this is worklife from bbc news, with sally bundock and karin giannone. fresh doubts about a brexit agreement send the pound tumbling, as warnings mount about the consequences of ‘no—deal‘ for the business world. live from london, that's our top story on thursday 17th october. as uk and eu leaders scramble to reach a deal in brussels, the business world is left in limbo with many companies, from hauliers to hotels, still not ready — whatever the outcome.

also in the programme — two big australian firms stop buying cotton from china, over concerns about mass human rights abuses by chinese authorities. and squabbling staff and bickering bosses. they're bad for the business and team morale. we hearfrom one boss whose found an honest solution to keeping the workforce in top gear. and we'll be getting the inside track on a plumber turned purveyor of fine tipple. how a chance discovery of a century—old illicit distillery led to a business making award—winning gin. and today as hollywood celebrities admit they are hypocrites for backing extiction rebellion despite jetting round the world, we ask, does it matter? is the climate crisis too big not to back. tell us what you think — just use the hashtag bbcworklife.

hello and welcome to worklife. a warm welcome to our new business show, and we start today with brexit. as in the last hour there are fresh doubts about an agreement and this has sent the pound tumbling. britain and the eu are locked in discussions in brussels with the aim to agree a deal that will then be put before a summit of european leaders which begins in brussels in a few hours. any agreement then needs the approval of parliament here in london. in case anyone needs reminding, the uk is due to leave the eu in less than two weeks, at 23:00 gmt on 31 october. prime minister borisjohnson has repeatedly said this will happen, regardless of a deal or not. under a law passed last month, he must ask the eu for an extension to that deadline if he does not get a new deal approved

by parliament this saturday. the european union is britain's biggest trading partner. last year 46 per cent of all uk exports went to the eu, and 5a per cent of all imports came from the eu. if britain leaves without a deal, disruption to business could be huge. the government's own efficiency watchdog — the national audit office — says cross—border shipments of goods could slump by more than hal on day one, and could take up to 12 months to return to normality. so events are being watched increasingly nervously. adam fleming is in brussels — what are we expecting today? what does this know from the dup, the british government's partners in parliament, what does it mean to what is happening there now?m throws into jeopardy the planned choreography for the summit because

an ideal world boris johnson choreography for the summit because an ideal world borisjohnson will be coming to brussels in about five hours and would sit down with a 27 other leaders of the other eu countries and they would be approving the revised brexit deal they are negotiating and the teams have pretty much completed it. however the dup that has been a spanner however the dup that has been a spanner in the works by the dup saying they cannot support it so borisjohnson has a choice, does he confront them, signed a deal anyway or delay and keep negotiating with the dup in london and then the eu has a choice of whether theyjust proceed without him and perhaps finalise their side of the bargain and wait for the situation in the uk to stabilise or some people are saying that they have to come back again next week or the week after to tidy all this up. adam fleming with the latest from brussels there. with us now isjosh hardie,

deputy director general of the confederation of british industry. it seems there is a spanner in the works and we might not get something concrete for eu leaders to discuss today and tomorrow. there have been twists and turns along the way for the last three years but as time contracts those twists and turns get sharper and sharper. business have been clear since day one what is needed, number one is avoid no deal because it's a disaster and the second is security that reflects the way that the economy is intertwined so way that the economy is intertwined so close regulatory alignment and frictionless trade and also have a transition to get there smoothly, and those are still the objectives and those are still the objectives and while time is running out everybody has to compromise. you talk about time, but all the way along its having to wait and businesses do not have the luxury of being able to wait. many of them are really struggling with this uncertainty. you see the cost of business right now and you see businesses spending millions. you

get the disruption it would be too interesting to an plumbing and distilling is hit by no deal and the worst thing is the long—term hit to the competitiveness. the number of ceos who say they cannot even ask for investment from overseas because the uk is losing its reputation for stability. given what you have said, to be devils advocate, is it not a good thing that we have something happening on the 31st of october because if we are looking at extension and extension, it'sjust kicking the can down the road and giving politicians more time to argue and not come up with a solution. if by that you mean no deal ends the uncertainty, no. no deal ends the uncertainty, no. no deal is superficially very tempting almost winking at you, saying i can end this processor and it's brave step to take but in reality it is a swamp. the negotiations will start again and it brings to reality the

things that business fear and it's not an end to uncertainty. extension cost money and is known way desirable but it's better than the reality of no deal. northern ireland has been the dominant matter throughout all of this. do you have a perspective on how the northern ireland members are reflecting on going —— on what is going on? ireland members are reflecting on going —— on what is going 0mm ireland members are reflecting on going -- on what is going on? it so important to understand how frightening things feeling northern ireland as it is an economy dominated by small businesses and a lot of them in agriculture who crisscrossed the border every day, dozens crisscrossed the border every day, d oze ns of crisscrossed the border every day, dozens of times a day. the economy is not in great shape and it need support and there isn't a functioning administration and no deal hits them harder than everyone else so it's right to really bear their interest in mind. a regulatory system that might change every four yea rs really prevents system that might change every four years really prevents investment so they need to be borne in mind but their needs are not that different from the rest of the uk. josh, thank you very much. appreciate your time. let's take a look at some of the other stories

making the news. it's reported five us drugmakers and distributors are offering a $50 billion deal to settle a massive opioid lawsuit— according to reuters. the drugs industry is facing around 2,600 legal cases brought by state and local governments alleging the firms fuelled america's fatal opioid crisis. we all love to binge watch on netflix. well, that's helped the firm's fortunes, as it added more subscribers than expected in the three months to september. it now has 158 million paying customers around the world. but it faces serious competition from next month when disney and apple launch rival streaming services. america's united auto workers union has announced a tentative deal with general motors after one of the longest strikes in the company's history. the four—year deal, covering almost 50,000 workers, could mean an end to the month—long walkout — which has cost the carmaker an some

90 million dollars a day. retailers cotton on and target australia say they've stopped sourcing cotton from china's xinjiang province for their clothes. that's due to concerns about alleged mass human rights abuses there by chinese authorities. monica miller joins us from singapore. what is the detail? this was revealed in july and the investigative programme looks at it and in response both companies have decided to stop that supply chain. target australia told the bbc that they identified one of their direct suppliers as using a small amount of cotton yarn from the mill owned by a supplier in that province and they we re supplier in that province and they were told to stop orders immediately until they get the situation clarified and the chinese state has

detained muslims under 2014 under the guise of cracking down on domestic terrorism but eyewitnesses report that many are held in camps 01’ report that many are held in camps or forced into work in textile factories in cotton mills and these australian companies are not alone in this. the us crackdown on 28 tech companies earlier this month for similar reasons. interesting story and want to highlight, definitely. let's look at the markets in asia. a bit of a mixed picture and their focus on the us and china trade negotiations and how they are going as opposed to brexit, but let's look at europe now and how markets are faring. in london, the winners are unilever and rentokil, and the house—builders are all down. it's about those brexit negotiations and how they will go today in germany is up how they will go today in germany is upa bit how they will go today in germany is up a bit on the market is pretty flat but watching brussels closely. the pound is down. sally, thank you

very much. now to the us, where hollywood star ashton kutcher has a created a new reality—tv show that takes a hard look at the country's student debt crisis. vivienne nunis is following the story from new york. what does hollywood star ashton kutcher know about student debt? not much, you might think, but the actor and producer has created a new reality tv show that launches today called going from broke. in it young, debt—laden americans will, amongst other things, be shown by experts are to restructure student loa n experts are to restructure student loan payments. graduates here are a staggering $1.6 trillion in debt, a figure that has skyrocketed since the financial crisis. the debt cost the financial crisis. the debt cost the average millennial between two and $300 a month and a fifth are behind on their payments. while some commentators are warning against relying on a celebrity backed tv show for financial advice, others are welcoming the offer of financial help however it comes. vivian eunice

there with another interesting take ona there with another interesting take on a story in business in the us and we have simon jack on a story in business in the us and we have simonjack with us for the on the headlines. we have been focusing about what you've been writing about bbc online, talking to a former trade representative in the us and it seems that our special relationship doesn't count for much. what he's saying is it that when it comes to the brutal world of trade, it's complicated, there are national interests, international interest, and domestic and economic issues and they all get tangled up and make it hard, so when you are looking at trade deals, don't expect a special relationship to cut the uk any slack and remember, the whole brexit process says they want people to have our own independent trade policy but as part of the eu we cannot do our own trade deals with the likes of the us and canada and the likes of the us and canada and the big holy grail is the trade deal with the us. just tomorrow tariffs

by the us coming into effect against the uk, germany and france, things like single malt scotch whisky will be hit because we have a trade war that has rolled off from a huge spat 15 years ago, so the point is it's not straightforward getting these trade deals and remember back in the early days of brexit would be the easiest deal to do in the world, and it wasn't, and this won't be either. sorry to interrupt, but why, for example single malt whiskey made in scotla nd example single malt whiskey made in scotland tomorrow will have fresh ta riffs scotland tomorrow will have fresh tariffs on their goods going to the states and whiskey made in ireland won't, despite the fact that we are all in the eu still. why is that? the scots feel very heart done by. 2596 the scots feel very heart done by. 25% tariff to the us and scottish cashmere, 25% tariff, republic of ireland whiskey nun, italian cashmere, none. this is to do with the four big countries that the party to airbus and airbus and boeing have had a 15 year spat about government giving illegal subsidies

on both sides and the world trade organisation gave the us the green light to put 7.5 billion tariffs on goods and they have tailored those to the countries which are investors in airbus and therefore they have looked at the schedule and said that, that, that, that, french cheese for example, single malts, but the problem is that scottish cashmere makers compete against italian makers and they are 25% more expensive. michael froman who was a representative under president obama andi representative under president obama and i remember before the referendum, president obama said don't count on any special relationship if you vote for brexit, so relationship if you vote for brexit, so how does that reflect on what you hear from donald trump over the course of his presidency? that's the interesting thing. barack obama, trying to be david cameron a favour saying that if you are at the eu would be at the back of the queue for a trade deal and we are in the process of trying to do one, but donald trump making warmer noises about it. don't forget the trump is

the person who put tariffs on mexico and canada and they are in a free trade agreement, so the point is, ta riffs trade agreement, so the point is, tariffs are donald trump's weapon of choice and he does not care how well he knows you, that is what he will do to protect his interest at home, so do to protect his interest at home, so the special relationship is there but when it comes to the complicated business of trade and national domestic interest, they will triumph, and it is complex. thank you, simon, and donald trump looking to get elected next year which adds another layer. lots more to come. still to come — from plumber to purveyor of fine tipple — how a chance discovery of a 120—year old illicit distillery led to an award—winning gin maker whose spirit is stocked londens finest stores. buckingham palace itself as well. and downing street, i believe. it's everywhere. they are all drinking the stuff. you're with

worklife from bbc news. vodafone uk has a new report about gender diversity in ftse 350 companies. it has interviewed companies with strong diversity records, including easyjet and legal & general, and identifies common policies, behaviours and schemes which have proved successful. joining us now is helen lamprell, general counsel and director of external affairs, at vodafone uk. this sounds encouraging, so what have you discovered? we discovered there was a high degree of commonality between companies achieving good levels of diversity in things they were doing, so there are certain things that really work, active sponsorship really works and

mental ship works and some things that were more surprising where the fa ct that were more surprising where the fact that if there was a high level of board visibility to employees, that was really interesting. it is interesting that there is a high—profile woman on the board, but that kind of makes sense and it's about seeing diversity in the workplace and a very visible way. yes, it's not just workplace and a very visible way. yes, it's notjust seeing high profile women and it's about the board in general, and a lot of it is about busting myths the bosses human being, so they would be more likely to aspire to that themselves. tell us to aspire to that themselves. tell us what more needs to be done and how much further is there to go. companies like us are at 36%, which is great, and honestly that's not 50%, so we have more to do and we've

raised our target to 40% and we are looking forward to achieving it. thank you very much, helen. extinction rebellion are active in london and they are at the dlr today, so they do cause a lot of disruption but they argue that it is an important cause and celebrity backers, the likes of benedict, backed have been called hypocrites because of their carbon footprint. on the front page of the sun newspaper, they are called ego warriors. tell is your thoughts about that. —— tell us your thoughts about that. —— tell us your thoughts about that. you're watching worklife. a reminder of our top story: fresh doubts about a brexit agreement send the pound tumbling— as warnings mount about the consequences of ‘no—deal‘

for the business world. the pound a lot weaker today but earlier this week it was at a five—month high on optimism. so it might be moving all over the place. let's move on. you might want a brexit breather. we will talk something else. how do you get from plumbing to boutique gin—making? well, like many entrpreneurial success stories, it was down to chance. plumber ian puddick ran a leak—detection company when a building dispute forced him to research his firm's building history, and he uncovered an illicit gin distiller. with just a vague recipe, he's now making his own award—winning london gin stocked in harrods, fortnum and mason and selfridges. and i think buckingham palace like this particular gene. we have ian here with us, the founder of old la kra here with us, the founder of old lakra cap bakery gin, and we haven't opened it or had any. you can't blame the gym. you tell us this

story. you were a plumber and now you are making this award—winning gin. i bought a year old bakery which was a complete wreck —— a year old bakery which was a complete wreck which is now an office and when we did the building works we removed the chimney because they we re removed the chimney because they were dangerous and the original roof. i got sued by a neighbourfor a not insignificant amount and we got into this dispute about the chimney which i removed and during the history lesson before we went to court to find out who did or did not own this old wreck, the lawyers found the original bakers over a hundred years ago made and sold illegal gin there and i tracked the originalfamily down, illegal gin there and i tracked the original family down, the family descendants and there is only four botanicals in the recipe and its 3000 gins today, 60 new ones a month and it's really competitive, so this is just and it's really competitive, so this isjust a and it's really competitive, so this is just a really simple, london dry

gin with four botanicals and we are using the originalfour gin with four botanicals and we are using the original four that the ba kers using the original four that the bakers did. how do you get that gin? how do you get it into harrods? it is huge right now, there's thousands of people who are saying we've got this authentic gin craft gin and it is big business, so how did you get yours in there? not taking no for an answer. there are so yours in there? not taking no for an answer. there are so many gyms there is gin fatigue in the market. so buyers in the big shops are bored with it because every day those 15 new gins. it's actually boring. we have got something really interesting to say and it has real heritage. michael portillo has been to visit. they've all got their stories, so how do you make sure yourgin is the stories, so how do you make sure your gin is the one on the shelf? you can chuck loads of money at pr but this is just a really simple story, some plumbers bought a bakery made illicit gin and we plan ——

track the family down it's the authentic story that people like. i'm wondering how your skills as a plumber translated into making this. it's the camera shot. we actually built our own still. we made that ourselves so the plumbing skills definitely came into play but we've beenin definitely came into play but we've been in talks with the foreign office about getting this into every british embassy on the planet so when the ambassadors are having a gin and tonic with a foreign dignitary it is such a british story. the new ambassador is welcome. like the chocolate advert. isaid welcome. like the chocolate advert. i said we'd get a brexit breather but not quite but most of this bottle, it all comes from europe. bottle from germany, stop us from france. how are you preparing? we've never done it before but that's not an excuse to not prepare. the

million dollar question is, we've spoken to all of our suppliers in the bottom line is, as long as we keep paying the bills, they will keep paying the bills, they will keep supplying us. they've all said that if the politicians want to punish us for whatever reason by putting tariffs on, that is out of the suppliers hands and that is a political decision. how different is like for you now? it's much more fun. do you drink a lot of gin? are you not gin lover? i'm more of a whiskey or bourbon person. if i hadn't have been sued we would not be discussing it today. you'd still be discussing it today. you'd still be fixing toilets. absolutely. which is no bad job, either. so nice to meet you, ian. thank you very much. we are being told by the director to give the gin back. all right, in a moment we will run through what you've been saying hypocrisy and extinction rebellion etc.

but first, squabbling staff and bosses can be ruinous for a company. they can make decision—making impossible and damage well one ceo — gordon wilson of the tech firm advanced — says he's found a revealing way to stop it. let's take a look: i've seen when boards are bickering and not working together and i came up and not working together and i came up with a great method to make sure that that doesn't happen. when i was sales director in my first roll on a board, i did not see that the team were necessary fully cooperating with each other, hiding their own incompetence and were trying to highlight other people's failings so they would look better in other peoples eyes. it can affect your performance and it can affect how you address your customers and

their satisfaction with you, and your customer retention. these things are crucial. when i started this business four years ago i asked eve ryo ne this business four years ago i asked everyone to share personal experience that they would not normally share with a business colleague and it was literally almost avail that we saw opening up so almost avail that we saw opening up so people could understand what was behind their colleagues and we became far more open and it was obvious and evident as a team that the bond of trust was getting stronger and stronger. if people can open up to their collea g u es if people can open up to their colleagues and then absolutely get to the point where there is complete trust at an individual level and at the team level then you can literally rip up trees. that was gordon wilson from advance. thanks

for all of your comments about our social media comments. thanks for watching. thanks for watching. three words you will hear a lot over the next few days, sunshine and showers, and that's because of the low pressure around the western around the low pressure we have a few weather fronts but a lot of showers and you can see from the satellite imagery quite a swell of cloud but it's working east, so while there are showers ahead of that across the uk through the morning we will see more as we go through the next few days so sunshine and showers today and it will be quite breezy for many of us, showers could merge into longer spells of rain around the irish sea coast and could be heavier ones, but

for central and eastern areas it's looking dry for most of the day with some sunshine and a maximum temperature of 13 up to 15 degrees and quite breezy for many of us but particularly towards the west. tonight the showers continue to drift further north and east and again they could be heavy through the night and there will be clear spells and again, it could turn chilly, particularly in the countryside with temperatures for many of us getting into single figures and perhaps double figures in the south—east of england, ten or 11 celsius here. throughout friday we can see clearly another case of sunny spells and showers and those showers are very heavy, may be thundery across wales in the south—west of england during friday and some brighter weather towards the north and east and temperatures between 12 and 14 degrees and a little bit chillier than today. into the weekend, the area of low pressure continues to move east, still lots of showers associated

with that and by sunday the showers become a bit more limited but for saturday a mixture of sunshine and showers and most of the showers towards wales in the south—west of england, one or two could be on the heavy and thundery side but there will be dry weather in between and temperatures between 12 and 14 degrees. not many of us escaping the showers on saturday and by sunday there will be fewer of the showers around and they will be more limited towards the north and east rather than the south and the west, so for some of us, for most of the day on sunday and should stay dry for the majority of the day but again still chilly with temperatures between 11 01’ chilly with temperatures between 11 or 14 celsius. that's it from me. goodbye.

you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: a blow for boris johnson as the dup says it can't support his brexit plans "as things stand". i'm nuala mcgovern in brussels where borisjohnson is due to arrive this afternoon for a crunch summit to try and get the eu's approvalfor a deal. we'll have all the latest on all the developments this morning in the brexit negotiations. and at 9.15, i'll be talking to hillary benn, the man behind the act passed last month by mps, seeking to avoid a no—deal brexit. in other news: angry scenes this morning — as extinction rebellion protesters were dragged to the ground by commuters after climbing on top of a train in east london.