you're watching bbc news. it is 11am. these are our main stories. figures out today show that in 2018, the uk economy expanded at its lowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she's prepared to talk to jeremy corbyn prime minister says she's prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, as some her own backbenchers continue to call for changes to the deal. it would have to give the united kingdom a uk sized exit from the backstop. senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no till brexit says there is a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. a call for younger women with a family history of breast cancer to receive annual screenings. the alarming rate at which the world is losing its insect population. 0ne at which the world is losing its insect population. one third are endangered. 18th century period drama the favourite was the big

winner at the bafta awards. horse racing is on hold until at least wednesday with four new positive tests for equine flu. good morning. welcome to bbc news. i am carrie gracie. the economy grew by just am carrie gracie. the economy grew byjust 0.2% in the last three months of 2018. that's according to the office for national statistics. falls in carand the office for national statistics. falls in car and steel production contributed to the slowdown, the lowest for six years. our business correspondent has been giving us his thoughts. if you read on to some of the detail we have had this morning, it really does paint a picture of an economy that is in wait and see mode. a lot of businesses are worried about what it means for them when we talk about brexit. they are holding off on investment and making

big decisions, and as a result we get a figure like this that says for the final quarter of last year the economy grew byjust 0.2%. if you compare that to the quarter before when we had 0.6%, to start to tell is what is happening. i will show you a graph of what is happening. if you a graph of what is happening. if you look at the numbers, it very much looks like a roller—coaster. it tells us the story of the last 12 months because last year at the start of the year there was the cold weather, that beast from the east, and it meant that most of the country was pretty paralysed as far as the economy was concerned well into march. we didn't go out shopping or buying and that caused a disruption. then if you look at the summer disruption. then if you look at the summerand disruption. then if you look at the summer and the piquancy at the end of the graph, it tells us that there was the royal wedding and the hot summer was the royal wedding and the hot summer of sport and the world cup so a lot of people were going out and spending at the economy picked up, so it is not surprising that we have seen a so it is not surprising that we have seen a bit of a full off compared to the same time last year. the end of the same time last year. the end of the year running into christmas. that 20% figure right at the end of the graph says maybe we held back

because we had spent a bit over the summerand we because we had spent a bit over the summer and we were waiting to see what happens. the concern out of course is what businesses do next. if you look at these latest figures, business investment following by 2.796. business investment following by 2.7%. that is the reason that the economy is slowing. businesses sitting on their hands and saying westminster, come up with a plan because until you do we are not going to spend. last week, we heard the governor of the bank of england downgrading his growth forecast for the year. this current quarter that we are in, talk about uncertainty. yes, exactly. rambert was headlines, the bank of and saying it is the worst year since the financial crisis. what we will be hearing is it is the worst year since, it is the worst quarter since, and if you look at these figures, the worst full in six years. so the worry is businesses are just waiting to see what will happen. interestingly, consumer spending, we are still spending. they were worried that we might feel that here too and stop putting our hand in her pocket. we are still spending money. so that is

holding up. for now, it is the businesses at the moment that are saying we are not prepared to make these big investments, be that expanding premises are taking on staff, until they know what is going to happen. and so far, no answers. then thompson. the prime minister has welcomed further talks with jeremy corbyn about labour's five demands to support her brexit deal. any letter to the labour leader, it appears theresa may has rejected one of the key proposals for the uk to stay in the customs union with the eu. she says she is not clear why jeremy corbyn believes it would be prefera ble jeremy corbyn believes it would be preferable for the uk to seek a say in future trade deals with the eu rather than the ability to strike our own deals. mr cabin goes on to say, the challenge to staying in the customs union is the apartment position that this is the only possible —— this is only possible if the uk state in the single market and accept the free movement of

people. well, in worker —— my own work apartment rights, she says these will be protected after brexit but rejects labour's kultur keep them in line with eu rules, saying she believes a decision should be made by mps in parliament. to make sense of all of this, our assistant medical editor norman smith is in westminster for us. are they shuffling closer together, norman? westminster for us. are they shuffling closertogether, norman? i think they have moved on from the plate throwing stage. certainly jeremy corbyn is now meeting mrs may. there is no boycotts. the tone of their conversation seems much more convivial and consensual and this letter is another step in that whole process. indeed, mrs may goes out of her way to applaud jeremy corbyn for accepting that reaching a deal has to be the priority, not pressing for a second referendum or a general election. she applauds him for recognising that the backstop has got to change and that the eu has got to change and that the eu

has got to do more in terms of continuing with security guarantees. the only two areas of friction are over employment rights and over a customs union. but unemployment rights, even their mrs may is shuffling closer to mr carbon, saying she would look at giving mps the right to vote on whether they wa nt to the right to vote on whether they want to introduce new eu employment rights, and she has held out the carrot of more cash for disadvantaged constituencies. and when you look at the issue around the customs union, yes, theresa may again restates her belief that a permanent customs union would not enable the uk to strike its own deal. nevertheless, the language, it seems to be, is a good deal monuments, and it was interesting listening this morning to the prisons minister rory stewart. he was quite open about the fact that theresa may was looking for common ground. what is happening here is not a shifting of red lines. the prime minister remains very clear that she thinks a very major economy like the uk needs to have the

freedom to be able to make its own trade deals, so she is disagreeing with jeremy corbyn's trade deals, so she is disagreeing withjeremy corbyn's suggestion of a customs union, but what she is saying is that we have a lot of common ground, a lot more common ground perhaps and people have acknowledged on things like parliamentary protections, worker peasant rights, making sure that we get investment into areas of the country would haven't done as well over the last three years as other parts. so i think it is a positive step and it is about trying to help. both labour and conservatives understand that maybe there isn't as much divides us as people have suggested. so, what do labour make of it all? do they think this is an olive branch being proffered towards them? we olive branch being proffered towards them ? we have olive branch being proffered towards them? we have not heard anything officially, although it is understood that talks will convene this week between the shadow brexit secretary and mrs may's number two. john ashworth, the shadow health secretary was on the box morning stressing that he believed it was

right that labour did now seek to try to pull together a brexit deal. the british people voted for brexit, didn't they? we had the referendum on the british people voted for it. i was on the british people voted for it. iwasa on the british people voted for it. i was a remainer but the british people voted for it and now the response ability and the priority for us is to get the best possible deal which means we can continue to trade, doesn't do our economy damage, which is why we want this permanent customs union arrangement. as for mrs may's tory brexiteers, they have been watching a little bit nervously, i guess, following this letter and the slightly nuanced language on the customs union, and it was interesting listening to the former foreign secretary boris johnson this morning on the wireless. he did not send to me like a man on the warpath. what everyone, i think, is hoping on both sides of the argument in the house of commons and also elsewhere is that the prime minister now goes to brussels and really gets the change we need. but

this has been going on for years. and she has said that she will, and i think that is the great hope, and if she can do that then we know what the races because then we have a chance if we can come out of the backstop, then we have a chance in the next stage of negotiations to do genuine free trade deals and we then have the chance to allow our regulations to develop in their own way in some of those areas where the uk leads the world, and that is i think a very exciting and attractive prospect for the uk. boris johnson picking up on the point about our own trade deals. we have the international trade secretary liam fox in switzerland today talking about a trade deal with switzerland. but the gdp figure is a bit of a dark cloud over that. they are, because they have dipped by 0.2% over the blast three months and the growth in the economy is now at its lowest level i think going back to

2009. doctor fox saying nothing to do with brexit, but you can guarantee that remainers will say this is more evidence of the uncertainty and the hit to investment from the continuing lack of clarity about the sort of deal, when we might leave, how brexit might unfold, also interesting adult doctor fox just underscoring the continuing gulf between the conservatives and labour over this issue of a customs union, branding jeremy corbyn's approach is dangerously delusional, so although we are seeing at least rhetorically a cunning together, there still remains a pretty fundamental dividing line over this issue of the customs union. thanks very much for wrapping all of that up. now let's go to brussels and speak to our correspondent adam fleming, because of course today it is another busy day in brussels and we get the brexit secretary, stephen barclay, in town. yes, that will be at the end of the day because the brexit

secretary is here for a dinner with michelle barnier, the eu chief negotiator, and they will be eating at the residence of the uk's permanent representative to the eu, the british ambassador to the eu, if you like so michel barnier will be on british diplomatic turf, and what they will be talking about is the three ideas that the uk has for changing the backstop, the insurance policy to avoid checks on the irish border and the future trade agreement between the uk and the eu. and the idea is that the uk is bringing to the table possibly an exit mechanism from the backstop if it ever comes into force that means that the uk could make its own decision and unilaterally leave the backstop arrangement, could you have some kind of time limit on it so it only lasts for a certain number of yea rs, only lasts for a certain number of years, or could there be alternative arrangements. now, the same effect as the backstop, you get there by different. those are the three things that steve backley will be presenting and michel barnier will

be listening and not necessarily negotiating because as far as the eu is concerned, the withdrawal agreement is finished and closed and they are not prepared to change it. so it is not completely clear what snipers make dinner will actually achieve. well, indeed. theresa may was in brussels only a few days ago, asking the same questions, as i understand it, and the answer then was no, no, and no. so it's strange to expect answer to be different for days later. well, theresa may last brussels on thursday when she was here and received a no, but she also left with promise of this process, the two sides talking and that is what tonight plasma dinner is about. i suppose we can only reallyjudge what that process has led to nbc and end result. is there actually an end to this withdrawal agreement that has some tweaks to it? that looks unlikely at the moment from what the eu is saying. do you end up with a political declaration, that second document which sketches out the future of the relationship? and do

those changes change how the withdrawal agreement and the backstop is perceived, and then perhaps you even end up with a third document that somehow sits in between the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration, whether there are some more letters are some kind of legal document or other instrument that the legal brains come up with that again changes how the backstop is perceived. but i suppose the thing is there that what the eu is looking at is changing perceptions of the backstop, how it feels, the chances of it ever being used rather than the actual legal contact used rather than the actual legal co nta ct of used rather than the actual legal contact of —— content of the backstop itself. now, before we leave brexit completely, there is a warning that britain would be less safe in the event of a no till brexit. the man in charge of police preparation, deputy assistant commissioner richard martin says criminal record checks could take ten times as long. and the man in charge of police preparation, deputy assista nt charge of police preparation, deputy assistant commissioner richard martin says criminal record checks could take ten times as long. andy moore reports. the international

crime coordination centre has been set up as a safety net to ensure uk police officers and continue to cooperate with their european collea g u es cooperate with their european colleagues even if access to many of the current systems is lost. it employs around 50 people, and that will cost £5.6 million for the first year. under the terms of the exit deal negotiated by theresa may, there is a commitment to a broad and deep partnership in european law—enforcement, but no detail on the specifics. if there was a nodal brexit, the uk could immediately lose access to databases that are currently used millions of times a year. the police would have to fall back on treaties taking to the 19505. back on treaties taking to the 1950s. policing is not going to stop overnight. we will still be there using all of the tools available to us using all of the tools available to us to keep our community safe, but it was without saying that these processes a re it was without saying that these processes are slower, they are more bureaucratic and clunky and that does not allow was to be as efficient as we are now. in a nodal scenario, the extradition of suspects that currently takes days

could take months. criminal record checks that take less than a week could take ten times as long. officers say there is a risk that the uk will be less safe and some suspects will slip through the net. the policing minister said contingency plans for a nodal scenario would involve moving to tried and tested alternative mechanisms. a 24—year—old man has appeared at hull magistrates‘ court on charges of voyeurism, outrage and public decency and three counts of burglary. he was remanded in custody. he was arrested in relation to the search for libby squires, the student who went missing 11 days ago. the charges aren‘t connected to her disappearance, but he remains a person of interest. his —— up to 6000 women with a family history of breast cancer should receive annual mammograms according to a report.

the trial will be screening a younger age group which detected smaller tumours more early in comparison to the current nhs screening age of a0. here is our health correspondent. at present, breast cancer screening is offered to women from the age of a0 who are thought to be at a moderate or higher risk due to a family history of the illness, but a new research project that extended screening to at—risk women from the age of 35 than they could be real benefits. more tumours were detected when they we re more tumours were detected when they were significantly smaller in size and before they reached the lymphatic system which can spread the disease around the body. the earlier breast cancer is found, the earlier breast cancer is found, the earlier screening finds it, at that stage treatment is less invasive and the cancer is more likely to be survivable. more people are surviving breast cancer than ever before. but it remains the biggest

cooler of women under 50 in england and wales. more than 920 women under 50 lost their lives to the disease in 2017 and it is the uk‘s most common cancer, with around 55,000 women and many men being diagnosed each year in the uk. the authors of the study weren‘t that more analysis is needed on the risks, costs and benefits associated with extending the training programme. if it is made more widely available, as many as 86,000 women in the uk could be eligible. but that is likely to still be some years away. it is just after quarter past 11. our headlines, figures out today show in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its lowest annual rate for six years. the prime minister says she is prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, as some of her own backbenchers continue to call for changes to the deal. and the senior police officers who are

in charge of preparing for a nodal brexit say there is a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. and in sport, the manager apologises to chelsea fans after an unacceptable performance. he said hisjob is always unacceptable performance. he said his job is always at risk. the result means city go to the top of the table. after scoring six tries against france, england had two unbeaten wales in a fortnight for what could be a six nations title decider. and it is uncertain whether horse racing will be able to risen this week. for more cases of equine flu have been identified at a second job. i will be back with a full update in the next 15 minutes. the world is losing insect populations atan alarming world is losing insect populations at an alarming rate. that‘s according to a global review which says more than a0% of insect species

are declining. one third are endangered. the review also warns that the rate of extinction for insects is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds, and reptiles. let‘s talk to one of the authors of that study, from the university of sydney. thank you for talking to us. it sounds very alarming and perplexing. why are they deteriorating so fast?m alarming and perplexing. why are they deteriorating so fast? it is alarming and that is exactly why we wa nted alarming and that is exactly why we wanted to publish the study. the study is a review of other studies that have been done in the last 30 yea rs, that have been done in the last 30 years, so that have been done in the last 30 years, so all we have done isjust put together all that information. there are multiple factors. the main one is the loss of habitat due to our cultural practices and deforestation. secondly, there is the increasing use of fertilisers and pesticides in our culture worldwide. as well as the

contamination by chemical pollutants of all kind, industry and so on. so we have biological factors of all kind, industry and so on. so we have biologicalfactors like some introduced species and pathogens and also climate change. i think mainly in tropical areas where climate change is known to have a big impact. and sell, the seriousness of this is obvious to everybody, but it also must be serious for other species because insects are food and they pollinate and they recycle nutrients. i mean, they provide all of these vital functions. exactly. you have just pointed of these vital functions. exactly. you havejust pointed out of these vital functions. exactly. you have just pointed out the importance. insects are the base of the food chain. and a large part of it. a huge part of the vertebrate fauna depends on insects for survival. birds, insects, or bats,

they eat exclusively insects. so the demise of the insect fauna will have enormous consequences. this is not alarmist at all. if they go, all of these vertebrates will go. so what we are saying is that the trend that you have discovered through this review must not be allowed to continue or should not be allowed to continue, which raises the obvious next question, what can we and should we do about it? well, since we know now what are the main factors and drivers, we have to start taking them seriously. so we cannot forget about it now. we have to do something. and the first thing is we have to change our culture. that is the main contributor to

insect declines. and i‘m not talking here about the deforestation areas of natural habit, that is just part of natural habit, that is just part of it. the main thing is we change agriculture now, particularly in the last 30 years where we have been using prophylactic use of insecticides. this has had a devastating impact on the environment. that kills the soil and the grass in the soil and so they can‘t do that function as recyclers. it isa can‘t do that function as recyclers. it is a big mistake. so we have to go back to management practices and work with nature instead of working against nature. that is really interesting. it is an interesting idea, but you can see that from an individual farmer‘s idea, but you can see that from an individualfarmer‘s point idea, but you can see that from an individual farmer‘s point of view, they will kind of say i did my

pesticide because of that microbes are going to get eaten —— i need my pesticide. so is there anyone who is leading the way on a route that works forfarmers leading the way on a route that works for farmers and also insects? i cannot agree with the farmers. that is not true. if there is an outbreak, you can use an insecticide, but you can use others that are more environmentally friendly, but it is not true that the use of insecticides reduces the food substantially. there have been many studies done recently, i think in france and america, that show that the use of insecticides don‘t increase production. we can have production without insecticide. but some of the insecticides compete

with the crop. so they have to understand that. they have been misled by the clinical companies that want to sell the products and wa nt to that want to sell the products and want to make them believe that by applying these, they are going to solve their problems, but it is not. this study done in the us shows this. there is no gain of using systemic insecticides. used in a very small amount on certain occasions and under certain circumstances. it has been fascinating talking to you. thank you for explaining your research. we have to move on now, but thank you again. thanks very much. the defence secretary gavin williamson has set out plans to modernise the armed forces so that the uk can redefine its role in the world after brexit. mr williamson said britain needed a bolder and stronger military, ready to use its power or risk being seen asa to use its power or risk being seen

as a paper tiger. to use its power or risk being seen as a papertiger. he to use its power or risk being seen as a paper tiger. he said china and russia have blurred the boundaries between war and peace. it will not a lwa ys between war and peace. it will not always be the role of traditional western powers to act as the global peacemaker. but nor can we walk on by when others are in need. to talk but failed to act risks are nation being seen as nothing more than a paper tiger. gavin williamson. now to film because the historical drama the favourite was the big winner at last night baftas, with olivia colman taking home the best actress award. for the first time, the best picture award went to a netflix drama. our entertainment correspondent was at the ceremony in london. joining the duke and duchess of cambridge at the annual film awards, representatives of cinema royalty. and it was a royal themed film that won the most awards, the

favourite. british star rachel weisz took home best supporting actress, and the film won seven awards in all, including best costume design and best actress for olivia colman. look at me. look at the! out there you! close your eyes. she paid tribute to her co—stars. you! close your eyes. she paid tribute to her co-stars. emma and rachel, lets get it together, not just for your performances but for what you did after the cameras stopped rolling... and we have never talked about this but you were the best and classiest and coolest honour guard anyone could have, and i love you. the best actor prize went to rami malek for his betrayal of friday mercury. thank you so much

to queen, to brian may, to roger taylor, to the entire queen family. i wouldn't be here without you. and to the greatest outside of them all, thank you friday mercury. the best film went to black—and—white mexican drama roma, the first time a netflix film has won the most prestigious award. congratulations to all of them. now time for a look at the weather. thank you very much. not a bad start to the weak out there. especially compared with those wild, wet and windy conditions we finished last week with. this week will be dry and getting milder. there will be some rain here and there as i will show you. today, just a few showers in eastern counties of england and then later on the sunshine turns hazy, the cloud thickens up, and by the evening there will be some rain. compared with yesterday, they went not as strong and more in the way of sunshine and feeling milder already after that frosty start. temperatures anywhere between

6-11dc, temperatures anywhere between 6—11dc, so a little bit above where we should be for the time of year. into tonight, patchy rain and drizzle which will spread across the rest of scotland into parts of northern england. maybe the far northern england. maybe the far north of wales also. a lot of dry weather here. clear further south and east and if you do get clear spells overnight, it will be close toa spells overnight, it will be close to a frost to take us into tomorrow morning. as i said, things are set to turn milder this week. not as windy as last week, and while there is some rain especially on tuesday, most of the week will be dry. hello this is bbc newsroom live with carrie grace. the headlines: figures out today show that in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its slowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she‘s prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands as some of her own backbenchers continue to call for changes to the deal. it would have to give the united kingdom a uk—sized

exit from the backstop. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no—deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. we will still be there using all of the tools available to us to keep our communities safe, but it goes without saying that these processes are slower, more bureaucratic, clunkier. a call for younger women with a family history of breast cancer to receive annual screenings. the alarming rate at which the world is losing its insect population, one third are endangered. 18—century period drama the favourite was the big winner at last night‘s bafta film awards. and coming up: a remote russian region has declared a state of emergency over what‘s been described by authorities as a "massive invasion" of polar bears. sport now, here‘s ollie.

maurizio sarri apologised to the chelsea supporters yesterday after what he called an unacceptable performance, they lost 6—0 at manchester city, who returned to the top of the table. sergio aguero scored his second hat—trick in the space of a beat. it was chelsea putts worst defeat in 28 years in the premier league. when asked about his future, mitchell sarri said his job was always at risk. there was no handshake between the two managers but mitchell sarri said he did not mean that he simply did not spot pep guardiola. england head coach eddiejones has already started playing mind games, suggesting they will face the greatest welsh side ever. england thrashed france aa—8 yesterday.

jonny may went over for a hat—trick of tries inside half an hour at twickenham. this earned england a bonus point win that keeps them two points clear of the unbeaten welsh, who made ten changes for their victory over italy at the weekend. they played a squad team, i suppose thatis they played a squad team, i suppose that is the modern term now in the second game. it is a greatest welsh tea m second game. it is a greatest welsh team ever, most wins in a row, so it isa team ever, most wins in a row, so it is a great challenge for us. bad injury news for scotland, ryan wilson will miss the remainder of the six nations, the glasgow back row forward suffered knee ligament damage in their defeat to ireland at murrayfield. final test in saint lucia resumes in the next two hours, the series is already lost but england are in control against the west indies, looking to avoid a whitewash. stuart

broad took a brilliant catch, look at that, to give moeen ali a one off four wickets. mark wood took a maiden five wicket haul. the batsmen of england survived and they have a 1a2 lead going into the 30—day. we will find out later today whether or not horse racing will resume on wednesday, four more cases of equine flu have been identified at a second jarred after new outbreaks in newmarket. it is one of the 17a sta bles newmarket. it is one of the 17a stables that have been locked down. several sta bles stables that have been locked down. several stables were found to be affected last week in cheshire. we think this might be more violent strain which is why we are being cautious. the vaccine has taken a long time to come onto the market but looking at history, the vaccine has been very successful. racing is diligent about vaccination and trainers are diligent about the bio—security, they take temperatures

every day and monitors horses coming m, every day and monitors horses coming in, they are isolated when they come in. racing has been diligent. the arsenal and england midfielder jordan nobbs ruptured knee ligaments in september meaning she could not get to the world cup. she said telling her family was the hardest part. just disappointment. you want to make yourself proud and do what you can to be the best footballer andi you can to be the best footballer and i think missing the last one and kind of being told there is an opportunity but the risk is incredibly high. i think whenever you hear your father putts voice it is difficult to tell him. in women‘s football and any major tournament thatis football and any major tournament that is how you show how world—class you are and i think the fact that i have had two opportunities taken away, i do not want to let people

down or not let people how much i wa nt to down or not let people how much i want to play any term it like that but the support i got on the flip side of that was absolutely incredible. —— father‘s. side of that was absolutely incredible. -- father's. more sport in halfan incredible. -- father's. more sport in half an hour. gcses should be scrapped and a—levels should be replaced by a mix of academic and vocational subjects. that‘s the future, according to robert halfon, chairman hejoins a number of prominant business leaders who believe that the current education system is outdated, and that young people in the uk need a wider range of skills suitable for today‘s competitive job market. charles parker, ceo of the baker dearing educational trust, the organisation that promotes and supports university technical colleges across the country, isjoining us now from millbank. thank you for speaking to us. do you agree with the chairman of the education select committee? agree with the chairman of the education select committee ?|j agree with the chairman of the education select committee? i think

he is right but he is making a big ask of the system because gcses of the system have recently been overhauled. but what is certainly true is that this is how schools are measured at the moment in terms of how they are doing and how they judged. the law says that everybody should be in some form of educational training until they are 18, it seems to me that what must happen is that that is the stage where schools are judged. but he is absolutely right, gcses were designed for the time when school ended at 16. so why have they been overhauled in such a way that they retain the central role rather than moving it to 18? you would have to ask others, including the policy makers, who make these decisions. i am involved with technical schools that run from 1a to 19. we have been around for about eight years and we exist in order to educate students who are well educated for the modern economy when they leave at 18, so

what matters to us is what happens to them at that point, but we all must suffer gcses, unfortunately. if rob can achieve the downplaying in the way that schools are measured and thejudge the way that schools are measured and the judge that would be wonderful, you do not need to go far to find teachers who would agree with that. given that your role in technical colleges... is your argument that more people should get vocational skills in our economy? my argument is that more people should be offered a high quality technical education, because that is what the modern economy needs. there are any number of statistics about hard to fill vacancies and the skills shortage of youngsters going into the system with the right kind of education. so what we have done with the university technical colleges is to design that within the range of the system, of course, because we are state funded academies. but what we do is almost an spite of this

very high—stakes moment of gcses, but we do it anyway. so, because we do not have the department for education sitting in this room at this precise moment to quote them, they have said gcses are the gold standard. that is what they say and thatis standard. that is what they say and that is the truth, because as i have said, schools are measured by what happens to those students at the age of16, happens to those students at the age of 16, which is curious given that the government putts loan law is that you have to stay in education or training until you are 18. so it seems to me that the two things are out of step. going back to what you are trying to do and what robert halfon seems to be trying to move the system, he is talking about young people who are knowledge engaged for the 21st century. what does that exactly mean, the idea of knowledge engaged? does that exactly mean, the idea of knowledge engaged ?|j does that exactly mean, the idea of knowledge engaged? i think it means what used to rudely be called soft skills, as well as what you know. you have to know what and how, they

are both knowledge. skills are essentially knowing how to do things, and what we seek to do is to educate folks at university technical colleges in spite of the fa ct technical colleges in spite of the fact that the exam system and the qualifications are very much still engaged with no what, and quite a lot of the what is out of date. so we work with employers who actually know what is needed and we fit that in and a longer school day and it is a tremendous challenge for the teachers but we are getting there. so our 18—year—olds are precisely what the economy needs and for four yea rs what the economy needs and for four years running we have had these amazing destinations with only 3% of them drawing job—seeker‘s allowance, which by any standard is fantastic. and they are going into the areas, the apprenticeships which have degrees attached to them, which make a tremendous sense to them because they are employed as apprentices and therefore paid, and also emerge at

therefore paid, and also emerge at the other end of a four, five year training course with a degree and no debt, and that is a fantastic model, and it is because it is needed. charles parker, thank you. a very quick word from downing street who have said there will be a statement on rex‘s progress from the prime minister tomorrow. —— brexit progress. there had been talk of a valentine‘s day vote and the repetition of her customs union suggestion which came from jeremy corbyn. her spokesperson has said that the government will bring a vote on the brexit deal to parliament as soon as possible but it will not be this week. thailand has set the bahraini footballer hakeem al—araibi free — after bahrain dropped it‘s request to have him extradited. al—araibi was given refugee status in australia

but was detained when he travelled to thailand on his honeymoon. bahrain had convicted him in abstentia of vandalising a police station and wanted him back. the case led to an outcry from the footballing world. jonathan head in bangkok told us earlier about this. well, we saw hakeem al—araibi, or rather saw the van carrying him from the remand prison where he has been held for the last three months, coming out a few hours ago with a police escort. the thais are telling us he is now a free man, they have got no more case against him. the procedure moved very quickly after a visit by the thai foreign minister to bahrain yesterday. we now understand bahrain agreed to withdraw its extradition request and the thais raised his case through the courts today and got a very, very quick order to have him freed. we are expecting him to be on a plane to australia within a few hours going straight back to melbourne and i think thailand will now be trying to put this case behind it. there is no doubt that thailand has done the right thing. this release will be broadly welcomed right across the world

by the huge numbers of people who have taken an interest and shown support for this young bahraini. but it is undoubtedly true also that the fast—growing campaign to get him released did achieve this result. thailand has a track record of sending back asylum seekers into harm‘s way, it has done it many times in the past often before it could be reported. in this case, the huge amount of international attention, in particular the campaign organised and led by the former australian international craig foster, and many others in the football world, built up such momentum that you had bodies like fifa and the international olympic committee and a lot of famous footballers around the world backing the campaign and talking about a possible boycott of thai sporting events. this is a football—mad country and i think for the past couple of weeks, thailand has been trying to find a way out of this. it has a very close relationship with bahrain and it needed bahrain itself to realise that the damage was too

great and to withdraw the extradition request. that has now happened. so this is the result of a lot of people working very hard and campaigning hard to persuade thailand to change its view. and right up until the last couple of days the official thai position was that we had to see the corporate processes through, that could have taken many, many months, and there was no guarantee he would be freed at the end. things have shifted very quickly and i think thailand has realised that this case was far too damaging to let it go on. figures revealed today show more than 10 million people have been brought into workplace pensions schemes by automatic enrolment since 2012. the scheme, which requires both employers and employees to contribute, is one of the governments flagship policies. minimum contributions are due to rise from 5% to 8% in april. the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the scheme has contributed to a change in culture in the uk: this is a good step forward. people who had never thought

that they would be saving for a pension at quite a young age, it starts from the age of 22, are beginning to do so in quite big scale. so normalising that approach to saving for your future, for your own pension, is a really important change in the culture that we are seeing in the uk. what does brexit mean for the fashion industry and high street clothing? across europe, many large brands have been warned to prepare for the implications of no deal, in an industry where fabrics and materials are often transported between countries to make the product. at the start of stockholm fashion week, our europe correspondent gavin lee has been looking at the potential impact on the industry. what has fashion and brexit got in common? well, follow me, i‘ll show you. music plays. well, this is stockholm fashion week, here in sweden. and some of the biggest high—street brands of sweden, the biggest companies for haute couture, designers, too,

have had an emergency no—deal brexit meeting with the government here to work out what happens if the british and eu don‘t come up with a deal in the next few weeks. one of the leading designers here is per gotesson, with a base in stockholm and london. if there is not a brexit, a border would not be a dealfor me as a fashion designer. as a designer you have to travel, you have to go and meet people and show your work. that‘s the nature of the job. in downtown stockholm, the main fashion show is starting. one big factor affecting british and eu companies is how materials are bought and sold all over the continent and sent back and forth as they‘re made — fabrics from italy, buttons and zips from germany. the end of free movement of goods, and the models as well, is a big concern. of course it will be hard hit by brexit.

because from day to another you can to the wto rules with all the tariffs coming on clothes and not least shoes, which have tariffs of up to 16%. there will be people watching this and wondering how will it affect me on the high street and the clothing that i buy? on the price, of course, because if you put tariffs on the fashion and the shoes and the clothes and everything, it is going to be paid by somebody. and that somebody is the simple consumer. for the swedish high—street store our legacy, the uk is the biggest market. its founder, ricardos klaren, says in the event of a no deal, british customers will have to pay a lot more. if tariffs go up and the price point on our clothing will go up a lot. you know, it will be 20% or something like that. it could really affect our business and our presence in uk. there‘s a saying in fashion —

you can have anything you want in life if you dress for it. the hundreds of traders here waiting for the uncertainties of brexit to unravel will be hoping so. gavin lee, bbc news, sweden. in a moment we‘ll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... figures out today show that in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its slowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she‘s prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, but some in her cabinet express scepticism about his plans for a customs union. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no—deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. i‘m ben in the business news.

the uk economy grew at its slowest annual rate in six years after a sharp fall in output in december. growth for the year was 1.a%, that‘s down from 1.8% in 2017. philip hammond must commit to billions in extra spending to end austerity — according to a warning from think tank the institute for fiscal studies. it says an extra £5 billion a year is needed by 2023 to keep current spending commitments. mike ashley has withdrawn a bid to buy the beleagured coffee and cake chain patisserie valerie out of administration. sports direct offered £15 million but was told by administrators that it wasn‘t enough. other companies, including costa coffee, are thought to be interested in the chain. let‘s get more on the latest update on the state of the british economy.

a slowdown in steel production, car making and construction all hit the figure. but here‘s the story. after a difficult start to the year, the beast from the east, that really hampered the weather, it stopped people from going out and purchasing. but then we had a strong summer, the good weather, the world cup, the royal wedding which got us out and spending and the figure improved over the course of the summer. improved over the course of the summer. but you will see that the 0.2%, the final quarter of the year, coming in significantly lower. the office for national statistics says the uk grew by 0.2% in the last three months of last year. that meant overall growth for the year was just

1.2% — the slowest rate of growth since 2012. lovely to see you, what do you make of this figure? very hard to get excited by 0.2%, isn‘t it? of this figure? very hard to get excited by 0.2%, isn't it? yes, it isa excited by 0.2%, isn't it? yes, it is a little bit worse than what people were expecting and there is nervousness about the data. in december it showed that all sectors of the economy, services, manufacturing, construction all declined. so that raises concerns about what we will see in the early months of this year. of course, brexit to blame for all of this, but it is business investment that has seen it is business investment that has seen the biggest decline. businesses are saying, we do not know what will happen and we will not commit to extend the factory, take on new staff and make big decisions because we do not know the estate of the economy or what business will look like after the end of march. we have seen an like after the end of march. we have seen an ongoing slide in business investment in the past year and that

is quite out of sync with what you would normally expect at this stage of the business cycle, normally you would expect business investment to improve rather than decline. so that it seems to be related to nervousness about brexit and the timing of brexit, and about the consequences of a possible no deal. how much can be read into the fact that we had a strong summer last year? i touched on some of the reasons, football, the world cup, the royal wedding. we were comparing it with a strong time last year on the quarter before. client —— can be read too much into one quarter‘s figures? well it has been challenging but you cannot read too much into one month's figures. when you have a sustained negative period you have a sustained negative period you can assume that his reflecting the reality. as to other parts of the reality. as to other parts of the economy, consumers are holding up the economy, consumers are holding up government spending, exports were relatively weak, import strong. there is too much going on at the moment to really be sure about what

is happening fundamentally in the economy, but we do seem to have seen a slowdown if you look at the annual data over the past year, the past couple of years. yes, absolutely, thank you for that. we talk a lot about brexit affecting business confidence, stuff that is being shipped from china often takes about six weeks to get to the uk, so for many firms that are selling to here orfrom for many firms that are selling to here or from selling overseas, brexit has already happened for them and they are shipping things out into the unknown. worth bearing in mind that a six—week deadline is affecting businesses around the world already. in other business stories we‘ve been following

one of the investors of takeaway delivery firm just eat is demanding changes in how the business is run. cat rock capital management wants the company to consider starting merger discussions. it‘s also complained that the firm did not consider two highly qualified candidates to replace chief executive peter plumb. people on zero—hour contracts are more than twice as likely to work night shifts and are paid a third less an hour than other workers according to the research from the tuc. it says the flexibility such contracts offer are only "good for employers" and has called for them to be banned. but the government said a ban would "impact more people than it would help", arguing zero—hours worked well for students, carers and retirees. do you own cows? do you require the services of a bull? well, to help you find the perfect match for your cattle there‘s now an app for that. called tudder, it allows farmers to swipe through a selection of cows and bulls, giving information about their breed, location and type. the app is designed by farming technology firm hectare and links to its livestock marketplace — sellmylivestock. yes, an age—old industry getting a

rather more than makeover. let us have a look at how the numbers are doing. remember, the markets are not looking at what has already happened but the next quarter and the remainder of the year will be. last week we got that update from the bank of england. it suggested the uk economy will be growing sluggishly for the rest of the year. you are update for the moment. more to come this afternoon. thank you, ben. a 2a—year—old man has appeared at hull magistrates court on charges of voyeurism, outraging public decency and three counts of burglary. he was remanded in custody. pawel relowicz is the man arrested in relation to the search for libby squires — the student who went missing 11 days ago.

the charges aren‘t connected to her disappearance, but he remains a person of interest. let‘s speak now to alison freeman who‘s in hull. what can you tell us? well, this man appeared here at how magistrates‘ court this morning to face five charges. those charges are one of voyeurism, one of outraging public decency and a sort of burglary. all charges relate to the time period beginning in 2017. speaking via an interpreter and wearing a grey sweatshirt, he denied all of those charges. the 2a—year—old man is the man questioned by police over the disappearance of hull student libby squire. she disappeared 11 days ago after a night out in the city with friends. she took a taxi home but failed to enter her student accommodation and was last seen in the streets near her home. the man faces charges completely unrelated, police have said, to the

disappearance of libby. he was remanded in custody and will next appear at how crown court on the 11th of march. thank you for that update. officials in a remote part of russia have declared a state of emergency because of what they call "a massive the animals have been spotted in built—up areas of novaya zemlya, more than 50 times since december. on some occasions they have entered homes and offices, and reportedly injured people inside. hunting polar bears is illegal in russia but a sanctioned cull has not been ruled out. a sad story related to climate change, ifear. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. a very good morning to you. a com pletely a very good morning to you. a completely different week of weather from last week in which we saw lots of wet and windy weather. this week, not as windy by any means and for

many of you it is set to be dry. another thing to note, after a chilly start things are turning milder. the chilly start is because of high pressure close by, it is to the south of us and will remain there all week. at the moment it is south—west and is dragging winds from the west. the cooler winds pushing into central europe at the moment. it is bringing a few showers here and there are down the eastern coast of england, but after the chilly start, lots of sunshine for many of you. the sun turning hazy for the west of scotland and northern ireland and by the afternoon it comes into the western isles and we could see some patchy rain and drizzle. the breeze will freshen up later but for most it is a day of light winds and with more sunshine it will feel milder than yesterday, six in aberdeen, up to 11 in plymouth. for tonight, yesterday, six in aberdeen, up to 11 in plymouth. fortonight, clear skies across the east initially and that will lead to a drop in temperature, a touch of frost cannot be ruled out but cloudy weather.

some dry moments and a few showers and spots of rain and drizzle pushing into the north of england and wales and confirmation a close touch of frost for some. high pressure shifts along into central europe and this allows the ones to come off of the atlantic and it will bea come off of the atlantic and it will be a milder day on tuesday. after the chilly start in the south at these temperatures are increasing, sunshine here and there, showers for the north of england and wales are coming and going. occasional rain for scotland and northern ireland, but there is drier and sunnier moments. look at the temperatures, just about all with the exception of shetland into double figures. that will continue for wednesday, thursday and for some on friday. the air is coming off of the atlantic and keeping the milderflow of winds. bringing rainfourtimes and keeping the milderflow of winds. bringing rain four times into scotla nd winds. bringing rain four times into scotland on wednesday but that rain becomes confined to the far north and most places become dry through the day with increasing amounts of

sunshine breaking through with mist and a low cloud, particularly for england and wales. lows of around ten to 13 degrees. it continues on thursday with more sunshine, almost a completely dry day across the country, a breeze from the south but temperatures at 11 or 12 celsius. that‘s all. mel coles will be here in halfan that‘s all. mel coles will be here in half an hour. you re watching bbc newsroom live. these are today s main stories at midday: figures out today show that in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its slowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she‘s prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, but some in her cabinet express

scepticism about his plans for a customs union. of course, we always want to work with the opposition, but the opposition have put forward some ideas that are not workable. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. a call for younger women with a family history of breast cancer to receive annual screenings. the world is losing insect populations at an alarming rate according to a global review. 18th century period drama the favourite was the big winner at last night‘s bafta film awards. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome and horse racing is on hold until at least wednesday with four new positive tests for equine flu. good morning.

welcome to bbc newsroom live. i‘m carrie gracie. our top story is that the uk economy grew last year at its slowest rate for six years according to officialfigures. the office for national statistics says that growth in 2018 was 1.a% — that‘s down from 1.8% the previous year. it follows forecasts of slower growth this year due to uncertainty around brexit and a weaker global economy. the chancellor of the exchequer, philip hammond, says these figures show how important it is for the government to get its withdrawal agreement through parliament. the quarterly figures are quite volatile, we‘ve seen through 2018 a wide—ranging quarterly performance.

the important thing is the economy is coming ahead of the obr‘s forecast, which is in the context of a world economy saw a robust performance for the uk economy, which is all the more remarkable given the uncertainty around the bra kes given the uncertainty around the brakes process. sarah hewin says it is very difficult to pin down the fundamental reasons behind the slowdown. i think where you have a sustained trend in business investment which has been negative, then we can assume that that is reflecting the reality. as to other parts of the economy, consumers are holding up, government spending bounced back up again, exports were relatively weak, imports strong. i think there is too much going on at the moment to really be sure about what is happening fundamentally in the economy, but we do seem to have seen a slowdown, if you look at the annual growth data over the past couple of years. the prime minister will update mps tomorrow

on the latest developments in the brexit process. meanwhile, theresa may has welcomed further talks with jeremy corbyn about labour‘s five demands to support her brexit deal. in a letter to the labour leader, it appears mrs may has rejected one of the key proposals, for the uk to stay in a customs union with the european union. in her letter, theresa may says she isn‘t clear why mr corbyn believes it would be preferable for the uk to seek a say in future trade deals rather than have the ability to strike our own deals. the prime minister goes on to say that the challenge to staying in the customs union with completely frictionless trade is the eu‘s position that this is only possible if the uk stays in the single market and accepts the free movement of people. on worker‘s rights, mrs may says these will be protected after brexit, but rejects labour‘s calls to keep them in line with eu rules,

saying she believes these decisions should be made by mps in parliament. our assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster. bring us up to speed with what we have heard from downing street this morning. we know that mrs may will be making a statement tomorrow. that is ahead of another series of votes on thursday so presumably she will wa nt to on thursday so presumably she will want to make the best pitch on progress made so far, following her talks at the back end of last week from which she emerged billy with nothing beyond a commitment to carry on talking, but from number ten‘s point of view, they view that as a result, insofar as they think it suggests that the eu is at least willing to engage with the idea of looking again at some sort of changes to the backstop. at the same time, we know theresa may is trying to reach out to labour mps, and

that‘s why we have had this very conciliatory letter from mrs may overnight in which he has applauded mr corbyn for recognising the need to get another deal, notjust to focus on another referendum on a general election. there has been a little movement from mrs may on employment rights, but on the key issue of a customs union, still a sticking point there and it is interesting the language in the letter appears to have spooked some tory brexiteers, which is why this morning we have heard from senior cabinet ministersjust morning we have heard from senior cabinet ministers just cooling down, shall we say, the thawing of relations betweenjeremy corbyn and theresa may, underscoring the gulf that still exists over this issue of a customs union, so have a listen to the international trade secretary, liam fox, talking about it. of course we want to talk to the opposition, but the opposition have put forward some ideas that are not workable, the idea that you can have

a customs union with the eu and at the same time have as an outside country have an effect on eu trade policy is to not understand the eu treaties. it is very clear from the eu that non—eu members do not have a say in eu trade policy, so to pretend that you could do so is a dangerous delusion. and we had similar words this morning, actually, from the chancellor, philip hammond, warning thatjeremy corbyn cosmic attitude towards a customs union had a tinge of unreality about it, and you do is get a sense that theresa may plasma tea m get a sense that theresa may plasma team are having to carry on with this delicate balancing act, yes, they do want to reach up to labour, but no, they do not want to sound panic stations on their own backbenchers. as for labour, no official response to the letter overnight, but the shadow health secretaryjohn ashworth this morning

underscoring their determination not just to get a deal but to stick by their position on a customs union. the british people voted for brexit, didn‘t they? we have the referendum and the british people voted for that. i was a remainer, and the british people voted for that. iwas a remainer, but and the british people voted for that. i was a remainer, but the british people voted in a referendum another responsibility and the priority for us is to get the best possible deal which means we can continue to trade, our economy isn‘t damaged, which is what this permanent customs arrangement is about. norman, just one last one before i let you go and what else might be happening in westminster. we hear about these warming, cooling, whatever shuffling going on between theresa may and jeremy corbyn, but what about the backbenchers are elsewhere around the house? because they were selected last month and they have gone a bit quiet. they have. i think many of them had the stuffing knocked out of them after they failed to win their amendments to try to force parliament to have a greater say in the whole brexit process , greater say in the whole brexit process, so they have lost a bit of their merger. they are going to have

another crack i think this thursday, but the signs don‘t look much more encouraging for them this time because all the indications are those conservative ministers, former remains supporters who have been huffing and puffing about how they might resign and this is a mess and mrs may rolls out note deal. i think the indication is they will hang around a bit longer because theresa may has said that they don‘t have to do anything on thursday, so don‘t do anything foolish on thursday and we will have another vote at the end of the month and i think a lot of them are thinking we will design around for a bit longer, much to the frustration of many of mrs may‘s critics, who feel that time is just slipping away towards brexit day, and they need to put a markdown on thursday. so i think they will have another go at trying to seize control on thursday. the chance of success looking a bit limited. that is the little battlefield here. thanks very much, norman. now let‘s look at the one in europe. we are

joined by damien green at december. we have the brexit secretary coming to visit to talk to the eu chief negotiator. what else is going on in brussels today for? we do, yes, exactly. well, that is the main item that everyone is focusing on. in the meantime, the eu is actually pressing ahead for its own ratification process, so that is the withdrawal agreement, that is the eu side gearing up saying that that is still the deal on the table, the deal on offer, and that is the same thing that is going to be told to stephen barclay this evening by michel barnier we believe because that has been consistently position all along, so the european parliament is waiting, gearing up itself because it will have to approve the final withdrawal agreement. this evening, then, at dinner michel barnier will be sitting down with mr barclay, but

the consistent message from the eu is that that withdrawal agreement itself with the irish backstop contained within it is not open for renegotiation at this stage. and some figures in europe has been enthusiastic about the idea of jeremy corbyn‘s offer to the prime minister. either responding at all to theresa may‘s letter back again to theresa may‘s letter back again to the opposition leader? well, as you say, yes, exactly. this was interesting last week when theresa may visited brussels and had her meetings here, donald tusk, he was speaking for the 27 countries, said that he believed that letter from jeremy corbyn, that offer of a customs union solution, whichjeremy corbyn was holding out as a sort of cross party thing, that the eu believed that that was a positive way forward. i think the eu

meanwhile is keen to set back and let the uk process move, but donald tusk clearly, as with many here, believe that that might be something that might find a way out of the situation. for now, thanks very much. the defence secretary, gavin williamson, has set out plans to modernise the armed forces so the united kingdom can redefine its role in the world after brexit. mr williamson said britain needed a bolder and stronger military, ready to use its power, or risk being seen as a paper tiger. he said china and russia had blurred the boundaries between war and peace. sorry, we are not going to hearfrom mr williamson. we will come back to that in a moment. meanwhile, a man has been arrested

for voyeurism, public indecency, and this is related to the disappearance of libby squires. two people have died in a crash following a police pursuit in west london. they were in a car that drove the wrong way along the aao in acton and collided with a coach. police had been pursuing the vehicle after reports of an aggravated burglary. four new positive tests for equine flu have been found in vaccinated thoroughbreds in newmarket, according to the british horseracing authorities.

(tx 00v) racing is on hold until at least wednesday while the sport‘s governing body tests horses nationwide. the suspension came after six cases of the contagious virus were discovered at donald mccain‘s cheshire stables. the bha is due to announce when meetings can resume this evening. meanwhile there‘s a warning that britain would be "less safe" in the event of a no—deal brexit. the man in charge of police preparations, deputy assistant commissioner richard martin, says criminal record checks could take ten times as long. more on today s main stories coming up on newsroom live here on the bbc news channel, but now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. the defence secretary, gavin williamson, has set out plans to modernise the armed forces

so the united kingdom can redefine its role in the world after brexit. mr williamson said britain needed a bolder and stronger military, ready to use its power, or risk being seen as a paper tiger. he said china and russia had blurred the boundaries between war and peace. it will not always be the role of traditional western powers to act as the global policeman, but nor can we walk on by when others are in need. fax to talk but fail to act risks our nation being seen as nothing more than a paper tiger. we arejoined by we are joined byjonathan we arejoined byjonathan beale. tell is more. he said brexit was pretty‘s greatest opportunity to redefine its role in the world and he sees the armed forces as being

key to defining britain‘s role in the world. he talked about a number of things, for example selling a new aircraft carrier to the pacific, essentially royal navy warships are going there to challenge china‘s claims to territorial waters, along with other allies. can ijust put in because that is an interesting idea that he would be doing that at the same time as trying to sign a free—trade agreement. the chinese will not like that. they will not. last year, they sent hms albion to challenge china‘s territorial gains and there was a fierce response from china and indeed on his inside government about it, so it is a controversial move, nevertheless he says he will do it. he also says he is going to essentially make the armed forces more lethal, and that is by giving them new equipment. essentially set out a new shopping list for them, and i think that again would include things like swarms of drones, arming

surveillance aircraft, building new ships, and the question is... if you remember, a year ago, there was going to have to be massive big cuts in the mod and the armed forces. he seems to have avoided that in part by getting more money for the treasury, but then public accounts committee says he can‘t afford to equip meant he has already said he wa nts to equip meant he has already said he wants to buy, let alone this new list of equipment, is waiting there will be some doubts as to whether the mod, whether he can actually give all of this new kit to the armed forces, and it is not cheap ticket he is talking about here. such as cutting—edge technology, using swarms of drones, is not something that most armed forces would be able to do at the moment. and what about where the uk sits in its alliances, because obviously militarily that is a huge question posed brexit. yes, they are clear that the bedrock will remain nato. he dismissed the notion of an eu army saying that country theory of already had to spend 2% of their wealth, their gross domestic product, on defence, which they weren‘t doing at the moment. part of

the problem is that this is a global vision for britain‘s armed forces at a time when britain‘s key ally, america, it appears to be pulling back and lots of places in the world, so there is a contradiction thereto, and clearly the british armed forces could not go into areas of the world without america, is whether there are plenty of questions to ask. fascinating stuff. the headlines on bbc news: figures out today show that in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its slowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she‘s prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, but some in her cabinet express scepticism about his plans for a customs union. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. sport now. maurizio sarri apologised

to the chelsea supporters yesterday after what he called ‘an unacceptable performance‘ they lost 6—0 at manchester city who have returned to the top of the table. it was chelsea‘s worst defeat in 28 years. asked about his future, sarri said that ‘his job is always at risk‘ there was no handshake between the two managers at the end, sarri though saying that it wasn‘t intentional. there‘s a potential six nations title decider in just under a fortnight. england head coach eddiejones has already started playing some mind—games, saying that they will face the "greatest wales side ever" england thrashed france aa points to 8 yesterday. jonny may went over for a hattrick of tries inside 30 minutes at twickenham. the win earned england another bonus point win and takes them two points clear of the unbeaten welsh, who made 10 changes for their victory against italy.

they played obviously a scored team, i suppose that‘s the modern term for the team now, in the second game. but they are the greatest welsh team ever. most wins in a row. it‘s a great challenge for us. more injury news for scotland — ryan wilson will miss the remainder of the six nations. the glasgow forward suffered knee ligament damage in saturday‘s loss to ireland at murrayfield. the final test in st lucia resumes in the next couple of hours the series is lost but england are in control against the windies. they bowled the home side out for 15a, mark wood took a maiden five wicket haul — moeen ali got four wickets. england‘s batsmen survived the final few overs in their second innings to give them a 1a2 run lead heading into the third day. we‘ll find out later today whether or not horseracing

will resume on wednesday. four more cases of equine flu have been identified at a second yard. the new outbreak in newmarket is at one of the 17a stables that have been in lockdown. six horses were found to be infected in cheshire last week. this is a strain we know about, the current night the slightly more brilliant which is why we are being cautious. the vaccines take a long time to come onto the market but looking at the vaccines, they have been very successful, racing is diligent about vaccination and trainers are very diligent about bio—security, they take daily temperatures, they monitor forces coming in, they are in isolation is when they come in. racing itself has been wary allergen. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. up to 86,000 women aged between 35 and 39 with a family

history of breast cancer should receive annual mammograms, according to new research. a trial by the charity breast cancer now found that screening a younger age group detected small tumours early — in comparison to the current nhs screening age of a0. here‘s our health correspondent dominic hughes. at present, breast cancer screening is offered to women from the age of a0 who are thought to be at a moderate or higher risk because of a significant family history of the illness but a new research project that extended screening to at risk women from the age of 35 found there could be real benefits. more tumours were detected when they were significantly smaller in size and before they reached the lymphatic system which can spread the disease around the body. the earlier breast cancer is found, the more treatable it is. screening finds breast cancer at a really early stage, before it can be seen or felt and at that stage, treatment is less invasive and the cancer is more likely to be survivable. more people are surviving breast cancer than ever before, but it remains the biggest killer of women under 50

in england and wales. more than 920 under 50s lost their lives to the disease in 2017 and it‘s the uk‘s most common cancer with around 55,000 women and 350 men being diagnosed each year in the uk. the authors of the study warn that more analysis is needed on the risks, costs and benefits associated with extending the screening programme. if it is made more widely available, as many as 86,000 women in the uk could be eligible but that‘s likely to still be some years away. dominic hughes, bbc news. gcses should be scrapped and a—levels should be replaced by a mix of academic and vocational subjects. that‘s the future, according to robert halfon, chairman of the education select committee. hejoins a number of prominant

business leaders who believe that the current education system is outdated, and that young people in the uk need a wider range of skills suitable for today‘s competitive job market. i was allowed to do history, english and politics at school. that shouldn‘t have happened. i should have been able to do a much wider curriculum of technical science and creative subjects, and what we are doing is narrowing to early, when the world is changing in a huge way. the march of the robots doesn‘tjust going to hit manualjobs, it‘s going to hit all kinds ofjobs, from a ccou nta nts to hit all kinds ofjobs, from accou nta nts to lawyers to hit all kinds ofjobs, from accountants to lawyers to surgeons, so we need to rapidly reskilling and what i‘m trying to do today is set a national debate about what our education system should actually look like for the future. earlier i spoke to charles parker, ceo of the baker dearing educational trust, the organisation that promotes and supports university technical colleges across the country. he agrees with mr halfon but says

his idea is quite optimisitc. well, i think he‘s right, but he‘s making a very big ask of the system because gcses have recently been overhauled, but what is certainly true is that they are the moment where schools are measured in terms of how they are seen to do and how their teachers are judged, whereas given that the law says that everybody should be in some form of education or training until they are 18, it seems to me that what needs to happen is that that is the stage where schools are judged, but he is absolutely right. gcses were designed for the time when schooling ended at 16. so why have they been overhauled in such a way that they still retain this kind of central role, rather than moving it to 18? well, you would have to ask others that comedy policymakers who make these decisions. i‘m involved with technical schools that run from 1a

to 19. we‘ve been around for about eight years and we exist in order to educate students who are well educated for the modern economy when they leave at 18, so what matters to us is what happens to them at that point, but we all have to suffer gcses, unfortunately. if they can downplay the way that schools are measured and judged, that would be wonderful and you don‘t need to go far to find teachers who would agree with that. so, obviously given that your role is in technical colleges, is your argument that more people should be getting vocational skills and our economy? my argument is that more people should be offered a high quality technical education because thatis quality technical education because that is what the modern economy needs. there are any number of statistics about hard to fill vacancies and the skills shortage of youngsters going into the system with the right kind of education, so what we have done with university technical colleges is to design

that. within the range of the system, of course, because we are state funded academies, but what we do is almost in spite of this very high—stakes moment of gcses, but we do it anyway. because we haven't got the department for education sitting on the room at this precise moment, just to quote what they say, they say that gcses are the gold standard. they do say that and that is the truth because, as i havejust said, schools are measured by what happens to the students at the age of16, happens to the students at the age of 16, which is curious given that the government‘s own law is that you have to stay in education or training until you are 18, so it just seems to me that the two things are out of step. the historical drama, the favourite was the big winner at last night‘s baftas, with british star olivia colman taking home the prize for best actress. for the first time, the best film

award went to a netflix production, the black and white mexican movie roma. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba was at the ceremony in london. joining the duke and duchess of cambridge at the annual film awards, representatives of cinema royalty. and it was a royal—themed film that won the most awards — the favourite. go back to your rooms. british star rachel weisz won best supporting actress and the historical comedy drama took home seven awards in all, including outstanding british film, best costume design, and best actress for olivia colman. did you? look at me. look at me! how dare you! close your eyes! she paid tribute to her two co—stars, rachel weisz and emma stone. emma and rachel — must keep it together. um, not just for your performances, but for what you did after the cameras stopped rolling. and we've never talked about this, and i find it very emotional. but you were the best and classiest and coolest honour guard any woman could ever have,

and i love you. # so you think you can stone me and spit in my eye... the best actor prize went to rami malek for his portrayal of freddie mercury in the queen biopic bohemian rhapsody. thank you so very much to queen, to brian may, to roger taylor, to the entire queen family. wouldn‘t be here without you. and to the greatest outsider of them all, thank you freddie mercury again. best film went to black and white mexican drama roma. the first time a netflix film has won the night‘s most prestigious award. lizo mzimba, bbc news. now the weather. as we had to the week, for many of us debris will start to feel a little more springlike. it is down to this area of high pressure that is building that will gradually start to come

in. not today. we have a northerly wind today which is quite equal direction to be coming from. having said that, there is a good of sunshine around. in northern ireland in western scotland we are seeing increasing amounts of cloud and eventually patchy rain. down towards the south and the west, temperatures back—up into double figures. overnight, or to weather fronts back—up into double figures. overnight, or to weatherfronts make further inroads, rain turning more persistent. away from that, where we have clear skies for longest, down towards east anglia, we may have a patchy frost in some rural spots, and maybe semester in fog first thing tomorrow morning. it will be eight to restart, but our area of high pressure has just drifted slightly so we begin to draw up as milderair slightly so we begin to draw up as milder air from slightly so we begin to draw up as milder airfrom the slightly so we begin to draw up as milder air from the south—west. quite a lot of cloud associated with. busy for parts of western scotland. double—digit temperatures for many across the board. hello this is bbc newsroom live

with carrie grace. the headlines... figures out today show that in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its slowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she‘s prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, but some in her cabinet express scepticism about his plans for a customs union. of course we always want to work with the opposition, but the opposition have put forward some ideas that are not workable. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no—deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe.

a call for younger women with a family history of breast cancer to receive annual screenings. the world is losing insect populations at an alarming rate, according to a global review. 18—century period drama the favourite was the big winner at last night‘s bafta film awards. and horse racing is on hold until at least wednesday with four new positive tests for equine flu. thailand has set the bahraini footballer hakeem al—araibi free after bahrain dropped it‘s request to have him extradited. al—araibi was given refugee status in australia but was detained when he travelled to thailand on his honeymoon. bahrain had convicted him in abstentia of vandalising a police station and wanted him back. the case led to an outcry from the footballing world. jonathan head has been covering this story and is in bangkok.

jonathan, an interesting turn of events very welcomed to the footballer himself. yes, i think very surprised, i imagine he is as are all of us as to how quickly this happen. it was only a week ago that hakeem al—araibi appeared, his legs shackled in court, and the court remanded him for another 60 days and the thai foreign ministry telling us there was nothing they could do. the process of extradition is under way, the government has intervened and it looks like it could have taken many, many months. but the campaign to free him has gathered momentum enormously quickly, because there is a lot of well—known football names, people like gary lineker, jamie vardy, who have joined people like gary lineker, jamie vardy, who havejoined in the social

media campaign calling for his release and talking about boycotting thailand sporting events. it became obvious to the government here that this was doing enormous harm to their international reputation and that they needed to find a way out. so they had a visit to bahrain by the thai foreign minister yesterday and it is fairly obvious that the thais have persuaded bahrain to withdraw that extradition request and allow hakeem al—araibi to go home. he is actually at the airport, we cannot see him, he is on the other side a book to leave on a flight other side a book to leave on a flight in five hours‘ time to return to melbourne where he lives and plays football. but there are a lot of questions being asked in australia as to how an interpol red notice was issued for him given that he isa notice was issued for him given that he is a refugee, recognised as such, who said he was tortured in bahrain, it was bahrain who asked for that red notice and he was accused of vandalising a police station and he has said he was playing a football

match at the time. there are questions as to how the australians inadvertently let the thais and the iranians know that he was travelling to thailand. he has spent months in a thai prison and it must have been very stressful for him but all of that has ended quickly for him and i think the thais will be grateful that this episode is now over. thank you for that, jonathan head. the number of insects worldwide is declining so rapidly they might vanish completely within a century. that‘s according to a new global study, warning of a ‘catastrophic collapse of nature‘s ecosystem‘. at the moment, the rate of extinction for insects is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. earlier we spoke to the co—author of that study, dr francisco sanchez—bayo from the university of sydney, who told us why we are seeing such a rapid loss of insects. there are multiple factors, the main ones are the loss of habitat due to agricultural practices, urbanisation and deforestation. and second to that is

the increasing use of fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture worldwide, as well as contamination by chemical pollutants of all kinds in industry and so on. thirdly, we have biological factors like introducing new species and pathogens, and fourthly, climate change. particularly in tropical areas where climate change is known to have a big impact. the seriousness of this is obvious to everybody but it also must be very serious for other species because, of course, insects are food, insects pollinate, insects recycle nutrients. i mean, they provide all of these vital functions. as you have pointed out, that is their importance. insects are at the base of the food chain and a large part, a huge part of the invertebrate fauna depends on insects

for survival. some of them like animals such as birds or insects or bats feed exclusively on insect food and so on. so, the demise of the insect fauna, it will have enormous consequences. so that is why we do not think we are being alarmist at all, the ecosystems will collapse. if they go, all of these vertebrates will go with them as well. so, in a way, what we are saying is that the trend that you have discovered through this review must not be allowed to continue or should not be allowed to continue, which raises the obvious next question, what can we and should we do about it? well, since we know now what are the main factors and drivers of this decline, what we have to do is start tackling them seriously.

so we cannot put this to the back of our minds or forget about it. we have to do something and the first thing is we have to change our way of doing agriculture, it is the main contributor to the decline of insects. i am not talking here about the deforesting areas of natural habitats or draining wetlands and so on. that is part of it. but the main thing is to change the way that we do agriculture now, particularly in the last 30 years, when we have been using insecticides. that has had an impact on the environment, because these insecticides are very persistent, they sterilise the soil and kill all of the grass in the soil and they cannot fulfil their function as recyclers. they contaminate the waters they do the same thing with the insect larvae in the waters. so it is a big mistake and we have to go back to integrated best management practices and work with nature. we are joined now by

paul hetherington from the charity buglife to find out more about the study. do you agree with this point that the key thing we must do is change our methods of agriculture? the key thing we must do is change our methods of agriculture7m the key thing we must do is change our methods of agriculture? it is one of the key things we must look at but we also have to consider how we are going to put connectivity back. a lot of these animals are hanging on in isolated pockets, if something happens to them, like we built a factory layer, celebrate who will wipe out one of the best invertebrate habitats in england. there is nowhere for them to move. that sounds very alarming. what is the answer, how much thinking is being done about this? u nfortu nately, being done about this? unfortunately, not enough. there are lots of thoughts coming into things like pandas disappearing and a large scale fauna that we are aware of, but if we lose insects and other

invertebrates, we lose everything because virtually all life is dependent upon them. so, the moment of the study, at least it is focusing about thoughts on it today. yes, it is really good that people are starting to stand up and pay attention to it. there are factors that have yet to be investigated. for instance, is electromagnetic radiation, mobile phones and things that we use in the house, is that having an effect? there has been on light pollution, but not enough, how much effect is that having on insect populations? what are the other factors that you believe are responsible for this catastrophic decline? it is as laid out in that report, it is fragmentation of habitats, a loss of habitat due to urbanisation, urban growth, it is also due to intensive agricultural practices, what we put into the land. we think that climate change isa land. we think that climate change

is a factor and there is evidence of climate change not only in tropical areas but all areas. especially in our population in the uk, many bumblebees are moving further north. where once they were found in the field of the uk they are now in some insta nces field of the uk they are now in some instances only being found in the cairngorms. that is because they do not like it when it is too hot. going to solutions then, what would you like to see happen this week, next week, this year? well, we really need governments to take action. we can all do our own little bit. we need governments to take action. we have developed a connective highway to enable all of our invertebrates and other wildlife to move around the country. it is like motorways for bees. if i build

a motorway and it is no good, the car will stop. we are connecting up the good areas into these lines so that bees have the ability to move between areas and that it is a huge factor in supporting them. the other thing we must do is look at our impact on the environment. the issues like climate change. if we can issues like climate change. if we ca n start issues like climate change. if we can start to build those bee lines, we can make a difference. even if you only have a balcony, if you plant a pot with the right kind of flowers a nd plant a pot with the right kind of flowers and put up a little bee home or bug home, you can build these little service stations and they will migrate between good areas. that is a nice idea, service stations for insects. thank you for leaving us with that thought and something that we can actually do. thank you. goodbye. it‘s been a0 years since the iranian revolution stunned the world.

across the middle east — especially in iraq. just last week donald trump said he wanted us troops in stay in the country to keep an eye on iran. as our correspondent — martin patience — now reports — many iraqis fear their country could become a battle ground in a wider struggle. the holy city here is the most sacred place for shia muslims. millions make a pilgrimage here every year. many are from iran. the great power of the region. and in the past a0 years, tehran has never been so influential as it is now. and that is making america and its allies nervous. the us led invasion in 2003 reshaped this entire region. the overthrow of saddam hussein

removed iran‘s biggest adversary. so it was america that opened the door for iran and tehran‘s influence now stretches here in iraq to syria, all the way to the shores of the mediterranean. when the us talks about iranian influence in iraq, it is referring to these iraqi men. 100,000 strong, young and old, all volunteers. these shia militias were formed to defend their homeland from the islamic state group. but now america views them as an extension of iran‘s military reach. translation: they have advance surveillance technologies and satellites. they do not need to know about iran. are you worried about the potential conflict between your

men and american forces? the potential conflict between your men and american forces7m the potential conflict between your men and american forces? if fighting brea ks men and american forces? if fighting breaks out between us in iraq it will not only be iraqi sustaining casualties. i wish to remind them that during the invasion afterwards more than a000 soldiers lost their lives, and i would like to address to the american people and tell them, the lives of your boys are not cheap either. we are no match to the power of the american army, but we can still inflict enough pain on it. the shia militia know that cost. almost 30,000 died in the fight against the sunni extremists of is. for these men, it is about defending theirfamilies for these men, it is about defending their families and their faith. translation: one fighter tells me that if they were not here, is would overrun the shear heartlands.

but many iraqis now fear their country could get caught up in the wider struggle between america and iran. martin patience, bbc news, iraq. the headlines on bbc news... figures out today show that in 2018 the uk economy expanded at its slowest annual rate in six years. the prime minister says she‘s prepared to talk tojeremy corbyn about his brexit demands, but some in her cabinet express scepticism about his plans for a customs union. the senior police officer in charge of preparing for a no—deal brexit says there‘s a risk such an outcome would leave britain less safe. the lawyer for fugitive jack shepherd, who was convicted of killing 2a—year—old charlotte brown when the speedboat they were in crashed on the river thames, says he may now not contest his extradition from georgia to the uk. his legal team previously

said they planned to fight his extradition, say they will make a decision within 10 days. lawyer mariam kublashvili, says shepherd, who is currently in prison in georgia, wants to have an honest conversation with charlotte‘s family to explain what happened. ms kublashvili spoke to my colleague, victoria derbyshire, via videolink from tbilisi. he was suffering from acute depression. is that one of the arguments you will be using to stopjack shephard being forcibly return to britain, that you say he has acute depression wish to mark from what you have told us, you

believe there are reasons why jack shephard has behaved in the way that he has, yet you may support his extradition back to britain, is that correct? does jack shephard know that you, as his lawyer, might support him being extradited to the uk? he isa he is a criminal. sorry to interrupt. in the eyes of the british law, he is a criminal. he was convicted in his absence of

manslaughter through gross negligence of killing charlotte brown and was sentenced to six years in jail. brown and was sentenced to six years injail. he is a criminal. why did he not stay for the duration of his trial? why did he not tell them all of this? so, that is the view of jack

shepherd‘s lawyers in georgia. we have contacted charlotte‘s family for a response and they have said they do not wish to be drawn into a dialogue with jack shepherd or his legal team. the time and place to do so is in the uk in a court of law. jack shepherd has had ample opportunity to convey his version of events during the evening when we tragically lost charlie from our lives for ever. however, when under police caution during a four—week trial at the old bailey, he declined to do so. that is the statement from the family. it is nine minutes to one o‘clock. brexit again. what does brexit mean for the fashion industry

and high street clothing? across europe, many large brands have been warned to prepare for the implications of no deal, in an industry where fabrics and materials are often transported between countries to make the product. this week it‘s stockholm fashion week, where our europe correspondent gavin lee has been looking at the potential impact on the industry. what has fashion and brexit got in common? well, follow me, i‘ll show you. music plays. well, this is stockholm fashion week, here in sweden. and some of the biggest high—street brands of sweden, the biggest companies for haute couture, designers, too, have had an emergency no—deal brexit meeting with the government here to work out what happens if the british and eu don‘t come up with a deal in the next few weeks. one of the leading designers here is per gotesson, with a base in stockholm and london. if there is not a brexit, a border would not be a dealfor me

as a fashion designer. as a designer you have to travel, you have to go and meet people and show your work. that‘s the nature of the job. in downtown stockholm, the main fashion show is starting. one big factor affecting british and eu companies is how materials are bought and sold all over the continent and sent back and forth as they‘re made — fabrics from italy, buttons and zips from germany. the end of free movement of goods, and the models as well, is a big concern. of course it will be hard hit by brexit. because from one day to another you can to the wto rules with all the tariffs coming on clothes and not least shoes, which have tariffs of up to 16%. there will be people watching this and wondering how will it affect me on the high street and the clothing that i buy? on the price, of course, because if you put tariffs on the fashion and the shoes

and the clothes and everything, it is going to be paid by somebody. and that somebody is the simple consumer. for the swedish high—street store our legacy, the uk is the biggest market. its founder, ricardos klaren, says in the event of a no deal, british customers will have to pay a lot more. if tariffs go up and the price point on our clothing will go up a lot. you know, it will be 20% or something like that. it could really affect our business and our presence in uk. there‘s a saying in fashion — you can have anything you want in life if you dress for it. the hundreds of traders here waiting for the uncertainties of brexit to unravel will be hoping so. gavin lee, bbc news, sweden. the biggest awards ceremony in the music industry, the grammys, hosted by the singer alicia keys, took place in la last night. dua lipa flew the flag

for british music, accepting the award for best new artist. the top prize — album of the year — went to country artist kacey musgraves for her album golden hour, whilst cardi b made history becoming the first female artist to win best rap album. music shows us that it all matters, every story within every voice, every story within every voice, every note in every song. congratulations to them. a remote russian region has declared a state of emergency over what‘s been described as a "massive invasion" of polar bears. there have been reports of the animals entering buildings and attacking residents. caroline rigby reports. imagine opening your front door to this. polar bears are not uncommon in these parts but the frequency and sheer number of these visitors is unprecedented. entering homes and offices, the animals are also reported to have attacked people.

local officials have described the situation as a massive invasion and as the world‘s largest land predators, that has led him predators, that has led them to declare a state of emergency. the remote archipelago in the russian arctic is home to around 3000 people and since december, more than 50 bears have been reported in the region‘s settlement. officials say about six to ten can regularly be seen in and around the local military garrison. climate change has caused arctic sea ice to melt and that has driven polar bears to spend more time on land in an effort to find food. but this change in behaviour from hunters to scavengers has seen them increasingly come in to contact and conflict with humans. and with the bears ever more present, some residents are now scared to walk down the streets or even leave their homes. polar bears are recognised

as an endangered species in russia, so hunting them is banned. police have tried to scare them off with signals and patrols. even local dogs have had a go. but so far, these efforts have proved largely ineffective. now the federal authorities have promised to send a commission to investigate and a cull to control these beautiful, but unwelcome visitors hasn‘t been ruled out. caroline rigby, bbc news. shortly we will have the one o clock news with retail but time for the weather first with mel coles. hello, after a turbulent end to the weather last week it is much more settled this week. most places will have some fine weather and it will not be as one day for most places. by not be as one day for most places. by thursday, many places will feel more springlike. that is down to an

area of high pressure that is building to the southend west and the positioning of this era of high pressure will give us a different feel to our weather. currently we are drawing northerly winds, a coated direction to come from. but we have seen coated direction to come from. but we have seen some coated direction to come from. but we have seen some crisp sunshine today and as the week goes on we draw this milder airfrom the south—west. more cloud for northern ireland and the west of scotland this afternoon with outbreaks of patchy rain and breezy here, but away from that a good gale of sunshine and temperatures up to double figures for the south and west. tonight the weather fronts continue to make inroads and some of that rain turns more persistent across parts of western scotland. away from that in east anglia and down to the far south—east will be hang on to clearer skies for longer, we could see a patchy frost in rural spot and perhaps a mist and fog around first thing tomorrow morning. here is our area of high pressure drifting out towards the south and east. we begin to draw our airfrom the south—west, a marital direction

to come from. there will be more cloud around through the day on tuesday, breezy, too, with a weather front making its way into parts of northern ireland and the west of scotland, perhaps sinking down to the north of england, but it will tend to fizzle out as it bumps into that area of high pressure, but across the board temperatures widely in double figures. a different feel across aberdeenshire with temperatures up to 12 celsius. for wednesday into thursday, we start to see a subtle change, we draw our air from the south, that has a drier direction to come from, so i think as we head through wednesday we will begin to see the cloud break—up down towards the south and east are living for more sunshine. more cloud through northern ireland and the west of scotland but once again it is mild, temperatures are above average for the time of year. and that to drier air makes further inroads as we head into thursday. so more of us getting to see some sunshine and it will feel more springlike for many of us.

the uk economy last year grew at its slowest rate since 2012, official figures show. a fall in factory output and car production are being blamed — but the chancellor remains upbeat. the important thing is, the economy has come in ahead of the obr‘s forecast for 2018. and that‘s in the context of a weakening world economy and increasing concerns about trade tensions around the world. we‘ll be asking what the prospects are for the year ahead. also this lunchtime... theresa may offersjeremy corbyn more brexit talks in her effort to break the deadlock in parliament. the defence secretary announces

plans to modernise the armed forces, to allow britain to redefine its global role after brexit. a stark warning about the fate of the world‘s