today at five — officals say underwater footage of the plane that was carrying the footballer, emiliano sale, shows a body in the wreckage. the light aircraft, which was also carrying pilot david ibbotson, was found at the weekend on the seabed near guernsey. if the plane was never located i don't think the family would ever rest, and that's why we want to go out there and find it. we'll be live in guernsey. the other main stories on bbc news at five. as nissan scraps plans to build a new car at its sunderland plant, it emerges the government offered support of up to eighty—million pounds in 2016 to help secure investment. plans to simplify customs procedures for lorries arriving at channel ports if there's a no—deal brexit. the delivery firm hermes offers its couriers paid holiday and guaranteed wage rates — the gmb union calls it ground—breaking. it's 5pm.

oor top story... air accident investigators working in the english channel to inspect the wreckage of the aircraft carrying the footballer emiliano sala and pilot david ibbotson say that "tragically, one occupant is visible." officials say an underwater search using a remote—controlled vehicle revealed the wreckage on the sea bed, and that they are now consulting the families of the men to decide on the next steps. the plane, which was travelling from nantes to cardiff, disappeared two weeks ago. cushions believed to be from the plane were found on a stretch of beach in surtainville on the french coast. here's our correspondent richard galpin. this is the first sight of the wreckage of the small plane that disappeared two weeks ago, with emiliano sala and the pilot, david ibbotson, on board. it is now resting on the sea bed, more than 60 metres

below the surface. the discovery followed an intensive search yesterday morning, in an area of four square nautical miles, north of guernsey. this boat, commissioned by emiliano sala's family after a fundraising campaign, made the breakthrough using high—tech sonar equipment. we wanted to go out there and find the plane. we are pleased that happened. people use the word closure, this is just the first step, it is a long, long way. but at least this is the route for people, for them to have answers. emiliano sala was being flown back from france to wales by david ibbotson. he was about to start playing for cardiff city and had sent messages during the flight expressing concern about the plane. now, not only has the wreckage of the aircraft been found on the sea bed,

but also a body. before this was known, his family made clear they wanted the plane to be recovered from the water. i have spoken with the family last night, by text, and also through his agent. the family desperately want the plane to be recovered. they feel that is the only way, the pathway to answer the questions. what happened to the plane? why it crashed? why was emiliano‘s life taken? these developments will add to the outpouring of grief among cardiff city fans. sala was to be a star striker for the team. at the match played at the weekend, there were many tributes to him. the manager, in tears. following the discovery of the wreckage, air accident investigators say they will consult with the families of emiliano sala and david ibbotson about the next steps. richard galpin, bbc news.

our correspondent mike wilkins joins me from guernsey. has there been surprise at the speed at which the private investigators found the plane? yes, there has. for many people involved recovering the story, we we re involved recovering the story, we were led to believe that it could ta ke were led to believe that it could take days to find anything if anything at all. —— for many people covering the story. and within hours of the vessel going out, as part of the private sector, the vessel managed to locate it. and this has prompted some criticism particularly aimed at some of the guernsey authorities who initially conducted and airsearch authorities who initially conducted and air search involving boats and planes, of all kinds, but they decided to call it off after three days. but i've spoken to david mearns who was in that report there,

and he feels that guernsey did the right thing. it was very much a surface out at the time and now his house that he undertook was under the water with specialist equipment. -- his the water with specialist equipment. —— his search. he was fortunate to be able to locate it, mainly because of the last point when they lost contact and radar. its 63 metres under water, which is not very deep when you're talking about recovery of things from the sea bed. the air accident investigation branch takes over, so what will be their plan going forward? well, you're right, i've spoken to some, i suppose you could call an old sea dogs around these parts who are expert divers themselves, they say exactly that, actually 60 metres is doable. might have to have a mix of oxygen in your ta nks have to have a mix of oxygen in your tanks with other gases to ensure you can do it safely, but i think it's fairto can do it safely, but i think it's fair to say it will be a complex salvation operation, if the aaib

decides to proceed. they are talking to the families of the pilot, david ibbotson, and emiliano sala, to establish if they genuinely do want that aircraft, an attempt made to bring it to the surface. there is also of course, not only the risk to human life if divers were to go down but they could damage the wreckage itself and that could be critical when they're trying to establish what actually caused the crash. but the aaib have said they are due to publish an interim report within the next two weeks, to hopefully explain what caused the crash. you talk about the substantial amount of wreckage, which tends to infer that it's largely in one piece. does that make it little easier? good question, i think it's also a surprising discovery from this. the person, david mearns, who was leading the private such that they we re leading the private such that they were really expecting to find what they call a debris field, really, of scattered parts of the aircraft,

they were surprised to find a relatively intact. i am no expert at aviation descent issues, some people have been speculating as to what has caused it to have landed on the sea bed relatively intact. but certainly, i've spoken to the channel island air search who were one of the organisations involved at the start of the search, and their chief executive says that actually, he is quite confident now that a cause probably will be established as to what actually caused the plaintiff or from sky. thank you. -- what caused the plane to fall from the sky. well, we're expecting the business secretary greg clark to make a statement about nissan to the commons after the company confirmed yesterday it was moving production of the x—trail diesel—powered car to japan. we'll take that live as soon as it starts. this afternoon, the government has published a letter which shows that a multi—million pound package of support offered to nissan by ministers in 2016

was dependant on the company's promise to build new models of the qashqai and x—trail cars in sunderland. our business correspondent, theo leggett, joins me now. this in the jumps this in thejumps out this in the jumps out at me as the figure 18000000 pounds, it was originally reported as £60 million. —— figure 80000000 pounds. originally reported as £60 million. -- figure 80000000 pounds. the former nissan boss made an offer and subsequently it was a fine, but i wa nt to subsequently it was a fine, but i want to go back to this letter. some of what is in it is really quite instructive. remember back in september 2016, nissan was threatening that the future of sunderland could be harmed if the effect of brexit what brand compensated for. i remember interviewing the chief executive, carlos ghosn, at the time. and afterwards nissan came out with a commitment to build the two new cars in sunderland. what it said was that

after a demonstration of the uk government's commitment, we are already working with the uk team on already working with the uk team on a package of support on areas such as skills, r&d and innovation. i understand this could amount to additional support of up to £80 million but this is contingent on a positive decision by nissan to allocate production of the models to sunderland. now, the x—trail is going to be built injapan not in sunderland is a part of that agreement does appear to have been breached. one of the suspicions on the right of the tory party was that they had indicated, the government to nissan, that britain would in some way seek to remain in the eu customs union. do you think, reading the letter, that any such guarantee was there? was it implicit, perhaps, more than explicit? there is nothing as black and white as that but there are some critical phrases in here. so, for example, mr clarke says, it will be a critical priority of our negotiation to support uk

manufacturers and ensure their ability to export to and from the eu is not adversely affected by the uk's future relationship with the eu. what car makers have been arguing for is frictionless borders, no cousins are control checks, and that's what that sounds like. it also says a good deal for the that's what that sounds like. it also says a good dealfor the uk can also says a good dealfor the uk can also be a good dealfor the other member states, so there is nothing explicit about remaining in the customs union or anything but it does suggest that what mr clark was aiming forat the does suggest that what mr clark was aiming for at the time was quite clearly frictionless borders, which is what the car industry was asking for. so he was telling them what they wanted to hear. the business minister was on bbc newcastle this afternoon, he said that he didn't think the money would have to be repaid because it was towards green technology, and so they had in some way met the conditions of that money. the government in the last hoursaid, money. the government in the last hour said, actually, that's not the case, they might have to reapply for

it. so what is the picture? there does seem to be a bit of rowing back going on, as you say, the business department saying they might have to reapply for this funding, it has not yet actually been paid. the issue here is that nissan does seem to have an edged on an agreement that was reached between mr clark and then. but looking at the background, yes the x—trail is now going to be built injapan yes the x—trail is now going to be built in japan but that's yes the x—trail is now going to be built injapan but that's a fairly small part of the whole package. what the government really wanted to secure was an agreement to build the qashqai, a much bigger model, in sunderland for the foreseeable future. you can understand not wanting to upset nissan too much, not wanting to hold it to its commitment to carefully. there will bea commitment to carefully. there will be a certain amount of diplomacy here. thank you. the rest of the day's news now... theresa may will visit northern ireland tomorrow to deliver

a speech where she will confirm her government's ‘absolute commitment‘ to avoid a hard border. a group of leave and remain conservative mps met government ministers this afternoon to discuss alternatives to her controversial backstop plan. they hope theresa may can use their ideas to secure changes from brussels, as our political correspondent iain watson reports. many of theresa may's own mps believe the irish border is blocking a brexit deal. they want to rule out or radically redraft the backstop, the insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border in ireland after brexit. they believe it keeps us too close to eu rules. a group of former remainers and brexiteers have been discussing alternatives with the prime minister. —— with the brexit secretary in whitehall. the reason we are here today is because we would like to find practical and constructive solutions that allow us to leave the eu with a mutually beneficial deal that works for size. to keep goods flowing, amongst the ideas being discussed is a longer transition period after the uk leaves the eu, following their rules for nearly three years and using the time to thrash out a free trade deal.

the group say the use of technology and greater cooperation could avoid customs checks at the borders. one of the things you are looking at was rejected by the prime minister and the european commission? we need to look at all of the possibilities for alternative arrangements. technology is also evolving the whole time and it is right that we keep up with that. this former government minister, who wants another referendum, is far more sceptical. there is no technology in play on any border in the world that solves this problem. which is why we are where we are. but the deal isn'tjust about the backstop, there are many other problems with the deal. not only does it lead to a blind brexit, increasingly i think it is an insane one. the attorney general is re—examining whether the northern ireland backstop should be time—limited or ended without the say—so from brussels. but many of theresa may's own mps are warning her that any changes must be legally watertight, or she cannot necessarily rely on their support.

the cross party brexit committee was in brussels today, but they detected only limited movement. they will not reopen the backstop and withdrawal agreement, but i got the impression that they might be prepared to consider some additional statement or legal protocol. the big issue in their minds is, will anything get a deal through the house of commons? but eu officials denied there was any white smoke emitting from today's details. ——from today's meetings. and if the prime minister cannot get changes to the backstop, some of her mps might begin to make waves. as you saw in that piece, a cross—party group of mps met with senior eu officials in brussels today — but there appears to be some discrepancies over

what was agreed in that meeting, as our brussels correspondent adam fleming explained a little earlier. the house of commons brexit select committee were here in brussels today. they had a meeting with a man called martin selmayr, who is the secretary—general of the european commission, the top official in that organisation, and very close to jean—claude juncker. the mps came out and they basically said to us waiting journalists, quite a big group of us, that they came away with the idea that the eu was prepared to offer further legally binding assurances, clarifications, interpretations of the withdrawal agreement and the backstop. then this is how that played out on my twitter feed a couple of hours ago. i tweeted a summary of what the committee said to us and the rest of the press pack, and then martin selmayr himself replied saying come on the eu side, nobody is considering this. asked whether any assurance would help to get the withdrawal agreement through the commons, the answers of mps, inconclusive. the meeting confirmed that the eu did well to start its no deal preparations in december 2017. two things to take away from that tweet, i would say. number one, it shows

that the eu is not at the moment prepared to do anything at all that looks legally binding, even if that is issuing some more clarifications of the deal, let alone changing the text of the withdrawal agreement itself. number two, the tone, just the sheer scathingness in between the lines there. and that reflects a real sense coming from the european commission over the last few days, remember, they're the people that negotiated the deal and did the day—to—day work of the negotiations, that they are pretty fed up with the shenanigans in westminster, as they would see it. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminsterfor us. so much brexit news today! excuse me, if! so much brexit news today! excuse me, if i can get my voice going. let's talk about lord david trimble, who was so instrumental in the northern ireland peace agreement. he said today that he wants to take the

government to court over the backstop because in his view, it breaches the good friday agreement. he has not set an awful lot more than that today but he has talked about this in the past and written articles about it in the past. his view is it goes against the good friday agreement because the institutions set up to make sure that this cross—border co—operation between northern ireland and ireland would end up after brexit under this scenario, with the backstop, it would mean, he says, effectively that northern ireland becomes an eu protectorate, and under those circumstances, as he puts it, it would mean that the northern ireland assembly does not have a say. so this issue of consent, which is so central to the good friday agreement disappears. he would say it would mean the eu and dublin are effectively making policy for northern ireland. so that is the grounds by which he would want to ta ke grounds by which he would want to take this to court. now, it's very unclear the chances of success that

they would be. people talk about it a little more tomorrow. but clearly this is an issue, as someone who was instrumental in the peace process and those talks on the capital union side of things. so a lot would say that he knows what he's talking about it. —— those talks on the unionist side of things. so we will see what happens and what he says tomorrow. the government saying today that it's going to simplify customs procedures for lorries arriving at channel ports if there isa arriving at channel ports if there is a no—deal brexit, what's that about? we have heard a lot about preparations for no deal and what would happen, particularly between calais and dover, the crucial port, of course, where so much of the trade between our country and the eu goes. talks are tailbacks, we've seen them going through scenarios to make sure that that doesn't happen. but it does seem now, hmrc announcing today that they are

willing effectively to waive customs controls for a certain period of time. this has been confirmed by downing street today, saying the procedure to allow goods from the eu into the uk without full customs checks will be reviewed carefully but that it would mean that they would be a temporary arrangement designed to allow businesses time to prepare for import processes. and effectively, companies would be able to fill out any kind of customs documents and tell them what has gone through the day after. this is obviously all designed to make sure there's not a huge smile up between those ports. it would affect 20 ports around the uk. they are saying it's only temporary, of course, but this just shows the issues now that they are looking at on both sides of they are looking at on both sides of the channel if we end up in that no deal scenario, which of course both sides say they don't want but preparations for that going ahead because of course as you know, we are only two months from leaving the eu. how could we forget? thank you

very much indeed. some breaking news to bring you, from michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator, who says they stand ready to work on alternative solutions to the backstop during the transition, which implies of course that they would have to be a withdrawal agreement signed off by the government first because without that there would of course be no transition. but maybe there is a softening on the eu side when it comes to technology, trusty trader scheme is that some of the eurosceptics have talked about as alternative measures to the backstop, the other side of the withdrawal agreement. so that's the latest from michel barnier. the headlines on bbc news... underwater footage confirms there is a body in the wreckage of the plane that was carrying the footballer emiliano sala. as nissan scraps plans to build a new car at its sunderland plant it emerges the government offered support of up to £80 million in 2016 to help secure investment. the government announces plans to simplify customs procedures for lorries arriving at channel ports, if there's a no—deal brexit. and in sport, liverpool bossjuergen

klopp expects a very different west ham team to the one they beat earlier in the season. the premier league leaders travelled to the london stadium tonight aiming to go five points clear at the top. ireland number eight is expected to miss their six nations match against scotla nd miss their six nations match against scotland and italy. its after he suffered a suspected fractured eye socket and cheekbone in saturday'sdefeat england. england full—back elliot daly is on the move, leaving wasps at the end of the season, saying he needs a new challenge. hejoins the of the season, saying he needs a new challenge. he joins the likes of nathan hughes and willie le roux, leaving the country based site. —— coventry based site. that's it from me, back at 5:30pm. the parents of libby squire, who went missing on thursday night, have made an appeal for her safe return. the 21—year—old hull university

student was reported missing after getting into a taxi during a night out. hundreds of people joined search efforts to find her. 0ur correspondent danny savage is in hull. what more do we know? ted might behind me you can see traffic here in how and this is work that he was seen in the early hours of friday morning at about ten past midnight. she was sitting on a bench just by that signed up for about 20 minutes 01’ that signed up for about 20 minutes orso, that signed up for about 20 minutes or so, please leave, a motorist stopped to talk to her because of the state she was in. but she disappeared and police are simply baffled about where she went from there. there is no cctv, no reports, no sightings, where did the 21—year—old student go? police are carrying out extensive searches, still, calling it a missing persons enquiry, but of course for her family, it's a desperate time. earlier today her parents made the

statement. please come forward with any information you may have, no matter how small or irrelevant it may be. we just want her home. my darling, we just want to know that your say. please get in touch with us your say. please get in touch with us anywhere you can. the whole family is missing you, especially underdad, family is missing you, especially under dad, sisters and your brother. imiss under dad, sisters and your brother. i miss you so much. it's breaking my heart not knowing where you are. i love you. looking around here at the moment, there are police vehicles in lots of streets in this area which is very close to the university of hull, bedsit land if you like, this is where all the students live in accommodation in the box around here. there's been a police presence, a train new here looks like a small river, most people would see it has, that has been searched as well in case you fell into it came to some harm there. but still no trace of her. in the last

hour or so, humberside police have come here to make a statement about just how the enquiry is going at the moment. we now know libby arrived in wellesley avenue, her home address, at 11:29pm, though it is not believed she entered her property. searching the address, we did discover her mobile phone, which despite analysis of has not provided any further insight as to where she may be or her movements that night. libby has been seen on cctv on beverley road at 11:40pm, new to the bench behind me. a motorist stop and offered her help. we believe she remained in this area until around 12:09am, and we are now continuing searches in and around the neighbouring roads and streets as well as viewing further cctv footage. whilst her location is not

yet known, this does not mean she has come to harm. but we must carry out a thorough investigation and explore all possibilities. there have been unrelated incidents and rumours circulating which i would like to clarify. a lip gloss was re cove red like to clarify. a lip gloss was recovered yesterday in the area she was seen, but it is not believed this was linked or connected to our investigation. there has been speculation around a car reported to bea speculation around a car reported to be a taxi driver driving around the local area. again, this is not part of our investigation and the police have not received any reports of this nature. i continue to ask people to come forward with any information they have, no matter how insignificant or small they feel it is, it could prove vital to finding libby. a couple of interesting points that came out of that. first of all, that her mobile phone was found in her student digsjust

her mobile phone was found in her student digs just round the corner from here. so they know she went to the outside of her house, but her phone was inside, so she went missing without her phone. so they can't use any information from that to trace where she went to thereafter. they've dispelled some other things as well, there was talk ofa other things as well, there was talk of a taxi driver going round the area that may have been suspicious. again, that has been discounted. but it does say, in 2019, that someone can literally go missing and vanish, it does seem extraordinary with all the cctv and appeals for information, but that does seem to have happened to libby squire. where did she go from the spot at ten past midnight on friday? policejust don't know, which is why they are making these repeated appeals for information. thank you. a deal between a courfirm and a trades union

which is said to offer new rights for workers is being described as "groundbreaking." the gmb union said the collective bargaining agreement with hermes was the first of its kind, giving self—employed couriers the option of holiday pay and guaranteed earnings. 0ur personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. driving the gig economy are flexibility and lower costs. and they achieve that by keeping their couriers self—employed. now, in reaction to demand for more rights, a new deal offering some of the advantages of being employed. we want to make sure that couriers are maintaining flexibility, but also giving them the security of minimum earnings, holiday pay, and a strong voice represented by the gmb union. time off from relentless working are seen as key. so hermes will promise 28 days of paid holiday, including bank holidays, and more financial security with a minimum wage of £8.55. it comes after nearly 200 couriers delivered a blow to hermes by winning the right to be recognised by workers with some workplace rights at a tribunal

backed by their union. in the tribunal, it was only for 194 of them. it was only those who would have workers' rights. the gmb then sat down with hermes and have got holiday pay, guaranteed national minimum wage for all of the couriers, should they accept it. but a big attraction of keeping couriers self—employed is that the company doesn't have to pay employers national insurance, at 13.8% of wages. matthew taylor, who led a major review of employment practices for the government, suggested this morning that hermes might now be liable. if somebody has most of the benefits of being an employee, and if the employer has most of the benefits of employing somebody, the tax authorities will want the employees to be paying national insurance, and they will want the company in particular to be paying national insurance on those people.

0ther gig economy companies like uber and deliveroo are watching closely, because hermes is confident its new deal for couriers will be given the green light by tax officials, in which case it might become standard practice. darren bett has the latest weather for us.. some sunshine today and a thawing of the snow across the southern half of the snow across the southern half of the uk, but it will turn to the overnight was thrust in places. for most of the country. clearing skies at the moment, showers in northern scotla nd at the moment, showers in northern scotland which will fade away. cloud lingering towards the south coast but away from here there is quite a bit of blue on the chart, frost likely. and fog as well, southern england at the vale of york in particular. not as cold as recently

but nevertheless temperatures about -1' but nevertheless temperatures about -1, -2, but nevertheless temperatures about —1, —2, may be lower. tomorrow we will see the wind picking up, that will see the wind picking up, that will tend to live before, some are the sunshine after a cold start but cloud coming in on south—westerly wind. bringing rain and drizzle, particularly for the western side of the uk. not much rain in the afternoon for eastern england but cloudy, probably staying dry across eastern scotland where we will see the best of the sunshine, but still cold around 6 degrees. elsewhere turning mount i was cloud and rain moving on, highs of 12 celsius in the south—west of england and south wales. sala this is bbc news. the headlines: investigators say they've seen a body in the wreckage of a light aircraft, which crashed into the english channel with the footballer, emiliano sala, on board. the plane was found off the island of guernsey yesterday. as nissan scraps plans to build a new car at its sunderland plant — it has emerged that the government offered support of up to £80 million in 2016 to help secure investment the government has announced

that if there's no brexit deal, it will allow lorries to drive straight off ferries and channel tunnel trains without full customs checks for at least three months the eu brexit chief negotiator michel barnier has reiterated that the withdrawal agreement — which includes the controversial irish backstop — "cannot be reopened". time now to go to the house of commons. the business secretary craig clark is making a decision. the principal concern of the company at the time. it was clear that if sunderland lost it, the medium and long—term prospects for a plant using skill would be bleak. determined not to see that 30 year

success of this plant come to an end, we set out over the coming months, a strong case for backing sunderland. this centred on four areas, all of which were about highlighting the success of, and our strategy for the british motoring industry. the first was to continue the successful and long—standing support for the competitiveness of the automotive sector which has been available to all firms for skills and training at the local workforce and training at the local workforce and for innovation. the regional growth fund has supported over 30,000 companies since 2010 with £2.6 billion of public support. 305 million of that has been invested in the automotive sector by the regional growth since 2010. all proposals are independently accessed by the industrial development of eyes reboa rd and by the industrial development of eyes reboard and are subject to each new and uk rules. in 2016, listen considered applying for a total of £18 in support over nine years for skills training, rnd and are mental

movements and were eventually awarded 61 million. the second commitment was that we would work with the automotive sector to ensure more of the supply chain could locate in the uk and in) see the money factor in sight. since 2016, as many know, the automotive sector deal has established with the dean to dojust deal has established with the dean to do just that. the third was that we would make a strong commitment to research and development in particular to the development of new battery technology and its deployment and connected to autonomous vehicles. our deployment and connected to autonomous vehicles. 0urjoint £1 billion advance programme are in deep programme along with £259 challenge is putting britain at the leading edge of a battery to apology and money factoring. we've induced test—beds for autonomous vehicles across the country. the longest autonomous car journey across the country. the longest autonomous carjourney in the uk will take place in november this

year from nissan site at cranfield to sunderland, covering over 200 miles on the roads. the commitment was that in our negotiations to leave the eu, we would always emphasise the very strong common ground that exists between the uk and other eu member states. and pursue a deal which ensures free trade. these commitments proved persuasive as they have subsequently for investments by toyota, bmw mini at oxford, psa at luton and indeed every single competitive allocation decision taken since 2016 in this industry has gone to britain. 0ther discussions had been around the cash cow, ran the end of the discussions, nissen propose to add another model, currently produced in japan, nissen propose to add another model, currently produced injapan, to be produced in sunderland. in the 2016 nissan announced but the cash cow and extra will be built in sunderland, adding 7111 newjobs. last friday i was informed by nissan

that following a global review of its capital investment, future capital was needed to accelerate the shift in europe from conventional to lower emission vehicles. the car is made in sunderland would in future have petrol and plug—in hybrid variants made in sunderland. at a result, more capital will be invested in sunderland than originally planned in 2016. this was copied by decision to 19japan as the sole production location for the x trail model than to establish a new production line in europe. the consequence of this is that the existing jobs in sunderland would be maintained by the increased investment but the 7111 additional jobs that would have been created in sunderland would now not take place. nissan confirmed the production of the new car will continue at sunderland, no indications of their decision for existing jobs at the plant. they also pointed out and what they have said consistently

since 2016 that the risk of a new deal brexit is a source of damaging uncertainty. while i am pleased at the decision taken in 2016 to build the decision taken in 2016 to build the car and secure the plant is unchanged, it is disappointing to me and to the workforce that the extra jobs that would have come from the x trail will no longer be billable. a teller house that i would publish the correspondence with nissen at the correspondence with nissen at the time of their original decision as soon as the company advised it was no longer commercially sensitive. i grievously chaired —— share this with the head of the committee but i have agreed with nissan that it is readable to publish it in film today and collea g u es publish it in film today and colleagues will see that it sets out exactly what i told the house in 0ctober exactly what i told the house in october 2016. grant support burgeoning and development and environmental improvements were applied for and approved by the industrial development advisory board on the basis that both cars would be built in sunderland. given yesterday's announcement, if the company six to participate in these

industry funding schemes, as i hope and expect it will, the company will submit new allocations in the usual way and undergo assessment. mr speaker, while i am disappointed that the newjobs associated with the car will not now come to sunderland, i am the car will not now come to sunderland, iam pleased the car will not now come to sunderland, i am pleased that the plant will develop from new investment in the existing models and the decision to continue with the vital investment in the cars and the vital investment in the cars and thejobs the vital investment in the cars and the jobs associated with them is u naffected. the jobs associated with them is unaffected. 0ne the jobs associated with them is unaffected. one of the decisions made on border business brands, this uncommented on the need for us to come together and resolve the question of ourfuture come together and resolve the question of our future drilling initiative with the eu. i believe they should be listened to and acted upon so that our automotive industry, which is undergoing more change three innovation in the decade ahead and it has for most of the last century in areas like battery technology and artificial intelligence, can seize the opportunities for britain to be a world leader in state—of—the—art carmaking providing great jobs world leader in state—of—the—art carmaking providing greatjobs and

careers hundreds of thousands of people across our country in the yea rs people across our country in the years ahead. i commend this statement to the house. yesterday's announcement from nissan but it has reversed its decision to build the extra added sunderland plant and move it to japan instead is a bitter blow to the north east, the automotive sector and britain's industrial strategy. of course, brexit was not the only reason that it was pretty prominent in this decision. to quote their initial statement, the continued uncertainty around the uk's future relationship with the eu is not helping companies like ours to plan for the future. the secretary of state's quiet opposition to a new deal brexit is of course well known but still the juggernaut of government chaos hurtles on. even he must be suitably frightened today by the uncertainty being created by his government negotiating strategy. this week,

nissan has reversed commitments to invest in the uk. last week we saw that car production is down 9% to its lowest in five years and fresh investment in the sector halved in 2018 according to the s mmt. when nissan made the commitment to reduce the car in sunderland, the government provided certain assurances as the secretary is outlined. after refusing to publish the letter, even in response to freedom of information requests, today we have finally seen a copy of this letter. the letter acknowledged the uncertainty is the uk prepares to leave the eu, in particular the fear that potential future trade arrangements could affect the business case investment and it promised that nissan would not be adversely affected. although no firm commitment to a customs union or single market deal was contained within the letter, this was a pretty strong assurance that manufacturers would still be able to trade without barriers. however, is clearly does

not have any confidence in assurances today. can secretary of state confirm why these assurances no longer stand and what has changed in the government's approach since those commitments were made with mike is it now government policy to acce pt mike is it now government policy to accept that there will be significant trade barriers as we leave the eu and potentially, a new deal situation? if not, can the secretary of state will add today the possibility of no deal? the letter went on to support the investment of around £80 million towards nissan's investment at the sunderland site in return for the expansion of production. the secretary noted that £61 million was eventually applied for and can he confirm whether any of the conditions surrounding this £61 million written into any formal agreement? can he also confirm if nissan will still be receiving the £61 million despite the move that he intimated they may have to reapply certain forms of grant funding? can

he also confirm what assessment he has made on the impact of yesterday's decision on the wider supply chain, particularly those companies who might have already taken the decision to start investment? mr speaker, the government's letter to nissan also said it would be a critical priority of our negotiations to support uk car manufacture rs of our negotiations to support uk car manufacturers and ensure their ability to export to and from the eu is not adversely affected by the uk's future relationship with the eu. it is important to note that nissan's announcement came days after a free—trade agreement was signed between the eu and japan where it has onjapanese car exports to the eu begin to taper towards zero over the next ten years. what assurances can the secretary give british automotive sector companies today that there will be nil tariffs on british made vehicles entering the eu? similarly, in relation to

ca rs the eu? similarly, in relation to cars exported to non—eu countries where the eu currently enjoys preferential trading terms, international trade secretary suggests we can replicate them and tippex out eu on the front page of nearly 40 free—trade agreements and replace it with the eu, uk, but how was he getting on with this and what assurances can the secretary provide today that britain will continue to enjoy these trading terms with mike further, what assessment has the secretary made of the risks, the real risks of a temporary brexit induced slowdown in british manufacturing and has he examined any temporary support measures he could offer, for example looking at examples in the german industrial sector following the village of harsh? finally, mr speaker, it is clear we have aged a tipping point. i know the secretary agrees with me that a real industrial strategy is designed to give businesses the confidence to invest for the long term. his government's handling of brexit is undermining our industrial

strategy. businesses are no longer speaking out, simply to highlight the future dangers of a badly handled brexit, they are now losing confidence in the government and taking real action to protect their businesses. without real assurances from the secretary today, and a firm commitment from him to take no deal of the table, it is hard not to think that manage decline is indeed the government's plan. mr speaker, i think if the honourable lady had spent the time talking to the employers in the automotive sector, she would have come to a different conclusion because the first point is, she should welcome the facts that nissan has committed to sunderland. before any negotiations have taken place, even before article 50 was triggered, the plant was injeopardy article 50 was triggered, the plant was in jeopardy and the workforce, unions and government but closely

and hard together to secure its future. at the time, her former colleague, then member for hartlepool, hailed this as a welcome example of targeted government's commitment to a successful campaign and toa commitment to a successful campaign and to a strategically vital sector. that commitment continues. she asks about whether the financial support that was applied for by nissan continues, i hope i was clear in my statement that the support is available to the sector and it has been for many years. they will be invited to resubmit an application in the light of the changed investments that they are making. the second point that the honourable lady made is that we need to conclude our brexit negotiations. but what she spectacular ignored is that nissan and the uk automotive industry back the deal but the prime

minister has negotiated. it achieves what they need. no disorderly brexit on the 29th of march, a transition period and a commitment to no tariffs, no quotas, no rules of origin checks at the border. the japanese automobile and factories association has welcomed both the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration. they have called that this house and the european parliament to ratify the agreement swiftly. if she wants to rule out no deal, if that is her concern and the motivation, she should back the calls on the industry to ratify the agreement. it is the case that the continued uncertainty that i referred to in my statement, she will acknowledge, is a reflection in part at least on the opposition's failure to come to a decision and to back the deal. during all of nissan's first years in the uk, it has been able to count

ona in the uk, it has been able to count on a constructive support from all parties. yet the honourable lady's front bench has evaded having a policy on this vital issue for our country are hiding behind six tests that are a fake and sham, designed to expressly avoid a deal and they know it. they claim to be representing the workers of this country but the livelihoods of millions of workers are being jeopardised by the machinations of the people who occupy that front bench. in a call from japan yesterday, a senior nissan executive had this to say. he said, please pass on the view to your opposition that they need to meet in a way that forms a deal. i think we should all in this house act on that. whatever the rationale behind this decision and despite my right

honourable friend's considerable efforts to work on it, is it nonetheless not a stark reminder. the secretary of state ‘s summing up there his conversations with nissan over the last 20 former hours, confirming that nissan is committed to sunderland. they will be no job losses, he says, at the plant, but he did say for hundred and 71 new jobs that they expected would come to sunderland to build the next real, those jobs will not come in sunderland. he also said that the company had had a review, it had invested money in sunderland in 2016 but after a global review, the capital it would have needed to build the car in sunderland was requested elsewhere in the company. let's get some thoughts on that from the vice president of the north east england chamber of commerce. apologies for my voice, it is almost

giving up, but let me put to you what greg clark said there, there will be nojob what greg clark said there, there will be no job losses what greg clark said there, there will be nojob losses in what greg clark said there, there will be no job losses in sunderland and that nissan is committed to the plant. i speak in my personal capacity, however, idon't plant. i speak in my personal capacity, however, i don't take comfort from blake —— greg clark's comments. this and made a firm commitment in 2016 but this new investment project. that has suddenly been reversed because of circumstances have been changed. pa rt circumstances have been changed. part of the nissan statement yesterday made very clear that they have a task force reviewing brexit and the impact on business in the uk and the impact on business in the uk and should the business we generate or sufferfrom and should the business we generate or suffer from unfavourable trade conditions as a result of brexit, we must accept that anything is possible. i could gradually run down the plant over time. not project there, this is project relative.“ this was truly about brexit, i would they not move production of the car to barcelona or paris, which are

running at half capacity at the moment? if it was about staying within the eu, but we be obvious move and it's not. there has been a global review and they cannot afford to invest money for a car that does not sell in europe and the only thing it to japan adult cell with is the diesel market. i think you must go back to the original commitment. they were really clear that they we re they were really clear that they were going to come here and diesel is not the only option, they also have the option of petrol. it is very clear in a statement yesterday, it is linking to brexit uncertainty, we can read it for ourselves. the fear is for automotive and other manufacturers, if we don't get frictionless trade, more and more will follow suit and nissan could gradually run down their operation. if there is a new deal. even the prime minister's on dealer does not

give any assurance on frictionless trade and that essentially is the delayed no deal, the weight as it stands at the moment. he's are huge issues were british manufacturer ‘s have come to the uk to access the eu market which is the largest single market which is the largest single market in the world. we cannot undermine and belittle that.|j market in the world. we cannot undermine and belittle that. i fully ta ke undermine and belittle that. i fully take your point and he did say it was day be disappointing that the uncertainty over brexit is damaging to stop the point i am making is that there is a diesel downturn that is fact. there is a downturn in car sales in europe, that is fact. people are still buying diesel cars injapan people are still buying diesel cars in japan where this people are still buying diesel cars injapan where this car will be manufactured. that is also a fact, so brexit is only one part of the debate with mike you must link to that the trade deal announced last week between the eu and japan. one of the biggest of its kind in the world and sadly, the uk at some point not be part of that but what that gives japanese car

manufacturers in due course is tariff free access to the eu market. why on earth produced in the uk if you got a risk of tariff and it's in the region of 10%, when you can get tariff free from other parts of the world and certainly japan? you take some comfort from what ray clark says about the job that are there in sunderland. he says there will be no job losses and that nissan have told him in conversations today that they are fully committed to the sunderland plant? the context without must also be that the task force that nissan have confirmed that they have to monitor the effect of brexit, so very clearly if the operations in sunderland are undermined, where they become less competitive or obstructed in the flow of goods and holed imports, of course that is going to be a negative review. that is certainly going to havejob negative review. that is certainly going to have job consequences for nissan and other manufacturing companies throughout the country.

0ne companies throughout the country. one line of breaking news, the department for transport has announced in the last few minutes that they have awarded a contract to a eagle company in the highly likely event that eurotunnel takes the government to court brexit in january they had warned the government awarded contracts to provide those extra ferry services in the event of no deal could be illegal and that the government is pre—empting that, getting big advice and looking to protect itself. it has spent £800,000 on medical advice. australia has just endured its hottest month on record in january, and the scorching temperatures are set to continue. but — in a season of extreme weather — a thousand people have had to be evacuated after a year's worth of rain injust a week in the city of townsville, in the northern state of queensland. officials say that twenty thousand homes are still at risk. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith reports from sydney.

monday morning update, not so good. this is how people are starting the week. working out just this is how people are starting the week. working outjust how much of their films by underwater. week. working outjust how much of theirfilms by underwater. almost week. working outjust how much of their films by underwater. almost a year ‘s worth of rain has fallen here in the last seven days and more is coming. there's a monsoon sitting over the city. it means it could be days before people can work out the film extent of the damage. we were warned to get out the night before last, yesterday it was pretty safe. the sound bite but to no avail. it looks like we have lost everything. we cannot get in there to have a look. family heirlooms that go back over 100 years and all that we have lost so pretty much lost all of our stuff. we've never seen in years

worth of rain in less than seven days. that is not exactly what we had planned for and it really is new parameters that we are moving into. when the dam reached nearly 250% capacity yesterday, the authorities decided they had to open the floodgates. although it was planned, the results were unpredictable. the units are set back a little bit. emergency teams had to rescue some people from their homes. so far, more than 1,000 residents have been relocated. at the other end of the country in tasmania, evacuations have also been triggered by bushfires. australia's 2019 has started with a series of extreme weather events which is stretching emergency services in every direction. back in townsville,

drivers have been told to keep off the roads and if the rain continues, there is a risk of flash flooding in what australia's insurance council has already declared a catastrophe. normally in floods like that, you have to be careful of uncovered potholes. to beware of dangerous animals in residential areas. this crocodile was spotted in a surban driveway in townsville. queensland's environment minister leeanne enoch said "crocodiles may be seen crossing roads, and when flooding recedes, crocodiles can turn up in unusual places such as farm dams or waterholes" that would give you quite a shock, wouldn't it? that it for me. the weather is next. 0ur weather, not so extreme here in

the uk. we got something more typicalfor the uk. we got something more typical for the the uk. we got something more typicalfor the time of the uk. we got something more typical for the time of year. a change from what we have had over the past couple of weeks because the week ahead is going to be milder. you got the wind is coming in from the atlantic, west or south westerly winds but it will be changeable. instead of snow, we will find rain. there will be rain tomorrow and into wednesday. that cloud has brought some rain already. we're in between those two mag areas of canada the moment which is why we are seeing clear skies like this. those temperatures are tumbling. we've had more cloud uprights southern england but that is thinning and breaking and bringing the rest of some fog as well. that cloud moving away from the south east of england which will loiter through the english channel. we got some showers in northern scotla nd we got some showers in northern scotland but even those are moving away, so clear skies, my twins and some fog around especially in southern england but also into the vale of york as well. a fair bit of

blue hair. we're looking at frost and nothing too extreme, not as cold as it has been. a sunny start and a cold start and as the wind picks up, the fog will lift. you can see some outbreaks of rain and drizzle. always wettest for the western side of the uk. not much but eastern parts in the afternoon. still quite cold air here but as you head further south, we're looking at 12 degrees in south wales and the south—west finland. turning milder eventually, turning windier and a bed—wetter and it's all due to those weather fronts. they pushed their way eastwards over night but as we head into wednesday, we've still got one sitting towards the uk. it looks like having cleared away, the rain will return across central southern england, eventually into east anglia. away from here, perhaps some sunshine but there will be a few blustery showers coming into

northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland where the badgers will be a little lower at seven or 8 degrees. always milder across the southern half of the uk. you can feel for thirsty, we got westerly winds at this stage that south—westerly winds return during friday and milder air returns as well. but there's the, its sunshine and showers but those temperatures are near normal time of year. it's increasingly windy as we head into friday. a body is seen in the wreckage of the plane carrying the footballer emiliano sala and his pilot. an underwater search reveals the plane fuselage at the bottom of the channel.

we wanted to go out there and find the plane. we're pleased that that happened. it's going to be... you know, people use the word closure, this is just the first step. it's a long, long way. it's yet to be decided whether the wreckage will be raised from the sea bed, we'll bring you the latest. also tonight... how the government offered nissan financial support of ten of millions of pounds to build the car in sunderland that is now going to be built outside the uk. a coroner calls deaths linked to fake versions of the anti anxiety drug xanax "an escalating crisis". as desperate venezuelans cross the borderforfood, the uk recognises the country's opposition leader as interim president. and will promotion and relegation become a thing of the past in rugby union's premiership?