today at five. emotional tributes paid to four children who died and a house fire in stafford. another toddler and two adults were injured after the left through a first for a window to escape the flames. tragically, four young children have lost their lives in the fire, and i can confirm that the children were boys aged three, six and eight, and a girl aged four. we'll be live at the scene of the blaze in stafford with the very latest. the main stories. the prime minister goes to belfast pledging a brexit deal that promises no hard border between the public. i know that the prospect of changing the backstop and reopening the withdrawal agreement creates real anxieties here in northern ireland and in ireland, because it is here that the consequences of whatever is agreed will most be felt. the actor, liam neeson, denies being a racist, after admitting he once roamed the streets with a weapon for a week, in hopes of killing an innocent black man. and the photographer who captured

the horrors of war — the work of sir don mccullin goes on exhibition. it's five o'clock — our top story. four children who died in a fire at a house in stafford have been identified as three—year—old olly unitt, six—year—old keegan unitt, and eight—year—old riley holt, along with four year—old tilly rose unitt.

a fifth child, named locally as jack, escaped from a first—floor window along with his mother natalie unitt, aged 2a, and her 28 year—old partner chris. all three are being treated in hospital following the blaze, which happened in the highfields area of the town in the early hours of the morning. police are investigating the cause of the fire which they describe as ‘heartbreaking'. our correspondent sima kotecha reports. 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. four children were killed, the neighbours left bewildered. we didn't know until now, did we? 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?

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 house to put it out. staffordshire police described the loss of young lives as absolutely heartbreaking. very tragic what's happened in our community here, in the highfields, and we are living in the same street, the end of the road. went to the children's school across the road. just devastating. can't begin to imagine. emergency services are still at the scene. staffordshire 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 can speak to our correspondent phil mackie who is at the scene of the fire in stafford for us. what have the police been saying this afternoon? they have been involved heavily with all the emergency services. we havejust seen emergency services. we havejust seen fire investigators leaving. they have been carrying out searches within the property. you can make it out on the distance, the blue tarpaulin covering the upstairs window and more tarpaulin covering the hole in the euro. we think that is to keep the site safe so they can get in and carry out the investigation, to try to find out what happened last night and the early hours of this morning when those children died. we have had state m e nts those children died. we have had statements from the fire and rescue service, the ambulance service and also staffordshire police chief

inspector gemma ward. tragically, four young children have lost their lives in the fire and i can confirm the children were boys aged three, six and eight and a girl aged four mac. a girl aged 24 and a man aged 28 escaped with a one—year—old boy. the man is being treated for burns and a girl for smoke inhalation. 03—mac remain in hospital but the injuries are not deemed life—threatening. i want to reassure you and all of our community that we are working closely with colleagues from staffordshire fire and rescue service as investigative work into the cause of the fire begins. talking about the reaction from the community there is a primary school around the corner which three of the children went to and they say the whole school community is devastated. the fire and rescue service described it as a heartbreaking and tragic incident and the west midlands ambulance service, whose staff were here first

thing this morning, said it was immensely difficult 403—mac services to deal with this incident. the mum left with the unit and her partner and son jack left with the unit and her partner and sonjack have been treated in hospitalfor and sonjack have been treated in hospital for burns and smoke inhalation. we understand their injuries are not life—threatening even though they had to escape through a bedroom window. neighbours have described hearing an explosion, some kind of loud noise, and immediately before the heard the screams and saw the fire. that is what the investigators are trying to find out. what caused that and what led to the fire and the deaths of those four children. a bit of breaking news, an update on the salvage operation. trying to lift that crashed light aircraft of the sea bed in the channel which was

carrying the premier league footballer emiliano sala and the pilot david ibbotson. that salvage operation to lift that wreckage has, we understand, begun. attempts have been made to move a large part of the large light aircraft which was carrying the two men. the air accident investigators said yesterday, after studying footage around the site, using remotely controlled underwater vehicles, that they had identified a body within pa rt they had identified a body within part of the fuselage of the plane which they estimate sitting in about 63 metres deep of water. so the salvage operation is now under way to try to lift that light aircraft, sitting on the sea bed of the english channel. just off guernsey, where the light aircraft disappeared last month carrying the premier

league footballer emiliano sala and pilot david ibbotson. the aircraft was on its way from nantes to cardiff when it disappeared. that salvage operation has just begun. the prime minister has told an audience in belfast that she wants the eu to agree changes to the so—called irish backstop, but insisted she is not seeking to remove it from her brexit agreement with brussels. she said she wants brussels to agree to changes to the so—called irish backstop but is suggesting she is not seeking to remove it from her brexit deal. the backstop would avoid a physical border in northern ireland by keeping the uk in a customs union with the eu until a comprehensive trade deal is reached. theresa may said she understood the ‘anxieties‘ the deal had created, and promised to secure a deal which could command broad support. and she assured business leaders that she was committed to ensuring no border re—emerged after the uk leaves the eu. there is no suggestion that we are not going to ensure that in the future there is provision for this, it's been called an insurance policy, the backstop, that ensures that if the future relationship is not in place

by the end of the implementation period, there will be arrangements in place to ensure that we deliver no hard border. our commitment to that remains. what parliament and the house of commons has said is that they want to see changes to the backstop as it currently exists within the protocol, as part of the withdrawal agreement. the issue that has always been one that parliament has raised, it has been raised across all sides of the house of commons, is the potential indefinite nature of the backstop. that is the issue we look to address. there are a number of ways to do it, looking at alternative arrangements, discussing with mp5 who have put forward proposals on that. looking at the legal changes that are necessary to give legal certainty. but the commitment to no hard border absolutely remains. i know this is a concerning time for many people, here, in northern ireland, but we will find a way to deliver brexit that honours our commitments to northern ireland, that commands broad support across the communities in northern ireland and that secures

a majority in the westminster parliament, which is the best way to deliver for the people of northern ireland. as we do so, i hope we can also take steps to move towards the restoration of devolution, so that politicians in northern ireland can get back to work on the issues that matter to the people they represent. in the moment we will speak to a chief political correspondent vicky young to get the latest from westminster. but first to emma vardy in belfast — and how are the business community there reacting to the prime minister's speech this afternoon? it was a fine line theresa may had to walk today, because she is publicly saying that she is willing to try to get some kind of alternative arrangement to the backstop which is already in her deal, but as far as the people of northern ireland are concerned,

certainly businesses, they want to make sure that that alteration does not affect in any substantive way the idea of the backstop. that is the idea of the backstop. that is the exact tension but she is having to negotiate this way, this difficult path in northern ireland, where only one hand you had many businesses backing the original withdrawal agreement with the backstop in it, seeing it as a guarantee that they would be able to continue trading much as they do now, and on the other hand, the very firm opposition to the backstop and withdrawal agreement from northern ireland's democratic unionist party in the brexiteer is at westminster. theresa may came today to try to reassure business leaders that despite the u—turn on the backstop that the government remains very firmly committed in all brexit scenarios to ensuring no new checks would emerge on the irish border. addressing the crowd here in northern ireland was one thing but the even bigger challenge facing

theresa may now is going back to the eu and trying to convince them to listen to alternatives when it comes to the backstop, because as we know, leaders in brussels have said very publicly that those legally guaranteed changes to the backstop is something they are not willing to offer. this is shaping up to be such a crunch week again for theresa may on this issue of the irish border. we know, it hasjust on this issue of the irish border. we know, it has just been announced over the last couple of hours that she will be remaining in northern ireland and missing prime minister's question time in westminster in order to speak to political parties here in northern ireland. and don't forget, the irish government is key and all of this. the prime minister lee over at carte has very firmly defended the backstop, saying there has been no agreement without it. —— leo varadkar. leo varadkar will now be coming to northern ireland on friday for meetings with the parties and then theresa may on thursday

will meet eu leaders. all these key meetings this week all about that crunch issue of the irish border. they will all be watched very carefully to see whether any of the parties are in this whole negotiation process, might show any sign of compromise or sign of moving towards something that theresa may can get through parliament, but with all sides in this negotiation very much dug into their positions at the moment, at the moment it looks like a very big ask. perversely, theresa may has got the complete opposite message to deliver to certain people at westminster. while she is in belfast, to businesses at least she has to say, yes, there has been a bit of a u—turn but not too much of a u—turn, but to the brexiteer blue, she has to see that u—turn has been pretty substantial? there has to be a change to the arrangement as it stands because it was heavily defeated in the house of commons.

downing street have confirmed they are still working on three different options. one is a unilateral get out clause for the uk to get out of that backstop arrangement, another is a time limit, and there is another proposal being worked on by a number of conservative mps which is effectively saying, we can have a free trade arrangement and that means you don't have to have that backstop, but they do accept that means you have to have an insurance policy of some kind. theresa may is known for keeping her cards close to her chest, everyone trying to lead into every word she says, hang on, is she going down one road or another? there has been a complaint for some time that she obviously thinks her route, the backstop agreement, is the best way forward. the question is, is she willing to accept other proposals? what is she willing to go to brussels with on thursday? is she going for further chats or with one particular

proposal to put to the eu and see if she will budge, then she has to make sure she can get it through parliament. there doesn't seem to be any guarantee of that, with different factions wanting different things. broadly, yesterday when a group of mps went to see a senior eu civil servant, they were very divided over what they want to see but the commission is keen to know what will get through parliament. a substantial change to the backstop with a time limit could get her close but maybe not close enough. thanks for that. the headlines on bbc news. four children have died in a house fire in stafford — police describe it as heartbreaking. a fifth child and two adults are being treated in hospital. theresa may reaffirms her committment to delivering a brexit which avoids a hard border between northern ireland and the republic. the actor liam neeson denies being a racist, after telling a journalist he once wanted to kill a black person because someone close to him

was raped by a black man. and in sport, manchester city manager pep guardiola says it is not just a two horse race for the premier league title with 13 matches of the season still to go. meanwhile, former manchester united boss who is a agreed a prison term in spainfortax boss who is a agreed a prison term in spain for tax fraud but will not do anyjail time. he has been fined over £2 million. and england's impressive win in dublin has come at a price. the next two matches are against france and wales. i will be back with more on all those stories at 5:30pm. the actor, liam neeson, has insisted he's "not racist", after admitting he once wanted to kill a black person, 40 years ago. in an interview yesterday, mr neeson said he spent a week walking around predominantly black areas with a cosh hoping to take out his anger

after a close friend told him she'd been raped by a black man. speaking on abc's good morning america, mr neeson said he was now ashamed of his ‘horrible' feelings — and claimed they would've been the same regardless of race. our correspondent colin patterson reports. what makes you think you can kill a man? i read it in a crime novel. liam neeson was being interviewed for the independent in new york about his new film, cold pursuit, when he was asked why his character responded to the murder of his son by going on a revenge killing spree rather than simply grieving. his answer has made front—page news round the world. i'll tell you a story. this is true. he explained that in real life, someone close to him was raped. he described those feelings as awful and horrid and explained that he learned that revenge killing never works, particularly in the case of northern ireland, where he was brought up during the troubles. clemence michallon was thejournalist who interviewed him. anyone hearing the thoughts that he is reporting here, would feel shocked, and appalled, in many ways.

what are you doing? myjob. 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, so timely when we look at the violence inflicted on black men just across the globe. this morning, liam neeson was booked on good morning america. would you have had the same reaction if yourfriend had said it was a black man? if it was irish, scots, a brit or a lithuanian, i know it would have had the same effect. i was trying to... show honour, to stand up for my dear friend, in this terrible, medieval fashion. i'm a fairly intelligent guy and that's why it kind of shocked me when i came down to earth after having these horrible feelings.

luckily, no violence occurred, ever. thanks be to god. do you think you actually would have done it? yes. an innocent black man who had nothing to do... yes, that was my feeling, that i did want to lash out. this weekend it will be possible to gauge how much damage liam neeson has done to his career. cold pursuit opens in cinemas in the us on friday. it has had good reviews. if audiences stay away, studios will start to take notice, because in hollywood it is money that talks and liam neeson might wish he hadn't. colin paterson, bbc news. 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, the culture minister margot

james warned that the government is planning to introduce new legislation to make sure social media sites protect their users. the white paper which my department at dcms are producing with the home office will be followed by a consultation over the summer and it will set out new legislative measures to ensure that the platforms remove illegal content and prioritise the protection of users, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults. and it will also include ambitious measures to support a continued education and awareness for all users and to report the development of new safety technologies. we want to get to a place where we can all enjoy the huge benefits that technology has to offer without children and other

vulnerable individuals being put at risk of serious harm. 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 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. climbing the outside of the building their only option. the fire engines could not get into the immediate area. and while the rescue teams managed to

get many people out, there had been a lot of casualties and others left deeply traumatised. the alarm went off at 12:30pm and it was already black with smoke, i lived on 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. 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 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. two more sad incidents involving knife crime to report now. two teenagers have been stabbed in a park and what are being considered linked attacks. both injured in the filton park in west london on sunday afternoon. the police are now appealing for witnesses to come

forward. the first victim is aged in his late teens, found with knife wins in harlington east and was taken to hospital after being treated by paramedics and an air ambulance team. police were then told that a second victim, aged in his mid—teens, had also been slashed a knife. neither of the teenagers multi mac injuries are said to be life—threatening. two more knife attacks at the moment. they haven't resulted in any fatalities but two teenagers are recovering in hospital after the attacks in west london on sunday. let's take a look at some of the other top stories. 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 services sector — which accounts for most of the uk economy — registered its poorest performance in two and a half years last month, according to a survey of businesses. the purchasing managers index by ihs markit found the sector

stagnated in january. analysts blamed growing brexit uncertainty and a wider slowdown in the global economy. the uk's greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.7% between 2016 and 2017 — driven by the closure of coal—fired power stations. but critics point out that huge challenges remain to reduce emissions in areas like transport, farming and parts of industry. more than 1,600 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 retailer's future. we took over some 80—odd stores in canada, almost two and a half years ago and they are doing strong, doing well, profitable. we see hmv continuing

on in the uk for a long time. we believe that it is a chain that is going to be around, the customers love it and we get amazing support, which is great, so i think this is a very long road ahead. 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. time for a look at the weather. i haven't taken that into account! the one thing i have forgotten

about. we have very unsettled weather through the rest of this week. it means we will find some rain. but it has been quite chilly for the eastern side of the uk, these areas seeing some rain over these areas seeing some rain over the next few hours, but it doesn't last too long. clear skies following. but with a westerly breeze not as cold as it was last night. not far from freezing in some parts of scotland, much milder in the southern areas of england. and we could see a bit of rain returning especially towards the south—east of england. also seeing more showers arriving in northern ireland and into western scotland but in between generally dry was some sunshine at times. those temperatures are going to be higher than they were today across eastern scotland and eastern england. heading into thursday, starting with wet weather down the eastern side, may snow over the scottish hills, sun following behind but also showers. those could be heavy and thundery in western scotla nd heavy and thundery in western scotland and the temperature of about 8—11. hello, you're watching the news at

five. for children have died inafire. the prime minister goes to belfast pledging a brexit deal that promises no hard border between the public. theresa may goes to belfast, where she gives assurances that she's committed to avoiding a return to a hard border with ireland. i know that the prospect of changing the backstop and reopening the withdrawal agreement creates real anxieties here in northern ireland and in ireland, because it is here that the consequences of whatever is agreed will most be felt. crash investigators have launched a rescue operation to rescue a plane carrying the footballer emiliano sala. the actor, liam neeson, denies being a racist, after admitting he once roamed the streets with a weapon for a week, in hopes of killing an innocent black man. the hmc chain has been saved but

hundreds of stores will close. now, let's get the latest from the world of sport. thejudge will be the judge will be champion when we see the table and see how the first two or three other. we don't look for, for chelsea is able to do games ina row, for, for chelsea is able to do games in a row, games in a row. everybody is there so the gap is not too big, with 39 points to play when we are nine or ten points behind, it is not

too much. seeing what happened right now the premier league, everybody is ready to take points. the football association has take points. today asked for written observations from the liverpool managerjurgen klopp. it follows his comments after the game against west ham united last night concerning the match referee. klopp accepted that their opening goal should have been disallowed for offside but says the referee would have realised his mistake and perhaps favoured west ham in his decision making to compensate for the rest of the match. spanish prosecutors have given similar secretions against cristiano rinaldo and thatjose—maria neo feigned to declare earnings from when he was the coach of real madrid. playing forfriendly

internationals around the country, the rotor france series for women's football will see england take on canada, spain, denmark and new zealand in manchester, warsaw, swindon and in brighton. tickets for each game will be just £1. the lioness is also head to america this month for the she believes cup against the usa and japan. there is against the usa and japan. there is a big blow for the england rugby union side. there's a big blow for the england rugby union side, maro itoje has been ruled out of the next two six nations matches with a knee problem. the saracens' lock suffered the medial ligament injury during their impressive win over ireland on saturday. he's expected to be out for 2—4 weeks, but will stay with the squad and could return for the final two matches of the championship. fellow saracen nick isiekwe has been called into the squad as cover but it's courtney laws who is most likely to benefit and take itoje's place in the 15. he's a quality player. he's a leader within our group. the qualities that he brings is massive. but also we've got guys in the squad who have other qualities, and they will have a big impact, so it is important we focus

on thejob in hand and i'm sure he will be there in spirit. ben barba has been banned, he is or even sacked by his new club in the new queensland care boys and it is being investigated by police. the rfl previously said that they would block any return to england for 29 are altered to be banned in australia. the great lynsey vonn is competing at her last alpine skiing world championships. it's the first day of competition in sweden and the american, a former olympic champion 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, hitting one of the gates and careering into the safety netting. the race was halted while medics checked her out, she managed

to make her own way down but we now wait to see if she will race in the downhill on sunday, in what will be her final race. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. now, more on theresa may pass might visit to northern ireland where the prime minister attempted to reassure business leaders that she can secure a brexit deal that avoids a hardboard over the republic of ireland. the leader of the dup, arlene foster, has described the backstop is a toxic problem. she has been speaking to are little editor. i think the premise has been given a very clear indication on what it would take that was the mandate she was given by the house of commons backstop needs to be replaced. that is her clear mandate. she now needs to go to brussels with that mandate and seek a replacement of the backstop. the eu says that the

arrangement, keeping the northern ireland under eu rules temporary, if it were written illegal form, with that either trick? we know that their withdrawal agreement and the legal advice from the attorney general knows it is not temporary, it would be an indefinite issue and that goes the heart of the difficulty. intended to be temporary? no, it is not. you have to read the plain language that is in the withdrawal agreement and that which is in the backstop. that is vaguely saying that northern ireland is going to be hived off from the rest of the united kingdom and that it seems ok for the eu to not have a hardboard on the island of ireland and content to have a hardboard between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom, thereby interfering internally in the mass of the uk and i think that is entirely wrong. businesses, would support the prime ministers deal, you playing a dangerous game of who blinked first? no, the entirety of

the house of commons voted last tuesday to replace the backstop. therefore, this is notjust the dup, apart from that, i don'tjust look at the here and now, i look at the medium and longer terms as to what the backstop would mean for northern ireland in the future and looking at that, i think it is a great danger. a great danger to the union and economically as a going to be separated from our main market, which is great britain and therefore, we need to look at those things. we want a deal, we want a realistic and sustainable deal, one that works the uk but one that also works for our neighbours in the republic. dublin says they will not talk to about brexit. it is a ways been the case in europe that only eu negotiators can negotiate the eu? we look forward to engaging as we a lwa ys look forward to engaging as we always do with our colleagues in the republic of ireland. it is something that we do on an ongoing basis. we have a good relationship with our nearest neighbours as you would expect is to do. i think that brexit

and the way in which has developed has damaged those relationships. i wa nt to has damaged those relationships. i want to have a good relationship with our nearest neighbours and i very much hope that they will be realistic, they will be pragmatic and they will look at finding a solution because if we are all going to be intransigent about this issue, then we are not going to find a solution. i think it is people in the streets he will suffer because of that. arlene foster, leader of the dup there. one of those business leaders listening to the prime minister in belfast today was the director of the northern ireland retail consortium. hejoins director of the northern ireland retail consortium. he joins us director of the northern ireland retail consortium. hejoins us now from a wet belfast. thank you for being with us. when you reassured by the prime minister's was today?” think we were. the fact that she reasserted her commitment that there would be no hardboard and that she was working towards frictionless trade on the island of ireland really did go a long way to

alleviate the concerns of the business community here in northern ireland. but you know that she said two parliamentarians, particular on the right of her own party that she is seeking alternative arrangements. when it comes to the backstop... that must give you pause for concern? the thing is, it took 18 months to negotiate a backstop. the way that we are looking at it is that if there are eternal server arrangements that we need to see them and we need to see them now. if there are alternative arrangements, which we haven't seen so far, we need to make sure that they do more than the backstop does because at the end of the day, it is an insurance policy, that make sure that we in northern ireland have access to both the eu and great british markets. the dup leader said just there that great britain is our greatest trading partner and that is absently correct but we're we are talking about is that our supply chain across the islands here of

great britain and ireland, that is been built up not over 20 years of peace in northern ireland at 40 years and quite simply, we can't have the great british market or just the eu market, we need both if northern ireland business is to be successful still. successful when northern ireland business is to be successful when theresa may meets jean—claude juncker and donald task, what if the alternative arrangement could involve a time limit on the backstop? five years, say? we are not going to get into the political process here. one of the things we have very clear with the prime minister about today is that the political games and the brinkmanship that has been going on has done no one any favours here. we are 50 days from a no—deal brexit. if that happens here in northern ireland, you're talking about customs and costs that quite civilly we cannot afford here. but the irish problem isn't simply an irish problem. if we have a ha rdboa rd,

isn't simply an irish problem. if we have a hardboard, you are talking about a disintegration of the supply chain across these islands and things we more expensive for even in her own constituency in maidenhead. just looking at the consequences of friction across that all—important border because the suggestion is that something like and 30,000 firms, small, medium and large employee more than big businesses and the public sector together across northern ireland? if you look at our border, the dublin to belfast road, we have 13,000 lorries that cross that every day. even if you ta ke cross that every day. even if you take something as simple as a ready meal, they can be seven border crossings, just to make sure that a ready meal has all of the ingredients that it needs. you are talking about the 2.4 billion that we buy, the big supermarkets by of northern ireland food. we only use about 20% of that in northern

ireland. 60% of that goes to the republic of ireland to get to great britain. we have such a comic edit and integrated supply chain that any fraction, should it be cheques or barriers or vat or customs barriers, it will add complexity and cost and that goes on to the end—user, the shoppers the uk. i mentioned the possibility that an alternative arrangement could involve some kind of time limit on the backstop. what about the suggestion of maximum facilitation? the idea that you can somehow, using computers and cameras and whatever. .. you somehow, using computers and cameras and whatever... you can have the border somewhere else? a depot? the goods are checked somewhere else and then they get across the border, is that something would accept? let me be very clear about this. the technology does not exist at the moment. if it exists in a decade, fine, but we are 50 days out. that technology is a unicorn. it does not

exist. to spend lots of time about maximum facilitation and a technology that could even decide whether yoghurt was up to the standard itch is supposed to be, thatis standard itch is supposed to be, that is a waste of time. we need a deal of what is possible now. rank you for talking with us. thank you for stepping out in the rain. now, america is set for a night of significant political drama. donald trump will deliver his state of the union inajoint trump will deliver his state of the union in a joint session of congress at around 2am uk time. it will be one of the most watched little events of the year in america. the speech has already been pushed back because of the partial government shutdown caused by disagreement between the democrats and president trump over funding for his proposed border wall. let's talk to our correspondent. presidents when they are faced with congress of a different little persuasion, they

have two options. they either go deep and they continue to focus on their base or they go abroad. they talk to the other side. they reach out to the other side. they know donald trump has spent nothing if not all of his time of the past two yea rs not all of his time of the past two years focusing on his base. is there any suggestion tonight that he will go broad? i don't think so! i think that's probably one of the few guarantees we can make about donald trump because we never really know what he is going to say until he stands up and says it. it is pretty clear, i think, from his tweets this morning and the hints that the white house has been giving us, that he will focus on immigration. his tweet this morning warning that large and asa this morning warning that large and as a people were coming up through mexico into the us, warning that us troops would be sent down to build a human wall of necessary, if he can't get his physical wall built. saying that if he could, this would all be a nonevent. once again, making his case for the needful funding.

a nonevent. once again, making his case for the needfulfunding. once again, much guaranteeing that he will put the backstop of all the democrats who now control the house and therefore the purse strings on this particular enterprise. having said that, we are also being told that he will be trying to reach across the aisle and making the case for bipartisanship. against this backdrop of deep political divide, it is very hard to see who is going to be listening to that. the person who's going to be sitting over his left shoulder is the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, and she's made it clear that she is not putting up with any of his nonsense from her point of view. are we then looking at the next two years of logjam, with democrats who say one thing and the present something else? this is a fascinating relationship. you have the most powerful woman in the nation up against most powerful man in the nation and so far, you're keeping points and most people are,

she is scoring higher. that relationship is likely to continue. they are going to clash again and democrats, do not forget, elected by and large to be a check on what many people consider our donald trump is my wildest excesses. a lot of people are saying that a check is one thing, roadblock is another. that is what we're seeing more and more at the moment, gridlock. political gridlock. very little is getting done. a lot of talk is made about an infrastructure package, something that could bring the two sides together. mentioned last year but didn't happen because of the political infighting. again, it is very difficult to see how any meaningful legislation to get through congress and the next two yea rs. through congress and the next two years. president put a time limit on the length of the period needed to discuss the possibility of a deal

over his border wall. that is now the fabry the 15th? next week? of the fabry the 15th? next week? of the week after. i will potentially heading to another shutdown? we could be. the government have ten days to come up with a solution that so days to come up with a solution that so far nobody has able to achieve the past two years. even republicans, the president was my own party, have failed to deliver on money of the wall and they have had two years controlling the senate and the house. democrats have made it very clear that they are not budging on this issue. donald trump seems to be making it very clear that he is not budging on it either although he did blink last week when he did agree to reopen the government to enable these discussions to be forward. but he has no faith in them. he doesn't think they're going to work so we're looking at either another shutdown or a declaration of another shutdown or a declaration of a national emergency, which she seems to be withdrawing from slightly, or a deal. you are betting

man, clive? iwouldn't slightly, or a deal. you are betting man, clive? i wouldn't bet on that one. maybe not. thank you, jane. our top stories. for children have died ina top stories. for children have died in a house fire in stafford. police described the blaze as heartbreaking. the fifth child and two adults being treated in hospital. theresa may has reaffirmed her commitment to delivering a brexit that avoids a hard border between northern ireland and the republic. crash investigators have launched an underwater operation to recover a body from the wreckage of the plane carrying the argentinian footballer emiliano sala and the pilot. an update on the market numbers for you here. not looking too bad! also in positive early trading. willow simms was born in the united

states but has lived in the uk for many years after arriving as a young child. the home office started the helpline to help people wrongly facing deportation after not getting the correct paperwork in windrush. employ such did have not enough evidence of proof of her life in the uk. all of my memories are from the uk. all of my memories are from the uk. with the bills piling up, she calls the windrush helpline.” uk. with the bills piling up, she calls the windrush helpline. i was told that i wasn't eligible for any help because i didn't qualify. in

december, she wrote to the home secretary. i can't eat, i can't sleep. everything i had now is gone. we are going to lose our house. and i can't do it anymore. i cannot do this any more. after the bbc approached the home office, they confirmed miss sims is eligible for help and are supporting her application. willow sims told 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 could 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 the 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. so don mccullin is one of the most famous war photographers. a new exhibition opening of his work provides an opportunity to see some of his most famous and lesser—known works. life and death. as captured by don mccullin. everything about me has been expected. knowing 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 focussed

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. genius there. it opens today and ru ns genius there. it opens today and runs until the 6th of may. now for the weather. it has been a dull day. it has been

grey and misty in hampshire as you can see here. we will eventually see a bit of rain washing away that fog as the rain washed away too. bringing in outbreaks of rain, the shower clouds coming in from the atlantic. recently, we have seen some heavier rain arriving in the north—east of england. temperatures we re north—east of england. temperatures were around three or 4 degrees in cou nty were around three or 4 degrees in county durham. the rain will be pushing its way this evening, eventually rain in the south—east of england that will see the back of the rain. fairly quickly, we will see replaced by clearer skies. it shouldn't be as cold as it was last night. rural parts of scotland will see temperatures close to freezing. there is more cloud in places like east anglia and will be around

tomorrow, the threat of some more rain returning and especially in the south—east and the afternoon. more showers coming into northern ireland. in between, a lot of dry weather and some sunshine. decent temperatures and a milder day than today than eastern scotland and eastern england. messier tomorrow evening and tomorrow night. this weather front enhances the wet weather front enhances the wet weather to the west, combining to keep wet weather going over the night, probably starting with some wet weather on thursday. we get some sunshine but we also see some showers. some heavy and thundery ones are crossed west in scotland. dry sunny spells across the east of england, scotland and the midlands. still seven to 10 degrees temperatures. end of the week, things get lively! the winds are

going to be picking up as pressure. it was the end of the week, friday and over into saturday morning, mild but also very windy and the strongest winds are likely to be across england and wales. 70 mph more across the hills and coasts in the west of england and wales but full parts the uk, rain at times. sunday should see the weather calming downjust a bit. four children are killed in a house fire in the middle of the night in stafford. the children were aged between three and eight and died at the scene. their mother and her baby managed to jump to safety along with her partner and are being treated in hospital. our fire investigation team are currently working with colleagues from west midlands fire service and staffordshire police, in order to find out how the fire started, and spread throughout the property. the tragedy has

shocked the community. we'll bring you the latest from the scene. also tonight... liam neeson denies he's racist after his comments to promote his new film provoke a media storm. a warning about the impact of pollution on our children — the un says the uk has the highest number suffering from respiratory conditions in europe. theresa may tells business leaders in northern ireland she's confident she can strike a deal to improve the controversial irish backstop.