the state opening of parliament — the queen sets out the government's plans for the future, with brexit taking centre stage. the queen announces more than 30 bills for the next year. leaving the eu onjanuary 31st is top of the list, but there's also a sharp focus on the nhs. my government's priority is to deliver the united kingdom's departure from the european union on the 31st of january. the start of a new era, as the prime minister leads his large intake of new mps after his decisive election victory last week. i'm live in westminster, where parliament is getting back to work, debating the key issues raised in the queen's speech, with brexit and the nhs top of the new government's to—do list.

also on the programme this lunchtime. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon sets out her plans for another independence referendum, and warns boris johnson not to oppose it. record temperatures in australia — almost 42 degrees celsius — as hundreds of bush fires burn out of control. and after stepping out of the ring, a dramatic change of career for the olympic boxer nicola adams. and coming up on bbc news, liverpool confirm their first signing of the january transfer window —japan‘s takumi minamino signs a 4.5 year deal.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the queen has outlined the government's agenda for the next year following the conservatives‘ decisive election victory last week. addressing both houses at the state opening of parliament, her majesty said her government would embark on an "ambitious programme of domestic reform that delivers on the people's priorities". legislation to take the uk out of the european union on 31st ofjanuary is among over 30 bills announced. other measures include guarantees on extra health service funding in england and more cash for schools. there are also proposals for new sentencing laws for serious violent offenders, including terrorists. and the government says it wants to ensure the whole of the uk can prosper — with plans for more infrastructure spending. simon mccoy is at westminster. sophie, thank you. there was a certain sense of deja—vu amid all the somewhat scaled down pomp and ceremony here today — no gold coaches and a little less of the frippery associated with the event here at westminster

this morning — and that's because the last queen's speech was only nine weeks ago, before the uk went to the polls. the parliamentary arithmetic is now, of course, very different. the speech is essentially the government's to—do list — and there's plenty borisjohnson wants to do — not least of course, brexit. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. got a sense of deja vu? it's less than ten weeks since we last had a queen's speech. this one is a bit different though. scaled back, no golden carriage. no ceremonial dress for the queen. the biggest changes here in the house of commons. black rod! mr speaker, the queen commands this honourable house stop summoned to the lords to hear the government's plan for the next year, led by a victorious prime minister, a small and weakened opposition. look at the tension between them. borisjohnson

look at the tension between them. boris johnson can now look at the tension between them. borisjohnson can now make his promises reality and that means in a few weeks' time, the uk will leave the eu. my government's priority is to deliver the united kingdom's departure from the eu on the 31st of january. my ministers will bring forward legislation to ensure the uk's exit on that date. and to make the most of the opportunities this brings for all the people of the uk. but he wants to persuade you there's more to his government, a detailed agenda beyond brexit. the top domestic priority is the health service, enshrining in law the promise to spend 3a billion extra a year. my government will embark on an ambitious programme of domestic reform that delivers on the people's priorities. for the first time, the national health service's multi—year funding settlement agreed earlier this year will be enshrined in law.

there will be legislation to change the uk's immigration system and improve broadband connectivity. and a pledge to change sentencing for serious crimes. new sentencing laws will ensure the most serious violent offenders, including terrorists, serve longer in custody. new laws will require schools, police, councils and health authorities to work together to prevent serious crime. ministers say the programme shows they mean business. this five—year ambitious plan, the 34 billion additional investment, is exactly what the nhs meets. this is a people's queen's speech. opposition parties are still sceptical. we are deeply concerned about the headlines differentiating from the reality of people's lives and that divide has got greater and greater over the last few years under this government. we are going to carry on being the real

opposition as we've been over the last number of years and we will be focusing on protecting the nhs, focusing on protecting the nhs, focusing on protecting the nhs, focusing on ensuring the social security system is fair and actually catches people. the election may be over but the debate goes on. boris johnson promised during the campaign that a majority government would get the country moving again. his challenge now is to make that happen, notjust challenge now is to make that happen, not just to challenge now is to make that happen, notjust to deliver brexit but to fulfil those other key campaign pledges too, not least those made to people in the north who voted tory for the first time. a day of tradition in westminster but with a new government comes change and much of what happens around here will feel very different. our health editor hugh pym is with me. what caught your eye? what did catch the eye was the legislation to underpin the extra cash for the nhs

in england over the next five years which will raise the budget by 33.9 billion in cash terms in the year 2023 compared to now. that is quite an innovation. normally a spending commitment is made but doesn't require an act of parliament so why aren't the conservative government doing that? the political intention is to say, you heard all sorts of numbers being thrown backwards and forwards in the campaign, here is legislation that will commit us to delivering this extra money for the nhs. the only thing is that money was committed by theresa may last yearin was committed by theresa may last year in herfive was committed by theresa may last year in her five year plan for was committed by theresa may last year in herfive year plan for nhs england with that number, give or ta ke england with that number, give or take a bit of adjustment for inflation. simon steven knows he's going to get it anyway and it would be odd for any government to suddenly cut it back. you might say is ita suddenly cut it back. you might say is it a gimmick or a political move. we've also heard in the queen speech

about the intention of the government to recruit thousands more nurses and doctors and to focus on the workforce because of shortages in the nhs, writing apps, but no detail about that. —— rotate gaps. there's a lot of plans are long—term but not so much detail about the short term. thank you. well, the speech included government plans to cut business rates across england and wales to try and revive high streets. let's speak to our business correspondent, dharshini david. at i'm wondering how business will react. we know that business rates area react. we know that business rates are a huge problem for companies up and down the country, particularly retailers who pay about a quarter of the business rate bill, a quarter of the business rate bill, a quarter of the 30 billion or so raised by government every year. they are struggling in many cases. we are told these plans to revamp the high street. does it stack up? what's on offer is concessions of about £320 million and that is just for one

year. that 1% of the total bill, it doesn't add up to a huge amount. businesses will be waiting to hear if there is any more planned in the budget but don't hold your breath because there's not much the government can afford to give away. and this comes at a time when businesses are going to have to fork out an extra £3 billion plus per yearin out an extra £3 billion plus per year in corporation tax bills than they were expecting prior to the election due to the cancellation of tax cuts in that area. plenty there for businesses to grapple with so forget the headlines, it's not all balconies and they will have to think about how they are willing to pay for the higher national living wage that the government wants to introduce. it has got ambitious plans which could help alleviate in work poverty quite drastically but on the other hand goes further than most countries have already gone and the big question is can businesses afford that bill without cutting back on hiring? business groups and those representing the low alike are

urging government to be cautious and keep monitoring the impact of all of this —— representing business and the low—paid alike. this —— representing business and the low-paid alike. thank you. our assistant political editor norman smith is inside the houses of parliament for us. a new government, what have we learned about their priorities today? i think we learned quite a bit because although it's tempting to say this queen's speech looks like the last one in ten weeks ago, there is one fundamental difference which is the last queen's speech was a pie in the sky fantasy queen's speech. none of it was ever going to be implemented because borisjohnson didn't have a majority. it simply wasn't going to happen. all changed now because he is armed with a thumping 80 seat majority. this is no longer a fantasy queen's speech, this is a legislative programme of action which is actually going to happen. secondly, it is packed full

of measures, 30 different bills and design to say to folk, parliamentary gridlock, the quagmire of introspection and inactivity, but ends and we can now get on with doing all of those things which previously had to be put on hold. it is striking how many of the measures are designed to appeal to those voters who borisjohnson acknowledges don't normally vote tory but lent him their vote at the last election. we get a pack of measures on the nhs, extra cash to provide more funding for schools outside london, the promise of more and better road and rail links in the north. the one wrinkle in this is our old friend aunty brexit. although mrjohnson will surely get his brexit bill through the commons, he's been got to secure a trade deal. as we know, when it comes to brexit life is rarely easy or simple and it still has the potential to suck a lot of energy out of the

government. thank you. sophie, a new political era is under way. much more reaction from westminster throughout the afternoon on the bbc news channel. but for now — back to sophie in the studio. scotland's first minister says the mandate for a new independence referendum is now "unarguable". after the snp won 48 of the 59 seats in scotland at the general election, nicola sturgeon has now published a document laying out what she says is a detailed case for another referendum. borisjohnson has repeatedly made clear his opposition to such a move. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is at holyrood. this is the document detailing the arguments as nicola sturgeon sees it in favour of scotland's right to choose its own constitutional future. the first minister earlier also confirming that today she is sending a letter to the uk government asking them to transfer powers normally reserved to westminster to the scottish

parliament at holyrood. enabling it to hold any referendum. she wants what is called a section 30 or debbie because she wants any independence referendum to be beyond legal challenge —— section 30 order. the dilemma is nicola sturgeon wants a referendum, the uk government says no and see it as a damaging distraction. nicola sturgeon says she believes that position will not hold. the more a tory government seeks to block the will of the scottish people, the more they show complete and utter contempt for scottish democracy, the more support for independence will rise. so, their short—term strategy, in my view, sows the seeds of their longer term defeat. it is self—defeating, but it will not hold because it is not a democratic position. i think we see the tectonic plates of this shifting already in the days since the election. so, i'm going to stand my ground. i fully expect today we'll get the flat "no" of tory westminster opposition, but that's not an end of the matter

— and borisjohnson should not be under any illusion that it is. nicola sturgeon wouldn't be drawn on what her next steps would be but it's fair to say she is playing the long game and this constitutional stand—off isn't coming to an end anytime soon. thank you. the bank of england has said it was "wholly unacceptable" for its audio feeds to be misused by traders who tried to gain a financial advantage over their rivals. they were able to listen to the bank's news conferences several seconds before they were broadcast on video feeds — enough time to beat the rest of the market. our business editor simon jack is here. we are only talking about a few seconds. five to eight seconds. how much of an advantage with are able to gain? it is potentially quite valuable. sometimes it sounds like technical gobbledygook when they talk but the financial markets listen to every word and nuance of some sort of hint about what will happen to things like interest rates. a small rise could have a big

effect on the value of the pound, on government bonds. these traders were getting the audio feed much easier to co m press getting the audio feed much easier to compress and send a few seconds earlier, they were able to beat the rest of the market by hearing what the governor of the bank of england was saying before the rest of us did. in that time, you could easily make a trade in pounds or government bonds and potentially make some real money. the bank says they are looking into this and have asked the fca to have a look. it's very embarrassing. they are usually paranoid about controlling the release of information. they know how valuable the information is. although they say the actual things like interest decisions were not, you can get them earlier, it is the news co nfe re nces you can get them earlier, it is the news conferences after. at those words can and do move market so this isa words can and do move market so this is a major embarrassment for them. figures for last month show the worst ever performance at accident and emergency units in welsh hospitals. less than 75% of patients were seen within four hours in november. the target is 95%.

our wales correspondent hywel griffith is in cardiff. they really are missing those targets by quite some margin? yes, absolutely. 20% down on what should be hit, that's from 95% of patients seen be hit, that's from 95% of patients seen within four hours. here at wales' busiest hospital, busiest a&e unit it was 75% last month and that was one of the better hospitals in wales. in north wales at one hospital only 57% of patients seen within four hours and perhaps more worrying was the number of patients in wales who spent more than 12 hours waiting to be seen, almost 6000 of them in november. that isn't the only part of the system under strain. ambulances haven't been getting too enough category red calls within the eight minute window. we are seeing people not getting cancer treatments on time, so clearly the nhs in wales is under strain as it is across the rest of

the uk. the performance here is worse than in england and in scotland, but marginally better than in northern ireland. everyone's problems are the same, record demand, an elderly population that's living longer but living with chronic conditions that often exacerbate at this time of year with trips and slips. the most government say the last month was particularly difficult because we saw outbreaks of flu and norovirus within the wards of some hospitals. they say they've got a winter plan but hearing from some senior consultants who work in a&e within wales, they say they are trying to work through a tsunami by throwing sand bags at the problem. they think potentially systemic change is what's needed and that would take an awful lot more money and an awful lot longer to deliver. thank you. our top story this lunchtime. the queen sets out the government's plans for the next year, with brexit taking centre stage in more than 30 bills.

and coming up — calls for the ministry of defence to do more to tackle a rise in racism in the military. coming up on bbc news, english batsmen alex hales scores 68 runs from 38 deliveries, as his sydney thunder side beat melbourne renegades by six wickets in australia's big bash. the record—breaking heatwave in australia shows no sign of letting up. the average temperature nationally has reached 41.9 degrees celsius — that's 107.4 fahrenheit. a week—long state of emergency has been declared in new south wales, where more than a hundred bushfires continue to burn out of control. two firefighters have been seriously hurt after their fire engine was reportedly engulfed by flames. phil mercer reports from the blue mountains, north of sydney. choking smoke, intense heat and raging bush fires. it's been another brutal day in australia. the battle to protect life and property seems never—ending,

but despite a mammoth firefighting effort more houses have been lost. a seven—day state of emergency in new south wales is giving fire authorities additional powers to cope with dozens of blazes, many of which are burning out of control. the biggest concern for us over the next few days is the unpredictability, with extreme wind conditions, extreme hot temperatures. we have a good idea, a good sense of where the most concerning areas are, but again, when you've got those turbulent wind conditions, embers and spot fires can occur very unpredictably. military helicopters have joined a huge emergency effort that's being stretched to the limit. on the front line, crews, many of them volunteers, have confronted the sheer ferocity of the flames. three firefighters were injured, two of them seriously, when theirfire engine was engulfed by flames.

the bushfires are again spreading a toxic haze across sydney and other parts of new south wales. a heatwave has made a dangerous situation even worse. the heat and the smoke are almost unbearable. the streets here in sydney's outer western suburbs are almost deserted. air quality is at a hazardous level. it is so bad my eyes are stinging, my throat is dry, and my lungs feel sore from all of the smoke blown in from the bushfires. as the fires continue to rage, so does the debate about whether the conservative prime minister scott morrison is taking the threat of climate change seriously. don't get me started on the government! that's just — yeah, he should be doing so much more. the bushfires i think are just a normal part of australia, a little bit worse this year, but ten years ago was the same, and i'm not so sure that climate change is responsible

for what we're experiencing here. we are currently experiencing very hazardous air quality... the record for australia's hottest day has been broken for a second time this week. maximum temperatures across the country reached an average of 41.9 degrees. officials fear that conditions on saturday could be even worse. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. donald trump has become only the third us president to be impeached. the democrat—controlled house of representatives last night approved two charges, setting up a trial next month in the senate — but it's dominated by republicans so the president is almost certain to remain in office. mr trump denies abusing his power and obstructing congress, and says the process is a witch—hunt. our correspondent nada tawfik is in washington. given that the senate is so

dominated by republicans, the president is unlikely, very unlikely, to be found guilty. what are the democrats hoping to achieve by this? could it backfire?” are the democrats hoping to achieve by this? could it backfire? i think what's really interesting is the message from democrats during this marathon, very partisan, passionate debate in the house yesterday, that they were given no choice by president trump. this was something they had to do. they felt like taking the oath of the constitution they had to protect any future election interference and they said that the president presented an ongoing threat to inviting foreign intervention in elections. and democrats have, remember, for a while been divided in their caucus. many members wanted to impeach the president after the muller report into russian interference but nancy pelosi really for a long time said that wasn't something that she was going to do until now. i think what's interesting is going into the senate trial, what we're hearing from democrats today is that they are going to wait to present the two

articles of impeachment to the senate until they are assured they can geta senate until they are assured they can get a fair trial. they only need four republican senators to join the democrats in the senate to push for witnesses like the acting white house chief of staff mick mulvaney, likejohn boulton, house chief of staff mick mulvaney, like john boulton, to house chief of staff mick mulvaney, likejohn boulton, to be. to testify and so democrats are hoping that more will come to light that could possibly help them. they are not taking this as inevitable, by any means, that the senate will put the president even if all of us know that the most likely outcome. thank you. a six—year—old boy who was left fighting for his life after being thrown from the viewing platform of the tate modern art gallery in london has started to speak again, his family has revealed. the french boy, who is too young to be named, is also regaining some sensation in his arms and legs. in an online post, his family said his speech was still very stilted but called it "wonderful progress". he was attacked on the 4th of august by 18—year—old jonty bravery. bravey has admitted attempted murder and will be sentenced in february. a 15—year—old migrant boy is in the care of social services

after he was found on the central reservation of the m6 last night. police say the boy is believed to be from iraq and became separated from his parents a few days ago. he was found walking on the central reservation near great barr, north of birmingham, at about ten o'clock last night. the woman in charge of complaints in the armed forces has warned that racist incidents in the military are happening with "increasing and depressing frequency". nicola williams says the ministry of defence needs to do more to tackle the problem. it comes after a number of high profile cases involving soldiers who've taken legal action against the army. the mod says it's committed to stamping out racism. our defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. there's my grandfather, world war two and his medals. mark de kretser has always had strong ties to the military. my dad, raf, aden, and his medals. his father, who came from sri lanka, joined the raf.

then we have mine. those are your medals? yeah. so that's. .. iraq, afghanistan. mark signed up to the army soon after he left school, serving first as a regular and then as a reserve, but it wasn't combat which left him suffering from post—traumatic stress. it was racism. my name wasn't english and as they said, i had a bit of the tar brush in me. there would be names that would come up in the meetings and they were asked to be called black, buddha. itjust got to the point where i wasn't worried about how i performed at work. i was worried about what was going to be said to me next. it's not the image the army wants. recent recruitment campaigns

have highlighted its diversity and tolerance. it wants more black and asian personnel, who currently make up just 7% of the armed forces. but the harsh reality is that ethnic minorities already make a higher proportion of complaints about bullying, harassment and discrimination. now, in herfirst tv interview, the independent armed forces ombudsman, overseeing complaints, warns they have a serious problem. i think racism is prevalent in the armed forces, whether or not you describe it as institutionally racist or there are racist incidents which are occurring with increasing and depressing frequency, the issue needs to be tackled. if i tell you something you were doing was wrong i expect you to buy in, accept that and change. the mod says it's committed to stamping out racism. everyone in the armed forces now undergoes diversity and inclusivity training, like this.

and there's also a dedicated team to deal with what it calls unacceptable behaviours. the fact that the army has invested in a team of six and hopefully a team that's going to get bigger shows that the army takes all of these issues seriously and it's notjust about racism and sexism, it's about all unacceptable behaviours. but it didn't stop mark from suffering racist abuse. it has broke me. i was...really quite a strong character, and i'm a mouse now. the mod has now paid him compensation, but he'll never trust the army he once loved. jonathan beale, bbc news. nicola adams made olympic history at london 2012 when she became the first female boxer to win gold — the greatest female boxer this

country has ever produced. she turned professional in 2017, but last month she announced her retirement over fears she could lose her sight if she continued to box. now she's told the bbc about her plans for a dramatic career change. she's been speaking to our sports correspondent, jo currie. three months ago, nicola adams was at the top of her sport. the double olympic champion was preparing for her world title fight with big plans to continue dominating boxing. but a freak injury brought it all to an end. in my last fight, in the first round, i got caught with it might have been a sum in my eye and it tore the pupil in two places —— i got caught with what might have been a thumb. doctors told adams that if she continued to box she might end

up she continued to box she might end up blind, leaving where her with a big decision to make. it could be i get caught with that one shot at the wrong time and it could have cost me my site and it wasn't a risk that i was prepared to take. and olympic champion... the 37-year-old has had a golden career. the leeds born fighter became the first ever olympic boxing champion at london 2012 before repeating the feat at rio, four years later. she's also held world, european and commonwealth titles, as well as being awarded an mbe and an obe, a true trailblazer who leaves behind an unrivalled legacy. true trailblazer who leaves behind an unrivalled legacylj true trailblazer who leaves behind an unrivalled legacy. i had be the london olympics, it had to be, just because it was the home games, the whole country just lit up because it was the home games, the whole countryjust lit up and we had so much support from the whole nation. it was unreal and it was my first ever olympic gold and it was the first one for female boxing as well, it made history. it has to be

the highlight, it has to be. adams is used to drama in the ring but now says she plans to swap the canvas for the big screen. i started first getting into acting when i was younger. i quite enjoyed doing it. i signed up with emmerdale and coronation street and played myself in waterloo road. i had fun and i'm hoping in the future i will be able to do hoping in the future i will be able todoa hoping in the future i will be able to do a little bit more. i was, i had to turn down a few opportunities while i was boxing, so i'm looking forward to now taking up all the opportunities that i had to miss site if i see you as an actor or actress, i see you as an action woman. is that what you would like to go into, stunt work, orjust acting? just the acting side, i think! i've had enough of getting bashed about! jo currie, bbc news. i'm not surprised. time for a look at the weather. here's nick miller.