this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11:00pm: the economy expands at its slowest annual rate in six years after a sharp slowdown in december. the official explanation is a fall in factory output and car production. 2018 was a challenging year for us. we've had rising raw material costs and our customers have suffered raw material increases and we suffered a high employee turnover this year. eu negotiator michel barnier has met the brexit secretary in brussels this evening ahead of an update from theresa may tomorrow. it's decision time for horse racing. the industry's authorities will anounce soon whether racing can resume, after equine flu was identified at a second stables at the weekend. president trump heads to the border city of el paso, in texas, to hold a rally aimed at gathering support for his border wall. also coming up — are insects facing extinction? a stark warning from scientists that human activity is endangering the world's insects, with catastrophic consequences for the planet.

and at 11:30, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers so stay with us for that. good evening. the economy grew at its slowest rate in six years in 2018, after a sharp slowdown in december. the latest data comes after predictions of slower growth this year because of a weaker global economy and brexit uncertainty. the office for national statistics says gdp growth, which measures goods and services produced in the uk, was 1.4% last year. the ons pointed to a sharp fall in the manufacture of cars and steel products and a decline

in construction. labour said it was time for the government to end austerity policies and to rule out a no—deal brexit. our economics correspondent dharshini david has been looking at the figures. protecting metal gate posts from the ravages of the weather is all in a day's work at this zinc galvanising plant. but insulating the business against outside forces has been tough. in fact, their sector has been one of the hardest hit. 2018 was a challenging year for us. we had rising zinc prices and rising steel prices for our customers reduced order books, and a high employee turnover. business investment tends to rise and fall. but anxious times meant companies spent less and less on equipment and buildings in 2018, squeezing overall growth. low investment affects how efficient companies are and so may impact profits and ourjobs and wages in the future. so is there an effect from brexit? low investment affects how efficient

companies are and so may impact profits and ourjobs and wages in the future. so is there an effect from brexit? the chancellor admits a lack of clarity is hurting. there's no doubt that the uncertainty around brexit is taking a toll on the economy. that's why we want to get the deal done so that we can put this issue behind us and move on, growing our economy, creating morejobs, creating higher wages. the continuing stalemate over brexit has contributed to the weakest year for growth since the financial crisis. the figures out today cover everything from investment to income and spending. they are the best guide to financial well—being. and it's notjust about brexit. even if those clouds clear, there are other factors that could impact our prosperity. the uk's biggest car—maker, jaguar land rover, blamed notjust brexit but weaker demand from china, when it recently announced job cuts, which is part of a global slowdown. we have seen weaker growth in china, we have seen a slowdown in germany, italy is in recession.

and it's down to a number of factors, in particular trade wars. there has been a slowdown in trade and there are also geopolitical concerns. those are concerns that the bank of england warned ofjust last week. the bank of england has pointed out that the world is moving into a period of slower economic growth. what they're forecasting for the uk next year will still see us ahead of germany, ahead of japan, ahead of italy. and the bank of england confirmed also that there is an upside to come for the uk economy if we get a good deal. but their central forecast is for business investment to fall by even more this year, and that's even with a deal. so talking of a dividend is a little bit unrealistic, isn't it? no, i don't think so. i think if we get the right deal, consumers will feel more confident and as consumers recover their confidence, businesses will feel more confident. surveys suggest the start of this year hasn't been any brighterfor business.

consumers are faring better, but key to all our prosperity will be the outcome of the next few weeks. earlier i spoke to the economist lee hopley, she gave us her assessment of today's economic figures. 0ns ons dated today confirmed what we suspected, was the economy did see a very marked slowdown in 2018. economists prefer to look over the average of three months and there was particular weakness in manufacturing uncertainty about when we are leaving the european union and when we transitioned into some new form of trading relationships. and the key real standout development in the 0ns key real standout development in the ons data has been a very weak business investment. companies are really sitting on their hands are having to deploy resources into other areas such as contingency planning. the prime minister and the labour

leader, jeremy corbyn, look set to hold further talks over the brexit process. but theresa may has rejected one ofjeremy corbyn‘s five key demands for backing a possible brexit deal, which is to keep the uk in a permanent customs union with the eu. mrs may is trying to find a way out of the political stalemate over brexit, with the uk's set departure date of 29 march just over six weeks away. she is due to make a statment to mps tomorrow, as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. he does not look that enthusiastic about a compromise. has the pm met your demands, mr corbyn? but are jeremy corbyn and the government moving any closer together? with huge numbers of tory mps disgruntled at the prime minister's deal, any sign from labour that they are willing to talk counts. which direction is the prime minister heading in? is she, firstly, simply trying to get her own team back on board to put her deal yet again with some supposed changes? that is what it looks like she is doing. or is she genuinely looking to see whether there is a majority for labour's proposal?

remember, theresa may's deal was comprehensively booted out by parliament last month so she is desperate for votes. last week, jeremy corbyn wrote to theresa may, outlining what could get his party over the line. last night, she wrote back to him, dangling some labour friendly promises of protections for workers and the environment, cash for labour constituencies. she is, though, a million miles from getting the opposition officially on board, even though some labour mps are tempted to move. after months of whispers, this deal—making is out in the open now. i think that there would be a number of labourmps, we estimate it's somewhere between 40—60, who are actively looking for ways to support this at the moment. there is one particularly sticky point. the trade secretary signed today to keep us trading with switzerland like we do now in future. even though similar talks with other

countries are behind schedule, he and the prime minister are adamant we must have the power to sign our own trade deals. but labour wants to be in a customs union — closer ties for business, but more rules. it is very clear from the european union 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 brexiteer anger always lurks. being part of a customs union would be unacceptable to plenty on the tory side. so if the prime minister's really serious about budging to win some labour votes, she would do so potentially driving more of her own ranks away. corbyn‘s proposal would keep us locked in the customs union and locked in much of the single market forever. therefore, brexit, the promise that we made to the british people of coming out of the eu institutions, would be broken. pleasing all of the people,

all of the time, was never going to happen. the prime minister's challenge is to satisfy enough mps in parliament to save her deal. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the labour party has disclosed that it received 673 complaints in 10 months, alleging acts of anti—semitism by its members. a letter from the party's general secretary revealed the figures —— a letter from the party's general secretary revealed the figures after pressure from mps for specific details. 96 members were immediately suspended from the party for their conduct and 12 were expelled. our special correspondent lucy manning has the details. labour has been a clear used of failing to deal with anti—semitism. now it has revealed the scale of the complaints. it is really upsetting. i know otherjewish labour party members who are in continual term turmoil. cathy, a party memberfor 30 years, her family holocaust survivors, close to tears at the lack of action, nearly a year after she complained

of anti—semitism. itjust felt like another kick in the teeth, really. it has just felt that you're expected to be silent. she'd objected to fellow party member supporting ken livingstone after he made comments about hitler and it was suggested she should apologise. i thought about that it was institutional racism, this is making those who are the victims of racism responsible. her local party, dulwich and west norwood, dispute the account, and say it has no tolerance for anti—semitism. labour says all complaints are fully investigated. tonight, labour released figures showing over ten months, it received 673 complaints about allegations of anti—semitism involving its members. 96 members were immediately suspended, and 12 have been expelled. other cases are still being considered. while 220 have been dismissed, with the party saying there wasn't sufficient evidence.

in a statement, the labour party said:. while the mainjewish community groups don't believe labour has done enough, one smaller group ofjewish labour supporters thinks the party's general secretary is trying. underjennie formby, the party are starting to implement fair and just processes, it is dealing with a tiny minority of cases that are justified. it is getting rid of those cases which are not. but some mps have written to jeremy corbyn tonight, questioning the figures. the abuse is just vile, and to think that that has only led to 12 expulsions beggars belief, and just convinces people like me that the labour party has yet to take this issue seriously. labour admits there has been hard evidence of anti—semitism

but the party is hoping this will show it is tackling it. lucy manning, bbc news. a decision is due about whether british horseracing can resume again this week after an outbreak of the highly infectious equine flu. there has been no racing forfive days after several horses were found to be infected. now, four more cases have been identified at a second yard in newmarket. earlier this evening i spoke to the uk leading horse trainer harry dunlop about the costs and considerations of vaccinations. there is no point in not saying there is no point in not saying there is no point in not saying there is costs. every vaccination can be more than £25. the you don't wa nt can be more than £25. the you don't want your horse to get this blue. it is not nice. for a normal sporting horse, they are not asked to do any strenuous exercise. obviously in racing horses, they are at their

peak. it's a difficult argument to ask people to pay this money. the sta bles ask people to pay this money. the stables of simon crisp and that the outbreak was confirmed over the weekend. that is a new market, where he has his yard. he said in a statement he had seen no sign of the four horses having any of the obvious clinical science. respiratory illness, discharge from the nose or elevated temperature. the other worrying sign as this could be a different strain of equine flu. it doesn't give the detection option that we are used to having. i think you are absolutely right. it is one of those things we all have to be vigilant but ultimately, if there are the signs there, it's to detect. what about jockeys? i understand they get paid when they ride. notjust jockeys, everybody is affected by racing not happening. trainers, running horses

aren't being paid, jockeys who very much i paid for the riots. it can affect everyone. and the general betting public, all the money coming back into the system. rather than the bookmakers is not happening. harry dunlop they are. a full race meeting is on the card. sample, plumpton and kempton. the british racing authority is due to put out a statement this evening. —— southwell. the headlines on bbc news: a fall in factory output and car production are blamed as figures show the uk economy last year grew at its slowest rate since 2012. eu negotiator michel barnier has met the brexit secretary in brussels this evening ahead of an update from theresa may tomorrow. a decision will be made tonight about whether british horseracing can resume again this week after an outbreak of equine flu. a man questioned in connection

with the disappearance of the student libby squire has appeared in court accused of unrelated offences. pawel relowicz, who is 2a and from poland, pleaded not guilty to five charges, including voyeurism, burglary and outraging public decency. ms squire, who is 21, has not been seen since a night out 11 days ago. the defence secretary, gavin williamson, has announced plans to modernise the armed forces, and in his words to redefine britain's role in the world after brexit. he said the royal navy's new aircraft carrier, the hms queen elizabeth, would be deployed to the pacific in response to the perceived threat from china. mr williamson said it was vital the uk was prepared to use its military power. the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the increased use of food banks is partly caused by problems in implementing universal credit.

the department has previously played down links between the new single benefit and people seeking emergency food parcels. but today, the minister said that difficulty in accessing money after moving to universal credit was one of the causes of the rise. the food bank operator the trussell trust said the acknowledgement was welcome. a trial has started over the rape and murder of six—year—old alesha macphail, who was killed on the isle of bute. her body was discovered in woodland last july. a 16—year—old boy, who can't be named because of his age, denies the charges at glasgow high court. human activity could drive the earth's entire insect population to extinction within a century, according to a major new scientific study. insects are vital pollinators, so any decline threatens food production, and there are warnings now that 40% of species could be gone within just a few decades. pesticides, agriculture and climate change are being blamed. our environment correspondent

victoria gill has more details. they are the planet's smallest, most essential workers, producing ourfood, cleaning up our waste. but changes we are making to the environment threaten the very existence of earth's insect population. that is according to scientists, who analysed dozen of insect surveys that were carried out all over the world over the last 13 years. it revealed that many species are now sliding towards extinction at a dramatic rate. overall, a1% of the world's insect species are in decline. and that includes some very familiar creatures. 49% of beetles are declining, 37% of mayflies, and 53% of butterflies and moths. so that is one of the groups that is troubled ? absolutely, moths and bees and beetles are all massively

in trouble right now... those losses, scientists say, could jeopardise our way of life. so much of our atmospheric carbon, which is linked to climate change, that's stored in the soil, and that's cycled through the soil by insects. our food is grown in the soil, that's made by insects. and then our food is then pollinated by insects. every single step along that has an insect associated with it that's doing an importantjob. and without that, we would lose the ability to produce food, wouldn't we? but, as much as we rely on insects, it is primarily our activities and our food production practices that have been driving these declines. there are three key things that this study highlights as threats to our planet's insect diversity — climate change, invasive species, and critically, how we use our land. the increasing intensification of agriculture. around the world, suitable habitat is being consumed by farming and urbanisation. and the study says widespread use of synthetic pesticides is a major driver of insect loss.

bug lovers can help by making gardens more pollinator—friendly. but researchers say food production will have to change to stop our most important pollinators becoming collateral damage in the battle against pests. the manchester evening news released its first ever print sunday edition yesterday, bucking the trend elsewhere in the uk, with more than 200 local papers going out of business since 2005 because of advertising moving online and readers going elsewhere for their news. dame frances cairncross was commissioned by the government to find out what the future holds for journalism, and our media editor amol rajan has been looking at the findings. and in here is our treasured armistice edition. based in leeds, the yorkshire post is yorkshire's national paper. as editor, you become acutely aware that you are merely a custodian. 100 years ago, people got their news from the local paper.

today, many of us get our news online, while the internet has destroyed the market in classified advertising. according to the press gazette, 216 local newspapers have shut since 2005 alone. there is a charm to newspapers, don't you think? the rustle and crinkle of newsprint. that faint pong as you leaf through the pages. and the irresistible whiff of proper reporting and the craft of clever curation. best of all, there are no weird adverts for nappies or marmalade, based on your most recent online search. the trouble is, in news, convenience is king, and for a generation used to getting free stuff direct to their smartphones, newsprint just can't compete. so what we have is essentially a business model that's acutely challenged by declining revenues. but the dichotomy of more people demanding our content than ever before. innovation is key.

the manchester evening news just launched a sunday edition, and a new generation of entrepreneurs is delivering fresh hope. andy has been a journalist for 30 years. the third time he was made redundant, from his job as a subeditor at his local paper in somerset, he set up wells voice, a free monthly. funded by advertising, its circulation is rising, and it has doubled in size. the local voice network shows that local or hyper—local publications are thriving and can be very successful. i think the appetite for news has never gone away. local papers have been asking government for help, particularly from what they see as the predatory behaviour of technology firms like google and facebook. the government response was to ask dame frances cairncross to publish a review on the future of high—quality news. it suggests a regulator to oversee the quality of news on online platforms. tax relief to encourage online subscription models. and that ofcom investigate the size of bbc news and its impact on the comercial sector. i asked dame frances why she resisted lobbying

from the industry to classify tech platforms as publishers and make them pay for news content. there's no way that the platforms are going pay for content. i think they would rather stop carrying news directly, and that would do no good to any newspaper. they've got — they're the main route by which people reach newspaper websites. i don't think that american companies get rich by stealing content from local papers. i think they get rich by stealing advertising from local papers, and that's a different matter. the relationship between local news and global technology platforms is complex, as the boss of one of britain's biggest regional publishers acknowledges. we were too reliant on facebook, and we've readjusted our business so that we're much less reliant. however, people spend their time on facebook, and i want our news to be there. there is, as dame frances says, no silver bullet. but while the presses are rolling, there is cause for hope, so long as people are willing to pay for news.

amol rajan, bbc news. the british horseracing authority have just released their statement. that is the key headline. good news, that raising can resume from wednesday. as i said earlier, the rough four meets on the cards, at southwell, plumpton and others. this will only be allowed with strict bio security controls. it adds that its approach has been based on stimulating as much information as quickly as we could, so we could properly understand the risks of this virulent strain. that points to something i was talking to harry dunlop about earlier, that not withstanding the vaccination of all horses involved in racing, conceivably the vaccine has not been effective against a strain of this.

this is what the horseracing authority says. after analysis of thousands of samples and no positive test we only have two confirmed sites of infection. containment measures are in place in both. however, from the testing analysis conducted the disease appears to be contained at present. they believe the veterinary committee of the bha has clearly helped to restrict the spread of the virus and that that has been effective. as part of the controlled return to racing on wednesday, and it is confirmed that two scheduled jump it is confirmed that two scheduled jump fixtures will take place as well as southwell and kempton, they are categorising individual trainers by the level of risk they have been exposed to. the ability of runners to return to racing from those yards will depend on the risk categories yards are placed in. so they are finalising overnight which category individual trainers will be placed m, individual trainers will be placed in, and that is likely to prove

controversial, as you can imagine. trainers who hold race it this is now, in other words, an attempt by the british horseracing authority to ensure that they minimise any possible risk from horses. so in addition to the risk factors which have been outlined, as an interim measure, the british horseracing authority has ordered that no entries or declarations will be accepted from horses that have not been vaccinated in the previous six months. again, that would suggest that there may be concerns that the strain of equine flu which has been identified in the last few days conceivably might be one that has developed within that six—month timeframe. so that, in a sense, is trying to read between the lines of this statement. the good news is racing is back on from wednesday

this week, the question mark is over what horses will be allowed to compete in the race meetings, and that will depend on how the bha categorises their trainers, yards and staples, and that process is going to take place overnight —— sta bles. in the next few hours, president trump will hold his first rally of the new year, in el paso in texas. he'll once again make his case for funding for his proposed wall along the border with mexico. he faces a deadline, because if he can't strike a deal with the democrats before friday, another partial government shutdown will be triggered. our correspondent gary o'donoghue is in el paso ahead of the rally. in the two years after it went up in 2009, violent crime went up in this city. now, it is true it is still significantly lower than it is across the border in the city of juarez, immediately across the

borderfrom here, but people juarez, immediately across the border from here, but people say that the wall is only part of the solution. a lot of his supporters he will say it is the principal part of the solution, but i spoke to the republican mayor of this city who me that wasn't true, it was just one tool in the toolkit. we will have more from that rally on oui’ we will have more from that rally on our overnight coverage on bbc news. we will bring it to you here on our broadcasts. and we will be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, jane merrick and asa bennett. that is coming up after the headlines at 11:30pm. now it's time for the weather, with darren bett. hello there. it looks like we'll start to see the weather changing as we head into next week, but until then, it is all planes failing. it has been a decent start to this week, and through the rest of the week, and through the rest of the week we are dominated by high pressure. it is going to be milder air that is heading our way, not much rain, but it will be quite

windy at times. and the winds are picking up in the north and the west of the uk at the moment. we are seeing more cloud coming in from the atlantic, a bit of rain, drizzle for scotla nd atlantic, a bit of rain, drizzle for scotland and northern ireland, heading into the far north of england and north wales. the brightening up eventually to the north where we have the strongest south—westerly winds, but there will be much more cloud heading its way into england and wales, limiting the sunshine. but lifting the temperatures, because we are changing the wind direction to that soui’ changing the wind direction to that sourfor changing the wind direction to that sour for south—westerly, so a significant rise in temperatures compared with monday for eastern scotla nd compared with monday for eastern scotland and north—east england. that weather front bringing the rain and drizzle sweeps northwards by those stronger south to south—westerly winds. so choose a could see more cloud and some rain and drizzle in the north—west of scotland. otherwise probably a dry day. still some cloud around but starting to break up that cloud, especially across england and wales in the north—east of scotland. a bit more sunshine around properly on wednesday. still high temperatures for the time of year, 13 or possibly

14 for the time of year, 13 or possibly 1a degrees. so we've got this very mild aircoming ourway 1a degrees. so we've got this very mild air coming our way from a long way south, and it comes around the top of that area of high pressure. that is sitting to the south—east of the uk. the position of the higher is crucial. starting to draw in milder air, is crucial. starting to draw in milderair, i is crucial. starting to draw in milder air, i think, is crucial. starting to draw in milderair, ithink, on is crucial. starting to draw in milder air, i think, on thursday, the cloud breaking up in the north—west. a weak weather front moves out of the way. much more sunshine around on thursday. should bea sunshine around on thursday. should be a lovely day. quite lost three winds, mind you, but those temperatures still well above average for the time of year, 11 to 13 degrees. there is our high pressure on thursday, it is getting squeezed towards continental europe and we have a weak weather front approaching from the north—west on friday. someone is picking up on the north—west again. we've got this weather front ringing a bit of rain and drizzle for western scotland, northern ireland, eastern scotland likely