you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's 11 am and these are the main stories, this morning... health bosses warn politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon in the general election, but say a bidding war has already begun. motherca re announces plans to put its uk retail business into administration, putting around 2500 at risk. mps will elect a new speaker of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. millions of people, in the indian capital delhi, are urged to stay indoors, to avoid the toxic "eye—burning" smog that's covered the city. in an interview to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, former soviet leader, mikhail gorbachev, warns that tension between russia and the west is putting the world

in colossal danger. lewis hamilton says he is "flying super—high", after being crowned world champion for the sixth time. good morning, welcome to bbc newsroom live. i'm joanna gosling. health bosses in england have warned politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon, during the general election campaign. nhs providers, the organisation which represents health trust leaders, has urged parties not to make empty promises over future funding. our health editor, hugh pym reports. nhs providers says hospitals and other trusts have been preparing for winter, but the pressures are greater than ever. front line services, it said, aren't keeping up with the growing demand for care which is particularly worrying with winter looming.

but, with health featuring prominently already in the election campaign, there is a warning that politicians need to be straight and clear about funding promises and not overdramatise the problems. we recognise there is a political potency around the health service, it matters to people, they care passionately about the health service, but it is so important we have a fair and balanced debate, that really presents the fact as they are to the public. to illustrate the scale of the challenge, nhs providers says there are now 4.4 million people in england waiting for routine operations and there are 107,000 staff vacancies. 9% of the work force. how to tackle the issues is what the leaders of health trusts say they want to hear from the parties. with a proper debate on what's needed in a taxpayer funded service, to provide the right quality of care. the parties have started spelling out their promises for the election in five and a half weeks' time.

labour will continue setting out its vision for the nhs, with a promise of extra training places for doctors and nurses. it's also announced a plan to save free tv licenses for the over—75s. the conservatives are promising to raise the national living wage to £10.50 an hour, by 2024, after an independent review for the treasury found this would not affect employment. and, in the next few minutes, plaid cymru will launch its general election campaign, saying it is the party with the ‘highest ambition‘ for wales. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is at westminster. monday morning and labour are on the offensive over the health service. why? because it has always been a labour trump why? because it has always been a labourtrump card. why? because it has always been a labour trump card. this morning, the party is saying there are around 100,000 vacancies in the nhs and a record number, more than 70,000 cancelled appointments over the last

year. interesting too when you look at the launch of the labour campaign last week, labour supporters banging the floor, chanting not for sale, not for sale. it has that emotive resonance amongst labour activists and supporters which is why they wa nt to and supporters which is why they want to keep the pressure up over the nhs, this morning, john ashworth not disclosing the details of how much money labour would spend on the nhs but pointing to areas like free prescriptions, free personal care for the over 65 is, free parking at hospitals as evidence of labour's commitment to the nhs and also the party political broadcast over the weekend talking back to the 1945 election and the aftermath of the second world war where labour created the nhs and clearly labour wa nt to created the nhs and clearly labour want to make this absolutely central to their campaign. have a listen to the shadow health secretary. have a listen to the shadow health secretary.

we'll give the nhs a proper funding settlement and in the coming days, we'll detail our plans about how much more money, under a labour government, the nhs will get. but we've got to recruit the staff as well. we would bring back a training bursary, to recruit more nurses. we're gonna expand training places for gps for family doctors. and we'd sweep away this very bureaucratic regime that's been put in place, which is stopping the nhs recruiting properly, internationally. interesting this morning a lot of the tory energy seems to be being spent on pouring cold water on nigel farage's threat to stand brexit party candidates in every constituency. even though he himself will not be standing as a candidate. we had from steve baker, the spartan spartan, head of the european research group this morning suggesting that nigel farage if you did that would risk a jeremy corbyn government and could be, the man who threw away brexit. he accused nigel

farage of pursuing a purist‘s brexit and we had from jacob rees—mogg and other prominent brexiteer on the wi reless other prominent brexiteer on the wireless this morning, also urging nigel farage not to stand brexit party candidates in every constituency. i've said on many previous occasions how much i admire nigel farage, and how important i think he has been in getting the country to vote leave. but i think he would be well advised to recognise that that battle he won. he achieved what he wanted, we voted to leave, we got a deal that gets us out of the european union. and will allow us to negotiate with the rest of the world. he should be really proud of his political career. and it would be a great shame if he carries on fighting after he has already won, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. notjust tory not just tory brexiteers notjust tory brexiteers urging nigel farage to back off this morning. their candidate in dudley south announced he was pulling out

because he didn't want to split the lead vote and we had from a former brexit mep, saying very similar words. meanwhile, lib dems are still banging the drum to getjo swinson included in the live television debate so it is notjust two blokes contesting with each other. she described it as sexist, she also suggested it would be wrong to have a television debate with no remain candidate in the room because she dubs candidate in the room because she dusteremy candidate in the room because she dubs jeremy corbyn a candidate in the room because she dusteremy corbyn a lever. so they are trying to keep up the pressure on broadcasters to allow her into the live television debate. a conservative general election candidate has apologised, for a facebook post in which she said people on a tv show needed "putting down". francesca 0'brien, who is running for the gower seat, made the comments about channel 4's benefits street, in january 2014. ms o'brien said her comments

were made "off the cuff", but admitted her "use of language was unacceptable". she is still set to run in the election, next month. mps will elect a new speaker of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. 0rder! very rude for members... 0rder! mr bercow stood down last week, after ten years in the role. there'll be a vote in parliament to decide his successor this afternoon. the seven contenders include the current deputy speaker, lindsay hoyle and former deputy prime minister, harriet harman. motherca re is planning to call in administrators for its british business. the chain, which sells goods for babies and children, said its 79 uk stores are no longer profitable enough. our business correspondent, dharshini david, said the move puts 2,500 jobs at risk. bear in mind the headquarters and those 79 stores, those are the number ofjobs,

those are the anxious people today waiting to hear whether or not mothercare's uk arm can find a buyer. because, ultimately, that's what it comes down to. will they be shocked? they'll be disappointed, they may not be shocked, because this chain has been struggling for years. and it might sound really strange when you think about it, because it's a pretty captive market, isn't it? new parents and babies and we all want to do the best for our offspring. particularly at that stage. but analysts say mothercare has really failed over the years to compete when it comes to price, when it comes to product range, when it comes to service. because, of course, new parents are looking for advice. and when it comes to convenience, as well. because a lot of these stores are based in out—of—town shopping centres, so not that easy to get to, by any means. so, we've seen these declines, we've seen a series of bosses — incidentally, none of them have been a woman, which given that mothercare is meant to appeal to new mums, might be a slight issue in itself. and on top of that, they've tried to sell off things, like the early learning centre to try and stem the losses, but that's just given parents one fewer reason to visit a store. so now it's come to a point

where mothercare made £36 million worth of losses in the uk last year, and it's saying we can't go any further with this, we've closed stores we tried our best, we just don't have the cash any more to meet the needs of this particular chain. so now the wait is on to hear whether or not it can find a buyer for that brand, which is been on our high streets now for almost 60 years. mcdonald's has fired its chief executive, after he engaged in a romantic relationship with an employee. the american fast food giant said the relationship was consensual, but all relationships between managers and subordinates are against company rules. mcdonald's said steve easter—brook demonstrated poorjudgment. police in vietnam have arrested eight people, in connection with the deaths of 39 migrants, who were found in a lorry container in essex last month. two other suspects were detained in the country, on friday. vietnamese police say they are determined to destroy the smuggling networks, taking people from east asia to britain.

india's top court has called on politicians to stop blaming each otherfor the toxic smog in the capital, delhi, and to work together to find long—term solutions. millions of people have been urged to stay indoors, to avoid the toxic "eye—burning" smog that's covered the city. officials have imposed a traffic restriction scheme, limiting vehicles to using the roads every other day, to tackle the problem. many schools have been closed, and flights have been diverted because of poor visibility. earlier, our delhi correspondent, pratiksha ghildial, sent this update. i was out and about yesterday, reporting on the story, and i have to say, delhi right now resembles a dystopian science fiction kind of movie, where buildings are covered with smog, people are working with masks on their faces. it really looks like delhi has been set on fire, because it's smoggy everywhere, and the pollution levels today, again, are dangerously high levels.

the pm2.5 levels, which are the tiny dangerous particles that can penetrate deep into our lungs, are reading, in some places, above 900. the world health organization says they shouldn't be more than 25. there is one official today who said that 900 is just what the pollution metre is reading. it can't read beyond that. so for all you know, the levels are far higher than that. so really not looking good, and the main concern are vulnerable groups like children, older people, people with respiratory problems. hospitals say that people are lining up, complaining about breathing issues and itchiness in their eyes. the governor of california, gavin newsom, has reacted angrily to tweets by donald trump, blaming him for the recent wildfires and threatening to withhold federal aid. in the last two weeks, blazes have spread across nearly

100,000 acres of land in california. president trump said the governor was doing a ‘terrible job‘ of managing the state‘s forests. mr newsom said since the president didn‘t believe in climate change, he shouldn‘t comment on the blazes. the last leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev, has warned that tension, between russia and the west, is putting the world in "colossal danger" because of the threat of nuclear weapons. he was speaking with our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, to mark 30 years since the fall of the berlin wall. these days, it is rare to see mikael gorbachev in front of a camera. aged 88, he avoids the limelight. "i‘m slowing down," he tells me. "i can barely stand up." but the man who helped to end the cold war has a message for the world. that his achievements are at risk. and one of his greatest

achievements was ending the arms race, between the soviet union and america. his diplomatic double act with ronald reagan slashed the two superpowers‘ nuclear arsenals. but the arms race has reignited. there is new tension and fierce rivalry, between moscow and the west. how dangerous do you think the current confrontation is, between russia and the west? translation: as long as weapons of mass destruction exist, nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal. all nations should declare. all nations. nuclear weapons must be destroyed. to save ourselves and our planet.

in the past, we used to talk about the cold war. how would you describe the current stand—off, between russia and the west? translation: chilly, but still a war. look at what is happening. in different places, there are skirmishes. there is shooting. ships and aircraft are being sent here, there and everywhere. this is a situation we do not need. it was gorbachev‘s reforms at home that inspired millions, across eastern europe, to rise up, against communism. he did nothing to stop it. but 30 years ago, how did he react, when the berlin wall fell and east and west germany were set to reunite? translation: there must not be bloodshed. that was ouraim.

we could not allow that, over an issue of such magnitude for germany and for us, for europe. we are going straight to the plaid cymru election campaign launch. he speaks welsh. he is speaking in welsh but will be speaking in english as well. he said no party has a higher ambition for wales, he is doing the launch in anglesey and is doing the launch in anglesey and is expected to say that wales is being held back by westminster currently plaid cymru has four mps. the breakdown for mps in wales after the 2017 election is that labour has

27 seats, the tories eight, and that comely four and they want to add to that number. not ruling out the —— plaid cymru. it will be interesting to see what he says about that. he is speaking in english now. westminster parties have certainly given the people the worst christmas present ever. a political culture that is more toxic than anytime our history. a poisoned chalice, of a choice between two divided parties led by one leader who is resolutely dishonest and brexit and another who is proving to be clueless. both of them advised by public schoolboys who seem to see politics as some kind of pathological game. so let‘s not make the election about them but about us. not about their ambition

for power, but our ambition for wheels. not about the ambitions for westminster is and their leaders, but about their lives and their dreams. —— wales. let this election be our bridge to that better future. we believe passionately that the best and brightest future for our country is as a prosperous, self—confident and independent nation. more and more people in wales are coming to that conclusion. and who can blame them? when you look at westminster and the duopoly which has run the country, ruined wales, generation after generation. has to be a better way. and the good news is there is. at this election, we can break with tradition of essentially westminster election in

wales. wales has overwhelmingly backed westminster parties, labour above all else, for all that time. but what has been the return of that investment of trust and loyalty? the people of wales have put in the westminster parties? we are at the end of every league table you can ca re end of every league table you can care to mention. at the end of a long queue for government investment, with the worst funding settle m e nt investment, with the worst funding settlement and fewer economic levels of tax which have given to northern ireland and scotland. there is so much in wales, isn‘t there, that needs fixing? child poverty is rising, life expectancy is falling, transport infrastructure is failing, homelessness is out is at crisis proportions. but we can solve these problems. not by voting labour in government here who have failed us, not by about 40 conservative who are in power in westminster had to us. we solve it by voting for ourselves

and ourfuture. we solve it by voting for ourselves and our future. by we solve it by voting for ourselves and ourfuture. by electing our own party, by sending plaid cymru mps to westminster in greater numbers than everin westminster in greater numbers than ever in our history. look at the way scotla nd ever in our history. look at the way scotland and its needs and priorities have shot to the top of the political agenda, because of the power and the prominence of the snp. an almighty lesson for us they are, in wales. if we vote for a party, then our country, its problems and needs will be treated with the respect that they deserve. contrast to that to how invisible wheels as for the labour and conservative leadership. not a single mention of wales in the yellowhammer document. the biggest legacy rule is what they have cancelled, a power station here and in swansea, rail electrification in the north and south. as for

labour, i read in the times the other day they promised £70 billion investment for scotland. 3.5 billion for a renewable revelation that might revolution in merseyside, yet wales which has some of the greatest resources in terms of renewable electricity generation anywhere in europe doesn‘t even figure a mention. real change will never come to wales by putting our faith in them. it will only come when we place our faith them. it will only come when we place ourfaith in them. it will only come when we place our faith in ourselves. so let‘s make this election about us. what we can achieve together, if we find our voice. wales desperately needs a final say referendum so we can avoid a bad brexit deal, a labour or tory brexit, destroying our economic future. we are wales‘s leading remain party and are determined to lead back to to remain and then become an independent

member of the european union. in our own right. applause this is a time for optimism. wales has massive untapped potential. because of their failure, yes we have been behind the curve but we can now be in the leading edge. not least of these shows here in anglesey, to lead the green jobs revolution. also let‘s demand a multi—billion pound investment programme in renewable energy, in transport infrastructure so we can make wales a world leader in carbon and plastic waste free future. let‘s get wales the fair funding it deserves so we can deliver, finally, free social care for the elderly. available in scotland but not in wales through a new health service.

1000 new doctors, 5000 new nurses and a hundred dentists offering sea mless and a hundred dentists offering seamless health care to everyone. it's seamless health care to everyone. it‘s incredible, it shames the labour government when we have young people in wales who want to study medical science and yet look at the way they drag their feet and we have had to push them to create a medical school here in north wales. instead of that, we should have leadership from our politicians actually solving and fixing our problems but we have that opportunity now. in this election. let‘s demand a fair dealforfamilies. this election. let‘s demand a fair deal for families. universal free childcare for 40 was a week and £35 a week payment for every child in low income families, lifting 50,000 children in wales out of poverty immediately. imagine that, imagine that as a down payment for this country. 0nce that as a down payment for this country. once in a generation boost for education to give all our children the best start in life.

let‘s abolish homelessness with the biggest investment in homes since the second world war and provide immediate rent relief for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent while we build them. let‘s make a community safe as we have heard through a welsh justice system which does things are better welsh way, devolving justice to wales creating a £50 million crime prevention fund to recruit 1600 extra police officers across wales. there is no party with a higher oh bigger ambition 42. there is no party who without fail puts wales first. there is no party who believes more that our solution to our problems are in our solution to our problems are in our hands. the pencil we will all hold in our hands could be the beginning notjust of new politics but a new wales, a new hope for all of us. it is us, the people of wales, who hold the key to our

nation‘s future. europe, it is us. transforming our economy, it is us. a caring country, it is us. ending poverty, hunger and homelessness, a caring country, it is us. ending poverty, hungerand homelessness, it is us. healthier wales, a greener wales, confident wales, an independent wales, it is us. applause and yes, in a sense, it is us or them, the future or the past, a powerful sense of, a new sense of self belief or more of the same. the failed policies and failed politics of westminster. the people of wales and the party of wales united would be an unstoppable positive force which will change our country for good. a fuse that will light up even the dark nights of this election. for those who know and love there

history, the 12th of december for our nation is the day after we first lost our independence all those centuries ago. but now is the time to focus on the future. not the past. i believe, like never before, that the best days four to our ahead of us. and the 12th of december can become comedy in which we declare a new welsh spirit of independence —— become a new day. by refusing to put our faith become a new day. by refusing to put ourfaith in the become a new day. by refusing to put our faith in the westminster parties and instead voting for a future that we, ourselves, will shape. and instead voting for a future that we, ourselves, willshape. ithink for all the noise and clamour of the next few weeks, this is the election in which wales will begin to find its voice as a nation. it will start asa its voice as a nation. it will start as a whisper, still, small voice in the darkness. but it will end with a chorus from, across the country,

speaking with one voice. wales, it‘s us. now is time. applause he speaks welsh. studio: we are leaving that now, saying no party has a higher

election hopes for wales, he hopes to see a new welsh spirit of optimism. i will be speaking to him at midday, so do stay with us for that interview. more coming out of number ten about what happens with brexit. the government machine must continue to prepare for all legal possibilities on the 31st of january, including leaving the eu, without a deal, says the prime minister‘s spokesman who has also said that the government will not be extending brexit transition period, that transition period due to go through to december 2020, that is the timeline for getting a trade agreement after brexit. and there has been some concern about that, with the government briefing mps,

who are pro leaving without a deal that if there is no deal by this time next year, then it would mean effectively a no—deal brexit at that point. according to the lines just coming through from downing street, the government would not extend that brexit transition period, so that could be interesting to pick up on a little bit later. let‘s catch up with the weather now. quite changeable at the moment. for the rest of the week it will stay unsettled, some rain at times and it will cut turn colder by wednesday onwards with some snow on the hills. that is a scene at the moment in cambridgeshire. some sunny spells but still some showers across england and wales, some heavierfor southern parts, more frequent in northern england and eastern scotla nd northern england and eastern scotland has persistent, relentless rain through the course of the day which could lead to some flooding. further west in scotland, northern ireland and england and wales there will be some sunny spells,

temperatures about 10—13. the rain and east of scotland will edge further south, quite unsettled again, some clear spells but also showers moving their way through. temperatures, nothing spectacular. 6-8, temperatures, nothing spectacular. 6—8, not too cold. during tuesday, there will be showers around, quite cloudy, a few bright spells, temperatures about 9—12. buy for now.

hello this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: health bosses warn politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon in the general election, but say a bidding war has already begun. motherca re announces plans to put its uk retail business into administration, putting around 2,500 jobs at risk. mps will elect a new speaker

of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. millions of people in the indian capital delhi are urged to stay indoors, to avoid the toxic "eye—burning" smog that‘s covered the city. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good morning. lewis hamilton says he‘s struggling to comprehend his achievement after securing a sixth formula one world title at the united states grand prix. the mercedes driver finished second, behind team—mate valterri bottas. that was enough for a third straight title, a sixth in total — putting him just one behind michael schumacher‘s all—time record. max verstappen described it as phenomenal. charles leclerc called it incredible. what about the man himself? it has been, i think, the toughest championship that we have had to try

and rent. you also have to remember, we won the championship last year. it is not easy to stay in the league, it is not easy to stay hungry and try and raise the bar that you have created as a team. raising the bar yourself, usually someone else does it, if you look at the olympics, someone else raises the bar in terms of a time, and someone else knows what to target. we are creating our own new targets each year and that is a really hard thing for us to do. former f1 driver mark webber says hamilton is a more complete package than michael schumacher and that he should be knighted for his achivements. joylon palmer spent the best part of two seasons racing with hamilton and told us the world champion isn‘t getting the recognition he deserves. he has almost been two dominant this year to get the applause he should get. if he won it with a dramatic rise in the abu dhabi finale, he would get a lot more praise than he actually gets from winning races

early on and winning it with two races to go. it has become a bit boring to the outsider, that is just how good he is. it is a tough one for him, but this year, number six, next year, number seven, tying with michael schumacher for the all—time greatest achievement. that is the one that will be a big one in 12 months. after his sickening injury against tottenham yesterday, everton‘s andre gomes will undergo surgery today. the portuguese midfielder was hacked down by son hueng min in everton‘s 1—1 draw at goodison park and suffered a fractured dislocation of his ankle. son was sent off for the tackle with players and supporters near the incident clearly shocked by his injury. tottenham are expected to appeal against the red card. i was in the changing room after the game and seeing how upset sonny is, one of the nicest people you could ever meet, who would never wish to hurt anyone. obviously i don‘t know how involved he was but he can‘t even pick his head up. it was sad to see. tea rs everywhere. i think we have to try and pick each other up and the whole

of tottenham sends our best. there was another incident of racist abuse making the headlines this weekend — this time directed at former manchester city and liverpool striker mario balotelli at a match in italy. he threatened to walk off the pitch after kicking the ball into the stands during brescia‘s match against hellas verona. the referee suspended play as part of uefa‘s protocol. balotelli went onto score the winning goal after being persuaded to play on. after the match he posted shame on you on social media to those who abused him. it was a great weekend for british hockey. both the women‘s and men‘s teams qualified for next year‘s olympics. gb women will now get the chance to defend their title in tokyo after beating chile 5—1 on aggregate in london. ireland‘s women have also made history by qualifying for the olympics for the very first time. the european silver medallists beat canada on penalties. england batsman dawid malan has left middlesex for yorkshire.

he stepped down as middlesex captain at the end of the season and has now ended a 13—year career at lord‘s. he says it feels like the right time to start a new adventure. malan is currently with the england t20 squad in new zealand. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. thank you, ben. seven candidates have put their names forward to be voted on as the new speaker of the house of commons later, afterjohn bercow resigned, he retired last week. let‘s run through the list. you can see them on your screen, on the parliamentary website. the seven candidates are chris bryant, the former saddam commons leader. harriet harman, the former deputy labour leader, meg hillier, chair of the public accounts —— public accou nts the public accounts —— public accounts committee. so lindsay

hoyle, deputy speaker... what will be happening later is that at 2:30pm, they will address the house and then mps will vote in a secret ballot and successive ballots will be held until either one candidate wins more than 50% of the vote or only one candidate remains. plaid cymru has launched its election campaign, saying it‘s the party with the ‘highest ambition‘ for wales. the bbc‘s wales political editor, felicity evans is at the launch in anglesey. a lot of interest in whether there will be an alliance with other remain parties in wales. what can you tell is about that? that is right. of course, this goes back to

the by—election in the summer, where plaid cymru and the greens stood back to let the liberal democrats have a free run of it, so far as remain parties were concerned. that was a significant help in getting the victorious lib dem over the line in that by—election. ever since then, there has been talk about replicating an agreement of that kind when a general election campaign happens, and we know that the parties have been in quite protracted negotiations by this point about doing it. they all want to do it in principle, but you can imagine that when it comes to the push and shove of where you will stand back and in return for what, there is some quite tricky negotiations to do. but we understand that negotiations are going well, some sort of announcement is expected in the next few days, and the expectations are that seats like this one, this one in anglesey is where the liberal democrats and the greens waimea expected to stand back in order to

let plaid cymru have a go, that the labour incumbent stepping down, so there is more volatility than usual. we may see that replicated among plenty of seats in wales and indeed in england as well. in terms of the overall message from plaid cymru at that launch, wanting wales to basically drive through a message of remain and also, independence for wales, how in tune with public opinion are those two messages in wales, when we look at what happened in the referendum result, while actually voted to leave and in terms of independence, i think the latest poll had about 25% saying if they could vote tomorrow on independence, they would do it, but a large majority said they don‘t want it. yes, so on the remain point and brexit point, you are right, wales voted to leave the eu in that

referendum in 2016. the polls suggest they may have been some movement there, but when you look at any election that we have heard recently, whether it‘s the european parliament elections in may, where the brexit party topped the poll there, or the brecon and radnorshire by—election, where a remain candidate won in the lib dems, but only by about 1500 votes, the conservatives and brexit party split the leave vote between them, so the brexit party took 3000 votes from the conservatives. if that hadn‘t happened, then a leave candidate would have taken that seat. going into this election, plaid cymru knows that they are not giving a universally popular message here. it is worth remembering that when you look at the areas of wales that voted for remain, many of them were welsh speaking areas where plaid cymru has hotline support. on the independence point... —— has hard—line support. plaid cymru

believes that the sort of behaviour we have seen in westminster over the last three and have years, the paralysis there, inability to get things done, they believe that that strengthens their argument for saying, well, a plague on that, let‘s go our own way. and certainly, we have seen some nonparty political independence movements attracting hundreds of people, sometimes, to independence rallies around the country. thanks mike at 12pm, i will be speaking to the leader of plaid cymru, adam price. hundreds of minicab drivers may be working fraudulently after buying qualifications for cash, the bbc has found. drivers in london must sit mandatory exams to get a licence to work. but an undercover bbc investigation has exposed colleges cheating the required tests. london‘s licencing authority tfl now says it‘s put on hold nearly 2000 applications. guy lynn reports. it‘s supposed to be a btec under strict exam conditions. this is the reality here. i will give you the answers here.

eight wannabe cab drivers at this college, vista training solutions, get fed the answers for an assessment. they‘re told to get a few wrong, to make the fraud more convincing. all minicab drivers in london must now pass exams, in english and map reading and topography, which prove they‘re safe and qualified to get their badge from transport for london, or tfl, to work. the mandatory exams are usually sat at tfl testing centres, but private colleges such as this reputable one offer btecs in taxi training. the btecs prove the aspiring cabbies have been trained and rigorously assessed, so tfl accept them too. but other colleges are just cheating

those btecs for cash. this man is a manager at vista training solutions. our researcher is told to come at the end of the day. check out how many others this place is cheating btecs for. everybody signs fake registers to dupe the authorities and examining bodies that they have attended the mandatory three days of training. and then we just pay. this man and gertie will later cheat the rest of the btec online exam, pretending to be the real candidates. two weeks later, our researcher gets his btec and guess what? it‘s a pass.

our cheated btec can now be sent to tfl to get that cab driver licence and according to these vista managers, hundreds have been. but how widespread is this? we heard reports of similarfraud in other places and tfl now say as a direct result of bbc london‘s investigation, 1667 applications are now on hold. passengers are getting into those vehicles and they need to know they are safe and to hear parts of that are being forged around london, that is not right, that is really worrying. and tfl need to get a grip on this. tfl said they would do that and are deeply concerned about the allegations. vista training solutions said they were shocked and are launching an internal investigation. they said managers gertiem kamili and abdullah, who ignored us when we got in contact, aren‘t working for them any more. but we finally caught up with gertie. hi, there.

can you tell me why you have been arranging qualifications for cash? not me, mate. you have been arranging qualifications for cash. we have got you secretly recorded doing it. why have you been doing it? not me. it‘s not you? no. so who is it we have got secretly recorded? not me. the authorities will be pretty interested in having a chat with this man. the question is — how many other fraudulently obtained licences are out there? you can see more on that investigation on bbc london at 6.30pm and 10.30pm tonight — viewers around the uk can catch up on the iplayer. bigger and taller mobile phone masts could be built without councils‘ permission across the countryside, under a proposed overhaul of planning rules in england. it is part of government plans to speed up the roll out of 5g networks and improve mobile coverage in rural areas. janye mccubbin reports. from 1g, we have whizzed through the ages to...

ta—da! sg. with signals already beaming into cities around the country and many are excited. it will be instant. there‘s no loading times, no buffering, no waiting. you‘re going to be able to watch the video straightaway without any lag or any stoppage. this is about more than downloads. it‘s about smart homes and smart cities. one example would be connected ambulances. so, having paramedics receive real—time information from consultants to actually help patients on the ground. that‘s life—saving and life—changing. but wait! i don't even have one bar. we don't get 36 and they're talking about 5g ? forget hotspots. 8% of the country is a total not spot. 25% of the country a partial not spot. while the government wants to relax planning laws to push ahead with the technology to fix this, campaigners in some parts of the country want the brakes slammed on.

the government says the science is safe. campaigners want more proof. the deadline for thoughts is end of play today. in a moment we‘ll have all the business news, but first, the headlines on bbc news: health bosses warn politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon in the general election, but say a bidding war has already begun. mps will elect a new speaker of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. motherca re announces plans to put its uk retail business into administration, putting around 2,500 jobs at risk. i‘m ramzan karmali in the business news. mothercare‘s demise into administration will mean 79 shops closing across the country. the baby goods retailer said that it was "not capable of returning to a level of structural profitability". mcdonalds has fired its chief

executive, steve easterbrook after he had a relationship with an employee. the relationship was consensual, but the us fast food giant said that mr easterbrook had "violated company policy" and shown "poorjudgment". the british businessman had been in charge of mcdonald‘s since 2015. british construction activity shrank for the sixth month in a row in october. the sector is stuck in its steepest slump since the 2009 financial crisis, as brexit worries and a general economic slowdown held back growth. let‘s look at our top story more closely and mothercare‘s plan to call in the adminstrators. it was only last year injune the business applied for a company voluntary arrangement — cva — which saw 55 shops closed and in march this year it was forced to sell the early learning centres to rival the entertainer. let‘s find out what led to today‘s announcement with clare bailey who runs retail consultancy the retail champion.

it is no real surprise that we have got this announcement, but what has led to it? well, obviously, mothercare have had difficulties as you described, when they went into the cva earlier last year. and they have now found themselves in a position where they are not financially strong enough to be able to turn the business around. it is a business that has seen an awful lot of competition, notjust online, a lot of people will cite that as failings to respond to online competition, but also, from new start—ups, new entrants, and other retailers moving into more of their niche around things like maternity wear. obviously, that eroded their market share and left them with a heavy legacy business with little finances, which has meant that they have been unable to turn that business around and make it relevant to the modern consumer. you're right about that, a lot of supermarkets are now selling baby clothes and baby goods, but also, it is quite expensive to run physical stores on the high street, isn‘t it? that is

the high street, isn‘t it? that is the real problem. that is the same for all physical retailers and we do see some success stories. tomorrow, we are expecting to hear good things coming out of primark. not all physical retailers are in trouble, but those who have left the business model to something that was relevant 10-20 model to something that was relevant 10—20 years ago, and haven‘t moved with the times or understood the needs of the modern consumer, there is the ones we have seen to fail. there are some great stories in retail, it isjust there are some great stories in retail, it is just that u nfortu nately, retail, it is just that unfortunately, when you have a large ship that it is hard to turn. once you are running on low funding, you have even less potential to invest in the change necessary to get that business back on track. do you think the government can do anything to help businesses in terms of business rates are anything like that? business rates has been a big conversation for almost ten years now, and yes, it is something that needs a complete overhaul. i believe that it needs a complete overhaul. i believe thatitis needs a complete overhaul. i believe that it is on the cards potentially, there we have heard this before. business rates, certainly, are heavy

in terms of the way they are balanced to physical retail, compared to how they are balanced to online retail. but that is only one of the many issues, and i think actually, we still see businesses affording business rates and keeping going quite successfully in physical retail, where they get the right proposition to their customer and deliver it well. so i think we still need to put it back onto the business to make themselves relevant and then deal with the unfair tax structures behind it. many thanks for joining structures behind it. many thanks forjoining us. in other business stories we‘ve been following, budget airline ryanair has downgraded its estimated profits, after being hit by the delay in the arrival of boeing 737 max planes. it was hoping these planes would increase efficiency and so drive down costs. outspoken boss, michael o‘leary told the bbc that it was a big challenge getting the aircraft flying again after two fatal crashes. a recall of hummus from uk supermarkets — sparked by a salmonella scare last week — has been extended. dip maker zorba delicacies is at the centre of this recall. it supplies the likes

of aldi, morrisons, lidl, asda and sainsbury‘s. the first recall covered goods with use—by dates of up to 7 november, but has now been extended to 17 november. just eat‘s proposed £9 billion merger with dutch rival take away dot com looks a step closer today. the uk food delivery platform cancelled its shareholder meeting due early next month and will accept the deal ifjust 75% of its shareholders agree. that‘s all the business news. thank you, see you later. from mary poppins to maria von trapp — damejulie andrews has had an incredible career spanning more than 60 years. the hollywood legend has opened up about her life on and off the screen. louise minchin has been to meet her. julie andrews, an absolute pleasure to see you. thank you so much for talking to us on bbc breakfast. it‘s a pleasure. what i love about your book, you know, we‘re so familiar with the movies, with mary poppins, with the sound of music, so many others, but it‘s the backstories about what actually happened on sets, so many of them. quite a lot went on, and that‘s...

actually, that‘s the whole point of the book, is i wanted people to see... it was coming at me, an di want to describe the way it felt and the way it was when i was learning about making movies. and you were learning on set pretty much with mary poppins, weren‘t you? very much, yeah. well, it was the first film i ever made. # oh, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! # even though the sound of it something quite atrocious...# and you were offered a job specifically by walt disney, weren‘t you? yes. when he offered that, i think you were just pregnant, weren‘t you, at the time? yes, well, i was in a broadway show, and disney came to see the show and came backstage. but he suddenly said, would i be interested in coming to hollywood to learn about mary poppins, and would i be keen to maybe hear the songs and so on? and i was thrilled, but i said, "oh, mr disney, i would love to, but i have to tell you, i‘m pregnant!" and he said, "well, that‘s ok, we‘ll wait!" something like nine months later, the script was ready, the sets were ready, everything was there... and you were ready! and i‘d had my lovely

baby, and there we are. you then moved on to the sound of music. let‘s talk about the von trapp children, because it comes out in the book, doesn‘t it, that when you‘re filming that scene in the boat, one of them couldn‘t swim? yes, the little one — the little tiny girl who was so adorable. i was told at the very last second that if i could fall out of the front of the boat on the lake with the children, it would be a great help because the little one can‘t swim! and so i said, "what?!" "yes, so if you can get her as quickly as possible, it would be very helpful." you talk quite honestly in it about lots of different things, including, i think it was shortly after mary poppins, going to psychoanalysis. that seems to have helped a lot along the way? well, yes, i needed some answers. the truth of it is that everything was coming at me so fast and furiously and so wonderfully, but i needed to sort out my head, and it certainly did do that for me.

you talk about your voice as well, saying, "singing is such a part of me that if the wonder and the joy of it were ever taken away, i might not survive." now, you said that many, many years ago, and we know, obviously, that you have had issues with your voice. it was devastating at the time. i had an operation, which unfortunately was not successful, and i don‘t sing any more. but thank god it happened in older years and not in my youth and... emma, my daughter, said to me, "well, mum, you‘vejust found a new way of using your voice now", because not only did we begin writing together, and we‘ve done, like, 32 books together in all, children‘s books mostly. but i also bring as much music to them as i can. a couple of them have actually been turned into musicals, which is actually quite a surprise that life goes on. and rather wonderfully.

it‘s lovely to meet you. thank you very much indeed for your time. it‘s a pleasure. nice to meet you also. there was a first on the strictly dance floor last night as the programme made history with its first ever same—sex couple routine. professionalsjohannes and graziano performed a contemporary dance together on the results show, dancing to "shine" by emeli sande who was singing behind them. the routine got a big reaction online. earlier this year producers of strictly said they were "completely open" to the idea of having a same—sex couple pairing from next year. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. quite changeable through this week, some showers, some rain, some sunshine, but this morning, it has been very wet in the east of scotland. this is in edinburgh, the umbrellas are certainly needed there. we will continue to see rain in the east of scotland, but also in the rest of the week, quite wet at

times, and turning colderfor mid week on ritz. low pressure across the uk today, moving south very gradually, this weather front across scotla nd gradually, this weather front across scotland is producing all that rain across eastern scotland. the white lines there are close together, so gusty wind, quite windy. the rain will be relentless in eastern scotland, that could lead to some localised flooding issues. elsewhere, longer spells of rain, particularly in the north of england, and some in the south of england, and some in the south of england, but some sunshine to be found. the wind i mentioned are quite strong across scotland. temperatures today will be getting up temperatures today will be getting up to around 10—13. throughout the night, this area of rain across the east of scotland will gradually move it way further southward, so spreading into england and wales. you can see some showers across southern areas, some clear spells, varying amounts of cloud, not a cold night, temperatures are staying at about 6—7, may be 8 degrees in belfast. throughout tuesday, we start to see a wet note across the

north, and this will gradually ease as it purred those —— pushes further south, so some showers on tuesday. brighter in northern ireland and much of scotland, northern england and north—west wales later in the day. some showers may move into scotla nd day. some showers may move into scotland where it will be chilly tomorrow, temperatures 8—9. elsewhere, temperatures getting double figures. into wednesday, these weather fronts clear, but then more are gathering towards the west, that will increase the cloud a little bit. but on wednesday, the cold air towards the north will gradually filter its way further southwards, so it will be a chillier feel to things on wednesday. on top of that, we could see some hills know, maybe over the highest ground of northern england and across scotland, just as the rain starts to edge its way in from the west. meanwhile, further east, it will stay largely dry. some brightness, but the cloud increasing as the day goes on. temperatures from many of us will struggle to get into double

figures. it is justly far south, 10-11 figures. it is justly far south, 10—11 here. changeable throughout the week, turning colderfrom wednesday. goodbye.

you‘re watching bbc newsroom live. it‘s midday and these are the main stories, this morning. motherca re announces plans to put its uk retail business into administration, putting around two and a half thousand jobs at risk health bosses warn politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon in the general election, but say a bidding war has already begun. mps will elect a new speaker of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. 7 candidates have been announced. millions of people in the indian capital delhi are urged to stay indoors, to avoid the toxic "eye—burning" smog that‘s covered the city. in an interview to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, former soviet leader

mikhail gorbachev warns that tension between russia and the west is putting the world in colossal danger. lewis hamilton says he is "flying super—high", after being crowned world champion for the sixth time. good afternoon, welcome to bbc newsroom live. 2500 jobs are at risk at the baby goods chain, mothercare. the retailer is putting its uk business into administration after failing to generate sustainable profits. the chain has 79 uk stores, but made a loss of £36 million last year. it has been in trouble for some time, hasn‘t it?

it has been in trouble for some time, hasn't it? it has and only last year, in june time, hasn't it? it has and only last year, injune it applied for a company last year, injune it applied for a com pa ny volu nta ry last year, injune it applied for a company voluntary arrangement which means it closed 55 stores back then. in march this year it sold the early learning centre, profitable part of their business but it had to sell it to make ends meet. it has them looking for a buyerfor to make ends meet. it has them looking for a buyer for some time and no one has bitten. this administration put two and a half thousand jobs at risk, only 500 of those are full—time jobs across 79 stores. it is a worrying time for people in work in that business. what is the timeline going forward? we expect once the administrators has been appointed, we will start seeing stores closing, it will be gradual but they will eventually start around the country. you have described how it has been in trouble for some time. in a way, is it surprising it has managed this long? because there is so much competition

in the market. notjust competition from other clothes retailers like primark or marks & spencer is but supermarkets are going into the arena as well. then you have online, business rates as well, physical stores is an expensive business and it has hurt mothercare. that is why they find themselves in this position. you mention high street difficulty generally. mothercare is a totem, because it has been such a known brand for so long. what does it say about the wider high street? they are not the only one. last year we saw the demise of toys "r" us, even pound land. homebase, carpet right, new look have entered into restructure agreements with landlords so there is a problem in the high streets in the affordability of running a business on the high street. thank you. health bosses in england have warned politicians not to use the nhs

as a political weapon, during the general election campaign. nhs providers, the organisation which represents health trust leaders, has urged parties not to make empty promises over future funding. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. nhs providers says hospitals and other trusts have been preparing for winter, but the pressures are greater than ever. front line services, it said, aren‘t keeping up with the growing demand for care, which is particularly worrying with winter looming. but, with health featuring prominently already in the election campaign, there is a warning that politicians need to be straight and clear about funding promises and not overdramatise the problems. we recognise there is a political potency around the health service, it matters to people, they care passionately about the health service, but it is so important that we have a fair and balanced debate, that really presents the fact as they are, to the public. to illustrate the scale of the challenge, nhs providers says there are now 4.4 million people in england waiting for routine

operations and there are 107,000 staff vacancies. that‘s 9% of the work force. how to tackle the issues is what the leaders of health trusts say they want to hear from the parties. with a proper debate on what‘s needed, in a taxpayer funded service, to provide the right quality of care. the parties have started spelling out their promises for the election in five and a half weeks‘ time. labour will continue setting out its vision for the nhs, with a promise of extra training places for doctors and nurses. it‘s also announced a plan to save free tv licenses, for the over—75s. the conservatives are promising to raise the national living wage to £10.50 an hour by 2024, after an independent review for the treasury found this would not affect employment. and, in the last half hour, plaid cymru has launched its general election campaign, saying it is the party with the ‘highest ambition‘ for wales.

i will be speaking to the party leader shortly. our assistant political editor, norman smith is at westminster. the most striking thing today is the war of words that seem to have erupted amongst the hard—core brexiteers after nigel farage signalled at the weekend that he plans to stand brexit party candidates in every constituency up and down the country. the fear of tory brexiteers that that will split the lever vote, providing jeremy corbyn with a way to victory. this morning we had from steve baker, the new head of the european research group, saying mr nigel farage risks throwing away brexit by seeking this pure form of brexit. we also heard from jacob rees—mogg who appealed to nigel farage to hold back and not put up candidates against tory mps. i‘ve said on many previous occasions

how much i admire nigel farage, and how important i think he has been in getting the country to vote leave. but i think he would be well advised to recognise that that battle he won. he achieved what he wanted, we voted to leave, we got a deal that gets us out of the european union. and will allow us to negotiate with the rest of the world. he should be really proud of his political career. and it would be a great shame if he carries on fighting, after he has already won, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. nigel farage not a man to lie down easily has hit back, accusing brexiteers like steve baker of being "good little boys, doing what boris johnson tells them to do, and chickening out," his phrase, from opposing a brexit deal which is little different to that of theresa may. his argument being that if he stood brexit candidates he would

ta ke votes stood brexit candidates he would take votes mostly from the labour party. he himself will not be standing in this election. he says better that he spends his time going around the country, campaigning all over the place rather than fighting for one particular seat. this morning, a brexit mep, nigel farage‘s former press officer dismissed suggestions that the brexit leader was afraid. would the man who is afraid to lose have stood eight times, ask yourself that. i think, out of all the politicians, and the whole of westminster or for that matter, brussels, out of all of them, he is the one has the most courage and has the most conviction. i think that's been demonstrated time and time again. so yes, it's very convenient, isn't it? for those who oppose us to be able to paint him as suddenly being, you know, lily livered. but i think anybody in the real world knows that'sjust not nigel farage at all. we may find out later today whether nigel farage is poised to back off. all signs say he isn‘t because he

will be holding a launch around 2pm unveiling the 600 prospective candidates he says he will stand in all seats if borisjohnson does not drop his brexit deal. studio: to be revealed later, the new speaker at the house of commons. seven candidates are standing. seven candidates. the lecture will be chosen in a secret ballot. a short five minute or so speech from each of them and then it is the bottom candidate knocked out each time until we eventually get one contender who gets more than 50% of the vote. very difficult to predict because people vote for all sorts of reasons. some intertribal way for their party candidate, some because they might have a good personal relationship, some vote to knockout people they don‘t like. i guess the big determinate this time will be whether want to have a speaker in

the mould ofjohn bercow who sought to strike from the power of backbenchers in parliament or whether people want a more quiet life, business as usual. if they wa nt life, business as usual. if they want that they will probably go for sur lindsay hoyle, or eleanor laing, two of the deputy speakers. if they wa nt two of the deputy speakers. if they want someone in the mould ofjohn bercow they might go for harriet harman or someone else coming up on the outside track, chris bryant to his written extensively about the house of commons and picked up a lot of support from senior tories like michael gove but i suspect it will be one of those 40 comes through at the end. final results probably in early evening. —— one of those four. a clock counting down to brexit on the 31st of october, questions about what has happened now that date has gone by. there is an answer now, isn‘t there? gone by. there is an answer now, isn't there? short answer is it is still going but in the wrong direction. we had the clock counting

down to 11 on the 31st. now it seems to be counting up and up and up which is a bit risky because if borisjohnson doesn‘t which is a bit risky because if boris johnson doesn‘t manage which is a bit risky because if borisjohnson doesn‘t manage to get brexit sorted anytime soon, that cork could become a bit embarrassing if it goes on for months and and months. maybe it is meant to impress upon him the importance of delivering on his do or die pledge. thank you very much, norman. a conservative general election candidate has apologised for a facebook post, in which she said people on a tv show needed "putting down". francesca o‘brien, who is running for the gower seat, made the comments about channel 4‘s benefits street in january 2014. ms o‘brien said her comments were made "off the cuff" but admitted her "use of language was unacceptable". she is still set to run in the election next month. plaid cymru has launched its election campaign, saying it is the party with the ‘highest ambition‘ for wales. they are hoping to add to its 4 mps

won at the 2017 general election, after a strong showing in may‘s european elections where they finished second, ahead of labour. let‘s speak now to the leader of plaid cymru, adam price. . thank you very much forjoining us. as part of a formula for success as you wanted, does the need to be an alliance with other remain parties? certainly after the european elections you refer to, i wrote to the leaders of the other remain parties, saying we need to find a way to work together to ensure that the westminster election we have more mps who are pro—remain. those discussions have been going on for a considerable time. we have to consult within our party is like can‘t go into any detail now. but the principle is the right one because this is a unique election, precipitated by the brexit crisis. those of us who believe very

strongly that wales‘s best places to remain within the european union is better than the labour or conservative brexit deal, then we should put aside party differences, where it can make a difference. by working together, standing aside, we can actually get a more pro—remain party m ps can actually get a more pro—remain party mps elected. wales is not a country of remain, though as it? wales voted to leave in the referendum? yes, the people of wales voted to leave but not take leave of their senses. unfortunately the brexiteer which is being served up by conservative party even the labour brexiteer which is taking us outside the single market, would do enormous damage to wales. we actually supported a compromise deal which would have kept our membership of the single market and customs union, unfortunately comprises gone out the window and that we have seen a polarisation and now the only way

that we can... i am going to interrupted just for a moment, to ask you to pause because right now we need to say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. goodbye. ok, sorry about that, a little bit of technical stuff we had to do. just picking up where you were, obviously as you we re where you were, obviously as you were saying, you do not believe that the deal and the current direction is right for wales. in terms of as i say, what the indications are from what the people actually want, you are saying remain in the european union, you are also saying you want the country to be independent. but the country to be independent. but the indicators go against you on both of those fronts, don‘t they? actually, we are living in incredibly volatile times in politics. we have just

incredibly volatile times in politics. we havejust seen recently the highest ever recorded level of support for independence, particularly coupled with the idea of wales being a member of the european union... just to put it in context, for people who do not follow it, 24% say they would vote for independence if they could vote tomorrow, compared with a majority, a large majority, who say they don‘t wa nt a large majority, who say they don‘t want that. yes, politics is all about momentum isn‘t it? with a small em. what we have seen is a rise in the level of support and the level is not that dissimilar to what it was in scotland only a few years ago. the reason for that is there is ago. the reason for that is there is a deep sense of exasperation with the westminster parties and the circus, the tragicomedy that has been westminster over the last three and a half years. people are asking searching questions about whether there is a better way, we put faith

in the westminster parties, particularly labour, for over 100 yea rs particularly labour, for over 100 years and what have we had in terms of return? we are at the bottom of the economic league table, child poverty rising, life expectancy falling in wales almost unique amongst advanced industrial economies. instead of doing what we have always done, if we want change, if we want real change, to borrow someone else‘s slogan is to do something different politically. stop putting faith injeremy corbyn borisjohnson. i stop putting faith injeremy corbyn boris johnson. i don‘t stop putting faith injeremy corbyn borisjohnson. i don‘t think it will matter in the long—term if we put another westminster party in and put our faith another westminster party in and put ourfaith in them because another westminster party in and put our faith in them because we will be in the same place with the same problem. on the other hand, if we show a new sense of belief in ourselves, that is the way we get wales shooting up the political agenda like never before. how many seats would you inspect the content? will it be all 40? we started by discussing a pact which would

indicate that you intend not to stand in every constituency? you will appreciate while those discussions are ongoing, we need to make an announcement soon if we‘re going to do it, but i like to keep my powder dry because the consultations with our local constituency members. wales obviously stand in the vast majority of seats in wales, the question is is it in wales‘s national interest as we see it to cooperate in a number of seats where we can ensure more plaid cymru mps are returned and others for the pro—remain parties. if we can, i think we should. much. thank you very much. sport now, here‘s ben. good afternoon. lewis hamilton says he‘s struggling to comprehend the possibilty it‘s after the briton moved one

behind him by winning a sixth drivers championship. second at the us grand prix was enough to wrap up the title, with two races to spare. he‘s now won three in a row, five of the last six but says emulating schumacher‘s achievement was never a target of his. he was also quick to praise his mercedes team. if you want with a dramatic finish i think you would get more praise than he actually does running races earlier on and with two races to go. it has become to the outside a bit boring. that is just how good he is. it isa boring. that is just how good he is. it is a tough one for him next year number seven, timed with michael schumacher for the all—time greatest achievement. that is the one that will be a big one, 12 months. andre gomes is to undergo surgery today after a sickening fracture dislocation of his right ankle, during everton‘s 1—1 draw with tottenham.

the portuguese midfielder was fouled by son hueng min before colliding with serge aurier. son was sent off for his role in the incident that left him, players and supporters visibly distressed. his manager marco silva has backed him to come back stronger, whilst spurs are expected to appeal son‘s red card. there was another incident of racist abuse making the headlines this weekend, this time directed at former manchester city and liverpool striker mario balotelli at a match in italy. he threatened to walk off the pitch, after kicking the ball into the stands, during brescia‘s match against hellas verona. the referee suspended play, as part of uefa‘s protocol. after the match he posted shame on you on social media to those who abused him. he‘s out with england‘s t20 squad in new zealand at the minute, but dawid malan will return to the country as a yorkshire player. he‘s ended a 13—year year spell at middlesex,

having stood down as captain at the end of the summer with the team third bottom of the county championship division two. the batsman says he‘s excited by the prospect of joining another great club. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have morejust after the news at one. a report compiled for the british and irish governments on paramilitary activity in northern ireland, has found there has been an increase in attacks in the last year. the independent reporting commission has also said that the absence of power—sharing at stormont makes ending paramilitarism "immeasurably more difficult". we can cross to belfast and speak to our ireland correspondent chris page. tell us more about this report, what is in it? this report has been compiled by a commission which was set upa compiled by a commission which was set up a few years ago during a political crisis at stormont, brought about by two murders carried out by pa ramilitaries. brought about by two murders carried out by paramilitaries. the task of the commission is to, once of year, report on the situation around

paramilitaries in northern ireland, effo rts paramilitaries in northern ireland, efforts to bring parliamentary activity to the end. —— paramilitary activity. that has been an overall downward trend in the number of violent attacks carried out by paramilitaries over the violent attacks carried out by pa ramilitaries over the last violent attacks carried out by paramilitaries over the last decade. the last 12 months has seen an increase in the attacks, clearly a cause cover concern. as regards context, the commissioners point to continued absence of government at stormont. the absence of political decision—making makes the task of ending for militarism and measuring! immeasurably more difficulty. also on brexit, they make the point that although there is no evidence violence coming about directly as a result of the uncertainty around brexit, the commissioners view that uncertainty having a serious impact. the phrase they use it as adding fuel to the fire of continued paramilitary activity. the commissioners point to the reality that paramilitary violence is still going on, it has been on the

increase for the last year, as regards how you deal with it, they recommend some of the powers for low enforcement agencies are beefed up, new legislation, for some of that that points to problems around the lack of a devolved government. it also says they should be a big debate around society, society, in northern ireland, as to how you bring paramilitary activity to an end. it also discusses the link between paramilitary activity and socioeconomics levels. it intends to be in these areas paramilitary activity is strongest. so the commissioner say the needs to be a discussion right across this, and more power given to law enforcement agencies, to tackle paramilitary activity head on. people also need to look at what is going on in communities, and deal with some very serious issues of deprivation. thank

you. india‘s top court has called on politicians to stop blaming each otherfor the toxic smog in the capital, delhi, and to work together to find long—term solutions. millions of people have been urged to stay indoors, to avoid the toxic "eye—burning" smog that‘s covered the city. officials have imposed a traffic restriction scheme, limiting vehicles to using the roads every other day, to tackle the problem. many schools have been closed, and flights have been diverted because of poor visibility. dr atul gogia is senior consutlant, internal medicine, at sir ganga ram hospital in delhi. thank you very much forjoining us. our you seeing thank you very much forjoining us. 0ur you seeing more thank you very much forjoining us. our you seeing more admissions as a result of the smog? definitely, the last couple of weeks has been an increase in smog and the pollution —related problems. so there is an increase in the respiratory and cardiac cases, definitely that has been there in the last few days

especially. so are the pollutant scratch my particular age groups impacted by it and what are the risks of the smog was? people prone to allergies, people who already have asthma or lung diseases or heart diseases, they are the people more prone to the problem, especially the elderly and the younger children. more prone, so there is a sudden surge in allergic skin problems, burning of the eyes, breathing problems, especially in the elderly age groups as well as the elderly age groups as well as the young. couldn't be life—threatening for some of these people? sure, yes, with asthma or a lung condition and sudden exacerbation can end up in the intensive care and can be life—threatening for some. intensive care and can be

life-threatening for some. are you seeing many people going into intensive care? i am wondering whether, obviously you can talk for your hospital but i don‘t know if your hospital but i don‘t know if you can talk more widely about reporting from other hospitals, whether this is putting pressure on the hospital‘s? whether this is putting pressure on the hospital's? yes, there is a sudden change in the weather as well. and a sudden surge in pollution which definitely has caused a sudden surge in the cases. a few patients end up in intensive ca re a few patients end up in intensive care because of exacerbation. people are being told not to leave their homes unless they have to, how can people protect themselves? what is your personal experience, in terms of those that you know and how they are dealing with it? definitely over the weekend, there has been a lot of doctors. people are attacking by avoiding going outside, unnecessarily going outside, people

are avoiding doing that. people are going on a frenzy for buying masks to protect themselves from the pollution. the schools in delhi have been shutdown because of the sudden increase in pollution so kids are at home. these are certain things which are affecting the day—to—day problem. thank you very much for joining us. thank you, thank you so much. more now on health bosses warning politicians to not use the nhs as a ‘political weapon‘ during the general election campaign. nhs providers has urged the main parties to not make ‘empty promises‘ over future funding for the health service. we can discuss this further with alastair henderson, chief executive of the academy of medical royal colleges. he‘s in our central london studio. thank you forjoining us. you are concerned in exactly the same way? tell us your view of what is going on, politically, with the messaging

and the nhs. yes, it is interesting you are getting the same message from medical representatives and representatives of nhs organisations. we are absolutely not saying we should not be good and vibrant political discussion saying we should not be good and vibra nt political discussion about the nhs in the election, i think thatis the nhs in the election, i think that is really important. but what we have to have is a debate that is based on evidence and proposals which are deliverable. because our real concern is, if you make unrealistic promises and give people expectations that can‘t be delivered, that is in nobody‘s interest and actually it simply sets the nhs up to fail. so what exactly are the messages from politicians that you don‘t like? because you would think of the nhs is in a good position when the spotlight is on it and politicians are falling over themselves to say we will do the most for the nhs? as i said, i am delighted the nhs is the subject of

debate. but it doesn‘t help us if the things that are said from politicians are things that the nhs itself can‘t actually do. thatjust sets up expectations that both the patients and clinicians can‘t... sorry to interrupt but can you give me an example? misses early stages of the election but there are a couple of examples we picked up, from the party conferences. one party, the conservatives, there was a statement that 40 additional hospitals were being built, it turns out it is not 40, there is six, at most, that are being refurbished with other money elsewhere. sorry to come in but i want to hear your other example, but that was heavily scrutinised at the time and they did pull back on what they said on that in the end. indeed, but i think that is the point we are making. it is essential, we think, that if we see

as representatives of doctors, that there are proposals that either are simply wrong or misleading or unrealistic, it is a job to call those out. what was your other example? the other example was during the labour party conference, the announcement that the labour party would set up a nationalised drug company, not that is incorrect but, but we think that is highly unrealistic. it would certainly cause difficulties in terms of research funding for drugs. so those we re research funding for drugs. so those were just two examples. and what we‘re going to do during the election campaign, obviously if these great people are talking about that and show their commitment to the health service, but if political parties of any sort, with proposals that we just parties of any sort, with proposals that wejust think parties of any sort, with proposals that we just think are incorrect or com pletely that we just think are incorrect or completely undeliverable, we, as representatives of doctors, feel it is our duty to call them out. the

nhs always has been a political football. always will be. it is a national totem, people feel very strongly about it, it is inevitable when it comes to election time, people care most about it. do you have any practical ideas on whether that should be changed or how it could be changed? if you wanted to be done? now and i am not seeking to change that. —— no, and diane not seeking to change that. it is a bsently seeking to change that. it is absently right and proper that it should be the subject of proper political debate and i think it is great that people‘s ideas about the future of the nhs are central to the election campaign. but what they must be as ideas that can be delivered, that can improve care for patients, to suggest things that are on deliverable —— undeliverable is unfairto on deliverable —— undeliverable is unfair to patients and the staff who have to deliver that care. thank you

very much. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with ben. after a week in which brought wet and windy weather to the uk, there is more to come. not at all times, the main thing you‘ll notice is a colder field developing over the main thing you‘ll notice is a colderfield developing over the next couple the rest of of the afternoon, we will see showers in many areas, some thundering to towards the south. persistent rain will continue across eastern scotland. localised flooding and travel problems here possibly. also windy across scotland. temperatures of 10-13. windy across scotland. temperatures of 10—13. the rain in eastern scotla nd of 10—13. the rain in eastern scotland will sink down into northern england, and will tend to weaken. showers continue elsewhere for a time. they will tend to fade as we head through the small hours of tuesday. overnight close of six, seven, 8 degrees. not particularly call for the time of year and not as

cold as later this week. generally speaking, it will turn colder. by wednesday it will be struggling to get into double digits. hello, this is bbc newsroom live, i‘m joanna gosling. the headlines: motherca re announces plans to put its uk retail business into administration, putting around 2,500 jobs at risk. health bosses warn politicians not

to use the nhs as a political weapon in the general election, but say a bidding war has already begun. mps will elect a new speaker of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. seven candidates have been announced. millions of people in the indian capital delhi are urged to stay indoors, to avoid the toxic "eye—burning" smog that‘s covered the city. mcdonald‘s has fired its chief executive steve easterbrook — after he had a relationship with an employee. mr eastbrook was appointed chief executive of mcdonald‘s in 2015. according to the company, the relationship was consensual — but it said that it violated company policy. he‘s apologised for what he says was a mistake. ruby dinsmore is an employment lawyer at the firm slater and gordon. thank you for coming in. he has put

out an e—mail to staff saying he made a mistake, it goes against company policy and that is why he has to go. it was a consensual relationship, how unusual is this? it is not unusual at all. yes, it‘s a consensual relationship and that is obviously a factor to be taken into consideration, but it ultimately comes down to the policy that was in place that prohibited this type of relationship, and it is therefore a number of reasons. this type of thing comes up more and more, it has always come up, there has always been inappropriate relationships in the workplace. in the current climate, it has a bigger impact, and companies are very keen to be seen not only to have a policy managing this type of situation, but also to be seen to be enforcing it at all levels, so no one, effectively, you know, it applies to everyone. it sends a strong message when it is a person at the top reaching this policy. it also says a

lot that he is putting the policy in the first place, so it begs the question as to whether more needs to be done, rather than just policy. and then selectively applying it to people. there is a lot more to be done to educate people why these policies need to be put in place and also, the effect of if they do breach them, what they could potentially run the risk of being dismissed. tell us more behind the reasoning of this policy is. there area number reasoning of this policy is. there are a number of reasons. some people may view them as being an invasion of privacy, that you can have a relationship with anyone if it is consensual and that should be accepted. but there is a balance with businesses that they have their own interests to protect as well. may it well look like they are stepping into people‘s private lives, it has an impact on business. during the relationship, there is the potential for conflict of interest of the person puts the relationship before the business interest, particularly if they are ata interest, particularly if they are at a senior level. and after the relationship, if it ended on a sour note, there are also implications for the business, particularly where

there is a potential risk afterwards of litigation or a claim for sexual harassment. how widespread our policies like this? increasingly so. it is or has been the case, a lot of firms have put in some kind of guidance on relationships at work. it is not always an outright ban, but sometimes there is a notification clause that says, if you‘re ina notification clause that says, if you‘re in a relationship, you need to let us know, and the company can ta ke to let us know, and the company can take that into consideration and make sure it is not impacting on any decision—making. in the last few yea rs, decision—making. in the last few yea rs , we decision—making. in the last few yea rs, we have decision—making. in the last few years, we have to mention metoo, and a lot of businesses look at this type of situation, so more and more policies are being put into place and businesses are keen to be seen to be addressing the potential litigation —— a litigation risk of metoo, but that there is a potential scope for sexual harassment and that there is a fine line between a consensual relationship and an inappropriate relationship, and it is the inappropriate relationships that a lot of companies are aware of

and are trying to manage. interesting to talk to you, thank you. more now on the launch of plaid cymru‘s campaign this morning. the leader adam price has confirmed that he‘s consulting his members about forming an alliance with other remain—supporting parties to try to deny the conservatives a majority in the election. yesterday, the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, said discussions were taking place between her party, plaid cymru and the greens. under the pact, two of the three parties would stand aside in favour of the one with the best chance of victory — with reports suggesting that up to 60 seats could be targeted. let‘s talk now to sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at the university of strathclyde. welcome, good to talk to you. it has been said many times this will be an incredibly predictable election, so with that backdrop, it is inevitable that alliances and tactical voting are being looked at. how much of an impact could these things have in

their selection? first of all, let's consider why those on the remain side are thinking of pacts and also trying to encourage tactical voting. it is essentially because whereas the leave mode is heavily concentrated behind the conservatives, around 60% of leave voters are saying they would vote conservatives and 20% for the brexit party. on the remain side, although the labour party has made some progress in recent polls, you still have around 40% of remain voters saying they would vote labour and about 29% for the lib dems. that is why this is the election in which the leave side and the conservatives had an advantage because they have managed to concentrate their side of the brexit argument together. as far as alliances are concerned, notice that the one—party‘s name that is not part of these discussions is the labour party, which is the biggest party on the remain side. the extent to which an alliance between these three groups and indeed probably

some independent conservatives, such as dominic grieve, could have an impact is inevitably limited, because these are three relatively small parties, and i reckon that there is around half a dozen seats or so that the conservatives at the moment might be expected to win, where there is some realistic prospect at least that an alliance of the kind we are talking about might makea of the kind we are talking about might make a difference. bearing in mind that in quite a few of the seats where they lib dems are hopeful, the greens did not fight two years ago. as far as tactical voting is concerned, well, in so far is at the end of the day, they labour party is not going to be involved in any alliance, and it will certainly be a choice between labour and one other remain party, there are those who concerned about trying to stop brexit who are trying to encourage voters visit —— with advice on the internet, if you are in this constituency, you should vote labour and if you are in another, you should vote lib dems. we do know that some voters do vote

tactically. there was a study said it was 8% last time. a poll on sundays that thinks it is 8% they might vote tactically this time. previous elections, 10—12% has been in evidence. the question is whether or not those on the remain side be willing to do this. back in 1997, anti—conservative tactical voting, which is what we have been talking about, was pretty common. it helped to increase tony blair a‘s majority quite considerably, and certainly, there are plenty of remain voters who are not keen on borisjohnson or the conservatives, and they might be willing to contemplate it. but for one important consideration. back in 1997 when there are a lot of tactical voting against the conservatives, labour and lib dems are being nice to each other, they even had a common policy on constitutional change. at the moment, these two parties are drawn on brexit and it may mean it gets

more difficult to persuade voters to swa p more difficult to persuade voters to swap one party for the other. and what about an alliance between the tories and the brexit party? nigel farage still saying that he wants something to be down there, the tory party saying no. —— something to be done. i can understand the logic, because if you take the current polls at the moment, for everyone voted to brexit party is taking off labour, there are two of the conservatives. we cannot be entirely sure what those voters would do, if there brexit party were not standing locally, but it is a reasonable supposition, given the conservative vote is so much more of a leave bout than they were, that it will be the conservatives that suffer more. —— more of a leave about. you can understand the frustration from nigel farage, but because boris johnson already has 60% of the leave vote, he is hoping there will be tactical voting, ie, vote, he is hoping there will be tacticalvoting, ie, some vote, he is hoping there will be tactical voting, ie, some of those people who would perhaps prefer to

leave without a deal and maybe don‘t even think borisjohnson is entirely lacking in response to billeting for the failure to meet the 31st of october deadline that in the end, they will still vote conservative on they will still vote conservative on the grounds that it is the best way to deliver brexit. the ukip vote got squeezed in 2016, we are waiting to see whether this happens to the brexit party this time round. thank you. now let‘s have a look at your business news. in your business headlines. mothercare is to go into administration putting 2500 jobs at risks. the store chain‘s demise will mean 79 shops closing across the country. the baby goods retailer said that it was "not capable of returning to a level of structural profitability". mcdonalds has fired its chief executive, steve easterbrook after he had a relationship with an employee. the relationship was consensual, but the us fast food giant said that mr easterbrook had "violated company policy" and shown "poorjudgment". the british businessman had been

in charge of mcdonald‘s since 2015. british construction activity shrank for the sixth month in a row in october. the sector is stuck in its steepest slump since the 2009 financial crisis, as brexit worries and a general economic slowdown held back growth. let‘s look at that last story in more detail now — the latest construction purchaser‘s managers index — showed that the sector shrank again last month. just one example that shows how tough things are in construction is house building — it dropped off in october at the fastest rate since june 2016. brian berry is the chief executive of the federation of master builders. before i came on set, ijust checked the prices of some, and the share prices are up. is this more about the smaller players in the construction industry?”

the smaller players in the construction industry? i think it cuts across the housing sectors, more builders are suffering from political uncertainty, but it is all across construction, civil engineering has been particularly affected, but even in the larger house builders, the number of houses being built is at a lower rate compared to previous years, and that is ata compared to previous years, and that is at a time when we have a crisis in this country. what needs to happen for construction to feel more buoyant? we are in a period of a general election, so we need the main political parties to outline a vision for the future of construction. what are the country‘s major infrastructure needs? and housing has to be top of the agenda. we want to see a cross—party consensus for this country and they need to invest in our infrastructure. at the moment, we have had months of uncertainty in the construction industry and we need to get past the general election and have the new government committed to building homes and infrastructure that we need to get britain moving. you talk about that

uncertainty, but also, we need people with the right skills to build as well, isn‘t that also an issue? yes, that is a serious issue in the building industry through the last two years or so. we have had a serious skills crisis, particularly in the trade, members are reporting problems with recruiting bricklayers and plasterers, we need to attract more people into the industry. the brexit uncertainty has meant that many eu workers have returned home, and eu workers make up 9% of the workforce in the british building industry. we need a new immigration policy that encourages people to come with the right skills, and we need to develop quality apprenticeships to encourage home—grown talent in this country. what can the government to do to attract that, to help make that happen? i think it would be changing the mood music about the value of occasional training, —— vocational training, the value of the printer ships, the value they have. but what we need is a real commitment from

political parties, talking about infrastructure priorities and housing. at the moment, the uncertainty is causing the industry to hold back on major decisions. thank you forjoining us. in other business stories we‘ve been following, budget airline ryanair has downgraded its estimated profits after being hit by the delay in the arrival of boeing 737 max planes. it was hoping these planes would increase efficiency and so drive down costs. outspoken boss, michael o‘leary told the bbc that it was a big challenge getting the aircraft flying again after two fatal crashes. a recall of hummus from uk supermarkets — sparked by a salmonella scare last week — has been extended. dip maker zorba delicacies is at the centre of this recall. it supplies the likes of aldi, morrisons, lidl, asda and sainsbury‘s. the first recall covered goods with use—by dates of up to 7 november, but has now been extended to 17 november. just eat‘s proposed £9bn merger with dutch rival takeaway.com looks a step closer today. the uk food delivery platform

cancelled its shareholder meeting due early next month and will accept the deal ifjust 75% of its shareholders agree. that‘s all the business news. thank you, see you later. an update on the headlines on bbc news... motherca re announces plans to put its uk retail business into administration, putting around 2,500 jobs at risk. health bosses warn politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon in the general election, but say a bidding war has already begun. mps will elect a new speaker of the house of commons today, following the retirement ofjohn bercow. seven candidates have been announced. the last leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev, has warned that tension between russia and the west is putting the world in "colossal danger" because of the threat of nuclear weapons. he was speaking with our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, to mark 30 years since the fall of the

berlin wall. these days, it is rare to see mikhail gorbachev in front of a camera. aged 88, he avoids the limelight. "i‘m slowing down," he tells me. "i can barely stand up." but the man who helped to end the cold war has a message for the world. that his achievements are at risk. and one of his greatest achievements was ending the arms race, between the soviet union and america. his diplomatic double act with ronald reagan slashed the two superpowers‘ nuclear arsenals. but the arms race has reignited. there is new tension and fierce rivalry, between moscow and the west. how dangerous do you think

the current confrontation is, between russia and the west? translation: as long as weapons of mass destruction exist, nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal. all nations should declare. all nations. nuclear weapons must be destroyed. to save ourselves and our planet. in the past, we used to talk about the cold war. how would you describe the current stand—off, between russia and the west? translation: chilly, but still a war. look at what is happening. in different places, there are skirmishes. there is shooting.

ships and aircraft are being sent here, there and everywhere. this is a situation we do not need. it was gorbachev‘s reforms at home that inspired millions, across eastern europe, to rise up, against communism. he did nothing to stop it. but 30 years ago, how did he react, when the berlin wall fell and east and west germany were set to reunite? translation: there must not be bloodshed. that was ouraim. we could not allow that, over an issue of such magnitude for germany and for us, for europe. the whole world. so we declared we wouldn‘t interfere. the whole world. so we declared we wouldn't interfere. from iron curtains to iron ladies, he famously hit it off with margaret thatcher. but what does he make of brexit?

translation: you can figure that one out yourselves. you british are clever clogs. i won‘t give you advice, you decide. so, not only a president, but a true diplomat. iran says it has doubled the amount of devices it uses to enrich uranium, as it moves away from the international nuclear agreement. iran claims it has put 13 new centrifuges into operation, including the total to 60. it began gradually reaching its commitments to the nuclear deal after donald trump abandoned the accord. he has imposed sweeping sanctions on the iranians in an effort to pressure them into making a new agreement that would limit their nuclear programme indefinitely. hundreds of minicab drivers may be working fraudulently after buying qualifications for cash, the bbc has found. drivers in london must sit mandatory exams to get a licence to work.

but an undercover bbc investigation has exposed colleges cheating the required tests. london‘s licencing authority tfl now says it‘s put on hold nearly 2000 applications. guy lynn reports. it‘s supposed to be a btec under strict exam conditions. this is the reality here. i will give you the answers here. eight wannabe cab drivers at this college, vista training solutions, get fed the answers for an assessment. they‘re told to get a few wrong, to make the fraud more convincing. all minicab drivers in london must now pass exams, in english and map reading and topography, which prove they‘re safe and qualified to get their badge from transport for london, or tfl, to work. the mandatory exams are usually sat

at tfl testing centres, but private colleges such as this reputable one offer btecs in taxi training. the btecs prove the aspiring cabbies have been trained and rigorously assessed, so tfl accept them too. but other colleges are just cheating those btecs for cash. gerti is a manager at vista training solutions. our researcher is told to come at the end of the day. check out how many others this place is cheating btecs for. everybody signs fake registers to dupe the authorities

and examining bodies that they have attended the mandatory three days of training. and then we just pay. this man and gerti will later cheat the rest of the btec online exam, pretending to be the real candidates. two weeks later, our researcher gets his btec and guess what? it‘s a pass. our cheated btec can now be sent to tfl to get that cab driver licence and according to these vista managers, hundreds have been. but how widespread is this? we heard reports of similarfraud in other places and tfl now say as a direct result of bbc london‘s investigation, 1667 applications are now on hold. passengers are getting into those vehicles and they need to know they are safe and to hear parts of that are being forged around london, that is not right, that is really worrying. and tfl need to get a grip on this.

tfl said they would do that and are deeply concerned about the allegations. vista training solutions said they were shocked and are launching an internal investigation. they said managers gerti kamili and abdullah, who ignored us when we got in contact, aren‘t working for them any more. but we finally caught up with gerti. hi, there. can you tell me why you have been arranging qualifications for cash? not me, mate. you have been arranging qualifications for cash. we have got you secretly recorded doing it. why have you been doing it? not me. it‘s not you? no. so who is it we have got secretly recorded? not me. the authorities will be pretty interested in having a chat with this man. the question is — how many other fraudulently obtained licences are out there? you can see more on that investigation on bbc london at 6.30pm and 10.30pm tonight — viewers around the uk can catch up on the iplayer. there was a first on the strictly

dance floor last night as the programme made history with its first ever same—sex couple routine. professionalsjohannes and graziano performed a contemporary dance together on the results show, dancing to "shine" by emeli sande who was singing behind them. the routine got a big reaction online. earlier this year producers of strictly said they were "completely open" to the idea of having a same—sex couple pairing from next year. ben brown will be here shortly with the bbc news at one — before that time for a look at the weather with ben rich. good afternoon. after what was a very windy and wet weekend for many of us, there is more rain in the forecast over the next few days at times, but not all the time. the big story this week is that you will notice a colder feel to the weather. low pressure is in charge at the moment, this low—pressure lumbering its way eastwards, you can see areas of cloud spiralling around on the satellite picture, bringing

outbreaks of rain. showers across the uk, persistent rain across eastern parts of scotland, where they could be some localised flooding and travel problems. also quite windy across scotland, fairly breezy for western coasts as well. temperatures for the rest of today, looking out highs of 10—12. this evening and overnight, we will see some showers for a time in the south, some heavy and sundry, they should slowly ease through the overnight hours, the rain moves out of eastern scotland and in north—east england and starts to peter out to an extent. there will be some clear spells, but generally, quite a lot of cloud, bradley asked —— odd misty patch. temperatures not dropping too far, 5—6. tomorrow, the low— pressure dropping too far, 5—6. tomorrow, the low—pressure slides eastwards and follow the white lines to the north, the isobars, that shows where they went will come from. as tomorrow wears on, the wind will come down from the north. it will start to feel quite chilly. through the day, we will see cloud and outbreaks of

rain, particularly across central and eastern parts of england. some showers further north, these could turn wintry of the very highest ground of scotland, because some colder air will be spreading on here. 8—9d. there are a bit some sunshine for scotland and northern ireland, still into double digits in the south. as we go through the night, the colour drained from the map. we will see some frost in places, temperatures in northern england and scotland particularly in the countryside getting down below freezing. after the cold start to wednesday, we should see some spells of sunshine, one or two showers, however, here is the next area of low pressure from the atlantic. more outbreaks of rain spreading from the west is the day wears on, but top temperatures of 6 degrees in glasgow and 10 degrees in cardiff. towards the end of the week, staying chilly, temperatures struggling to get into double digits and they will be some rain at times.

politicians are warned not to use the heath service as a political weapon during the election. nhs bosses in england say there‘s already a danger of empty promises — creating unrealistic expectations. let‘s try and avoid getting into cheap political slogans and trying to weaponise the service as a means of fighting a party political battle. we‘ll be live with our health editor — also this lunchtime. another big name could be about to disappear from the high street — mothercare calls in the administrators. millions of people told to stay indoors to avoid delhi‘s toxic smog. the boss of mcdonald‘s — fired for having a relationship with one of his employees. order, order! and who will follow bercow?