hello, you're watching afternoon live. today at 2: the president of the european council condemns people who he says promoted britain leaving the eu, without a plan to deliver it safely. i've been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it. in his delayed state of the union address, donald trump appeals for republicans and democrats to set aside their differences. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. hotel booking sites are warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. coming up on afternoon live,

all the sport withjohn watson. manchester city could return to the top of the premier league tonight and pep guardiola is calling for goals in case the title race goes down to goal defence this season. thanksjohn, and nick miller has all the weather. i got news of strong winds and gales to come over the next several days with the risk of disruption, plus just looking back at how dry dry january has been. all that coming up in the next half an hour. also coming up, know your place — the new bbc online calculator that allows young people to find outjust how good their local area is to live in. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live. the president of the european

council, donald tusk, has spoken of a "special place in hell" for those who promoted brexit, without a plan to deliver it safely. and he warned of what he called the "possible fiasco" of no deal. speaking in brussels on the eve of talks with theresa may, he said he hoped the prime minister now had a "realistic" plan, to resolve the controversy over the irish "backstop", the mechanism brussels insists is necessary, to prevent a hard border after brexit, and to secure the peace process. mrs may is visiting stormont today, for talks with the main political leaders in northern ireland, to offer reassurance she can secure a deal with brussels, that prevents future border checks. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. they had a deal. they never wanted to see theresa may coming back for more negotiations here. and the mood in brussels is fiery. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those

who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it. and no sign of budging on the backstop. while we expected the backstop would never be used, we agreed again today it is needed is a legal guarantee to ensure there is no return to a hard border on the island of ireland, while protecting the integrity of our european single market and customs union, and i think the events in london and instability in british politics in recent weeks demonstrates exactly why we need a legal guarantee. meanwhile, theresa may's on her third trip to northern ireland in seven months. here, just as in westminster, the same divisions remain. she's quite the regular now, but has yet to find a way through. northern ireland's unionist parties want the eu to agree legal changes to the irish backstop, the plan to avoid checks on the irish border, but some now believe

we need more time. we're not far from the 29th of march and we, as a party, don't see a no deal as a positive situation or something that fits northern ireland or the uk. we've asked her to look for an extension of article 50. the largest irish nationalist party, sinn fein, have called theresa may's plan to amend the irish backstop an act of bad faith. mrs may will be left in no doubt that there will be no hard border on the island of ireland, that her course of action is completely unacceptable to us and we will set all of that out to her very clearly. the tensions here mirror that of westminster, with broadly one side are urging theresa may to sit more closely to the eu in future, and other wanting much more independence for the uk. legal changes to the irish backstop is what theresa may believes she needs to get the deal through westminster and after this she's off to brussels

to try to extract something here. the irish prime minister will arrive in northern ireland on friday. the next 48 hours will be crucial. the leader of the democratic unionist party, arlene foster, said that she had told theresa may during those talks at stormont that legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement were needed. so, we have had another useful engagement with the prime minister. as you know, we engage with government quite regularly in and around the brexit process. we reiterated again the fact that the backstop was a problem in relation to the withdrawal agreement, and the brady amendment that was put down in the house of commons last week gives her the mandate now to go to brussels, as she intends to do on thursday, and we look forward to hearing the outcome of that. our europe correspondent, adam fleming, is in brussels. my

my gosh, this was a strong language. yeah, i was in the room when he said it, i've listened to it being played on aira couple it, i've listened to it being played on air a couple of times, but every timei on air a couple of times, but every time i hear it, i think, did on air a couple of times, but every time i hear it, ithink, did he really say that? such dramatic, undiplomatic language from donald tusk, but that was his intention and the sentiment behind it is not something new. we've known for ages that donald tusk thinks brexit is a bad idea and the road that led to brexit was perhaps not the most honest process, so he has been very annoyed but not quite as annoyed as this up until now. he's obviously decided there is nothing to be gained by holding back, although he is not talking about people who voted for brexit, he is talking very specifically about the leaders of the campaign who perhaps didn't plan for the outcome that they are having to deal with. to make matters more

intriguing, after he gave a statement on the microphones were still on, if you listen very carefully to this clip, you can hear the overlarge car, the irish prime minister, making a remark to donald tusk and donald tusk laughing and saying, i know. yes, i know, says donald tusk. to some, that is a conspiracy theory, that this was prearranged with the irish taoiseach. remarks were definitely not off—the—cuff, they we re definitely not off—the—cuff, they were scripted in advance, in a statement sent to us as a text, but to come back to my original point,

this is what donald tusk thinks and we know he has felt this way for some time. he has neverfelt this way quite so strongly in such language before. the significance of it all is the timing because theresa may comes into town tomorrow and it's just a may comes into town tomorrow and it'sjust a big no, may comes into town tomorrow and it'sjusta big no, no, no to may comes into town tomorrow and it'sjust a big no, no, no to other language that she has been delivering in belfast. not necessarily. he has made this big headline grabbing remark which is aimed at some people in the brexiteer camp, not necessarily theresa may herself, but he did say he was open to considering a solution to the deadlock over the backstop solution to the deadlock over the ba cksto p if solution to the deadlock over the backstop if theresa may presented one, so he was being very dramatic and critical but also pretty open to finding a way to fix this whole impasse if theresa may comes up with a solution that he and the rest of the eu judge acceptable. also in there, though, was another little dig at some other people in the uk, the people who are proposing a time limit to the backstop or a

unilateral exit mechanism to the backstop as a solution for breaking the deadlock. there was a little passage in his statement where he said something along the lines of, we will not put a time limit on reconciliation and that was him saying, forget those ideas, the british solution to the backstop cannot include anything that looks like that. we can cross to the houses of parliament and speak to our chief political correspondent vicki young. lots happening in belfast and brussels but what is happening in westminster? the reaction to donald tusk‘s words have been pretty interesting. as you can imagine, people are surprised that this senior diplomat is using such undiplomatic language. he also talked about the lack of leadership on the remain side of the argument. i thought that was very striking from somebody who has long hoped that the uk might change its mind, have another referendum on decide to stay in the eu. it sounded today as

if he was someone who had given up on that idea. it might have quite a bearing on negotiations as we go ahead but obviously not much sign of compromise and goodwill in those words. this is the reaction, first of all, from the first cabinet member andrea leadsom as a brexiteers. the man has no manners, it is unhelpful, but it is a matter for him. since the prime ministers question has begun, the president of the european council has said that there is a special place in hell reserved for brexiteers. i don't recall, sir, any other president insulting members of this house, members of the government and the british people in such a way. what means is open to the house or the government to respond to such a completely outrageous insult? we've had reaction from the prime

minister a's spokesman saying it is a question for donald tusk whether he considers the use of that kind of language helpful and to understand that was difficult this morning as he didn't take any questions. all of this is the day before theresa may goes to brussels to meet amongst others donald tusk, hoping to get some kind of movement from the eu to get her withdrawal deal over the line. let's discuss this with the former cabinet minister greg hands. donald tusk‘s language, some are saying pretty incendiary. side markets unhelpful language but what we now need brussels to do is make some movement towards the uk's position. that is fundamentally what is needed. the uk has a spoke last week about what it needs to be changed to the withdrawal agreement. what we actually need is brussels engaging with those proposals when theresa may returns to brussels later this week. you are not a

brexiteer, you were on the remain side, but you are working with others to try and come forward with some kind of proposalfor the others to try and come forward with some kind of proposal for the future relationship. would that help theresa may at this stage to get her withdrawal deal through, particularly on the issue of the irish backstop? i think it would be very helpful because today we launched a 300 page document. it shows pretty much exactly what a uk eu free trade agreement would look like. most of it is taking from existing agreements so this is what the eu has already signed up for so what we're trying to show is that this is what the future relationship could look like, a very good, close trading relationship doesn't prevent us trading relationship doesn't prevent us doing deals with other countries and other places in the world and thatis and other places in the world and that is where exactly i think the uk's future will be, as a global free trading nation and i think that's what the british people want us that's what the british people want us to do. the sequencing of these talks means that the eu won't discuss that at this point so how does theresa may get her deal

through parliament and the next few weeks? first of all, it shows what can be done. i don't think it has to ta ke can be done. i don't think it has to take too long to do a future free trade agreement with the european union. what we had today was based on things we have already agreed to, we start on a position of zero tariffs, regulatory alignment, etc, soi tariffs, regulatory alignment, etc, so i think it helps in a sense that if she did something about the backstop, the backstop makes such a free—trade agreement during the operation, but the pledge, the house of commons last week pledged that the backstop be replaced by alternative arrangements and those alternative arrangements and those alternative arrangements and those alternative arrangements are being discussed at the moment. i am not privy to those discussions but i think those two things together, if you get the arrangements together and map out how a free trade agreement between the uk and eu might look, then i think you are in business. do you think that would help bring on—site other mps from labourfor help bring on—site other mps from labour for example? lots of them are worried we are pounding over £39 billion and not knowing what we're

going to get at the end of it —— like we are handing over. i've oversaw an agreement was possible with the european union, there is desire for it on both sides —— mike i have always thought an agreement was possible. i couldn't agree for it as it stood two weeks ago. i hope there will be an improvement on it so it is not so unfavourable which is why i rejected it. i think there is why i rejected it. i think there is more potential for mps is why i rejected it. i think there is more potentialfor mps to is why i rejected it. i think there is more potential for mps to vote foran is more potential for mps to vote for an agreement. it is in the national interest to get an agreement, wejust have national interest to get an agreement, we just have to national interest to get an agreement, wejust have to make national interest to get an agreement, we just have to make sure the agreement is right and that it doesn't close down future possibilities like the free trade agreement we published today. you are asking for more than a time limit on the backstop, you've got more fundamental problems with the withdrawal deal that theresa may has done. i think the most important thing is whatever the withdrawal agreement does, it doesn't stop us doing trade agreements in the future, substantive, comprehensive trade agreements in future, so i would be opposed to any proposition

like a customs union with the european union, i think that would be against the national interest, suffocate our trade policy and make things very, very difficult so i would like to see a withdrawal agreement that is a sensible and balanced while also being able to do a free trade agreement with the european union and other cou nterpa rts european union and other counterparts throughout the world. ready for the future discussions about our future relationship with the eu but in the coming days and weeks, it is the withdrawal agreement that theresa may is trying to get through the house of commons and she will go to brussels again tomorrow to seek compromise. breaking news from the pcs union that 120,000 civil servants working in government departments are to be balloted for strike action over pay. 120,000 civil servants balloted for strike action over pay. 120 , 000 civil servants balloted balloted for strike action over pay. 120,000 civil servants balloted over

strike action over pay according to the pcs union. fax president trump has called on republicans and democrats to set aside their differences, in his delayed state of the union address. he said congress had to choose between "greatness or gridlock," but warned that a wall was still needed along the mexican border, to prevent illegal immigration. he also announced he'd hold a second nuclear summit, with north korea's leader at the end of the month and he condemned what he called the "ridiculous" investigations against him, into alleged russian collusion. it's a sign of the political state of this union that this address had to be delayed. democrats initially withdrew donald trump's invitation to speak amid a partial government shutdown. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, and embrace the fabulous potential of cooperation, compromise

and the common good. but after two years, during which some critics have called mr trump america's most divisive president, the reaction of many democrats was telling. an economic miracle is taking place in the united states and the only thing that can stop at our foolish wars, politics or ridiculous, partisan investigations. over his shoulder, the democratic speaker of the house nancy pelosi rolled her eyes. the ongoing investigation into russian interference in the 2016

election involving collusion with the trump campaign. you weren't supposed to do that! wearing white for gender equality, the group of democratic women stood out in the chamber, a fact mr trump couldn't ignore. we also have more women serving in congress than at any time before. their success in the mid—term elections has given the democrats control of the house of representatives. and frustrated some of the president's plans, particularly when it comes to border security. just three weeks ago... mrtrump security. just three weeks ago... mr trump invited a family whose relatives were allegedly killed by illegal immigrants and to get funding for his long prized wall with mexico. in the past, most of

the people in this room voted for a while, but the proper wall never got built. i will get it built. this was a speech in which america came first, but mr trump made one significant international announcement, giving details of a second summit with the north korean leader. my relationship with kim jong—un is a good one. he and i will meet again on february 27 and 28th in vietnam. mr trump's words were measured and he stuck largely to the script in his appeal for washington's politicians to come together but there is a chance with his sometimes angry tweets and off—the—cuff comments that the president himself could threaten those relationships in the future. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines the president of the european

council condemns people who he says promoted britain leaving the eu, without a plan to deliver it safely. downing street says the referendum was the largest democratic exercise in british history. in his annual state of the union address, president trump appeals to the democrats to co—operate with him for the good of the american people — and insists the border wall with mexico will be built. hotel booking sites have been warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. manchester city could return to the top of the title tonight. geraint thomas says his focus as

being in the best shape possible for this year's tour to france as he prepares to race for the first time this year in southern spain. i'll be back with more than all of those stories at around half past —— more on those stories. labour's deputy leader, tom watson, has called for radical reforms to curb the power of digital media giants. mr watson has accused the companies of what he called "surveillance capitalism", and warned the industry too often chose to profit from children, rather than to protect them. i think we live in the new age of surveillance capitalism where tech monopolies hoover up all our personal data, turn it into a thing they call behavioural science, profit from it greatly, but don't give anything back to the citizens that provide that data, or the society they live in. and that's created a distorted digital market that we need to deal with. 0ur media editor, amol rajan, explained more about the detail of labour's plans.

i think the death of miley russell, the tragic death which we have been covering, has added momentum to this policy question, not whether to regulate social media but how to do it. it's worth saying that as tom watson got into his speech today, there are enormous challenges and complexities. what counts as a social media? complexities. what counts as a social media ? the complexities. what counts as a social media? the new companies launched today or tomorrow count? and what about companies being regulated in international parliaments? and how do you deal with such vast amounts of data? tom watson move the dial today on this policy pressure, he announced that labour would issue a legally enforcea ble labour would issue a legally enforceable duty of care on companies. secondly, a new regulator which lots of people have talked about in this regulator would specifically look at using competition law to try to break out some of these companies and stop companies like facebook acquiring the likes of instagram, and 30 wants to give citizens much more awareness

over their own data so they can even sell it in future and have greater control over it. some of these ideas are likely to be in a government paper on internet harms which we expect in the next few weeks and a lot of detail here is yet to be ironed out. it's understood the first deportation flight from the uk to jamaica since the windrush scandal has ta ken offfrom birmingham. campaigners say 35 people were on board, after some were given a last minute reprieve. there are reports that one 22—year—old man tried to take his own life before the flight. we can talk now to lawyer jacqueline mckenzie who has been involved with helping some of those involved in the windrush scandal. what can you tell us about the flight what can you tell us about the flight that has taken off today? that's one of the problem is, you

describe that i'm involved with some of the people who have been removed today. i'm not actually representing anybody specifically but there is a group of us who work to support —— support workers and lawyers and activists who have been campaigning to stop this charter flight. we really don't know a lot great about it. we are hearing figures that it may has done might have been as much as 60 people. we have some information from individual lawyers about their own clients but we think it is very wrong in this day and age that there could be flights of this nature leaving this country and nobody really knowing who is on board. leaving aside the facts which everybody is still trying to pin down and looking at the principles, obviously we have heard the home secretary talking about the need to deport those who are not british

citizens, who are not victims of the windrush scandal, who have committed serious crimes. do you agree with that principle? well, firstly, none of us involved in this campaign believe that the government shouldn't have the right to protect its borders and deport people who they think are a serious risk to this country, but they've got it ma nifestly this country, but they've got it manifestly wrong with the windrush generation and we are very concerned, whilst there are still processes ahead to try to work out what went so wrong with that, that there should be this charter that could potentially put people who may also be people who might be of the windrush generation, we have actually found one person and he is one of the people that got the reprieve, he has an application pending before the windrush task force. we know that there are others who have parents and grandparents

who have parents and grandparents who are of the windrush generation and we don't think it is settled yet what happens to those people, we think it is too premature for this charter to have left today. to be clear, you're not objecting to the principle of a balance between the rights of the individuals concerned and the safety of the public, who are objecting to a process which you believe is happening too fast and without due care? partly that, but partly we say, ric, that it's also wrong to deport people to countries that they don't know, we are aware of one person who would have gone but he got a reprieve and has lived in this country for 41 years, there are people who were born here, people whose offences are mortgage fraud and driving offences. we do not think that these people pose a serious risk to the country. some of them have been out of prison and in them have been out of prison and in the community for a very long time, some of them do very good work, some of them have been detained whilst out and about, whilst sitting at

home. these are not people who are reoffending, there is no evidence that they pose a risk to society in any way, and a large number of them we re any way, and a large number of them were doing incredibly good work, being effective parents, teaching and we have a youth worker within the group, but the underlying principle for me is that people who have lived in the uk for a very, very long time or people who are born here irrespective of whether they are settled and they've got a british passport, we think they should be entitled to live here because we think the punishment for committing a crime, whether it's a moderate try what heinous crime, is imprisonment, and people go to prison, they rehabilitate, they come out and the joint society, and that's what is happening in some of these cases and we think it is wrong that what is happening here is tantamount to double the punishment —— mike they come out and theyjoint society. the home office have had to admit that five people shouldn't have been on that flight. similarly

to the windrush crisis, who shouldn't have been detained or been deported, we wonder how many of the people have gone, may well have been people, not necessarily for windrush reasons, possibly other reasons, who shouldn't have gone. we don't think that the home office right now is operating in a way that we can trust theirjudgment to operating in a way that we can trust their judgment to make operating in a way that we can trust theirjudgment to make these decisions. that said, we accept that there may be people who have arrived in this country, committed heinous crimes and we cannot say to the government that they shouldn't be allowed to deport people, that's not the position we are taking. six of the biggest hotel booking websites have agreed to make changes designed to end misleading sales tactics. it follows an investigation from the competition watchdog. from september the firms, including expedia, hotels.com, and ebookers, will have to be clear about which hotels have paid them for higher rankings on their sites to end pressure selling. tom burridge reports. they are the big websites for hotel bookings worldwide,

but are they really giving you the best deal or is their information misleading? if you think it's a good deal, you book it there because you don't want to miss it. they always have the flashing "only so many rooms left" or whatever. a certain amount of pressure. they're quite cute with how they try to encourage you to do it. i will look elsewhere and find it cheaper, generally, so they don't have the best of credentials with me. claims like this on booking.com, that there are only five rooms at a hotel on its site, aren't quite as you'd imagine, says the competition and markets authority. you're being told that there are 15 people looking at the site right now and right now it turns out to mean in the past week, we are told there are only three rooms available, and you think that means only three rooms in the hotel, and itjust means only three rooms on that particular booking website in the hotel. its investigation found the websites

often give a false impression of how popular a room is and sometimes the full cost isn't displayed upfront. this lunchtime, booking.com says this hotel is in high demand. 1a bookings on the website today and only one room left for tonight. expedia is telling me there are only two deluxe double rooms left at this hotel. there's no suggestion that the hotels have been doing anything wrong, but the websites stand accused of pressuring us into clicking and buying. you probably also don't know that a hotel's ranking sometimes depends on how much commission the hotel has paid to the website and one consumer group says the tactics used to tempt us can be false. discounts and deals, they're almost certainly not a discount or a deal. you'll find a much better price if you phone the hotel directly, tell them the price that you've found with the online travel agent and they'll match it, beat it or throw something in forfree. booking.com says it has agreed to make changes to ensure its website is transparent enough for consumers. expedia says it has been working with the competition watchdog to improve standards

across the industry. the competition markets authority says the six big hotel booking websites have all promised to adhere to tighter consumer standards. not all were guilty of misleading consumers. time for a look at the weather. it has been a dryjanuary, not for me, but for all of us. the weather has beenjoining in. memories of january's whether, how cold, snowy and icy it got, but a lot of people have been noticing how dryjanuary has been weather—wise, notjust in the pub. this from the met office map shows areas which has been drier than average, many areas have less then 50% of theirjanuary rainfall. if you are in the brown, you have been drier than average. the darker the brown the greater departure from average. through parts of eastern

scotland, not too far away from the edinburgh area. the boarders there. three particular regions, east lothian is one region. we've got eastern scotland, five and there's another one which i'd like to think isa another one which i'd like to think is a pointless answer to something, it starts with a c, clackmannanshire. is it really that dry? yes. it has been the driest january on record in those three parts of eastern scotland. part of the east and north—east of england as well showing up in the darker brown. again, second driestjanuary on record. people are sitting up and taking notice of that. just how dry it's been. we saw a bit of rain and snow though. it is it going to get wet or dry? there are changes on i'm not sure it

will correct itself after what we had in january. will correct itself after what we had injanuary. it isn'tjust wet the bed periods of strong winds. this does look much on our charts, 60 mph wind gusts in northern england. we got another spell of rain and strong winds coming up. there's this deepening area of low pressure going into friday. where are all going to get wet weather out of that. it is a messy weather setup. jumping ahead to the start of the weekend, no pressure close to scotla nd the weekend, no pressure close to scotland —— low pressure. what this system developing. this too may cause some problems. it is bringing in more wet weather. 0ur cause some problems. it is bringing in more wet weather. our main weather story is the fact that, yes, it will be wet at times were maybe not enough to correct what went wrong in january not enough to correct what went

wrong injanuary but not enough to correct what went wrong in january but strong not enough to correct what went wrong injanuary but strong winds could cause problems over the next few days. let's take a look at the short term detail. this afternoon, we've got dry weather but we are seeing this area of rain, some snow to the higher hills north was through scotland. hazy sunshine here and there aren't temperatures above average for the time of year so we are doing fairly well in terms of temperatures. it is breezy but nothing worse than that. tonight, i talked about some wet and windy weather coming our way, it will sweep eastwards. some snow to the hills of northern ireland. 60—70 mph gusts around the coasts of wales and south—west england. looks like eastern parts of england will have the strongest winds as we head —— start the day tomorrow before slowly easing. as we go into tomorrow, this is how it is shaping up. hill snow over the northern part of the uk but that will clear away. we will start to have some sunny spells, if few

showers in the west, it is a little bit cooler but that wet and windy weather coming in on friday. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the president of the european council condemns people who he says promoted britain leaving the eu, without a plan to deliver it safely. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out. in his delayed state of the union address, donald trump appeals for republicans and democrats to set aside their differences. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. hotel booking sites are warned to end pressure selling after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims.

and an increase in the amount owed by council tenants in unpaid rents in england, scotland and northern ireland. more than 300 million pounds is owed according to new figures sport now on afternoon live. so there could be change at the top of the premier league table later tonight. yes, it could be. it is manchester city. by the end of the day, manchester city could be back on top of the premier league, a position they haven't occupied since early december last year. win at everton and they'll move above liverpool on goal difference. and its goals pep guardiola wanst incase the title is settled on goal difference as it was in 2013, he's of the opinion though it's not just the top two who are in the hunt.

with 39 point to play, we are nine or ten points behind, its not too much. i never said tottenham was never there. i never put out all five, six games. united are making these victories every single week. we will be there. we will wait to see what manchester city produces on the field later. no change at the top of fifa. fifa president gianni infantino will stand unopposed for the top job in world football in june's presidential elections. former tottenham defender ramon vega had planned to stand against him but failed to win the required support of five of the 211 member federations, leaving infantino to serve a second term. we were trying to get out of bored

quickly to hearfrom we were trying to get out of bored quickly to hear from arlene foster because she came out of stormont. that was mishandled timing. let's go back tojohn that was mishandled timing. let's go back to john and that was mishandled timing. let's go back tojohn and the sport. fifa president gianni infantino will stand unopposed for the top job in world football in june's presidential elections. former tottenham defender ramon vega had planned to stand against him but failed to win the required support of five of the 211 member federations, leaving infantino to serve a second term. he replaced sepp blatter in 2016 following the corruption scandal. richard freeman, the former team sky and brtish cycling doctor, who faces a charge of ordering testosterone to enhance the performance of an athlete, has had his medical tribunal adjourned until friday. freeman, is charged by the general edical council of ordering the drug which is banned for use by all athletes,

from this 0ldham based company to the team's headquarters in manchester in 2011 and then attempting to conceal his motives for doing so. if found guilty he could be struck off and lose his medical licence. the 2018 tour de france winner, geraint thomas, is back in action today, his first race since the tour of britain last september. he says his focus this year is getting himself in the best shape possible to retain his tour de france title. the welshman rides in a five—stage race in southern spain. it's definitely been busy. normally off—season you rest and go on holiday then you comeback buy can start training again. but it has been so much busy and it's gone so fast, we are closer to the start of this to a than the end of the last this to a than the end ofthglast this to a then the end ofthelest when you reach the pinnacle and one. when you reach the pinnacle and something i've dreamt to do for so

long, and to do it, it takes all the pressure off. i'm enjoying racing and riding my bike and the challenges that brings. british sprinter dwain chambers is out of retirement and is on the 60 metre start list at the british indoor championships this weekend. it's a surprise return to top level athletics for chambers, who officially retired two years ago and is now almost a1. chambers was banned from athletics for two years after testing positive for steroids in 200a. he's attempting to qualify for the british team at next month's european indoor championships in glasgow. england women have announced their new raft of central contracts with an increase in money made available for player salaries sussex bowler freya davies earns her first full professional contract, she's one of twenty one players centrally contracted with four rookies. it continues a growth in the women's game since 2014, with several players earning fifteen to 39% more on their deals last year.

that's all the sport for now. let's go back to our top story. we are disappearing the german government, there brexit spokesman, during his regular weekly government news conference, said there is still time to come to an agreement but in order to agree we need to know a bit and has my proposals are. we expect the prime minister to elaborate on her position when she goes to brussels tomorrow. germany and the ever eu 26 want to avoid a hard body, the backstop is an insurance policy if a permanent solution cannot be found. we are prepared to use creativity to find a permanent solution but we expect the british side to tell us which direction they

wa nt to side to tell us which direction they want to go. that's the german government sounding relatively conciliatory and hopeful about theresa may's visit to brussels tomorrow. despite some of the noises we have been hearing from others in brussels, theresa may has been holding talks with the main political leaders in northern ireland trying to offer reassurance that she can secure a brexit deal with brussels that prevent future border checks. in brussels itself, the president of the european council spoke of a special place in hell for those who promoted brexit without a plan to deliver it safely. norman smith has been speaking to the pro—brexit mp, mark francois about those remarks. how have your comments gone down in westminster particularly? among one of those who campaigned vigorously for brexit, i am joined by mark francois. what do you make of those comments? i am rather surprised. the

british people and the polish people have been allies for very many yea rs, have been allies for very many yea rs , we have been allies for very many yea rs, we have have been allies for very many years, we have lots of links going back a long way, we have many polish people living in the uk who have made it their home. for president tusk to come out with this outburst is really curious and i'm not sure it is going to profit him. what do you think he was trying to achieve? is not entirely clear to be honest. 0ne is not entirely clear to be honest. one thing! is not entirely clear to be honest. one thing i do know is that the house of commons overwhelmingly rejected the withdrawal agreement, the biggest defeat any government has ever said that in the history of parliament, so perhaps this isjust frustration on his part. but if he thinks that by using bombastic language he's going to bully the house of commons to give in, i suspect he's going to be very sorely disappointed. i was going to ask

you, do you think it will in any way help or hinder mrs may in terms of getting a deal? the house of commons voted for something called a 3d amendment last week which the government are supported. that said we should replace the northern ireland backstop in the withdrawal agreement. we've given the by minister mandated go to brussels and ask for that with the support of the house. to make comments like this before she has even arrived is, i think, impolite. do you think mrs may should bring it up when she sees donald tusk tomorrow? she wasn't shy in confronting jean—claude junko when he called her nebulous, we saw that television. the prime minister is not shy if she thinks something has said something into water. i'm not going to tell the prime minister

what to do but i would think the british people would like their prime minister may be to tell president tusk we are not impressed with his remarks. as one of those who campaigned for brexit and is a presumably one of those who deserves a special place in hell, how do you react personally to those comments? i have a faith so i hope i'm not going to help the tape if i ever do thatis going to help the tape if i ever do that is the decision of the lord almighty. it makes tomorrow's meeting between the prime minister and my crew team all the more interesting. not the encouraging curtain raiser above that meeting. crime rates, property prices and transport links, are some of the factors many consider, before moving to a new area. but what do young people think about? the radio! newsbeat team, has been looking into what matters to people under the age of 26, including the number of bars and clubs in an area,

as well as the quality of 4g coverage. here's daniel rosney. it gives you more information as well. it looks at 11 it gives you more information as well. it looks at 1! factors for under 26 euros including the number of bars and music events as well as access to sports facilities and ag. the average rent prices and levels of unemployment are also used. esme is 18. she's a home carer and lives in bridport, west dorset. it's one of the bottom five areas to live in britain if you're under 26. that's what this new bbc analysis suggests. people tend to retire in towns like bridport, which is why there's a demand for carers like esme. it's nice that i know everyone, but if i don't want to go out in bridport, if i want to go for a proper night out as an 18—year—old,

then i have to drive about an hour, over an hour, to actually be able to stay up past one or two in the morning. apart from that, it's all right because i can drive. but if you can't drive, i don't see how you could grow up in west dorset, or anywhere, because there's nothing to do. it's quite isolated. and there's literally no big chains around here. i want to leave and i don't mind coming back, because i love it here. but i don't think i could just stay here forever because i think i need something to mix it up a bit. 60 miles away is bristol and that is one of the top five areas for serving its younger population according to this research. he describes himself as a proud bristolian. every corner that you go to has history about it, has some sort of culture about it and has something unique,

and it'sjust so nice because everyone here has a different background and a different story about them and ijust love that about bristol. esme plans to move to gloucester in september to study nursing, but for her, west dorset will always be home. and you can find the know your place calculator on the bbc news website. jamie is here in a moment, he's going to tears what is going on in business. the headlines. strong words from the president of the european council donald tusk, as he criticises those who he says promoted brexit without a plan of how to do it. a downing street spokesman dismissed the remarks, saying the eu referendum was the largest democratic exercise in british history. in his annual state of the union address, president trump makes an appeal to the democrats to co—operate with him for the good of the american people and insists the wall on the border

with mexico will be built. and hotel booking sites have been warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. interserve, one of the uk's largest providers of public services has reached a deal with creditors to prevent its collapse. the rescue plan involves cutting its debts from over £600 million to £275 million by issuing new shares. six travel websites, including booking.com and trivago, have been investigated over pressure selling and misleading discount claims according to the competition and markets authority, that was concerned the sites were making rooms seem more popular than they were. the sites will now stop using pressure tactics and make prices more clear. brussels has knocked down a proposed french—german rail merger, designed to help europe compete with china. the eu's competition

commission blocked the tie—up, saying uniting france's alstom with the rail arm of germany's siemens would lead to higher prices. some number crunching has been going on with the uk economy. we had a market report the other day which was saying it was down on manufacturing. this is the oldest independent research group in the country. what is come out with is, it has downgraded its forecast. it is expected to have 1.9% but it will get 1.5%. if you work it out, there's a difference of not .a% of it is about half of 1%. this is quite a big downturn. not a

downturn, quite a big markdown is it we re downturn, quite a big markdown is it were for the uk economy. a number of factors, slowing european economy, slowing growth in china, brexit and certainty, a number of factors come into play. we talked to a researcher at the national institute of economic research. brexit uncertainty has intensified and this is dragging down economic growth in the near term and unless this uncertainty is resolved economic growth will remain weak for a prolonged period of time. we are also saying that it's come at the end of this process, the uk ends up without a deal that economic growth will slow down quite sharply but it is unlikely to be a disaster for the simple reason that policy will step in. there are contingency plans that are already been announced. monetary

policy will step in and we also expect the chancellor to step in with additional actions, mainly tax cuts, and maybe even more spending. in other words, it's important to have some kind of deal because that'll be the of this process but if that isn't a deal, action will mitigate some of the losses. there is another bit of research from the cbi. it is to do with trade agreements, which the uk has with a0 other countries but it has it through the eu. the cbi says many of these trade agreements are not, actually, all of them are not ready to be transferred into a substitute agreement if we have a no—deal brexit. worse still, many of the companies which trade which benefits from these agreements don't know at

the moment they do so. as a result, they're not prepared for the changes which may occur if we have a no—deal brexit. they need a bit of a wake—up call. they need a bit of a wake—up call. the cba is a crosses and it should be able to give advice on how, if there is no change, if there are no new negotiations or no new changes, what they should do for them to me, looking at companies, interesting news from spot if i. they came out with some figures. what's really interesting is that you're making an acquisition, they are getting pod casts. the big news today is that they are getting into the world of podcasting. if you look at spotify‘s earnings, they said they are not expecting a whole lot happening in

2019 but the vb concentrating on growth, not so much profitability. this venture into the world of pod cast lends itself into that. spotify is moving away from being a music streaming service to now being a podcasting and music streaming service. it is interesting to see what might happen down the line in terms of how they might change the way people are going to be purchasing these podcasts. right now, they are all free but as we know with spotify, they change the weight music producers are putting out their music on the site. there isa out their music on the site. there is a question about how they may change the payment mechanism for how people actually get their podcast. i'm a bit tongue—tied today! people actually get their podcast. i'm a bit tongue-tied today! it's mutual! 0ne i'm a bit tongue-tied today! it's mutual! one of the things that investors are always worried about, these start—ups, they can't do more

than what they started off doing. this is a break with what they have done traditionally. investors, they like this? what about the shares? if you look at the share price, it is down right now but that is because spotify is the acquiring company so they will be spending many so investors don't like it when money is being spent. is this really a big departure from what spotify already does? some people might counter this. it dovetails nicely. this is all within the streaming realm, this is all popular with young kids. it plays into areas that spotify already has some knowledge in. it could be really good for the company has them popular with young people! thank you very much indeed. i wonder how many podcasts the world can take. how much music and the well take? i don't know the answer

to that question. tell me about the markets. the pound appreciating a bit against the euro. gone up a quarter of a centre this morning. it is brexit feelings at the moment. it is brexit feelings at the moment. it is not going anywhere dramatic. i don't think we'll get a big movement until st valentine's day! because of the vote? more brexit news. the pound and brexit are close. 0n the vote? more brexit news. the pound and brexit are close. on that note, we are expecting possibly a few words from leo varadkar and jean—claude juncker in a few words from leo varadkar and jean—claudejuncker in a few minutes. let's have a look at the weather first. the weather is about to are more active, windy with heavy rain in places. through the rest of this afternoon, many places are dry,

there are some showers around in northern ireland, north—west england and scotland. some heavy rain comes back to was part of south—east england and east anglia overnight. this area of rain, same sleet and snow to the hills of northern ireland and it moves east. 60 to 70 manpower gusts this evening for the first part of the night. that strong wind transfers east into england tomorrow morning, 50 mph gusts to start the daycare. the winds will ease as the day goes on, it's coming from either direction so some of us getting into figures. maybe not quite the size they have been for england and wales today. foxy hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm carrie gracie. today at 3: the president of the european council condemns politicians who he says promoted britain leaving the eu, without a plan to deliver it safely. i've been wondering what the special

police in hill looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it —— hell. in his delayed state of the union address, president trump appeals for republicans and democrats to set aside their differences. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. hotel booking sites are warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport withjohn watson. manchester city could return to the top of the premier league table tonight if they can beat everton. thanks, john, and we'll bejoining you for a full update just after half—past.

nick miller has all the weather. the weather might be behaving today but i've got news of several spells of strong winds on the way for the rest of the week, taking us into the weekend, too. also coming up: know your place — the new bbc online calculator that allows young people to find outjust how good their local area is to live in. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live. the president of the european council, donald tusk, has spoken of a "special place in hell" for those who promoted brexit, without a plan to deliver it safely. and he warned of what he called the "possible fiasco" of no deal. speaking in brussels on the eve of talks with theresa may, he said he hoped the prime minister now had a "realistic" plan, to resolve the controversy over

the irish "backstop", the mechanism brussels insists is necessary, to prevent a hard border after brexit, and to secure the peace process. mrs may is visiting stormont today, for talks with the main political leaders in northern ireland, to offer reassurance she can secure a deal with brussels, that prevents future border checks. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy, reports. they had a deal. they never wanted to see theresa may coming back for more negotiations here. and the mood in brussels is fiery. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it. and no sign of budging on the backstop. while we expect that the backstop would never be used, we agreed again today it is needed

as a legal guarantee to ensure there is no return to a hard border on the island of ireland, while protecting the integrity of our european single market and customs union, and i think the events in london and instability in british politics in recent weeks demonstrates exactly why we need a legal guarantee. meanwhile, theresa may's on her third trip to northern ireland in seven months. here, just as in westminster, the same divisions remain. she's quite the regular now, but has yet to find a way through. northern ireland's unionist parties want the eu to agree legal changes to the irish backstop, the plan to avoid checks on the irish border, but some now believe we need more time. we're not far from the 29th of march and we, as a party, don't see a no deal as a positive situation or something that fits northern ireland or the uk.

we've asked her to look for an extension of article 50. the largest irish nationalist party, sinn fein, have called theresa may's plan to amend the irish backstop an act of bad faith. mrs may will be left in no doubt that there will be no hard border on the island of ireland, that her course of action is completely unacceptable to us and we will set all of that out to her very, very clearly. the tensions here mirror that of westminster, with broadly one side are urging theresa may to stick more closely to the eu in future, and other wanting much more independence for the uk. legal changes to the irish backstop is what theresa may believes she needs to get the deal through westminster and after this she's off to brussels to try to extract something here. the irish prime minister will arrive in northern ireland on friday. the next a8 hours will be crucial. the leader of the democratic unionist party, arlene foster, said that she had told theresa may

during those talks at stormont that legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement were needed. she also described donald tusk‘s comments as disrespectful to leave voters. clearly the pressure is beginning to mount in brussels. we have seen that today from some of the responses, particularly from the president, donald tusk. i think it was deliberately provocative, i have to say. very disrespectful to those of us who voted to leave the european union. he should reflect on what he had to say, but as i said to the prime minister this morning, this is a time for cool heads. it's a time to have focus and it's a time to try and find solutions, not to be disrespectful to those of us who voted in a democratic way to leave the european union and i hope that when the prime minister does go to brussels that she will be met with respect when she goes there. we can cross to the houses of parliament and speak to our chief political correspondent vicki young.

is this just is thisjust a is this just a storm in a dictionary or something more? the day before theresa may goes to brussels are seeking compromise, the language doesn't bode well, there doesn't seem to be a lot of goodwill. people speculate on why donald tusk said this, it wasn't an off—the—cuff remark, he had scripted this and later tweeted it so it was deliberate in that sense but maybe from frustration with the whole process who he blames for the impasse is another matter. let's speak to sammy wilson from the dup. what do you make of what donald tusk said and why do you think you said it? firstly, i'm not surprised because our argument all along has been that the eu and those in charge of the eu holds democracy in contempt and donald tusk made that quite clear today, that he holds those people who voted and dared to vote to leave the eu in total

contempt. he wasn't talking about voters, he was talking about those who had led the campaign and seemingly didn't have a plan, he clearly made that obvious. side make those who follow those people would get the same treatment but i think the other thing it shows is that the prime ministers should capitalise on this, there is no frustration creeping in within the eu —— mike the prime minister. they thought they had us skewered on their trident and the formal withdrawal agreement has now been voted down by parliament and know the eu are facing the 29th of march and the prime ministers should capitalise on that frustration, she should hold her ground firm because she knows that the eu are on the run. he could be frustrated that theresa may has negotiated deal over two years, couldn't get it through parliament and is acting for big quick changes this late in the day. it was known a

long, long time ago that this deal is not going anywhere. we've met with people in brussels, we have explained to them that we are proposing it, —— we are opposing it, many other people in the house of commons are opposing it. and they have to live with the consequences after the wheels have fallen off the wagon but i think the bad—tempered outburst from donald tusk today ought to be a good sign to the people in the united kingdom that we are not going to get good treatment from the eu. you made the right decision to leave. stick by that decision to leave. stick by that decision and ensure that the prime minister delivers on it. if you want compromise, this doesn't bode well. side like i don't think the eu ever intended a compromise and they certainly won't in the face of a vacillating prime minister, they will only compromise when they know that we are leaving on the 29th of march. she will take us out on the 29th of march and we are not staying in the eu with disadvantages.

lets hear from jean—claude juncker, the president of the european commission. the backstop is needed for obvious, vital reasons and we cannot amend the idea that the backstop has to be put into place because the backstop is a guarantee for ireland. it is not a question between the republic of ireland and the united kingdom, it's a european issue and that is why we cannot accept the idea which is circulated around that the agreement could be reopened and as the backstop is part

of the agreement, we cannot reopen the discussion on the backstop. tomorrow i will have the pleasure to welcome the british prime minister and she knows that the commission is not prepared to reopen the issue. this is the current position of the 27 and the commission. it is the position of the commission and thus of the 27. thank you very much, jean—claude it was a very good meeting and we were joined in the meeting and we were joined in the meeting by a meeting and we were joined in the meeting bya number of meeting and we were joined in the meeting by a number of officials. commissioner hogan was present as well and michelle barney, discussing brexit. the agenda is deep and broad and deals with many things other than brexit including free trade

between the eu and japan which will between the eu and japan which will be worth hundreds of thousands to european countries in terms ofjobs under terms of further investment and in terms of further trade between the eu and japan and the situation in venezuela, and you'll know that mr hogan is particularly focused on that today, calling for the restoration of democracy, free elections, human rights and opportunity in that country and some other questions relating to the ongoing efforts for the single market and to prepare for the negotiations. brexit focused on the current impasse and desire to conclude the withdrawal agreement and have ratified both by westminster and the european parliament, we should not forget that both parliaments... and i came for a meeting earlier in the european parliament and there was a strong view that nothing would be ratified in the european parliament that doesn't do right by ireland, i was happy to have that statement

reaffirmed and, of course, we had some discussion as well over no deal planning, ireland is increasingly prepared for no deal, we don't want no deal, we think it can be avoided but we have to prepare for it nonetheless and we have taken steps such as legislation which will go through our parliament this month and that will be secured at r ports —— make our ports and we will put the necessary facilities in place for the 29th of march, which we are increasingly prepared for. farmers and fishermen may be the most affected but also exporters, it means we can provide aid to farmers and fishermen and intervene if they are adversely affected, to restructure them or provide capital loans in order to take trade away from britain towards trade with the re st of from britain towards trade with the rest of the world. we have issued a

joint statement on the outcome of today's meeting but as the president has said, we stand by the withdrawal agreement which includes the protocol in ireland and within that backstop in northern ireland. the withdrawal agreement is already a compromise, it was co—designed with the british government and contains large elements that they designed and requested. it has been agreed by 28 governments including the uk government and we stand by it. we will always listen to suggestions that the uk government has to make, particularly in relation to joint political declaration on the future relationship but that is very much in the context of future relationship discussion. i'll also be meeting theresa may on friday, she is coming to dublin on friday evening and we will have dinner together and discuss the situation and work together to chart a way forward. t shock, notwithstanding

donald tusk's marks about special places in hell this morning, he also said he was hopeful a solution could be found. do you have a view as to which kind of narrow space theresa may might have to get this through the house of commons? secondly, did you discuss with jean—claude juncker what might happen at the irish border? i am confident a solution could be found but we should bear in mind the threat of no deal is not a threat that the european union is making ora threat that the european union is making or a threat that ireland is making, this march the 29th deadline is set in britain by britain and it is set in britain by britain and it is open to the united kingdom to request an extension to article 50 provided there is a purpose to that orto provided there is a purpose to that or to revoke article 50 if that is their wish and the threat of no deal that ireland is making, not one that the european union is making, not one that has to be visited on our

citizens or businesses or economy, it is not our threat in any way. in terms of what can be done, the joint political declaration on the future relationship can certainly be enhanced. we discussed as well what assurances and guarantees could potentially be given to the uk government but in terms of getting a vote through the westminster parliament, there are two things i would say. first of all, bed and make this all has to go through the european parliament, there is more than one parliament in europe and the european parliament will have to ratify this as well and i know that the european parliament will not ratify any withdrawal agreement that doesn't do right by ireland doesn't secure the peace in northern ireland and will of course want to insist that we protect the integrity of the single market and customs union which ireland wants to protect as well because it is part of our economic strategy that we are in the eurozone and we will protect the single market and customs union. i do have a concern about this idea

around alternative arrangements. we need to bear in mind that this majority that perhaps existed in the house of commons for alternative arrangements probably only exist because alternative arrangements can because alternative arrangements can be whatever you want them to mean. i don't believe that would have passed to people how to get into the details of alternative arrangements. the concept is there in the joint political declaration on the future relationship. it is something that can be explored, something we can talk about but cannot result in the deletion of the backstop. that's the fundamental point, it is there to be worked on in the years ahead but it cannot be done in such a way that deletes the backstop. you said

before that in the event of no deal there would have to be difficult conversations held with europe. was today the start of those difficult conversations about what might happen at the border if a no deal develops? jean—claude juncker, can irish industry expect some sort of financial assistance or a relaxation of some of the eager reels in the event of no deal? what can we expect from the eu in that scenario? do you agree that there is a special place in hell for brexiteers that didn't have a plan? he strongly believes in heaven but the opposite in hell, i believe in heaven and i've never seen hell. when i was doing myjob

here, it's heaven. as far as your other question is concerned, we stand ready to help, to be in full solidarity with ireland in the case you were mentioning, but this is not my working assumption, my working assumption is not no deal and my working assumption is not that this concept of alternative arrangements. these alternative arrangements can be put under meditation for the future, not for the so—called alternative arrangements can never replace the backstop. we need the backstop, we need a withdrawal agreement and when it comes to future relations, we can look into alternative arrangements but they will never replace the backstop.

there is no way to have a unilateral jumping out of the backstop because the backstop is needed is a guarantee of the safety net and that is not a safety net if it can be destroyed by one of the parties' actions. we stand ready to assist good but i don't like this would assist. when it comes to farmers, ireland will not be left alone. this is also true when these kind of measures... i don't believe an audio situation is the most positive one.|j don't believe an audio situation is the most positive one. i think it's always important to recall that the border between northern ireland and ireland isjust border between northern ireland and ireland is just a border between northern ireland and ireland isjust a border between

those, it's also going to be the new eu and uk frontier so this isn't just a question for ireland, it isn'tjust a question of maintaining the peace process in the good friday agreement although that is the overriding protection and has to be, it is also making sure that we protect the single market and customs union and that ireland doesn't become a back door to the single market and customs union so if at some point in the future the united kingdom were to allow coordinated chicken or beef with hormones in it into their markets, we wouldn't want that coming into our market so the european market. we are making no plans for physical obstruction on the border, we haven't gone into the details of that today but we will do whatever is necessary to avoid the emergence ofa is necessary to avoid the emergence of a hard border on our island, deal or no deal. can i ask how you interpret angela merkel's statements

that you should be open to creative suggestions on the backstop? do you think that refers to alternative arrangements to be discussed in the transition period or in the coming weeks from the uk side? president, you were handed a greeting card. can you were handed a greeting card. can you tell us what it said? it was private. it was a thank you message from a family in dublin. i can't interpret angela merkel's comments for you, but all politicians are creative and i think we've already been creative in the withdrawal agreement. we started with a backstop that would only apply to northern ireland. we extend that to include a customs territory for the

united kingdom, we provided a letter of guarantee so i think we have been very creative all along and perhaps it is for those who created this problem to be a bit creative now. do you expect more suggestions from the prime minister on friday?” you expect more suggestions from the prime minister on friday? i don't know but one thing i can definitely say is that no matter what happens in the next couple of months, ireland and the united kingdom, our nearest neighbours, are very strong trading partners, and we have a particular shared responsibility to northern ireland, to the peace process and the good friday agreement so we have to have good relations no matter what happened andl relations no matter what happened and i look forward to meeting the prime minister in dublin on friday night. this concludes our press conference. studio: an interesting conference, one in yourdiary studio: an interesting conference, one in your diary date, that theresa may will be to meet leo varadkar late on friday. now let's have a

look at some analysis of this with adam fleming, our brussels correspondent. quite interesting what they were saying about alternative arrangements. yes, they have basically trashed what mps thought they were voting for in parliament last week. do you remember the so—called brady amendment? that said the parliament had a majority in favour of replacing the backstop with alternative arrangements and that is what is giving the prime minister and government a two—week window to explore alternatives to the backstop so in other words, things that are really, really different like technological solutions being put forward by some backbench mps, but also you've got people like the attorney general looking at alternative language that could be used in the backstop. both men were quite critical of this idea of alternative arrangements and leo varadkar was being quite scathing, suggesting that mps didn't know what they were voting for and had been a bit misled and the only reason it got through parliament was because

the motion itself was so vague so i think if more backbench brexiteer hackles were going to be raised, that will have done it, then what happened is jean—claude juncker then said you cannot have a unilateral exit from the backstop. he did not say you couldn't have a time limit on the backstop. those are the two things that theresa may's ministers are looking at in terms of changes to the backstop, a mechanism by which the uk could quote and quote escape from it by itself, that was rejected byjean—claude juncker, it did not mention the idea of a time limit. he may not have had that on his mind wouldn't rule it out because he wasn't thinking about it or he didn't rule that out because it is being ruled in behind—the—scenes as a solution to this. by and large, the mood music both of what we had just then and what we heard earlier in the day

from leo varadkar standing alongside the european council president donald tusk, the mood music is very negative about whatever possible unicorn theresa may could turn up to brussels with tomorrow. all the people we have seen at various points today have been saying what the eu position is, which is that the eu position is, which is that the withdrawal agreement, the brexit treaty which contains the infamous backstop is not up for renegotiation. where there is room for manoeuvre is the document that goes beside it, the political declaration, which sketches out the shape of the future relationship. the eu institutions, barnier, barnier‘s deputy, the european parliament, they say this is where to look for solutions and although mood music has been quite negative and we saw donald tusk making his inflammatory comment about a special place in hell being reserved for some of the people that led the brexit campaign, actually, what they've been saying about the prime

minister and they are open to this, for her to come with potential solutions, has been quite different, they haven't been negative about the prime minister, they haven't com pletely prime minister, they haven't completely closed down the idea that there could be some kind of alternative to the current impasse out there somewhere. it's a bit of a cop out saying this but we have to see what the equivalent to this is tomorrow when theresa may has spoken tomorrow when theresa may has spoken to donald tusk and jean—claude juncker and she's going to the european parliament has well, although i get the impression she is coming to give them an update on the work that the uk is doing on its own possible solutions, not to deliver ona possible solutions, not to deliver on a plate the actual solution and i think that's probably what you'll do again on friday night when she goes to dublin for dinner with leo varadkar. thank you, adam. president trump has called on republicans and democrats to set aside their differences, in his delayed state of the union address. he said congress had to choose between "greatness or gridlock," but warned that a wall was still needed along the mexican border, to prevent illegal immigration. he also announced he'd hold a second nuclear summit,

with north korea's leader at the end of the month and he condemned what he called the "ridiculous" investigations against him, into alleged russian collusion. 0ur washington correspondent, chris buckler, reports. the president of the united states! it's a sign of the political state of this union that this address had to be delayed. democrats initially withdrew donald trump's invitation to speak amid a partial government shutdown. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, and embrace the fabulous potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. but after two years, during which some critics have called mr trump america's most divisive president, the reaction of many democrats was telling. away from the political differences, mr trump believes he has a positive story to tell about his presidency, particularly when it

comes to the ecnonomy. an economic miracle is taking place in the united states and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous, partisan investigations. 0ver his shoulder, the democratic speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, couldn't help but roll her eyes at the reference to the ongoing investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election, and claims of collusion involving the trump campaign. but the president got a warmer reaction from his political opponents when he mentioned the growth in jobs for women. you weren't supposed to do that! wearing white for gender equality, the group of democratic women stood out in the chamber, a fact mr trump couldn't ignore. we also have more women serving in congress than at any time before. their success in the mid—term

elections has given the democrats control of the house of representatives... usa, usa, usa! ..and frustrated some of the president's plans, particularly when it comes to border security. mr trump invited, as some of his guests, the family of a couple allegedly killed by illegal immigrants, an emotive attempt to get funding for his long—promise wall with mexico. in the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. i will get it built. this was a speech in which america came first, but mr trump made one significant international announcement, giving details of a second summit with the north korean leader. my relationship with kimjong—un is a good one.

kim and i will meet again on february 27th and 28th in vietnam. mr trump's words were measured and he stuck largely to the script in his appeal for washington's politicians to come together, but there is a chance, with his sometimes angry tweets and off—the—cuff comments, that the president himself could threaten those relationships in the future. three members of a group of direct action protesters known as the ‘stansted 15‘ have received suspended prison sentences after a protest at the airport. twelve have been given community orders. they were found guilty of trying to stop a plane used to deport people from the uk from taking off. we'll get more from our correspondentjo black the plane intended to deport

individuals. they were found guilty of intentional disruption of services at an aerial drone. it is contrary to aviation and maritime law. we will get more from our correspondence from chelmsford crown court ina correspondence from chelmsford crown court in a few moments. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller reasonably quiet by the day there. some hazy sunshine in places. the weather will turn active with heavy rain in places. for the rest of this afternoon, many places are dry. there are a few showers around in the north west of england, particularly in scotland, you will find some snow on the high hills. some heavy rain comes down to south—east england. some sleet and

snow to the hills of northern ireland, northern england and scotland. it is very windy around the coast of south—west and south wales. that strong winds transfers into england tomorrow morning. 50 manpower gusts to start the day here. the winds will ease as the day goes on. it is coming from a mild direction so some others still getting into double figures. maybe not quite what they have been for england and wales today. ascension are showers tomorrow in the west. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the eu reaffirms its position that brexit withdrawal agreement will not be reneogiated — as the president of the european council condemns people who he says promoted britain leaving the eu without a plan to deliver it safely. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan

how to carry it out. in his delayed state of the union address, donald trump appeals for republicans and democrats, to set aside their differences. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. hotel booking sites are warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. sport now on afternoon live withjohn watson. so there could be change at the top of the premier league table later tonight. by the end of the day manchester city could be back on top of the premier league, a position they haven't occupied since early december last year.

win at everton and they'll move above liverpool on goal difference. and its goals pep guardiola wanst incase the title is settled on goal difference as it was in 2013 — he's of the opinion though it's not just the top two who are in the hunt. even myself said, seven points will be really tough. tomorrow we will make a be really tough. tomorrow we will makea win be really tough. tomorrow we will make a win and we could be top of the league. who would have thought that? not two months ago. the lesson is never give up, never give up and focus what you have to do, forget about the other ones. never give up. that is the best lesson we can learn in the last four or five days. they got so much strength and depth in their site. that kind of rivalry we can see in the premier league, we don't see that at fifa. people will

be surprised to hear thatjenny infantino will be surprised to hear thatjenny infa ntino will stand unopposed be surprised to hear thatjenny infantino will stand unopposed for the topjob in infantino will stand unopposed for the top job in world football in june's presidential election. as we know an organisation which hasn't painted itself in glory in recent years. former tottenham defender ramon vega had planned to stand against him but failed to win the required support of five of the 211 member associations, leaving infantino to serve a second term. he replaced sepp blatter in 2016 following the corruption scandal. west ham are investigating after a video emerged of a fan racially abusing mo salah during monday's draw at the london stadium. he was filmed on a mobile as he took a corner with insults directed at his muslim religion. in a statement the club said anyone identified commiting an offence will face a lifetime ban. richard freeman, the former team sky and brtish cycling doctor,

who faces a charge of ordering testosterone to enhance the performance of an athlete, has had his medical tribunal adjourned until friday. freeman, is charged by the general medical council of ordering the drug which is banned for use by all athletes, from this 0ldham based company to the team's headquarters in manchester in 2011 and then attempting to conceal his motives for doing so. if found guilty he could be struck off and lose his medical licence. geraint thomas finished twenty seconds off the leader in today's individual time trial at a race in southern spain, his first of the year. his last competition was at the tour of britain in september. he said on twitter after... not bad, not good, but as expected. but nice to be back racing. speaking before the start of this five stage race he said the year ahead is all about getting in the best shape possible to defend his tour de france title.

iam i am indecent and ethnic. i did a lot of work down in la and just build on that now. i am indecent neck. maybe if i hadn't won the tour de france last it would have been different bits being defending champion, i have to go back and be in the best shape possible. 0bviously, in the best shape possible. obviously, the world champions in yorkshire as well in the end of september. july, september is my big goal. first week of february is not so much pressure, just enjoy it a bit. england women have announced their new raft of central contracts with an increase in money made available for player salaries sussex bowler freya davies earns her first full professional contract, she's one of twenty one players centrally contracted with four rookies. it continues a growth in the women's game since 201a, with several players earning 15%—30% more on their deals last year.

that's all the sport for now. six of the biggest hotel booking websites have agreed to make changes designed to end misleading sales tactics. it follows an investigation from the competition watchdog. from september the firms, including expedia, hotels.com, and ebookers, will have to be clear about which hotels have paid them for higher rankings on their sites to end pressure selling. let's talk to travel editor of the independent, simon calder. simon, you are on a station platform. are you about to disappear under a platform. are you about to disappear undera train? platform. are you about to disappear under a train? love, i've got four and a half minutes. thank you very much for your kind consideration. when you see it arrive i have to

leave. we will let you know! anyway, for the half minutes is plenty of time to put the world to rights. what is going to happen with these websites? for the last 14 months the competition and markets authority has been looking into the practices of these big giant companies, expedia, hotels.com, bookings.com and so on, they have concluded that this is not doing anybody any favours. they are using high—pressure sales tactics, typically when you go online and you look for a hotel, as i was doing just on sunday night, it is a sending item i was in new york from early february, they were a million empty rooms but you wouldn't have told that from the message i was getting. they have been doing lots of that. the competition and markets authority isn't convinced they have been behaving particularly well on that. they have been putting on pressure. 0n pricing, ijust type

this morning, looking for a place to stay, they said $55, great. but then the extra charges tilted another $40. the extra charges tilted another $a0, 73% higher. those are the sort of thing is the competition and markets authority want to rule out. however, the big companies don't need to do this until the 1st of september by which summer, the busy time, is over. why are we going to have to wait for another six months before they do it? i've been talking in east devon to a lot of hoteliers who are delighted action is being taken at last. that is just attracted to my right! crikey! it is kicking off. they are delighted the government is taking action. they are dismayed it has taken a year already. the companies themselves, they say we are already doing things to smarten up our act and we will

comply with this ruling. the competition and markets authority does say, we not saying anybody has done anything we are just saying they have also letters which means they have also letters which means they have also letters which means they have to change their practices. for the consumer it is a good news, but for people like me, i will continue to do as i've always done, have an idea of prices and go direct to the hotel. 0therwise, have an idea of prices and go direct to the hotel. otherwise, 15% at least of the transaction is going straight to the middleman. interesting. the middleman and the actual hotels and not, their interests don't coincide. people like my crew to say, we are perfectly happy for you to go to the hotel is direct, we add an introduction service so you might find a hotel first booking through as but we will be fully understanding if you go direct. the hoteliers say these companies have

so much power they make things so seductive for the bucket that people arejust seductive for the bucket that people are just automatically booking their entire itinerary through these middle men. it is costing this industry an awful lot of money for that they say, cut out the middleman. i don't think that's going to be happening in the near future. the hotel is around here, they just struggle on for seven early february is not a great time to have a hotel in south—west england or indeed many other places. i'm glad you're supporting them. we are going to let you go. is there any sign of your train? no. it is looking as though, looking down the line, it is going to be officially late. i'm delighted to talk about the performance of south western railway is a cluster i think it is getting very, very noisy in the background. what is in the

background? background. what is in the background ? turn yourself background. what is in the background? turn yourself around so we can see. it is a mechanical thing thatis we can see. it is a mechanical thing that is happening over in the corner. i can't quite see it. you are not yet a good camera operator! you are making me feel sick. you are going to miss your train! we got there in the end. it is a wood chipper. get back on the platform. talk as long as you like, frankly. goodbye, simon. crime rates, property prices and transport links, are some of the factors many consider, before moving to a new area. but what do young people think about? the radio1 newsbeat team, has been looking into what matters to people under the age of 26, including the number of bars and clubs in an area, as well as the quality of ag coverage. here's daniel rosney. we have looked at 11 different kinds

of data for every area in england, wales and scotland. it is a simple tool, you type in your postcode or local authority and it ranks your area out of ten. gives you more information well. it looks at 11 factors for under 26 euros including the number of bars and music events as well as access to sports facilities and ag. the average rent prices and levels of unemployment are also used. esme is 18. she's a home carer and lives in bridport, west dorset. it's one of the bottom five areas to live in britain if you're under 26. that's what this new bbc analysis suggests. people tend to retire in towns like bridport, which is why there's a demand for carers like esme. it's nice that i know everyone, but if i don't want to go out in bridport, if i want to go for a proper night out as an 18—year—old, then i have to drive about an hour, over an hour, to actually be able to stay up past one or two in the morning.

apart from that, it's all right because i can drive. but if you can't drive, i don't see how you could grow up in west dorset, or anywhere, because there's nothing to do. it's quite isolated. and there's literally no big chains around here. i want to leave and i don't mind coming back, because i love it here. but i don't think i could just stay here forever because i think i need something to mix it up a bit. 60 miles away is bristol and that is one of the top five areas for serving its younger population according to this research. he describes himself as a proud bristolian. every corner that you go to has history about it, has some sort of culture about it and has something unique, and it'sjust so nice because everyone here has a different background and a different story about them and ijust love that about bristol. esme plans to move to gloucester in september to study nursing, but for her, west dorset

will always be home. and you can find the know your place calculator on the bbc news website. some breaking news for you on the disappearance of emiliano sala. this is coming from bbc wales. they are saying that the french club, nantes have demanded payment from cardiff city for emiliano sala. his plane went missing last with that month as you will remember. the wreckage was discovered several days ago near the island of guernsey. there is discussion going on between the authorities and the family both of

emiliano sala and david ibbotson, the pilot, as to what to do about the pilot, as to what to do about the wreckage, whether to bring it up. one body was found in the plane wreckage at the time. as i was saying, going back to this issue of payment, bbc wales as saying nantes have demanded a payment from cardiff city, cardiff have withheld the first scheduled payments are saying until they are satisfied with the documentation. they do intend to honour the contract but not until they have clarified the facts. it is understood nantes are threatening legal action if they don't receive the payment within ten days. that coming from bbc wales, we'll bring you more on it as we get it. jamie is here and he will be telling us what is going on in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. the eu reaffirms its position that the brexit withdrawal deal will not be renegotiated

as the president of the european council condemns people who he says promoted britain leaving the eu without a plan to deliver it safely. in his annual state of the union address, president trump appeals to the democrats to co—operate with him for the good of the american people and insists the border wall with mexico will be built. hotel booking sites have been warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. interserve, one of the uk's largest providers of public services,has reached a deal with creditors to prevent its collapse. the rescue plan involves cutting its debts from over £600m to £275m by issuing new shares. glaxosmithkline has reported a profit of £a.8 billion for last year, up 36% on the previous year.

sales rose 2% to £30.8 billion. however, the firm says that profits will fall this year. brussels has knocked down a proposed french—german rail merger, designed to help europe compete with china. the eu's competition commission blocked the tie—up, saying uniting france's alstom with the rail arm of germany's siemens would lead to higher prices. we are going to start with the north—south divide. the pound in a northerners pockets is worth more than a pound in a southerners? new research has calculated that every £1 spent in london is equivalent to £1.17 in the north, making each pound worth almost 20% more than in the capital. there are some interesting

statistics, one in five people in york live ten minutes away from their work. i can go there too. 0ver half of all londoners would move to a place with a better balance of life — work balance and take lower pay if they could. it seems as though, part of this is an advertisement for the north as well. joinings us now is geraintjohnes, professor of economics at lancaster university. why don't people move to the north if it is so attractive and half of the people in london would like to go there? it is interesting that more than half, 53%, of people in london that we surveyed would be quite happy to move to the north even if it involved a cut in pay. the real thrust of the work that we've done

is to find out what a cut in pay in place for these people that may be willing to move to the north. in effect, what is a pound worth in the north compared with what it is worth in london. we looked at six cities in the north, liverpool, manchester, newcastle, sheffield, leeds, york. we investigated the by surveying people both in those cities and also in london. we asked them questions about how much they spend on groceries, how much they spend on a pint of beer in the pub, but also we we re pint of beer in the pub, but also we were asking questions about their accommodation costs and about their commuting. and what they do with their free commuting. and what they do with theirfree time. commuting. and what they do with their free time. the interesting one, rent, there is an enormous difference. two and a half times as much paid in london as it is paid in these northern cities that we investigated. at the same time, people in london seem to be living

in smaller accommodation, fewer bedrooms on average than is the case in the north. a huge difference at the foot accommodation, either rental or imputed rental in the course of owner occupation. also, huge differences in commuting time. if you look at the time spent in commuting, over the course of the year people in london are spending more than 100 hours more than people in the northern cities on their commute. 100 hours is a lot. think ofa commute. 100 hours is a lot. think of a hundred i was, it is between two and a half and three weeks working time. if you cost that in terms of what people could be doing if they weren't commuting, clearly there is a major benefit to living in an area where you don't have to do as much commuting. in an area where you don't have to do as much commutinglj in an area where you don't have to do as much commuting. i go back to my original question, if you have a free market and the mobility of people, if you have all these attractive facets to the north, lower rents, cheaper way of living,

cheaper way of doing business, why do people move north to a northern powerhouse? clearly there are benefits associated with living in london, i have lived in london in the past myself, it is a great place to live. there are benefits to living in the north and this research highlights what some of those benefits might be. it is still a pay gap as well as it being cheaper to let... people in london are saying they're prepared to move and take less pay. and it's possible many of those will move. we know that its migration out of london, much of that is to other areas of the south—east. increasingly, we're seeing people are tempted to the north with initiatives such as the northern powerhouse putting new energy into the economy the north, we've got vibrant cities like liverpool, manchester, leeds, giving job opportunities to professionals in the north and may be willing to move or move back to the north. we are going to have to leave it there.

thank you very much. shall we have a look at the markets? this fire has really hit 0cado. it was at one of their warehouses. it isa was at one of their warehouses. it is a big robotic warehouses where they have been investing a lot of money. they say it is one of them. we have seen shares do very nicely over the last few months because people have felt their new business plan is going to work. this has really hit it. glaxo had some good figures. up about 30%. revenue didn't increase very much, profits didn't increase very much, profits did very well. at 36%. the pound is looking stronger than when i talk to an hourago, looking stronger than when i talk to an hour ago, getting up to ha. a man running on a park trail in the mountains of northern

colorado has killed a mountain lion after it pounced on him from behind. the man, who hasn't been identified, sustained serious injuries after he was bitten on his face and wrist by the young male lion which looks similar to the one pictured here. the runner was apparently able to suffocate the animal before making his way to a local hospital. a pretty impressive story. the veteran presenter of bbc radio a's today programme, john humphrys, has confirmed he'll be leaving the show, probably in the autumn. he joined the programme in 1987, after presenting television news bulletins. now 75, he's known for his rigorous interviewing style. fellow presenter sarah montague asked him what he will miss most about working on the show. it is the listeners. you genuinely

feel after you've done this programme for long enough that you have, no, i'm not going to say... go on. you do feel that you have a relationship with a huge number of people. i haven't quite thought about it, but since i have to say something, that is what it is, it is a relationship with millions of listeners. that is a huge privilege. time for a look at the weather with nick miller. some hazy sunshine in places. the weather is going to turn active, windy with heavy rain in places. for the rest of the afternoon, many places dry, there are some showers

around especially into scotland, a bit of snow to the higher hills. some heavy rain comes back to was pa rt some heavy rain comes back to was part of south—east england and east anglia. this area of rain, some sleet and snow to northern england and scotland. it turns windy on the coasts of south wales. that core of strong winds transforms —— transfers into england tomorrow morning. the winds were slowly eased as the day goes on, it is coming from a fairly mild direction so some of us still getting into double figures. maybe not quite as high as they have been for england and wales today. sunshine and if few showers tomorrow in the west. foxy hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm carrie gracie. today at four: the eu reaffirms its position that the withdrawal deal will not be renegotiated as the president of the european council issues strong words for politicians who he says promoted brexit without a plan to deliver it safely. i've been wondering what the special

place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it. the met office is predicting that this decade — from 201a — will be the warmest since records began. hotel booking sites are warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. na ntes nantes have demanded payment from cardiff city over the transfer of emiliano sala. and nick has all the weather. we'll be looking at wetter, windier weather on the way, particularly some strong winds and also looking

back at just how some strong winds and also looking back atjust how dry dry january has been. well, when it comes to the weather! also coming up, we'll be in cardiff where a skin expert warns that young people influenced by celebrity culture are risking their health by going to extreme lengths to achieve a perfect tan. that's in news nationwide. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live. the president of the european commission, jean claude juncker, has reaffirmed the eu's position that the brexit withdrawal agreement will not be renegotiated. it comes after strong words from european council president, donald tusk, who said there was a "special place in hell" for those who promoted brexit, without a plan to deliver it safely. speaking in brussels on the eve of talks with theresa may, mr tusk said he hoped the prime minister now

had a "realistic" plan, to resolve the controversy over the irish "backstop", the mechanism brussels insists is necessary, to prevent a hard border after brexit, and to secure the peace process. mrs may is visiting stormont todayfor talks with the main political leaders in northern ireland, to offer reassurance she can secure a deal with brussels that prevents future border checks. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. they had a deal. they never wanted to see theresa may coming back for more negotiations here. and the mood in brussels is fiery. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it. and no sign of budging on the backstop. while we expect that the backstop will never be used,

we agreed again today it is needed as a legal guarantee to ensure there is no return to a hard border on the island of ireland, while protecting the integrity of our european single market and customs union, and i think the events in london and instability in british politics in recent weeks demonstrates exactly why we need a legal guarantee. donald tusk has been told to expect a few headlines for his words. meanwhile, theresa may's on her third trip to northern ireland in seven months. here, just as in westminster, the same divisions remain. she's quite the regular now, but has yet to find a way through. northern ireland's democratic unionist parties want the eu to agree legal changes to the irish backstop, the plan to avoid checks on the irish border, but some now believe we need more time.

we reiterated that the backstop was the problem in relation to the withdrawal agreement and the amendment put down in the house of commons last week gives her the mandate now to go to brussels as she intends to on thursday and we look forward to hearing the outcome of that. their political opponents, the largest irish nationalist party, sinn fein, have called theresa may's plan to amend the backstop an act of bad faith. she has come here empty—handed with no plan, no credibility and frankly no plan, no credibility and frankly no honour. the tensions here mirror that of westminster, with broadly one side are urging theresa may to stick more closely to the eu in future, and other wanting much more independence for the uk.

legal changes to the irish backstop is what theresa may believes she needs to get the deal through westminster and after this she's off to brussels to try to extract something here. the irish prime minister will arrive in northern ireland on friday. the next a8 hours will be crucial. the irish prime minister leo varadkar spoke about why a ‘no deal‘ brexit is not a threat from ireland or the wider european union and that the uk could do more to prevent that scenario. the threat of no deal is not a threat that the european union is making, its not a threat that ireland is making, and this march 29 deadline is a deadline set and written by britain and it is open to

the united kingdom to request an extension to article 50 provided there is a purpose to that or to revoke article 50 if that is their wish. no deal is not a threat that ireland is making, not one that the european union is making, not one that has to be permitted on our citizens, our businesses or our economy. it is not a threat in any way. in terms of what can be done, obviously the joint declaration on the future relationship can be enhanced, we have discussed what insurances and guarantees can be given to the uk government but in terms of getting a vote through the westminster parliament, there are two things i would say. first of all, bear in mind this also has to go through the european parliament, there is more than one parliament in europe and the european parliament will have to ratify this as well and i know the european parliament will not ratify any withdrawal agreement that does not do right by ireland and does not secure the peace in northern ireland and will want to insist we protect the integrity of the single market and the customs union, which ireland has to protect as well because it is core to our

economic and industrial strategy and prosperity that we are in the eurozone at the heart of the european project and we will protect the single market and the customs union. i do have a concern about this idea around alternative arrangements. we need to bear in mind that this majority that perhaps existed or did exist in the house of commons for alternative arrangements probably only exists because alternative arrangements can be whatever you want it to mean. now let's here what jean—claude juncker, president of the european commission, had to say about the neccessity for a backstop which represents a "safety net" for the irish border. the so—called alternative arrangement can never replace the backstop. we need the backstop, we need withdrawal agreement, and it to future relations, we can look into alternative arrangements but it will never replace the backstop. there is no way to have a unilateraljumping

out of the backstop because the backstop is needed as a guarantee, a safety net is not a safety net if it can be destroyed by the action of one of the parties, so i'm repeating myself, but we are sticking to the line. the line we have been mentioning since day one. we can now speak to our brussels correspondent, adam fleming. not for the first time, we have to feel sorry for theresa may walking into this. they all say we are listening, but then they list multiple things that they are not prepared to hear. although have you noticed that none of them have been unkind or rude to theresa may yourself? it's all been around the mps in the house of commons or the leaders of the leave campaign during the referendum and rather than being critical of her using undiplomatic language about her, they have been open to this idea of her coming here with a solution to break this deadlock so i think that is worth bearing in mind. ithink

deadlock so i think that is worth bearing in mind. i think if wejust go back to that clip of leo varadkar, what he was suggesting is that mps who voted for the brady amendment in parliament last week, looking at alternatives to the backstop, either didn't know what they were doing or where being misled or just kind they were doing or where being misled orjust kind of crossing their fingers misled orjust kind of crossing theirfingers and misled orjust kind of crossing their fingers and deliberately misleading themselves when they voted for that amendment. i suspect some backbenchers might find that even more offensive than the comments made by donald tusk about the special place in hell being reserved for leaders of the brexit campaign. it's really interesting because the special place in hell is all very well but its flowery language, but what we heard leo varadkar saying language, but what we heard leo va radkar saying about alternative arrangements, he almost said they are strictly... that would be surprising because loads of people from the eu have been saying the same thing for a couple of weeks.

when michel barnier‘s deputies and a german official were quoted all over the newspapers and airwaves when she was doing in its event at a think tank and she said, we spent two yea rs tank and she said, we spent two years looking for alternative arrangements in the brexit negotiations, we couldn't find them. she then said it was in the british negotiators' fault, she said it was because they don't exist yet. it's also worth remembering that with alternative arrangements, the eu has already committed in the withdrawal agreement to look for alternatives to the backstop. it'sjust agreement to look for alternatives to the backstop. it's just that they are not prepared to look for them now because they thought they wouldn't be able to find them. they are prepared to look for them in a transition period after brexit has happened and one of the things you hear from those involved happened and one of the things you hearfrom those involved in happened and one of the things you hear from those involved in the eu negotiations, the facepalm every time they do it, they wish westminster m ps time they do it, they wish westminster mps understood they had already committed to looking for these alternatives to the backstop and even putting them in place, they arejust and even putting them in place, they are just not prepared to commit to it just now. are just not prepared to commit to itjust now. thanks, adam. we can cross to the houses of parliament and speak to our chief

political correspondent vicki young. there has been quite a reaction to donald tusk's words. lots of brexiteer mps have said it is inappropriate and saying imagine if theresa may had said or tweeted anything similar. it's not the kind of language that's going to help in a negotiation where you need to compromise on both sides. let's now speak to the labour mp ben bradshaw who is with me now. what do you make of what donald tusk said? it's not diplomatic at this point in negotiations. he said some quite important things. what about the special place in hell remark? he was absolutely right and it's painful for them to have the truth pointed out to them and we know now that borisjohnson out to them and we know now that boris johnson and david out to them and we know now that borisjohnson and david davis ran that campaign without a clue about how to deliver brexit or what brexit would look like. they have now left the field, the government still doesn't know what brexit will look like, the cabinet is divided, the tory party are divided and we are no further forward so he was simply speaking a rather painful truth. the

other thing he had to say was about those like yourself who want another referendum and others who want to stay in the eu, he said there is no political force or effective leadership for remain. you cannot argue with the facts. he has given up argue with the facts. he has given up on another referendum on the uk staying in, hasn't he? no, because crucially he said "at the moment" and he's right, there isn't at the moment. that could change very quickly if parliament is faced with the alternative to crash out without a deal which mps would not contemplate but there is also a strong principled argument for giving this decision back to the people in the final say, whatever the outcome is, because it's quite clear that any brexit deal that his reach will be so different from the one promised in 2016. but he certainly sounds like he doesn't think that's going to happen before the end of march. the idea that the uk is going to change its mind. it's very likely there will be a deal, you have some of your colleagues on the labour side who are clearly

contemplating backing theresa may's deal. i think it would be extraordinary for any labour mp to back a tory brexit that they know is going to make their constituents poon going to make their constituents poor. if we can't get a majority, if theresa may offer the customer steel now, i think we could get a majority, if she brought to deal back to parliament and made it conditional and ratified by a public referendum, i think it would sail through. why wouldn't she do those things to break the deadlock? time and time again she has allowed herself to become the victim and a captive of a hard brexiteer right. theresa may thinks the idea of another referendum has gone. she made a point yesterday that people who want that, like yourself, didn't even vote bring a vote to the house of commons when you could have done a couple of weeks ago. she's wrong about that like so many things. the numbers aren't there at the moment but as i said to you earlier, when mps are faced with the alterity of crashing out without a deal and when we haven't been able to get any less

damaging brexit through parliament, i think you will find there will be a majority for that and there is a principled argument for one as well because the brexit on offer is so different from the one promised in 2016. there will be people who want a second referendum who say that isn't the right thing for him to be doing, he is meeting the prime minister tomorrow, it is disrespectful to her to be saying these things. he's not talking about her, his words should be twisted like that. he's talking about the ha rd like that. he's talking about the hard brexiteer to made promises during the referendum that they knew at that time were impossible to deliver and have since left the field on those hard brexiteer is within theresa may's coin cabinet who still are chasing unicorns and pretending we can have our cake and eat it, i think in saying so he was simply being brutally honest. why won't you break her deal given that there are some in her party who think they may be able to do so because they don't want an audio scenario and they respect the result

of the referendum ? scenario and they respect the result of the referendum? why do you continue to vote against it? —— make ano continue to vote against it? —— make a no deal scenario. it will leave as putter, we will have less sovereignty and the damage will go on for years and years to come. there are some who think in the next few weeks the government is running the clock down in order to try and focus the minds of mps to back her deal. and i think that is grossly irresponsible and is playing russian roulette with our country's future. that's why italy theresa may doesn't ta ke that's why italy theresa may doesn't take no deal off the table and extend article 50 which everybody now knows is inevitable, then parliament will do that for her. what about the role of your own leader, jeremy corbyn, who although your party policy is to consider another referendum, it doesn't look at all as if he is contemplating that? i'm confident that jeremy is a leader who has put so much into listening to the views of labour party members who in the end will not renege on are unanimously agreed

party policy which is to consider all options and if there is no other option, even if there is another option, even if there is another option, consider a people's vote. option, even if there is another option, considera people's vote. i can't imagine he would not honour that commitment. ben bradshaw, thank you. that's the view from westminster. theresa may is in northern ireland and preparing to go to brussels tomorrow, seeking compromise. we've just had a line and from the prime minister's spokesman saying there will have to be changes to the brexit agreement if the european union once britain to leave with a deal. that appears to be in direct contradiction to some of the things we've been hearing from brussels today. it's going to be an interesting day tomorrow in brussels when theresa may goes there. another line of breaking news coming in. the rmt union says there has been a major breakthrough in its dispute with arriva. you will remember long—running strikes over guards on

trains on arriva north. rmt is saying a major breakthrough and the strikes have been suspended. we'll bring you more on that later. the met office is predicting that the decade from 201a will be the warmest run of years since records began. it says temperatures in the world today are 1 degree celsius hotter than pre industrial levels. with me now is our environment and energy analyst roger harrabin. what is the significance of this big degree? we have had relentless warming since the 19705. every decade is warmer than the previous one and the met office are now forecasting this through to 2023 and they said those following five years are also going to be hot and might exceed the temperatures of preceding years. one exceed the temperatures of preceding yea r5. 0ne celsius

exceed the temperatures of preceding years. one celsius in itself is not particularly significant, it's just an obvious benchmark. the other one the met office are talking about is the met office are talking about is the1.5 the met office are talking about is the 1.5 celsius which is the point beyond which 5cienti5ts the 1.5 celsius which is the point beyond which scientists say we should not go because if we achieve that, if we reach those temperatures in the long term it will cause irreversible damage on this planet. 1.5 is what the paris agreement that so many governments signed up to it was all about. that's right and that's what the met office are saying and their own scientists are surprised by this, looking forward to 2023 there is a one in ten chance that we will bounce above that 1.5 level, just may be for a year if there is something like the el nino current that makes the world hotter. if we get a strong el nino event, we could bounce temporarily above 1.5 which frankly is it surprising them. surprising and also worrying because

we can bounce over at once, we can bounce over it again. —— bounce over it. scientists try to separate their personal emotions from their scientific opinions. if you talk to them privately they are all worried about what appears to be an inexorable upwards trend. this year is predicted to have record levels of greenhouse gases because the forests are soaking up less c02 and the less that is soaked up, the less was into the atmosphere and the more the temperature rises. i should say before we close that we have to put some caveats on this. what the met 0ffice some caveats on this. what the met office are trying to do is between forecasting for next week and forecasting for next week and forecasting for next week and forecasting for the next century. they think they are good for forecasting for next week or the next three days i make century where they can be very, very proud. these figures out today are really cutting edge and we have to treat them with a bit of that caveat. the french club nantes have demanded

payment from cardiff city over the £15 million transfer of emiliano sala. the argentine striker was on board a plane which lost radar contact near guernsey just over two weeks ago. the wreckage of the aircraft was found at the weekend. 0ur correspondent tomos morgan is in cardiff for us. tell us more. as you mentioned, emiliano sala and pilot david ibbotson were flying from nantes to cardiff two weeks ago. he had just said goodbye to his former team—mates at nantes and was coming to cardiff the following day to begin training but somewhere along the journey, the plane begin training but somewhere along thejourney, the plane lost begin training but somewhere along the journey, the plane lost contact with air traffic control and subsequently earlier this week, it has now been found at the bottom of the english channel and today we

have heard the news that nantes are demanding that money from cardiff city. they say they will be threatening legal action against the bluebirds unless they receive some payment within the next ten days. cardiff have responded by saying they held the first —— they withheld they held the first —— they withheld the first payment until they are satisfied with the documentation for that transfer and they have added that transfer and they have added that they are surprised the french clu b that they are surprised the french club have put in this request asking for the money whilst attempts are still being made to recover a body from the bottom of the english channel. it was on monday that the private search found evidence that there was a body inside the wreckage 76 metres below the water in the english channel and the operation now is still on going to try and salvage that wreckage and bring the body up from the bottom of the english channel. clearly, there are disputes to be had over the payment

for that argentinian striker. 15 protesters who chained themselves to a plane to stop it deporting people to africa have avoided immediate jail sentences. three of the group, known as the stansted 15, received suspended prison sentences. 12 others were given community orders after being found guilty of endangering the safety of an aerodrome. the group said they will appeal against their convictions, which they believe have serious implications for the freedom to protest. 0ur correspondentjo black is at chelmsford crown court. tell us more. i don't know if you can see and hear behind me but it is quite noisy, it has been noisy here all day. this is a party atmosphere here today. the supporters of the sta nsted here today. the supporters of the stansted 15, here today. the supporters of the sta nsted 15, they here today. the supporters of the stansted 15, they have been here since very early this morning and still are hanging around. there's been hundreds of people who are lending their support to the sta nsted lending their support to the stansted 15. lending their support to the sta nsted 15. if lending their support to the stansted 15. if you don't know who

the stansted stansted 15. if you don't know who the sta nsted 15 stansted 15. if you don't know who the stansted 15 are, they are a protest group who in march 2017 cut to the perimeter fence at stansted airport here in essex and effectively chained themselves to an aircraft to stop it flying off, therefore there were deportees on board and the home office had charted that flight and was trying to send people back to sierra leone, nigeria and places like that. there we re nigeria and places like that. there were 60 passengers on board and a report today said that 11 of those passengers are still here in the uk with some of that 11 given indefinite leave to remain so the protesters might feel vindicated by what they did but they have this conviction hanging around their neck and they have been sentenced today. three suspended sentences and 12 community orders so that charge was endangering safety at an airport. the supporters of the stansted 15 say that is a heavy offence that was

levied at them and maybe they shouldn't have that sort of offence, but the crown prosecution service reject that. sentencing has happened this afternoon, the judge said he was well aware of the protected human rights of freedom of assembly and speech. he said both our qualified rights that can be restricted by law to prevent disorder and crime. he said, all of you were motivated for genuine reasons, but the question is whether that permitted you to take the law into your own hands. he then went on to say, they had been convicted of a serious matter and that would normally lead to prison and that the difference is that you did not have a nefarious intent and he said they put the risk of the safe operations of the airport and the people who we re of the airport and the people who were there on that night and he talked about how there was this election of a tripod —— they set up a tripod and he said the

consequences of the tripod striking the wing could have resulted in a catastrophic fire because the fuel ta nks catastrophic fire because the fuel tanks are in the wing and it had caused enormous disruption and some flights had to be delayed or diverted, the runway was closed for around an hour by the policeman brought onto the tarmac to release those protesters from that aircraft and they were subsequently arrested and, of course, the trial then took place and they were convicted back in december last year and today is the sentence but the sentence has happened today by the protesters who have just came out say they will appeal the conviction so that might not be the end of the story. thank you very much, very interesting to hear what thejudge has you very much, very interesting to hear what the judge has to say about that case. president trump has called on republicans and democrats to set aside their differences, in his delayed state of the union address. he said congress had to choose between "greatness or gridlock" but warned that a wall was still needed along the mexican border, to prevent illegal immigration. he also announced he'd hold a second nuclear summit, with north korea's leader at the end of the month and he condemned what he called the "ridiculous"

investigations against him, into alleged russian collusion. 0ur washington correspondent, chris buckler reports. the president of the united states! it's a sign of the political state of this union that this address had to be delayed. democrats initially withdrew donald trump's invitation to speak amid a partial government shutdown. we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, and embrace the fabulous potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. but after two years, during which some critics have called mr trump america's most divisive president, the reaction of many democrats was telling. away from the political differences, mr trump believes he has a positive story to tell about his presidency, particularly when it comes to the ecnonomy.

an economic miracle is taking place in the united states and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous, partisan investigations. 0ver his shoulder, the democratic speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, couldn't help but roll her eyes at the reference to the ongoing investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election, and claims of collusion involving the trump campaign. but the president got a warmer reaction from his political opponents when he mentioned the growth in jobs for women. you weren't supposed to do that! wearing white for gender equality, the group of democratic women stood out in the chamber, a fact mr trump couldn't ignore. we also have more women serving in congress than at any time before. their success in the mid—term elections has given the democrats control of the house of representatives... usa, usa, usa!

..and frustrated some of the president's plans, particularly when it comes to border security. mr trump invited, as some of his guests, the family of a couple allegedly killed by illegal immigrants, an emotive attempt to get funding for his long—promise wall with mexico. in the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. i will get it built. this was a speech in which america came first, but mr trump made one significant international announcement, giving details of a second summit with the north korean leader. my relationship with kimjong—un is a good one. chairman kim and i will meet again on february 27th

and 28th in vietnam. mr trump's words were measured and he stuck largely to the script in his appeal for washington's politicians to come together, but there is a chance, with his sometimes angry tweets and off—the—cuff comments, that the president himself could threaten those relationships in the future. time for a look at the weather. here's nick. we are talking about dry january. i had a little less success than you but the weather has been getting in on the act. perhaps we remember less just how dry it has been. if you

look at this map from the met 0ffice, anything coloured brown here is below average rainfall. the darker the cooler, a brighter departure from average, particularly through eastern scotland, edinburgh and east lothian. fife and also clackmannanshire. and east lothian. fife and also clackmanna nshire. those three regions in particular have rainfall for about 15% of the average, making it the driest january on for about 15% of the average, making it the driestjanuary on average, and also some through the east and northeast of england are a dark brown cooler. that was the second driest january on record. brown cooler. that was the second driestjanuary on record. you think, what does it matter if it is dry in january? we could have a massive number of dry months in a row because we replenish our water in winter. there aren't any plants growing that are going to take the water away, there isn't anything

evaporating because it's not hot enough, so it's the time of year where we want to replenish all of that. but when it is cold you don't often squeeze a lot of moisture out often squeeze a lot of moisture out of the atmosphere when it is warmer temperatures are high so we just need to keep an eye on this. are you extending dry january? no, need to keep an eye on this. are you extending dryjanuary? no, it's over! we've had some snow, rain on the way but actually we are more concerned about the strong winds, particularly with this weather front moving through, squeezing the isobars overnight tonight across parts of england and wales, they could be gusts of up to 70 mph in places. that's one area of concern. another wet and windy system on friday and may be another one across southern areas over the weekend so just over the next few days into the weekend, strong winds at times and there could be some disruption. let's get you somewhere the details

for the rest of today and tonight. a lot of fine weather to end the day, we will bring outbreaks of rain eastwards over night, a bit of hill snow into northern ireland and parts of northern england, especially scotland, north of the central belt but we are concerned about those winds from the coast of wales and southwest england, up to 70 miles an hour. elsewhere, there is humber getting 60 miles an hour. those are strong winds could be across parts of eastern england through the rush hour tomorrow morning. so there is a risk again of some disruption. as we look at things tomorrow, it's a windy start, i wet sock through parts of northern england and scotland, low pressure pulling away to the east so many of us will be brightening up tomorrow, just a scattering of showers coming in on a wind that is easing but still blustery, temperatures lower compared to today. the weather system compared to today. the weather syste m o n compared to today. the weather system on friday is a deepening area of low pressure which will bring wind more likely across the uk ——

might more lightly. it is lighter in the day we are going to see those winds picking up even more, initially across parts of northern ireland, wales and the west of england, those gusts of 50 to 60 miles an hour may be more on exposed coasts. strong winds pushing further north and east across the uk from friday night into saturday morning. saturday is a mild day but it won't feel it in the wind and rain. the low pressure papillary from scotland on saturday saw a very windy start to the day, a lot of rain across lower levels and that mixture of rain and snow could bring a risk of flooding, so that's about everything covered in this forecast, the weather turning much, covered in this forecast, the weatherturning much, much covered in this forecast, the weather turning much, much more active over the next few days. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the eu reaffirms its position that the withdrawal deal will not be renegotiated as the president of the european council issues strong words for politicians who he says promoted

brexit without a plan to deliver it safely. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out. the met office is predicting that this decade, from 201a, will be the warmest run of years since records began. the french club, nantes, have demanded payment from cardiff city over the 15 million pound transfer of emiliano sala. hotel booking sites are warned to end pressure selling, after the watchdog finds evidence of misleading discount claims. sport now on afternoon live. those distressing story of emiliano

stal ijust got those distressing story of emiliano stal i just got slightly those distressing story of emiliano stal ijust got slightly more distressing. nantes have demanded payment from cardiff city over the 15 million pound transfer of emiliano sala just days after the plane in which he was travelling in was discovered in the channel and a body identified in the wreckage. the striker and pilot dave ibbotson went missing on route to cardiff on the 21st january, promoting a search of the crash site. the french club are threatening legal action if they don't need receive payment in ten days. cardiff had witheld the first scheduled payment until they were satisfied with the documentation but said they were ‘surprised' by the demand while attempts are being made to recover the body. but it would suggest unless cardiff make payment there could be a dispute over money owed. looking at events today on the pitch, manchester city talking a tough talk about going back to the

top of the table. it has been a while until they've been top spot. by the end of the day manchester city could be back on top of the premier league, a position they haven't occupied since december last year. win at everton and they'll move above liverpool on goal difference. and that's prompted pep guardiola to call on more goals from his side, in case the league is settled on goal differencejust as it was in 2012. even myself said, seven points will be really tough. we feel confident enough, tomorrow we will make an impression. who thought of that two months ago? the true lesson of that is never give up, never give up and focus what you have to do, forget about the other ones. never give up. that is the best lesson. that match kicking off at 7:a5pm tonight.

fifa president gianni infantino will stand unopposed for the top job in world football in june's presidential elections. as we know an organisation which hasn't painted itself in glory in recent years. former tottenham defender ramon vega had planned to stand against him but failed to win the required support of five of the 211 member associations, leaving infantino to serve a second term. he replaced sepp blatter in 2016 following the corruption scandal. west ham are investigating after a video emerged of a fan racially abusing mo salah during monday's draw at the london stadium. he was filmed on a mobile as he took a corner with insults directed at his muslim religion. in a statement the club said anyone identified commiting an offence will face a lifetime ban. geraint thomas finished twenty seconds off the leader in today's individual time trial at a race in southern spain, his first of the year. his last competition was at the tour of britain in september. he said on twitter after.. not bad, not good, but as expected. but nice to be back racing.

speaking before the start of this five stage race he said the year ahead is all about getting in the best shape possible to defend his tour de france title. iam in i am in decent enough shape. done a lot of work down in la. just build on that now right through, at least my initial goal is in april and then, obviously, building up to july. maybe if i had not won the tour de france last year it would have been different. i want to be in the best shape possible going back. then the world is in yorkshire is welcome at the end of september. july, september, those are my big goals. first week of february is not so much pressure and just enjoy it a bit. the pressure will come after that in a big year ahead. england women have announced

their new raft of central contracts with an increase in money made available for player salaries. sussex bowler freya davies earns her first full professional contract — she's one of twenty one players centrally contracted with four rookies. it continues a growth in the women's game since 201a, with several players earning fifteen to thirty percent more on their deals last year. that is all from the bbc sport centre for now. we will have more in the next hour. now on afternoon live,, let's go nationwide and see what's happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. michela riva is in cardiff to tell us more about the warnings that young people who are influenced by celebrity culture are risking their health by going to extreme lengths to achieve a perfect tan. and sally taylor is in southampton where a group of volunteer vets are helping to care for the pets of rough

sleepers in the city. first to michela. michela, people are injecting an illegal drug in order to get a tan. melanotan, it is a white powder that once existed our water is injected into the skin. it changes the pigment in your skin, it increases the pigmentation to give you an all over brown colour. we don't actually know the true extent of the problem and that's because that drug is unlicensed in the uk, it is illegal to sell and supply. there are no studies about it. what we do know is the drug licensing body has received over 100 reports of side effects linked to this drug. how are people getting hold of it if it is illegal?

we have heard a couple of different accou nts we have heard a couple of different a ccou nts by we have heard a couple of different accounts by people buying it in gyms and salons but a quick search will show it is cheaply and easily available online. i've been speaking to one man has been using it for the last ten years. he is from cardiff and told me where he gets his supply. i order it from china. i pay them with paypal. the last package i received k marketers flea treatment and it was boxed in flea treatment boxes. the one before that was packaged with gone off food so it was like food parcels. they have to do things like that to get them through british customs. what other various health regulators and organisations are saying about the dangers of the stroke. it sounds quite serious. they are concerned about in numbered of fronts because skin cancer is on the rise in wales. there were 15,000 in the uk alone

last year of the most serious types of skin cancer. they want a better stop to it. they are concerned about the role of social media and the role celebrity having to play, influence on instagram. they are working to remove this drug from the market and here in wales public health wales says it is looking at the use of sunbeds and we will report on that soon. let's go to a more cheerful story and hear about the street that initiative. sally, tell us more. every wednesday night a group of volunteer fats will be on the streets of southampton to help care for the pets of rough sleepers in the city. it is one of ten cities and in the wee cave which is part of the streets vet initiative. we are used to seeing rough sleepers with a dog or pet or some kind and anyone

who has a dog will save it as a special bond between them. in a way, it is more special because with craftsmanship as it is the only co nsta nt craftsmanship as it is the only constant thing in their lives. let's hear from charlie and constant thing in their lives. let's hearfrom charlie and his dog gypsy, they have lived on the streets in southampton for about 1a years. they have lived on the streets in southampton for about 14 years.” feel i can't let her down because she has never once ever, ever let me down. after 14 years, is not easy to turn around and say, i want to go on my own. i'll get rid of my dog and ta ke my own. i'll get rid of my dog and take that a room in the shared house. she loves me unconditional. so what are these vets doing for these dogs? the streets vets will look for a sleepers who have a dog and they will administer basic medicines, routine treatments. they

may kneel nail clipping, they may be the flea treatments. much of that is donated. they keep a record of the dog, there are 600 animals are registered on the streets vets database. if furthermore treatment is required, the animalistic and one of the practices. here is one of the vessel will be tonight. —— vets who will be out tonight. the bond between the homeless on their pet is extremely strong, one of the strongest bonds i've ever seen. pets give their owners a lot and i think that's priding them gives something back to them. the idea is to keep the animal healthy and with the rough sleeper. as we heard from charlie, many of them seeing their pet gives them more confidence and companionship. that is a very nice story, thank you for bringing us that. good luck to all the vets out tonight in southampton. if you want to see any more of those

stories, you can see it on iplayer. six of the biggest hotel booking websites have agreed to make changes designed to end misleading sales tactics. it follows an investigation from the competition watchdog. from september the firms, including expedia, hotels.com, and ebookers, will have to be clear about which hotels have paid them for higher rankings on their sites to end pressure selling. tom burridge reports. they are the big websites for hotel bookings worldwide, but are they really giving you the best deal or is their information misleading? you don't want to miss a deal. if you think it's a good deal, you book it there because you don't want to miss it. they always have the flashing "only so many rooms left" or whatever. a certain amount of pressure.

they're quite cute with how they try to encourage you to do it. i will look elsewhere and find it cheaper, generally, so they don't have the best of credentials with me. claims like this on booking.com, that there are only five rooms at a hotel on its site, aren't quite as you'd imagine, says the competition and markets authority. you're being told that there are 15 people looking at the site right now and right now it turns out it means in the past week, we are told there are only three rooms available, and you think that means only three rooms in the hotel, and itjust means only three rooms on that particular booking website in the hotel. its investigation found the websites often give a false impression of how popular a room is and sometimes the full cost isn't displayed upfront. this lunchtime, booking.com says this hotel is in high demand. 1a bookings on the website today and only one room left for tonight. expedia is telling me there are only two deluxe double rooms left at this hotel.

there's no suggestion that the hotels have been doing anything wrong, but the websites stand accused of pressuring us into clicking and buying. you probably also don't know that a hotel's ranking sometimes depends on how much commission the hotel has paid to the website and one consumer group says the tactics used to tempt us can be false. discounts and deals, they're almost certainly not a discount or a deal. you'll find a much better price if you phone the hotel directly, tell them the price that you've found with the online travel agent and they'll match it, beat it or throw something in forfree. booking.com says it has agreed to make changes to ensure its website is transparent enough for consumers. expedia says it has been working with the competition watchdog to improve standards across the industry. the competition markets authority says the six big hotel booking websites have all promised to adhere to tighter consumer standards. not all were guilty of misleading consumers. tea m

team is here to crunch the numbers on the markets for us. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. the president of the european council condemns politicians, who he says promoted britain leaving the eu, without a plan to deliver it safely. the met office is predicting that this decade, from 201a, will be the warmest run of years since records began. the french club, nantes, have demanded payment from cardiff city over the 15 million pound transfer of emiliano sala. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. interserve, one of the uk's largest providers of public services, has reached a deal with creditors to prevent its collapse. the rescue plan involves cutting its debts from over £600 million to £275 million by issuing new shares. glaxosmithkline has reported a profit of £a.8 billion for last

year, up 36% on the previous year. sales rose 2% to £30.8 billion. however, the firm says that profits will fall this year. brussels has knocked down a proposed french—german rail merger, designed to help europe compete with china. the eu's competition commission blocked the tie—up, saying uniting france's alstom with the rail arm of germany's siemens would lead to higher prices. stab + cam let's look at some of the shares on the move today. glaxo had some good figures? as drugs companies develop new drugs they have to have a pipeline coming through. they have to have a large number of them has them and glaxo has. 0nce number of them has them and glaxo has. once you've got these patented, you then have this window during which time you've got to make as much money as possible because at

the end of the window, you get copycat drugs coming along. they've lost a drug, it has gone out of play tent, and asthma drug. it got another one coming in which is a shingles treatment which is doing very well. that is one of the reasons why the shares have performed well and there is this pipeline as well. things looking pretty healthy for company even though this year products and going to —— productivity isn't going to be so good. and 0cado got burned. when you and i think of a warehouse, we think of a place full of stuff. this is nothing like this. it is totally automated. it has got an extraordinary grid system which is a great bet with these aruba is zooming back and forth across. they

are picking up groceries as they go. they deliver thousands of groceries every day. they have been doing this investment for the last two years or so. investors have been worried about whether it was going to work. but last year, share price nearly doubled because people felt this is going to work, this is a really good system, it is going to cut their cost right down and boost their deliveries. what caused the fire? we don't know yet. it is still literally smouldering. 0ne don't know yet. it is still literally smouldering. one wonders, there may be a question whether it was anything to do with the robotics itself. there aren't many people in these operations. we think avocado is a technology company, one we talk online with. if they can't manage their warehouses

well enough, that is going to put a lot of pressure in meeting the demand of the uk customers. the market took quite a cautious view to this news as shares dropped substantially. thinking about how 0cado was going to deal with the inability to supply the uk consumer going forward. we see 0cado looking to expand more outside of the uk this year so one might also think their estimates for lowering their revenue guidance might have to do with something to do with the growth in the uk customer base. what about glaxo? it is looking healthy, if thatis glaxo? it is looking healthy, if that is the right thing to say about a drugs company. in terms of their revenue numbers, they are quite positive. it is important to think about going forward what is the environment for drug pricing. we've seen just the state of the union address by president donald trump,

he mentioned trying to tackle higher drug prices. this is some of the concerns that the markets might have going forward about how pharmaceutical companies are able to price their products. one study we haven't mentioned is into serve, the service company that covers a lot of public service operations which has managed to skirt out of collapse. what does it mean for shareholders themselves? the issuing a huge number of new shares. the lenders will receive 97.5% of all issued share capital, that means that macro 97% ? share capital, that means that macro 97%? the existing shareholders will just have a fraction. one of the largest shareholders is an investment fund from the usa, it is calling for a review of the board to see whether they can replace some of those members because they don't

think this deal is good for their value. the market at the moment, really going nowhere, going south a little bit. yes. there's not been enough information to see how this is going to pan out. can the review by this company in terms of their board receipts, we will see how the i nte rse rve board receipts, we will see how the interserve is going to manage going forward. this is a company that relies on 70% of its revenue from the government. it employs a5,000 people in the uk so it means a lot. how can they do that? you don't own the company after all, these new people do. you are falling apart from the seam so you have to find that new money somewhere. is it legal? we don't have time for that! is look at the markets. shares down a bit. 0il,

is look at the markets. shares down a bit. oil, the americans have started the export of oil to the united kingdom. america has been the biggest exporter of oil. they have found an enormous amount of shale oil and gas. that's the markets. thank you, jamie. the veteran presenter of bbc radio a's today programme, john humphrys, has confirmed he'll be leaving the show, probably in the autumn. he joined the programme in 1987, after presenting television news bulletins. now 75, he's known for his rigorous interviewing style. fellow presenter sarah montague asked him what he will miss most about working on the show. it is the listeners. you genuinely feel after you've done this programme for long enough that you have, no, i'm not going to say...

go on. you do feel that you have a relationship with a huge number of people. i haven't quite thought about it, but since i have to say something, that is what it is, it is a relationship with millions of listeners. that is a huge privilege. that's it from your afternoon live team for today. next — the bbc news at 5. time for a look at the weather. here's nick miller. hello, some very active weather on the way to the uk. it will be wet at times, it will also be very windy, some strong winds in places. it's all fairly quiet out there this afternoon. in contrast, there is some hazy sunshine around, many places dry. there are a few showers particularly

towards the north—west of the uk, parts of north—west england, northern ireland and scotland, some snow to the high hills. winds coming in from the south—west, it is a mild direction hence the temperatures for some are in double figures. at are above average for the time of year. another spell of rain coming towards south—east england and east anglia over night and turning better in the west through this evening. some snow to the hills of northern ireland and as the night goes on, into scotland, into tomorrow morning, across parts of northern england. the winds picking up especially through england and wales. around the coast of west and south wales, south—west england, the part of the night, up to 70 miles per hour. elsewhere through england and wales, you can see gusts especially inland of 50 mph, on the coasts, 60 mph. it turns very windy overnight, temperatures not going down too far. into tomorrow, parts of eastern england start with the windiest weather. 50—60 mph in places. winds slowly ease as the wet weather pulls away from northern england and scotland leaving a bit of snow on the hills, above 200 metres.

sunny spells come back, scattering of shows in the west tomorrow and temperatures, especially in parts of england and wales, not as high as they've been today. relax, we can't really because there is a deepening area of low pressure coming in as we go into friday. we are all going to feel the effects of that. we are going to see some heavy rain sweeping east across the uk, the winds strengthening once more, south—westerly winds so it is going to be a milder day on friday but the winds are of concern. later friday and friday night into saturday, initially across western areas, northern ireland, wales, western england, some gales developing, gusts, 50 to 60 mph once more. that swathe of strong winds on that mild day will then transfer further east and north has we go friday night and into saturday morning. as the area of low pressure pulls away on saturday, could be scotland for a time seeing the strongest winds and the wettest weather for longest. we could see some flooding, risk of that north on the central belt until that

eases late on saturday. the next few days, seven windy weather at times, wet at times as well and the risk of some disruption. today at five ,the president of the european council, has condemned in the strongest terms, those he says promoted britain leaving the eu, without a plan to deliver it safely. 0n the eve of talks with theresa may in brussels, donald tusk said the eu was having to prepare for the "possible fiasco," of a no deal brexit. i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it. the prime minister has returned to downing street, after brexit talks with northern ireland's political leaders. we'll be live at westminster, and in brussels. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... the french club nantes has demanded payment from cardiff city, over the £15 million transfer of emiliano sala, whose plane