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 i’ow — 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 — 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. the woman who came to

britain as a child — wrongly denied the right to work here. and the legendary photographer who captured the horror of war — the work of sir don mccullin goes on show. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, liverpool trip up in the title race again and jurgen klopp could also be in trouble for his comments about the referee after the draw against west ham. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. four children have died in a fire at a house in stafford. two adults and a fifth child are being treated in hospital, after the blaze in the highfields area of the town in the early hours of the morning. neighbours have described seeing a manjumping out of a window with a baby, as the flames took hold. police are investigating the cause of the fire which they describe

as "heartbreaking". our corresponent sima kotecha is there. well, ben, the community here is devastated this afternoon, that fire happened just after half past two in the morning, what i can tell you now, is that the children who died in that fire are being named locally, as riley, keegan, tilly, and olly, all aged between 3 and eight. we know that two people, two adults managed to get out along with adults managed to get out along with a child, the child was called jack, two years old, he is called jack, mother natalie, and partner chris, the police are making a statement as we speak and we hope to get more details later as to what caused that fire and why. windows shattered.

the inside of the house blackened by the fire that ripped through the upstairs. it happened close to 3am in the highfields area of stafford. eyewitnesses say it sounded like an explosion, children were killed. the neighbours left bewildered. we didn't know until now. i didn't know until now. i thought they'd all got out. the flames were intense. it went that quick, into the roof. it was coming out of the roof in seconds, wasn't it. pa rt part of the roof has collapsed and the house has been covered up, now we know that two adults and a child are currently in hospital, receiving treatment. their injuries are not believed to be life—threatening. it is unclear what caused the blaze. more than 15 firefighters scrambled to the blaze to put it out. the police described the loss of young lives as

heartbreaking. very tragic what's happened. in our community here, in the highfields, and we are living in the highfields, and we are living in the same street, the end of the road. went to the children's school. just devastating. can't begin to imagine. emergency services are still at the scene. staffer sheard fire and rescue service says it is examining the house as the investigation into the cause of the blaze begins. local politicians have offered their deepest sympathies and prayers to those affected. four young lives gone, and a community left shaken, and devastated. we have just been told the children the four that died were aged 3, 6 and 8, that i were boys, and a four—year—old girl, and just to confirm again their names, they are being named locally as riley,

keegan, tilly and olly, so we have heard from police, three, six and 8—year—old boys and a four—year—old girl. theresa may will tell business leaders in belfast that she can secure a brexit deal that commands "broad support" and avoids a hard border with ireland. the democratic unionist party leader arlene foster says the backstop arrangement, designed to prevent physical border checks, is "toxic" and has to be replaced. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. hundreds of lorries carrying goods cross this border everyday. after brexit it will become the eu's new frontier. normally all external voyages of the eu involve some kind of checks. the challenge for theresa may continues to be trying to avoid that on this island. we would not like to see a hard border, i do not think it is good for the stability of northern ireland but i think it is also going to make

trade more complex. as a european citizen i do not know what the arrangements will be, in terms of immigration and a visa for me in the future. northern ireland and the sector here is pushing above its weight, both locally and internationally. our companies are doing business all over the world and it is really important therefore, we are a magnet for talent. not just locally but for talent around the world. while the prime minister isn't northern ireland today while the prime minister is in northern ireland today she will try to reassure local businesses that the government is committed avoiding any projects, whatever type of brexit scenario we end up with. but there is worry here because last week the government did a u—turn on our existing agreement with the eu which means for many businesses there is still uncertainty about how future trading rules are going to work. the irish backstop, the fallback plan to keep an open border was rejected by parliament. it was opposed by many brexiteers at westminster and northern ireland's democratic unionist party. because it kept northern ireland bound to eu rules. the prime minister has to regard what parliament has given her a mandate for.

and parliament's mandate is to replace the backstop, the current backstop as i have said all along, is toxic to those living in northern ireland and indeed, for unionists right across the united kingdom because it would cause the break—up of the united kingdom into the medium and longer term. theresa may will try to convince the eu to look at other arrangements, even though publicly brussels has said the backstop can't be changed. and it's facing a legal challenge from unionists who say it breaks the 20—year—old good friday agreement that brought about peace in northern ireland. this has now presented us with a very significant problem and we want to get in the first place, a clear view of what is going on and what the government is up to in putting in place these provisions which are damaging to the agreement. today theresa may will tell people in northern ireland that she understands their concerns and they will have to wait longer for firm a nswe i’s. our assistant political editor

norman smith joins me now from westminster. what do you think the prime minister's message in northern ireland will be this afternoon?” think the message, ben, will be mrs may trying to reassure voters there is is no black sliding over her determination to avoid a hard border between ireland and northern ireland. but that is precisely what the backstop was designed to achieve, which will fuel speculation that when mrs may, brussels on thursday, she will seek some reworking of the backstop, rather than getting rid of it all together and there are signs that the government could be edging towards seeking fresh legal assurances to sit along side the withdrawal agreement over an end date for the backstop. now that won't satisfy ha rd backstop. now that won't satisfy hard line tory brexiteers but i think there is a view in government

it is deliverable, the eu would be prepared to negotiate it and within the time frame left it could be achieved, and interestingly we heard from the chairman of the northern ireland select committee this morning, suggesting well, maybe a five year time limit would be bearable, the difficulty is that the dup, who are absolutely key in this, some of their leading figures have already set their face against them, suggesting where mrs may to go down that road she would be foolish indeed. they want the the actor liam neeson has sparked controversy after saying he once wanted to kill a black person. neeson said that after someone close to him was raped by a black assailant, he then walked the streets with a cosh, hoping to find any black man willing to pick a fight with him, who he could kill. the actor was speaking in a newspaper interview and said he was now ashamed of his feelings, which he described as "horrible".

our correspondent colin paterson reports. what makes you think you can kill a man? liam neeson was being interviewed for the independent in new york and his new film called pursuit when he he was asked why his character responded to the murder of his son by going on a revenge killing spree. his answer has made front—page news round the world. he explained in real life someone close to him was raped. i asked did she know who it was? no. what colour we re know who it was? no. what colour were they? she said it was a black person. i went up and down areas, with a cosh, hoping i'd be approached by somebody. i'm ashamed to say that. i did it for maybe a

week, hoping some black beep beep would come out of a pub and have a goa me would come out of a pub and have a go a me about something, so i could kill him. he described those feelings as awful and he learned that revenge killing worked particularly in the case of northern ireland where he was brought up during the troubles. the journalist who interviewed him anyone hearing the thoughts he is reporting here, would feel shocked, and appalled, in many ways. many are furious. i don't think i will be ever be able to support his work in the future. the words he used, they are so timely when we look at the violence inflicted on black menjust when we look at the violence inflicted on black men just across the globe, but i couldn't possibly in good conscience continue to support him. citizen of the year. this week it will be possible to

gauge how much damage he has done to his career. the film has had good review, if audiences stay away studios will start to take notice because in hollywood it is money that talks and liam neeson might wish police searching for a missing reading university student have found a body in a lake on campus. 19—year—old daniel williams failed to return from a night out last thursday. his family has been informed. the suicide prevention minister says online content that normalises self harm or suicide poses a similar risk to children as grooming. the warning follows the case of 14—year—old molly russell whose family found she had viewed content on social media linked to self—harm and suicide before taking her own life in november 2017. speaking on safer internet day, jackie doyle—price warned that the government is prepared to legislate, if social media sites don't act to protect their users. 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 could make social media companies much more responsible and really apply the full force of the law to them if we feel they're being negligent about their duty of care to their users. the services sector — which accounts for most the uk economy — registered its poorest performance in two and a half years last month, according to a closey—watched survey of businesses. the purchasing managers index, which gives an early indication of business activity and confidence among firms, said the sector was barely expanding. they blamed the slowdown on heightened political uncertainty at the start of 2019. firms in the sector also said that this polical uncertainty was weighing down on recruitment decisions. official figures show that

greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4% between 2016 and 2017 , driven by the closure of coal—fired power stations. however, the government has been warned that some of its policies , like increasing aviation , will increase pollution. and critics point out that huge challenges remain to make any further reductions in emissions. a 41—year—old mother named willow sims has been denied the right to work and access health care after she was wrongly turned away from the windrush scheme for not being from a commonwealth country. the home office's guidelines say people of any nationality who settled in the uk before december 1988 can apply to the taskforce for help. rianna croxford reports. they can get a picture of mejumping over garden fences and that.

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 employer 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, miss 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 that anymore. i cannot do this any more. after the bbc approach the home office, they confirmed miss sims is eligible for help and are supporting her application. willow sims took the bbc

she was gobsmacked to learn that, as a us citizen, she qualified for help under the windrush scheme. people of any nationality who arrived in the uk before 1988 can apply to the home office for help. but, so far, it's mainly been people from the caribbean who've been coming forward. and the senior lawyer who is setting up a compensation scheme for those affected by the windrush scandal says the home office needs to do more. clarification's the word. 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. it's still not known why willow was turned away and how many others may have been given the same wrong advice. rianna croxford, bbc news. it is 17 minutes past one.

our top story this lunchtime. four children have died 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. and coming up — a rising number of deaths linked to counterfeit versions of the anti—anxiety drug xanax. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news, the end of an era as the great lindsey vonn competes at her last world championships. we'll have the latest from sweden. ten people, including a baby, have died in a fire at an apartment block in paris. nearly 30 people, including six firefighters, were injured, one of them seriously. a woman is being held by police on suspicion of starting the fire deliberately. the paris prosecutor said she has a history of psychological problems. 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, amidst the flames, firefighters battled to reach those stuck inside their apartments, and people who had fled to the roof. climbing the outside of the building, their only option, as the fire engines could not get into the immediate area. and while the rescue teams managed to get many people out, there have been a lot of casualties and others left 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, and she is currently in custody. according to an eyewitness who spoke to the bbc, the woman has psychiatric problems and got involved in a row last night, allegedly threatening to start a fire. what has happened here will come as a shock for 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. there's new 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 frequently mixed with other dangerous substances. more than 200 deaths have been linked to the drug in britain since 2015. noel phillips reports from belfast. when was the last time you used xanax? this morning. this morning? yes. 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 by sunday, at 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. but i still take it. figures we have obtained show for the first time what the authorities are up 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 remzi's family, he was getting counterfeit xa nax online. he's one of 21 people who died in england, having used the illegal drug, in 2017. hejust 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 in aberdeen have recorded 29 deaths in 2017, compared to just 11 the 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 than 1600 jobs have been saved at hmv, which went into administration in december. the music store chain has been bought by the canadian retailer, doug putman, who calls the company an iconic heritage brand and has promised to keep 100 outlets open. he says he's confident about the brand's future. we took over, you know, 80 stores in canada, almost, you know, two—and—a—half years ago, and they're doing strong, doing well, profitable. we see hmv continuing on in the uk for a long time. we believe that it's a chain that's going to be around, the customers love it, we get amazing support, which is great, so i think this is a very long road ahead. mps are to debate how much councils in england will have to spend

in the next financial year, after local authorities complained of a £3 billion funding gap. ministers say councils have been given an extra £1.6 billion, but town halls argue that funding for local services is running out fast. jessica parker reports. 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. dorking's children's centre is staying open, but 31 in surrey are due to close from april, saving the county council millions of pounds. services are being concentrated in less well—off areas, but some fear the strain it could put on the facilities that remain. at the moment we serve 1500 families in this area. in the future we're potentially going to be looking after a500 families on a 50% cut. that would mean 50% less staff, 50% less resources to meet the needs

of all those families in a much bigger geographical area. although we will have this centre here, still, much of the universal services will go. ijust see that, in the future, all these children will come into school, at reception, but may have needed to early help that wasn't picked up. this year's national funding settlement paints a familiar picture. that lump—sum from central government to councils has gone down by around £1 billion. there's been a really big cut in local government funding over the last eight or nine years, at least 20% reduction over that period. the councils which were more dependent on central government, in other words, generally, poorer councils, have had bigger cuts. those that have got big council tax bases, the richer councils, haven't done quite so badly. so, overall, big cuts. bigger cuts for the poorer councils. but ministers say that, this year,

there will be a boost to spending power overall. there's some one—off cash for social care, higher council tax takings and as part of a drive to make authorities more self—sufficient, a push to see 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. i think we should look more positively towards the new spending review. and all eyes are on this year's spending review. there's a suggestion ministers may look at a longer term plan, a so—called multi—year settlement, to try and put council finances on a more stable footing. but the local government assocation says certainty is needed now, claiming councils have been pushed to the brink. jessica parker, bbc news. sir don mccullin is one of the world's most famous war photographers — his work has documented the savagery of vietnam and many other conflicts. now a new exhibition of his work is opening at tate britain, an opportunity to see not only some

of his most famous work, but also his lesser—known pictures taken here at home. tim muffett went to meet him. 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, you know, none of us were going anywhere in life. this photograph is the very first picture i ever took in the war. so this was the cypriot 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 war zones across the world. this is the camera that got the bullet on this, right 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 war zones far away, don mccullin's also focused on conflict and deprivation closer to home. these pictures 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 the silent voice, but i want it to be be, you know, a shouting silent voice so you don't miss it. some photographers bemoan the ubiquity of camera phones, it is 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, you know, 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—traumatic stress disorder long before the condition was officially acknowledged. he was shellshocked, and they had no time, the marines don't respect people who don't fight. so they were treating him very shabbily, really. what we called the thousand yard stare. everything i've done in this room is not going to change the world. it's just an attempt to show people that it's wrong, that's all.

that was tim muffett speaking to photojournalist sir don mccullin — more than a billion people around the world have begun celebrating the chinese lunar new year, and the year of the pig. at beijing's lama temple, people burned the first joss sticks of the year, in the hope of good luck. the pig is one of the 12 signs of the chinese zodiac, and symbolises good fortune and wealth. have we got good fortunately for weather? darren can telus? it has been a pig of a day in some places! foggy and