today at 5, a lorry driver accused over the deaths of 39 migrants in essex, has admitted conspiring to assist illegal immigration. the bodies were found in a lorry container in essex last month, maurice robinson is accused of being part of a bigger plot to bring people into the uk illegally. we'll have the latest on the case at the old bailey. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. vue cinemas defend their withdrawal of a gang film, after a brawl in birmingham, saying it followed 25 other ‘significant incidents‘ at other cinemas. disruption for students across the uk, as university lecturers and support staff start an 8—day strike over pay and pensions.

there are different ways of going around it and having it affect our exa m around it and having it affect our exam week. labour says it will bring in rent controls and improve conditions for tenants in privately—owned accommodation in england, if it wins the general election. pro—democracy supporters celebrate, as they win overwhelmingly in hong kong's local elections. and coming up later, treasures worth up to a billion euros are stolen in a daring robbery of ancientjewellery in dresden. it's 5 o'clock — our main story is that a lorry driver — accused of the deaths of 39 migrants — who were found in a lorry

container in essex — has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist illegal immigration. maurice robinson — from craigavon in northern ireland — is accused of being part of a larger plot — to bring people into the uk illegally. he was not asked to plead to 38 charges of manslaughter — which he also faces. the bodies of 39 people from vietnam including children, were discovered last month as our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. it was on the 23rd of october that police were called to an industrial park in grays in essex after 39 people had been found dead in the back of a sealed lorry trailer. this morning, mo robinson, the 25—year—old lorry driver from northern ireland arrested at the time, appeared by video link at the old bailey and pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to assist illegal immigration. he was not, at this stage, asked to enter pleas to the 39 charges of manslaughter he faces, nor to one of people trafficking or one of money—laundering.

of the 39 people found dead in the lorry, eight were female, ten were teenagers — two of them were 15—year—old boys. they all came from vietnam and leave behind grieving families. sealed inside an unaccompanied lorry trailer, they'd crossed the english channel from zeebrugge on this cargo ferry, the clementine, and arrived at the port of purfleet on the river thames, just east of london. the trailer had been dropped off at zeebrugge some 12 hours earlier by this lorry cab. eamon harrison, also from northern ireland, is accused of being the driver on the belgian side, and is fighting extradition from dublin. and with the investigation into the lorry deaths still continuing, a third man from northern ireland, 23—year—old christopher kennedy, was due to appear in court in chelmsford today, charged with people trafficking and assisting illegal immigration. daniel sandford, bbc news.

the cinema operator vue has defended its decision to withdraw the gang film — blue story — after more than 25 ‘significant incidents‘ were reported in 16 of its venues — during the first day of its release. a mass fight broke out at a cinema in birmingham on saturday where it was being shown. this morning a second operator, showcase, also pulled the film which is about gang violence. west midlands police said the force didn‘t ask for or recommend that the film be removed — but it would investigate whether the violence was linked. our correspondent tolu adeoye reports. that‘s my son in there. i‘m his mother and no one ain‘t come here to tell me nothing! blue story, a tale about two friends and postcode gang culture in london. the director has called it a film about love not violence. but this is what the film has been linked to. a mass brawl at an entertainment complex on saturday night in birmingham. seven police officers were injured, there have

been six arrests, including a 13—year—old girl. the violence led to vue cinemas pulling blue story, showcase cinemas soon followed. across social media, many have questioned the decision, including podcaster umar kankiya. a lot of people online have been saying there is some institutional racism going on around it. for me, i‘ve been quite clear when i‘ve sent out my letter to the vue cinema. there are a number of points which they‘d still yet to address in terms of what their decision making process is, are there any precedents for what they‘ve done and how are they going to address that? because there are a lot more violent films that are out there, you know, thejoker is out at the moment. blue story can still be seen at cinemas across the country. the odeon is one of the chains that‘s not withdrawing the film. it says there will be security measures in place at screenings though.

asked for or recommended for the film to be pulled following blue story can still be seen at cinemas across the country. the odeon is one of the chains that‘s not withdrawing the film. it says there will be security measures in place at screenings though. west midlands police have said it‘s not asked for or recommended for the film to be pulled following saturday‘s violence. hey, timmy. are you going to the party? both vue and showcase say the safety of customers is paramount. it is rare for a film to be withdrawn in this way. one industry expert says the chains have acted too quickly. i think they are very worried that hoards of youth will turn up and scare away the frozen 2 cash cow audiences. but that‘s having a multiplex. you‘ve got to put on all cinema culture at these places and let it all percolate together. i think blue story is a really

important british film. the film‘s director and writer andrew onwubolu, also known as rapman, has described the disturbance linked to his film as truly unfortunate. he says he hopes the blame will be placed on individuals and is not an indictment of the film itself. tolu adeoye, bbc news. students at almost half of all uk universities are facing disruption to their classes — as lecturers and support staff started an 8—day strike — over pensions, pay, and working conditions. this latest action follows strikes in february and march last year meaning some students are being affected for the second time. universities say they‘ll do all the can to minimise the affect on students. our education correspondent lisa hampele reports. across the country,

around i million students are being affected by the strike. union members say they have reached breaking point. now they are striking over pay, workload, equality and job security as well as pensions. it is thought more than 43,000 members of the university and college union are on strike today. it is thought more than 43,000 members of the university and college union are on strike today. the union is angry that members now have to pay 9.6% in pension contributions, up from 8%. they want universities to pay the full increase instead. employers say they are paying an extra £250 million to pensions each year. by eroding our pensions, which is deferred pay, by giving us less money and expecting us to do more and more work, they are making it hard for us to deliver the quality education and research we want to do, and it will not contribute to society. for some students, this is the second time they will be affected by industrial action. universities say they were doing as much as they can to mitigate the impact on students. last time, thousands signed petitions asking for compensation, but few were successful. many students support

the strike but are worried. it happened in my undergrad. i had no dissertation for six weeks, which i think affected my final mark considerably, so for it to be happening again... it is important for us to support the people who teach us. their demand for better working conditions will basically lead to better learning conditions for us. having it affect our exam week, i just don't think that's fair. eight days of strikes are planned, with union members working to contract, too, refusing to cover for absent colleagues or to reschedule lost lectures. i believe we will continue to talk. and i do believe that we‘ve got a lot of shared interest around things that we can do in order to get some agreement around pensions. the union is warning of a second wave of strikes in the new year if talks fail.

labour says it will bring in rent controls and improve conditions for tenants in privately—owned accommodation in england — if it wins the general election. private rents would go up by no more than inflation — and landlords would face hefty fines for poor quality housing. the party leaderjeremy corbyn said landlords should support the plans. "what we‘re doing is ensuring that all tenants have somewhere that is safe and secure in which to live. and i can‘t imagine that any landlord would object to their property being inspected to make sure it is up to standard to be put on the rental market. surely that‘s a reasonable basic thing to do in society. we don‘t want people living in substandard accommodation." but the conservative‘s matt hancock says his party‘s manifesto aims to improve conditions for renters.

we have a clear set of policies in the manifesto for improving the lives of those who are renting but frankly any commitment from the labour party will not be delivered because the leader of the labour party is the prime ditherer. you cannot make anything happen, you cannot make anything happen, you cannot decide billy want in or out of the european union. if you have a prime dithererfor a leader, that shows a total lack of leadership and none of these promises would happen. anya martin is a campaigner for ‘priced 0ut‘ working for ‘affordable house prices‘ and is a private renter herself. first of all, the debate around private renting and where we are in terms of the need for reform, given that you are in this market yourself, what is your perception of the extent of the problem? in my personal experience, there has been a lot of variations. you get good landlords, but a lot of horrible

things going on at the sharp end of the market. we know that one in seven privately rented homes are u nsafe to seven privately rented homes are unsafe to live in. they don‘t meet the basic standards you expect, it‘s not uncommon in certain areas of the country where you could be paying as much as 50% of their income on rent, so much as 50% of their income on rent, so it‘s very expensive and in some places very poor quality, then you have a complete lack of security, so most have a complete lack of security, so m ost re nte rs have a complete lack of security, so most renters could be evicted with two months notice for any reason or no reason. not a great place to be if you have a family or want to settle down for a long time and especially if you want to try and buy your own home, your spending or your own money, buy your own home, your spending or our own mone it‘s buy your own home, your spending or your own money, it‘s certainly not easy. looking at the policies put forward today, capping rents and the conservative saying they will do similar things conservative saying they will do similarthings in conservative saying they will do similar things in terms of raising standards, if you are drawing up a list of things that needed to be done, what should be top of your list? i would say the top of our

list? i would say the top of our list at cut price cut out, with b building —— the top of our list at priced 0ut would be affordable homes, we are a long way away from meeting the targets. the more homes you build, the lower house prices are, the more people can get on the housing ladder and also a lower rent r. there are loads of positives and that means people can live nearer to where they work, better for the environment if you have people able to comment by public transport are not from long distances, so there are not from long distances, so there a re lots of not from long distances, so there are lots of benefits to building more homes, that is our priority. building hundreds of thousands more homes, that is something we‘ve heard on previous election campaigns and not a lot of progress has been made in that area. meantime, you still have the stock of houses for rent which many... as you say, some landlords are good but far too many are landlords are good but far too many a re really landlords are good but far too many are really renting out homes which are really renting out homes which are frankly barely habitable in some cases, what can be done in that area

and do you think these parties have been rigorous enough of those landlords that are simply not taking responsibility for their accommodation they are charging a lot of money for? no, i don't think either of the parties are in their ma nifesto for either of the parties are in their manifesto for private renters. i do welcome that both of them are now considering this decision, it is coming to the forefront more, but there are plenty of things you could do, looking at licensing the landlords in the labour manifesto there was a proposal to introduce property mots which seems like a welcome requirement if you have them for cars, why not for buildings we live in? affordability is also a main issue and rentersjust live in? affordability is also a main issue and renters just need to assert their rights a bit better which obviously you cannot if you can be evicted for no reason was two months notice. you cannot complain, you have very limited complaints for a revenge eviction and things like that of those out to do. in your own experience, presuming you‘ve rented several properties. what has been

the spectrum of quality there? have you had some really bad experiences, good experiences? how would you describe them? absolutely. some very good landlords of the my current landlord i get on very well with. he maintains the property, he is responsive but i‘ve had properties where as soon as i moved in, the letting agent stopped answering the phone. they wouldn‘t respond to you for weeks about prepared issues and when you try to leave at the end, they will try to claim your deposit of you. i had one tried to claim £300 when i‘d actually left the property in a better state than i received it. i‘ve had a landlords and that don‘t abide by the requirement to give notice when they are coming round, so i had a landlady who elect yourself into my house and burst into my bedroom while i was asleep on my day off and shout at me for being asleep so there is a huge spectrum. final point, given all that leeway, if you like, and that what the landlords feel that they don‘t have to really abide by every letter of every rule

and law, because that is the application of what you‘re saying, what would it take for a party political campaign to wake up and to really improve what they are offering in terms of a standard of service and standard of accommodation as well?|j service and standard of accommodation as well? i think things like ending no fault evictions, which both parties have committed to, would be welcome because it will make it easier for renters to have requirements but it is important both parties consider how the policy is plummeted because if there are loopholes, for instance within tenancy rent increases, the landlord could just increase the rent by double if they want and you are evicted de facto because you cannot pay the rent. that would be a priority. we will see how the debate goes but thank you forjoining me. if the conservative party wins the upcoming election, the queen‘s speech could

happen before christmas. a spokesman for the prime minister said the official state opening would take place on thursday 19th december — but with "reduced ceremonial elements." in other words turning down the formal letting of some of the state opening with all the coaches, carriages and all the rest of it, using cars instead for the queen for example. ben wright was travelling with the prime minister in wales earlier today — he‘s now in farnborough. let‘s talk first of all about the queen‘s speech was should underline that this is all to do with if this happened, the queen‘s speech would be held before christmas. can you shed any light on that was my goal thatis shed any light on that was my goal that is right, it‘s up to the new government to have their own timetable, jeremy corbyn if he was

in power could decide when to hold it but boris johnson in power could decide when to hold it but borisjohnson said if he is back in number ten, the queen speech would be one week after the general election so it would be on december i9. parliament will meet whoever winds the election on the 17th and thatis winds the election on the 17th and that is when the process of swearing in new mps will begin but mrjohnson has said we will crack on with the queen speech right away and there will be a slimmed down and one with less of the ceremony that we are used to, we already had one back in mid—0ctober so this would be another one hot on the heels of that, but it will be a simpler affair and the question then is whether the government cracks on the trying to bring forward the withdrawal agreement bill again if boris johnson finds himself in number ten because, of course, all the legislation of the previous parliament has fallen, even though that passed its second reading, has to start from the beginning once againa to start from the beginning once again a borisjohnson has indicated that process could start... whether we get the second reading before christmas, we don‘t know but they will try to show they have momentum

after the election if the tories wind it. you are on the move, on the campaign bus. tells what is going on in that campaign today. we are on the move year although we‘ve just stopped, we were going down a motorway. we‘ve been in wales most of the day, that‘s where the conservatives‘ focus has been. a day after the launch of the uk wide ma nifesto after the launch of the uk wide manifesto in telford, ray wells is really important for the tories because they reckon there are 10—12 seats they could capture. —— wales is really important for the tories. it was a lib dem seat that boris johnson began the day in. the lib dems took the seat in powys in a by—election earlier this year and borisjohnson by—election earlier this year and boris johnson turned up by—election earlier this year and borisjohnson turned up at the royal welsh winterfair, borisjohnson turned up at the royal welsh winter fair, an agriculture show, and trimmed some sheep and inspected some heifers, and was photographed with animals before

moving to wrexham later in the day, another marginal seat, where he launched the tories‘ manifesto for wales. so wales today. we saw some images there of them are very delicate shearing going on by the prime minister. there you go. showing a rather deft touch, some would say. thank you very much. the lib dems say if no one party has a majority after the general election, their priority will be to force a ‘people‘s vote‘ on brexit. lib dem candidate chuka ummuna said the party was best placed to take seats from the conservatives. he also criticised the labour leader‘s neutral stance on brexit and said it was right for the lib dems to offer a remain alternative. so i simply do not understand how any political activist in our country can be neutral on this, like the leader of the opposition. and i‘m proud to be led by a leader who is resolute in saying our

country is stronger, safer and better off in the eu. throughout the election campaign, we are looking closely at the places where the final result could be won and lost, and asking people in those places what questions they may have. tomorrow, we will be reporting from pembrokeshire in west wales, all day, on tv, radio and online, starting with bbc breakfast, and radio 5 live. after massive gains by pro—democracy candidates in local elections in hong kong — the territory‘s leader carrie lam has said she will listen and reflect seriously on the message sent by voters. pro—democracy councillors now control 17 out of 18 district councils. it‘s being seen as stinging condemnation of the leadership — and a show of support for the anti—beijing protests that have been going on for months — as our correspondent jonathan head reports.

they queued in record numbers and delivered an unmistakable message. as the votes were tallied, seat after seat fell to an opposition alliance which had previously held only a handful. for hong kong‘s government, this was a humiliation. today office workers in the city centre used their lunch break to heckle a prominent pro—government politician, who had to be hustled out by riot police. to an opposition alliance which had previously held only a handful. for hong kong‘s government, this was a humiliation. today office workers in the city centre used their lunch break to heckle a prominent pro—government politician, who had to be hustled out by riot police. and then turned that into an impromptu protest, chanting the mantra of the movement which has thrown down an unprecedented challenge to chinese rule in this territory. five demands, not one less. they still want full democracy and an independent

enquiry into the violence of the past five months. the hong kong government must have been hoping that after this election perhaps the protests might die down. but the stunning opposition victory seems to have given the movement and its supporters new momentum. newly elected councillors visited the university campus, where a handful of activists are still holed up after last week‘s battles with the police — symbolically linking the protests with their election win. china now faces an acute dilemma. what does it do about a defiant hong kong? for the moment, it can only trot out a familiar official script. translation: no matter what happens in hong kong, it is chinese territory, and special administrative region of china. any attempt to destabilise hong kong — or even to damage its prosperity and stability — will never succeed. china is blaming foreign interference for this

political setback. many hong kongers would say it‘s been the strategy of relying on an increasingly unpopular police force to contain popular anger which has prolonged the crisis. now they must wait to see whether china is willing to change course. a search is under way after a plane is believed to have crashed off the coast of north wales. the light aircraft disappeared from radar contact off the coast of anglesey this lunchtime. lifeboats and a search and rescue helicopter have been deployed. tsb is to close more than 80 branches next year, putting up to 400 jobs at risk. the spanish—owned bank says it wants to concentrate on its automated services. last year, its online operation suffered failures which left nearly two million customers locked out of their accounts. the amount of carbon dioxide

and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached new highs last year. the world meteorological organization says the increase in co2 — which contributes to climate change — was just above the average rise recorded over the last decade. levels of other warming gases — such as methane and nitrous oxide — have also risen by above average amounts. sir david king is the former chief scientific adviser to the uk government and was the foreign secretary‘s special representative on climate change until 2017 — he joins me from winchester. very good of you to join us. thank you very much. earlier today, you are expressing alarm if not fear about the trend in climate change. could you tell viewers why fear that things are even worse than people said they were? i think the first thing is to say that the impact of

the greenhouse gases we‘d already been adding to the atmosphere has been adding to the atmosphere has been coming along rather much more quickly than you could predict. for example, if we take the artic circle region, that region is now heating up region, that region is now heating up at about 2.5 times the rest of the planet. why that is worrying, first of all why is it happening? because the arctic sea ice, the eyes that was covering the arctic ocean through the 12 month period of the year, has been melting and melting far more rapidly than predicted and so 50% of the arctic sea in the polar son is now exposed to sunlight. the sea dark blue so it absorbs sunlight very quickly while the sun reflects it very effectively. this is the real cause of alarm. the heating of that region

means of alarm. the heating of that region m ea ns two of alarm. the heating of that region means two possible thing. one is that the queensland ice also begins to melt more rapidly than was predicted and it‘s already beginning to melt. —— the —— the greenland ice. because this is happening, we have to realign our expectations of aerial be and beyond in terms of sea that has surrounded, it is not impossible to see that the sea—level rises could be in metres rather than tens of centimetres. that threatens many fatties sitting on coastlines around the world. calcutta for example will only be the first major city to be unlivable because it‘s not just rising sea city to be unlivable because it‘s notjust rising sea levels, to storms at sea, incursions further

and the cities become flooded on a regular basis. on the other side of the mouth of the ganges, we‘ve got the mouth of the ganges, we‘ve got the country of bangladesh and perhaps two thirds of that country could be lost to flooding. in that region, we would have 150 million people are looking for somewhere else to live. the environmental migration that will develop out of this series of prices that may lie ahead of us will be like nothing we‘ve ever seen before. —— series of crises. what is very disappointing about these figures the agreement reached in paris in 2015, december of that year, had every country in the world saying they would reduce their emissions and they gave us, each country, their own predetermined level of emissions

reduction. overall, we did not expect emissions to continue to increase and to even increase faster than they were before. we have a crisis on our hands and the crisis is because we are not managing the problem. i believe the crisis is also because there is a lack of political leadership on this issue around the world. between 2000—2010, it was the british government that led the world on climate change action and i would say without british government action, we wouldn‘t have you got that agreement in paris in 2015. now which head of government is playing that leadership role? which heads of government together are deciding we really need to treat this as an emergency? if that is the case, and if there is a vacuum of leadership as you suggest, are we in a position where, for example, agencies such as

the un are in a position to take far more initiative than they have in the past? the difficulty with the united nations is that it‘s looking for consensus before it will take action and served from 1992—2015, we we re action and served from 1992—2015, we were discussing in the united nations, with 195 plus nation present which action could should be taken. finally, in paris, in 2015, we got that agreement. we don‘t any longer have that level of time and my view is, for example, president trump could easily simply stop an agreement if we reached interaction in united nations and he could take a number of his colleagues who are against that along with him and other countries. i believe we now have to move into a situation where leadership is taken by the countries that understand the level of the

challenge and are prepared to stick their necks out and take the necessary actions. who are they? very good question. i would hope that the british prime minister would understand this, whoever is elected. i would hope that the european union would take a leadership position. we do have leadership position. we do have leaders in europe and those leaders are actually the scandinavian countries at the moment. if we, however, want to have an impact, in europe, we know it‘s going to be france and germany, italy leading the way. and while france is in a strong position, i don‘t think germany and italy are really reading this problem as they should read it. thank you.

the foreign secretary‘s special representative on climate change until 2017. our thanks to him for joining us today. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good evening, everybody. drab is probably the best word to describe the story of today. a blanket of cloud across the country and outbreaks of rain. this is the story over the last few hours, showery rain drifting steadily northwards and you can see that will continue to clear its way north of the next few hours. behind it, to the south—west, we will start more persistent rain from this area of low pressure. this will move in from the south—west of england. it will bring wet weather over the next few hours, heavy rain, gusty winds in excess of 50 miles an hour into tuesday morning. it will then gradually push the rain further north, sitting across northern

ireland, southern scotland, and by the end of the afternoon we could see heavier rain pushing into south—east england. mild though for eve ryo ne south—east england. mild though for everyone with highs of 14 degrees. it looks as though we will see wet weather into wednesday but then from thursday onwards things get noticeably cooler. this is bbc news. the headlines... a lorry driver accused over the deaths of 39 migrants in essex has admitted conspiring to assist illegal immigration. vue cinemas defend their withdrawal of a gang film, after a brawl in birmingham, saying it followed 25 other ‘significant incidents‘ at other cinemas. disruption for students across the uk, as university lecturers and support staff start an eight—day strike over pay and pensions. there are different ways of going

around it and having it affect our exam week is, ijust don‘t think that‘s fair. labour says it will bring in rent controls and improve conditions for tenants in privately—owned accommodation in england, if it wins the general election. pro—democracy supporters celebrate, as they win overwhelmingly in hong kong‘s local elections. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here‘s sarah mulkerrins. good evening. the cricket authorities in new zealand say they will apologise to the england fast bowler jofra archer, for the racial abuse he faced at the end of the first test. archer said it was "disturbing" to hear insults from one new zealand fan. england suffered a humiliating defeat to new zealand in the first test, losing by an innings and 65 runs. katie gornall reports.

this was dropper archer‘s first appearance in overseas test for england. it ended with him being racially abused. after scoring 30 i’u ns racially abused. after scoring 30 runs off 50 balls during england‘s attempt to salvage the match he heard something as he left the field. afterwards he said on twitter... it's it‘s not the first time archer has been the subject of alleged abuse. during the ashes in september, an england fan at old trafford said he heard this group singing a song —— racist song.

england‘s cricketers will travel there with plenty to ponder after a crushing defeat. needing to bat through the day to save themselves, it proved beyond them. the wickets tumbled, some were given away cheaply. others snatched in style. the brittle batting exposed, heaping more pressure on that captain. sometimes players go through phases of their career where not as consistent and don‘t make the score is that they would like. that seems to marry with the fact that i have taken on the captaincy. i‘m not too worried about it. i know that it is frustrating but i‘m not far away. england‘s captain was speaking before news of archer‘s abuse emerged. now his side will look to thursday‘s second test hoping for

change on and off the pitch. uk athletics have today confirmed that zara hyde peters will not become their new chief executive. she was due to take up the position next week but with safeguarding allegations made against her husband last week, the governing body is no longer proceeding with the appointment. great britain hockey player sam ward says he will give it all he‘s got to return to action after losing the sight in his left eye. he‘s one of great britain and england‘s most profilic players in recent years. he was struck in the face by the ball during an olympic qualifying play—off win against malaysia earlier this month. he sustained a crushed retina and facial fractures with some irreversible damage. it‘ll be a few months before it‘s known if a playing return will be possible. we don‘t know anything yet, it‘s just give it time. a month or so and we will know whether the site is coming back and whatnot. that is

the main thing to remain with a positive attitude. at the end of the day i am sat here now and i‘m hoping to go to tokyo. whether it is possible we don‘t know but it is one of those things that if don‘t look at it with a positive frame of mind then what chance do you have. more from sam at hopper six. —— 6:30pm. all day across various bbc outlets, we‘re revealing the contenders for the 2019 sports personality of the year. we already know about dina asher smith, raheem sterling, ben stokes and alun wynjones. the fifth sportsperson on the list is six—time formula one world champion and 2014 winner lewis hamilton. the final nominee will be revealed in the one show at 7pm on bbc one. i‘ll have more for you in sportsday at 6:30pm.

yes, it‘s that time again. throughout the election campaign, we are asking your questions to all of the main parties. we are asking you to send the main and we then select a broad range of questions on all sorts of policies to put to our guests. in our studio in inverness is ian blackford from the scottish national party. good evening. bear with me because i have a lot of questions. i am asking fairly politely for fairly concise a nswe i’s. fairly politely for fairly concise answers. i will do my best to be concise. the first question is from matthew. if scotland had independence how much would the scottish government raise in taxes by to compensate for the lost millions in subsidies it receives from england? at the end of the day, scotland is a wealthy country. i think that has

been amply demonstrated in the whole point about independence is to make sure that we grow the scottish economy, that we become a destination in europe and we improve people‘s like chances. there is no question about having to cut services or taxes. we know we can deliver on the aspirations of the scottish people. if you look at the sunday times poll from a few weeks ago, rather interestingly it demonstrated that 45% of scots thought they would be better off independent in europe than the 35% of staying in the uk. i think it shows that an independent scotland would indeed be a wealthy one. to go back to his question because matthews clearly thinks that if the relationship changes significantly, if scotla nd relationship changes significantly, if scotland became independent, the financial... would be transformed. how would you make up for the money that currently comes from westminster? would that not be from raising taxes? if you look at the economic performance over the last 40 yea rs, economic performance over the last 40 years, in the vast majority of

cases, scotland has contributed more to the uk than what we are taken out. this whole thing about the scots been subsidy junkies out. this whole thing about the scots been subsidyjunkies isjust out. this whole thing about the scots been subsidyjunkies is just a myth. so no raising of taxes to compensate? no. which brings me neatly to the second one, it is the other half of the coin if you like. david in knaresborough asks: in the event of an independence referendum being granted and won, will the scots still benefit from the barnett formula? well, at the end of the day what we are looking to do is make sure that scotla nd are looking to do is make sure that scotland becomes an independent scotland, that we take responsibility for ourselves. we are then responsible for all the income that we generate and what we spend. that‘s the whole point about independence. i very much look forward to that day. in other words, the barnett formula would be redundant, yes? of course if we are no longer part of the economic arrangement within the united kingdom then we takes full responsibility for ourselves. so what does the barnett formula

currently contribute to scottish finances? you talk about that because most people are probably forgotten about it. it is named afterjoe barnett, who was the chief secretary to the treasury back in 1978. it means there is a formula thatis 1978. it means there is a formula that is in place and it means that scotla nd that is in place and it means that scotland gets ten 85th of uk spending, that‘s the way that it works. we are talking about spending on devolved areas, it doesn‘t include... we get a block grant at the moment and we have some taxation powers. just so the viewers are clear, what does the barnett formula give you at the moment? the barnett formula determines what grant the scottish government gets on an annual basis. the scottish government then sets a budget, we have spending power is on top of that as well. the scottish government has to unveil its budget over the next few weeks. of course we don‘t know what the uk budget‘s position is going to be because we haven‘t had a budget yet. so that will determine the exact resource

allocation that we get at that point. the point being made, if you remove the money be made from the barnett formula, you have to make it up barnett formula, you have to make it up somehow. so the fair question is how do you do that? the assumption that your viewer is making is that scotla nd that your viewer is making is that scotland is subsidised. the point i have made is that on balance over the course of the last 40 years that has not been the case. of course there are fluctuations that you see in the economic cycle but the fact that scotland is a wealthy country. but the whole point, the reason that we wa nt but the whole point, the reason that we want scotland to be independent is we want to improve our economic performance. we want to make sure that we can create jobs, notjust that we can create jobs, notjust that we can create jobs, notjust that we create jobs but we have well—paid jobs and productivity. when you look in the rear—view mirror, our record of productivity are significantly better than the uk over the last ten years but we are looking to prove that further. rob in bideford asks: what would happen to all the thousands of defence workers, at faslane, and other sites, should scotland get independence? would they be losing theirjobs or

what would happen to them? no, of course we take our responsibilities as far as defence is concerned and as far as defence is concerned and as far as defence is concerned and as far as defence workers is concerned, it is the case that while we have been in the union we have not had ourfair share of allocations of resources to scotland. we are underrepresented in defence spending. scotland wants to get rid of the nuclear weapons that are currently based on the clyde. that will be a process of negotiation with the rest of the united kingdom. what we indicated in our white paper in 2014 and of course that will be updated for any referendum that happens is that we will have an integrated scottish defence force across the army, navy and the air force. we take our responsibilities seriously for them and we need to make sure that he would provide adequate defence for scotla nd would provide adequate defence for scotland to recognise the changing security requirements that we have around the world. so we have fantastic opportunities whether it is people on the front line or those that are supporting our military

forces and we have given the commitment that we have made within nato, we will seek to continue to work with our partners whether it is within the united kingdom orfurther afield. so just to go back to the question, those thousands of defence workers beat look into a confident future in the defence industry and under a independent scotland or not? fast lane would be an integral part of our defence spending. of course the footprint will be different. —— farslane. the footprint will be different. —— fa rslane. template1 the footprint will be different. —— farslane. template1 has a very good future. a question about the environment next. malcolm from argyll and bute wants to know: why does the scottish government continue to profit from extracting and selling fossil fuels from the north sea, for the foreseeable future, yet claims to be concerned by the climate emergency?

these things are contradictions, aren‘t they? these things are contradictions, aren't they? i think we have to take our responsibilities for the future, there is a climate emergency and we have got the response ability are passing on the planet for future generations. we do have ambitious targets for renewable energy, 100% production of energy from renewable sources for example. we need to make sure that we manage that transition. we need to make sure that we have the greenjobs of we need to make sure that we have the green jobs of the future and we transition from that history that we have had as a fossil fuel producer. but we will do that over time and of course we are very ambitious when it comes to for example electric car vehicles and making sure that we can accelerate the move towards that. at the moment we don‘t have the power to do so but if you look at another fossil fuel to do so but if you look at another fossilfuel producer, to do so but if you look at another fossil fuel producer, they‘re to do so but if you look at another fossilfuel producer, they‘re much further ahead in the development of electric vehicles as an alternative to fossil fuel driven vehicles. we need to accept our responsibilities and transition away from fossil fuels. but of course we have much more optimistic target than the uk

government does to get to a net zero position, five years earlier than the uk. we have a much stronger performance in reducing greenhouse gases on the targets that we have over the course of the last few yea rs. we over the course of the last few years. we want to go further, we recognise the scale of the challenge and we will accept these response abilities. there is an interesting one here from george. he says the snp have used brexit as an opportunity to call for another scottish independence referendum. my question, he says, is if the uk cancels brexit with the snp then honour its pledge not to hold or not to call for another independence referendum? does it work both ways? well, we want scotland to be independent and of course we have a ma nifesto independent and of course we have a manifesto commitment and many things have happened over the course of the last few years. brexit is one of those things but i think it is the case that people in scotland now do recognise that we would have a much

better future as independent nation. what means is that there is a very existential threat to jobs, our communities, environment and standards, workers‘ rights and so on and so forth. i think that crystallises the need for independence. and certainly if the uk, if the conservatives won the election, they do not against the express wishes of the people in scotla nd express wishes of the people in scotland and of course we were told that our referendum in 2014, if we stayed in the uk, that we would be seenin stayed in the uk, that we would be seen in europe. so we have been taken out against their wishes and we have to make sure that we protect our economic, social and cultural interest. i think independence comes into very sharp focus with brexit but it doesn‘tjust stand on brexit. scotla nd but it doesn‘tjust stand on brexit. scotland will be a better country, a wealthier and fairer country and one that takes its root environment and responsibilities better when it becomes independent. of course the su btext of becomes independent. of course the subtext of the question is that if brexit wasn‘t around is an issue you would still be asking for a second referendum on independence anyway. would still be asking for a second referendum on independence anywaylj referendum on independence anyway.” don‘t think it‘s a surprise to

anyone that the scottish national party stands on a platform of delivering scottish independence. we accepted the result of the referendum in 2014 but we were promised at that time that we were going to get close to federalism as possible, we would get home rule for scotland, that we were to leave the uk. none of these things have happened. we have been disrespected by westminster and i think a lot of people have changed their opinion. many of those that voted no in 2014 wa nt many of those that voted no in 2014 want that opportunity. i am amazed as they go up and down the country how many people say that to me, that they won that opportunity. brexit has brought things into sharp focus but quite frankly i think people we re but quite frankly i think people were stunned by the failure of government in westminster and they see a scottish government that is delivering, that is getting on and it is about having that self—confidence to finish that journey and become an independent country. this is an in tree gain one. job from germany — what would happen

if england is outside the eu and scotland independent and a member of the eu, do you expect an exodus of english firms moving north of the border? i don‘t want the uk to be out of europe because i think it is damaging for everybody and i really, really strongly hope that we don‘t end up in that situation. but if thatis end up in that situation. but if that is the case i think your viewer from germany is right, that an independent scotland in europe becomes a destination for investment. whether that‘s from europe or indeed within the uk itself. and i think you do end up in that interesting situation that scotla nd that interesting situation that scotland becomes a bridge between the european union and the rest of the european union and the rest of the uk. we would be in a strong position to enhance our attractions asa position to enhance our attractions as a country for investment. i think it is part of the confidence people have. and if i may say so, what we have. and if i may say so, what we have seen over the course of the last mile is that many people from england that have expressed a desire to move to scotland, a country that they see as a progressive one and we very much welcome that. ian, good to

talk to you. thank you forjoining us. ian blackford from the scottish national party. thank you. 5:50pm. thank you very much for sending so many good questions in. we are grateful for those and of course we are carrying on with your questions throughout the campaign. the cross—community alliance party in northern ireland has launched its general election manifesto. the party says they it will put brexit at the centre of its campaign— calling for a fresh eu referendum with the option like the majority of people in northern ireland we recognise the huge benefits of eu membership that it has brought to northern ireland. and we also believe that our future but lies at the heart of the eu, working together with other european nations to tackle the major challenges which lie ahead.

one of the manifesto pledges today. uber is not been granted a new licence to operate in london. it was considered not to be a fit and proper operator. the company says it will appeal. two british nationals who were abducted in the philippines have been released during a military operation. they were captured by militants allied with the islamic state group on the southern island last month. the foreign secretary dominic rob has praised the tremendous —— dominic rob. the pair are undergoing medical checks. jewels described as priceless have been stolen from one of germany‘s most elite collections. the pieces, containing diamonds, rubies, and sapphires were taken from the green vault

museum in dresden. damien mcguinness reports. this could be the biggest art theft post—war germany has ever seen. three priceless sets of 18th—century jewellery have been stolen. each collection contains around 40 items, diamonds, gold jewellery and gem encrusted cuff links, all worn hundreds of years ago by european royalty. unique, irreplaceable and immensely valuable, each individual piece could be worth as much as $1 million. but this is about more than just money. translator: it's notjust the material value but also the sentimental value which is priceless for the state of saxony. as our state premier has said, overnight the whole of saxony was stolen from. this is an attack on the cultural identity of all saxons and the state of saxony.

it‘s hard to overstate how important these treasures are to dresden‘s cultural identity and history. thesejewels have survived numerous wars and foreign occupation. and, after dresden was almost completely destroyed by bombs in the second world war, these museums were lovingly restored. so this cultural heritage is today a key part of the region‘s identity. the perpetrators are still on the run. police say two male figures were filmed by security cameras as they broke into the museum. translator: the perpetrators evidently entered through a window, cut through the bars and then smashed the window. they went straight for a display cabinet and smashed that in. after that, they left the building and disappeared. the thieves obviously knew what they were doing, the museum had been described as impossible to break into by a previous director.

and within five minutes of the museum‘s alarm going off, the perpetrators had already made their getaway. the other mystery is why they wanted to steal these items at all. the pieces are so famous that they are impossible to sell. so the worry is that these irreplaceable works of art will be broken up, so that the individual parts can be sold. police say the hunt is on. damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. hello. i think it is fair to say we will all be glad to see the back of november in terms of the weather. we have seen some fairly persistent, relentless rain at times. this has been the story today, hardly any sunshine around at all. as you can see, quite a lot of cloud and bands of showery rain have been drifting steadily northwards. for the next few days we are likely to see

further heavy rain and gales especially across england and wales but not exclusively and it may well lead to localised flooding. the bands of showery rain will ease northwards overnight. we will leave a blanket of cloud behind before the next system pushes into the south—west, that will bring yet more wet and windy weather with it. an incredibly mild night with temperatures falling no lower than eight to 10 degrees. that area of low pressure, that will push northwards, isobars packed around that low so that means they wind is a feature particularly into the south—west first thing on tuesday morning. gusts in excess of 55 miles an hour with the rain gradually drifting further north and east during the early morning rush hour. it will push its way into the london area, midlands, wales, over into northern ireland. eventually by the middle of the afternoon it will grind toa middle of the afternoon it will grind to a halt by the scottish borders. behind it, further spells of heavy rain pushing into the far

south east. a blustery day for all of us, especially on west facing coasts but mild because of the direction the highs of ten to 14 degrees. into wednesday, that low pressure will drift its way slowly eastward but it will take its time in doing so. on the southern flank of that low during the early hours of that low during the early hours of wednesday we could see some gale force winds across channel facing coasts. during the day on wednesday we will have heavy, persistent rain across eastern parts of england and into central and southern scotland, so that could be a cause for concern here. nine two 10 degrees here. once we get the rain out of the way we will start to see a change. low pressure will move onto the continent. the wind temperature will change to a northerly, dragging down cold air yet change to a northerly, dragging down cold airyet again change to a northerly, dragging down cold air yet again across the country but it will also mean eventually we will start to see something quieter as we head towards the weekend. cold and quieterfor

all.

after 39 people died in the back of a refrigerated lorry, a man pleads guilty to conspiring to assist illegal immigration. maurice robinson, from northern ireland, was driving the lorry in essex where the bodies, including those of children, were discovered. mr robinson is stll facing 39 charges of manslaughter. we‘ll bring you the latest from the old bailey. also tonight: levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reach another record high. and there is no sign of a slowdown. two cinema chains pull a film about gangs, after a mass brawl outside one screening and dozens of incidents at others. the battle for answers as to why a young autistic man died in agony, starving and dehydrated, in hospital.

he looked at me absolutely terrified.