worked with him at sevilla. and there's also a return to the premier league for this man. 38—year—old peter crouch is on his way back to the big time with burnley. sam vokes is going the other way to join stoke city. keep an eye on everything that's happening on the bbc sport website. wolves signing jonny 0tto on a permanent contract

is the biggest financial deal to be done so far. around £50 million today. —— £15 million. also details of a new contract signed by manchester united's anthony marital. eddiejones has named his side to play ireland in their opening six nations match this weekend in dublin. and there's a first start in the competition in six years for manu tuilagi. he'll play at centre in the absence of ben te'o, who's injured. elliot daly will start at fullback, with mike brown left out of the matchday squad entirely. they are very good at contesting everything, at brick building, getting over the ball. we have got to make sure that we are sharp for our rock, and then there is an aerial contest as well, which they are aerial contest as well, which they a re pretty aerial contest as well, which they are pretty good at. if we look after ron house, like you said, in terms

of those areas, we will look to put, game onto them. and england are now 10-1 at game onto them. and england are now 10—1 at the cricket. it is all marginal gains over in antigua. that's all the sport for now. some years from hollywood. this is the finance secretary derek mackay who has just announced that a budget agreement has been reached after the snp bridge to deal with the scottish greens, which means that the budget gets a majority at hollywood this afternoon. less than ten minutes before the budget debate was due to start, he treated that his proposals would support local services. in the last few minutes, he has been criticising the scottish tories, scottish lib dems and scottish

labourfor scottish lib dems and scottish labour for voting against it. he said it would be reckless, particularly then the case of braxton. he confirms that he has reached agreement with the greens. derek mackay, and that breaking news that this got his government has agreed a budget. let's return now to brexit and retailers have warned that a no—deal brexit could result in empty shelves in stores and the possibility of higher food costs. earlier this week, sainsbury‘s, asda and mcdonalds were among those who signed a letter from the british retail consortium, warning that stockpiling fresh food would be impossible. our business correspondent colletta smith is at a warehouse in trafford park in stretford in greater manchester finding out how people are preparing for brexit. welcome to greater manchester. this is the newest warehouse, and they have taken on a particularly interesting time. it is mostly

empty, but the expected to be filled with them the next couple of weeks, and they have had a lot of interest from companies wanting to use some space to store some of their goods in the run—up to brexit. am joined by sue richardson. you spend a lot of time advising companies, particularly retailers, what to do, the start of april, whatever happens with brexit. the advice people to get planning right now, if you have not done so already. there are lots of things businesses can do, thinking about, for example, where their goods are coming in. so, not just good for resale, but also across a wider supply chain. so, read our despairs for their trucks coming from? where are the it support services coming from? understanding all of that is very important to understanding the risks, which boards i do products coming through? secondly, it is

engaging with the workforce, it is really important, to understand the eu workforce are motivated and ready to continue working for you. lastly, there are some really simple things, like is going to be on holiday on the 1st of april. for many businesses, that might be an issue, because school holiday start for a cluttered areas on the 1st of april, to work out who is going to be in, who needs to be in, and what contingency plans needs to be put in place. there are practical things that businesses can do, thinking about the start of life that posted the eu, if we do leave on the 29th of march. the first monday is going to be the 1st of april, so companies need to think about holiday and who is on duty at this stage. i have also got shamelessly from the food storage and distribution federation. when it comes to companies, a lot of them

have taken a little bit of warehouse space, they have a corner in has, but when br into a brexit world, they will have to move these goods. 0ne they will have to move these goods. one of the things that is worrying as right now as are we going to have enough capacity on that monday that you talk about. the fact is, like a lot of european hauliers, who hopefully will come here and be able to get through as they have done before, but we also have to make sure there are enough drivers. these issues are very practical front of mind as dues are members are having to cut with right now. some of the warehouses and goods here are from other warehouse is overflowing, but actually these will need to be made on someone actually these will need to be made on someone else, onto stocks and shelves right across the uk come april. and we're looking at the state of readiness for brexit all day here on the bbc news channel. later today, at 3.30pm we'll be putting your questions to our experts. get in touch... the number of rough sleepers

in england has fallen for the first time in nearly a decade, according to the latest figures. just over 11,500 people were sleeping outside on a single night last year, slightly less than in 2017. but in london, numbers went up by 13%. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. when you're homeless, you rest where you can, hoping for sleep. at this shopping centre in east london, dozens of people bed down each night. their reasons vary. they may have mental health problems, addictions, or have travelled here in search of work. in michael's case, he'd run out of money. 0n the benefit that i'm on, i couldn't afford my flat. as i said earlier, i got a £400 water bill. that's without my gas, electric. i just couldn't afford it. rough sleeping continues to rise in london, but has fallen overall in england.

today's figures show there were 4,677 people sleeping rough on a single night in 2018. that's 2% down on last year, but since 2010, the number of rough sleepers is up by 165%. we need to make rough sleeping a thing of the past, and whilst these figures today underline some progress, and it's important to note that, i know that there is a lot more work that we need to do, and that's what i'm determined to lead. today's figures are a snapshot of one night, a mixture of counting and estimates, but rough sleeping sites like this one can be hard to find. here in east staffordshire, john anderson and his team counted 41 rough sleepers last year. today's official figures, however, say there are just 11 in the area. we know who is on the street. our local council knows pretty well who is on the street. and to come up with an accurate count just seems a complete pointless waste of time and probably an expensive waste of time as well. this costs money that could be put

to the cause of helping those homeless people. this used to be something different, then, didn't it? yeah, it was a children's home. in greater manchester, they've been opening hostels in shelters since november, part of mayor andy burnham's a bed every night initiative. more than 1,200 people have been helped so far, over 300 of whom have moved into permanent accommodation. today's figures show rough sleeping is up in the city of manchester, but down by almost 20% across the region. we're seeing high demand. you know, i could probably fill this twice. and basically, we do need more provision in manchester, and we are actively working with the council to look for more provision. the government says they want to end rough sleeping in england by 2027, and have committed £100 million to that goal. labour have described today's figures as desperately disappointing. michael buchanan, bbc news. an 11 year old boy has become the first nhs patient to receive

a pioneering cancer treatment. the technique uses the body's own cells to fight the disease. the boy has leukaemia, and he received his own immune cells at great 0rmond street hospital in london after they had been modified in a laboratory. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. yuvan from watford was diagnosed with leukaemia five years ago. but conventional treatments failed, so he's become the first nhs patient outside a clinical trial to have this personalised immunothera py. the cancer treatment is known as car—t therapy. first, blood is taken from the patient, and then immune cells known as t—cells are sent to a laboratory in the united states, where they are modified to detect and kill cancer cells. they're multiplied and infused back into the patient. doctors at great 0rmond street hospital say it's too early to know whether yuvan's treatment will work. his parents say it's their last hope. in a trial, half of patients with resistant leukaemia who received

the treatment were cancer—free after one year. this car—t therapy costs nearly £300,000 a patient, but nhs england has agreed a lower, undisclosed price with the manufacturer. up to 30 children and young adults a year will be treated. fergus walsh, bbc news. maryam moshiri is here — 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: the foreign secretary says britain's departure date from the eu could be delayed — if a deal isnt struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. here's your business headlines on afternoon live asda has lost its appeal against a ruling that store staff can compare their roles with people working in the supermarket‘s

distribution centres. the decision means that lower—paid shop staff, who are mostly women, can compare themselves with higher paid warehouse workers, who are mostly men. uk house prices grew at the slowest annual rate for nearly six years injanuary, according to the nationwide. the lender said price growth "almost ground to a complete halt". only three out of 17 water firms in england and wales have passed the latest review by regulator 0fwat. it says companies need to deliver customers better service for less money. maryam is here with news from the federal reserve in the us? the federal reserve has indicated it won't raise interest rates anytime soon, marking an abrupt turnaround from earlier statements that suggested it would gradually increase rates. it said it is not sure where it is

going to go with interest—rate, and it is interesting because president trump has been pressuring the years of federal reserve to change the policy for a while, because you think high interest rates have a negative impact on markets, which he thinks are very important. so, why has the us federal reserve done this? let's go to washington, when i very cold, very well wrapped correspondent is. i have taken my hat off, vanity fair being on camera. let's talk about the fair reserve , camera. let's talk about the fair reserve, because this is a bit of a u—turn. i'll be seeing this? what does it tell us? this is what is so interesting is that for weeks ago at

the federal reserve said the us economy is strong, though they have changed the language to say it is solid. four weeks ago they were talking about the fact that they might seek to wijnaldum increases this year, and now they say they are taking a wait—and—see approach to interest rates. the recently gave and the was cross currency. they talked about slowing global growth, the fact that that was in narrative gaining ground, specifically in china and the eu. there was also talk about brexit, saying that the implications of that whether or not, that from the perspective of america's central bank, they look at the health of financial institutions, institutions, but the they said they did not know what the implications of a hard brexit would be for the years, because theirjob is to worry about the us economy. all of these factors taking together led them to change what has been for the past several years a policy of

slow, gradual rate increases. now, be edging away from that. all of this against a backdrop of the talks between the us and china in washington. do we know about how those trade talks have gone so far? the president has been active on twitter, you will be surprised to learn, this morning, talking about the fact that he will be meeting later on today but the chinese delegation in the oval office. he said they couldn't be a final deal until he met with the chinese president, so that maybe later this month. whether or not they will be some small announcement at the conclusion of today, but will have to wait and see, but it does seem to be kicking the car and a bit down the road. for the markets, and for american businesses and businesses in ten, they don't tend to like uncertainties, so this is try to

communicate that more time is required. the chairman doctor vowed crosscu rre nts, required. the chairman doctor vowed crosscurrents, which suggests that these tensions with china could have a longer term impact. yeah road, one of the crosscurrents was trade, specifically about whether it was having an impact on the us economy, and he said certain in terms of ta blets, and he said certain in terms of tablets, it was something the american economy could be, because you had seen the action by the chinese economy an american products. when it would have negative and packed —— impact, b have been heating from companies other day, is through confidence. without knowing how this will play out, some businesses will delay business decisions, and that could have a knock—on effect. we are already giving from companies like apple, harley—davidson, or complaining about slowing growth and

tariffs. how cold is it read you are, very briefly? it is not pleasant, but it is not as bad as chicago. there br. london market higher thanks to some strong figures from shell and diageo. the pound is creeping ever so slightly up against the us dollar. when she first came to the uk from jamaica in the 1960s, yvonne connolly never dreamed she would become britian's first female black headteacher. but — after working her way up — she was given the top job at a highgate primary school. her appointment made the headlines — but also led to racist abuse. this is her story. there is no colour problem at this

skill. there is an awful lot of love, most of it first thing. she is london's first west indian head teacher, and what it felt like she is with the kids. i yvonne connelly. i was one of the first black head teachers in inner london, in 1969. i had done three years of teacher training injamaica, so i thought i will come to britain that is us i was very aware that their birth racial tensions in quite a number of schools full stop. i would turn up and somebody would just, i suppose, without meaning it, say, but you are black. 0f without meaning it, say, but you are black. of course, my reply was, yes iam, buti black. of course, my reply was, yes iam, but i am black. of course, my reply was, yes i am, but i am also black. of course, my reply was, yes iam, but i am also a black. of course, my reply was, yes i am, but i am also a teacher. after six years, i applied for a

headteacherjob. ijust six years, i applied for a headteacher job. i just wanted six years, i applied for a headteacherjob. ijust wanted to see what interviews at this level might be. and i was absolutely amazed when my name was called. when i was appointed, somebody threatened to burn the school down. i had newspaper articles were actually sent to me crossing out my photograph, with actually nasty comments. go back to jamaica. i also had letters from, interestingly enough, members of the black community, who felt that i had soldered to the white establishment. i had soldered to the white establishment. ihada soldered to the white establishment. i had a responsibility for all the children in my school. regardless of race or religion. in fact, the differences were less than the commonalities that be shared. and therefore, one had to get on with

it. the reflections of yvonne connolly — who became britain's first black head teacher during the sixties. time for a look at the weather... things are starting to come together both destructive weather beginning to edge into the south—west of the jk. that is what is happening on the satellite picture. the weather front is making in, so the call debbie have got in place, and we are seeing this transition from renters snow. it is beginning to happen at the moment. we can take a look at the latest reader picture and see that. there is a tendency for this to be turning white, with increasing amounts of snow in parts of south west england and southern rebels. heavy snow is only the break, and the met office has issued an album by the warning for southern england. they could see around five french by

ten centimetres of snow, and it will come down heavily, and very quickly. that makes it very difficult to keep some of the roads open. we may well see problems on the roads. many of us see problems on the roads. many of us could be impacted as we head to this afternoon and into this evening's rush—hour. this evening, the weather front gets a little bit wea ker the weather front gets a little bit weaker here, so bubbly variable home bc. some places seen quite a bit, others not so much, but with davis gosneu others not so much, but with davis gosnell ball and ice event, there is a significant risk of disruption. further north, we have clear skies from any of us. showers continuing overnight in northern scotland and north—east england. with them moving inland, it is going to get very icy with these kind of temperatures. another sharp frost nationwide, and ice could be a significant restjust about anywhere first thing friday

morning. still a bit of snow first thing over and england, you will notice. we could see some accumulations here, perhaps one to three centimetres. northern scotland again getting wintry showers, but for many, the weather clears up. temperatures 34—mac decrees. the weekend starts off with north—easterly wind, is on for the second half of the weekend, another weather front moves on to that calder, again bringing the risk of further falls of snow particular across the north of the uk. in the short term, it is wales and south—west england with the risk of distruption over the south—west england with the risk of distru ption over the next south—west england with the risk of distruption over the next few hours and into the evening as well. that is your latest weather. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 3: the foreign secretary says brexit may be delayed — if a deal isn't struck until the last minute. 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. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport — hugh. the latest from barbados. well there are difficult conditions for england's batsmen once again — put into bat in the 2nd test against west indies and they were 2 wickets down inside 9 overs. not great so far! more later in the hour. they should try driving in the south—west, because that'll be difficult. with a warning in force, we are beginning to see some snow and some travel disruption on the roads, so

keep a very close eye on that. thanks chris. also coming up — the story of yvonne connolly — britain's first female black headteacher. hello everyone, this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. the foreign secretary says that the uk may need to delay its exit from the european union if an agreement is only reached in the final days. jeremy hunt said "extra time" might be needed, meaning an extension to the deadline of march 29th — depending on how much progress is made in the coming weeks. number 10 has insisted that the government is committed to brexit in two months' time. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. the uk is due to leave the european union two months from now, time again, the prime minister has

said the departure date is march the 29th. today, one other cabinet minister suggested there could be some flexibility. 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, that might not been necessary. the report from the independent institute for government, a think tank linked to the civil suggested the uk isn't ready to leave the eu at the end of march unless there is a deal. you heard from jeremy hunt this morning that getting a deal signed in brussels is one part of the challenge, and the next part will be getting mps to back it, but after that you still have to pass legislation. that's why they could be the need for an extension even if things go to plan in two weeks' time for the government. but mps will be working hard to try to meet the agreed eu exit

date and we are told today their february half term break could be cancelled. it is only right i give notice that there are currently no plans to put forward a motion to agree dates for the february recess. the government still things it can get a deal by replacing the northern ireland backstop to replace a hard border with alternative arrangements. the options for reform include an exit clause, bringing this to a close. a sunset clause, an agreed date when the backstop would expire, or technological solutions. the slight flaw in all of this is that brussels has already rejected time limits to the backstop, or a unilateral uk exit, and the prime minister herself has previously given short shrift to yet to be invented technological solutions. today, senior mps have been in downing street to discuss exactly what to say to brussels on the backstop, but the leader

of the opposition believes all of this is rather late. i asked the prime minister about this yesterday and she was incredibly vague, both in the commons and the meeting i had with her later on, and it's possible there would have to be an extension in order to get an agreement, because we cannot leave the eu on march 29th without an agreement. frosty relations between the government and opposition and between britain and brussels may have to thaw if the uk is to get a sustainable deal. let's cross to westminster, and to our political correspondent nick eardley. a call for extra time? yes, some of the government are starting to worry about the amount of legislation that is going to have to be passed. even if there is a deal sorted within the next few weeks, and that is still a

big if. downing street say they are working toward the 29th of march, they are pointing to the cancellation of the holidays from next thursday, as a sign of how desperate they are to get this through, and they are creating all the time they can to make sure mps have the scope to get something through, if it is reached with brussels. it may be the sign of the frustration some mps have is that next week, parliament is sitting, it isa next week, parliament is sitting, it is a fool week of parliament, it was a lwa ys is a fool week of parliament, it was always going to be, none of the debates or events taking place in the house of commons actually relate to brexit. some mps are saying, it is fine and well cancelling the recess, is fine and well cancelling the recess , we is fine and well cancelling the recess, we want some time to get whatever we can done, but we need something to do first. overshadowing all of those are the moment is the fa ct all of those are the moment is the fact that the eu does not seem in a mood to budge in any way. there has

been no symbol at all in the last few days that the issue of the withdrawal agreement has changed from the european perspective. we have heard numerous european leaders saying it is shut, it is done, it is a 585 page treaty, it took us two yea rs a 585 page treaty, it took us two years to get it, we are not going back and we are not going to be negotiated what is in it. the government still thinks it can go there and say, there is clearly something we can get through parliament, if we make this change. theresa may says she has a mandate now to go back and see it has all changed. we know they can get a majority in the house of commons. again, we had from donald tusk last night, he is not sure of exactly what the house of commons once, it doesn't sound much they are buying that mandate yet. the prime minister is continuing to try and twist a few arms over the last few days. a bunch of mps have been in the cabinet and in downing street today, hearing some arguments about various things

that it some arguments about various things thatitis some arguments about various things that it is hoped can win them over. notjust that it is hoped can win them over. not just conservatives that it is hoped can win them over. notjust conservatives or the dup, but some labour mps who are keen on delivering brexit in some form have beenin delivering brexit in some form have been in there, too. i think the strategy from government at the moment is to offer whatever it can to as many people as possible in the hope that over the next few weeks, it can get something near a majority, even if the prime minister doesn't come back with something that can get everybody in her own party on board, maybe, just maybe, if she picks off a dozen or more labour mps as well, with some promises on things like workers' rights, maybe the finishing line could be inside. thank you for joining us. businesses on both sides of the channel have concerns about what a ‘no deal‘ brexit may mean for their industries. adam fleming has been speaking to fishermen in belgium, who rely on british waters for more than half their catch. back to its home port in belgium after nine days at sea, sea currently shared among eu countries. the crew have been catching gurnard

and cuttlefish off the coast of cornwall and east sussex, which means every single fish being unloaded now has been caught in british waters. proof of belgium‘s reliance on the uk‘s rich fishing grounds. if there is no deal, the eu has said things can stay broadly the same until the end of this year if the uk promises the same. but no one knows for sure, and the owner has nowhere else to go. the boat is too small to go to deeper water. and also to go to the north waters. so i really don‘t know what i‘m going to do. if a no—deal brexit means karel and his crew can‘t fish, brussels has said it will provide some compensation. at the daily auction in ostend, fish is bought and sold at the click of a button.

the uncertainty is clear. if you are worried about a no—deal brexit, no—deal, put your hands up. yeah, no—deal, wow. nearly everyone. they are worried about the rules for their boats using british ports, and if no deal means extra paperwork. there is also a big question for the belgian government. if a belgian fisherman catches a fish in uk waters, is it belgian or british? if it‘s british, then in future it could be subject to more checks, because it will count as an import from a non—eu country. the industry here says things would be clearer with the 21—month transition period that is in the brexit deal. there is not much you can do within the eu and certainly not as fisheries representatives about this, so i understand that prime minister may is now going to open up negotiations again, and that in the eu there were a lot of responses about there is not a lot of room for manoeuvring.

so how this is going to end up, we don't know, i don't know. 0n the belgian coast, if you pardon the pun, they feel they‘re caught in the middle. adam fleming, bbc news, 0stend. just a reminder — if you‘re finding any of the language around brexit confusing, you can use our online jargon busting guide to check the most used terms and phrases. all you need to do is go to bbc.co.uk/brexit or the bbc news app — and click on brexit jargon explained. and we‘re looking at the state of readiness for brexit all day here on the bbc news channel. at 3.30 we‘ll be putting your questions to our experts. get in touch using #bbcaskthis. you can also text on 61124 and email askthis@bbc.co.uk car—makers are also blaming brexit for a dramatic slump in investment and production. our business editor simonjack said that investment in the industry has fallen every year since 2015.

it is no secret that it has been a rough 18 months for the car industry. we have had 6000 job losses at jaguar land rover, 900 in the last 18 months at vauxhall and 1000 jobs threatened at ford. a lot of that is not to do with brexit, there have been other issues affecting the sector, like the uncertainty over diesel policy, following diesel gate, we have had falling sales in big markets like china, and also new regulations which have held up production. what is stark about today‘s figures is that in 2015, investment in the uk car industry was £2.5 billion and it has fallen every year since then. last year, it was just under £600 million, a fall of nearly 80%. it can be lumpy, car investment, but those are stark figures. that is aboutjobs of the future. the smmt have admitted there are other issues, but they say a lack of investment is brexit related, and they said that a no—deal brexit is the biggest threat to the competitiveness

of the uk car industry in a generation. they are desperate and have sounded some of the shrillest warnings of the dangers that could do to the sensitive, pan—european supply chains, they want it seen it take off the table. this is notjust what people are saying, these numbers on investment are what people are doing. when you talk about supply chains, this just in time supply chain, they work almost to the minute. if there is a no deal, or a delay to a deal, again, that will face problems. someone likejlr is bringing in about 5 million components a week, and i have been there, i went to the bmw mini factory and followed a wing mirror. the yellow wing mirror arrives on the production line as the yellow mini is arriving down the line and goes boonk like that and they put it on and off it goes and they produce one every minute.

it‘s notjust whether the components get up. in the supply chain, if a supplier one, two, three notches down the supply chain, if they aren‘t ready or their components aren‘t arriving, it is puts the entire delicate operation at risk. they don‘t have the warehouse space to stock these parts. honda looked into this and they said to put nine days worth of parts together, it would require the biggest building in the world. it is no wonder they have been perhaps sounding some of the biggest alarms about no—deal brexit. they also say that whilst they hate no deal, the lack of investment, they are not a massive fan of deferring this longer. you have been talking about delaying it, they say this uncertainty willjust keep the investment and suppress it much longer, so they hate no deal, but they are not a big fan of delaying it either. that was our business editor talking

to us earlier. staying with brexit and it‘s been reported today that the prime minister is preparing to try and entice labour mps to support her brexit deal by offering them a cash injection for their constituencies. some 14 labour mps voted on monday against the labour whip to oppose an amendment by yvette cooper which would have paved the way to delay britain‘s exit from the eu, with 11 more abstaining. joining me from westminster is the labour mpjohn mann. 0ne one of the 14. good afternoon. the headline was that theresa may prepares to woo labour rebels. you then tweeted, show us the money. that is right. two weeks ago, ten labour mps met the prime minister and one of the things that we asked for is a national fund, britain fund. for areas like ours, areas that have been underinvested in, so that we can move past the

european union, competing as the best in the world, and our areas have a fair chance, meaning a significant sum of money coming to areas like mine across the country. we have been following that through, making those requests, demands, i think it is essential if the prime minister wants to get her deal through. it is a request, if what? it isa through. it is a request, if what? it is a demand for sure. if you are then expected to vote with theresa may. there is no expectation, this isn‘t transactional politics. we are asking for money for areas that have not had theirfair share in the past, demonstrate riso, there are mps in those areas who will vote against a deal, who want a second referendum. this is for their constituencies as well as ours. so this isn‘t transactional, this is how to get the best brexit for the

country. our areas where the areas that voted leave in the highest numbers. i want to pick up on that, because is this an admission that brexit isn‘t going to deliver anywhere that your constituencies thought when they voted? as an example, the money that the eu put into regional aid, which in areas like mine, didn‘t reach my area virtually at all over the years, we wa nt virtually at all over the years, we want that money and more directed into the areas with the biggest need. that is areas like mine, and we wa nt need. that is areas like mine, and we want it on a modern agenda, in times of high skills, high—technology, science technology, thejobs of high—technology, science technology, the jobs of the future. we want our areas to have this, not our areas relying on the cheapest wages, the cheapest jobs, the relying on the cheapest wages, the cheapestjobs, the lowest skills. that is an opportunity we seek, where we want government, as we move forward as an independent country,

to show that commitment. that is why we asked the prime minister two weeks ago. of course, in what she said when she became prime minister, then she would be fulfilling the promises she gave as she became the prime minister of the country of rebalancing the economy of the country. so we are holding heard that word. do you care that your party leader, jeremy corbyn, is not happy about this? jeremy corbyn is now with the prime minister talking, thatis now with the prime minister talking, that is good news. i am quite sure he will be asking for identical things that we have been asking for for the last few weeks. we previously, and i put down an amendment, that the prime minister accepted, that she is now discussing in detail, including today, with the trade unions on guaranteeing being better than the eu in workers‘ rights, environmental standards and health and safety. that was a big breakthrough. this is the second

pa rt breakthrough. this is the second part of what we asked for, which is a nationalfund, part of what we asked for, which is a national fund, significant part of what we asked for, which is a nationalfund, significant money into our areas. they are the areas that voted brexit in the largest numbers, and they are the areas that wa nt to numbers, and they are the areas that want to see, as we go forward as an independent country, as having our fair chance and independent country, as having our fairchance and fair independent country, as having our fair chance and fair slice of the cake. we hope the prime minister is listening. do you have a figure in mind? we want significant money. far bigger... with due respect, even to the great bbc, i think trying to negotiate through the bbc on what is needed is not the best way of doing it. let‘s see what the prime minister... gets not a bad way, because then we might have some transparency, because nobody knows what is going on. there is good dialogue going on, i can tell you that. i am dialogue going on, i can tell you that. iam hoping dialogue going on, i can tell you that. i am hoping the prime minister will come back with something that is significant. if she does, the chances of labour mps from those

leave areas who don‘t want a referendum voting for her deal, i would say undoubtedly goes up. so i think it is inevitable that the political arithmetic says she will come back with something significant, but it is also what she said when she became prime minister. so we are simply saying to her, that is what you said, show us the money. it's is what you said, show us the money. it‘s a bribe, isn‘t it? is what you said, show us the money. it's a bribe, isn't it? not at all. i voted brexit, it's a bribe, isn't it? not at all. ivoted brexit, and i it's a bribe, isn't it? not at all. i voted brexit, and i voted for the deal already, so i can‘t be bribed, it is not about a bribe. it is about ensuring that we get the best for our area. ensuring that we get the best for ourarea. many of ensuring that we get the best for our area. many of us respect the decision that the british people took, we respect the fact that the ma nifesto we took, we respect the fact that the manifesto we stood in the general election guaranteed that again. some of us have been voting that through already, and i shall continue to do so on already, and i shall continue to do so on behalf of my constituents, on

behalf of what the country has told us behalf of what the country has told us to do. but as well, if we can get better money for our area on top of it, then i am certainly going to do so, but it is not constituency by constituency, mp by mp, we want transformational money for those areas that have been left behind that don‘t have the skills and don‘t have the opportunities the rest of the country has. it seems perfectly reasonable to me that we demand that andi reasonable to me that we demand that and i hope we get it. thank you for joining us. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: the foreign secretary says britain‘s departure date from the eu could be delayed — if a deal isn‘t struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment and production in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — at least 12 people have died as temperatures plunge to their coldest level for decades. and in sport... debuta nt joe denly

is out forjust 6... as england‘s batsmen disappoint so far in the second test against west indies. they‘re currently 34—3 in antigua. marouane fellaini‘s time at manchester united is almost over. the midfielder has agreed terms and passed a medical as he looks to join chinese club shandong luneng. and centre manu tuilagi is set to make his first six nations start in six years after being named in england‘s side to face ireland in their opening match on saturday. i‘ll be back with more on those stories. the snp has struck a deal with green msps that‘ll allow their budget to pass at holyrood, green co—convener patrick harvie has confirmed. the scottish finance secretary derek mackay, who needs opposition backing to pass his budget plans, said that he was pleased to reach agreement. the deal includes extra funding for councils and extra powers for them to levy local parking and tourist taxes. this is the budget debate at the

moment. i think we can go to our scotla nd moment. i think we can go to our scotland correspondence. 0h, moment. i think we can go to our scotland correspondence. oh, no, we haven‘t got our correspondence, but we will hear more later on. let‘s listen in to what is going on in holyrood. we put independence to one side, we could work together on the needs of local government, the funding of mental health services, and support for teacherss‘ f—stop but he declined to put independence first, just like they always do. we will not support our scottish government that will use this budget asa government that will use this budget as a stepping stone for independence. and the economic damage that that would bring. that does not prevent me from giving the scottish government some helpful

advice. the relationship between the scottish government and local government is not a good one, and has got to change. the scottish government should not treat councils in the manner in which they say the uk government treats them. yet, they play fast and loose... that is the scottish lib dems, they have been criticised along with the scottish conservatives by the snp for not allowing the budget through. as you can see, considerable anger over the arrangement that has been reached to make that budget final. as i said, we will get the thoughts of our scotla nd we will get the thoughts of our scotland correspondence mac later on. at least 12 people have died in the united states as a result of some of the coldest temperatures in the country for a generation. in chicago, record lows are expected as a result of the bitter cold caused by airfrom the north pole. several states have declared a state of emergency — with many schools, colleges and businesses closed. chris buckler sent this report. it is minus 27, 28 celsius as i speak to you at the moment. it has been dropping.

we are expecting it to get to about minus 30 celsius. but here in the windy city, there are warnings about wind—chill that is making it feel even colder, and in some parts of the midwest, it has already felt below minus 50 celsius. now, there is snow and there is ice, and as you just mentioned there, if you take a look behind me, you will see that the river is completely frozen over. here in chicago, it is so incredibly cold. the only way to describe it really is it is painfully cold. my face, my ears, my fingers are very, very cold, despite the fact that we are taking precautions. and of course, that‘s one of the big concerns for people. there are people who are homeless, they have been taken to warming centres in some cases just to try and keep them warm tonight. but this is dangerously cold, and already there have been some people killed. in traffic accidents because of the ice and snow, but also from just being exposed to this cold.

it is so cold at the moment but meteorologists will tell you thatjust ten minutes standing in this kind of temperature can give you frostbite, and already apparently people have gone to the hospital because of that problem. and i will say that we have shelter just beside us here, we are at a hotel where we can get heat and we can get warmth, we are not too far away, and we are also wearing plenty of equipment. but that is the worry, that people are going to go out into this, and i have to say, here in chicago, people in my opinion have been sticking to that. as we were driving into chicago this evening, the roads extremely quiet. as i talk to you now, around me, very, very quiet streets, people are staying off the roads. and it is, very simply, a once—in—a—generation kind of cold, this. there are chances that this could become a record for chicago tonight. they think it‘s probably going to be a couple of degrees off the record for all—time cold. but there are also people who are frankly enjoying it.

you‘ve probably already seen that there are people who have been using water pistols, putting hot water into water pistols and then firing it, and it immediately freezes as you hit the cold air. i have got myself a thermos mug here, and this will give you an idea of how cold it is. if ijust unscrew this and i throw this in towards the water, you will see it immediately goes into steam and ice, and thatjust gives you an idea of how painfully cold it is at the moment, but very simply, people have been advised whenever they can to stay in and to stay out of this kind of cold. here, a severe weather warning has been issued this afternoon as heavy snow is expected in parts of the uk. the amber alert, issued by the met office, covers london and the south east of england, parts of the south west of england and south wales. it means there is likely to be transport disruption and power cuts are also possible. let‘s return now to brexit and retailers have warned that

a no—deal brexit could result in empty shelves in stores and the possibility of higher food costs. earlier this week sainsbury‘s, asda and mcdonald‘s were among those who signed a letter from the british retail consortium, warning that stockpiling fresh food would be impossible. our business correspondent colletta smith is in a warehouse in trafford park in stretford in greater manchester. good afternoon and welcome to trafford park. the reason we are standing here in this warehouse is that the company who have taken over this space did so at the perfect moment. they took over in november and since then, they have been inundated with requests, with people who are interested in taking a little corner, taking some space to try and stockpile extra goods. maybe local firms who already have full warehouses, different retailers, construction companies who need extra space, just to make sure they

can still get their goods, come what may at the start of april. i am joined by ed at bdo, and you are advising companies will be time with what they should do to prepare at the moment. although we are talking about the end of march as the deadline, for businesses, it is a lot sooner than that. we were talking to a client this morning who exports to south—east asia, and their shipping time for that is a 5-6 their shipping time for that is a 5—6 weeks, so actually, there are key decision is probably 2—3 weeks' time as to whether they send the goods, and if they do, what does it mean? will they have to pay duty if there is a no—deal brexit? and what will the paperwork look like? will it be released from the port at the otherend? it be released from the port at the other end? they are looking at air freight, but that costs more. because that would be quicker? absolutely. you can do that at short notice in terms of moving the goods, but you can't find the airfreight, because there is no capacity.

difficult real—life decisions that companies have to make at the moment. thank you, ed. 0ne companies have to make at the moment. thank you, ed. one of the companies that are facing those decisions isjoining me, too. this is andrew from worsley gin. you are already making decisions about looking further afield. what is happening this weekend? this week in, we fly to india and mumbai with the business council with a trade mission. primarily, because of the issues we are facing in times of uncertainty around brexit. and for your business, you are bottling gin, your business, you are bottling gin, you are selling it to the uk and beyond, but your uk importing as well? we also of our raw materials, our bottles are imported from italy. what of that process been like over the last weeks? considerations are also around exchange rates, fluctuations can make a difference when you are ordering bulk. so these

are key. as a small business and a relatively new business, is this a big extra headache for you? does it feel like a lot of extra paperwork that you will have to do? 0r feel like a lot of extra paperwork that you will have to do? or is it just part of it? it is the uncertainty really for us that is the headache. there is no doubt there will be more paperwork and we are going to incur additional administrative costs because of that. potentially new opportunities for you, if you‘re able to see get the support in india to export there, that is a big market. amazing opportunity in india. but equally, the eu is an amazing opportunity, so when the time is right, we will do that, too. it is big decisions for companies that they have to make, not only at the end of march, but thinking about things now, whether that was putting goods aside, stockpiling, making decisions about what they send where in the world, and how much they will pay for it when it‘s time is up. it is tricky times at the moment for companies making decisions around big sums of

money. thank you forjoining us. and into the evening as well. that is your latest weather. a high chance of seeing distruption from snow over the next few hours, and the met office have issued an amber weather warning, stretching all the way across two parts of hampshire. tent images of snow is expected, and it will be coming down very heavily, which will make it quite difficult to keep some of the roads open. the a38 and the m5 looking particularly vulnerable, i would have thought. the amount of snow bc will vary a lot from place to place, some areas could see very little, others a lot. either way, ice and snow are likely to cause problems, with some destructive weather likely. away from the south, after a largely fine day, we will

seek a sharp frost. there will be showers coming and going over northern and eastern scotland, bringing the risk of ice. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the foreign secretary says britain‘s departure date from the eu could be delayed if a deal isn‘t struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment and production in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — as the region shivers in a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex. 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%. and coming up in ask this at 3.30pm — we‘ll take a look at the state of readiness for brexit and what preparations are being made both here and across europe. sport now on afternoon live, with hugh. so england are batting first in the second test in antigua — after last week‘s humiliation,

i‘m wondering how many wickets they‘ve lost after half an hour. not much to sing about for england‘s travelling support joe not much to sing about for england‘s travelling supportjoe denly, on his debut, when first six. jonny ba i rstow is debut, when first six. jonny bairstow is doing pretty well at the moment. he is helping to steady things, but the captainjohn redwood have hoped for more. it is a testing pitch with balance and movement, but england are struggling for a foothold at the moment. its transfer deadline day in england and scotland — tell me about the biggest moves so far? i think it is a bit of a b— so far.

nothing major to report. marouane fellaini‘s on his way to china, leaving united after nearly six years. he willjoin shandong luneng in the chinese super league after the two clubs agreed a deal. newcastle united have completed the signing of miguel almiron from atlanta united. the paraguay international has joined on a five year deal thought to be worth around £20 million. another deal that has been finalised is denis suarez‘s loan move to arsenal — this is how they announced it on social media. hejoins from barcelona, and is a man that manager unai emery knows very well having worked with him at sevilla. and there‘s also a return to the premier league for 38—year—old peter crouch. the former england striker is on his way back to the top flight with burnley. sam vokes is going the other way to join stoke city. keep an eye on everything that‘s happening on the bbc sport website. wolves signing jonny 0tto on a permanent contract is the biggest financial deal to be done so far. also details of a new contract signed by manchester

united‘s anthony marital. eddiejones has named his side to play ireland in their opening six nations match this weekend in dublin. and there‘s a first start in the competition in six years for manu tuilagi. he‘ll play at centre in the absence of ben te‘o, who‘s injured. elliot daly will start at fullback, with mike brown left out of the matchday squad entirely. they are very good at contesting everything. they are very good at great building, getting hold of the ball. we have got to make sure that we are sharp, and there is an aerial contest as well as they are pretty good at. so, if we look after a run house, like you said, in terms of those areas, we will look to put our game onto them. that‘s all the sport for now. welcome to ask this.

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. the prime minister‘s official spokesman says the government remains committed to leaving the eu on the 29th of march. 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? joining me to help answer those questions is our economics correspondent, andrew walker. which areas of the economy are the most vulnerable to leaving the eu without a deal and why? 0ne

one of years earlier —— one obvious area is to supermarkets, and people involved in the distribution and sale of fresh foods. we had a warning just the other day from the supermarkets that they are really quite worried about the potential for disruption to deliveries from the continent of fruit, salad, vegeta bles the continent of fruit, salad, vegetables and so forth. anything that you cannot stockpile that boggle off very quickly, and they we re boggle off very quickly, and they were born in that if it goes on for any length of time, we will see gaps on the shelf. there are people involved in supplying food and so forth, the other direction, that are also at risk for another reason, and thatis also at risk for another reason, and that is in the event of no deal of tariffs, on stuff going from the uk to the continent. for the most part, you tariffs are at the lower end of

the scale for goods across the full economy, but they are relatively high in agriculture, and that is a pattern that is true of many developed economies. the average, for example, on dairy produce is something like 35%. on some types of bmb something like 35%. on some types of lamb it is even higher, and so suddenlyjubilant lamb it is even higher, and so suddenly jubilant find british farmers and processors of farm produce facing much higher tariffs to get their goods into the eu market, and perhaps facing a choice of either selling at a loss orjust losing the sales altogether. 0ther areas, industrial areas, there are certainly some issues for the motoring industry, which has a deeply integrated supply chain across the channel. and b have heard from them to do my. indeed. they are concerned that if there are delays at the borders, it might distract their very finely chain production

processes . their very finely chain production processes. they are concerned, in addition, that they too might face the talents when selling into the year. industrial tariffs in the eu, generally, and very low, but cars are an exception. 10% there. that is enough to make a significant difference. do bear in mind the motor industry have to think on a regular basis about exchange rates, which in some cases can have a bigger impact on that. when i am at westminster, whoever i am interviewing, when the issue that we are about to discuss comes up, this gets people really cross, and if i don‘t ask a question they think i should have done, i know about it. we‘re talking about the wto. article 24 of wto rules allows a reasonable length of time after brexit of up to 10 years, before both sides have to impose tariffs. is this not the case that free trade should continue on these wto rules, in the case of a no—deal? we need to pin this time. this is

actually paragraph five of article 24, of which is the bit that deals with free trade agreements in a the wto. as a general principle in the bloated organisation that you should not discriminate, and then put an exception to that those countries can make free trade agreements among themselves, which have the effect of giving their partners an advantage, and article 24 is the provision that allows them to do that. this pacific thing about paragraph five that mark mentioned is something that enables countries to make interim agreement well—being are implementing and nailing down the final details of something they have already agreed in principle. the key point here is something agreed in principle, and you have to have a schedule for completing it and are reasonably clear picture of what it is

ultimately going to look like. in other words, the nasa be an agreement on those points between the uk and the european union, and if we are talking about no—deal, how realistic is that? some people say that you would be desperate to do because the export a significant amount of stuff to us, but stc know, then this provision is no help at all. so when an interviewee says if there is no deal, we canjoin wto deals with the rest of the world, thatis deals with the rest of the world, that is not true? it is not true that is not true? it is not true that we can automatically continue with completely tariff free trade with completely tariff free trade with the eu using the specific provision unless, conceivably, the us agrees to it. actually, there are other reasons. he would have thought so, but the argument that is put is, quote, they need us more than we need them because of the trade imbalance. i think there are some cd

‘s weaknesses in that argument, but the argument is put, and it is suggested that because of that they will agree immediately. maybe. suggested that because of that they willagree immediately. maybe. i suggested that because of that they will agree immediately. maybe. i am practically sceptical, as you are, i suspect. how many countries operate under wto rules? no country operates is coercively under wto rules. every country has a bilateral deal. there are no exceptions at all to that. they have at least something with their neighbours on in the case with some of the poorest developing countries, and vincent with the former colonial power, for example. if the backstop is in force, does it prevent the whole of the uk doing trade deals with the rest of the world? it makes it very, very difficult. what the backstop does is essentially makes it impossible for the uk to offer to make trade

agreement whereby it lowers its italics piddle whatever the tariff is that the supplied by the eu. there are other areas you could make some progress, i suppose, there are other areas you could make some progress, isuppose, on there are other areas you could make some progress, i suppose, on product regulations, and authorisations to supply services, for example, and often with trade agreements in recent yea rs, often with trade agreements in recent years, there have been investment deals that have got wrapped up in. you would be free to do that. but having said all that, for most countries, doing trade agreements, getting tariffs down to zero is one of the key things they want, and in those circumstances, i think the uk would struggle to find many countries that would be interested on negotiating on that basis. so, if you make it extraordinarily difficult. do wto rules require customs checks at national borders? mark from east london: not directly, but there is an indirect route in which this issue could conceivably come up. wto rules generally, with some exceptions, the

quiet you not to discriminate against you trade partners. if, after leaving the eu, we were to continue imposing customs procedures, products checks and so forth that we already do on stuff coming in via southampton or wherever, as usual, from countries outside the eu, but did not impose anything equivalent on borders with the year, in ireland are at dover, thenit the year, in ireland are at dover, then it would be open to other countries to sit, you are discriminating against us, not giving us back the same access to your market that you give to eu countries, and they could then make a complaint in the world trade 0rganisation to its complaint settle m e nt 0rganisation to its complaint settlement procedure. having said that, that is a procedure that does not move quickly,... there is a serious loss bet they could seize up com pletely serious loss bet they could seize up completely at the end of this year. who gets the tariff revenue? and who sets the rates? there are a number of different

scenarios to look at, and i can give you definitive answers on sun, and others are not so clear. the position at the moment is that the tariff position at the moment is that the ta riff rates position at the moment is that the tariff rates are set by the gdp and union, and britain has had a input in deciding what they are, through the eu‘s council of ministers. it is collected in the case of stuff coming in from outside the eu by hm customs and revenue. the tragedy keeps 20% of aid to cover the cost of collecting it, and the rest is sent to the eu. at the end of this process , sent to the eu. at the end of this process, either after in a no—deal situation, after, in the distant future, when we have left, when the transition period is over, if there is one, when the backstop no longer applies, and of those circumstances, it would be entirely for the uk to decide what the tariff rates are and

to keep any revenue. in the interim period, even when the backstop is applied and during the transition period, the tariff rates would be determined by the youth. it would keep the money is not entirely clear, but the people i have spoken to think it would probably be something like the turkey situation, where the tariff rates are set by the eu, but arcade gets to keep anything attached the 0leksandr zu bkov anything attached the 0leksandr zu b kov to anything attached the 0leksandr zubkov to be omitted to brussels. would a norway—type deal allow the uk to strike trade deals with other countries around the world ? yes, edward, and in norway, for example, in switzerland, which has an often identical relationship, they do indeed have trade deals of their own. and the reason they can do that is that although they have largely tariff free trade — agriculture is it exception to this,

but they do have largely tariff free trade with the eu, they don‘t apply the european union‘s common external tariff, as to score. they can set their own talents and can offer reductions in their negotiations. 0ne reductions in their negotiations. one of the drawbacks with this is that if you are shipping stuff from, say, norway to the eea, you have to show that it really is the region and not stuff from outside to make sure it is eligible for receiver tariff are petrol and diesel supplies likely to be affected supplies likely to be affected my guess is probably not much, because the bridges and not herself, and a lot of the emperors, via pipelines and a deliberate at places like milford haven, which are not so directly exposed to the potential to church in that we are seeing. but i have to say, there is an awful lot of guesswork involved in that. when she first came to the uk from jamaica in the 1960s, yvonne connolly never dreamed

she would become britain‘s first female black headteacher. but after working her way up she was given the top job at a highgate primary school. her appointment made the headlines, but also led to racist abuse. this is her story. there is no colour problem at this skill. mrs yvonne connolly has to be thankful that. and there is an awful lot of love, most of it for cinema. she is one of london‘s first west indian teacher, to hit she is with the kids, all 200 of them. i'm yvonne connolly. i was one of the first black head teachers in inner london in 1969. i had done three yea rs of london in 1969. i had done three years of teacher training in jamaica, soi years of teacher training in jamaica, so i thought, i will come to britain. i was very aware that they were racial tensions in quite a number of schools. i would turn up,

and somebody would just, i suppose without meaning it, say, but you are black. 0f without meaning it, say, but you are black. of course, my reply was, yes, iam, buti black. of course, my reply was, yes, iam, but i am black. of course, my reply was, yes, i am, but i am also black. of course, my reply was, yes, iam, but i am also a black. of course, my reply was, yes, i am, but i am also a teacher. after six years, i applied for a headteacherjob, and six years, i applied for a headteacher job, and i just six years, i applied for a headteacherjob, and ijust wanted to see what interviews at this level might be. and i was absolutely amazed when my name was called. mrs connelly. when i was appointed, somebody threatened to bernard is gilles down. i had newspaper articles sent to me. with crossing out might photograph, with actually nasty comments. go back to jamaica. i also had letters from, interestingly enough, members of the black community, they felt that i had soldered to the white

establishment. i had responsibility for all the children in my school, regardless of race or religion. in fa ct, regardless of race or religion. in fact, the differences were less than the commonalities that we shared. and therefore, one had to get on with it. the reflections of yvonne connolly — who became britain‘s first black head teacher during the sixties. maryam moshiri is here. 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. the foreign secretary says britain‘s departure date from the eu could be delayed — if a deal isn‘t struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — at least 12 people have died as temperatures plunge to their coldest level for decades. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live:

asda has lost its appeal against a ruling that store staff can compare their roles with people working in the supermarket‘s distribution centres. the decision means that lower paid shop staff, who are mostly women, can compare themselves with higher paid warehouse workers, who are mostly men. uk house prices grew at the slowest annual rate for nearly six years injanuary, according to the nationwide. the lender said price growth "almost ground to a complete halt". only three out of 17 water firms in england and wales have passed the latest review by regulator 0fwat. it says companies need to deliver customers better service for less money. carrying on the theme of today — with 2 months to go to brexit what are firms doing to prepare? maryam is here. i‘ve spoken to so many businesses over the past few months about what they want or expect when the uk leaves the eu on march 29th. the overriding concern is that there isn‘t enough clarity at the moment and this makes it difficult to prepare.

it is not a question for four that they want or do not want brexit, they want or do not want brexit, they want or do not want brexit, they want to know what is going to happen, so they can prepare for it. it is even harderfor happen, so they can prepare for it. it is even harder for smaller businesses to do that, because preparation takes money, and that is one thing they do not have. 0ne company that makes windows you need the uk, a company in buckinghamshire, and its ceo joined us, newsome. first of, explain to me what exactly your business does. good afternoon. 0rigin design and manufacture aluminium door and window products, and we do it all in the uk, and also in the usa as well. we design products that are very architectural. we started off with a new kind of touring the uk, and we

have expanded that into different areas, into windows and front doors as well. we supply to trade partners, and we have a network across the uk and the usa. what are you mainly worried about when it comes to brexit? like you said earlier, it is the uncertainty that frightens all of us a little. it is such a huge subject, and none of us really understand such a huge subject, and none of us really u ndersta nd exactly such a huge subject, and none of us really understand exactly what brexit is going to meet, and we can only plan for the outcomes that we know about. and right at this moment, we don‘t know what is then to happen. we are concerned about it, but vialli thriving business. you we urge is to challenge and change, and we are going to apply the same skill sets to brexit. it is another bump in the rugby are going to get to, and resize at the thought of the challenge. and summers, as

can be quite exciting. what are you doing in terms of planning for that challenge? i can imagine you have supply chains that would be very badly affected by ian no—deal brexit? yeah, it will bring its challenges, they will be disturbances. if that is the way it goes, it will be temporary, but the way we are planning for it, we both good relationships with our suppliers. about 50% of what we purchased exactly from the eu, so it will affect us, and be purchased exactly will affect us, and be purchased exa ctly fro m will affect us, and be purchased exactly from the eu, so it will affect us, and we have backward religion says with our suppliers of other, to the point where they have have extended our credit terms over that period, so we can stop our to make the most of the situation at the time. we also implying probably 30% of our workforce from the european union as well, so we are very conscious, and it is our priority to look after our employees too, as well as building

relationships with those suppliers. so, we are working and supporting our employees to make sure that they feel comfortable through the process. 0k, thank you so much coming on the programme and talking to us today. thank you very much. shall we look at the markets? that was exciting, what was that? yvonne! london market higher thanks to some strong figures from shell and diageo. also investors liking the prospect of no rate hikes for the worlds biggest economies. that‘s all the business news. time for a look at the weather. the next few hours are going to be rather crucial. an area of low pressure here is

moving into that cold air that is in place across to duty at the moment, and we are seeing very turn into snow. we have had reports of snow in newquay. we can see it spreading in across south—west england and bills. it will bring distruption and some of those rows, the a38, m5 over the next couple of hours. travelling conditions will be pretty atrocious. this double—mac is coming down extremely heavily, and that means it is very little the gritters can do, and it means there is a high chance of some distruption on the shirts are time and on. we see the band us double—mac vision. northwards and is worse, different but probably beaten, and we might get quite variable amounts of snow. some

people sing between one and seven centimetres, so bowl very quite a bit. the combination of heavy snow and ice will bring some destructive weather. away from the snow across the south, across northern ireland and scotland, a few went to the showers, and as you can imagine, the risk of some snow, we are going to have some icy conditions. they‘re very a sister to the day from most areas on friday. the little bit of snow left over across the south of england on friday, slowly easing. a much greater chance of seeing some snow showers wish to affect parts of north—east england, down to board juncture. that could bring some localised distruption, juncture. that could bring some localised distru ption, with 1— juncture. that could bring some localised distruption, with 1— mike temperatures struggling, nurdle four temperatures struggling, nurdle four temperatures for more. those winds

continued to bring showers across eastern areas. the recent china as well, but it will be another chilly day. temperatures around four or five celsius. for the second half of the bacon, we have another area of low pressure moving in of the atlantic. we could see some snowy weather for the second half of the weekend. but as you look as workers. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. today at 4: the foreign secretary says brexit may be delayed if a deal isn‘t struck until the last minute. if we ended up approving a deal in the days before 29th march, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment —

and production — in the uk. there is certainly a silver lining for warehouse companies like this one because of all that brexit uncertainty, as space is filling up fast. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — at least 12 people have died as temperatures plunge to their coldest level for decades. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. it's it‘s been a disappointing start for england‘s batsman again. put into bat in the second test against the west indies, they have already lost four wickets, very disappointing. we will have more on it later. what is going on with the weather? snow is the word. we have a met 0ffice amber warning in force for southern parts of wales and hampshire. five to ten centimetres of snow, but the big deal is that

this snow is coming down very heavily, which means there is not a lot you can do against it. we are likely to see significant transport disruption on the roads in south—west england and southern wales over the next few hours. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live. the foreign secretary says that the uk may need to delay its exit from the european union if an agreement is only reached in the final days. jeremy hunt said "extra time" might be needed, meaning an extension to the deadline of march 29th — depending on how much progress is made in the coming weeks. number ten has insisted that the government is committed to brexit in two months‘ time. here‘s our political correspondent iain watson. the uk is due to leave the european union two months from now. time and again, the prime minister has

said the departure date is march 29th. today, one other cabinet minister suggested there could be some flexibility. it is true that if we ended up approving a deal in the days before 29th march, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation, but if we‘re able to make progress sooner, that might not be necessary. and a report from the independent institute for government, a think tank linked to the civil service, has suggested the uk isn‘t ready to leave the eu at the end of march unless there is a deal. you heard from jeremy hunt this morning that getting a deal signed in brussels is one part of the challenge, and the next part will be getting mps to back it, but after that, you still have to pass legislation. that‘s why there could be the need for an extension even if things go to plan in two weeks‘ time for the government. but mps will be working hard to try to meet the agreed eu exit date and they were told today

that their february half term break could be cancelled. it is only right that i give notice that there are currently no plans to put forward a motion to agree dates for the february recess. the options for reform seem to include an exit clause. in other words, the uk could bring the arrangement to a close. a sunset clause, an agreed date when the backstop would expire, or technological solutions. the slight flaw in all of this is that brussels has already rejected time limits to the backstop, or a unilateral uk exit, and the prime minister herself has previously given short shrift to yet to be invented technological solutions. today, senior mps have been in downing street to discuss exactly what to say to brussels on the backstop, but the leader of the opposition believes all of this is rather late. i asked the prime minister

about this yesterday and she was incredibly vague, both in the commons and the meeting i had with her later on, and it‘s possible that there would have to be an extension in order to get an agreement, because we cannot leave the eu on march 29th without an agreement. frosty relations between the government and opposition and between britain and brussels may have to thaw if the uk is to get a sustainable deal. also today, it‘s being reported that the prime minister is preparing to try and entice labour mps to support her brexit deal by offering them a cash injection for their constituencies. earlier i spoke tojohn mann, the labour mp for bassetlaw in nottinghamshire. he told me that the money is much needed, but won‘t buy mps‘ votes. what is going on is some good dialogue, i can tell you that. i‘m hoping the prime minister will come back with something that is significant. if she does, the chances of labour mps from those

leave areas who don‘t want a referendum voting for her deal, i would say undoubtedly goes up. so i think it‘s inevitable that the political arithmetic says she will come back with something significant. but it‘s also what she said when she became prime minister. so we‘re simply saying to her, "that‘s what you said, show us the money". let‘s cross to westminster, and to our political correspondent nick eardley. he also denied that this was in effect a bribe. yes, and so is downing street. they say there is no question of cash for votes here, but they also point to the fact that they also point to the fact that they say the prime minister has a lwa ys they say the prime minister has always been committed to making sure that inequalities between different parts of the uk are addressed and that more money could go into those areas that need it. what we have seen areas that need it. what we have seenjohn areas that need it. what we have seen john mann say areas that need it. what we have seenjohn mann say clearly in the interview is that yeah, we could be

on board if you show us a sign that it would be good for our local communities. there is a question over how many mps that could win over. john mann himself is somebody who has been more than happy to vote with the government on occasion when it comes to brexit. but some in the labour party are suggesting that there could be up to 20 or potentially even more mps who are committed to delivering brexit, who maybe haven‘t voted with the government in the past but want to see it happen, who could be won over by some sort of scheme that would be good for their communities. it‘s all pa rt good for their communities. it‘s all part of this plan by the government to offer something to as many people as possible. we have seen it in the last couple of weeks. different parties, backbench tories, dup, labour mps too, going into downing street and the cabinet office and being offered different things. the pm is trying to build as wide a coalition as possible, giving them

something to cling on to, an olive branch, or may be more to say, get on board with this brexit deal and inafew on board with this brexit deal and in a few weeks‘ time, we might be able to get it over the line. jeremy hunt this morning said that if it is a last—minute deal, he foresees the possibility of pushing that deal back. my others‘ agree? possibility of pushing that deal back. my others' agree? yeah, i think there are a number of people in westminster who agree. the question is how many people in government again, number ten say, thatis government again, number ten say, that is not what we are trying to do. we are going to spend as much time as possible trying to make that deadline of the 29th march. but what you heard jeremy hunt say is, as we get closer to the 29th march and as legislation remains still to be passed, we might end up in that situation where there are still some ice to be gutted and teased to be crossed. so we can‘t get it all done

on time. and in that case, there are still some who clearly now think that the brexit date may have to be pushed back. jeremy hunt isn‘t saying, let‘s open the door to a lengthy extension of the brexit process. there are some who want that. i don‘t think there are many in government at the moment who are entertaining that prospect. but there is so much to do to deliver brexit and get the uk ready for brexit and get the uk ready for brexit day, that if we eventually do get a deal and if the prime minister can come back with something that gets through parliament, that is a massive if, but if she can do that, and getting it all through parliament in time, notjust the commons, that is a big ask too. that is why some are saying we might not make it. thank you very much. we have been talking about the wave of snow coming from the south—west. in cornwall, the airport at newquay has been closed. in places on the routes

through the county, cars have come toa through the county, cars have come to a standstill. the snowfall has been widespread, but is moving quickly in some areas. i am just hearing that the situation at the airport will be reviewed at 4.15. we will keep an eye on what is going on. that belt of snow is moving eastwards and amber weather warnings have been issued. let‘s return to brexit now. there have been warnings of empty shelves in supermarkets if britain leaves without a deal — but would that really happen? anna holligan reports now from the netherlands, which exports fruit and vegetables worth around a billion pounds to the uk every year. fresh dutch onions. 0rdered this morning, they will be arriving in the uk tonight. birmingham, manchester, liverpool, bradford, derby. trucks are being loaded the same day they will reach the market. if that process is going to be impacted, it will mean that, one,

the speed at which we can deliver goods is going to lower. second, the freshness of the product, and in the end, of course, the price. the uk is the netherlands‘ second most important export market. dutch producers want to ensure brexit doesn‘t disrupt this just in time supply chain. an hour away, at the port of vlaardingen, they want to keep the traffic moving too. they‘re looking at a green lanes concept, a digital preclearance system suggested by dutch growers, to fast track perishable products at the ports, which would in theory allow customs procedures to be conducted before the trucks enter the terminal, and uk customs officials could check the lorries‘ loads remotely, before the vehicles disembark. green lanes or fast lanes would be a good idea in order to speed up the process. are you able to implement them now? no, not at the moment. to be honest, we won‘t be able to do that before the 29th march, when brexit may be a fact.

they are in the process of building extra capacity here. pro—brexit politicians have said warnings of delays are exaggerated, but of course, you have got to tackle any tariff avoidance and maintain security. a spokesperson for the uk customs authority told the bbc: we will continue to work closely with industry, to ensure interventions are carried out in a way that minimises delays. anna holligan, bbc news, in vlaardingen. car—makers are also blaming brexit for a dramatic slump in investment and production in the uk. our business editor simonjack said that investment in the industry has fallen every year since 2015. it‘s no secret that it‘s been a rough 18 months for the car industry. we‘ve had 6,000 job losses atjaguar land rover, we had 900 in the last 18 months at vauxhall, 1,000 jobs threatened at ford. a lot of that is not

to do with brexit. there‘s been other issues affecting the sector like the uncertainty over diesel policy following dieselgate. you‘ve had falling sales in big markets like china, and you‘ve had some new regulations which have held up production. but what is stark about today‘s figures is that in 2015, investment in the uk car industry was £2.5 billion and it has fallen every year since then. last year was just under £600 million, as you say, a fall of nearly 80%. it can be lumpy, car investment, but those are stark figures. and that is about the jobs of the future. the smmt admit that there are other issues, but they say that lack of investment, a very sharp fall in is brexit—related. they say a no—deal brexit is the biggest threat to the competitiveness of the uk car industry in a generation, and are desperate. they‘ve sounded some of the shrillest warnings

about the danger that could do to these very sensitive, pan—european supply chains. they want to see that taken off the table and they say that this is notjust what people are saying, these numbers on investment are what people are actually doing. the inquests into the deaths of five people who died in the guildford pub bombings 45 years ago are to resume. three men and two women died in october 1974 when the ira blew up a pub in guildford. four people accused of carrying out the attacks had their convictions quashed and were released after serving 15 years in jail. a man jailed for killing a teenager has had his conviction overturned after the real culprit was caught by dna evidence four decades later. noeljones served six years of a 12—year sentence for the 1976 manslaughter of 15—year—old janet commins in flint, north wales. but injuly 2017, former soldier stephen hough was jailed for raping and killing the teenager after a billion—to—one match of his dna profile to evidence left at the crime scene.

the government wants to give new powers to police and courts to tackle knife crime in england and wales. under the proposed knife crime prevention 0rders, suspects as young as 12 could be monitored and restrictions imposed on their movements, whom they associate with, and their use of social media. breaching an order would carry a jail term of up to two years. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. the foreign secretary says britain‘s departure date from the eu could be delayed if a deal isn‘t struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — at least 12 people have died as temperatures plunge to their coldest level for decades. in sports, england‘s batsman collapsed again on the opening morning of their second test against west indies in antigua. they are 78 forfour west indies in antigua. they are 78 for four at west indies in antigua. they are 78 forfour at lunch. jonny west indies in antigua. they are 78

for four at lunch. jonny bairstow the only man putting up any resistance. he is on 52 not out. marouane fellaini‘s time at manchester united is almost over. the midfielder has agreed terms and passed a medical as he looks set to joina passed a medical as he looks set to join a chinese club. and manu tuilagi is set to make his first nation start in six years after being named in england‘s side to face ireland in their opening match on saturday. more on those stories after 4.30. an 11—year—old boy has become the first nhs patient to receive a pioneering cancer treatment which uses the body‘s own cells to fight the disease. yuvan thakkar has leukaemia, and he received his own immune cells at great 0rmond street hospital in london after they had been modified in a laboratory. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. yuvan from watford was diagnosed with leukaemia five years ago. but conventional treatments failed, so he‘s become the first nhs patient outside a clinical trial to have

this personalised immunothera py. the cancer treatment is known as car—t therapy. first, blood is taken from the patient, and then immune cells known as t—cells are sent to a laboratory in the united states, where they are modified to detect and kill cancer cells. they‘re multiplied and infused back into the patient. doctors at great 0rmond street hospital say it‘s too early to know whether yuvan‘s treatment will work. his parents say it‘s their last hope. in a trial, half of patients with resistant leukaemia who received the treatment were cancer—free after one year. this car—t therapy costs nearly £300,000 a patient, but nhs england has agreed a lower, undisclosed price with the manufacturer. up to 30 children and young adults a year will be treated. fergus walsh, bbc news. let‘s return now to brexit, and retailers have warned that a no—deal brexit could result in empty shelves in stores and the possibility of higher food costs. earlier this week sainsbury‘s,

asda and mcdonald‘s were among those who signed a letter from the british retail consortium, warning that stockpiling fresh food would be impossible. well, our correspondent colletta smith has spent the afternoon at a warehouse in stretford in greater manchester, finding out how business can prepare for brexit. colletta. yeah, we are definitely looking at the silver lining, those businesses that are potentially benefiting from all the brexit uncertainty. 0ne that are potentially benefiting from all the brexit uncertainty. one of them is this company here in trafford park. sb is the name of the company. graham is the manager. you just happened to take this particular big new warehouse at the end of last year. but in the last couple of weeks, you have seen a big boost in business? yes, since theresa may lost the vote that tuesday night, we saw a significant increase in serious enquiries. we had had a few general enquiries from people sussing us out, but then it

turned serious, with people looking to reserve space. you have got some pallets here, different companies storing goods, stockpiling a bit, making sure they have got enough in four after the brexit vote. but this afternoon you had another company come in, sign on the dotted line. we did. again, that enquiry came in la st did. again, that enquiry came in last week. they had inquired beforehand last week. they had inquired before hand but last week. they had inquired beforehand but now they want to commit to space. we are seeing customers every day this week who had previously tested the water and have them come back to us and said, we want to confirm. 800 pallets' space got reserve yesterday. we are getting more capacity. it looks like an empty warehouse at the moment, but a whole corner over there is going to be full of that shelving you have ordered to make sure that companies have enough space and capacity here to plan ahead for if they need extra goods. exactly. if

they need extra goods. exactly. if they are carrying a week's stock at they are carrying a week's stock at the moment, they are looking at three or four weeks stock to give them that buffer so that if there are delays or customs issues, they have that space to work with it. and you are getting overflow from other warehouses. we are. there is a company i have networked with a few times and they have come to us and said, we need more space in our warehouse for some of our prestige customers, can we move some stuff into your warehouse ? so customers, can we move some stuff into your warehouse? so we have benefited from them. thanks for showing us around. i am joined by ed here from bdo. you spend a lot of time here advising companies on what to do and how they can plan, despite the fact that we don‘t know what is going to happen next, come the start of april. what is your advice for companies thinking of making sure they have got goods at the right time? it is absolutely that, planning. understand your business. particularly understand what you do in europe, but also around the world, because a lot of that is

influenced by agreements we have with the eu. so if that changes are march 29th, you won't need to understand what that means for you and your business. and what you can do about it. there will be some things you can't do much about, but there will be things you can, and stockpiling is one thing you can do. but there is a whole range of things. it might be about your labour force. you might be reliant ona labour force. you might be reliant on a lot of eu migrants, so how do you deal with that? it is getting a sense of what the risks are for your business and working around them as much as you can. we heard graham saying that two weeks ago when theresa may lost that vote in parliament, that was when his inbox became full of enquiries. do you think that has happened with a lot of companies who suddenly think no deal is a big possibility? yes, and also, they have got to the point now where whatever happens now, it's a bit too late to do nothing. we have to do something. let's try and make the best of it. for most of our

clients, there is frustration, but they are not panicking. they are just saying 0k, we need to make sure that if the worst happens, and for most the worst is no deal because it isjust potentially most the worst is no deal because it is just potentially falling most the worst is no deal because it isjust potentially falling off most the worst is no deal because it is just potentially falling off a cliff, so if that happens, can we deal with it? i am sure we can, but what are we actually going to do? and logistically getting goods around, it‘s not just and logistically getting goods around, it‘s notjust a case of having warehouse space, it‘s making sure the chain moves on after that. you can‘t just stick stuff in sure the chain moves on after that. you can‘tjust stick stuff in a warehouse and hope for the best. no, you can't. that is definitely a short—term stopgap. people are looking at longer term fixes. some of that might be good housekeeping. you might have a complicated supply chain which was good when you set it up, buta chain which was good when you set it up, but a few years down the line, it may not be. so this is an opportunity for businesses to streamline some of what they do. they might prefer to have more time to do it, but now is the right time to do it, but now is the right time to look at it. thanks forjoining us. to look at it. thanks forjoining us. we are seeing companies both big

and small really planning ahead now, looking at the different options and changes they will have to make to how their businesses operate from the start of april. thank you very much. at least 12 people have died in the united states as a result of some of the coldest temperatures in the country for a generation. in chicago, record lows are expected as a result of the bitter cold caused by airfrom the north pole. several states have declared a state of emergency — with many schools, colleges and businesses closed. it is minus 27, 28 celsius as i speak to you at the moment. it has been dropping. we are expecting it to get to about minus 30 celsius. but here in the windy city, there are warnings about wind—chill that is making it feel even colder, and in some parts of the midwest, it‘s already felt below minus 50 celsius. now, there is snow and there is ice, and as you just mentioned there, if you take a look behind me, you will see that the river is completely frozen over.

here in chicago, it is so incredibly cold. the only way to describe it really is, it is painfully cold. my face, my ears, my fingers are very, very cold, despite the fact that we are taking precautions. and of course, that‘s one of the big concerns for people. there are people who are homeless. they have been taken to warming centres in some cases just to try and keep them warm tonight. but this is dangerously cold, and already there have been some people killed. in traffic accidents because of the ice and snow, but also from just being exposed to this cold. it is so cold at the moment that meteorologists will tell you thatjust ten minutes standing in this kind of temperature can give you frostbite, and already apparently, people have gone to the hospital because of that problem. and i will say that we have shelter just beside us here, we are at a hotel where we can get heat and we can get warmth, we are not too far away, and we are also wearing plenty of equipment.

but that is the worry, that people are going to go out into this, and i have to say, here in chicago, people in my opinion, have been sticking to that. as we were driving into chicago this evening, the roads extremely quiet. as i talk to you now around me, very, very quiet streets, people are staying off the roads. and it is, very simply, a once—in—a—generation kind of cold, this. there are chances that this could become a record for chicago tonight. they think it‘s probably going to be a couple of degrees off the record for all—time cold. but there are also people who are, frankly, enjoying it. you‘ve probably already seen that there are people who have been using water pistols, putting hot water into water pistols and then firing it, and it immediately freezes as you hit the cold air. i‘ve got myself a thermos mug here, and this will give you an idea of how cold it is. if ijust unscrew this and i throw this in towards the water, you will see it immediately goes into steam and ice, and thatjust

gives you an idea of how painfully cold it is at the moment, but very simply, people have been advised whenever they can to stay in and to stay out of this kind of cold. you wonder how much of the snow is actually people are throwing hot water into the air, but anyway! now let‘s turn to meteorologist mike bardou for an update from the national weather service in chicago. tell me what is happening there at the moment? at the moment, we are still very cold, as you heard from your correspondent. we had about —29 celsius this morning, with a wind—chill of —40 celsius. it hasn‘t improved much yet. the sun is out and we will get snow coming this afternoon and this evening. temperatures will slowly recover to around —18 celsius this afternoon.

so after two days of brutal cold, there is light at the end of the tunnel. we are talking about people who are used to low temperatures. but this is a once in a generation event. that is correct. the last time we even remotely approach temperatures like this in chicago was in the early 905. you have to go back to the early to mid 805 for years that back to the early to mid 805 for yea rs that really back to the early to mid 805 for years that really stick out. so there are a lot of folks in the area now who hadn‘t been born yet, and so they haven‘t exposed this kind of cold. and for anyone travelling, the advice is simple — don‘t! cold. and for anyone travelling, the advice is simple - don't! if you can stay inside, absolutely do so. if you have to be out there, bundle up like your correspondent was able to do. limit your exposure to a few minutes before frostbite can set in. later in the day, we are looking at potentially slow travel because of the snow. it is going to be difficult to clear the roads. so it is another good day to stay inside

if you are able to. people have died asa if you are able to. people have died as a result of this polar vortex. it sounds terrifying. the polar vortex isa sounds terrifying. the polar vortex is a circulation that is typically found in the atmosphere usually in the northern hemisphere over the north pole. periodically, sometimes every couple of winters, it does split and then some of that polar airfrom the north pole can split and then some of that polar air from the north pole can work well southward into our part of the us and at similar latitudes across the northern hemisphere. so we see it occasionally. this is one of the most extreme cases we have had in a long time, and it has certainly been very cold, but we are looking forward to at least warming up this weekend. i was looking at the figures and it is notjust warming up, in some areas, it will effectively rise by 20 degrees! easily, and by saturday or sunday, we are looking at between plus four and plus eight celsius with liquid rain, not freezing. and no snow as

temperatures reach well above 0 celsius for the weekend. that brings up celsius for the weekend. that brings up other concerns. folks along the river could start to see flooding. so the concerns that end, theyjust change from a bit. it is good of you tojoin us. time for a look at the weather... we are already seeing reports from cornwall of snow shutting the airport, so it is bringing trouble here? yes, we were talking about a changing from rain to snow in newquay. newquay is now where they have closed the road, the a392 is shut. it is right on the coast. cornwall is of course quite hilly as well, so if you put any elevation, you will get heavier snow. 0ne

one of the main road through cornwall is the sun 30, and that is slow going at the moment. there is com plete slow going at the moment. there is complete cover of snow on the carriageway, so it is difficult to get through that part of the country. and that will affect more and more of us by the end of the evening? it will. we had the amber weather warning in forceful parts of wales and south—west england. 0ver the next few hours, we can expect more weather conditions to spread further eastwards. i was looking at some of the observations to the east of exeter in the blackdown hills. we are talking about the western end of the a303. it is continuing to move eastwards and northwards. and it is a lot of snow in a short period? yeah, that is the problem. in this country, we grit the roads. the grit to be effective, you need enough traffic moving over it to mix the grit into the snow and then melt it

and lower the freezing temperatures. that is what the salt is doing. the problem is, when the snow comes down heavily, the gritters get stuck behind a big line of traffic and there is nothing you can do about this. so we go from five to ten centimetres of snow, but it is the heaviness of the snow that is causing the biggest problems and that will continue to be the case across south—west england and southern wales over the next few hours. we mentioned the problems in southern wales, the weather system thatis southern wales, the weather system that is bringing this troublesome weather, an area of low pressure to the west of uk. the weather front moving into the cold air and we are seeing that transition from rain, to snow. you can see how that is moving in across south—west england and also wales as well. not far away from the border in northern ireland. we will have to keep an eye on that. the main trust of the warning is in across south—west england, stretching ever to hampshire,

northwards into south wales so some of the roads, the a30 has been affected, the a38 could be affected, the a303 the m4, the m5, they look prime for seeing a few issues. the weather front across more eastern areas into south—east england, the south midlands as well, it will weaken, and so the amount of snow you see from place to place is going to vary substantially. some areas could see a centimetre, so not a big deal others could see seven, so the amount of snow we see from one place to the next is going to vary. so through this evening we have that band of heavy snow working in. pushing in across wales, getting into the south midlands overnight. getting into london but probably a centimetre or two here, i think as we go through the night—time as well. so, the combination of snowy conditions can and also ice will bring the main risks of disruption, through the rest of the afternoon, overnight and into the early part of friday as well. that is the southern half of the uk. further north,

overnight we have clear skies but a few wintry showers coming and going for northern scotland. we will draw some of those in, snow showers into north east england. you can imagine as those showers run—in to the cold air, thatjust as those showers run—in to the cold air, that just increases as those showers run—in to the cold air, thatjust increases the risk of icy stretches to take us into friday. so for most it will be frosty, icy start to day. a bit of snow round in southern england, with those winds coming in from north—easterly direction, a much greater chance of seeing snow, and showers across north east england, down to yorkshire, we could see one to three centimetres here. there is the risk of localised problems. some sunny spells but it‘s a cold day, special especially when you factor in the wind. the weekend starts off with further showers across northern and ian part, the driest sunniest weather will be in western area, the second half of the week, what we are looking at is another system moving

in off the atlantic and this could bring snow fall targeting more northern parts of the uk. but in the short—term it is southern wales and south—west england that could see some significant this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the foreign secretary says britain‘s departure date from the eu could be delayed if a deal isn‘t struck until the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investment — and production — in the uk. cities are all but shutting down across the us midwest — at least 12 people have died, as temperatures plunge to their coldest level for decades. sport now on afternoon live with hugh. something is going up and it is the wickets. there have been some wayward shots

and that falls into the category of bad judgment. they‘ve been put to the sword by west indies in antigua. 32—year—old joe denly was hoping for a dream start on his debut but he went forjust six, after his fellow opener rory burns was caught on just four. jonny bairstow has helped steady things, with an attacking half century, but captainjoe root and joss buttler would both have been expected to do more. so far, england are struggling for a foothold in the match at ‘78 for a foothold in the match at 78 for 4 in you can follow proceedings after the lunch break with the cricket social on the bbc sport website and app. it‘s transfer deadline day in england and scotland — tell me about the biggest moves so far? the final day of the january transfer window is upon us without any astounding moves taking place. although some manchester united

fans may beg to differ. marouane fellaini‘s on his way to china, leaving united after nearly six years, and willjoin shandong luneng in the chinese super league after the two clubs agreed a deal. newcastle united have completed the signing of miguel almiron from atlanta united. the paraguay international has joined on a five year deal thought to be worth around £20 million. another deal that has been finalised is denis suarez‘s loan move to arsenal — this is how they announced it on social media. hejoins from barcelona, and is a man that manager unai emery knows very well having worked with him at sevilla. and there‘s also a return to the premier league for 38—year—old peter crouch. the former england striker is on his way back to the top flight with burnley. sam vokes is going the other way to join stoke city. keep an eye on everything that‘s happening on the bbc sport website. wolves signing jonny 0tto on a permanent contract is the biggest financial deal to be done so far. also details of a new contract signed by manchester united‘s anthony martial. that‘s bbc.co.uk/sport

the crystal palace winger wilfried zaha has been charged with improper conduct by the fa after his sending off against southampton last night. zaha had given palace a first half lead but was given a second yellow card for sarcastically applauding referee andre marriner after tangling with james ward prowse late on. zaha made his feelings known once more and now faces an extended ban. eddiejones has named his side to play ireland in their opening six nations match this weekend in dublin. and there‘s a first start in the competition in six years for manu tuilagi. he‘ll play at centre in the absence of ben te‘o who‘s injured. elliot daly will start at fullback, with mike brown left out of the matchday squad entirely. they are very good at the break going, getting over the ball, we have to make sure that we are sharp in terms of our ruck and there is an area contest as well which they are

pretty good at, so, if we, if we look after own house like you said in terms of them two areas, we will look to put our game on to them. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. now on afternoon live, let‘s go nationwide and see what‘s happening around the country, in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. let‘s go tojordan davies in brecon, where the region is poised for heavy snow tonight. and nina wadhurst is in salford — she‘ll be telling us how funding for nursery schools in deprived areas across the north west is under threat. there‘s an amber weather warning for snow in wales in place for this evening — jordan, what preparations are being made? i guessed you would have snow by

now, but it is comes, isn‘t it i guessed you would have snow by now, but it is comes, isn't it it is on its way you may be able to see on the top of the brecon beacon there‘s isa the top of the brecon beacon there‘s is a touch of snow there, but this was the coldest place in wales last night. it was minus 8 here last night. it was minus 8 here last night and this is where we expect the snow to be at its heaviest. we expect the bulk of snow to hit south—east wales over the rush however, so we south—east wales over the rush however, so we are are south—east wales over the rush however, so we are are this amber weather warning in place for parts of wales and clearly, that will have implications for motorist, people returning home from work, people using the public transport, now today‘s trains at least some of them in and out of mid —wales were cancelled yesterday evening in expectation of the snow to come, a little bit later on and overnight. people are being advised to make sure their cars are in the correct

working orderfor the sure their cars are in the correct working order for the extreme weather, and people living in isolated and rural communities are being advised to make sure they are prepared for the snow that is ex pctded to come and the police say they expect to be busy and they are warning people to only get in touch if they have an urgent weather related matter and if there is a risk to the public. i can see there is snow on the hills in the background there, i am guessing people are just being warned to stay at home and hope that the power holds out. yes, we are in the brecon beacon, we are higher up here, we could see 20 centimetres of snow here. in places that are lower down in south—east wales so the major cities, cardiff, newport, they may see five centimetres of snow, but we have seen very heavy snow in parts of north wales over the last few

days, so, we have had lots of school closures there, lots of road closures there, lots of road closures there, lots of road closures there, and the police have dealt with a lot of incidents in parts of north wales, but people are being advised to check the roads, to check the railway, to check public transport, before they go anywhere, and the issue now is that if it is as cold tonight, as it was last night, and the issue in the morning will be ice on top of the snow, that is expected overnight.” will be ice on top of the snow, that is expected overnight. i can see it is expected overnight. i can see it is starting to snow on you right now andi is starting to snow on you right now and i know you will have thanks jordan — more on that story tonight on bbc wales today. nina, thousands of vulnerable children‘s futures are at risk without these maintained nurseries — why is the funding under threat? yes, that is right. i think i am the only political correspondent in the country today who is managing to dodge brexit talk, i am talking about maintained nursery, they have been round for about 100 years and they are postally in deprived parts

of the country. what they do is they deal specifically with children from troubled backgrounds, or with complex social physical emotional needs, they jump to complex social physical emotional needs, theyjump to the front of the queue because of their specialist care, now at the moment, £60 million of central government funding goes towards them, but that hasn‘t been guaranteed beyond 2020, what lots of the nurseries are telling us is if they don‘t get that funding, if it isn‘t ring—fenced they will have to close. this morning i was at one of the specialist nurseries in a place called hindley in wig rn, i met a little lad called billy. gets overwhelmed in intense social situation and i had a chat with his mum who said the difference the fu rs ry mum who said the difference the fursry has made to herfarm —— family is enormous. my middle child, my eldest boy he's diagnosed autistic, he come here and he couldn't speak, he couldn't speak when he come here and he was three—and—a—half, because of when his birthday was, he was three—and—a—half.

within three months he was stringing words together. the routine means so much to them, so there's not really much more that they can do. with billy he's in wellbeing classes twice a week, i don't think there's another nursery that's even mentioned it when i've rang round, when i've been to visit other nurseries. wigan, i met that point you make about political correspondents, where everyone is obsessed with brexit. it is stories like this that do matter. in terms of what happens now, this debate thatis of what happens now, this debate that is going on, is any outcome, would it be binding? lucy powell, the mp for manchester central is leading a debate as we speak in the house of commons, a backbench business committee debate, calling on government commit to this funding, as part of the comprehensive spending review, she has cross—party support on this, lots of mps recognising the impact these nurseries have on particularly vulnerable neighbourhooded and children for and that is supported

by many conservative mps today. that ican by many conservative mps today. that i can call for that motion but it would be non—binding but it‘s a demonstration from dozens of mps they think families really need these sorts of nurseries and you are right, simon, as brexit goes on, these are the issues that communities are talking about more, not necessarily what is happening in westminster and brussels. thanks nina — more on that story this evening on bbc north west tonight. jordan, i think that is the calm before the storm. it is on its way and stay 20,000 more staff, including physiotherapists and paramedics, are to 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 sickest patients and to increase the range of services at local surgeries. catherine burns reports. one million people a day in england go to see their gp. how are you this morning, are you all right? with everything from coughs and colds to cancer referrals. but do they all need to see a doctor? nhs england thinks not, and 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 long—term plan earlier this month. we will see every practice with the opportunity for more physios, for pharmacists, for practice nurses, and that will, in turn, free up gp time, so that they have longer appointment times to spend with the patients who need their care most. gps have been saying for years that they need more support, that they are dealing with more

patience with often evermore complicated health problems. so, with an average eight minute appointment, they say that is not always long enough. it is hoped this plan will mean patients can get appointments sooner, and they will see the right person for them. the key message here is that you if you are sick and you want to see your gp or you need to see your gp, you still can, but these other health professionals are also there to support you and may be able to deal with your problem effectively, without using the gp. there is a genuine sense of optimism about this plan. the british medical association says it is confident it will be good for doctors and patients. but staffing is an issue across the nhs, so there are questions about how this will happen. we think these proposals are good, but we are concerned about the ability of the nhs to get the staff in at the right time. and not to rob peter to pay paul and other services. so take paramedics for example, they are great to have in the primary care, but we know that the ambulance services are short of paramedics now, so we need to make

sure we are training new paramedics to fill this gap. the royal college of gps has a similar view that this is a positive move, but that the nhs still needs to recruit more gps. it says england needs an extra 6000. to bring you some breaking news we are hearing from npower which says it is aiming to cut up to 900 job, this is under a cost cutting programme in the face of what it describes extremely tough retail energy market conditions, that announcementjust energy market conditions, that announcement just coming and energy market conditions, that announcementjust coming and we may have a bit more of that in the business news. which is coming up next if i can get through this. do you want me to read it for you? i will do my best. first the headline, the foreign secretary says britain‘s departure date from the eu could be delayed if a deal isn‘t struck until

the last minute. car manufacturers blame uncertainty over brexit for a dramatic slump in investlet and production in the uk. cities are all but shutting down in the us mid west, at least 12 people have died as temperatures plunge to their lowest level for decades. asda has lost its appeal against a ruling that store staff can compare their roles with people working in the supermarket‘s distribution centres. the decision means that lower paid shop staff, who are mostly women, can compare themselves with higher paid warehouse workers, who are mostly men. uk house prices grew at the slowest annual rate for nearly six years in january, according to the nationwide. the lender said price growth "almost ground to a complete halt". unilever has said it is stockpiling ben and jerry‘s ice cream and magnum bars ahead of the uk‘s departure from the european union. the consumer goods giant said it was holding a few weeks‘ worth of extra stock in case of disruption to supply chains. do we know where? in my freezer. if

they want anywhere to stockpile that stockpile you know where to come. south london. other ice-creams are available! let us look at the markets. p yes. we had a couple of big names with strong result, royal dutch shell, diageo, but things have paired back slightly, a bit of fizz taken out of the markets, also we had the pound strengthening slightly against the dollar. lots to talk about. italy is in recession, that is one of the big talking points on the markets, also big day for corporate news as well. let us talk to sophie kilvert.

it it started off a bright day but the fizz has been taken out a bit. talk me through the day. it has, yes, we started brightly this morning, probably on the back of the federal reserve last night, saying they probably won‘t be raising interest rates this year, that buoyed asian markets but as you say things have melted away a bit this afternoon, on the other side of that we have seen sterling creep up, the inverse relationship we have become used to. as people are still looking at sterling as the barometer of what is happening with brexit, and money market trader, people who are buying sterling are maybe not thinking that the hard deal is going to come. they are maybe thinking we will have something softer, sterling has crept up something softer, sterling has crept up since tuesday night. a big win for asada employees, this is

important because it is whether the value of the work is equal for those people on the shop floor in the supermarkets, as you say, mainly women and people in the warehouse who tend to be mainly men, and if the work is viewed as equal they should be paid equally, interesting think already other claims of this, similarto think already other claims of this, similar to this, against tesco, morrison and sainsbury‘s, together, if these claims are successful they will be about £8 billion. that is a huge amount of monetary policy nor the supermarket sector which is struggling with competition, among each other and among the low cost supermarket, the likes of aldi and lid who will have taken some of the market share. so this will be one to watch and see how they react to that. and another thing that people are talking about in the world of business and finance are house price, a good barometer of what is going on and they seem to have stagnated. that is right. it is that b word stagnated. that is right. it is that bword again, stagnated. that is right. it is that b word again, uner is pricingly a hues purchase is a huge investment and people don‘t feel confident when

they don‘t know what is going to happen coming up to march 29th. when we ta ke happen coming up to march 29th. when we take brexit out of the equation things should be good for house price, we have low unemployment and rising wage, without brexit we would expect a reasonably positive housing market but with brexit people just aren‘t willing to commit and we have stories of friends who are struggling to sell houses at the moment, probably, and we are seeing that reflected in the figures today. let us talk about italy, this is going to be a big problem for europe, isn‘t it. italy already is a problem for europe. it seems the italian economy slipped into recession last year. that is right. we knew quarter three for italy, the italian economy did contract. that happened again in quarterfour and the prime minister has said that is likely to happen in 2019. with to a country with such high borrowing as italy, if the economy shrink, the taxes gets maul small e maybe they

have to borrow more, particularly with the government who is trying to spend a lot. they want to spend a lot to make sure the people are happy and buoyed and that will be tricky if the italian economy is slipping. it is, isn't it. good to talk to i have just noticed your microphone matches your tie. it is yellow. yes, we came on air at 2.00. ask my husband i am terrible at noticing things. that is how the markets stand. we did them earlier. everything twice. your tie is very nice, it matches your mic. 0ne nice, it matches your mic. one from each face! thank you very much. a driver who killed the mother of olympic cyclist chris boardman has been jailed for 30 weeks at mold crown court. 33—year—old liam rosney

admitted causing the death of carol boardman — who was 75. jon donnison has been speaking to chris. just like her famous son, carol boardman, seen here out for a ride with two of her grandkids, loved her bike, but the 75—year—old fell off on this roundabout in connah‘s quay in north wales injuly 2016. as she lay on the road she was run over by a pick—up truck. today, the driver, liam rosney, arrived at mold crown court to learn his fate, having eventually pleaded guilty to death by careless driving. the court was told he‘d been on his phone shortly before the collision and had been distracted. he was jailed for 30 weeks. chris boardman, who now campaigns on cycling safety issues, told me the laws need to be toughened. we don‘t treat crime committed in cars as serious crime, so somebody can be careless and crushed somebody else to death and it‘s classed as careless. i actually don‘t want to see lots of people going to prison. i think i‘d like to see a lot more people having the ability to do harm taken away. throughout chris boa rdman‘s

career his mother, once a competitive cyclist herself, had been by his side. asked to provide a victim impact statement for the court, chris boardman said he‘d struggled to find the words. how do are you actually put something into a few paragraphs that sums up somebody‘s life, somebody who took you swimming on the beach, took you out on a bike, had grandchildren, and it‘s just gone. and he says it‘s his dad who‘s been hit hardest. he‘s lost his partner of 50 years, which has just been absolutely gutting to watch, and we just carried on and then, when you turn around and see that‘s considered to be careless and just a shame, it‘sjust, i don‘t think that‘s a place where anybody really wants to live. the former olympic champion says his mother‘s death has only strengthened his resolve to get more people cycling safely. jon donnison, bbc news. before you go, let‘s show you these

mesmerising pictures from canada, you can see niagara falls at sunrise, with steam rising off the frozen horseshoe falls. remarkable images as niagra falls freezes with the sub—zero temperatures that have affected so much of the midwest of the united states, the polar vortex which has brought temperatures to bolo minus 20 degrees celsius in some areas, —— below. remarkable images there, the beauty of nature underlining the threat of those severe temperatures. that‘s it from your afternoon live team for today, next, the bbc news at 5 with carole walker. time for a look at the weather. here‘s chris fawkes. hello there.

we‘re looking at a very high chance of seeing some disruption across parts of the south—west of the uk, as a band of heavy snow works in. this is the trouble maker — an area of low pressure to the west of the uk, but this weather front is going to be bringing the snow. the rain pushing into that cold air, turning readily to snow, and the snow is going to come down very heavily, particularly across south—west england and also across parts of southern wales. that is where the met office have issued this amber weather warning. the warning stretches all the way across to parts of hampshire — now five to ten centimetres of snow is expected, the snow coming down very heavily very quickly for these areas, and that brings a risk of significant transport disruption. the m5, the a38 looking vulnerable from this spell of heavy snow. the gritters may well struggle to keep it open, just because the snow‘s going to come down so heavily, but further southwards and eastwards we go, well, the weather front does get a bit weaker and gives us a variable amount of snow that we could see. some places not seeing too much. other places could see quite a bit. either way, as we go

through thursday night into friday, it looks like we are going to see some transport disruption out and about from the combination of heavy snow and also from ice. now away from the snowy south, as we go through thursday night into the early hours of friday morning, we are looking at wintry showers affecting northern scotland and increasingly north—west england. these will bring icy conditions, and it is going to be another very cold night with a widespread and sharp frost. 0n into friday‘s forecast, and there could still be a little bit of snow around across the south of the uk, so there is still the risk of disruption here, also some wintry showers for northern and eastern scotland, along with eastern areas of england where we could see some accumulating snow, from north east england into parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire as well. so things could be slippy and icy here through the course of friday. 0therwise, some spells of sunshine, but staying cold, temperatures around three or four degrees celsius. as we head into the weekend, there is still an ongoing threat of some wintry showers, mainly across eastern areas of the uk. a cold, frosty, locally icy start to the day,

most of us will have a dry day with sunshine. temperatures around about four or five degrees celsius. the second half of the weekend could see some further weather problems, because we are going to see another area of low pressure moving in off the atlantic and this too could bring some snow particularly to the hills in the north. that‘s your latest weather. today at 5: the brexit deadlock. mps hear their february recess could be cancelled. and the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, says brexit could be delayed if enough progress isn‘t made in the coming weeks to break the impasse. if we ended up approving a deal in the days before 29th march, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation. we‘ll have the latest from westminster and a special look at how a no—deal brexit might impact food.

the other main stories on bbc news at 5: there‘s been a big increase in the number of young people contacting a suicide prevention helpline following publicity surrounding the case of molly russell, a 14—year—old who took her own life a year ago. freezing temperatures and snow bring an amber weather warning to parts of wales and southern england this evening.