you're watching bbc newsroom live, it's 11 o'clock. these are the main stories this morning: torrential rain causes flooding, mudslides and travel disruption across large parts of northern england. many people were forced to evacuate their homes, others were stranded overnight in a shopping centre. went to leave at 20 to five. in a shopping centre. went to leave at 20 to fiveli went i went to leave at 20 to fiveli went 100 yards out of the staff car park, backing to the staff car park. it took me an error and i have to do so. the snp is about to launch its election campaign. nicola sturgeon‘s party vows to protect the nhs from featuring in any trade deal with america. labour says it'll promise a full year of maternity pay, while the conservatives pledge to attract more foreign workers to the nhs. another delay for crossrail — the firm that's building the railway say it will not open next year.

and the d—day veteran who's raised thousands of pounds for a memorial to remember his fallen comrades. ijust had a job to do, all these fellows did a good job. all these men, these wonderful men. good morning. more than 100 flood warnings are in place across the north of england, following hours of torrential rain. it's caused major disruptions to roads and rail services. dozens of people spent the night in a shopping mall in sheffield after torrential downpours flooded the streets. let's show you these pictures from mansfield from our helicopter.

you can see how the floodwater has raised above many of the businesses there in that business park area. the disruption has been considerable throughout that part of the country. in fact, notjust throughout that part of the country. in fact, not just around throughout that part of the country. in fact, notjust around mansfield, in particular around doncaster as well. the river don was affected. some have described these as almost biblical rain. the rain has eased and all the warnings about heavy rain have gone. as you can see from the vehicle snug in the water, it is going to be a long time before that is back on the road again. the flooding problem is, as chris fawkes was telling us yesterday, we have been hearing throughout the morning, that the amount of rainfall has been considerable already in the autumn. we have had the three—month rainfall we should have had in the first two months. last night and through yesterday some parts of the north of

england saw the amount of flooding, the amount of rainfall, rather, they would normally see in 2a—hours. that gives you some idea of the scale of this. that is a snapshot of the image. you can just this. that is a snapshot of the image. you canjust see one of this. that is a snapshot of the image. you can just see one of the rescue boats that is picking up and helping people. it looks like they have picked up a couple and are giving them a little liftback across the water from wherever they were stranded. it is a delicate operation. it is fine that the rain has cleared and that has helped. the ground is so sudden because of the water in recent months that it does not take a lot for people to be affected. i think many people along the river don would have been pretty shocked by the flood warnings they received this morning. robert hall is in kirk sandall, near doncaster, and joins us now. we are going to stick with the pictures. they are not life pictures but they are pictures from the last half—an—hour. what has been the

scene where you work this morning? what you've got, and i remember this from 2007, dreadful scenes there of flooding, you get a wave of floodwater, is storage, moving down the river system. as we got nearer sheffield, the river don meets other water systems, which increases the amount of water travelling down. so you had these flooding, this effect, moving down. that flood has been continuing to move down. the scenes in sheffield are a lot better today. roads are reopening. the meadowhall shopping centre, where 30 people we re shopping centre, where 30 people were stranded last night, that reopened at ten o'clock this morning. the situation in rotherham has been a lot more serious, extending into the morning. more businesses and homes flooded. 0nwards towards doncaster and indeed past doncaster. kirk sandall, where

iam, is one of past doncaster. kirk sandall, where i am, is one of five areas where there was a red flood warning issued earlier today. that has been lifted. the surge moved down the river. but the risk is still very real. i am standing, to give you an indication of the disruption this has caused, i am standing on kirk sandall railway station. when you look this way it looks normal. but if i swing around, you will see that the railway lines east towards scunthorpe and lincolnshire are completely flooded. there is a big dip in the line. that has filled up with water. very, very severe travel disruption if you are intending to go by rail. if you are travelling certainly in this direction, don't. there are a lot of warnings out there on social media, and local radio. listen to those in terms of road closures and travel disruption. this is going to take

some time to clear. 0bviously eve ryo ne some time to clear. 0bviously everyone is nervously looking at the sky and wondering if there will be further rain. the answer to that question, for the moment in this pa rt question, for the moment in this part of the world, is not severe, they may be showers but there is further rain trekking in the west. the risk is not over. i must say in closing the evacuation call for the red alert in this area and along this stretch of the river don has been lifted in the last hour. thank you very much. i am sure we will talk to you in the course of the morning and at lunchtime. the conservatives say they will make it easierfor doctors and nurses from around the world to work in the uk after brexit, if they win the election. the party would introduce an "nhs visa" as part of a promised points—based immigration system. the prime minister is in the east midlands where he's visiting a hospital. jonathan blake is there. this is one part of our plan to

invest in the nhs. we are putting millions into the nhs. we have plans for tens of thousands more nurses. we have done 17,000 already since this government came in, 17,000 more nurses. we are now trying to address a particular concern, which is nurses from overseas, talented people who need to get here, we need to concertina the time they spend getting their visas and make it easier. that has been welcomed here in this hospital, the kings mill hospital. don't forget, we have also come in the last couple of months, since this new government has been m, since this new government has been in, we have put in another thousand pounds for every nurse in the country to have continuous training. the prime minister is there in the east midlands. jonathan blake is there. good morning. iwant to east midlands. jonathan blake is there. good morning. i want to ask about something boris johnson there. good morning. i want to ask about something borisjohnson is talked about. the consequence of the brexit deal. an announcement about possible checks be discussed between

northern ireland and great britain, making it clear there will be no checks between northern ireland and great britain despite the presence of this invisible border, as it were, in the irish sea? yes, this has been picked up after some comment two the prime minister made with local conservatives in northern ireland last night, when he was saying there were no checks going to happen on goods going from northern ireland into great britain. he has repeated the claim in the interviews you saw today. asked whether he would enforce the different customs paperwork that is needed for goods, making the journey from northern ireland and it into great britain, he said, that's right. that appears to a nswer he said, that's right. that appears to answer a long—standing question as to how, if at all, the government would enforce those different customs arrangements. i think you can hear now from the leader of the snp, nicola sturgeon, nudging her pa rty‘s snp, nicola sturgeon, nudging her party's election snp, nicola sturgeon, nudging her pa rty‘s election campaign. we have re—established our scottish

parliament. we have become a more inclusive and a more tolerant country. we are more european, quite literally, as thousands of our fellow eu citizens have made scotland their home. with the snp in government, the principle of free education has been re—established. we have extended free personal care and abolished prescription charges. we have put the progressive principle back into our tax policy. and we are building a social security system with dignity, fairness and respect at it's very hard. we have kept our national health service in public hands. protecting it from creeping privatisation. and we have the best performing accident and emergency services anywhere in the united kingdom. scotland is a world leader in renewable energy and in the fight against climate change. we are on a path to becoming a zero emissions

country, five years ahead of the re st of country, five years ahead of the rest of the uk. and we are making out rest of the uk. and we are making our voice and our values heard in europe and on the international stage. so we have made real progress. but there is much still to do. as we look to the future we must build a prosperous, sustainable economy, so build a prosperous, sustainable economy, so that everyone can get on in life. we need to become a fairer and a more equal society. in short, we must continue the mission of building a better scotland. but make no mistake, right now many of the gains of the last 20 years, and the promise of a better future, are under threat. scotland's vote to remain in the eu has been ignored. the conservative party has ridden roughshod over the scottish

parliament. for the very first time the uk government has chosen to legislate on devolved matters without the consent of the holyrood parliament. so—called moderate conservatives are in full retreat and the hardline brexit bull —— clerk ultra are on the march. that is surely only a taste of what is to come. the tories number one pledge at this election is to take scotland out of the eu against our will. now i doubt there is anyone in scotland who is not heartily sick of the brexit nightmare. but the boris johnson deal does not get brexit done. itjust johnson deal does not get brexit done. it just opens johnson deal does not get brexit done. itjust opens the door to the next episode of the brexit horror show. is brexit deal covers the exit terms, not the future relationship. ahead of us would like many years of

wrangling over the uk's future economic relationships, justice and security arrangements, fisheries, migration and much more. what we do know is that the tories will take scotland out of the customs union and out of the single market, a trading bloc eight times bigger than the uk alone. that will hit jobs and living standards hard. economic analysis says it will cost every person in scotland £1600. it will ta ke person in scotland £1600. it will take away rights and opportunities and it will put scotland at a competitive disadvantage to northern ireland, with no say over our future. under the tory deal, england will have voted to leave and will leave, wales will have voted to leave, wales will have voted to leave and will leave. northern ireland will get a special deal, a great deal, according to boris johnson in the footage we have seen today. scotland, with the highest

remain vote of any nation in the uk, would be deprived of all of the aspects that make the deal great for northern ireland, and instead be taken northern ireland, and instead be ta ken out of northern ireland, and instead be taken out of the eu against our will. that is undemocratic and it is unfair. but of course that is not even unfair. but of course that is not even the worst of it. the tories have set an impossible deadline to conclude trade negotiations. that means in little over one year there will be a renewed and a very real risk of leaving the eu with no trade deal in place. and you know, that is where the brexit ultras support borisjohnson. they where the brexit ultras support boris johnson. they want a no—deal brexit. and on the present course thatis brexit. and on the present course that is exactly what he will deliver. as for labour, jeremy corbyn still can't even tell us whether he is for remain or roofe or

leave. instead, labour say they will negotiate yet another brexit deal. just like the johnson deal, a carbon deal would take scotland out of the eu against our will. and for the liberal democrats, despite all their talk, maintaining westminster control over scotland, even under borisjohnson, is more important to them than maintaining scotland's place in europe. when it comes down to it, the liberal democrats in scotland are not of the party of remain. they are just another party in westminster. they were rather subject scotland to a tory brexit then give people in scotland a choice over our future. so westminster's priorities can be summed up injust three words. brexit, brexit, brexit. a vote for the snp in contrast is a vote to escape brexit. a vote for the snp is a vote to take scotland's future out

of the hands of boris johnson and a broken westminster system. a vote for the snp is a vote to put scotland's a feature firmly in scotland's a feature firmly in scotland's oz. —— future. the snp is unambiguously scotland bus remain party. we want scotland to remain inside the eu and we want the uk to remain inside the eu. just as we have done over the past three years, snp mps have done over the past three years, snp mps will work with other parties to try to stop the uk from being taken to try to stop the uk from being ta ken out of to try to stop the uk from being taken out of the european union. and if there is a hung parliament after this election, an outcome that could give scotland the balance of power, snp mps give scotland the balance of power, snp mps would seek to form a progressive alliance to lock the tories out of government. 0ur mps will work with others to protect scotland and to advance a

progressive policy agenda across the uk. in particular, we will fight tooth and nail any attempt to expose the national health service to a post brexit a trade deal with donald trump. that is why after this election snp mps would bring forward a new law, and nhs protection bill, to explicitly protect the nhs in all four countries of the uk from being a bargaining chip in future trade deals. that bill would prevent private companies from taking legal action through investment protection or investor state protection measures. it would ensure discounts for expensive medicines will not be at risk. and it would stipulate that before any trade deal could come into force, the scottish parliament and the other devolved legislatures would need to give their explicit consent. no new deal could be

ratified unless the scottish parliament, national assembly for wales and northern ireland assembly, had agreed that the deal did not impact their respective health services. that is a concrete example of how the snp will use our influence at westminster and any party that wants our support will need to match us. and over this campaign the snp will set out other priorities for our mps in the next parliament. not just for scotland, but for the benefit of the uk as a whole. we will demand a real end to austerity, with new investment to support public services and create opportunities for our young people. and an end to billion pound bongs to the dup at the expense of scotland and other parts of the uk. powers over migration, so that we can grow our population, not see a decline, asa our population, not see a decline, as a result of a hostile environment

policy that harms our society and our economy. the immediate devolution of drug laws to allow us to better tackle the public health emergency that we face. powers over employment law so that we can protect workers' rights and increase the living wage. real action on climate change, demanding that the uk was furtherand climate change, demanding that the uk was further and faster and matches the scale of scotland's world leading ambition. an end to the two child cap, the apparent rape close and an end to the iniquity of universal credit which is pushing so many families into poverty. no more nuclear weapons on the clyde and the right of the people of scotland to choose our own future. the snp will always, always stand up for scotland at westminster. and we will always stand up for the progressive values that so many across the uk cherish.

but after these last three years, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that for scotland westminster is utterly broken. it is taking scotland down the wrong path. and it is doing so against our will. 0ur place in europe, the future of our nhs, the kind of country and a society that we want to be, should not be for westminster to decide. and it should certainly not be for a tory government with no mandate in scotland, to impose upon us. at this election, therefore, there is a fundamental question at stake for scotland. who will decide our future? will scotland. who will decide our future ? will it scotland. who will decide our future? will it be borisjohnson, or will it be the people of scotland? my intention is that the people of scotland will decide scotland's future in an independence referendum next year. the snp, of course,

already has a cast—iron mandate for an independence referendum based on our explicit manifesto pledge for the 2016 holyrood election. so if the 2016 holyrood election. so if the snp wins this election in scotland, the question should not be to me or the snp, what would you do if westminster refuses? the question must be to borisjohnson and to westminster, what gives you the right to block the democratic wishes of the people of scotland? that is an undemocratic, untenable and ultimately unsustainable position. there can be, there will be, no westminster veto over scotland's right to choose our own future and build the kind of country we want to be. the fact is, scotland is one of the world's wealthiest countries. we have talents and resources end abundance. —— in abundance. nations

of our size, many with fewer advantages than scotland, many of them top the league for —— national income for health and happiness. with our world—class universities, cutting edge industries, vast green energy potential and one of the world's most highly skilled populations, we should be entering a golden era for scotland. with independence, our country will thrive. and in this election we have a precious opportunity to secure the right to choose that better future. so my message to the people of scotland at this vital, defining election is this. if you are sick of the chaos that you have seen played out at westminster on television at night after night after night, vote snp to escape brexit. if you fear the prospect of an increasingly extreme right wing tory government under borisjohnson, extreme right wing tory government under boris johnson, vote extreme right wing tory government under borisjohnson, vote snp to

deprive him of the majority he craves. if you despair at the jeremy corbyn and his lack of leadership on brexit, vote snp to make sure that scotland's voice is heard. and if you believe that this isn't about scotland are best taken by the people of scotland, that the future should be ours to determine, not imposed upon us by the likes of borisjohnson, vote imposed upon us by the likes of boris johnson, vote snp imposed upon us by the likes of borisjohnson, vote snp to put scotland's future into scotland's oz. and then let's get on with the job of building a better, fairer european nation for this and for the generations to come. thank you very much indeed. applause. nicola sturgeon there. a message we will be hearing a lot about. let's listen in to the questions and a nswe rs. i will take some questions from the

press. brian? you said at one point that you are looking at options as to ways to thwart brexit. are you no wholly focused on independence as a way to thwart and reverse brexit, rather than westminster? westminster? we will not give up on trying to stop brexit for the whole of the uk. i think the positions of the other parties make brexit look ever more inevitable. but other parties are deeply split. we will see what the arithmetic is in the house of commons after this election. just as my colleagues, many of them here today, have done in the past three and years, we will work to find alliances and build majorities in

the house of commons to support brexit. we will support a second eu referendum if there is a majority for it. that is if it came down to a choice between revoking article 50 ora choice between revoking article 50 or a no—deal brexit. we would vote for revoking article 50. we cannot rely for our own future on good sense breaking out at westminster because we may, in the experience of the last few years, be waiting a very, very long time. that's why, central to this campaign from the snp, is the message that if we want to build the kind of country we know scotland can be, we must take that future into our own hands. the people of scotland have a choice of who decides. is it borisjohnson? whatever the future, either people are scotland going to decide that? that question essential to snp campaign. colin... you say that westminster's position

in scotland... we heard from the prime minister yesterday. how do you break that boris blockage? well, it has not proved particularly hard for anybody so far to break the boris blockage. you couldn't break the theresa may blockage. nothing boris johnson has said during his short tenure as prime minister has turned out to be the case. where that should give us all hope for the future. i will make two points on this. firstly, if you listen to borisjohnson plasma this. firstly, if you listen to boris johnson plasma comments yesterday, what he appeared to be saying to scotland, pretty much in terms, is, idon't saying to scotland, pretty much in terms, is, i don't care how scotland votes. however you vote, terms, is, i don't care how scotland votes. howeveryou vote, i terms, is, i don't care how scotland votes. however you vote, i am going to ignore you. now i would say to the people of scotland, this election is a great opportunity for us election is a great opportunity for us to show boris johnson exactly what we think of such a contemptuous and disrespectful attitude towards scottish democracy. but secondly, the position borisjohnson articulated yesterday is not a

sensible serious or sustainable position, that he would like scottish democracy forever and a day. and i will predict, confidently, that that position he articulated yesterday, will turn out to have a shelf life only about as long as his, we will leave the european union and the 315t of october do or die, or will i will be deadin october do or die, or will i will be dead in adh otherwise. —— in adh. this is not a man whose word can be taken this is not a man whose word can be ta ken seriously. this is not a man whose word can be taken seriously. more fundamentally, it is the power of public opinion in scotland that will see that position proving to be unsustainable. we already see it crumbling beat before our eyes already see it crumbling beat before our eyes and the labour party. i don't think it would be long before we see don't think it would be long before we see it elsewhere. robert? first minister, you said you are seeking a fiscal alliance to keep the tories out of government. ——

political alliance. does that mean you are seeking to putjeremy political alliance. does that mean you are seeking to put jeremy corbyn into numberio? you are seeking to put jeremy corbyn into number 10? you alsojust said that you think that boris johnson's said he would never support an independence referendum. so are their circumstances in which you could support a borisjohnson government? no. ina word. applause. can i just ina word. applause. can ijust make clear the snp position? if there is a hung parliament after this election, which in many ways is potentially the best outcome for scotland because it gives us a significant influence and power in that scenario. i don't get to choose the leaders of the uk political parties. i think it's fair to say if i did

none of the current incumbents would be in those positions. and that, i guess, is my way of saying, i'm no fan ofjeremy guess, is my way of saying, i'm no fan of jeremy corbyn. guess, is my way of saying, i'm no fan ofjeremy corbyn. but we have to work with what we have before us. i would never support a conservative government. i can't foresee the snp being ina government. i can't foresee the snp being in a formal coalition but would would look, as we said in the previous two general elections, to form alliances that could keep the tories out of power. as i said today, we would drive a hard bargain. they would be significant issues we want to advance for any support from the snp. any party, whether it is labour after the election, that finds itself in a minority situation needs the support of other parties. i can see that from experience. i am the leader of a minority government across the way from here right now. that position gives god and significant political influence. the first step we have to ta ke influence. the first step we have to take to make sure we can get there is to vote in a way in scotland that helps deprive boris johnson of the

majority he wants. that puts the snp in the driving seat of the progress we want to see. just to be clear then, are you saying the price of you assisting jeremy corbyn into downing street in the event of a hung parliament would bea the event of a hung parliament would be a promise from him explicitly to have an independence referendum next year? that is not something i am saying today that is new. i said are just a few weeks ago. any party that does not respect this fundamental principle that it is for the people of scotland to decide the future and whether that is independence or not, thatis whether that is independence or not, that is for the people are struggling to decide, any party that does not respect that, needn't bother picking up the phone to the snp to look for support. that is a clear p —— principle we have articulated. as i set out though, they would be many other issues we would seek to advance, to end

austerity, until such times as scotland is independent, the evolution of significant powers that we need to tackle the challenges we face here. greater items from uk governments on climate change, so they would be a significant number of things. it's gotten's interest. but many of these in the interest of the whole uk. —— in scotland's and stress. yes was long winded way of that question. the shorter version is yes. first minister, you just said that a vote for the snp would be a vote to escape brexit. given that it will be the conservatives or the labour party most likely to form the next government, isn't the best chance to escape brexit for scottish people to vote labour and then at least get a second referendum? it's hard for anybody to conclude. i think you can ta ke anybody to conclude. i think you can take that the short answer that question is no. i will give you a longer winded one. don't even know

whether, in a future referendum on theissue whether, in a future referendum on the issue of european union membership, which as i said earlier the snp would support, we don't even know if the leader of the labour party would be arguing for the uk to remain in the eu or to leave the eu. how any leader of any party in this election can ask people to vote for them when they can't even give a straight answer on that big defining question of the day, is frankly beyond me. studio: nicola sturgeon is taking questions at the formal launch of the smp‘s party election campaign in edinburgh. the snp is the third

party at westminster at the moment. let's talk to norman smith. what was striking, sitting here, and i know you will have listened closely, you have listened to many of her speeches over the years, and they are becoming more bullish about this question about another independence referendum. but she said explicitly that a vote for the snp is a vote to escape brexit. i was struck by how forthright she placed brexit at the very centre of her election pitch. pretty much saying that the snp would stop brexit by any means they could find, whether that was by forming alliances with other parties at westminster if there was a hung parliament, whether that was supporting moves to campaign for another referendum, whether that was trying to vote article 50, or that was to vote straightforwardly through scottish independence. stopping brexit was, basically, the

bottom line of her pitch. interestingly, she clearly indicated that the snp would be prepared to supportjeremy corbyn going into number ten if there was a hung parliament as one route to achieving that. although, she set the bar pretty high, i thought, for any sort of agreement with labour, suggesting labour would not only have to sign up labour would not only have to sign up to another independence referendum next year, she also suggested they would want an end to nuclear weapons on the clyde, that she would want control of immigration policy, that she would wa nt immigration policy, that she would want the reversal of various cuts to benefits, and a whole other list of policies. the price would be pretty high to get her support. but equally it's clear that she is in the market to do some sort of deal in the event ofa to do some sort of deal in the event of a hung parliament. she was open about it, saying, we are prepared to form what she called a progressive alliance. she acknowledged that a hung parliament might be the best outcome for the snp in terms of

leverage. interesting, too, i thought, that she suggested that scotla nd thought, that she suggested that scotland would be disadvantaged in comparison to northern ireland if boris johnson's comparison to northern ireland if borisjohnson's deal went comparison to northern ireland if boris johnson's deal went ahead. because northern ireland, of course, will retain access to the single market. scotland won't. she suggested under the boris johnson deal that people in scotland will be £1600 per year worse off. she also suggested, as others have, that if no final trade agreement is reached by the end of next year, then "no deal" is very much back on the table. for her, this election, she said it herself, this election is about brexit, brexit, brexit. norman smith there in edinburgh, at the snp's smith there in edinburgh, at the snp‘s campaign launch, thanks very much. let's take a pause from all of the election excitement and join jane dougal at the bbc sport centre for excitement of her own. chuckles

we start with an incredible performance from darren mallan in what was a must win game in the fourth match of their series with new zealand. england had to win to ta ke new zealand. england had to win to take it to a decider. —— it was a day to remember for dawid malan. as he scored the quickest century by an england player in their fourth twenty20 international against new zealand. they had to win to take it to a decider. and were put into bat, before malan and eoin morgan took the new zealand attack apart. morgan made 91 and malan went on to reach his century off just 48 balls. new zealand needed a huge 2112 to win and fell 76 runs short. mat parkinson taking 4 wickets in just his second match. the final match is in auckland on sunday. chrisjordan chris jordan got the final wicket. celtic have confirmed that a third fan was stabbed. for celtic, it was a huge win, beating lazio to— one. three goals for manchester united, meaning both sides have qualified for the knockout stages. wins for

the two other british sides in action. here are the details... in rome there is history wherever you look, but for these fans a first win on italian soil was priceless, because celtic and rod stewart are sailing into the next round. when you have never beaten an italian side on home soil before, the last thing you need is to give them the lead. that's a go with the head start and celtic off their game until a moment of magic from james forrest brought them back in it. the italians knew that rome couldn't be conquered in 90 minutes. theyjust did not think about the 95th. the cutest of touches and the coolest finishes. it is historic. qualifying. we have a lot of work to do in the new year domestically, but it is an amazing night for the team. back home in glasgow, rangers were ready for everything porto could

throw at them. the home side the smacker backs against the wall. but with alfredo morrell is on your team you always have a chance. rangers on the brink of the last 32. —— alfredo morelos. the smile was almost back, 0le gunnar solskjaer‘s side slipped into a 0le gunnar solskjaer‘s side slipped intoa gear 0le gunnar solskjaer‘s side slipped into a gear they have rarely found this season, pace, precision and clinical finishing this season, pace, precision and clinicalfinishing in front this season, pace, precision and clinical finishing in front of goal. greenwood got the first. anthony martial got the pic of them. marcus rashford slammed in their third. united through with two games to spare. wolverhampton not far behind them, the wanderers almost into the knockout stages. after they sealed their win over slaven bratislava. a memorable night for british football. on to golf — and tiger woods has named himself as one of his captain's picks for next month's presidents cup against the international team in melbourne. woods has also picked two rookies — the current us open champion gary woodland and tony finau.

woods is the first "playing captain", of a presidents cup team and had a bit of fun whilst announcing it as captain, i'm going to choose tiger woods as the last player on the team. he's made, what, nine cups? and he's played in australia twice. this will be his third appearance there as a player. i am talking in the third person!” appearance there as a player. i am talking in the third person! i was just about to say, third person target is my favourite person, let's see what we can do here. —— third person tiger. back to you. thank you. the delayed cross rail will not open next year, that's the latest setback to the project which has cost £20 million so far. the chief executive of crossrail has suggested that services will begin as soon as is possible in 2021. it

was initially due to be completed in december last year. the latest position had been that it would have opened between october next year and march the year after, which will be 2021. they are not going to be able to make that. they pushed it forward, effectively, to some time in 2021. it could be before march. but the risk there is that it will be later in the year now. just to remind you what it is, so, the elizabeth line... when it is finished... as it is going to be called, will run from reading, i will start there, reading in berkshire, through paddington station, liverpool street station, and out to the east, shenfield in

essex. it is that section between paddington and liverpool street which is the crucial one, because the rest is overground. this is the bit they have tunnelled. they did the tunnelling on time between paddington and liverpool street, but it appears that all of those safety checks that they need to do before handing over to transport for london, which looks after transport in the capital, and also testing of the signalling is taking much longer than they expected. that adds a lot of cost of the process. it was going to cost around £14.5 billion. now we are talking about £18.5 billion. that is £4 billion more. crossrail is politically on safer ground than nh" is politically on safer ground than n h —— than hs2 because a lot of the physical engineering work has been done, whereas for hs2 a lot of that still needs to be done and they are still needs to be done and they are still at fairly early stages. crossrail will still happen. at the cost issues, and again, it raises

theissues cost issues, and again, it raises the issues about project oversight, the issues about project oversight, the ability to commission projects, and hold them to the commitments they have made. this very topic has come up when looking at the two big political parties' come up when looking at the two big political pa rties' plans come up when looking at the two big political parties' plans to increase their spending massively on infrastructure. particularly the labour party. and can they actually get these products to happen in time? there is crossrail, all of those problems with hs2, which you have referred to, but also the hospital projects. do you remember those ones which have been delayed, as well? with carillion when it went under. it is difficult to make these big projects happen quickly. you can see it with crossrail. as you say, hopefully that will now happen in 2021, but it's a bad example for the rest. 2021 won't actually be the com plete rest. 2021 won't actually be the complete finishing of it. because those sections are referred to, the signalling will not be smooth between them all in 2021. it'll take another year before we can say that

another year before we can say that a train would be able to run all the way from reading through to shenfield. effectively with no extra... yes, people might have to change in between. and the whole point is that they shouldn't have to do that. yes, it's going to take another six months to get each section running, another year, possibly, in total, 2022, may be. when you talked about the election plans for the two parties, i remember when it was a running joke backin remember when it was a running joke back in the early days of the coalition where almost every photo of george osborne was with him with a hard hat on, and there was a lot of talk about projects. a lot of frustration for governments especially when these politicians come up with these projects. then they find that the process is not only hard to do, sometimes harder than they had been told, but also finding people with the correct skills. particularly in engineering, particularly in underground engineering, whether skills are rarer. and you have an international market where people can work wherever they want in the world, it makes that much harder. we shouldn't forget that some of these projects

are hugely ambitious. crossrail, hs2, is welcome at times they are the biggest in europe of their kind. so, they are very ambitious, they are risky, they are at risk of delays. and then there is only a limited pool of talent. perhaps it would be more limited after brexit, as well. there are those issues to think about, as well. what we have done so far is fantastic. it's just late. simon, good to end on a positive note, thank you very much. it sounds like an impossible task to read all of the dna of every single nonhuman living thing on earth, but, thatis nonhuman living thing on earth, but, that is what scientists around the world a re that is what scientists around the world are trying to do over the next decade which should help find new medicines for disease and new crops to resist climate change. £9.4 million in extra funding hasjust been assigned for tree of life. we went to see what one of them, near

norwich, is going to do with it. we are taking a sample of all of them dotted we can see what living things are in there. even the most cutting edge global science can start with a pond and a selfie stick. i am assuming it is teeming with life because you cannot see anything in it. when we look under a microscope we shall see. this is the tiny part of one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever. to read the dna of all of the nonhuman life on earth! that is every plant, animal, fun guy, and single cell organism, including the ones in the pond where these guys work. —— fungi. it's been exciting. lots of techniques have been evolved for doing single cell sequencing, to analyse the dna of individual cells from humans or mice. we are adapting those technologies. there are things in here which do not have a name? let alone having their dna sequenced, they don't even have a name yet. it is entirely possible, yes. by studying dna from wild

species, they hope to find answers to global problems. like how to read crops to withstand disease and climate change. nature also holds clues to new medicines for humans. so, this is basically malaria, is it? it is. you said one letter could be out and that is why it would kill someone. that's right. 0ne let out of sequence in this particular gene could make a difference between it being resistant or not. and effectively the difference between life and death. over the next decade, ten uk partners will decipher the genetic code of 66,000 species. part of a global effort to sequence 1.5 million living things. with the results are free for all to use. there is huge excitement, really, because this is classic discovery science. it is very reminiscent of the explorers, such as darwin, who went out and collected species to describe them. that then led to theories which

transformed biology. who knows, even the contents of their pond could lead to life changing discoveries. richard westcott, bbc news, norwich. the former wales rugby captain gareth thomas is to take up the role of the first of hiv commissioner for england. he revealed he is living with hiv in september and his new role will see him playing a key part in helping to end hiv transmissions in england. kat smithson is the director of policy at the national aids trust. thank you for coming in. what is the purpose of this questioning of the commission has been set up at the aids trust and colleagues at the terrence higgins trust. it is the commission of independent people from across a range of different sectors who are looking at how to end hiv transmissions by 2030. in terms of the role of gareth thomas, he has obviously been very

high—profile since he has announced he is hiv positive. i think you announced it in september. he's had announced it in september. he's had a lot of support and encouragement from people, particularly given the circumstances which meant he was forced to disclose his status. it wasn't something of his choice. a lot of people are in that situation. they still have to deal with having to tell family, friends, loved ones, also they have to deal with partners, how they handle all of that. what's the situation at the moment with the rate of transmission? there has been lots of positive news on hiv over the last few years, right? yes, we are seeing a decrease in rates of transmission of hiv. and, in particular, this has centred around certain population groups in london. but we are seeing it across the country, as well. this is largely due to effective combination prevention. people being tested more regularly, taking treatment when on hiv treatment you cannot pass the virus on to other people. and also peoplejust cannot pass the virus on to other people. and also people just knowing more and looking at ways to protect themselves and others. in terms of eliminating transmission in a

decade, it is ambitious, isn't it? it's an ambitious target but we believe it is achievable. the government did reconvene its support for this target early on this year. they are supporting the hiv commission. the fantastic thing about this commission is that it is independent, so it can be ambitious about some of the things it'll recommend. in about some of the things it'll recommend. |i1 some about some of the things it'll recommend. in some ways, your aim is to be ambitious because you want to put as much pressure as you can on government to deliver on this. absolutely. it makes sense for you to be ambitious. we say achievable but it'll be difficult. what about personal responsibility? there has been talk about people becoming complacent about hiv because it isn't the life—threatening condition for most people, at least in this country and most of europe, but it was just a few years ago. country and most of europe, but it wasjust a few years ago. hiv in terms of what it means for an individual when they are diagnosed has changed. it's a long—term health condition. some are diagnosed in good time can take treatment and have —— will have a normal life expectancy. but it does not mean it is easy to live with it. lots of

people will be aware of that. there's not a lot of evidence about complacency, but maybe people don't know that much about hiv as before, and they have the same concerns about it they used to have. somebody like gareth talking openly about the impact of hiv on his own life goes a long way in that. finally, when do you hope the commission will produce its report, and deliver it evidence? the commission is due to report in the spring of next year. we will be gathering evidence from today, so people can submit written evidence. we will be doing oral evidence sessions and gathering evidence over the coming months. thank you very much. i'm sure you will remember the 94 war vetera n much. i'm sure you will remember the 94 war veteran who captured the hearts of millions when he was on brea kfast hearts of millions when he was on breakfast earlier this year. he talked about being the first wave of troops in the d—day landings when he was just 18. troops in the d—day landings when he wasjust18. he said he could never forget his comrades who lost their lives, saying they were heroes. his emotional comments went all over the world. since, he's raised thousands of pounds for a memorial in france and he has been speaking on bbc

brea kfast and he has been speaking on bbc breakfast this morning. what you have been contributing to is a bigger memorial, isn't it? the names of those who died. and the extra money for the education for youngsters. i would like to show you something, because i know it is difficult, isn't it, when you are raising money for something and you cannot see it. if you look at this big screen over here. we can show you what has been done so far. in northern ireland, i believe. this is in normandy. this is it. this is what you have been raising money for and you've never seen this before. never. how does it make you feel? the work you are doing is concrete, tangible, you can touch it. marvellous. how does it feel, harry?

are you 0k? are you ok? yes. it means so much. i'm all right. incredible. take a moment, harry, people will be watching this, watching you and seeing what you have done. yes, well, i did it... they had a job to do. all of these fellows. they did a good job. all of these men, these wonderful men. wonderful memories there and hope for the future, as well. it is now time for the business news. i have all of the business news for you this hour. royal mail is seeking

a high court injunction to stop a postal strike — which threatens to disrupt postal voting in the run—up to the general election as well as christmas post. royal mail claims that that the strike ballot "was unlawful and, therefore, null and void". crossrail — running from heathrow airport to the canary wharf — will not open until 2021. it was supposed to open in december 2018.the company cites delays in signing off all the safety aspects of the elizabeth line and says it is also taking more time than expected to test the signalling software. degree—educated savers are more at risk of losing their pension to fraudsters than those without the qualification — that's according to a survey by the financial conduct authority and the pensions regulator. fraudsters often target those with larger pension pots, but also offering "free pension reviews" to those with savings.actual pension scam victims lost an average of £82,000 last year. first this our... —— first this hour... despite deep autumn discounting and early seasonal

promotions, high street sales collapsed in the last week of october following further brexit delays and the announcement of a december general election. that's according to new figures released today by the accountancy and business advisory firm bdo reveal. well, sophie michael is head of retail and wholesale at bdo, the author of that reports and joins me know. isn't all doom and gloom on the high street, or were there some bright spots in october? because some elements appear to be doing rather well. overall in october we saw a slight increase. as you said, that last week really fell off into negative drops in sales. i think, as you said, again, in order to achieve that slight increase in october retailers have heavily discounted. there are reports out saying that they discounted deeper than we have seen for a number of years in retail. inevitably, that's going to hurt, because not only are they being hit by increases in cost, but,

at the same time, discounting is going to erode further those thin margins. if footfall was down, how our customers taking advantage of that deep discounting that he referred to, and those pre—season offers ? referred to, and those pre—season offers? fitful is down. really, yes, retailers have this increase in cost. —— footfall is down. but retail is going through big changes. we talk about that shift online, and at the same time consumer behaviour and preferences are changing. people are shopping a lot more online, which is driving me footfall —— the footfall down. retailers have to encourage customers back into their stores. lots of people heading online to get those discounts. what is the answer? what can retailers do to encourage people to get back into the shops and back onto the high street? unfortunately, despite the

stats, retailers need to invest in the experience they are giving to customers. the customer is looking for the experience, as well as the deals, it is a case of they cannot stand still, they need to invest in the experience, continue to create a product which truly meets their customer, and truly understand their customer, and truly understand their customer, and truly understand their customer, and deliver a service across all of their channels, which is quite seamless. it is a big ask. but they need to continue to focus on all of those areas. sophie, we need to leave it there, but sophie michael, thank you very much. hundreds of millions of pounds of ca re hundreds of millions of pounds of care home fees paid by residents to local authorities are not reaching front line services. —— residents and local authorities. it claims £1.5 billion per year leaks out through rental payments, interest on loa ns, through rental payments, interest on loans, and profits. another quick business story to tell you about.

investors in jd business story to tell you about. investors injd wetherspoons are being urged to reject the firm's annual report over its failure to clear pro—brexit spending. the shareholder says the promotion broke company law. wetherspoon spent nearly £95,000 on prone leave beer mats, posters, and booklets during the referendum campaign in 2016. last year, with the general election looming, what are the biggest challenges facing the uk economy? inequality in the housing market, poverty amongst working people, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are all among them. if you head online to the bbc business page you will find this exclusive bbc analysis piece which was commissioned by experts from the institute for fiscal studies. we do not have time to do the markets this hour. that's all for now. back to the studio. studio: something to look forward to. now, a look at the weather and simon is at the map.

there has been some flooding through yesterday and overnight. many waking up yesterday and overnight. many waking up this morning to some pretty flooded streets. this is matlock. we still have warnings or enforcement from the environment agency. many more across northern areas of england, just normal flood warnings, and you can see the rainfall from the last 36 hours. 0ver and you can see the rainfall from the last 36 hours. over a month's worth fell in the pennines. that rain is moving south. that's the situation now. patchy rain across east anglia and the south—east of england. for many, a much drier and brighter day compared with yesterday. this is the scene at the moment in shropshire. towards the south—east, we will continue with cloud, add mix of rain, for east anglia and the south—east, showers coming into eastern areas of england. elsewhere, it is dry, lengthy spells of sunshine. still quite chilly, maximum temperature is about six to 11 celsius. through this evening, these showers, and the cloud in the south—east, will gradually disappear. then we are looking at a lot of clear skies

overnight tonight. it'll turn quite cold. look at the blues here across scotland, england and wales. they will be a widespread frost into saturday morning. temperatures widely below freezing. not as cold in northern ireland, but that is because we have a weather system moving in. that'll bring heavy rain to eastern northern ireland, in particular. this area of cloud and rain will spread further east during saturday and pivot, it'll move to the south—east of england later on. you can see the heavy rain as it moves through. there will be a spell of snow over the high grounds of wales, perhaps the midlands, the hills here, and perhaps even southern areas of the pennines, as well. further north and east, dry on saturday, really quite cold wherever you are, temperatures struggling again in single figures. through sunday, this system will sink south and we can all the while. if you have events going on, if you are going to your local cenotaph, plenty

of dry and sunny weather around on sunday. but you might want to wrap up sunday. but you might want to wrap up warm because it'll feel chilly once again. those temperature six, seven, eight celsius in northern areas, perhaps up to 10 degrees further south. how about next week? changeable, really, sums everything up. we will see spells of rain moving their way through. some drier, brighter interludes. a bit of sunshine but fairly chilly nights when you get those quieter days. goodbye.

you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's midday and these are the main stories this morning. the environmental agency says flooding caused by torrential rain across northern england could be a danger to life. many people have been forced to evacuate their homes, others were stranded overnight in a shopping centre. the snp launch their election campaign, promising to introduce legislation to protect the nhs from future trade deals. it would stipulate that before any trade deal could come into force, the scottish parliament and the other devolved legislatures would need to give their explicit consent. meanwhile, labour says it'll pay a full year of maternity pay, while the conservatives pledge to attract more foreign workers to the nhs. another delay for crossrail —

the firm that's building the railway says it will not now open next year. and the d—day veteran who's raised thousands of pounds for a memorial to remember his fallen comrades. ijust had a job to do, all these fellows did a good job. all these men, these wonderful men. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. more than 100 flood warnings are in place across the north of england, following hours of torrential rain. dozens of people spent the night in a shopping mall in sheffield after torrential downpours flooded the streets. it's caused major disruptions to roads and rail services. here are some dramatic aerial pictures of sheffield and the meadowhall shopping mall.

dozens of people were forced to spend the night in the mall after the streets were flooded. it is surrounded by water. it is as ifa giant it is surrounded by water. it is as if a giant moat has been established around the shopping centre. flooding can coal —— pose a major threat to life. it is no wonder police were encouraging people to stay indoors and not travel unless absolutely necessary. you can get a sense of scale from these pictures. try and imagine now you are down on the ground, wading through that water. tha nkfully ground, wading through that water. thankfully the rain has stopped. it will take some time for the flooding to recede. the rain, the ground had been saturated anyway with three months worth of rain over the first two months of the autumn. we have just gone on november and some parts of yorkshire have seen the rainfall in 24 hours that they would have been a month. it has been pretty intense. thankfully the rain has

held off today. there is still some flooding that back to allow the water to drain away completely. the rain will return at some point. those are the scenes earlier this morning. it will be some time before that water recedes. here are more aerial shots of the extensive flooding heading towards rotherham. houses submerged in the water. firefighters have been out through the course of the morning rescuing people by boat after they were stranded in the parkgate centre. residents have been told to stay at home and not leave until they are asked to leave by the emergency services. leaving can be more risky than remaining. that is a call emergency services have to make in different part of the region according to what is affected. here's a street in bentley, also in doncaster. six severe weather warnings. a

danger to life along the river don. the environment agency is urging people to take the warnings seriously. keep date if you can either on bbc local radio or various social media mechanisms the environment agency now uses. earlier, robert hall spoke to us from quicksand sandal near doncaster and described the scene where he was. what you have got, and i remember this from 2007, you get a wave of floodwater, a surge moving down the river system. near sheffield the river don meets other water systems, which increases the amount of water travelling down. so you have had face of flooding, this effect, moving down. sorry about the background noise. somebody is doing some work over my shoulder. i shall carry on. that flood had been continuing to move down. the scenes

in sheffield are better today. roads reopening, the meadowhall shopping centre, in which 30 people were stranded last night, that reopened at ten o'clock this morning. the situation in rotherham a lot more serious. extending into the morning. businesses and homes flooded. in doncaster and parts of doncaster, kirk sandall is one of five areas where there was a red flood warning issued earlier today. that has been lifted. the risk is still very real. iam standing, lifted. the risk is still very real. i am standing, it gives you an indication of the disruption, i am standing on kirk sandall railway station, which, when you look this way, looks perfectly normal. if i swing around, you will see that the railway lines east towards scunthorpe railway lines east towards scu nthorpe and lincolnshire, railway lines east towards scunthorpe and lincolnshire, are com pletely scunthorpe and lincolnshire, are completely flooded. there is a big holler, a dip in the line here. that is filled with water. very, severe

travel disruption if you are intending to go by rail. the answer today, if you are travelling in this direction, don't. check. there are a lot of warnings out there on social media, and local radio. listen to those in terms of road closures, travel disruption to rail and buses. this will take some time to clear. 0bviously everyone is nervously looking the sky wondering whether there will be further rain. the a nswer to there will be further rain. the answer to that question, for the moment in this part of the world, not severe. there may be showers but there is further rain threatening in there is further rain threatening in the west. the risk isn't over, although i must say enclosing that the evacuation the red alert in this area and along this stretch of the river don, has been lifted in the last hour. robert hall. we can talk to robert cramp, who was stranded in chesterfield yesterday because of the flooding.

thank you for speaking to us. what happened to you yesterday?m thank you for speaking to us. what happened to you yesterday? it was normal rain, it was heavy rain, not torrential. part of chesterfield flooded. and for some reason they just brought everything of the m1 into chesterfield from the staveley area. it was gridlock everywhere. into chesterfield from the staveley area. it was gridlock everywherem was a massive trafficjam as much as the weather? yes, coming into chesterfield. people getting home we re chesterfield. people getting home were stranded. it was gridlock. the buses were two hours behind. 90% of people accepted that. theyjust wa nted people accepted that. theyjust wanted to get home. they had been at work all day or doing something. was ita work all day or doing something. was it a short wait in the end?” work all day or doing something. was it a short wait in the end? i was very lucky. it was literally, there is no bus, i'll book a taxi. it was a two hour wait for a taxi. that was

about half past six. an hour and a half, to hours roughly for a taxi. i got onejust after half, to hours roughly for a taxi. i got one just after eight. at quarter past seven the bus driver was coming around with another gentleman. they we re around with another gentleman. they were lovely. for some reason chesterfield had just stopped all buses. along before you finally got home? it was a long day? it was. i managed to get a taxi. they pulled all the buses off. 0ne street in chesterfield, which is a second road, basically ready buses come in and go out, the top end of chesterfield, that was absolutely chock—a—block with people waiting for buses. cold, wet, hardly any shelter. it was literally they stopped all the buses and the taxi firms then were absolutely inundated

with people because that was the only way they could get home. we got a taxi, we got back. 20 minutes, normal time. the roads were clear. thank you very much. good to hear things worked out for you and your patience paid off. lots of people had very disruptive day yesterday because of the weather. thankfully, nothing really bad happened. it could have been a lot worse. people's patience and stoicism probably played a part. the scottish national party has launched its election campaign this morning by promising to bring forward an nhs protection bill, which would stop the nhs from being included in future trade deals. if passed it would also give devolved parliaments in scotland, wales and northern ireland a veto on any deal. let's now speak to our assistant political editor norman smith.

he has been in edinburgh at the launch. you are still smiling, norman, but it is only the first week! there is something to smile about in that we do have a very clear, simple, uncomplicated message from nicola sturgeon. it is, stop brexit. it couldn't be any clearer. her view is she is prepared to back any means to stop it, whether that is forming alliances with other parties, pressing for another referendum, voting for revoke, or securing scottish independence and keeping scotland in the eu. i thought too she gave the clearest indication so far she would be prepared to work with jeremy indication so far she would be prepared to work withjeremy corbyn to help him into downing street if there was a hung parliament, provided he backed another independence referendum next year. there were some other conditions too. noticeably removing nuclear weapons from scotland and granting

the scottish parliament control over its own immigration policy. joining me is the snp westminster leader ian blackford. you couldn't get much more of a simple election message? absolutely. i think what we're doing is giving leadership to the people of scotland. if we got back to we had a referendum on independence in scotland. in that campaign we were told specifically if scotland stayed within the uk we would be remaining within the uk we would be remaining within europe, our rights as eu citizens would be respected. as things stand at the moment it looks as if we could be leaving the european union against our will. we have a responsibility to stand up for people in scotland who voted remain. 62%. we have got that insurance policy that we have a mandate for an independence referendum, which we won in the scottish elections bill 2016, and we are serious about saying to whoever is in downing street to respect democracy. the message to the people of scotland is a vote for the snp in this election is a vote for the right of the people of scotland to

choose their future. whoever is in downing street has to respect the votes of the people of scotland. let's be clear, the person you need in downing street isjeremy corbyn? well, we will do what we can to make sure that we defeat the tories here in scotland. parties elsewhere are responsible for their own obligations in england, wales and northern ireland. but if you want to stop brexit, jeremy corbyn is your best vehicle to do that? we don't wa nt best vehicle to do that? we don't want borisjohnson best vehicle to do that? we don't want boris johnson to best vehicle to do that? we don't want borisjohnson to be in power. we don't want to see brexit happening. but at the end of the day, whoever is elected as prime minister throughout the united kingdom, has to respect the votes of the people in scotland. send a majority of snp snp is —— msps to reinforce the mandate we have. nobody can export —— ignore the express wishes of the scottish people. they need that referendum. the clear message from nicola sturgeon is that it has to be a referendum next year. is there room to move? the labour party have said

they would be prepared to consider another independence referendum, just not in the formative years, maybe you four or five? we want to put people unnoticed there is a referendum bill going through the scottish parliament. it passed its first bill yesterday. we are serious about the people of scotland having the right to determine their future. let's remember the transition period in place for the uk at the moment ends at the end of next year. come what may, we will be out of the single market and the customs union. we need to make sure we protect our position. the position of having referendum in 2020 is absolutely non—negotiable. referendum in 2020 is absolutely non-negotiable. and how non—negotiable too was the demand for nuclear weapons to be removed from the river clyde? i'm proud that the snp for many decades has been absolutely resolute, that we don't wish to see nuclear weapons on scottish soil. trident must be removed from the clyde. that is one of the reasons we want independence. we will not tolerate these weapons of mass destruction. the threat they

are to our communities must be removed. ian blackford. thank you. let me just say well —— say farewell to viewers on bbc two. we are carrying on with this coverage on the bbc news channel. you are talking about the demands nicola sturgeon would make ofjeremy corbyn. do you accept if borisjohnson wins it is game overfor if borisjohnson wins it is game over for the snp? he if borisjohnson wins it is game overfor the snp? he was here yesterday, saying under no circumstances, no circumstances, whatever happened in the election here, what he countenance another referendum? this comes from a man who said we were leaving the european union on october 31 do or die, he would die in that bitch. i don't think people take one word he says seriously. what he said yesterday would be... he is going to have to accept we already have a mandate in scotland. he cannot stand in the face of that popular opinion

in scotland. determining we have to have a say in future. he cannot stand in the face of that. you can't turn around to the scottish people and say you can devote for whatever you like. we are going to ignore you. that is not a terrible position —— tenable position. we will be having that referendum. thank you for your time. the message here is clear. this election is about three words. brexit, brexitand brexit. norman smith, thank you. let's look further into the snp claims. particularly as the party says each scot would be £1600 worse off under boris johnson's scot would be £1600 worse off under borisjohnson's deal. joining scot would be £1600 worse off under boris johnson's deal. joining us scot would be £1600 worse off under borisjohnson's deal. joining us is a bbc news statistician. where do you think this figure comes from?m comes from a scottish government report that looks at the effect of

different possible deals that could be struck with the european union. it examines their effect on the size of the economy in 2030. if we look at what she said, nicola sturgeon said borisjohnson's at what she said, nicola sturgeon said boris johnson's deal would at what she said, nicola sturgeon said borisjohnson's deal would take scotla nd said borisjohnson's deal would take scotland out of the customs union and single market and that will hit jobs and living standards hard. economic analysis says it would cost every person in scotland 1600 quid. the figure itself, you know the source, but have they extrapolated it appropriately? well, the first thing to say, it is looking at the size of the economy. that is not the same asjobs size of the economy. that is not the same as jobs or raw living standards. that is not income per person. trying to say this is gdp, which is what they are looking at, dividing it by the number of people in saying that is the effect, is not fair. gdp includes profit, includes companies, not just people. fair. gdp includes profit, includes companies, notjust people. to say that will affect wages out wealth, is not accurate. in terms of what we

know about the kind of numbers —— the kind of way numbers are used, how difficult is this to kind of keep across this? a lot of these numbers are not just keep across this? a lot of these numbers are notjust that events like this, which are very high—profile, but they are appearing on social media, dispersed and all kinds of ways. it is hard enough for you to do this. it's really hard for the voters? i think it is. you to do this. it's really hard for the voters? ithink it is. it eagerly when you see claims like this. it is notjust what the politicians say, which is worded quite carefully. it is the inferences you can take from it. for example, if you here, iam inferences you can take from it. for example, if you here, i am going to be £1600 worse off, you might think, thatis be £1600 worse off, you might think, that is worse off than i am today. that is not the case at all. we are talking about the effect on 2030. by which time we believe the economy will have grown, the economy will continue to grow all the way. they are saying that under different deals, it may grow a little bit less or more. we're not saying you would be worse off than are today but it might... backin of stuff gets lost.

a huge problem notjust in terms of political claims, but even someone like the governor of the bank of england will be working scenarios and those scenarios have so many variables, you can question really how much to extrapolate? exactly. this is looking at one flavour of the possible deals we could get, when possible brexit scenario. there are tomily possible. the basic a nswer are tomily possible. the basic answer for are tomily possible. the basic answerfor a are tomily possible. the basic answer for a lot of this stuff is, who knows? it is they who knows election. the very —— very well put. i'm going to steal that from you, the who knows election! thank you very much. the parties have been warned. borisjohnson boris johnson says borisjohnson says the uk will be one singles customs territory. jonathan blake joins us.

one singles customs territory. jonathan blakejoins us. tell us about this claim and the criticism there has been? good morning. we are en route from the second of the prime minister's campaign visits today. at least the third day of campaigning in the general election campaign, travelling from the east midlands to north wales. today the prime minister wanted to be talking about his new nhs visa, which he claims would make it cheaper and easierfor workers from overseas to come and workers from overseas to come and work on the nhs. roughly halving the cost, going some way, the tories would hope, to address a significant staffing shortage in the nhs. those, thes he made at a meeting of local party members in northern ireland last night about his brexit deal, the people are focusing on today, and he was very clear, giving a sales pitch for his deal, that there would be no checks on goods in the uk customs territory. particularly no checks between northern ireland into the rest of the united kingdom. a lot of people have picked up on that, saying the prime minister

doesn't quite understand his own deal. there will be different customs arrangements. for shipments from northern ireland going into great britain. the question is, how is that enforced? the prime minister stuck to his message of no tax on goods when i asked them about this in an interview a little earlier on today. he was at a hospital in the east midlands. this is a great deal for this country. it is ready to go. i asked the whole of the uk to leave the eu. the cheques you need to do comedy tariffs on goods that might be coming via northern ireland from gb into ireland. but the whole of northern ireland and the rest of gb are part of the uk customs territory. and there can be no checks between goods operating in one customs union. we are the uk. we will not be instituting such checks. the advantage of this deal is that we come out whole and entire.

northern ireland, with the rest of the country, can take part in doing free trade deals. and it is a fantastic opportunity for us to go forward. what would be a real shame would be to waste a whole year in renegotiation in another referendum, which is what i'm afraid jeremy corbyn and the labour party are insisting must happen. and i think it would be divisive and toxic. jonathan, you join us en route from campaign visit to campaign visit. these are intensive days of campaigning for the prime minister? they are. it has been a whistle—stop tour of the uk for the prime minister after officially announcing the election earlier this week. yesterday we had visited the north—east of scotland, the east midlands, northern ireland and starting in the south—east as well as the north—east of england. i think in the early days of this campaign we are seeing a lot from

the prime minister going from place to place. it is a very tightly controlled campaign. we have not seen interacting much with members of the public. not yet out and about on walkabouts. perhaps that will come later. certainly the conservatives very keen to have a tightly controlled message in these early stages of the campaign. the prime minister is heading on to a food factory in north wales later today. yesterday the focus was on keeping the union and the uk together. we are hearing more about domestic policies today. a busy five weeks ahead. lots of miles to look forward to. jonathan blake, thank you. let me bring you other news we have heard during the course of the morning. the sentencing of a man convicted of killing 18—year—old thomas griffiths. he has beenjailed for life for the murder of ellie

goulding welch are back in may. you may remember the case. he pleaded guilty to the killing earlier this year. our corresponding days at bristol crown court. good afternoon. remind us of the details of this case, very remind us of the details of this case, very distressing? yeah, it has been a very distressing and a very emotional morning at bristol crown court this morning. in fact, there we re court this morning. in fact, there were so many of ellie goulding's friends and family that listened to the sentencing they had to open a second court room. thomas griffiths was sentenced this morning to 12 and a half yea rs was sentenced this morning to 12 and a half years for the chilling murder of ellie gould. i have been speaking toa of ellie gould. i have been speaking to a grandmother and mother about her life has been without ellie. her life was full and all the opportunities in front of her. yeah, she was a private doctor really.

ellie goulding was just 17. studying for her a—levels when she was murdered by thomas griffiths. the night before she had called off their three month relationship to concentrate on her schoolwork. we welcomed him into our home. he celebrated her 17th birthday with us. three months later he murdered her. it was chilling. on the morning her. it was chilling. on the morning he killed her, his mum took him to school but he caught the bus straight home. despite not having a licence, he took the family car and drove to ellie mike's house. he knew she was at home alone studying. he stabbed her at least 13 times in the neck before going back to school, pretending nothing had happened. three hours later, ellie's dad found her on the kitchen floor.|j three hours later, ellie's dad found her on the kitchen floor. i will never forget that phone call of mad historical saying, you need to drive

home, ellie has had an accident. drive carefully, ellie has had an accident. and then as i pulled around into our drive, nothing could prepare me for a police cars abandoned everywhere and an ambulance at the end of the drive. and matt just ambulance at the end of the drive. and mattjust sobbing at the end of our drive. ijust and mattjust sobbing at the end of our drive. i just ran and mattjust sobbing at the end of our drive. ijust ran to him and a policeman said, who are you? i said iam her policeman said, who are you? i said i am her mother. what has happened? at the same time thomas griffiths was messaging friends about self—harming. we now know the scratches on his neck had come from ellie. she fought for her life. we sat in the back of the police car absolutely stunned and then they said, does she have a boyfriend? and isaid, she said, does she have a boyfriend? and i said, she does. he doted on her. he wouldn't harm her. what does justice mean for you?” he wouldn't harm her. what does justice mean for you? i think it is evil. i don't believe you should be allowed to take another breath,

quite frankly. he is dangerous. i don't think you should ever be let out of prison, he should never be granted parole. he is a danger to society, he is a danger particularly to women. the judge described it as an exceptionally grave crime. thomas griffiths has never explained why he murdered ellie. no mother should ever... hold her dead daughter's county. it was just heartbreaking. every time i see teenage girls, and ijust look, i think, every time i see teenage girls, and ijust look, ithink, oh, ellie. it is just so heartbreaking. ijust look, ithink, oh, ellie. it isjust so heartbreaking. you ijust look, ithink, oh, ellie. it is just so heartbreaking. you are reminded constantly. i can't spend any time in her bedroom. i can't go in. sometimes i look at the photographs on the wall of herand herfriends, but i

look at the photographs on the wall of her and her friends, but i can't stay in for many minutes because it is too painful. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather prospects. good afternoon. the heaviest rain we have seen, the soaking rain and flooding and all of the disruption, well, the disruption continues. the rain is not falling to that degree across parts of yorkshire and derbyshire. some better news today. there are still some showers running down the eastern side of the uk. in northern scotland, wintry to relatively low levels. a chilly afternoon. much of the uk, notjust dry but sunny. showers across parts of eastern england will fade away into tonight. a widespread frost and patchy fog taking hold. temperatures rising in the west later in the night. more rain coming in. that will make for a wet saturday in northern ireland, especially in the

east. 2030 millimetres. some disruption possible. snow to relatively modest hills. in two parts of the midlands, north—west england and southern england. it looks likely heaviest rain will stay away from the areas worst affected by the rain in the past day. those are your temperatures. a chilly start to the weekend. some sunshine in the east. sunday for most is looking dry. that your latest forecast.

this hello this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: people have been evacuated from their homes and there's travel chaos after torrential downpours flooded parts of northern england. the snp launches its election campaign, promising to bring forward legislation to protect the nhs

from future trade deals labour promises a full year of maternity pay while the conservatives unveil a "nhs visa" to attract top medical talent to the uk. and 18—year—old has beenjailed for life for murdering 17 year—old ellie gould in wiltshire in may. and another delay for crossrail — the firm that's building the railway says it will not now open next year. the bbc is announcing a series of election tv debates with party leaders. the broadcaster has invited the uk's leading figures to take part in these debates. it has announced it will broadcast two programmes as long —— as well as a leaders addition of questions. there will also be a separate debate in scotland, wales, and northern

ireland. we can now talk to the head of bbc news gathering, jonathan munro. the big interest has been on whether or not we will see boris johnson and jeremy corbyn are facing off in leaders debates because it is still a relatively new thing in the uk. it is. they came here in 2010. it seems like a lifetime ago! they've changed every election since. and we had a lot of them and a couple of referendums along the way. the big change this time around is that we think the prime minister and the labour leader will debate head to head. a series of head—to—head debates. not all of them on the bbc but one very close to polling day. in fact the last friday of the campaign will be the night when we are inviting the two men who could be prime minister to debate in front of an audience in southampton. in my memory, that'll bea southampton. in my memory, that'll be a first in broadcasting, because we had the first one in the days when we had nick clegg, gordon

brown, and david cameron facing off together but this will be a straight head—to—head. that'll invite criticism and who knows what other action from the lib dems and whoever else. that's true. but i think itv will broadcast their head—to—head after hours. this will be going ahead when people are making up their minds which we think is a public service. there will be a lot of party exposure in the campaign. it is important as part of our public service that people can hear the points, policies, and they can scrutinise and make their minds up across the political spectrum. this programme is the one which might cause the most attention because it isa cause the most attention because it is a head—to—head but it's not the only thing we are announcing because there is involvement from other parties. small parties, medium—sized, and large in the mix. we know the lib dems are already taking one broadcaster to court. as the bbc prepared for that? we don't think it'll go to that. i don't dig any legal action has been announced. the importance of exposure is to see

things as a whole. —— i don't think any legal action. this will be an hour—long programme. there will be debates with the lib dems, snp, plaid cymru, the greens all there. but that's not necessarily the leaders. it could be other senior politicians. effectively, aren't you inviting them not to send their leaders, labour and the conservatives, because they don't wa nt to conservatives, because they don't want to be seen with these other party leaders because it dissipates our impactand party leaders because it dissipates our impact and our campaign? this was debated in cambridge. the prime minister at the time, theresa may, decided not to take part and she sent the then home secretary amber rudd. in the end we think it's more important to have the views of the party represented rather than the leader. viewers can make up their minds between the manifestos and strategies between the parties. people can make a judgment about whether it was the right or wrong thing, whether it says anything about their political allegiance by

not signing up —— are showing up. but that's for voters to decide. for the first time we will bring full micro—party leaders into one addition question time. they won't be head—to—head. —— four party leaders. nicola sturgeon launched her campaign today as has been reported. and joe swinson will be involved, as well. they have lots of things which are important in their campaigns, including brexit, and thatis campaigns, including brexit, and that is where there is blue water between a few of these leaders and we think that's an important addition to the mix of these programmes. thanks very much. details on the bbc website. just a reminder of those big dates for your diary. fiona bruce will be introducing a question time special. we will hear from borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn, joe swinson and nicola sturgeon. the question time

special will be in sheffield. we will see seniorfigures special will be in sheffield. we will see senior figures from the seven major gb political parties in cardiff, not the northern ireland parties, the gb ones. then finally on friday 6th of december, the bbc are spending it its prime ministerial debate, which will be a head—to—head debate between boris johnson and jeremy corbyn. that will be broadcast live from southampton. let's return to the election — and labour have promised a "step—change" in women's working rights if it wins the general election, pledging an increase in the length of statutory maternity pay from nine months to a year. joining us now to discuss labour's pledge on maternity pay, is labour mp cat smith. thank you very much for coming into the studio to talk to us. the big practical issue is about the impact this will have. notjust on women's opportunity to get paid leave from work and a decent amount of money to

live on. but also the impact it will have on business. what calculation have on business. what calculation have you made of that? the policy we are announcing today to increase statutory maternity pay from nine to 12 months will ensure that women are not faced with that choice when their baby is nine months old about whether or not to get their family into debt in order to extend their maternity leave for 12 months, or to return to work and presumably pay out on costly childcare. the policy gives women that extra bit of time to make arrangements and to decide to make arrangements and to decide to go back to work. this is good for both new parents and employers too. the question you asked about the cost to business, of course, that can be reclaimed from government. there should be no additional cost on small businesses. and certainly this is no disincentive to employ women. on that question, you are clearly correct about maternity pay

being reclaimed, that cost will be bore by the taxpayer rather than businesses, but there are other things you are talking about in this policy. for example, rights for people to determine from the start of their employment the hours they would work. at the moment they can make a request to vary their hours but there is no guarantee the employer will do that. and for some small businesses, they will question whether it is something they can actually afford to do. a lot of good businesses and good employers are already doing these things. what we are talking about... where there was are talking about... where there was a bit of crossover... forgive me, it does not mean you are a bad employer if you are worried about the cost of doing this and the applications it might have for your business. i appreciate your point about good employers, but if somebody is worried about the cost and viability of their business, does not make them a bad employer. where there is a business case that you are not able, as an employer, offer an

employee flexible working, those protections are already there. we know in this country we have fewer workers who have requested and got that flexible working than other similar economies. we already know that british workers are less likely to have flexible working in place. we know we need to do something else to try and help more workers where it is possible for businesses to offer it to allow workers to work flexibly, to make work work around theirfamily flexibly, to make work work around their family lives and other commitments outside of the working place. i speak to a lot of really good employers, both in my constituency and across the country, who are already doing these things. the policy offer we have today is very much targeted at women workers. we talk about statutory maternity pgy- we talk about statutory maternity pay. there's also policy for large employers to have a policy around the menopause. the vast majority of women they can go through the menopause, managing the symptoms relatively well alongside work with no problems. but for a significant number of women, work becomes a

difficult place whilst managing menopause symptoms. employers, if an employee is going through the menopause and makes a request for reasonable changes, she is able to do that with protections in place. it's about giving the confidence to women to request flexible working and in order to manage the menopause. and i'm really glad we are talking about the menopause now on the bbc news channel because it is so important that we break that stigma and we talk about the fact that every woman will go through this and every woman will have to manage the symptoms in one way or another. and talking about this in this arena gives women the confidence to talk about what they are going through and to try and make their workplace work around managing their symptoms. it might be as simple as requesting a fan on their desk. some practical solutions, we hope, to some of the problems some women are facing. thank you for talking to us this

morning. —— this afternoon. welcome to a new feature on bbc news called "your questions answered" — where we answer your questions about the upcoming election and other stories featured on bbc news. i'm glad i'm not the one that has to do the answering! you've been sending in your questions this morning, and joining me now to help answer them isjoe 0wen, brexit programme director at the institute for government. it must be practically a full—time job at the moment. most certainly is. brexit may mean brexit but it means a lot of other things in the detail and we will look at some of those things if we may. straight in. this first question is from steven who asks, labour says they want a brexit deal with the european union in three months. what is that deal? this is a really good question. when labour talk about their deal with the eu they talk about a customs

union, a permanent customs union, and a close relationship to the single market. that's about our future relationship with the eu and the phase of brexit we are in now is about the terms of our withdrawal. citizens' rights, financial settlement, the irish border. and it's not clear what labour's position is on what that legal text would be on the withdrawal agreement. we know they had some problems with borisjohnson's legal text, but they're actually quite like theresa may's withdrawal agreement text. is a labour's deal theresa may's deal with a new vision of the future relationship, or do they do something different? we don't have the answers for that yet and it's something labour will have to come clear on if not in the campaign if they are successful very shortly after being in government. if labour's brexit deal includes labour ship if labour's brexit deal includes labourship —— a if labour's brexit deal includes labour ship —— a membership of the customs union and the market, does it mean the uk would have to accept free movement of people? guess is the short answer. —— yes is the

short answer. the single market is about much more with regards to regulation and also about free movement of people. if the uk wanted to have a relationship where it was inside the single market it would need to accept free movement of people. and that distinguishes it from what the government is proposing at the moment. yes, both of those are different to what the government is proposing, the government's vision is still at this point isjust a government's vision is still at this point is just a vision because we haven't got into negotiations. no customs union, no close relationship with the single market, they want what they call an ambitious free trade agreement. jonathan blake was talking earlier about what would happen with northern ireland. that complicates things further, so we will leave that for the moment. dawn asked, and i'm from this part of the country, nigel barrage said the true

acid test of a brexit is control of our fisheries, acid test of a brexit is control of ourfisheries, do we acid test of a brexit is control of our fisheries, do we get that? the short answer is we don't know. —— nigel farage. boris johnson's short answer is we don't know. —— nigel farage. borisjohnson's deal gets us out of the eu, deals with the separation issues, but questions like fishing rights will be a contentious part of the negotiations that are to come. when borisjohnson talks about an ambitious free trade agreement, and his aspirations, there will be eu member states, france included... spain, as well. yes, they might say that might be your vision, but our vision includes a deal on fishing. that's all to come. it is difficult to say now whether or not that actual deal will be there and what it might look like. and there are fishing rights which predate our membership to the eu, so these things go back decades and decades. exactly. access to uk water is a contentious issue and something the eu have cared about

for a long time. it is something we can expect to be very high profile in the next phase of talks. here is one which isn't specifically about brexit, but it's an interesting general point, because it is about how our electoral system works. tony asks, what are the chances of the brexit party actually winning seats in this general election? that's right, a lot of this will come down to how they perform not nationally, but in individual seats with our first past the post system. a lot of pollsters are sceptical about the brexit party's ability to win seats. the brexit party think they are looking at 100 which they could win if things go well. everybody knows what a difference a campaign makes. they might not be in a great position now, but who knows where they will be when we get to polling day? they made a big surge during the european elections, but on the

flip side, the 2017 election, throughout the campaign we saw everything starting to coalesce around the two main parties. it's very much too early to say whether the brexit party are likely to get anywhere. labour ended up with a couple hundred seats because of a similar situation to do with the sdp. geography can really matter and be more effective than how they do nationally. is there anybody voting for anybody other than the two main parties? interesting question. it would be interesting and a surprise if anybody other than the conservatives and labour got handed the keys to number ten. what we have seen over the last years is the number is really matter in parliament. if neither labour or

conservatives win a majority, they will be relying on smaller parties, as the conservatives did with the dup for as the conservatives did with the dupfora as the conservatives did with the dup for a couple of years. and they can have a real influence over government's policy. whether that's the snp and policy around scotland and the independence referendum. whether it is the dup had a policy around a brexit deal. it can still be really significant, even if they don't have the keys to number ten downing st. thank you very much. it sounds like an impossible task — to read all the dna of every single non—human living thing on earth. but that's what scientists around the world are trying to do over the next decade. it should help find new medicines for disease and new crops to resist climate change. £9.4m in extra funding has just been announced for the uk part of the project, called tree of life. that money will be spread between 10 partners and our science correspondent went to see what one of them, the earlham institute near norwich, is going to do with it.

so, now we are just taking a sample of water from the pond so we can see what living things are in there. even the most cutting—edge, global science can start with a pond and a selfie stick. i'm assuming that's teeming with life because you can't see anything in it! absolutely, but once we look under the microscope, you will see. this is a tiny part of one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever — to read the dna of all non—human life on earth. that is every plant, animal, funghi and single—cell organism, including the ones in the pond where these guys work. it's really exciting. over the last ten years or so, a lot of techniques have been developed in bio—medical sciences for doing single—cell sequencing, so analysing the dna of individual cells from humans or mice. and what we are doing is adapting those technologies. so, there are things in here that don't have a name. let alone having their dna sequenced, they don't even have a name yet! it's entirely possible, yes. by studying dna from wild species, they hope to find answers to global problems, like how to breed crops

to withstand disease and climate change. nature also holds clues to new medicines for humans. so, this is, this is basically malaria, is it? it is. and you were saying that one letter could be out here and that is why malaria would kill someone? yes. so, one letter in this sequence for this particular gene could make the difference between the parasite being resistant or susceptible to the drug, and, effectively, the difference between life and death. over the next decade, ten uk partners will decipher the genetic code of 66,000 species, part of a global effort to sequence 1.5 million living things, with the results free for all to use. well, it's huge excitement, really, because this is classic discovery science and it is very reminiscent of the explorers, such as darwin, who went out and collected species to describe them and then that led to theories which transformed biology. who knows?

even the contents of their pond could potentially lead to life—changing discoveries. richard westcott, bbc news, norwich. it is 11 minutes to midday exactly. the headlines on bbc news... the environmental agency says flooding caused by torrential rain across northern england could be a danger to life. the snp launch their election campaign, promising to introduce legislation to protect the nhs from future trade deals. labour says it'll pay a full year of maternity pay, while the conservatives pledge to attract more foreign workers to the nhs. i was right about the minute, but not the hour, it is actually now approaching ten to one! now, all of the business news with alice.

time does fly, doesn't it? let's get a business news update. royal mail is seeking a high court injunction to stop a postal strike — which threatens to disrupt postal voting in the run—up to the general election as well as christmas post. royal mail claims that that the strike ballot "was unlawful and, therefore, null and void". crossrail — running from heathrow airport to the canary wharf — will not open until 2021. it was supposed to open in december 2018.the company cites delays in signing off all the safety aspects of the elizabeth line and says it is also taking more time than expected to test the signalling software. degree—educated savers are more at risk of losing their pension to fraudsters than those without the qualification — that's according to a survey by the financial conduct authority and the pensions regulator. fraudsters often target those with larger pension pots, but also offering "free pension reviews" to those with savings.actual pension scam victims lost an average of £82,000 last year. the number of people getting

recruited and hired remain subdued, according to the recruitment co nsulta nts according to the recruitment consultants across the uk looking at the month of october specifically. according to a recentjobs report from kpmg and the rtc, permanent staff appointments fell solidly at the start of the third quarter, which was why the link to brexit uncertainty with many employers choosing to cancel or postpone hiring until there is greater clarity over the endgame. neil carberry, ceo of the recruitment and employment confederation. is this yet another example of brexit uncertainty is tiny in the uk economy? i think that actually is how we sum it up. i wouldn't want people to think there is a drop in permanent places as we have seen over the past few months, some british businesses saying they lack confidence in themselves, but there isa confidence in themselves, but there is a sense that companies and candidates are choosing to sit on their hands for a momentjust to see how the election and brexit pans out. if you are looking for a job

there are still some great opportunities out there. did your report look at all sectors? are some doing better than others in terms of hiring at the moment? yes, there is clearly very high demand in sectors like health care, it, engineering, where we know that pay is increasing and our report shows that starting salaries have been quite robust. vacancies are growing less quickly than early in the year, but still growing. people looking for a job, get in touch with your local recruiters because there is opportunity out there. i think a lot of people are waiting to see how this period plays out. and there is also regional variations, and differences between those looking for permanent work and temporary work. yes, we have seen a reasonably slow decline in the number of permanent placements over the last few months, whereas temporary work

remains positive. i think that is a sign of companies taking people on as temps and seeing how things pan out and may be taking them on permanently once they know the path of the economy. it is clearly the case that we have seen some quite regional variations around the country this year. the north in particular had a great start to the year. is this a question of supply or demand? because vacancy growth, that at its weakest since the start of 2012, but then the candidate supply has also deteriorated. we think it is a bit of both. we think the same things that companies are thinking such as, i will hire who i need to hire to keep going but may be that particular project i will hold off until the new year to see how things go. i think the same things apply to candidates, they are looking at the market thinking, i wa nt to looking at the market thinking, i want to leave this job, i want the next step in my career, but maybe i will wait until next year to find

the option for me. i think there is a bit of caution on both sides. i think that is regrettable because there are still lots of opportunities out there. that is a good final message to leave on. thanks very much. that's all the business for this hour. back to you. thanks, alice, have a good afternoon. i'm sure you will remember harry billinge, the 94 year—old war veteran who captured the hearts of millions when he appeared on breakfast earlier this year. he spoke about being among the first wave of troops at the d—day landings, aged just 18. harry said he could never forget his comrades who lost their lives — telling us they were "heroes". his emotional comments won him admirers all over the world. since then he's raised thousands of pounds for a memorial in france. he's been speaking on bbc breakfast this morning. what you have been contributing to a bigger memorial, isn't it? all of the names of those who died. and the

extra money we put into the education for youngsters.” extra money we put into the education for youngsters. i want to you something. it is difficult when you something. it is difficult when you are raising money for something and you cannot see it. if you look at this big screen we can show you what's being done so far. in northern ireland, i believe. this is normandy. this is it. this is what you have been raising money for and you've never seen this before. no, never. you've never seen this before. no, never. how does it make you feel? because the work you are doing, it is now concrete, tangible, you can touch it. marvellous. how does it feel, harry?

are you 0k? are you ok? yes. it means so much, does it? i'm all right. take a moment, harry. people will be watching this, watching you, full of respect for what you've done.” can't help that. yeah, well, i did it... they had a job to do, all of these fellows, they did a good job. all of these men, these wonderful men. there he is, that is what you call fighting spirit. thank you for your company today. in a few moments we will bejoined your company today. in a few moments we will be joined by viewers on bbc 0ne we will be joined by viewers on bbc one for the news with ben brown. for now, it's time for a look at the weather. that soaking rain in parts of yorkshire, especially south yorkshire into derbyshire is behind us, but the problems remain. this is what happened during the past day or so as the rain kept on coming. it is

just into this morning that this area rain has gone and the sun is out. story now. rain totals like this, 84 millimetres in sheffield from this, and our other weather stations are reporting a bit more than this, as well, regardless. this is why we are getting severe impacts. in terms of flooding and travel disruption with severe flood warnings in force in some areas, so serious consequences from the rainfall we have seen. the worst of thatis rainfall we have seen. the worst of that is now behind us. the picture this afternoon is a much quieter one. still a few showers running down the eastern side of the uk and parts of yorkshire. but that is all it is. quite wintry, as well, quite low levels in parts of scotland in the north. it is a chilly day up there and plenty of us seeing lots of sunshine today. the showers clear away into the night. the

temperatures will drop. in some places, down 2—5, minus six degrees. the next band of rain will move in. things are sticking in parts of northern ireland, especially over the county down area, there could be some disruption from heavy rainfall. rain and hill snow into wales and the higher parts of the midlands as this moves in. it looks like this area of rain mightjust stay to the south of the worst affected areas yesterday in southern parts of england. this is how things look as we enter the evening, still some of that are lingering towards parts of southern england where there is that major england lioness game taking place. there could be some rainfall here. but a damp evening should not dampen the spirits of a massive cloud at wembley. into sunday, remembrance sunday, those morning services, they should be in good shape. a mixture of cloud and

sunshine. maybe some showers in the cloudy areas. plenty of sunshine throughout the weekend elsewhere.

warnings there's a danger to life from severe flooding in the north of england. after torrential rainfall, more than a hundred flood warnings are in place — schools are closed and there's chaos on the roads and railways. some residents have been told to leave their homes — rescue teams have been taking people to safety. we are live in doncaster, where the river don continues to rise. it is due to peak within the hour. the other main stories this lunchtime: the snp says it would try to form an alliance with other parties to lock the conservatives out of government after the election and promises to stop the nhs being privatised. we will fight tooth and nail any attempts to expose the national health service to a post—brexit trade deal with donald trump.