you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's ham and these are the main stories this morning... borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work flat out to deliver to people who lent their votes to the conservatives. the voters of this country have changed this government and our party for the better. and we must repay their trust now by working a review into record low rape conviction rates finds the justice system "close to breaking point" — because of cuts. boeing announces it's to stop production of its 737 max aircraft — which has been grounded for months after two fatal crashes. the refugee and migrant children living in camps on the greek island of lesbos, who feel life isn't worth living the greek government recently

announced plans to move 20,000 people off this island and neighbouring islands by early 2020. movement on that has been extremely slow. and people, particularly women and children, keep arriving on these islands every week. also coming up... the driver, being pushed sideways by a lorry down one of london's busiest roads. how singer ellie goulding came to the rescue. shapps good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. iamjoanna i am joanna gosling. borisjohnson has held his first cabinet meeting since the general election.he told his ministers that they had to repay the trust of the voters by working flat out to change the country for the better. the prime minister is planning to make it illegal for parliament

to extend the brexit process beyond the end of next year. he'll add a clause to his withdrawal agreement bill, which will go before mps on friday. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in downing street. norman, wanting to send a message, they are definitely hitting the ground running. and also to reassure voters who might have been sceptical as to whether mrjohnson really, absolutely, definitely, no ifs and no bites, do or die leave by the end of next year. yes, he means that. he is going to write and tell this commitment. there will be no further extension beyond december next year. that is that, we are out whether we have a trade deal or not. it also, i suspect, will dispel the view that borisjohnson suspect, will dispel the view that boris johnson might once suspect, will dispel the view that borisjohnson might once he's got his big majority veer away from the european research group and pursue a order —— pursue a sort of soft brexit. absolutely not. he is determined to leave with or without

a deal. that was the message he gave the cabinet members this morning. as the cabinet members this morning. as the team gathered around him, he told them they had to deliver on the promises that they had made to the british people. the voters of this country have changed his government and our party for the better. and we must repay their trust now by working flat out to change our country for the better. and we should have absolutely no embarrassment about saying that we are a people's government and this is a people's cabinet. and we are going to be working on the priorities of the british people. and that is what they want us to do and we must recognise that the people lent us their votes at the selection. it was an extraordinary, a seismic collection, but we need to repay their trust and work 24 hours a day,

work flat out to deliver on it. of course, the first 100 days, where busy. 140 days, whatever it was. it was a very frenetic time. but you ain't seen nothing yet, folks. you ain't seen nothing yet, folks. you ain't seen nothing yet, folks. you ain't seen nothing yet, boris johnson pledging to have his foot on the floorboard. phase one of the borisjohnson premiership the floorboard. phase one of the boris johnson premiership is the floorboard. phase one of the borisjohnson premiership is to get the withdrawal agreement through by the withdrawal agreement through by the end of january and then we move into phase two. and all those people around the cabinet members could be different when we get to phase two. we are promised a mixed —— a much more reshuffle meant. as we move on from the brexit agenda to other priorities such as the nhs, extra infrastructure and transport for some of the communities in the north and midlands who voted for boris johnson. the other thing which is

noticeable is there is a clear attempt to turn up the heat on the eu who might have been thinking that actually they could take their time over these trade negotiations. boris johnson pretty much saying now. it has got to be done in the next 11 months. that will cause some nervousness in brussels and i expect some nervousness in the business community also. if i deal is not reached, then we are back in no deal land. thank you very much, norman. we can speak now to the shadow trade secretary barry gardiner. thank you forjoining us. will labour back the withdrawal agreement? it is certain that power corrupts, but what actually power does is it reveals. what we have seen renfield in the past couple of daysis seen renfield in the past couple of days is that with his majority boris johnson is very happy to take the country onto wto terms.|j

johnson is very happy to take the country onto wto terms. i understand where you want to go, sorry. but thatis where you want to go, sorry. but that is not what i asked you. i askedif that is not what i asked you. i asked if he would back the withdrawl agreement. we have been through a democratic process, gas boris johnson has an majority and he says he has a mandate for brexit and he wa nts to he has a mandate for brexit and he wants to get it done. he says by taking out the possibility of an extension will focus minds and get it done. 0n extension will focus minds and get it done. on that basis, the labour party lost a lot of seats, giving him this overwhelming mandate, will labour party support the withdrawal agreement? you have set out your case very strongly. it is not my case. taking away their rights and the protections which the previous agreement which did get a majority in parliament, don't forget, the protections for workers' rights and for the environment. giving that he

is taking that out now it is something that is less attractive to us asa something that is less attractive to us as a party than the one before. the point i am making is that actually at the end of next year when this interim time expires,... i'm sorry to interrupt you, but that is not what i want to... that is in the future. and we are trying to ascertain the labour party passed my position now. i'm sorry, you are wrong because he is preparing to put it into legislation now. it is what we would be voting on now. what i'm trying to get across is the way in which we would be subject to use new schedules at the wto, that have not been agreed. we said we would adopt the eu schedules at the wto. what that means is the tariff regime and the quote at regime that we have put forward which have not been accepted

and have been challenged by other countries in the wto, we would be falling into a very bad situation where all of our exports may be subject to increase tariffs. what can you do to stop it? we can make it clear to the public what is happening. we will not have a majority in parliament to stop it. that goes to the point i was making. he now has the power to do this and what has happened because of the majority he has he has reverted, it has revealed his real plant which could be hugely damaging to exporters. he said repeatedly during the election campaign and he was criticised for it that if he were to win power, he would not extend the deadline beyond december of next year. it was out there, people knew what they were voting for. and that is what is now on the cards. i don't think many people understand the schedules of the wto and what they

mean. talking about what people understand, you were saying you do not like what a no—deal brexit would mean. it was clear during the election campaign that we might end up election campaign that we might end up going down that route if boris johnson were to get an majority because he said it himself many times. and that is now where we are going potentially. i do not want to argue with you, but it was not clear in the campaign that he was going to rescind the changes made in the withdrawal agreement that took away the protections and guarantees for the protections and guarantees for the environment and for workers' rights. that was not mentioned in the election campaign. and indeed many ministers were out there saying no, now we are going to protect the environment. when you say this was clear in the election campaign, there are two separate things. one is the withdrawal agreement which will now be brought back in an amended form without those protections. it makes it a very bad withdrawal agreement. the other is

the changes that he is now proposing to ensure that instead of the ability at the end of the year, he a lwa ys ability at the end of the year, he always said he thought he could get it done it within a year, but we previously had the ability to extend the transition period beyond that. he is now proposing to put it in legislation that we do not have the ability to extend beyond that. that means we could be going out into an extremely damaging situation in terms of the world trade 0rganisation. terms of the world trade organisation. you point out those protections were in the agreement which labour party could have supported also as well in the plan by theresa may. those ships have now sales. you are saying to me what i

have liked a bad deal to a terribly bad deal? the answer is i would have preferred a good deal and that is what we tried to negotiate with theresa may, but unfortunately she was not prepared... by holding out, we do end up in a position that we leave the european union without the dealer and it could have been different. sentiment of course it could. but to say to any government that holds a gun to your head that you either accept this or we do something even more stupid is not a recipe for a stable negotiating position. when he ran for deputy leaderfor position. when he ran for deputy leader for your position. when he ran for deputy leaderfor your party? position. when he ran for deputy leader for your party?|j position. when he ran for deputy leader for your party? i have not made any decision. it is speculation. thank you very much. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas joins us from brussels.

what reaction do you have to this position that there will be no extension? we have not had any official reaction yet. the cabinet official reaction yet. the cabinet of commissioners and the eu, the figures at the top of the commissioner who sit under the president, they are all meeting in stroudsburg where the european parliament is leading. we might get something later in the day. i think the concern from the eu is that although a dealer is possible in the next 12 months to sort out all of the final issues for the future relation bark is going to be very difficult to achieve. and encompassing deal that covers all areas. that is why on friday and be and of the summit here at the commissioner said she was in favour ofa commissioner said she was in favour of a step—by—step approach to start next year with the issues that were

most urgent to address and the ones that would be to be addressed before the end of 2020 to get a basic deal in place. that's about trade in goods and also fisheries, fishing rights, trade in products, fishing products that sort of thing. that is a big issue for the eu. she wants to put those on the table first to have the best of getting those done. eu countries themselves are not entirely sure. they have not formulated their approach to tackle the negotiations next year. uncertainty on the side. we will see if they comment later in the day. thank you very much. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it's "close to breaking point". according to figures from the crown prosecution service, there were a record 58,000 allegations of rape in the year to march. but fewer than 2000 of those cases led to successful prosecutions.

the crown prosecution service inspectorate says a "damning" number of cases are lost during "under—resourced" police investigations. but it's rejected claims that prosecutors are unfairly selective about cases they charge. joining me now from leeds is katie russell from rape crisis england and wales. thank you very much forjoining us. why do you think it is that the number of rape convictions are so low compared with the allegations? that is really a question for the crown prosecution service and others. that is why at great prices and with our partner agencies and victims and survivors themselves, we have been calling for this complete fall into and review of the criminal justice process in relation to rape and other sexual offences for so

long and why we were so pleased that that was granted by the government earlier this year and that it is in progress. the report today is the first part of that review and we are deeply disappointed with it because it says so little and it is astonishing that the crown prosecution services attitude appears to be that they are not doing anything wrong and they can carry on as normal. we would expect that the crown prosecution service asa that the crown prosecution service as a key criminaljustice agency would be as concerned as we are by these completely unacceptably low charging prosecution and conviction rates and the massive disparity between the increase in victims and survivors coming forward and the criminal justice survivors coming forward and the criminaljustice outcomes at the other end. we would expect them to be more proactive in telling us what they intend to do about that.|j understand they intend to do about that.” understand that you are saying there isa understand that you are saying there is a lot missing and there is a follow—up to this report that will

come. look at —— looking at some of the statistics, there has been a fall of 23% of rape cases being referred to police to prosecutors. you mentioned that resources has been brought up in this regard, but why do you think that may be? resourcing is an issue notjust for the criminal justice resourcing is an issue notjust for the criminaljustice agencies, but for special independent agencies like rape crisis who are sexual advocate workers. you mentioned high numbers of victims and survivors are dropping out of the criminaljustice process. that situation could be improved and yet we are also deeply under resourced. i do not speakfor the police or the crown prosecution

service. i don't have any reason to doubt when they say that resourcing would help them improve the situation, but it seems difficult to believe that there is not more to it simply than poor resourcing because asi simply than poor resourcing because as i say, the figures are completely striking, unprecedented numbers of victims and survivors coming forward to report. but charging rates are at an all—time low. notjust of referrals on the police to the cps thatis referrals on the police to the cps that is declining. it is also the charging and prosecution rates that are declining. at every single level. it is difficult that resourcing is the only reason for all of that. an area that has been discussed a lot is the issue around disclosure and alleged victims having to hand over mobile phones and their backgrounds being looked into. that there have been some high—profile cases it has been a

controversial factor. when the police... when it comes to the number of cases going forward from the police is it possible to tell if it is victims reporting and deciding they want to pull back and they do not want to go through the pain of a prolonged investigation? 0r not want to go through the pain of a prolonged investigation? or is it that the investigation that makes a decision? is a interplay of factors. we must not forget that victims and survivors on the whole do not report to the police. 0nly survivors on the whole do not report to the police. only 20% or maybe a little bit less report to the police in the first place. victims and survivors they are not taking the decision lightly. it requires an enormous amount of thought and courage and effort. 0nce enormous amount of thought and courage and effort. once they have made that decision to report, it is unlikely that they would simply change their mind without

discovering that the process is actually quite a lot more difficult than they had anticipated. you touched upon a key issue that the criminal justice touched upon a key issue that the criminaljustice process takes too long. that is certainly true. it is not uncommon for victims and survivors to wait two years between reporting and seeing any kind of conclusion to their case. bear in mind these are very serious and traumatic crimes. having to relive what may have been the most traumatic experience to your life fora. —— fora traumatic experience to your life for a. —— for a amount of time of two years. it could be very difficult. it could re—traumatize some. we have to look at issues like evidence disclosure. we have victims and survivors telling us that they feel like they are under investigations when they are having disproportionate and irrelevant volumes and types of data being taken from them. when they are being

told that their cases cannot proceed u nless told that their cases cannot proceed unless they consent to handing over those vast quantities of data with very little understanding as to how that data will be used and stored, that data will be used and stored, thatis that data will be used and stored, that is going to be of deep concern to them. and many of them are leaving the process at that point when they are told that unless they hand over all this information their case cannot be properly investigated. katie russell from rape crisis. thank you very much. some breaking news to bring a. legal action has been launched against the contractor and the construction of the clean university campus. it has been plagued by problems since it opened in 2015. serious concerns around the water systems and cladding are among the reasons why a public inquiry has been announced to explore the building's design and maintenance.

court proceedings will be raised against the contractor as a matter of urgency. for parents have 110—year—old patient told the bbc that she died they believe because ofan that she died they believe because of an infection linked to the contaminated water. those details arejust through contaminated water. those details are just through to us and we will give you more as we get it. here is an update on our headlines... borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work ‘flat out‘ to deliver to people who lent their votes. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it's "close to breaking point". boeing has announced that it will halt production of its 737 max aircraft — which has been grounded for several months after two fatal crashes. also coming up — as fire weather warnings are issued for parts of australia, the country could experience its

hottest day on record next week — the current record stands at 50.7 degrees celsius. in sport... ac milan are the latest club to criticise a new anti—racism campaign in italy's top league. posters show pictures of monkeys with painted faces. anti—discrimation group fare have called it a sickjoke. arsenal and everton look to be getting close to appointing new managers. arsenal are in talks with their former captain mikel arteta, whilst everton hope to bring carlo anchelotti to goodison park. and jurgen klopp says he's looking forward to the club world cup — despite the fixture congestion it's caused. liverpool play the mexican side monterrey tomorrow, whilst their youth side play aston villa in the quarter finals of the league cup tonight. i'll be back with more on those stories.

boeing has announced it is temporarily halting production of its 737 max aircraft. the planes have been grounded since march — a response to crashes in indonesia and ethiopia that killed 346 people. regulators in the united states, criticised for earlier decisions on the 737—max, are now saying they will not approve any return to service before next year. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. grounded and now pulled from production. boeing's problems have gone from bad to worse, with the aviation giant forced to admit it can no longer continue to make the 737 max. the temporary halt in production is because the regulatory authority — the federal aviation administration — has still not cleared the jet to return to commercial service. it was grounded globally in march following crashes in ethiopia and indonesia, which left a total of 346 people dead. in a statement, boeing insists...

but the company acknowledges the approval process must be extraordinarily thorough and robust to ensure that regulators, customers and the flying public have confidence in the aircraft. with 400 planes in storage, boeing says it will focus its efforts on delivering those aircraft to customers. it says its decision will not result in anyjob losses, with affected employees continuing to do 737—related work, or reassigned to other projects. but this is a major blow for the company, one of america's biggest exporters. the us economy is bound to feel the ripple effects, with firms supplying parts left in limbo while production is on hold. suspending production

of a commercial aircraft is something that has been very rarely done. it truly is an unprecedented decision and it is one that has massive impact to boeing and its suppliers and the airlines. even before the decision was announced, boeing's share price took another hit on monday. pulling its most profitable plane from the skies has cost the company more than $9 billion, and with continuing uncertainty over its future, that figure will inevitably rise. peter bowes, bbc news. a special court in pakistan has sentenced the country's former president, pervez musharraf, to death for high treason. general musharraf has been living in dubai since 2016 and was sentenced in absentia. the charges relate to his decision to suspend pakistan's constitution and impose emergency rule in 2007. the three judges of the special court came to their verdict

last month but were prevented from announcing it by the high court in islamabad. according to a new report from the world economic forum, the gender gap is on course to close — but not for another 99 years. the report says the gap between men and women — measured in terms of political influence, economic gain and health and education — has narrowed over the last year, but it will take another century to disappear. the uk has fallen six places down the global rankings for gender equality. ella smillie is the head of policy and campaigns at the fawcett society, a charity campaigning for gender isaid i said the gender pay gap, but it is actually much broader than that. tell us what we are looking at. yes, the report looks at several areas and that shows us that the uk is slipping down the rankings. that is really disappointing and it should act as a wake—up call to all of us

and the new government as well. we are going to have to take serious steps to drive gender equality. without gender equality it holds us backin without gender equality it holds us back in the economy. in relation to the wage equality in particular, one really stark thing is that we are 64th when it comes to wage equality for similar work. we have had a wage pay act since 1970. it is a real sign that we need to drive forward better transparency, a new law that is fit for purpose for the 21st—ce ntu ry is fit for purpose for the 21st—century to ensure that that law is being enforced and that women have the right to know what their male counterparts are being paid. what would you like the new law to be? as you say it is enshrined in law, but it is not happening. yes,

we know it is not happening because there is serious lack of transparency as to what male cou nterpa rts transparency as to what male counterparts are being paid. what we would like to see is for women to have the right to know what their male counterparts are being paid. also is important to say that... he said that women should have the right to know what their male cou nterpa rts right to know what their male counterparts are being paid. there is transparency coming in in some organisation. it has come here to an extent in the bbc and other companies over 250 employees have to publish their pay rates. but how easy if you are not aimed at an environment where numbers are being published can anybody just environment where numbers are being published can anybodyjust go to a boss and say i want to know what that man around me are being paid? no, it is very difficult to do that currently. if employers didn't want to have that information there is no

legal obligation to do so. if women think they are being paid unequally they might find that out by chance. if they wanted formally they might have to go to a tribunal process to get that information. that is a significant amount of time and work to get to that point. that is something that we are looking at trying to improve and strengthen the law in the area. thank you very much for joining law in the area. thank you very much forjoining us. the next archbishop of york will be the current bishop of chelmsford — stephen cottrell. he takes over from john sentamu who steps down in 2020. 0ur religion editor — martin bashir is at church house in westminster and joins me. hello. tell us about him. is it going to be a big change?m hello. tell us about him. is it going to be a big change? it is going to be a big change? it is going to be an interesting change. just two hours ago here in this room he was unveiled to the media and he

himself said that his appointment is somewhat out of step with the vast majority of people who have held the position of archbishop of york. he went to a nonselective state school when she left with 30 levels, he went on to the central london polytechnic where he completed a ba degree and within a few years trained for ordination at oxford. he regards himself as something as an unusual fit for this position. he spoke to us. we were able to interview him earlier today because he stayed in lambeth palace. during the interview he spoke of some of his concerns for the country particularly following the general election and the arguments over brexit. we tragedy of the post brexit putin has been that we have started defying each other by how we voted

on monday in 2016. that is a very non—british way of doing things. i really hope we can put that behind the snow and i think that the message of the gospel about loving your neighbours and even loving your enemies can draw is back together again. i pledge myself to be part of that. i think one of the things i will be up to do as archbishop of york is to have the opportunity to speak more on national situations. a lot of northern constituencies have returned conservative members of parliament for the first time ever, so there is a lot of change. that was the bishop speaking to us earlier. he will take up the position in june 2020 earlier. he will take up the position injune 2020 when the current archbishop of york stands

down and retires. he has been the most senior black cleric in the of england. uk employement rates are at a record high according to figures released this morning in the three months to october the number of people in work rose by 24 thousand — pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.8 % — the lowest since january 1975. however, wage growth slowed slightly during the period from july to september. the tv presenter caroline flack has announced that she's quit herjob hosting love island after being arrested and charged with assault by beating at her home in north london. the new winter series is due to start injanuary and flack has presented the show for the last five years. in a post on instagram, she described it as the best show on telly and said she was stepping down to not detract attention from the upcoming series. itv has accepted flack's decision and says it will remain in contact with her. now, it's time for a look at the weather with simon king.

we have got a rather misty and murky day in northern areas. it will take some time for the fog to clear up until mid afternoon. there are showers across scotland edging into the afternoon. quite a chilly day overall. through to notes, this area around the south east will continue to be clearing away. there will be more fog developing in central and eastern parts. more clyde were heading further west. there could be a patch of frost into wednesday. in central and eastern areas that could be more rain. and the could also be a

strengthening wind. hello this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work flat out to deliver to people who lent their votes to the conservatives. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it's "close to breaking point". boeing has announced that it will halt production of its 737 max aircraft — which has been grounded for several months after two fatal crashes. and the flack will not be back! the television presenter caroline flack has said she will stand down as host of the upcoming series of love island after she was charged with assault.

sport now and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good morning. let's start in italy, where ac milan say they "strongly disagree" with a new anti—racism campaign. this is it...it uses images of monkeys with painted faces. the artist who designed them says they are the metaphor for human beings. anti discrimination group fare say the campaign was like a "sickjoke". to a nswer to answer the question i heard a miracle, why monkeys? initiative against racism and you are using monkeys? yes, at some point it is inconceivable to say it is bad to call someone a monkey because he is black. maybe it will teach them that we are all monkeys? in my view, the monkey becomes the spark to teach everybody that there is no

difference. it is not like someone isa man difference. it is not like someone is a man and someone else in monkey. if some people really care right no about telling a black person they area about telling a black person they are a monkey, we are all monkeys. let's start with a couple of big premier league teams who look to be on the verge of bringing in new managers because it's looking more and more likely that mikel arteta will be the new arsenal manager. he's currently pep guardiola's assistant at manchester city, and finished his playing career at arsenal where he was captain. club bosses were spotted outside arteta's house on monday morning, and they are now in talks with city. everton are also after a new manager and they've made carlo ancelotti their first choice. he was sacked by napoli last week, but had great success at chelsea where he won the premier league and fa cup in 2010. it'll be a strange night for liverpool, as they play aston villa in the quarter finals of the league cup because their entire first team squad are out in doha for the club world cup.

they play the mexican side monterray tomorrow live on bbc two. villa tonight will be made up almost exclusively of youth players and withjurgen klopp also in qatar, the man in charge tonight is liverpool's under 23 coach. iam i am excited about it now because we are here to win the tournament. we will see if we can do it or not but it is not about that. it is always about making the best of it. in the specific moment on preparing the next game, we are 100%. the women's team have scored in the top 20 in t20. against pakistan.

british sprinter adam gemili says he's over his disappointment at failing to win a 200m medal at the world championships, and is looking forward to next year's 0lympics. gemili started well and was leading at the bend in the final in doha in october, but faded badly to come fourth. he says he has put that disappointment behind himself now and he is focusing on tokyo. ?” disappointment behind himself now and he is focusing on tokyo. ? i was gutted and give an intense interview afterwards because i felt it was amateurish. i was upset and emotional. it showed me that i can still mix it with the world's best. people were reminded that i could still run. that's what i could do with the full year of training so i will show you what i can do with two yea rs of will show you what i can do with two years of training. that's all for sport now.

let's get more now on the news that the government is to add a new clause to the brexit bill to rule out any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year. as it currently stands, the transition period can be extended by mutual agreement for up to two years. we can speak now to adam marshall, the director general of the british chambers of commerce. what do you think about this? the priority in business communities up and down the country is to avoid a messy and disorderly exit from the european union and ensure we have got a good transition to new trading patterns. whether that happens over the months that follow injanuary, it has to be as smooth as possible. ruling out an extension beyond next december, is that a good or bad thing? we would ask the government, if it wants to get the deal done by

the 31st of december, get stuck into the 31st of december, get stuck into the details with us over the coming weeks and months to ensure that all of the loose ends and unanswered questions for businesses are addressed. that has got to be top priority. we have to move the debate from the emotional level to the technical details. if there is no deal by the end of next december, what then? that is a real concern for many other businesses, particularly those that export and import in regards to european union. we don't want a situation where january or december the face of a cliff edge and eat disruption to their trade. what we need to do right now is concentrate minds on achieving as much as possible by the 3ist achieving as much as possible by the 31st of december. that is not to be

the priority and is the government bonds might go but we need to work with businesses to make it work. you say achieve as much as possible by the end of next december, do you think it is not possible to get everything done with the proper deal? it would be the ambition. businesses want certainty on the future relationship with the european union but be top priority for us has got to be making sure the deal is smooth. if it takes a bit more time, the government should be open to that. as soon european union. ucb government and the european union should be open to more time. the government said today that they would not be. that is precisely why we have got to get stuck into the details over the coming months because businesses need to know how they are trading across borders and how people move around and many other things. there

are around and many other things. there a re lots of around and many other things. there are lots of unanswered questions to get on top of. iran continues to pose a threat to merchant shipping in the gulf — that s the warning from the head of the royal navy who s been visiting the region. six months ago, iran s revolutionary guard seized a british tanker ? the stenna impero. it s now been released but british warships continue to patrol the strait of hormuz as part of a us led task force. 0ur defence correspondentjonathan beale has sent this report from the gulf. the royal navy has beefed up its presence in the gulf. the destroyer hms defender is the latest arrival to patrol the narrow strait of hormuz and it is packing a punch. notjust its own weapons but with a team of royal marines also on board. tensions with iran are still high. it was just six months ago that iran's revolutionary guards seized the british flagged tanker.

it has now been released along with its crew. it is a smiling team with the success. but the new head of the royal navy, here to gauge the situation for himself and give his first interview, wants to make sure it doesn't happen again. the threat hasn't gone away. we have a destroyer here now as well as a frigate. we have to react to when a nation is as aggressive as iran was. to me, that was an outrageous act that happened on the high seas and therefore that is why we have responded in the way that we have. untiljust a few weeks ago, this destroyer was still escorting merchant ships through the strait of hormuz. tensions with iran have now eased but they could easily flare up again. this is why the royal navy has two warships out here in the gulf. the uk is not alone. it has joined an american coalition to ensure the free flow of trade.

for now, it has been run by this tent in the us navy headquarters in bahrain. britain had initially wanted a european response, out of fear of being dragged into more confrontational policy on iran. france is now setting up a european task force but the uk has already tied its flight to this us led mission. i can understand why other european nations feel less comfortable. what we have been clear with the americans on establishing this construct is that it cannot be part of an oppressive campaign. if it were to turn out that way, the uk government would leave the construct. the crisis in the gulf has placed extra pressures on the navy with finite resources in a volatile world. with new threats emerging, there will only be more demands on britain's forces.

we have to some new capabilities, like space and cyber. that might mean we have to adjust the current size and shape of uk armed forces to enable them on that new investment or it might mean we need to invest more but we need to make sure that we continue to be aligned with the national ambition. the clear signalfrom the head of the navy to the new government is for an honest debate about the future of defence. in a moment, we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news: borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work ‘flat out‘ to deliver to people who lent their votes to the conservatives. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it's "close to breaking point".

in the business news: unemployment has fallen to 3.8% — its lowest level since 1975. new figures show there were 1.28 million people out of work during august, september and october, a drop of 13,000. the value of the pound — which went up after the conservative's election victory — has lost most of the gains it made since then. investors are concerned that the risk of a no—deal brexit is rising again after downing street promised to rule out any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year. boeing has announced it will temporarily suspend production of its 737 max aircraft injanuary. the newest model of the world's biggest selling plane has been grounded for nine months while investigations continue into two crashes which killed 346 people. it's not clear when the 737 max will be given clearance to fly again.

let's start with those unemployment figures. as well as the numbers out of work reaching a near 45 year low, the number of people in work hit an all time high. the only dark side to today's figures was a slight slowdown in the rate of wage growth which slowed from 3.6 to 3.5% between july and september. philip shaw is chief economist at investec. this really is part of the pattern of improvements we have been seeing which has left a lot of people scratching their heads. people are wondering if the economy was on the brink of recession. yes, it has performed very well over the last decade and has continued into 2019 with the number of people falling

back again. with that said, what we have witnessed is a number ofjobs being created and slowing down and in the latest period it was only around 24,000. the numbers of vacancies also continue to fall. we are at the lowest level since july 2017. with the slowdown in the economy we have seen, it is pretty likely that unemployment will rise in the coming months. that slowdown in wage growth, what does that tell us in wage growth, what does that tell us about the state of the job market no? it may tell us that the economy is uncertain and employers are less willing than they may have been six months ago to grant wage increases. it is also possible that there have been lots of wage rises in october last year. when comparing this year with last year, those calculations are causing the rate of pay growth

to slip down a bit. the rate of unemployment is still very low at 3.8%. that is the lowest level since the mid—19 70s. the idea that pay growth is suddenly going to collapse is incorrect. we should continue to see wage growth for a while longer. during the election, we were told that there was certainty during brexit and the economy would rise. unemployment is at a 45 year low, what does it say about the level of pent up growth that there really is in thejobs market? pent up growth that there really is in the jobs market? there probably is some pent up growth due to come over 2020. there is some more clarity over brexit but the longer term relationship of the uk and the european union remains an open question. it would not be surprising

to see companies spending a little bit more so that more business investment comes in the next year. in terms of the global economy, if that strengthens, which it may well do, that would drag the uk economy with it. thank you very much. let's have a look at some other stories in the business news today: when are you paying for this year's christmas? there's a warning today from debt charities about the growth in "buy now, pay later" deals offered by leading retailers, including next and marks & spencer. the money and mental health policy institute has told the bbc that it's becoming too easy to borrow a significant amount of money without proper information about the implications if you can't pay it back. an independent report into the house—builder persimmon has said that it must improve the quality of the homes it builds. the report was commissioned after a tv documentary highlighted problems at the company, including

faults with its buildings and high pressure sales tactifcs. the reports author told persimmon that it cannot afford the stigma of poor workmanship and potentially unsafe products. and is christmas really christmas without pigs in blankets? they're those little sausages wrapped in bacon. customers of the wetherspoons in croydon were shown this poster recently, warning it would have to serve pigs without blankets. in other words: just a sausage. wetherspoons told us it was a short term supply issue and now resolved. the british meat association told the bbc in october that pigs in blankets could be in short supply this year because of a shortage in seasonal workers. every pig is wrapped in its blanket by hand. lots of investors not happy with govt plans to outlaw extending lots of investors not happy with government plans to outlaw extending

brexit transition. that's all the business news. a group of former senior fire and emergency chiefs have been meeting in sydney, calling for the federal government to better prepare australia for worsening extreme weather events. since september, six people have died in bushfires that have engulfed the states of new south wales and queensland. speaking to the media in sydney, the former chiefs had strong words for prime minister scott morrison —— especially after the recent un climate talks in madrid: you in new south wales, the fibre grades have said that 59 bushfires are uncontained. we have heard from officials that a mega blaze that has been burning to the north—west of syd ney been burning to the north—west of sydney for quite a long time was the result of about five big fires coming together. that mega blaze has

come dangerously close to a power station that supplies 10% of the electricity to new south wales. there were concerns that stockpile of coal could be ignited by what is called here and ember attack. these are red—hot embers that have grown well ahead from the main fire front. emergency authorities have managed to stave off the danger for no. earlier today in sydney, there was a meeting of former emergency and fire chiefs and they have some very stern words for australia post mike centre—right government. the accused be by minister scott morrison of not doing enough to prepare australia for worsening bushfire conditions as the climate changes. these fire chiefs say that australia needs a national emergency summit to try and figure out how to make australia

safer as these sorts of fires become more intense. later in the week, we are expecting heatwave conditions over much of mainland australia. you are new south wales and particularly in sydney we are bracing for temperatures of 45 celsius. in the western fringes of sydney, that will exacerbate and worsen the fire threat. pe thought for the people of south australia as high temperatures are forecast. this week once again the country are facing some brutal conditions. more than eight thousand students currently at university have no relationship with their parents. many with nowhere to go this christmas. many estranged students are being missed by the care system, have severe financial difficulties, suffer loneliness and have nowhere to go in the holidays. alice porter reports.

during my summer ijust ended up couch surfing, just trying to survive. this student is one of the many thousands of students that don't have any contact with their pa rents. don't have any contact with their parents. moto told it was very difficult. we were leaving the nest to leave for university really tore my family apart. wright went term ends she cannot go home. i moved houses several times just because i couldn't stay anywhere. i went in holes one christmas with a friend in her room and eight kfc and wejust try to make christmas something nice because neither of us had any were to go to. the reason that the

stu d e nts to go to. the reason that the students are not in contact with theirfamilies are students are not in contact with their families are often very complicated. it can be abusive pa rents complicated. it can be abusive parents or a class of eyes. not being recognised as lgbt is very common. this university is trying to lead the way in supporting those from unstable homes. we work with all of our students to make sure they have access to appropriate accommodation all year round. we can make sure that students don't have to get money together for their deposits. people would usually fall back on the bank of mum and dad but we have additional finance for those people that count. the amount of money these students are entitled to varies across the uk but they have to prove they are an estranged student which can be difficult. we need evidence that they haven't contacted their parents for about a

year. connor is a third—year student and was 13 years old when he was moved out of his family home.” and was 13 years old when he was moved out of his family home. i was not put through any official service, i have no realfiles on this, so the government don't know that i am estranged. when it comes to the student loans company i have to the student loans company i have to fill out a form every year and there is a bolt on that form asking for every detail on my estrangement. that is an invasion of my privacy. the government is increasingly under pressure to take action for this group. when we gather the evidence we will be making recommendations to the government to make this right. 0n the government to make this right. on ucas the government to make this right. 0n ucas forms next year, applicants will be able to declare whether they are estranged, which will highlight the number of students facing

similar challenges. now, it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. this fog could well be stubborn this fog could well be stubborn in terms of getting away. if you look at western areas you can see that it will get quite brighter in the afternoon. there is rain in the south—east of england that will continue into this evening on and off. it will be quite chilly. the rain in the south—east were gradually cleared away overnight tonight, and actually there will be some clear chows with it a chance of frost. that will be a bit of fog towards the central and eastern

areas, which will clear away eventually. for the client increases. —— client increases.

you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's midday and these are the main stories this morning... borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work flat out to deliver to people who lent their votes to the conservatives. the voters of this country have changed this government and our party for the better. and we must repay their trust now by working flat out to change our country for the better. the government is to add a new clause to the brexit bill to make it illegal for parliament to extend the transition process beyond the end of next year. a review into record low rape conviction rates finds the justice system "close to breaking point" because of cuts. the refugee and migrant children living in camps on the greek island of lesbos,

who feel life isn't worth living the greek government recently announced plans to move 20,000 people off this island and neighbouring islands by early 2020. movement on that has been extremely slow. and people, particularly women and children, keep arriving on these islands every week. and the flack will not be back. television presenter caroline flack stands down as host of the upcoming series of love island after being charged with assault. also coming up... the driver, being pushed sideways by a lorry down one of london's busiest roads. how singer ellie goulding came to the rescue good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. iamjoanna i am joanna gosling. borisjohnson has held his first

cabinet meeting since the general election. he told his ministers they had to repay the trust of the voters by working ‘flat out‘ to change the country for the better. the prime minister is planning to make it illegal for parliament to extend the brexit process beyond the end of next year. he‘ll add a clause to his withdrawal agreement bill, which will go before mps on friday. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in downing street. and the messages he has hit the ground running. norman. and the m essa g es ground running. norman. and the messages don‘t expect a quiet life under boris johnson. that messages don‘t expect a quiet life under borisjohnson. that was what he was telling his cabinet seemingly this morning. the first 100 days of his premiership may have been busy, but in his words, you ain‘t seen nothing yet. he wants to keep up the pressure for change because his belief is that if he is to retain the support of those voters in the north and midlands many of whom never voted tory before, if he is to

maintain their support he has got to deliver on his promises as soon as possible. part of that he is going to legislate to enshrined in law his pledge to leave the eu come what may by the end of next year. whether there is a trade deal or not. you might say what is the point of that it was in the manifesto, he has promised to do it, why put it in law? basically to underscore a commitment to try and reassure voters who might be a little bit sceptical about politicians meeting their promises. that was basically their promises. that was basically the thrust of his message to his cabinet at their first meeting this morning. they have to deliver on their promises if they are to retain their promises if they are to retain the support of those voters. the voters of this country have changed his government and our party for the better. and we must repay their trust now by working flat out to change our country for the better. and we should have absolutely

no embarrassment about saying that we are a people's government and this is a people's cabinet. and we are going to be working on the priorities of the british people. and that is what they want us to do and we must recognise that the people lent us their votes at the selection. it was an extraordinary, a seismic election, but we need to repay their trust and work 24 hours a day, work flat out to deliver on it. of course, the first 100 days, were busy. 140 days, whatever it was. it was a very frenetic time. but you ain't seen nothing yet, folks. the other thing i think we learned is not just the other thing i think we learned is notjust mrjohnson wants to put his foot on the floor abodes and it could be bumpy, but that he is not going to pursue a softer brexit. ——

on the floorboards. given his majority many thought that he could say goodbye to... far from it he majority many thought that he could say goodbye to... farfrom it he is on say goodbye to... farfrom it he is o n exa ctly say goodbye to... farfrom it he is on exactly the same page hence his decision not to consider the remote possibility of an extension if he cannot get a deal. leading figures in the erg were here last night and they came out pretty happy feeling that they were absolutely on the same page as mrjohnson. that has aroused a great deal of anxiety on the opposition benches particularly because it seems that part of this brexit bell that is great! this brexit bell that is great! this brexit bell that is great! this brexit bell which is being brought back on friday concessions for workers‘ rights have been removed prompting deep concerns among some in the labour party that mrjohnson is going to watch her down workers‘ rights. this was the shadow international trade secretary barry

gardiner. the withdrawl agreement, taking away the rights and protections which the previous agreement, which did get a majority — don't forget — in parliament, contained within it the protections for workers' rights and the protections for the environment. given that he is now taking that out, it is something that is less attractive to us as a party than even the one before. what number ten say they are not interested in trying to weaken workers‘ rights, but theyjust question whether that brexit legislation is the best legislative mechanism to protect workers‘ rights. they are promising in the clea n rights. they are promising in the clean speech there will be other measures to enhance employment rights. the last thing were saying is that for the eu, they have to calculate how serious borisjohnson really is to leave without any question at all at the end of next

year because if he is a that increases the pressure on them to agree to some sort of deal by then. the stakes have just gone up markedly because if there is not an agreement by the end of next year, we are slapped thank back in no deal territory. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it‘s "close to breaking point". according to figures from the crown prosecution service there were a record 58—thousand allegations of rape in the year to march. but fewer than 2000 of those cases led to successful prosecutions. the crown prosecution service inspectorate says a "damning" number of cases are lost during "under—resourced" police investigations. but rejects claims that prosecutors are unfairly selective about cases they charge. earlier i spoke to katie russell from rape crisis england and wales,

she says she‘s disappointed by this report. it is astonishing that the crown prosecution services attitude appears to be that they are not doing anything wrong and they can carry on as normal. we would expect that the crown prosecution service as a key criminaljustice agency would be as concerned as we are by these completely unacceptably low charging prosecution and conviction rates and the massive disparity between the increase in victims and survivors coming forward and the criminaljustice outcomes at the other end. we would expect them to be more proactive in telling us what they intend to do about that. i understand that you are saying there is a lot missing and there is a follow—up to this report that will come. looking at some of the statistics, there has been a fall of 23% of rape cases being referred

by police to prosecutors. you mentioned that resources has been brought up in this regard, but why do you think that may be? resourcing is an issue notjust for the criminaljustice agencies, but for speciallist independent agencies like rape crisis who are sexual advocate workers. they are specialist workers that support and defend the rights and interests of victims and survivors throughout the process. you mentioned high numbers of victims and survivors are dropping out of the criminal justice process. and we know that with a specialist support of independent sexual violence advocates, that situation could be improved. and yet we are also deeply under resourced. i do not speakfor the police or the crown prosecution service. i don‘t have any reason to doubt when they say that resourcing would help them improve the situation, but it seems difficult to believe that there is not more to it simply than poor resourcing because

as i say, the figures are completely striking, unprecedented numbers of victims and survivors coming forward to report. but charging rates are at an all—time low. notjust of referrals on the police to the cps that is declining. it is also the charging and prosecution rates that are declining. so, criminaljustice at every single level. it is difficult that resourcing is the only reason for all of that. that was katie wrestled talking to me earlier. the television presenter caroline flack has said she will stand down as the host of the upcoming series of love island. the 40—year—old was arrested and charged with assault last week. in a post on instagram she said she didn‘t want to "detract attention" from the itv show. 0ur correspondent chi chi izundu is here to tell us more.

she has decided she won‘t do the next series. yes. let'sjust remind people about that show. it is one of the most popular shows. it is normally in the summer. this was the first time that winter love island was supposed to happen in south africa. that was expected to start onjanuary12. africa. that was expected to start on january 12. she was africa. that was expected to start onjanuary12. she was expected to present ian sterling was expected to do than those over for a. she has since posted on her instagram stating that there has been a significant number of media reports and allegations into her personal life and whilst the matters were not as had been reported she is committed to cooperating with the authorities and cannot comment further. she says that she loves that show and it would have been her six time presenting, but she feels she does not want to detract away from the attention of the show. who might step in? there are a lot of

names already in the list. there is a person and love island after some, might be chosen. a stand—in presenter... mora higgins was on the show as a contestant. her name has come up. she was very popular as a co ntesta nt come up. she was very popular as a contestant on the programme. we should also state that itv has issued a statement saying that it has a long—standing relationship with caroline and they understand and accept her decision p rate they will remain in close contact with her over the coming months about the future series. to reiterate, this was the first time that love island went to her version in south africa was supposed to happen and then we

we re was supposed to happen and then we were going to get another summer version. we will see if she is back in the summer or not. i love love island. but two series in a year. we have to see how popular that turns out to be. i‘m sure it will. what are the latest with her allegations? she is due to appear in court on monday after being charged with assault by beating. we will find out where that leading proceedings go. and she said in her instagram post, she wants to take this matter! she wa nts to she wants to take this matter! she wants to keep it private. she is standing down as a presenter. she is and was a popular presenter. she did extra factor lies for a number of yea rs. extra factor lies for a number of years. she also won strictly come dancing before moving on to love island. we will see what happens legally on monday. we will obviously look to see who replaces her on the show. thank you very much.

more on today‘s main stories coming up on newsroom live here on the bbc news channel, but now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. we will have all the information on the new cabinet member. boris johnson saying you ain‘t seen nothing yet. right now we say goodbye to our viewers on bbc two. a special court in pakistan has sentenced the country‘s former president, pervez musharraf, to death for high treason. general musharraf has been living in dubai since 2016 and was sentenced in absentia. the charges relate to his decision to suspend pakistan‘s constitution and impose emergency rule in 2007. the three judges of the special court came to their verdict last month but were prevented from announcing it by uk employement rates are at a record high according to figures released this morning. in the three months to october the number of people

in work rose by 24,000 — pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.8% — the lowest since january 1975. however wage growth slowed slightly during the period from july to september. the headlines on bbc news... the government is to add a new clause to the brexit bill , to make it illegal for parliament to extend the process of leaving the european union beyond the end of 2020. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it‘s "close to breaking point". the refugee and migrant children living in camps on the greek island of lesbos — who feel life isn‘t worth living. also coming up — as fire weather warnings are issued for parts of australia, the country could experience its hottest day on record next week — the current record stands at 50.7 degrees celsius.

time for a sports update. we start in italy, where several top level clubs including ac milan have condemed a new serie a anti—racism campaign. this is it... it uses images of monkeys with painted faces. milan say they strongly disagree with the posters and weren‘t consulted about them. anti—discrimination group fare say the campaign was like a sickjoke, but the artist who designed them says they are the metaphor for human beings. a couple of premier league teams look to be on the verge of bringing in new managers. arsenal are in talks to bring in mikel arteta — who is currently pep guardiola‘s assistant at manchester city. he finished his playing career at arsenal where he was captain. club bosses have been spotted outside arteta‘s house, and guardiola has said he won‘t stand in arteta‘s way. everton meanwhile are keen on bringing carlo anchelotti to the club, so much so that they‘ve made him first choice to be their new manager. he was sacked by napoli last week,

but had great success at chelsea where he won the premier league and the fa cup in 2010. there was a good win for england‘s women overnight in the first t20 international against pakistan. henry moran was watching in kuala lumpur. a winning start for england the beginning of that three t—20 in pakistan. it was not all england‘s way. pakistan looked for a time that they could be in a position to cause quite a shock. but in the end england won. they won by 29 runs. a comprehensive waned in the end for england to get this phase of the two are off to the perfect start. we did well to get to 160. pakistan bowled quite well. happy we got there in

the end, probably left a few out there. but the bowler did a good job. england's trip to the far east concludes in two days. they will be looking to make it a clean sweep to get maximum momentum going towards australia in february. that is the sport. we will have more for you in the next hour. psychologists working with refugees and migrants on the greek island of lesbos have told the bbc they are seeing an increasing number of children self—harming and attempting suicide. there‘s been a spike in refugees arriving on the aegean islands in recent months, the vast majority are fleeing countries of conflict. almost 18,000 people are living at the moria camp on lesbos, which was made forjust 2000. 0ur global health correspondent, tulip mazumdar reports from there — you may find some of the details upsetting. this is no place for a child and yet moria camp is home to more than 7,000 of them.

the vast majority of these children have fled war—torn countries and arrived here in europe, a place supposedly of humanity, safety and security. ok, let‘s go together. at the nearby children‘s clinic, a mental health emergency is unfolding. a 17—year—old boy slashed himself across his chest and arms overnight. his friend has brought him in. just ask him if we can talk to him. this is a sadly common scene here. he‘s not well. he doesn‘t want to talk about... he talks about wanting to... to do this again. more than 150 children have been referred to msf psychologists in the last two months alone. that‘s double the number from the summer. two of those children attempted suicide, the youngest was just 13 years old.

normally a child, when they experience something traumatic, has to have the time and the space to recover. moria does not allow the children to recover. in a child in a preschooler age, you can see children banging their head against a wall, for instance, pulling their hairs off, and in between the age more between 12 and 17, we see them cut themselves. they strongly start to talk about the desire of dying. a father in desperate search of help for his family, his daughter zaynab has autism and epilepsy. it took them two months to get here from afghanistan. they met us at a makeshift community centre at the camp.

he described how they almost died when they were flung into the sea as they crossed from turkey. their bag with their money and zaynab‘s medication was lost. translation: the children were just screaming. they had so much fear. and the darkness, we always remember the darkness. both children, he tells me, are utterly traumatised. translation: at night, zaynab screams. she does not sleep, she hardly eats. we were refused permission to film inside the main, government—run part of the camp. but the overspill into the neighbouring olive grove now holds around half of the almost 18,000 population of moria. some families are getting stuck here for months awaiting news on their asylum claims. the greek government recently announced plans to move 20,000 people off this island and neighbouring island by early 2020 but movement on that has been extremely slow.

and people, particularly women and children, keep arriving on these islands every week. children are resilient. my name is mustafa! here in a tented shack used as a community centre, staff are trying to help them remember simply how to be children. my name is nagis! but there is only so much these young minds can take. tulip mazumdar, bbc news, moria camp, lesbos. an extreme heatwave is forecast for australia this week, as firefighters continue to battle dozens of ferocious wildfires on both sides of the country. officials in new south wales said the situation is unprecedented, and that the fires could reach a major power station which generates about 10% of the state‘s electricity. phil mercer reports from sydney. blanketed in a bushfire haze is this power station. it came under a

sustained attack by embers from an out—of—control major fire near sydney. the flames came dangerously close. at the facility generate 10% of the electricity in new south wales. conservationists warned that should stockpiles of coal ignite, toxic fumes would aggravate air pollution across the region. nearby in the blue mountains national park, fire fighters battled other severe blazes. it is hand—to—hand combat thatis blazes. it is hand—to—hand combat that is repeated in many other places. there are more than a hundred fires burning throughout the stay and anyone of them could cause us stay and anyone of them could cause us problems. while we are concerned we need to keep in mind that there area we need to keep in mind that there are a lot of committees very close to fire. as the fires rage, so does the political debate about the impact of global warning. 0n the early and extreme start to the

bushfire season. a group of senior officials have accused the australian government of not taking the threat of climate change seriously. here in new south wales the fires are unprecedented. more countries have been burned and more homes lost, three times more homes than our worst fire season. the fires are still burning, there is a heat wave coming and who knows what that will do. in western australia, a schoolboy was reported missing, but he was able to get out of the fla mes but he was able to get out of the fla m es after but he was able to get out of the flames after driving a pick—up lorry by himself. lucas also managed to rescue the family dog. this crisis is showing the best and worst of us try a. for heroism and dedication of firefighters stand in stark contrast to the actions of arsonists who are thought to be responsible for many

of the nation‘s bushfires. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. according to a new report from the world economic forum, the gender gap is on course to close... but in 99 years! the report says the gap between men and women — measured in terms of political influence, economic gain and health and education — has narrowed over the last year, but it will take another centuryto disappear. the uk has fallen six places down the global rankings for gender equality. sian elliott is the women‘s equality 0fficer at the trades union congress. we talk about the gender pay gap, this is much broader than that. this is about the quality across the page. the uk has gone down from 15 to 20 first place what is your reaction? firstly, thank you for having me here. it is really shocking to see i slept so far. it confirms what we already know. the uk is making really slow progress on this issue. and the gender pay gap

is at the heart of this. it is not right that it is going to take us so long before we can actually close that pay gap between men and women. we wa nt that pay gap between men and women. we want to see this government take meaningful action on this issue as a matter of priority. the top ten countries are topped by scandinavian country. they are all well known for being very equal based countries. what are they doing that we are not? they are taking meaningful action on the gender pay gap. for example, iceland enforces fines on those who don‘t close it. and that is something we are calling on the uk government. we want them to require employers not only to tell us what the pay gap is but explain how they are going to close it. at the moment they are not required to do so. we wa nt to they are not required to do so. we want to see fines for those who do not take that action. we also know

in scandinavian countries that there isa in scandinavian countries that there is a much fairer balance of caring responsibilities between mums and dads. that is something we really wa nt to dads. that is something we really want to see this government do is reform our parental leave system so that mums and dads can equally share childcare responsibilities. that mums and dads can equally share childcare responsibilitiesm that mums and dads can equally share childcare responsibilities. it has been done to an extent, hasn‘t it? there is more paternity leave, it is not completely equal. dads are not taking it up. dads only get two weeks of leave. 0ur taking it up. dads only get two weeks of leave. our research showed that one in four are not eligible for it either because they are self—employed or they have not been in theirjob long enough. we want to see that petitioner did leave brought to a much longer time. and for that to be a day one right for all. increasingly people are moving between jobs as a result of insecure

and precarious working conditions. we wa nt and precarious working conditions. we want to see maternity rights for mums protected, shared parental leave that dads can take. it means that the mum is having to give up some of that leave. we want to see both sets of parents have their own individual entitlement to leave. he said that you think the gender pay gap is really the sort of key element for all of this. 0nes, gap is really the sort of key element forall of this. 0nes, if thatis element forall of this. 0nes, if that is completely fixed, do you think everything flows from that?” think everything flows from that?” think there are many other issues. like the underrepresentation of women in parliament. we know that has an effect on women‘s lives and work and in society. there are policies being designed that disproportionately harm their outcomes. we know that there will be other work needed in other areas. what we really need to see is action on that gender pay gap, meaningful action. thank you.

20 migrants have arrived at the port. 0rderforce is currently dealing with small boat on the kent coast. it has worn trying to make the trip across the english channel and a small boat is incredibly dangerous. ellie goulding is trending on twitter after a video was posted of a royal mail lorry pushing a car sideways on one of london‘s busiest roads before being stopped by other drivers. the singer told her millions of instagram followers that her driver was one of the motorists who stopped to help, with ellie herself checking on the driver of the car — saying she couldn‘t believe that the first instinct of the other drivers who got out was to instantly start filming on their phones and shout abuse at him. the driver of the lorry said that he was unaware of anything

wrong and a royal mail spokesman has said.. "we are very concerned about this incident. we sincerely hope that no one was hurt. we are investigating as a matter of urgency." now it‘s time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. thank you very much. well, it was a wet night across the east. it will stay damp and cloudy through much of the day. the rain will asthma and has been a cold start. he could linger in places. a could feel chilly. the showers will clear away. 0ne chilly. the showers will clear away. one or two showers peppering the seacoast. largely dry with a chilli afternoon. afternoon it will be colder under largely clear skies. mist and fog developing. temperature is -2, mist and fog developing. temperature is —2, —3. less cold across the southwest. this weather front will bring wind and cloud and rain. it will spread across the country.

elsewhere it is a chilli start. the mist and fog will lift. they will be variable cloud and sunshine throughout the day. the temperatures are beginning to climb across the south and west as the wind and rain move same. we want in the week on a u nsettled move same. we want in the week on a unsettled note. with more wind and rain. for many of us it should be on the mild side. global hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work ‘flat out‘ to deliver to people who lent their votes to the conservatives. meanwhile, the government is to add a new clause to the brexit bill to make it illegal for parliament to extend the process of leaving the european union beyond the end of 2020. a review of the decline in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions across england and wales says the criminaljustice system is so under—resourced it‘s "close to breaking point". the refugee and migrant

children living in camps on the greek island of lesbos — who feel life isn‘t worth living. and the flack will not be back. the television presenter caroline flack has said she will stand down as host of the upcoming series of love island after she was charged with assault. also coming up: 40 years on, worzel gummidge is about to return to our screens this christmas with a climate change twist. let‘s get more now on the news that the government is to add a new clause to the brexit bill to rule out any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year. as it currently stands, the transition period can be extended by mutual agreement for up to two years. we can speak now to georgina wright from the institute for government, a non—partisan think tank.

would this work? 0bviously would this work? obviously it is a government with a majority but it could then change and legislate back. explain how you see things no end how it could be?” back. explain how you see things no end how it could be? i think before attempting to answer that question it is important to ask why we need this transition in the first place. right at the start of the brexit negotiations, uk government and the european union realise that the two—year window for article 50 would not be sufficient to debate both with strong agreements and the future relationship. they decided to deal with the withdrawal first and then deal with the relationship issue. that transition is due to end at the end of 2020. if the uk and

the eu wanted to extend, it would have to come to a mutual decision to do that. today, the government have confirmed they don‘t want to extend that transition. but given the prime minister has a majority, he could realise next year that they need more time and introduce another bill. the government say they want to focus the minds of negotiators. do you think that that work? is it still enough time to do a deal with? i was still enough time to do a deal with? iwas in still enough time to do a deal with? i was in brussels a couple of weeks ago and what you sense there was that there was no one who thought that there was no one who thought that actually a comprehensive and detailed trade deal, both on uk and european union terms, could be negotiated and passed within 11 months. an option would be to extend that transition for talks and another would be going through duets

was up the european union demands, which will be easier to negotiate, add a third option is to go for a very basic trade agreement that cove rs very basic trade agreement that covers and focuses goods but not on services and other areas. for those sectors, the european union would introduce you measures but they would be time limited and could be revoked at any time. uk government need to ask what sort of do we want and do they want to respect that deadline or do you want whatever talks? does it strengthen the uk boss mike hans in these negotiations if the uk is seeing we are not afraid of the no—deal brexit? that is always that question of who stands to lose most from a no—deal brexit. of course but it is notjust about used stands to lose the most. when it comes to trade agreements, it is not just

when it comes to trade agreements, it is notjust knowing what you want, it is about having the detailed agreements and know how far you are willing to compromise to two. the chief brexit negotiator has been meeting with the european union countries and testing waters and banging heads together to get that detailed mandate put together. the question is, how five uk government is with its preparations and when they do start negotiating can they find a compromise and will they have enough time to pass it? of the european union side, passing that deal is much more complicated than the withdrawal agreement. you might need national and regional parliaments on board, a lot of european union voices to add to the mix. thank you very much. just to bring you some ways, from downing street, they say the conservative

election manifesto was explicit in ruling out any extension of the transition period. there is absolute clarity on the timetable and that means they will no bill to get on with agreeing on a future relationship with the european union. a word from the president of the european commission, she has tweeted to say congratulations to borisjohnson or tweeted to say congratulations to boris johnson or his tweeted to say congratulations to borisjohnson or his electoral victory. this book on the phone. they have agreed to talk as soon as possible to discuss the future relationship. the uk will always be a friend, partner and ally. inspectors have criticised the london fire brigade, saying it is not well run or managed and needs to improve. her majesty s inspectorate of fire and rescue services said the brigade had been slow to implement the changes which were needed after the grenfell tower blaze, in which 72 people died. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds reports.

it‘s a tough, physicaljob, even when there are no flames and fire fighters are just demonstrating typical procedures. today‘s report makes no criticism of those on the front line but it says the london fire brigade is not well—run. it‘s slow to learn lessons and has a long way to go in improving its efficiency. there is one particular concern, not enough training, especially for incident commanders and training which is not pass orfail. so, what happens if officers don‘t perform well? nothing. nothing? no, they arejust back on the system. what do you think of that? we said it is one of the most worrying causes of concern. that‘s why we said we graded the training that london fire does as inadequate, it‘s got to be sorted out. which is significant because it is now more than a year than the then london fire commissioner dany cotton told the grenfell tower public inquiry... i wouldn‘t expect us to be developing training or response to something that simply

shouldn‘t happen. meaning a fire on the scale of grenfell. she has now resigned, partly because of today‘s report. the new commissioner says he‘s committed to making improvements. tom symonds, bbc news. now for the business news. hello and here is the business news. unemployment has fallen to 3.8% — its lowest level since 1975. new figures show there were 1.28 million people out of work during august, september and october, a drop of 13,000. the value of the pound — which went up after the conservative‘s election victory — has lost most of the gains it made since then. investors are concerned that the risk of a n0 deal brexit is rising again after downing street promised to rule out any extension to the transition period

beyond the end of next year. boeing has announced it will temporarily suspend production of its 737 max aircraft injanuary. the newest model of the world‘s biggest selling plane has been grounded for nine months while investigations continue into two crashes which killed 346 people. it‘s not clear when the 737 max will be given clearance to fly again. economists at the world economic forum say it will take a century for the economic gap between men and women to disappear. but things are improving. the latest equality report says that the gap — measured in terms of political influence, economic gain and health and education — has narrowed over the last year. iceland came out on top of the global league for gender equality. but the uk slipped from 15th to 21st place. saadia zahidi is managing director at the world economic forum

and joins us now from geneva. how do you measure this improvement exactly? and how much have things improved over the last year? we are looking at four categories, health, education, participation and political empowerment. 0n education, participation and political empowerment. on three of those we are making progress. education and health gaps are improving. when it comes to political empowerment, it is one of the lowest on the world as a whole but we are seeing quite a bit of post progress in the last few years and the closing of the gender gap. however, when it comes to economic participation, you are seeing a stone of process. women are not only not joining stone of process. women are not only notjoining the workforce partly —— which gaps are improving. even women

coming out of universities are not ina coming out of universities are not in a majority of those in skilled professions or leadership. what has happened in the uk to make as 21st to on the 15th? in the uk, even though women have made up the majority of those coming out of universities for a couple of decades, you actually continue to see a lot of economic participation gaps, particularly the wage gap. the uk is 76 in the world for wage inequality in similarjobs. this was ina ceo inequality in similarjobs. this was in a ceo survey to ask whether not one i get the same weight as men. we are 76 in the world? that‘s how bad we are? yes, on the wage gap. also on political leadership. there are about 30% gender gap when it comes

to parliament when it comes to ministerial positions, at least in the previous cabinet. that is still in wide gap compared to the rest of the world. does the report looked at the world. does the report looked at the factors contributing to this? why are uk taking so long? comparing the uk to northern europe, those economies have been at the top of the rankings for a few years now. they are valuing their full set of human capital when it comes to their growth and competitiveness. that is an equal amount of investment is coming into develop education and removing barriers that allow for all of that talent to be deployed in the workforce. for example, they have very strong policies focused on uk economy. we have the ability of pa rents to economy. we have the ability of parents to combine work and family. in addition, they have a lot of

strong legislation in iceland that is attempting to remove wage gaps and ensure that anybody that does not comply with which gap policies are then adequately disk incentivised. similarly, know it when one of the first countries in the world to put in place a quota for women on boards of publicly listed companies. we have done quite a bit to ensure that both in the workplace and in the home that is greater equality. thank you very much forjoining us. let‘s have a look at some other stories in the business news today: when are you paying for this year‘s christmas? there‘s a warning today from debt charities about the growth in "buy now, pay later" deals offered by leading retailers, including next and marks & spencer. offered by leading retailers, the money and mental health policy institute has told the bbc that it‘s becoming too easy to borrow a significant amount of money without proper information about the implications if you can‘t pay it back. an independent report into the housebuilder

persimmon has said that it must improve the quality of the homes it builds. the report was commissioned after a tv documentary highlighted problems at the company including faults with its buildings and high pressure sales tactifcs. the reports author told persimmon that it cannot afford the stigma of poor workmanship and potentially unsafe products. is christmas really christmas without pigs in blankets? they‘re those little sausages wrapped in bacon. customers of the wetherspoons in croydon were shown this poster recently, warning it would have to serve pigs without blankets. in other words: just a sausage. wetherspoons told us it was a short term supply issue and now resolved. the british meat association told the bbc in october that pigs in blankets could be in short supply this year because of a shortage in seasonal workers. every pig is wrapped in its blanket by hand. lots of investors not happy with govt plans to outlaw extending

brexit transition. the ftse 100 is the ftse100 is down byjust over 0.i%. the ftse100 is down byjust over 0.1%. the pound has lost many of its gains it made against the dollar since the election. it was close to $1 305! know it is $1 since the election. it was close to $1 3051 know it is $131. since the election. it was close to $1305| know it is $131. unilever has a warning about its sales today. that is it for me. iran continues to pose a threat to merchant shipping in the gulf — that s the warning from the head of the royal navy who s been visiting the region. six months ago iran s revolutionary guard seized a british tanker ? the stenna impero. it s now been released but british warships continue to patrol the strait of hormuz as part of a us led task force. 0ur defence correspondentjonathan beale has sent this report from the gulf. the royal navy has beefed

up its presence in the gulf. the destroyer hms defender is the latest arrival to patrol the narrow strait of hormuz and it is packing a punch. notjust its own weapons but with a team of royal marines also on board. tensions with iran are still high. it was just six months ago that iran‘s revolutionary guards seized the british flagged tanker. it has now been released along with its crew. it is a smiling team with the success. but the new head of the royal navy, here to gauge the situation for himself and give his first interview, wants to make sure it doesn‘t happen again. the threat hasn‘t gone away. we have a destroyer here now, as well as a frigate. we have to react to when a nation is as aggressive as iran was. to me, that was an outrageous act that happened on the high seas and therefore that is why we have

responded in the way that we have. untiljust a few weeks ago, this destroyer was still escorting merchant ships through the strait of hormuz. tensions with iran have now eased but they could easily flare up again. this is why the royal navy has two warships out here in the gulf. the uk is not alone. it has joined an american coalition to ensure the free flow of trade. for now, it has been run from this tent in the us navy headquarters in bahrain. britain had initially wanted a european response, out of fear of being dragged into more confrontational policy on iran. france is now setting up a european task force but the uk has already tied its flight to this us led mission.

——tied its flag i can understand why other european nations feel less comfortable. what we have been clear with the americans on establishing this construct is that it cannot be part of an oppressive campaign. if it were to turn out that way, the uk government would leave the construct. the crisis in the gulf has placed extra pressures on the navy with finite resources in a volatile world. with new threats emerging, there will only be more demands on britain‘s forces. we have to embrace some new capabilities, like space and cyber. that might mean we have to adjust the current size and shape of uk armed forces to enable them on that new investment or it might mean we need to invest more but we need to make sure that we continue to be aligned with the national ambition. the clear signalfrom the head of the navy to the new government is for an honest debate about the future of defence. more than eight thousand students currently at university have no relationship with their parents.

many with nowhere to go this christmas. many "estranged students" are being missed by the care system, have severe financial difficulties, suffer loneliness and have nowhere to go in the holidays. alice porter reports. during my summer, ijust ended up couch surfing just trying to survive. this student is one of the many thousands of students in the uk that don‘t have any contact with their pa rents. my childhood was very difficult. i think me leaving the nest to leave for university really tore my family apart. when term ends, she has no home to go back to. i moved houses eight times, just trying to carry suitcases everywhere. i stayed in my friend‘s university room in her halls one christmas and ate kfc and we just tried to make christmas something nice because neither of us had anywhere to go to.

the reasons that the students are not in contact with their families are often very complicated. it can be abusive parents or a clash of ideology. not being recognised as lgbt is very common. this university is trying to lead the way in supporting those from unstable homes. we work with all of our students to make sure they have access to appropriate accommodation all year round. we can make sure that students don't have to get money together for their deposits. people would usually fall back on the bank of mum and dad but we have additional finance for those people that can't. the amount of money these students are entitled to varies across the uk but they have to prove they are an estranged

student, which can be difficult. they need evidence that they haven‘t contacted their parents for about a year. connor is a third—year student and was 13 years old when he was moved out of his family home. i was not put through any official care service, i have no realfiles, so the government don‘t know that i am estranged. when it comes to the student loans company, i have to fill out a form every year and there is a box on that form asking for every detail on my estrangement. that is an invasion of my privacy. the government is increasingly under pressure to take action for this group. when we gather the evidence, we will be making recommendations to the government to make this right.

0n ucas forms next year, applicants will be able to declare whether they are estranged, which will highlight the number of students facing similar challenges. the talking scarecrow worzel gummidge returns to tv for an updated christmas special. worzel is played this time by the actor mackenzie crook, who s also written the new version as well as directing it. tim muffett went on set to meet him and the cast. that scarecrow came here last night and brought back my phone. what‘s your name? worzel gummidge. welcome to scatterbrook. a walking, talking, mischievous scarecrow — worzel gummidge is back, 40 years afterjon pertwee first played him on television.

worzel gummidge, the original books, were written nearly 90 years ago and i thought it was about time to resurrect him and introduce him to a new audience. we have written this climate change fable and it is all about looking after the natural world. how old are you? i'm all manner of ages. my head is one age, my feet are another, so on and so forth. he is trying to show kids our age that things are happening in the world and what we can do about them. so, worzel and susan go on adventures and they save the planet. last christmas, a new version of watership down was shown on tv. it, too, had been a book adapted for the screen into the ‘70s before being remade once more but, for some viewers at least, it would have been better to have left it alone. 0ur version and the ‘70s, ‘80s version are so different that they can exist together. he wasn‘t part of my childhood and i think that is one of the reasons why i‘m doing it now. i think, if i had watched it, i would be more wary of it perhaps

but we were one of those old—fashioned families that only watched the bbc channels, and commercial television was still very much frowned upon. you are just saying that because we are on the bbc! it is true, though! children even thought they were scarecrows, too. matter of fact i did when i first met them. i play the green man, he‘s actually the man who makes the scarecrows. he is a hedge layer so he‘s an expert at laying hedges and all that. he is the sort of archetypal countryman. ifeel i have been here before, many, many times! in fact, the first python shot we ever did was the man coming out of the sea and he dragged himself up the beach and saying, "it‘s..." people talk about the age of television which we‘re in now. some people think it is a golden age. others say, no, it was better as it was. as someone who has been there and done that, where do you think we are now when it comes to the state of the television industry? there is a much, much wider range of television being produced now than when i was in python and even doing the early travel shows

and all that, and that should be a good thing. you just have to make sure that there is a quality in the things you are doing. i wish to register a complaint. when we were doing python, we did not think of knocking down barriers. suddenly, things were very much more relaxed in the ‘60s. suddenly, it was open season, whatever you wanted to do. some scenes, like the parrot sketch, are considered all—time tv classics. hello, polly! po—o—olly!! if the bbc commissioned a show, they would just let you go and do it. and that would not happen today, would it? i don‘t think it would. a scarecrow gathering always ends in pandemonium... if monty python was untouchable, it is hoped this new worzel gummidge can give an old favourite a new lease on life. tim muffett, bbc news. ‘worzel gummidge: the scarecrow 0f scatterbrook‘ premieres on boxing day at 6.20pm on bbc one.

nextjane hill is here, with the one 0‘clock news, now it‘s the weather with simon king. it hasn‘t been too long a start for many others. mist and fog patches have caused some issues and are lingering on. we have further showers coming to scotland and be lower whether pressure front is being bad weather to the south—east. that is the pulse of rain coming into the south—east this afternoon. we could see the answer on the irish sea coast, but otherwise it is merely drive despite being chilly. for this evening, a similar picture. it is mostly dry with that rain going away from the south east. most places will be dry and cold, down to minus two celsius. less cold in the south—west because of the increasing

wind and cloud by the end of the night. through wednesday, it turns wetter and windier across the south—west. it is not a bad day, it sta rts south—west. it is not a bad day, it starts colder. before into low cloud. it is that wind and rain that sta rts cloud. it is that wind and rain that starts to spread in at a milder ten or 11 degrees in the south—west. it will be wet and windy particularly across the west of the country. there will be some transient snow across scotland but it will turn back to ray for all areas. in milder picture for thursday, rain mainly across the south of the country. a little bit of sunshine further north. it will be a blustery day, whence coming in from the south—west. double figure temperatures, and as we head through

thursday night into friday we will have blustery showers again. it will be prolonged in southern areas. there will be a risk of flooding in some counties. it will tend to be mild towards the end of the week, particularly across england and wales.

the government promises to rule out any extension to the brexit transition period beyond the end of next year. you ain‘t seen nothing yet, folks. as borisjohnson meets his cabinet for the first time since the election — he says he‘s determined to lead a people‘s government. the voters of this country have changed this government and our party for the better. and we must repay their trust now by working flat out to change our country for the better. labour warns ruling out an extention to the transition period could result in leaving the eu without a trade agreement. we‘ll have the latest. also on the programme... half a million hotpoint and indesit washing machines are to be recalled,