you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's 11.003m and these are the main stories this morning. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. another child and two adults are injured theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. actor liam neeson sparks a race row after saying he once wanted to kill a random black person after someone close to him was raped. i went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping i'd be approached by somebody. i'm ashamed to say that. and i did it for maybe a week hoping some black bleep would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know, so i could kill him. 10 people have died — including a baby — in a fire in a paris apartment block — a woman has been arrested. ministers warn that harmful online images are so widespread they've become normalised and threaten action against social media firms failing to protect children. i would like them to use that artificial intelligence to identify young people who are at risk, who are looking at this material,

and perhaps steer them in a more positive direction. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. four children have died in a house fire overnight in stafford. police and emergency services were called to reports of a fire in sycamore lane in the highfields area, around 2.30 this morning. a fifth child and two adults are being treated in hospital for injuries. we can speak to our reporter liz copper who is at the scene of the fire in stafford for us. this is awful. any more news about what happened 7 this is awful. any more news about what happened? emergency crews were called at around 20 to three this

morning to a serious house fire and when they arrived sadly they could do nothing to save the lives of those poor children who were pronounced dead at the scene. there we re pronounced dead at the scene. there were three other occupants, two adults and each child. they had somehow managed to escape from the house and they were taken to hospital where their injuries being described as not life threatening. at the moment we have a considerable amount of police activity but also activity from the fire service. we are seeing some flowers that are being made at the moment, being brought by it looks like members of the public. this has been a hugely shocking event, much too soon to begin to speculate about because of this buyer and as you can see, there is considerable police activity and fire service vehicles here this morning. in the last hour i have spoken to a friend of the family who

knew the children well, he described this as utterly devastating for the community here on the high we have heard reports that neighbours heard an explosion, allowed noise of some sort during the night. is any suggestion as to what might caused best? no, neighbours described hearing a blast or explosion that walk them from their sleep in the early hours. it is early days as far as the fire service investigation and police investigation go and it would be too soon to speculate about the cause of the buyer. in the last hour or so we have seen a high—rise ladder working on the first floor of the house, that is where the investigators seem to be concentrating their efforts for now but it is really so early and use is still sinking in here. we do know

that the children attended a local nursery and that nursery has been closed this morning as a mark of respect, and we are hearing from the local council who have put out a statement to state their thoughts and prayers are with the family and we know the family are being looked after by specially trained police officers and staffordshire police haveissued officers and staffordshire police have issued a statement saying their thoughts and condolences are with the family during an immensely tragic time. thank you. theresa may heads to northern ireland today to try to reassure people that she'll find a way to deliver brexit while avoiding a physical border with the irish republic. in a speech this afternoon, she will pledge to secure a deal that commands broad support. meanwhile, conservative mps from both the leave and remain campaigns will continue talks with the brexit secretary to identify alternatives to the controversial backstop, which the dup leader arlene foster has called "toxic." so let's have a reminder of what that backstop is.

the backstop is a position of last resort that will keep the border open on the island of ireland, if the uk and the eu are unable to agree a comprehensive trade deal. it would, in effect, keep the uk inside the eu's customs union, but with northern ireland also conforming to some rules of the single market, if there's no other solution by the end of the transition period in december 2020. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake reports. theresa may will acknowledge that this is a concerning time in northern ireland, but pledged to find a way to deliver brexit that honours the government's commitments to people there, commands broad support across the community, and secures a majority in parliament at westminster. the question of how to keep an open border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland has become the major sticking point in the brexit process. there is no agreement yet on what alternative arrangements could replace the backstop which would see the uk remain

in a customs union with the eu if a trade deal couldn't be done. mrs may will meet leaders of the main political parties in northern ireland who remain at odds on the issue. sinn fein are supportive of the backstop, but the dup leader arlene foster said it was toxic and must be dealt with. the former first minister of northern ireland david trimble has said he intends to take legal action against the government over the backstop, claiming it breaches the terms of the good friday agreement. jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. let's go to westminster now and join our assistant political editor, norman smith. theresa may is going to have a tough sell when she talks to business leaders in northern ireland because they were already backing her backstop plan and all the while her party colleagues are trying to work out what the alternative might be. party colleagues are trying to work out what the alternative might belj think out what the alternative might be.” think that is right, there is a

realisation in downing street that in northern ireland there is real apprehension that the backstop seems again to be possibly scrapped or significantly reworked, whether that raises it? about the government's commitment to avoiding a hard border and that is what the prime minister is seeking to do today, to reassure people that the commitment to avoiding a hardboard is absolute and she is not going to compromise that, albeit at a lot of discussion now here and in brussels about what is going to happen with the backstop. i am joined by the conservative chairman of the northern ireland select committee, andrew morrison, do you understand why people in northern ireland are perhaps increasingly nervous about a possible hardboard increasingly nervous about a possible ha rdboa rd are increasingly nervous about a possible hardboard are given the question marks about the backstop?” do, buti question marks about the backstop?” do, but i understand concerns across the united kingdom that the european union is using this possibility of a

ha rd union is using this possibility of a hard border to get what they want and that is to have the option, of permanently anchoring the united kingdom for all time in a customs union. something that to his credit, the reader of the opposition last week set his face burning bat firmly against so this is simply not concern on one side of the house but shared by all mp5. concern on one side of the house but shared by all mps. you think it is a ploy to keep britain any customs union and something to avoid a hard border? i believe the hard border can be avoided by using other means, alternate arrangements, whereas the burden of the amendment that was accepted to with the trial agreement in the house of commons —— their withdrawal agreement and the house of commons. we are also trying to do the same thing and avoid a high border but unfortunately european union solution would have a

consequence of swapping an arrangement we are in at the moment to do one anchors us for all time without article 50. i thought your select committee commissioned a report which was dismissive of the idea of relying on technology and other procedures to get around the possibility of other border checks. that is not true, in march we published a report on the border which made conclusions on that evidence and pointed out at the time there was no off—the—shelf solution that can be taken down, dusted off and applied to the border in northern ireland. since then more has happened and what evidence has been gathered and we anticipate, if we have it withdrawal agreement, the thick end of two years in which to put in place alternative arrangements, which includes technology but streamlined customs arrangement, of the sort the prime minister will be discussing today. china social in reaching some sort

of consensus on the withdrawal agreement, is it your impression that the prime minister is more likely to go forward the sort of legal guarantees on a time limit and she is in this alternative arrangements package which she is looking at? a legal guarantee on the timing of this is important and in play. it is straightforward and simple, most people may understand that we may need this perhaps for several years but we cannot be indefinitely held them to a arrangement that may be contrary to our interest. that would be a remarkable thing for a country like us remarkable thing for a country like us to sign up to. is that the sort of time—limit you would consider, five years? i'm not sure i would characterise it as being in the backstop for five years but certainly with any customs arrangement with apple of time, i think it would be unreasonable and a cce pta ble think it would be unreasonable and acceptable to a large member of parliament. we have heard from

reading brexiteers but worry any legal guarantee will be that rather than reopening the treaty itself, how confident are you that the prime minister will be able to get the binding reassurances they seek? and is adjustable. there is no point having the promises result in the declaration, this needs to be something we can use in international law to ensure that the uk is not binding against her wishes, potentially forever to an arrangement that is not going to do as any good sol arrangement that is not going to do as any good so i think opening the withdrawal agreement will be ever so nice, but i think the concerns of most of us will be satisfied if we had something that was at least judith. -- had something that was at least judith. —— du db. had something that was at least judith. -- du db. thank you for your time. the hoping government seems to be that if the dup can be won around

to reassu ra nces be that if the dup can be won around to reassurances on the backstop other mps may be likely to follow. the actor liam neeson has sparked a race row after making comments about once wanting to kill a black person when a close friend told him she'd been raped. here is a clip from his interview with the independent, while promoting his new film. i'll tell you a story, this is true, i'm not to use any names. my friend earlier i spoke to the journalist clemence michallon who carried out that interview with liam neeson in new york. let's hear what she had to say. anyone hearing those thoughts would

feel shocked and appalled and he himself has said he feels ashamed of the way he is to think and says it is ourfault, so of the way he is to think and says it is our fault, so of course that shark settled in really quickly and there was the fact that he showed those stories with a press junket which is a format of interviewed known to be difficult and tend to lend itself to fluff pieces more than ha rd—hitting news lend itself to fluff pieces more than hard—hitting news stories. lend itself to fluff pieces more than hard-hitting news stories. he tried to contextualise what he said and said he was horrified he felt that way once, and decide if you use this which he thought he would do, to be careful with it. what did you make those comments? when he said that i thought, well, of course i a lwa ys that i thought, well, of course i always very careful especially when idomy

always very careful especially when i do my work as a journalist. this was a piece i worked on very extensively with my editors and with our evaders. —— advisors. all annual truly is what he said. and the manner in which he said it and that is what you can hear on the tape and thatis is what you can hear on the tape and that is why we have published it for a full transparency will stop did you expect the reaction we are now seeing because of those comments? yes, most of the reaction i have seen so yes, most of the reaction i have seen so far as people who are shocked and surprised and appalled, and that, we were expecting because how else could you react when you hear that? we were not expecting so much was the proportions it has taken. it was a turning story in the

us and uk throughout the day so the sheer magnitude of it was more of a sprite. —— surprise. the headlines on bbc news. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. a fifth child and two adults are injured. theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. actor liam neeson comes under fire after telling a journalist he once wanted to kill a black person, after a close friend was raped by a black man. and in sport, the liverpool manager jurgen klopp could be charged by the fa following his comments. about the referee at west ham last night the league leaders drew i—i, the second game running that they have dropped points and they are now three points clear of manchester city. rugby union premiership bosses are meeting today to discuss whether or not to scrap relegation from and promotion to the top division.

that has angered many championship clubs. ben barba's rugby league career could be over. last year's superleague man of steel with st helens has been banned from playing in australia after footage emerged of him assaulting his partner. the rugby football league say they'll also uphold the ban in this country. i'll be back with more on those stories later. police in paris say they believe a fire that engulfed a residential building during the night, killing ten people, was started deliberately. they have arrested a woman who lived there. at least 30 other people have been injured in the blaze. richard galpin reports. this deadly fire broke out after midnight local time. the flames spreading from the lower floors to the top of the apartment block. high up amid the flames, firefighters battled to reach those stuck inside their apartments

and people who had fled to the roof. they had no choice but to climb the outside of the building, as the fire engines couldn't get into the immediate area. while the fire brigade managed to get many people out, there have been a lot of casualties and others are deeply traumatised. translation: the alarm went off at 12:30 and it was already black with smoke. i live on the eighth floor, the top floor, so i tried to pass from balcony to balcony in order to get away. and then we huddled up in a corner and other people climbed up to where i was to escape the flames. the operation to put the fire out continued throughout the night, with more than 200 firefighters called in to get it under control. and it wasn't long before the authorities announced

that the blaze may not have been an accident. translation: from the information we have, the fire is being investigated as a criminal act. one person who lives in the building has been arrested. she was arrested during the night, not far from the scene. she is currently in custody. according to an eyewitness who spoke to the bbc, the woman has psychiatric problems and had got involved in a row last night, allegedly threatening to start a fire. what has happened here will come as a shock to those living in this upmarket part of paris, which has not only left a growing number of people dead, but also dozens injured, including some of the firefighters. richard galpin, bbc news. let's return to the prime minister's visit

to northern ireland to reassure people there about brexit. tina mckenzie, the policy chair of the federation of small businesses in northern ireland, is in our belfast newsroom. so the prime minister, having signed up so the prime minister, having signed up to the backstop not so very long ago, now is seeking an alternative to that backstop and she wants to reassure business people and others in northern ireland that she will deliver brexit while avoiding a hard border, do you trust her?” deliver brexit while avoiding a hard border, do you trust her? i don't think it is about trusting the prime minister, it is looking pragmatically at what can get through parliament. she is working with what she can work with, every backstop cannot get parliament we have to look at what else we can do and pragmatically sort out a way that across these islands we do not make any deal that impact the economy. i do not know if you had

any detailed discussions about what you think it worked, if it is not to be backstop then what else? we've been working for several months on a document that will enable northern ireland to have a slightly different position than the rest of the tv but ove rco m e position than the rest of the tv but overcome the issues around the border in the rac or in the north—west of the border of ireland. that will allow gb to have its own trade agreement but give us an enhanced economic zone and also give us enhanced economic zone and also give us the opportunity to be in the uk's regulatory zone which would satisfy the dup and some other constitutional concerns over not being within but in the backstop. there are other solutions there but ultimately we need to ensure the prime minister is supported along with the taoiseach and getting together with the eu officials and getting a solution for this island because there is no doubt northern ireland will suffer greatly if there isa ireland will suffer greatly if there is a no—deal brexit. ireland will suffer greatly if there

is a no-deal brexit. we know that when the government's on assessments that the economic impact on northern ireland would be particularly detrimental indicates of a no—deal brexit. how worried are businesses in northern ireland right now as we get closer to the 29th of march? extremely worried and northern ireland is different to gb in the senseit ireland is different to gb in the sense it is a small business economy. more people in northern ireland are employed by small businesses than the whole of the public and private sector put together. more than 90% of businesses here have 20 or less employees and those small businesses don't have the time or resources to plan for what aides. there are so many what it's when we surveyed remembers only one in seven small businesses have actually any preparation at all and we are a number of weeks out that it is imperative we get around the table and support the negotiators to find and support the negotiators to find a deal. on the one in seven had done any preparation because they don't know what to prepare for? yes, local

businesses are local shops, innovators, small it companies who don't have the time and resources. there is enough going on in the uk economy for them to focus on, enough challenges than having to worry about the complexities of brexit and withdrawal agreement and backstop. they have enough on their plate to keep the economy going. thank you. some breaking news, jose mourinho had accepted a one—year prison sentence for tax fraud in spain but he will not serve jail time, a one—year suspended sentence and effect. he will also pay a fine of close to 2 million euros for the tax fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors, it has just been

revealed. 56—year—old was committed of —— accused of committing tax right into thousand ii, and 2012 of —— accused of committing tax right into thousand 11, and 2012 at the time of coaching riel madrid. jose mourinho accepting it when you deal sentence which you will not have to serve and eat and a fine boy tax rod. —— serving a one—year sentence and a fine boy tax fraud. mps will vote today on the amount of money councils in england receive from central government. the communities secretary, james brokenshire has confirmed that councils will benefit from increased funding of 1.3 billion pounds taking funding to 46 billion pounds for the coming year. but the local government association says councils face a shortfall. jessica parker has this report. buses, children's centres, libraries, lollipop men and women. some of the services that local councils have cut across england as their funding has fallen.

and, again this year, the lump sum that comes from gvernment goes down by around £1 billion, but ministers say councils will have more money to spend overall. there's some one off cash for social care, higher council tax takings, and a push to see some areas keep more of the money they raise through business rates. we said at the conservative conference last year that austerity is now coming to an end because of some of those really tough calls that councils have had to make, and i think we should look more positively towards the new spending review. that government spending review, starting later this year, could see the rules around council cash funding rewritten. ministers hint at providing a longer term plan, that could put council finances on a more stable long—term footing, but the local government association says certainty is needed now, claiming councils are being pushed to the brink. jessica parker, bbc news. we're going to have more of that

story and a second but to be a just hearing john like linker is going to be meeting theresa may in brussels on thursday so interesting to find that it meeting is happening and what will come of it. as we know hugger above both remain and leave supporting conservatives are looking at alternatives to the backstop, so fight the eu has been saying there are not many alternatives that will work but let's see what happens over the next couple of days. that meeting between and theresa may happening on thursday. here on the news channel, we're looking at the situation across england today. in gloucestershire, the council says it is struggling to keep up with the rising demand of children's services. let's cross to gloucester now and speak to our reporter, hayley mortimer. we know that children's services and social care in general sucks up a

huge amount of local authorities budget right across england, so although the government is talking about more money for councils, what i beat saint there about whether they feel they really do have extra funds to spend on other areas as well? it has been a tough time for councils here in gloucestershire —like areas across the country, they are making year after year of cuts and still more savings need to be made. gloucestershire county council has defined £21 million worth of savings in the next year. buses have been hit as subsidies were removed and this is one of the first areas where libraries were handed over to volu nteers where libraries were handed over to volunteers to run. the plea has either been helping the most vulnerable must take priority but it has not gone smoothly. children services have been rated inadequate and its growing demand for help with the elderly and children with special educational needs. budgets have been overspent and the council had to dip into reserves. it is

local taxpayers that will have to foot the bill because the ground for central government is decreasing again and well extra pots of money here and there are welcome to it is still not enough, so council tax here in gloucestershire will have to rise by 5% next year, twice the rate of inflation. you mention the budgets have been overspent so even if there is extra money, that will have to cover the overspend that has already happened ? have to cover the overspend that has already happened? children services and adult social care and priorities for the council in terms of funding but budgets are tight, the money has to be found somewhere and it appears it is going to be local taxpayers and council tax that will have to rise to paper those vital services. thank you very much. don't forget you can let us know what you think about the story and any of the stories today. you can tweet us, are the ways to contact us on the screen

right now. it is time for the weather. it's been fairly bright across eastern parts of the uk this morning. the cloud is increasing for many of us. it's getting thicker and thicker. certainly towards western areas of the uk, that cloud is getting lower and lower, as well, sitting over the hills of wales, but it's bringing rain across northern ireland at the moment. it will put eastwards into western scotland, into north—west england and wales as we go through this afternoon. notice heavy bursts of rain. quite mild. temperatures, 9—12. the further east you are, it will stay driest for longest to date with a few brighter skies but that rain will move overnight tonight, lingering on in the far south—east of england. a few showers in the south—west. not as cold as last night. a few pockets of frost in rural scotland.

temperatures above freezing. wednesday, rain at times in the south—east. quite heavy throughout the day. further showers in northern and western areas. in between, dry and western areas. in between, dry and bright with temperatures of 9-11. and bright with temperatures of 9—11. bye bye. hello. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. a fifth child and two adults are injured. theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. 0utrage after actor liam neeson tells a journalist he once wanted to kill a black person after someone close to him was raped by a black man. ten people have died, including a baby, in a fire in a paris apartment block. a woman has been arrested. ministers warn that harmful online images are so widespread they've become normalised and threaten action against social media firms failing to protect children. sport now.

hello there. good morning. liverpool's lead over manchester city in the premier league is now three points after they drew 1—1 at west ham and managerjurgen klopp could be in trouble with the fa. his post—match interviews seemed to question the referee kevin friend's integrity klopp accepted that their opening goal, scored by sadio mane, should have been disallowed, with james milner offside in the build—up. he says that the referee would have realised his mistake and attempted to even things up. west ham were level by half—time through a well—worked routine finished off by michael antonio. that's back to back draws for liverpool and they have taken eight points from a possible 15 since the turn of the year. here is the klopp interview with the bbc regarding the referee. 0ur

our goal was offside. i'm sure there referee knew that and in the second half, as well. i don't know if we had a 50—50 situation. it was always a free kick for the other team. it made life not easy but in the end, it was not a game we would win hi, obviously, so it was brilliant. but we didn't. i'm so its a fair point. manchester city will go back to the top of the table if they beat everton tomorrow night liverpool would still have a game in hand but this is how defender virgil van dijk assesses the title race. we should embrace it. if anybody said before the season we would be top of the league with how many games left, 13 games? everyone would have signed for it. we just need to enjoy it. obviously nobody wants to drop points and lose games, so you must be frustrated, but you could also play for nothing all season like other teams.

we still are in the title race and it's going to be a great one. england s women will warm up for this summer's world cup by playing four friendly internationals around the country. the road to france series starting in april will see england take on canada, spain, denmark and new zealand in four different venues. junior tickets for each game will be just £1. the lionesses also head to the us this month for the she believes cup against the usa, brazil and japan. canada at manchester city's acadamy ground on fifth april. spain in swindon on ninth april. denmark in walsall 25th may. new zealand at brighton's amex stadium first.

their world cup opener is against scotland on the ninthjune in nice. last year's man of steel and top try—scorer in super league ben barba has been banned from playing in australia after footage emerged of him in an alleged "physical altercation" with his partner. barba — who left saint helens at the end of last season — has already been sacked by his new club, north queensland cowboys, over allegations that he had assaulted his partner at a casino last month. the incident is also being investigated by police. the rfl has previously said they would block any return to england for the 29—year—old should he be banned by the nrl. which hejust which he just has which hejust has been. the alpine world skiing championships is just starting in sweden where lindsey vonn is competing in the super g for the final time. regarded as one of the greatest women skiers, she announced last week that she's retiring after these championships. as well as the super g she's also competing in the downhill on sunday.

it's been an incredible career for the american with a record 82 world cup victories. her one regret has been only winning one 0lympic title back in 2010. vonn, now 3a, says her body is "broken beyond repair". that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories and the news that defending champion ronnie 0'sullivan has lost in the first round at snooker‘s world grand prix in cheltenham everything on there. i will be back in the next hour. see you then. thank you very much. the air accidents investigation branch is working at the site in the english channel where the plane carrying the footballer, emiliano sala, and the pilot, david ibbotson, crashed.

they're working to establish how to carry out a recovery operation after a body was seen inside the wreckage. 0ur correspondentjohn fernandez sent this update they are working with the families and the police to even see whether they are going to bring this aircraft up. that is still a decision which needs to be made. now we've spoken to a salvage expert in guernsey, someone who advised david mearns, the man who found the missing piper malibu on sunday. now he's told us that any recovery operation would be incredibly difficult. as we've heard, the plane is very much intact. while they were expecting to find a debris field, they've actually found a plane that's very much held together. he said, richard keane, the man we spoke to this morning, has said that the damage to the plane already, the air pockets, the water that's going to be inside it, and of course the body, will make it incredibly difficult to bring up. it's going to be a difficult procedure and at the moment, we don't know even whether it will happen. that wasjohn

that was john fernandez. more than 600 people are said to be giving up work in britain every day to take on the role of caring for a sick or elderly relative. the charity, carers uk, says its research also suggests a furtherfive million are struggling with a carer s role while still doing theirjob. they re calling for employers to offer more flexibility to those affected. ben ando has more. looking after an elderly or sick relative is tough when you're also working, and in the last two years, thousands of people have quit theirjobs to become carers. that, says campaigning group carers uk, is a problem for them and for the economy. the figures are striking. every day, more than 600 people stop working to become carers. a further five million carers are also holding down a job. 0verall, since 2011, the number of people caring for someone else has gone up by 5.5 million. carers uk says employers, in turn, now need to become more caring, by allowing carers flexibility over working hours and leave, especially as up to a quarter

will sufferfrom depression or stress and need treatment themselves. the government agrees. it says: "carers make an invaluable contribution to society and this must not come at the expense of their own health and well—being." exactly what this means isn't yet clear. one suggestion is that companies could provide up to ten days a year of paid leave for workers trying to balance the needs of those who pay them with the needs of those they love. ben ando, bbc news. let's return to the news that theresa may will be meeting with the president of the european commission let's talk to adam fleming. do we know what the purpose of this

meeting will be? a status update? that's exactly what it will be. we've just had a chief spokesman for the european commission who announced the visit of the prime minister, the daily news briefing given to journalists by the european commission, she said theresa may would come on thursday. he was asked what the purpose of the visit was and he expected her to provide an update on her ideas of the parliamentary process for brexit going forwards. so a very bland preview from the european commission about what they expect. but the thing is that everyone privately in the eu has said there's no point theresa may coming unless she's got something concrete to present, lashes got some ideas for breaking the deadlock back at home, then the eu will find convincing. so it is a case that she now thinks she has got those ideas? we've seen that working party which has been working on the alternative arrangements to the backstop. does she feel she got some things you can present to jean—claude juncker that looks like

a convincing plan to get the deal through parliament? 0r a convincing plan to get the deal through parliament? or is the eu doing what you might expect them to doing what you might expect them to do in doing what you might expect them to doina doing what you might expect them to do in a situation, which is to keep the door open and think it would be a bit rude if they rejected theresa may's request for a meeting, so we don't know when it's going to take place, morning, afternoon, evening, we don't if she was the donald tusk, the president who chairs the eu summit, or someone from the european parliament either, let alone watch is actually going to say. presumably all of the above mentioned, adam, and presumably also she will be hoping she has something from that working group, the seed of an idea at least not a fully formed idea, something she can present to jean—claude juncker and so is something she can present to jean—claudejuncker and so is there something that you can work with? the issue here is either side seems to have a quite different view of where this process is going. so theresa may's message is you ask me to prove there is a majority for the

withdrawal agreement in the british parliament. i have done that. by holding that a vote, where there was a majority for the withdrawn agreement, as long as they were changes to the backstop. i imagine that as the pitch she will make to the eu. what the eu will say there is it was proved there is a majority for the deal that is really stable and will help with this process going forward and their suspicion was actually the best way to do that would be to go for a much closer future relationship with the eu than the one the government had been presuming so far, in other words, potentially a permanent customs union and a much deeper relationship with a single market. that is what the eu has hinted to theresa may she should be doing. she has done it her own way, so it will be fascinating to see what happens when those two visions of the future of the brexit process collide here in brussels on thursday, if they even collide at all. it may not be anywhere as dramatic and exciting as that. let's see, thank you very much, adam

fleming, in brussels. the suicide prevention minister says online content that makes self harm or suicide seem normal poses a similar risk to children as grooming. the government has warned that it is prepared to legislate, if social media sites don't act to protect their users. jackie doyle—price spoke to bbc breakfast earlier. we want to encourage social media providers and platforms to step up to the plate. they should want to protect their users and that we can present them with the evidence that actually they are a real risk to young people when they are actually seeking out this content online. so, we have already given them a challenge. i will be meeting facebook later this afternoon. my colleagues in the department of digital culture, media and sport are also coming together with their own plans to tackle online harms. i guess really we want social media to not really be doing this through the stick of the law, we want them to do it because they want to look after their users.

i want to embark on dialogue with them with that spirit very much in mind. right, ok, so if it doesn't change and you mentioned the law, what laws could you put in place? well, we will explore exactly what measures we can do but essentially this content has the effect of grooming people to take their own lives and we have a duty of care to protect our young people, to prevent their exposure to that. there is any number of tools we could use, we could use fines, we can make social media companies much more responsible and really apply the full force of the law to them, if we feel they are being negligent about their duty of care to their users. what do you think has changed right now because of course, there have been these images online for some time now. is it because, for example, we have heard about the tragic case of molly russell, other children as well, what is changing? well, i have to say i am full of admiration for molly's father for really being so frank and brave in talking out about molly's experience because it is only by facing up to the reality

of what has actually happened to individuals that we can really force the social media companies to really react to what they are doing and the risks that they are putting their users too. it has been very instructive that once ian had spoken out, so many other parents spoke out about their children too, so this has really focused everybody‘s mind and this is really the time to do something about it before it gets even worse. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. another child and two adults are injured. theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. 0utrage after actor liam neeson tells a journalist he once wanted to kill someone who is black, after someone close to him was raped. in the business news.

canadian firm sunrise records has bought 100 stores from the collapsed music chain hmv — beating a rival bid from sports direct owner mike ashley. the move secures nearly 1,500 jobs, but 27 stores will still close, with 455 redundancies. activity in the uk's dominant service sector stalled last month, with new orders dropping for the first time in two and half years. the figures are from the closely watched ihs markit purchasing managers index. it follows similarly slow figures from the manufacturing and construction sectors which could be a sign of a cooling economy. losses at supermarket delivery chain 0cado rose to £114.14 million last year, compared with a loss of £9.8 million in the previous 12 months. sales were up 12%.

but there was no news on the reported tieup between 0cado and m&s for the delivery firm to offer online shopping and delivery of m&s food items. more now on the news that the majority of stores of failed music and movie retailer hmv have been rescued by a canadian firm. sunrise records will buy 100 stores, safeguarding nearly 1500 jobs, but 27 stores will still close. clare bailey is retail analyst. good morning to you. an interesting one. we wondered who could be a buyerfor hmv one. we wondered who could be a buyer for hmv and it could have been mike ashley but it's a canadian guy. explain what we know. this is a company with expertise in the sector so it makes sense for them to have stepped in. however, having said that, it's only six years ago more or less to the day that we were reporting the first time that hmv

fell into administration and at the time it had over 220 stores and at that time, 100 were closed. they have struggled obviously. their product has moved from physical to digital and there is a lot less demand for the kind of products they sell. there has been an uprising in the use of vintage and vinyl and the stuff which goes with it but maybe it's not enough to sustain all of those stores. it would concern me that, at the moment, 27 closures are announced but there may need to be more to create a sustainable and profitable downsized version of the brand. yes, six years ago, time flies, i remember it well, but i wonder what the canadian firm is going to do that hmv can't do? what will it try to change? i would hope with specialism in that sector, they will capitalise on the growth of the interest in and resurgence of vinyl. but also look to create more of a digital footprint but also look to create more of a digitalfootprint for but also look to create more of a digital footprint for the business, alongside expanding into other

growth areas, the hardware and equipment people like to play their music on, perhaps looking at some of the specialist speakers and things like that. hopefully looking for categories that justify the like that. hopefully looking for categories thatjustify the in—store experience to allow shoppers to perhaps go and listen to music through hardware, whatever it may be, they choose to go for, in the future, to sustain the needful stores. 0bviously, future, to sustain the needful stores. obviously, it is an industry which has become very heavily digitalised. yes, that's a real challenge, isn't it? why might we go through a door of the store when we can more cheaply and easily do it online? it's about giving people servers. exactly and getting products which are not available in other formats, so perhaps products which are not available in otherformats, so perhaps some products which are not available in other formats, so perhaps some of the vintage, working with customers to perhaps remaster their old lps onto digitalformats, all to perhaps remaster their old lps onto digital formats, all kinds of service propositions which could bridge could be utilised to create a need for this chain. saying that, though, i have said ever since they

fell into administration at christmas, i would fell into administration at christmas, iwould be fell into administration at christmas, i would be surprised if they could sustain all of the store portfolio and i would be surprised if they could sustain 100, but for the benefit of those employees, we can hope sunrise records about some fantastic plans up their sleeve and are ready to invest in turning the business around. absolutely, and we we re business around. absolutely, and we were to a close eye on what they intend to do with it. lovely to see you. claire bailey with the details on the hmv take this morning. in other business news.... retail sales saw a "welcome improvement" last month following a dismal performance in december the british retail consortium says sales were up 2.2% last month, compared to the same time last year. but the brc warned the upturn was mainly due to shoppers hunting bargains in the sales. alphabet, the parent company of google has reported a 22% rise in fourth quarter sales fuelled by an increase in online advertising. but investors were worried by how much the company was spending on new products and services and shares fell by more than 3%

in after—hours trading. a british pizza parlour has won a long running battle with a us energy drinks firm in a row over their names. monsta pizza from buckinghamshire successfully fought off a claim by drinks giant monster over the right to use the name. monster energy said consumers could be confused by the names and the pizza chain should stop using it. but a court rejected that claim. we will move on. let me show you what the markets are doing. the ftse is up and are keeping an eye on close events in brussels and the negotiations are continuing. 0cado's shares are up on the speculation we heard last night. they may be

striking a deal with marks & spencer to deliver some of their food items. marks & spencer is also up on the day. no confirmation in those results this morning, no confirmation or denial, so investors are keeping a close eye on. expect to see some movement if anything is announced. you are up—to—date. thank you, ben. a mother who has lived in the uk for more than 30 years has been denied the right to work and access to free health care after she was wrongly turned away from the windrush scheme for not being from a commonwealth country. the woman — who was born in the us — came to the uk as a toddler and grew up in foster care, but lost most of her documentation. home office guidelines say anyone who settled in the uk before the end of december 1988, can apply to the scheme for help. rianna croxford reports.

this is willow sims and her two children. she's lived in the uk for more than 35 years and has been working as a teaching assistant, but during a routine background check last april, her employers said she didn't have enough evidence of her right to live in the uk. the life i know started in the uk, all of my memories are from the uk. and with the bills piling up, she called the windrush helpline. they told me that i wasn't eligible for any help under the windrush scheme, because i didn't qualify. in december, ms sims wrote to the home secretary sajid javid, pleading for help. her family are using food banks and she's been facing eviction and deportation. i can't eat, i can't sleep, everything i have now is gone. we are going to lose our house, and i can't do it anymore. i cannot do this anymore. and the senior lawyer who is setting up the compensation scheme for those affected by the windrush scandal says the home office needs to do more. clarification's the word.

and anybody who feels that because of changes in policy they have had life difficulties around employment, housing, accessing services, needs to think of themselves as potentially qualifying for compensation, and that's the message that the home office need to send loud and clear. after the bbc approached the home office, they confirmed ms sims is eligible for help and are supporting her application. rianna croxford, bbc news. today marks the start of the lunar new year — and according to the chinese zodiac calendar, 2019 is officially the year of the pig. let's take a look at the history behind the celebration. so, a long time ago there was a monster called nian. every year he would come to the village, eat the livestock, destroy all the crops. he wouldn't be seen until the next year of chinese new year. there was an old man one year, he scared the monster away. the monster was scared of three

things, the colour red, fire and loud noises. my favourite thing about chinese new year is we get red notes with money inside it, and it's called "lai see". i would like £1 million. i really don't care. i want to spend my money on candy! laughter. different foods in chinese new year mean different things. for example, a tangerine means good luck. these pastries represent gold and fortune, because they're both grown in the ground. this is a watermelon seed, it represents long life. my favourite thing about chinese new year is playing games with my friends. happy chinese new year! i'm very happy lunar new year,

chinese new year to you. time now for a look at the weather. with simon. hello. we started off this morning with a bit of frost. some brightness, sunshine, but the cloud has been increasing through this morning and it's quite misty and murky out there across places in suffolk. you can see from the satellite imagery, clear skies and eastern parts particular for the bigger picture out towards the atlantic. this swirl of cloud, an area of low pressure throwing this cloud right across the uk and bringing with it some outbreaks of rain. the rain has been quite heavy across northern ireland. spreading to western scotland through wales, the southwest. it could be quite heavy at times. look at those greens indicating heavy rain. quite breezy conditions developing in the west as well. further east, you will driest for longest and where the cloud will continue to increase, temperatures today getting up to around 9—12. a

little bit cooler than that in the east of scotland. the rain spreads into the north—east and pushes into the south—east where it will be quite heavy overnight tonight. showers in the north and west. not as cold as last night, except for a few pockets of frost in rural scotland. temperatures mostly above freezing, 3—8. during wednesday, it will stay quite cloudy in the south—east corner of england and some outbreaks of rain will turn heavier as the day goes on. showers continuing to push their way into scotla nd continuing to push their way into scotland and northern ireland. there could be snow over the higher ground. something of a sunshine sandwich, so largely dry and bright with temperatures tomorrow about 9-11. with temperatures tomorrow about 9—11. rain in the south—east into thursday. it could be quite heavy. this weather system will push its way eastward through the night giving snow for a time across the higher ground of scotland, the pennines, clearing away towards the east for many during thursday. it's going to be a dry day and there will

be some sunshine, a few showers coming into western areas, and maximum temperatures around about 7-10. the maximum temperatures around about 7—10. the average for the time of year. as we go to the end of the week, it's going to turn increasingly windy. at the area of low pressure pushing its way in across the atlantic. a deep area of low pressure. the isobars close together. increasingly windy, and with that, some gales for some. spells of rain which could be quite heavy, and it's also going to stay quite mild. so it's going to turn pretty unsettled by the end of the week. abide by. you re watching bbc newsroom live — these are today s main stories at midday: four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford.

a fifth child and two adults are in hospital. theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. 0utrage after actor liam neeson tells a journalist he once wanted to kill someone who is black, after someone close to him was raped. 10 people have died — including a baby — in a fire in a paris apartment block — a woman has been arrested a mother is denied the right to work and access health care, after being wrongly turned away from the windrush scheme. i can't eat, i can't sleep.

everything i had now is gone, we're going to lose our house and i can't do it anymore. i cannot do this anymore. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. i'm annita mcveigh. four children have died in a house fire overnight in stafford. police and emergency services were called to reports of a fire in sycamore lane in the highfields area around 2.30 in the morning. a fifth child and two adults are being treated in hospital for injuries. we can speak to our correspondent phil mackie who is at the scene of the fire in stafford for us. do we know anymore about the young

victims and white this fire started? no, but this investigations are already under way. that crane is moving some people into position over a hole in the roof which was created by the fire last night. that is more or less to protect the property so they can carry out their investigations. below that were to windows which were also burnt out and they must have talked about hearing some banks, pops, perhaps even an explosion at around 2:a0am in the morning. some have been talking about hearing children screaming and the news that four children died last night has deeply affected people in the local area. ...the affected people in the local area. the flames with that quick into the roof, it was coming out of the roof within seconds. yes, the

appearance of windows, the two windows with the parents, if you look at the house at the back there are no windows. the windows were not there, the flames were touching the roof and you could see the guttering, that came off. the flames we re guttering, that came off. the flames were going under the roof tiles, similar roof tiles to us. it has clearly had a big impact on people here. at the moment we are seeing a couple of people walking in, about to present some flowers to the scene. hopefully we will be able to bring some pictures of that but reaction from elsewhere as well. i will let the camera pan around because we can see some people moving through. a lot of media here as well trying to keep and i on what is going on. already a makeshift memorial has appeared at the end of the road where the house caught fire

last night. we've got a statement from stafford borough council said this is horrible news, thought lives have been lost and i cannot comprehend how their families and loved ones can begin to come to terms with this. just a reminder that this took place at about 20 to three this morning, neighbours talking about hearing bangs and perhaps an explosion. people called 999 and very quickly police and fire and rescue services were here. the people survived, some neighbours had talked about a manjumping out people survived, some neighbours had talked about a man jumping out of a window when a young child, and a woman as well, they have been taken to hospital and being treated but non—life—threatening injuries but tragically for children have died and we are expecting statements on the police, the ambulance and fire services all within the next hour. some breaking news from thames

valley police who have been carrying out a missing person investigation who say they have located a body. the body was discovered this morning ina lake the body was discovered this morning in a lake at the whiteknights campus at the university of reading. although formal identification is yet to take place the family of daniel williams who has been missing since the early hours of last thursday have been informed of the development. an air and land search for a 19—year—old daniel had been going on since he went missing from the university of reading in the early hours of thursday. mr williams from sutton in london was last seen leaving a student union bar. thames valley police say officers carrying out a search for daniel williams have located a body in a lake at the whiteknights campus of the university of reading. daniel williams's family have been informed

but formal edification has yet to ta ke but formal edification has yet to take place. —— identification. theresa may heads to northern ireland this lunchtime, to try to reassure people that she'll find a way to deliver brexit while avoiding a physical border with the irish republic. she'll say she's seeking alternatives to the so—called backstop and pledge to secure a deal that "commands broad support". and in the in the past hour, it's been announced that the prime minister will head to brussels on thursday to meet the president of european commissionjean claude juncker. so let's have a reminder of what that backstop is. the backstop is a position of last resort that will keep the border open on the island of ireland, if the uk and the eu are unable to agree a comprehensive trade deal. in a moment we will talk to our assistant political editor norman smith at westminster. but first let's go

to belfast and speak to our correspondent there. emma vardy. we also know that the dup has said it is trying to open some direct negotiations with the taoiseach, the irish pie minister as well. to this meeting to set me as going to have a business leaders today, it is going to bea business leaders today, it is going to be a tough meeting because many of the leaders were already backing her backstop plan. you are right, they were. not all but many businesses here so the backstop as something that would have guaranteed the way they are able to continue trading as they are right now, guaranteeing their livelihoods in effect. some cite as northern ireland having the best of both worlds, to be able to continue its relationship with the eu and to continue trading with britain, so there were some that appointment and frustration and concern here over

that u—turn over the withdrawal agreement that happens because of the vote in parliament last week. theresa may has a job on her hands and she is coming here to northern ireland first as a precursor to go back to the eu, and she will tell businesses here and try to provide a lot of reassurance, saying, the government still has a firm commitment to avoid any checks on the irish border no matter what sort of break that scenario we end up with. it is going to be very difficult for her at the moment to relate any fears businesses want certainty and until we know the way businesses plan out, that is something theresa may cannot deliver. let's get more understory with norman smith will stop we're hearing about a lot of elements today, we are hearing about northern ireland and the meeting withjean claudejuncker on ireland and the meeting withjean claude juncker on thursday. theresa

may will hope to have some firm proposals to put the eu officials meant to meet them on thursday and there are signs that perhaps mrs may is going to come down unfavourable reworking the backstop rather than abandoning it completely and relying on new technology and administrative procedures to get around the possibility of border checks. the question is, would she be able to sell that sort of package back at westminster? i am joined sell that sort of package back at westminster? iam joined by sell that sort of package back at westminster? i am joined by the dup brexit spokesman sammy wilson, and if mrs may comes back to some sort of legal code are still to their withdrawal treaty, with that the enough for you? no, and it would be for the shtick or road because she has heard the debates in the house of commons. she has about the —— she has read the, the public and made edges listen to private conversations with us, she knows they will not be sufficient, the backstop has to be removed and replaced with something which the eu

are already saying could be done anyhow. we are saying to her if the eui anyhow. we are saying to her if the eu i sing in the event of a anyhow. we are saying to her if the eu i sing in the event ofa new anyhow. we are saying to her if the eu i sing in the event of a new deal we can avoid a high budget on the island of ireland between northern ireland and the irish republic, then push them on the methods which they said they are going to use and have them put into an agreement and we can move forward. is that the position of the dup because when you're leader, arlene foster was interviewed this morning, she did not close the door to the option of having some sort of legal addendum to the withdrawal treaty. i do not hear the interview in the context of these things are important.” hear the interview in the context of these things are important. i can to what the parties public and private view is on death and that is the withdrawal agreement, which is legally binding, cannot be watered down by some letter which says we do not intend this to be for ever or whatever. the important thing is it will be an internationally binding

agreement with which on almost every page says there will be obligations and duties that the british government will have to implement in the event of the backstop having been introduced, and that will not been introduced, and that will not be done away with by any legal letter. we heard from the chairman of the northern ireland select committee on the last hour he said that if you had an addendum to the treaty which was —— could be pursued in court, even if it was not individual treaty, that should be sufficient. again, the outcome of any court decision, most of these legal documents of the open to interpretation. the one thing not open to interpretation is the legally binding international signed agreement, the withdrawal agreement. there is no ambiguity there, there is no grey areas, it is black—and—white and that is the bit

that has to be changed. mrs may goes down that road and if, it is a big f. down that road and if, it is a big f, parliament approves it, where does that leave the dup and your agreement with the government? she would be very foolish to back to parliament with an agreement that is similarto parliament with an agreement that is similar to the one that was turned down byjudge on 30 majority, less than three weeks ago. i think she has got to contemplate that but secondly, even if she did get to the house of commons, she then has to introduce legislation to implement it. she will not have our support for that or the support of many of her own backbenchers and i suspect she got a one off vote from the labour party. they will not be working —— labour party. they will not be working — — walking labour party. they will not be working —— walking through the lobbies we get a week to get withdrawal agreement through through this government. she's got consequent what the road is ahead andl consequent what the road is ahead and i think when she thinks of that, she will see their is no alternative

but to do what she has promised to do which is to go and have agreement reopened and have the backstop removed. from your point of view the dup's position is not we must rework the backstop, the backstop has to be scrapped and removed. yes, and there isa numberof scrapped and removed. yes, and there is a number of reasons for that. it was designed to keep the united kingdom as a whole and the customs union and the single market. that is not i —— that does not honour her own manifesto and the outcome of the referendum. some pretty blunt advice therefore mrs may, but seeking legal advice will not get the support of the dup if that is the agreement should beaches on the backstop. we shall keep a close eye on what happens when treatment arrives on northern ireland soon. the actor liam neeson has sparked a race row after making comments

about once wanting to kill a black person when a friend told him she'd been raped by a black man. here's a clip from his interview with the independent, while promoting his new film. well, earlier i spoke to the journalist clemence michallon who carried out that interview with liam neeson in new york. let's hear what she had to say. anyone hearing those thoughts he was reporting here would feel shocked and appalled in many ways and he himself has said he feels ashamed of the way he used to think and he says it is awful, so of course that shock settled in really quickly and there was the fact that he shared those stories with a press junket which is a format of interview reknowned to be difficult and tends to lend

itself to fluff pieces more than hard—hitting news stories. he tried to contextualise what he said and said he was now horrified he thought that way once, and he told you if you use this, which you would do, to be careful with it. what did you make those comments? when he said that i thought, well, of course i'm always very careful especially when i do my work as a journalist. this was a piece i worked on very extensively with my editors and with our advisors. all i know truly is what he said. and the manner in which he said it and that is what you can hear on the tape, and that is why we have published it for full transparency. did you expect the reaction we are now seeing because of those comments?

yes, most of the reaction i have seen so far is people who are shocked and surprised and appalled, and that, we were expecting because how else could you react when you hear that? what we were not expecting so much was the proportions it has taken. it was a trending story in the us and uk throughout the day so the sheer magnitude of it has been more of a surprise. the headlines on bbc news. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. a fifth child and two adults are in hospital. theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard

border with the republic. actor liam neeson comes under fire after telling a journalist he once wanted to kill a black person, after a close friend was raped. sport now. here's 0llie. good afternoon. we are going to start with some skiing news and some dramatic pictures from sweden. one of the greats of skiing, lynsey vonn is competing at her last world championships before retirement. the american who has won a record 82 world cup events, hasn't made the greatest of starts. she failed to make it to the bottom in the super g, crashing, quite spectacularly, before hitting one of the gates and careering into the safety barriers. the race was suspended while medics checked her out. she did make a way to the bottom by

herself but that is the reaction from some of her fellow competitors. she made it to the bottom by herself, we're going to wait to see what bumps and bruises she has got and if she is going race in the downhill on sunday which will be her final race before she retires. last week she released a statement saying her body was broken beyond repair. it is moments like that that will make that retirement seem easier i am sure. liverpool's lead over manchester city in the premier league is now three points after they drew 1—1 at west ham and managerjurgen klopp could be in trouble with the fa. his post—match interviews seemed to question the referee kevin friend's integrity. klopp accepted that their opening goal, scored by sadio mane, should have been disallowed, foran for an offside. he says that the referee would have realised his mistake and attempted to even things up. west ham were level by half—time that's back to back draws

for liverpool and they have taken eight points from a possible 15 since the turn of the year. here is the klopp interview with the bbc regarding the referee. i heard our goal was offside and i am pretty sure the referee that, then the second half as well because i don't know if we had a 50—50 situation or it 6040 situation but it made life harder. it was brilliant in the last second, but we didn'tand brilliant in the last second, but we didn't and so it is a point and i think it is a fair point. england s women will warm up for this summer's world cup by playing four friendly internationals around the country. the road to france series starting in april will see england take on canada, spain, denmark and new zealand manchester, walsall swindon

and brighton four different venues. junior tickets for each game will be just £1. the lionesses also head to the us this month for the she believes cup. last year's man of steel and top try—scorer in super league ben barba has been banned from playing in australia after footage emerged of him in an alleged "physical altercation" with his partner. barba, who left saint helens at the end of last season, has already been sacked by his new club, north queensland cowboys, over allegations that he had assaulted his partner at a casino last month. the incident is also being investigated by police. the rfl has previously said they would block any return to england for the 29—year—old should he be banned by the nrl. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. ten people have died in a fire at an apartment block in paris. dozens more have been injured, including firefighters, in the blaze near the parc des princes football stadium. a woman has been detained on suspicion of starting

the fire deliberately. 0ur correspondent, hugh schofield, is at the scene. the fire broke out at one o'clock in the morning at number 17 in this street, erlanger, that's down there on the right—hand side. you can't see anything from here because the building is in a courtyard and not on the street, so there is nothing visible on the street at all. the fact it was in an inner courtyard had two implications. 0ne, it was very hard for the firefighters to get immediate access to the building. they had to bring the ladders off the vehicles and into the courtyard, and it also meant the inner courtyard acted, we are told, as a kind of funnel and helped spread the flames, and that partly explains why it was such a virulent, vicious fire. as you can see from the images given to us from the fire brigade it really was a very violent fire which sped up to the top floors and that is where we saw these dramatic images of people on window ledges, outside, infront of the void waiting

for the firefighters to come and bring them down the ladders. people on the roof as well as the fire raged. it raged for 2—3 hours and was brought under control around dawn. now really the fire services are standing down, we are at the end of the street. of course it is all cordoned off and there is more of a forensic work going on, and making the building safe because we can be sure it's been very badly damaged. of course, all the people evacuated from neighbouring buildings. the key point in all of this is this is a very salubrious neighbourhood. there is no question this building was up to the norms as far as fire safety was concerned. that led to the suspicion, which appears confirmed, that this was a criminal act. we know there is a woman in custody and what neighbours have said to us here at the scene is that there was a row late last night and this woman who is known to them, she had psychiatric problems, drink, drugs, playing music very, very loud. there was a row with another neighbour. she said, during this row, i going to set this place on fire. that it appears is what happened.

the woman was later picked up by police and is now in custody. mps will vote today on the amount of money councils in england receive from central government. the communities secretary, james brokenshire has confirmed that councils will benefit from increased funding of 1.3 billion pounds taking funding to 46 billion pounds for the coming year. but the local government association says councils face a shortfall. jessica parker has this report. buses, children's centres, libraries, lollipop men and women — some of the services that local councils have cut across england as their funding has fallen. and again this year, the lump sum that comes from government goes down by around £1 billion, but ministers say councils will have more money to spend overall. there's some one off cash for social care, higher council tax takings, and a push to see some areas keep more of the money they raise

through business rates. we said at the conservative conference last year that austerity is now coming to an end because of some of those really tough calls that councils have had to make, and i think we should look more positively towards the new spending review. that government spending review, starting later this year, could see the rules around council cash funding rewritten. ministers hint at providing a longer term plan, that could put council finances on a more stable long—term footing, but the local government association says certainty is needed now, claiming councils are being pushed to the brink. jessica parker, bbc news. here on the news channel, we're looking at the situation across england today. councils in somerset struggled to balance the books last year, so is 2019 looking any better? 0ur reporter, james craig is in taunton for us. what is their answer to that

question? as you might remember at last year somerset hit the headlines as it had to make a series of controversial unpopular savings as a last—ditch bid to try and rescue it finances, which included millions of pounds to cut to public services, such as quitting the roads and cutting funding to youth groups. that is part of an ongoing trend is for the last eight years or so the councils saved around hundred and £40 million and that is come at a time when demand for its services have gone up, especially in adult social care, children's services. there was talk for somerset being the next northampton, it might effectively have to declare itself bankrupt. the forward six months to now under situation is different. it is looking brighter, the council says it is planning to end this year when an underspend of around £1 million and it feels its finances had turned a corner which brings us

to this local government finance settle m e nt to this local government finance settlement announced today by james brokenshire. the situation in somerset is they are getting a small increase, around £250 million to play with in total, but as jessica mentioned, the bulk of that money will be raised locally through council tax, around 70% of that year in somerset and council tax is likely to go up around three or 4% which will be difficult for people to ta ke which will be difficult for people to take at a time they had seen public services cut. there are also one—off measures like social care, and somerset is one of those included in that pilot scheme where they will get to keep three quarters of the business rates money raised locally but in reality, that is a relatively small amount of money on their bottom line so the readers here are saying, and the conservative leader of the county council, is fundamentally they still think the funding model for local government is broken and they are really hoping to see some kind of action taken for a longer term

solution in that big spending review which the government is carrying out rated this year. —— later this year. now it's time for a look at the weather. we can cross the newsroom to darren. hello, it is still quite chilly across northern and eastern parts of the uk after a frosty start, there is coming in from the west and it is been quite wet across northern ireland and that rain is adding to scotla nd ireland and that rain is adding to scotland and perhaps the southwest. it is less to dry in the south east of england, and his showery in the afternoon. it is much milderfurther south and west. that is where most of the rain is, it will push its way eastwards through this evening and overnight. get some rain at times and it could be a little heavy but shouldn't last long. sky suspected cleaver small—time, where it is quite cloudy. we will get some showers in the church not far from

freezing in rural scotland and northern ireland. we still have got the threat of rain and sometimes an showers gathering madly in northern ireland and western and northern scotla nd ireland and western and northern scotland through the day. some sunshine in between, temperatures still pretty good for a time of year. highs from it to 11 celsius. hello. this is bbc newsroom live with annita mcveigh. the headlines. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. a fifth child and two adults are in hospital. hello. this is bbc newsroom live with annita mcveigh. theresa may will go to northern ireland this lunchtime to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. 0utrage after actor liam neeson tells a journalist he once wanted to kill a black person after someone close to him was raped by a black man. ten people have died, including a baby, in a fire in a paris apartment block. a woman has been arrested. a body has been found in the search for the missing 19—year—old student daniel williams. a mother is denied the right to work

and access health care, after being wrongly turned away from the windrush scheme. in the past hour it's been announced that theresa may will travel to brussels on thursday to meet the president of the european commission jean claude juncker a week before a second vote on her brexit deal is expected. 0ur brussels correspondent adam fleming is following developments. we've just had a chief spokesman for the european commission who announced the visit of the prime minister, at the daily news briefing given to journalists by the european commission, where he said theresa may would come on thursday. he was asked what the purpose of the visit was and he expected her to provide an update on her ideas of the parliamentary process for brexit going forwards. so a very bland preview from the european commission about what they expect. but the thing is that everyone privately in the eu has said there's

no point theresa may coming unless she's got something concrete to present, got some ideas for breaking the deadlock back at home, that the eu will find convincing. so it is a case that she now thinks she has got those ideas? we've seen that working party which has been working on the alternative arrangements to the backstop. does she feel she's got some things you can present to jean—claude juncker that looks like a convincing plan to get the deal through parliament? or is the eu doing what you might expect them to do in a situation, which is to keep the door open and think it would be a bit rude if they rejected theresa may's request for a meeting, so we don't know when it's going to take place, morning, afternoon, evening, we don't if she will see donald tusk, the president who chairs the eu summit, or someone from the european parliament either, let alone watch she is actually going to say. presumably all of the above

mentioned, adam, and presumably also she will be hoping she has something from that working group, the seed of an idea at least not a fully formed idea, something she can present to jean—claude juncker and say is there something that you can work with? the issue here is either side seems to have a quite different view of where this process is going. so theresa may's message is you ask me to prove there is a majority for the withdrawal agreement in the british parliament. i have done that. by holding that a vote, where there was a majority for the withdrawn agreement, as long as they were changes to the backstop. i imagine that is the pitch she will make to the eu. what the eu will say is there is it was proved there is a majority for the deal that is really stable and will help with this process going forward and their suspicion was actually the best way to do that would be to go for a much closer future relationship with the eu than the one the government had been

presuming so far, in other words, potentially a permanent customs union and a much deeper relationship with a single market. that is what the eu has hinted to theresa may she should be doing. she has done it her own way, so it will be fascinating to see what happens when those two visions of the future of the brexit process collide here in brussels on thursday, if they even collide at all. it may not be anywhere as dramatic and exciting as that. adam fleming talking to me a little earlier. as theresa may tries to reassure the people of northern ireland today, our business correspondent steph mcgovern has visited a technology factory in county down to find out how they are feeling about brexit. i'm atan i'm at an electronics manufacturers, so you can see the guys on here working hard making these circuit boards, about 140 people work here making the hardware, but they work with lots of different tech companies to develop the software around all of this and john is one

of the owners. tell me what type of stuff they are making and who you are working with? we have circuit board assemblies, electronic and mechanical assemblies, for a range of customers through many countries in the world, aerospace, defence, security, any sector, 20 different sectors. a lot of the technology you make the hard way around it. it's a business really growing. we have grown over 30% over the last three years, year—on—year. grown over 30% over the last three years, year-on-year. with that growth comes challenges because you need the right people. you need to recruit the right people but the right skills, and they are increasingly hard to get as the country does more economically well. that's something you are worried about? we need to make sure we can attract the right people going forward. steph mcgovern doing that interview earlier on. more than 600 people are said to be giving up work in britain every day

to take on the role of caring for a sick or elderly relative. the charity, carers uk, says their research also suggests a furtherfive million are struggling with a carer s role while still doing theirjob. they re calling for employers to those affected. ben ando has more. looking after an elderly or sick relative is tough when you're also working, and in the last two years, thousands of people have quit theirjobs to become carers. that, says campaigning group carers uk, is a problem for them and for the economy. the figures are striking. every day, more than 600 people stop working to become carers. a further five million carers are also holding down a job. 0verall, since 2011, the number of people caring for someone else has gone up by 5.5 million. carers uk says employers, in turn, now need to become more caring, by allowing carers flexibility over working hours and leave, especially as up to a quarter will sufferfrom depression or stress and need

treatment themselves. the government agrees. it says: "carers make an invaluable contribution to society and this must not come at the expense of their own health and well—being. it says a forthcoming green paper has to look at long—term solutions including measures to support carers. exactly what this means isn't yet clear. one suggestion is that companies could provide up to ten days a year of paid leave for workers trying to balance the needs of those who pay them with the needs of those they love. ben ando, bbc news. the suicide prevention minister says social media firms must "step up to their responsibilities" or face new laws to prevent them from allowing young people to view images which glorify self—harm. jackie doyle—price spoke to us earlier on bbc breakfast. we want to encourage social media providers and platforms to step up to the plate. they should want to protect their users and that we can present them with the evidence that actually they are a real risk to young people

when they are actually seeking out this content online. so, we have already given them a challenge. i will be meeting facebook later this afternoon. my colleagues in the department of digital culture, media and sport are also coming together with their own plans to tackle online harms. i guess really we want social media to not really be doing this through the stick of the law, we want them to do it because they want to look after their users. i want to embark on dialogue with them with that spirit very much in mind. right, ok, so if it doesn't change and you mentioned the law, what laws could you put in place? well, we will explore exactly what measures we can do but essentially this content has the effect of grooming people to take their own lives and we have a duty of care to protect our young people, to prevent their exposure to that. there is any number of tools we could use, we could use fines, we can make social media companies much more responsible

and really apply the full force of the law to them, if we feel they are being negligent about their duty of care to their users. what do you think has changed right now because of course, there have been these images online for some time now. is it because, for example, we have heard about the tragic case of molly russell, other children as well, what is changing? well, i have to say i am full of admiration for molly's father for really being so frank and brave in talking out about molly's experience because it is only by facing up to the reality of what has actually happened to individuals that we can really force the social media companies to really react to what they are doing and the risks that they are putting their users too. it has been very instructive that once ian had spoken out, so many other parents spoke out about their children too, so this has really focused everybody‘s mind and this is really the time to do something about it

before it gets even worse. a memorial to german philosopher karl marx has been attacked with a hammer. the charity, the friends of highgate cemetery trust, says on its website that the marble plaque on marx's grave appeared to have been attacked over the weekend in what looked like "a deliberate attack on the memory of karl marx himself". the trust's chief executive said it was "very upsetting" and had been reported to police. the air accidents investigation branch is working at the site in the english channel where the plane carrying the footballer, emiliano sala, and the pilot, david ibbotson, crashed. they're working to establish how to carry out a recovery operation after a body was seen inside the wreckage. 0ur correspondentjohn fernandez sent this update. they are working with the families and the police to even see whether they are going to bring this aircraft up. that is still a decision which needs to be made. now we've spoken to a salvage expert in guernsey, someone who advised david mearns,

the man who found the missing piper malibu on sunday. now he's told us that any recovery operation would be incredibly difficult. as we've heard, the plane is very much intact. while they were expecting to find a debris field, they've actually found a plane that's very much held together. he said, richard keane, the man we spoke to this morning, has said that the damage to the plane already, the air pockets, the water that's going to be inside it, and of course the body, will make it incredibly difficult to bring up. it's going to be a difficult procedure and at the moment, we don't know even whether it will happen. there's reporting. there's fresh evidence that the problem of tranquiliser abuse among teenagers is growing. the drug xanax, also known as alprazolam, is a powerful tranquiliser which should only be available on prescription. but counterfeit versions are often misused, and are frequently mixed with other dangerous substances. the bbc has learned that at least 204 deaths have been linked

to the drug in the uk since 2015. the uk border force say they have stopped nearly 400,000 counterfeit xanax pills from entering the country at ports and airports. noel phillips has been investigating. awarning — his report contains descriptions of drug taking. belfast is not unique in its problem with prescription drugs, but here and across the uk an increasing number of people are abusing an illegal tranquilliser which is used to treat anxiety. when was the last time you used xanax? this morning. this morning? how much did you take? three. bars. three full bars. so at the moment, you're high on xanax? no. it's not hit me yet. 22—year—old andy is addicted to alprazolam, known by its brand name, xanax. dangerous counterfeit versions are often available on the so—called dark web. andy, who is homeless, tells me he takes up to 20 pills a day. i'm only out of a coma, there, on sunday.

i was on a life—support machine. i took a load of xanax on friday and i died... what do you mean, you died? i died, my heart stopped. i was on a life—support machine. and on sunday, by 12 o'clock, they were turning off the machine. but on sunday morning at eight o'clock, i woke up, thankfully, as they were shutting it off... and you were in a coma because of xa nax? yeah. and i still take it. figures we have obtained show for the first time what the authorities are against when it comes to tackling the misuse of xanax. between january 2016 to december 2018, nearly 340,000 counterfeit xa nax bars, as they are known, with a street value of over £1 million, were seized at ports and airports across the uk. xanax was the problem with him. he was addicted. and i tried so hard. unbeknown to 20—year—old kyle's family, he was getting counterfeit xa nax online.

he was one of 21 people who died in england, having used the illegal drug, in 2017. he just thought it was a party thing. all the love in the world didn't save him. xanax killed him. in scotland, the police and government tell us they are aware of xanax and are monitoring its misuse. meanwhile, nhs grampian and aberdeen have recorded 29 deaths in 2017, compared to just 11 year before. but the problem with prescription drugs is much bigger than xanax. it's really, really concerning, and it's terrible that sometimes these things end in tragic consequences. so it's very important for us to get the message out, don't buy from unregulated sources. illegally obtained drugs like xanax are costing lives across the uk, but for many like andy, addiction is a struggle, a habit hard to kick. noel phillips, bbc news, belfast. more now on the news that the actor

liam neeson has sparked a race row after making comments about once wanting to kill a black person when a friend told him she'd been raped. in an interview with the independent he says he walked the streets with a weapon to kill someone as a revenge after someone close to him was raped by a black man. the bbc has contacted liam neeson's representatives for comment. let's speak to kelechi 0kafor, who campaigns for black rights... you are saying you are a huge fan of liam neeson. a massive fan, everything i've watched him, recent film with diana davis, i thought that was wonderful, because we were seeing an on—screen dynamic we hadn't seen for years, so i really liked his work so this is disappointing. what was your initial reaction? initially, i saw the

headline and thought, probably not real. when we read the entire thing, it's probably not that bad and then i read the transcript and listen to the audio and it was so chilling because we know societally the things which happened to violence, to black people, globally as well, so something like that does not sit well with me. does it matter to you that liam neeson said that he was ashamed that he felt horrible that he had had these thoughts, that he had gone out to potentially seriously harm or kill someone? remorse matters, so definitely i have to say that i take that into consideration, but being a sister to black boys and knowing the things they go through, the amount of black men i know in society, even when we think about stephen lawrence and that random attack, the whole it left in the lives of his family, we can't take things like this lightly, andi can't take things like this lightly, and ijust

can't take things like this lightly, and i just wonder what would can't take things like this lightly, and ijust wonder what would liam neeson say in terms of addressing these kinds of things for other people who might have similar thoughts on the future? these are the kinds of things we need to do if we are truly remorseful. we know he is due to appear on some us morning networks. i'm looking forward to what he has to say about that. i hopeifs what he has to say about that. i hope it's carefully worded because words have power. i noticed that amongst various people making comments on this, the footballer john barnes, he was asked about it and he said the story has been spun and he said the story has been spun and what he has done is tell the truth. i asked you does his remorse matter? does honesty matter because he said id never admitted this to anyone before, these were thought to be kept in his own mind. honestly, definitely matters, but where we share that sort of information also matters. if we consider the daily traumas that the average black person faces, just generally, saying

something like this is incredibly triggering. what will stephen lawrence as parents think reading that? as much as he's been honest, there has to be parameters around which we have those conversations, so we don't unnecessarily trigger those who feel it immediately. do you think liam neeson is a racist?” think that we live in a society where we have been indoctrinated by many different ideologies and he was expressing just one of those ideologies, the hyper sexualised lack of a man who goes out raping women. he was expressing one of those things. i don't know him personally to know his other aspects of his personality but based on that alone, that does not look very good. you talk about things that are ingrained in society over centuries. are you saying therefore that someone might have that thought and it doesn't necessarily make him a racist? no, i'm saying it's likely

growing up in this society, racism isa growing up in this society, racism is a mechanism, so i don't think we can look at individuals in the manner of them and say, you're not racist. i can definitely say, to me, calling someone racist or saying something they have done is racist and part of a mechanism, which is being constructed specifically for this, for this thing... being constructed specifically for this, for this thing. .. but what he says about this, now he's put that out there, he now says it's very important what he says now. very important what he says now. very important i look forward to reading it because i hope some learning has been done and i hope he can realise the backlash. thank you for talking to us about that. he's widely considered one of the bravest war photographers to have ever picked up a camera. sir don mccullin's images from the vietnam war won him awards and respect in equal measure. today sees the opening of a new exhibition of his work at tate britain, and the chance to see his lesser—known but hard—hitting pictures of home. tim muffett went to meet him. he's widely considered one

of the bravest war photographers life and death, as captured by don mccullin. everything about me has been very instinctive, you know. this knowing that i should be in this place and that place. this exhibition brings together more than 250 photographs by one of the world's greatest photographers. this photograph is, you could say, the beginning of my whole life's work, really. i started photographing the local boys who i used to hang outwith. none of us were getting anywhere in life. this photograph is the very first picture i ever took in war. this is the cypriat civil war in 1964. with the raincoat and the hat, it looks like a still from some mafioso film. were you scared? no, i was too excited to be scared. i was scared of not getting pictures. his reputation growing rapidly, don mccullin's assignments took him to warzones across the world.

that's the camera that got the bullet on the throat here. my goodness. that was in cambodia. what makes a great photograph, as far as you're concerned? first of all, it has impact. i do not want you to walk past my pictures, you know, without getting some message from it. as well as warzones far away, don mccullin also focused on conflicts and deprivation closer to home. these picture are all black and white. why is that? because i think black and white has a much stronger way of voicing itself to you. it's a silent voice, but i want it to be a shouting silent voice, so you don't miss it. some photographers bemoan the ubiquity of camera phones. it's so easy to take a digital photograph. what do you think? people are now realising that they want to record their lives. in a way, it's kind of enhancing the love of photography. i went to vietnam two or three times, but it wasn't until 1968 did i come up against a real opportunity to stay in a battle

for nearly two weeks. this picture here, i call it my crucifixion. i put my cameras down. i said to one of the soldiers, "look after these." and i had him on my shoulders and i ran away. i was 31 years old and i was strong as a lion, you know. i could do it. this image captured post—dramatic stress disorder long before the condition was officially acknowledged. he was shell—shocked and they had no time. the marines don't respect people who don't fight so they were treating him very, very shabbily, really. what we call "the thousand—ya rd stare". everything i have done in this room is not going to change the world. it's just an attempt to show people that it is wrong, that's all. a billionaire philanthropist has made the largest ever single gift to a university in the uk by

donating £100 million to cambridge. david harding, who made his money managing hedge funds, says the gift is to help cambridge attract the "world's outstanding students." the donation follows an £85 million donation by the dolby family last year and significant donations from lord sainsbury of turville. a painting by the anonymous street artist banksy that was shredded during an auction in october in an act of self—sabotage by the artist is back on display in germany in its new form. banksy has suggested that the entire canvas was supposed to shred, notjust two thirds of it, so the museum has been taking extra steps to make sure the rest of the piece is preserved. kathryn armstrong has more. this was the moment that sent shock waves through the artworld, in october. a painting by the mysterious british artist, known as banksy, suddenly self—shreds in its frame, after being sold for

more than $1.3 million. the transformed piece, which was originally called girl with a balloon, was then given a new game, love is in the bin. banksy has admitted that he was behind the stunt or was it a statement? now the artwork is going on display in germany, but this time it has been thoroughly checked for batteries and live wires to try and ensure there are no more surprises. translation: banksy has a particular sense of humour. we are definitely wanting to avoid a situation where a certain visitor would show up and, as happened in london, press a hidden button and set the shredder going again. however, the museum says it is keen to display the work in a way that is in keeping with the spirit of the artist. translation: at the end of the day banksy is a street artist which means people can see his art on the street without having

to pay entry, so we wanted to display his art for free. love is in the bin will be on display for four weeks, before being moved to another museum in stuttgart, where it will also be free to view. kathryn armstrong, bbc news. in a moment it's time for the one 0'clock news. but first it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. temperatures have been slow today across parts of the uk after a cold, misty and foggy morning. there is a are slowly coming in from the south—west, mind you, pushing in all this cloud, as well. producing outbreaks of rain especially for northern ireland. it's rotating around this area of low pressure, anchored to the west of our shores, pushing ahead these weather fronts, strengthening the wind, thickening the cloud and pushing rain further east to the next few hours or so. into the early pa rt next few hours or so. into the early part of the evening, largely dry in

the south—east of england, quite chilly for north—east england and scotland, mild further south and west, we see heaviest of the rain. the rain will push its way eastwards through the evening and overnight. heavy bursts at times. tending to move away from most areas. skies clearing in the night with enough breeze to prevent it getting too cold though temperatures won't be far away from freezing in rural parts of scotland and northern ireland. mild towards the south—east where we will have some cloud and the threat of rain and the threat continues throughout wednesday. rain pushing into the south—east of england, not far away from east anglia and then central england later on as well. elsewhere, some sunshine but increasing numbers of showers coming into western scotland and northern ireland. potentially thundery. decent temperatures, though. 8—11 on wednesday. a messy picture, though, as we head towards tomorrow evening. a weather front bringing the threat of rain towards the south—east of the uk and another one bringing showers in from the west, the two combining and pushing

eastwards, so i'll start to thursday morning. wet weather early on to clear away from eastern areas and a bit of snow over the high ground in scotla nd bit of snow over the high ground in scotland and then we get some sunshine. a few showers and western areas, heavy ones, some thunder across western scotland, and many eastern parts of scotland, eastern england, a dry afternoon. a fair bit of sunshine, with temperatures lower perhaps on thursday. not too cold, mind you, and then, as we head towards the end of the week, it gets very interesting. the low pressure is deepening, the window strengthening and then it will push towards the uk. at the end of the week, mild air, windy conditions, the strongest winds in england and wales. 70 miles an hour around the coasts and the hills in the west and there will also be some rain at times. four children die in a house fire in stafford — police describe it as heartbreaking. a man was seen jumping out of a window with a baby, to escape the flames.

neighbours were shocked to hear so many had died: to hear so many had died. i didn't know until now. i thought they'd all got out. we'll have the latest from the scene. also this lunchtime. the prime minister heads to belfast — promising a brexit deal that will command broad support. the actor liam neeson sparks a race row — after saying the wanted to kill a black man because someone close to him was raped. i've been up and down areas with a cosh, hoping i'd be approached by someone — i'm ashamed to say that —