the government's under fire after cancelling a contract it awarded to a ferry company to keep ships crossing the channel in the event of a no—deal brexit. seaborne ferries had never run a channel service before — yet won the multi—million—pound deal. this organisation had no ships, had no customers, had not signed up ostend, and so on and so forth. and it should have been closed down. labour has called for the transport secretary to resign over the issue. with just seven weeks to go we'll ask what next for the government's brexit strategy. also tonight. the duke of edinburgh surrenders his driving licence after the car crash which saw his vehicle overturn and left two women needing hospital treatment. we estimate there will be about 5.5 litres of excess fat removed from each leg. why thousands of women suffering a terribly painful disease — are unable to access the medical treatment they need. jacob stockdale for the line. oh, that is brilliant from ireland! and defending champions

ireland bounce back in rugby‘s six nations — with victory over scotland at murrayfield. good evening. the government's under fire tonight with calls for the transport secretary to resign after it cancelled a multi million pound contract awarded to a company in the event of a no deal brexit. seaborne ferries won the deal to ensure ferries would keep crossing the channel in the event of the uk leaving the eu without a deal — but there was widespread criticism after the bbc found the company did not actually have any ships and had never run a ferry service before. our business correspondent rob young reports. preparations have been under way for weeks.

dredging started at ramsgate port at the beginning ofjanuary. seaborne freight was due to run regular services to ostend in belgium in the event of a no—deal brexit. once it got hold of some ships. but the company has now been stripped of its contract. the £14 million deal was controversial from the start. the contract‘s cancellation has intensified the criticism of ministers. we first flagged problems with seaborne freight in april of last year. and we've been tracking it since then both in terms of its attempts to find vessels, which have all failed without exception, largely because this port is very small. the government has defended the checks it carried out on seaborne. it says the company's main backer, arklow shipping, has pulled out, meaning seaborne could not meet its contractual requirements. it wasn't paid any public money. ferries haven't operated at ramsgate since 2013.

the government hopes new services from here could help reduce congestion at dover if there are delays come the end of march. but there is now a big question mark over whether ramsgate will be used if there is a no—deal brexit. the department of transport says it's in advanced talks with other companies to supply freight services, possibly from ramsgate. with less than two months to go until brexit, timing is tight. it is a disappointment. i don't know the commercial reasons why arklow have pulled out. but i want to make sure this port is ready for brexit resilience. however the cash—strapped local authority is considering a cut to the port's funding which might prevent a ferry service starting in the future. rob young, bbc news. our political correspondent, iain watson, is in westminster for us this evening. pretty strong political fallout on this? if you are to award a contract

toa this? if you are to award a contract to a ferry company that has no ferries this was always going to be contentious. labour are calling for chris grayling to go this evening and privately some conservative mps agree for the buck downing street say that the prime minister still has full confidence in the transport secretary. but this is again putting the spotlight on the government preparations for no deal. the institute for government saying that now preparations for a no—deal brexit cannot be limited to minor disruption. there are a range of government ministers meeting with their continental counterparts in their continental counterparts in the coming week. and as the clock begins to take down, more attention is being paid to what happens if we

leave without any deal at all. the owner of topshop — sir phillip green — paid a female employee more than a million pounds to keep quiet — after she accused him of kissing and groping her — according to the daily telegraph. the paper says the senior female employee — who wasn't named for legal reasons — was one of five members of staff who signed gagging orders after being bullied or harassed. the duke of edinburgh has voluntarily given up his driving licence, buckingham palace has said. it comes after the 97—year—old duke apologised over a car crash last month near the sandringham estate in norfolk, in which his vehicle landed on its side after a collision with a car carrying two women and a baby. our royal correspondent jonny dymond is here. what exactly have buckingham palace said? well the duke has given up his licence voluntarily, just three weeks following the collision where two adults were slightly injured in the crash. buckingham palace say it

was entirely his own decision to give up his licence. eight came after a fairer deal of criticism came his way after he was seen driving just two days after the crash apparently without a seat belt ona crash apparently without a seat belt on a public road. norfolk police confirmed that the licence has been suspended. they also say a file on the case has been passed to the crown prosecution service. the police have the power effectively to say that the case is not worth prosecuting and there is no reason to go on with it but because in this case there were injuries, passing it on to the cps was ready much inevitable. let's take a look at some of today's other news. a 21 year old man has lost four fingers after touching a rubber grenade fired by police during demonstrations in paris. riot police used tear gas to disperse protestors after cars were set alight and banks attacked. thousands have joined the so called ‘yellow vest‘ rallies across the country. the mostly peaceful demonstrations — against president macron's economic reforms — are now in their 13th week. police in hull have been given more

time to question a 2k year old man arrested in connection with the disappearance of the missing student, libby squire. the 21—year—old university of hull student vanished over a week ago after a night out in the city. thousands of bus routes in england are under threat because councils say they can't afford to pay for them. they say they're having to fill a funding gap — of over 650 million pounds — for the scheme which provides free bus passes for elderly people. currently councils in england subsidise 44% of all bus routes. there's been a dramatic increase in teenagers being injured in knife crime in england according to nhs figures. just over a thousand stabbing victims, aged between 10 and i9, spent at least one night in hospital, in the 12 months to last march. which is a 5k per cent rise in the number of young people treated for knife wounds over the past five years. and a 30 per cent increase across all ages. it comes

as a leading consultant warns that she is seeing increasing numbers of girls involved in knife crime. there's a shift in what we're seeing. in that i'm seeing young women who have come in having had their mobile phones taken off them in an attack and having that attack filmed. as sort of part of a humiliation, you know, this is what is going to happen to you if you say anything. we'll put it on the internet. thousands of women in the uk are not receiving treatment for a debilitating and life changing condition because in many cases it's being misdiagnosed as obesity. doctors and researchers say lipoedema causes swollen limbs, pain and immobility but the treatment needed — liposuction — is wrongly classed as a cosmetic surgery and therefore rarely funded by the nhs. alexandra mackenzie has been speaking to women struggling with the disease. this is basically the bottom half of a lipoedema leg. it's all swollen, very, very cold to touch. and it bruises really easily.

anne noticed there was something wrong when she was just 17. she's waiting for liposuction on the nhs in scotland. it's a treatment for lipoedema that's rarely available in the uk unless it's done privately. they estimate there will be about 5.5 litres of excess fat removed from each leg. despite countless doctor's appointments, 30 years passed before anne was finally diagnosed. i think i've been overlooked. i think there's thousands of women with lipoedema being overlooked. we're being categorised as obese. these are typical images showing lipoedema that has progressed. the legs have become deformed by deposits of irregular and painful fat. it also affects the arms and hips. this shows just how much it can alter a woman's body shape. experts say it's usually only women who are affected.

it's not known how many, but they say it could be thousands in the uk. researchers here at st george's hospital in london are working to discover what causes this genetic condition. it's believed it could be triggered at times of hormonal change, like puberty, pregnancy, or the menopause. doctors are also calling for more nhs funding for liposuction operations. for select patients there will be a real benefit and it's incorrect to say that liposuction for lipoedema is a cosmetic procedure. it is a treatment for this disease. kate paid almost £5,000 for private surgery in germany. her mum's life has been severely limited by lipoedema, which is thought to be hereditary. i had surgery because i was afraid. i was afraid to turn into my mum, i was really afraid about that negative future and the difficulties some of the friends i know with lipoedema have.

there is one nhs surgeon in the uk currently performing this procedure. he recently met women from across the country here at the scottish parliament, but acknowledges he cannot help everyone. women are clamouring for treatment on the nhs. the nhs, as i say, i don't think has the resources to support that. and i think women have got to understand it will only be a minority that may get that opportunity. as anne waits for her operation, she hopes more can be done for the next generation of young women to prevent further lives being blighted by lipoedema. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news. with all the sport now, here's hugh woozencroft at the bbc sport centre. good evening. the second weekend of this year's six nations championship in rugby union is proving to be

as enthralling as the first, defending champions, ireland, earned a hard—fought 22—13 win over scotland. sports correspondent katie gornall was at murrayfield. the six nations is a series played at gale force. where momentum blow one—way and then the next. after the opening weekend scotland have it, ireland don't. a bruising defeat to england last week meant ireland arrived at murrayfield knowing their hopes of retaining their six nations title were on the line. scotland have their own title aspirations. although mistakes like this won't help. an early error that was ruthlessly punished. it would get worse for scotland when stuart hogg was forced off the pitch with a shoulder injury afterjust 16 minutes. before he had even made it down the tunnel, ireland had struck again. last year's player of the tournament, jacob stockdale, too slick, too quick. with stuart hogg gone it was time for scotland's other star to step forward. finn russell seems to view the game in slow motion. and his composure put sam johnson through. now the pressure was all on ireland. at half—time they weathered the scottish storm to lead 12—10. the second half saw ireland edge

further in front as joey carberry pierced the scottish defence and keith earls did the rest. a penalty for scotland kept them in touch but these were nervy times for the home side as they tried and eventually failed to reel ireland in. we had a couple of chances and we we re we had a couple of chances and we were clinical when we had them. we have a lot of improving to do as well. well ireland will be feeling very relieved after this one. it was just the win they needed to get their title ambitions back on track. as for scotland, they will feel this was an opportunity missed but they will have a chance to get their own back before too long in their opening game against ireland in the world cup injapan in the autumn. wales equalled their record run of 11 straight test wins, beating italy in their second six nations match. a side showing 10 changes to the team that beat france struggled to hit their stride, earning an unconvincing 26—15 victory in rome.

they will break a record set in 1910 if they beat england in a fortnight. match of the day follows the news so to avoid any spoilers, please look away now. liverpool have moved back to the top of the premier league, thanks to a 3—nil win over bournemouth at anfield. the league's top scorer mohamed salah sealed the win with his 17th of the season. jurgen klopp‘s side are now three points clear of manchester city, who play chelsea tomorrow. cardiff city have earned back to back wins in the top flight for the first time since 1962. they needed a 93rd minute winner to come past southampton and move out of the relegation zone. elsewhere, burnley are out of the bottom three after victory at brighton, while paul pogba scored twice as manchester united won at fulham to move up into the top four. championship side dundee united surprised st mirren of the premiership to reach the scottish cup quarter—finals. another side from the second tier — partick thistle —

reached the last eight with a win over east fife and are joined in the next round by hibernian. england's cricketers are hoping to avoid a series whitewash in the third and final test match against the west indies in st lucia. england were 107 for 4 at one stage on the opening day, with captainjoe root out for just 15. but the ship was steadied by the partnership of ben stokes and joss buttler, with both reaching half centuries. england are 231 for 4 at the close. there's more on the bbc sport website, including news of great britain reaching april's fed cup promotion play—offs, with a win over serbia. but from me, goodnight. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. that's all from me. goodnight. hello. this is bbc news with reeta chakra barti. more now that the duke of edinburgh has voluntarily given up his driving licence.

in a statement this evening — buckingham palace said that prince philip had made the decision "after careful consideration". prince philip, who is 97, was involved in a crash near the sandringham estate last month in which a woman suffered a broken wrist. norfolk police have said that they will return the licence to the dvla and that the investigation file for the collision had been passed to the crown prosecution service for their consideration. earlier i spoke to james brookes, royal correspondent and commentator at the royal central website — he explained what may have been behind the duke's decision. we are getting the impression that he has made this decision himself and he wants to enjoy his retirement going forwards, but he was very shaken after that crash. it was very serious and most people say it was a miracle he did not come off are worse than he did and i think he has taken it on board and think, if i am

going forward, i do not want to be involved in something like that again. you mentioned that he obviously wants to enjoy his retirement, in a sense his life has changed since retiring because he will have been driven while he was attending public duties with the queen and he does not do that anymore. yes. for most of his life, particularly whilst he was with the queen or on official engagements, he had a chauffeur taking him to and from engagements. he is strong willed and he likes to drive himself and be able to be involved with activities on the estate and we have seen for years him doing his own carriage driving and i think that will continue and i very much doubt he will give that up, but the public road element of this is what surprised quite a few people. not many people who do not follow the royals would realise he was out and

about on public roads and i think people are thinking now, this is for the best going forwards. you cannot blame him just because of his age or think that that is very fair, but it will have played a part and he will know that his reactions are getting slower as he gets older and we know that from previous concerns from the royal family themselves, i know prince charles has previously voiced concerns about his father driving as he gets older and now is the time, he gets older and now is the time, he has given back his licence and he will be for ever more chauffeur driven. do we assume that the palace will now hope this has drawn a line under the affair? i would have thought so and i think that is why we have had the statement. we understand that that duke of edinburgh gave his licence in earlier and that is why the statement has come out and now he can drawa statement has come out and now he can draw a line under it. he has apologised to the individual involved in the car she was injured and said he is very sorry for his pa rt and said he is very sorry for his part in the crash and we wait to see

whether any more action comes from the crown prosecution service. the left—wing democratic senator, elizabeth warren, has announced that she's standing for the us presidency in 2020. mrs warren, a former law professor at harvard university, is expected to make the fight against economic inequality the centrepiece of her campaign. she's been speaking at a rally in the city of lawrence in her home state of massachusetts — at the site of a historic labour strike in 1912 that was led by women and immigrants. look at any other major issue in america. gun violence. student loan debt. the crushing cost of health care. mistreatment of our veterans. a broken criminaljustice system. an immigration system that lacks common sense and under this administration lacks a conscience. cheering and applause. overwhelming

majorities of americans want action. huge crowds march on washington demanding change. letters, phone calls, protest, but nothing happens. nothing. why? because if you do not have money and you don't have connections, washington does not wa nt to connections, washington does not want to hear from you. when government works, only for the wealthy and the well—connected, that is corruption, plain and simple and we need to call it out. well a little earlier i spoke to the pollsterjohn zogby and he explained how well know elizabeth warren is. she is very well known. right now in the polls she is not known as well as former vice presidentjoe biden, bernie sanders, the democratic

socialist, who made quite a run for the presidency in 2016, but she is probably the third best known and she shows up in double digits in the polls, which is respectable. she was up polls, which is respectable. she was up in terms of recognition or in terms of approval? in terms of the horse race. joe biden in first place, bernie sanders in second and elizabeth warren in third at meaning she is in the pack in the crowd. he comes from the left wing of the democrat party, so what will she stand for in the minds of people? she will stand for combating inequality, as you heard, but also medicare for all, which is a single payer form of health care, in addition to that, she will be very aggressive on the environment as well, favouring the united states re—entering the paris pact on climate change. so, that will

force... it will probably have a considerable amount of appeal among women, particularly young women. she has also been involved in a spat with the president about her heritage. that is a very silly one that she got herself into, claiming yea rs that she got herself into, claiming years ago that she was part cherokee, native american, which led to candidate and then president donald trump are referring to her as pocahontas. really nonstop over the last two years. she very foolishly did a dna test which showed that while there is some cherokee blood in her, it goes back centuries and centuries and that anger and of course the cherokee tribe saying, you are not a tribe member. kind of a foolish dispute and she stepped into it herself. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker.

the weather's calming down after storm erik, still pretty blustery across the north—east of the uk, but the winds here will continue to ease as we go through the evening and the overnight period. sunday is going to be a mixed bag. we've got both rain and sunshine on the way. now, right now this is where storm erik is right now, across the north sea, but this area of cloud is drifting in, bringing fresher rain towards south—western areas and southern areas of the uk, so this is another area of weather that will be sweeping through, no real windy weather here, just rain on and off through the night. it looks like eastern scotland and the north—east of england, clear spells for you here tonight, so a touch of frost, but in the south it will be a lot milder, 5—7 degrees, that sort of thing. and then tomorrow, the low pressure that will bring us a damp start to the day will eventually pull away from the south, and the weather will improve before showers once again return from another weather front coming in from the north, so there's that mixed bag tomorrow, one weather system pulls away here, there is erik over there, this is the sort of tail end of storm erik, with just a few showers

moving into northern ireland. notice how, the middle of the afternoon, the weather improves across england, but by the time we get to sunset, i think the showers here will once again be sweeping across the sort of central swathe of the uk, the north—west of england, through yorkshire into the midlands and down into the south—east as well. so here is that weather front moving through during the course of sunday evening into monday, and then finally, finally something that we're looking forward to — i think high pressure starts to build, pushing away the weather fronts away towards the northern climes, into the north atlantic, and from the south the weather starts to improve, so monday is looking very promising across the uk, temperatures will be around double figures just about in the south, still single figures in the north, but sunshine pretty much throughout the length and the breadth of the country. and with the jet stream swirling way to the north of us, between scotland and iceland, we get into this milder stream of air, the high pressure builds across the uk, so that means that the weather will be settling. you can see the yellow colours indicating that slightly milder weather heading our way. so the summary for the week ahead, a lot of dry weather around with some mild days, the nights might be chilly, some

mist and fog around at times too. hello, this is bbc news with reeta chakrabarti. we'll take a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment, with nigel nelson of the sunday mirror and the political commentator jo phillips. first, the headlines. the duke of edinburgh is to voluntarily give up his driving licence, buckingham palace has said this evening. the government cancels a controversial agreement for extra ferries in case of a no—deal brexit. the democratic senator elizabeth warren launches her bid to become the party's candidate for 2020, promising to champion ordinary working people. counting the cost of knife crime — the number of young victims admitted to hospitals in england has risen by more than 50% in five years. and in the six nations, ireland beat scotland 22—13 at murrayfield. hello and welcome to our look ahead

to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are nigel nelson, who's the political editor of both the sunday mirror and sunday people, and the political commentator jo phillips. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. the observer leads on reports that mps on all sides are calling for the prime minister to sack her transport secretary, chris grayling, after the collapse of a no—deal brexit ferry contract which had been given to a company with no ships. unfit for office, says the mail on sunday, which splashes on what the paper calls a devastating new book onjeremy corbyn's leadership credentials. a head teachers' union has applauded a planned strike by school pupils who will walk out of lessons on friday over climate change. that's according to the sunday express,

which also carries tonight's news that the duke of edinburgh is to surrender his driving licence. the sunday times says a generation of children are at risk of grooming and sexual exploitation due to the failure of tech giants to enforce adult age limits on dating apps. we will come to that last story just shortly, nigel and jo, but we will come to that last story just shortly, nigeland jo, but we we will come to that last story just shortly, nigel and jo, but we start with the observer, mps telling the prime minister that she should sack the transport secretary, what is the paper saying to my well, this is the ha pless paper saying to my well, this is the hapless chris grayling, who, as you rightly say, is transport secretary...