good morning. welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: disappointment at the palace after the duke and duchess of sussex tell the world they're stepping back from royal duties — without consulting the queen. prince harry and meghan say they'll split their time between the uk and north america, and work to become financially independent. demands for whirlpool to offer refunds as the recall of hundreds of thousands of faulty washing machines gets under way. it was the worst year on record for british retail. christmas high street sales end the poorest 12 months everfor the uk's shops. we'll also get the latest results from tesco and m&s.

injury forjimmy anderson england's leading wicket taker is out of the final two tests in south africa after breaking a rib. good morning. the wind will ease. the rain and health snow in northern areas were clear, more into the south later in the brightest skies in northern scott. it's being touted as the movie of the year, and is already scooping up awards in hollywood. the star of the new first world war epic 1917, george mackay, joins us on the sofa. good morning. it's thursday, the 9th of january. our top story. senior members of the royal family are said to be "hurt", after the duke and duchess of sussex announced that they're stepping back from their royal roles. harry and meghan‘s decision is believed to have ‘shocked' the royal family, with reports the couple didn't consult the queen or prince william.

our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell reports. they'd had a they‘d had a 6— they'd had a 6— week break and they'd clearly been considering their future. back they'd clearly been considering theirfuture. back in london on tuesday during a visit to canada house, harry and meghan were settled but they were about to spring a surprise on the wider world and theirfamily. surprise on the wider world and their family. they did surprise on the wider world and theirfamily. they did not surprise on the wider world and their family. they did not consult their family. they did not consult the queen or the prince of wales before issuing the personal statement. the statement leaves many questions unanswered. what is a progressive new role? how do they intend to become financially independent? only one real detail was given. they will henceforth, they said, balance their

time between the united kingdom and north america. buckingham palace issued to a state, saying: the clearest indication they can be that the success of not thought this through. at the same time it was being made clear that senior members of the royal family including the queen and harry's father and brother felt hurt with the way the subsectors had behaved. the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life had been apparent for some months, notably during and since their tour of southern africa. my since their tour of southern africa. my british friend said to me, i'm sure his great because you shouldn't do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life. and i'm very "i'm sure he's great, but you shouldn't do it, "because the british tabloids will destroy your life," and i very naively, i'm american, we don't have that there, "what are you talking about?" just 20 months ago at their wedding in windsor, it had all seemed to offer such promise. a young prince married

his american bride, they brought a freshness to the royal family and seem to engage with a new audience. now at least some of those hopes seem to have been dashed. for a royal family those hopes seem to have been dashed. for a royalfamily which is looking more and more to the core group of younger members, the partial withdrawal of the sussexes isa partial withdrawal of the sussexes is a drawback and after the controversies around prince andrew it is, as officials have indicated, disappointment. our correspondent, simonjones is at buckingham palace this morning. simon, the news came as a bit of a shock to the royal family? royal watches are describing the ninth cement is a bombshell. not just in the contents of the statement. but the fact that we are told the queen, prince charles and prince william did not see this coming. that's why we're hearing

from insiders words like and hurt which is pretty unprecedented because in the past and there have been problems concerning the royal family, they have come together and papered over the cracks but here we get a sense of the two sides divided. we have an idea of how meghan and harry are doing. they launched the glossy website last night and they said when they are in the uk they expect to be living in frogmore cottage in windsor which was recently renovated at a cost of £2 million to the taxpayer and see a new relationship with the media. you can understand why the palaces describing all is complicated. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, says talks in washington with his us. counterpart about how to deal with iran have been "positive and constructive".the meeting came after tehran fired missiles at air bases housing american troops in iraq. the attack was in retaliation for the killing of the top iranian military commander, general soleimani. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes.

another tense night. foreign government buildings, including the us embassy, are based in baghdad's green zone where several rockets fell. the iraqi military said there are no casualties. on tuesday night, the pentagon says iran launched short—range ballistic missiles against two us bases. again, there were no casualties. but it was a gesture of retaliation that met with strong support on the streets of tehran. donald trump's response was measured. he suggested iran was standing down and that americans should be grateful. but iran and the us are still locked in intense stand—off. the question is — what happens next?

we are absolutely committed as our partners are to iran acquiring a nuclear weapon and we have been committed to thejcpoa were noncompliances been so acute. and obviously we're going to look very ha rd obviously we're going to look very hard at what should happen next. ever since the killing of the iranian general, qasem soleimani, there have been questions about the trump administration's claim that there was an imminent threat to the united states. us senators have now been briefed about the intelligence that led to the attack. i am convinced that had decisive action not be taken, we could very well be standing here today talking about the death of dozens, if not hundreds of americans at the hands of shia militias working as proxies for the iranian regime. democrats in the house of representatives plan to vote on a resolution designed to curb the president's military actions against iran. the international rhetoric may have softened, but mr trump still faces

strong opposition at home. peter bowes, bbc news. iranian authorities have released an initial report 176 people, including three britons, were killed when the plane came down yesterday morning. let's get more on this from our correspondent, jonah fisher who's in kyiv. we don't know what is in this initial report, that the ukrainian president has received, but the direction of travel on this and i think what is emerging from briefings from western intelligence in particular is that it is heading towards the direction of people saying that it was a technical failure that brought this plane down. ukrainian airlines flight came down. ukrainian airlines flight came down shortly after take—off yesterday morning as you will no doubt remember. as of this moment,

lots of footage has emerged from the crash site but nothing from the crash site but nothing from the crash site but nothing from the crash site is seriously suggested this was anything other than a technical error. no indication the plane might have been shot down. thank you very much. the recall of more than 500,000 potentially dangerous whirlpool washing machines begins today. if you're affected, you'll be offered either a repair or a replacement.but the consumer rights group, which? says that's not enough and is urging the manufacturer to offer refunds instead. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz has the details. dealing with the backlog built up because your mum can't use her washing machine. it was ok at first. it wasjust, like, a couple of loads. but now, it's just constant. alex from west sussex has had to take in all her 75—year—old mother's dirty clothes. to blame, a whirlpool washer, one of the ones at risk of catching fire because of a faulty electronic door lock.

all of her washing is here, everything in my house. it's not even about the washing. this has cost us in so much money in electric, its cost her so much money in petrol. the first customers heard was on the 17th of december. they were told then to unplug affected machines or use them only on the cold cycle. only today, more than three weeks later, is whirlpool offering a solution. owners will get an email to choose a repair or replacement. there are no refunds on offer. they can then click on a link to book a date for the work. 60,000 affected machines have been located so far. the plan is these will be dealt with in a matter of weeks. whirlpool told us last month what effort they were putting into the recall. this is a complex situation and i wish it could be done overnight, i truly do,

but we're working flat out to make sure that we have all of our people trained, we doubled the staff, we're adding service engineers. whirlpool‘s already having to replace dryers with a fire danger. now, it's got more than 500,000 risky washing machines to find. to date, only a fraction of the washers have been located, so this whole recall process could take months. simon gompertz, bbc news. it's been the hottest year on record for australia, and its expected to get even warmer in the coming days. fresh alerts have been issued across the south, as the growing bushfires continue to endanger lives and homes. at least 27 people and 800 million animals have died since the blazes began in september. let's get the latest from our correspondent, katy watson, who's in melbourne. as we've seen around the world, people raising money to try to help but this is such a huge operation now. absolutely. i am at foodbank victoria in melbourne. volunteers are packing away. since the centre opened, inundated with donations.

3000 people coming through to try and drop off food and water. it's been such a massive devastation of buyers. much more than we've seen in recent yea rs. buyers. much more than we've seen in recent years. just explain how the community, especially here in the city of melbourne, come together. the response from the community has been as unprecedented as the bushfires themselves. we opened up less than a week ago and we had 3000 vehicles through. cars, vans, trailers, trucks, fire engines, ambulances, tip trucks and even a guy with a wheelbarrow. it's been extraordinary. all the food you can see, packed by our 400 volunteers, we been able to ship it out to those bushfire at the communities, over 3500 hampers which will last a family at least a week. 190, sorry, 140,000 litres of water. i have to

get my head around these numbers. thousands of kilograms of first responder food like snack bars and fruit cups. we've done it by air, sea and road, it's been incredible. in its set to continue. we are at the beginning of the season effectively. to be honest, the season hasn't even started in the courier. we don't see events like this until january and courier. we don't see events like this untiljanuary and this started in decemberand we this untiljanuary and this started in december and we are only at the start of january in december and we are only at the start ofjanuary so we are in for the long haul. it's notjust the immediate event. these communities will take years to re—establish. there are 30 isolated communities. there are 30 isolated communities. the next few days, the temperatures are expected to rise again and this pa rt are expected to rise again and this part of the state is on disaster, people waiting to see how intense these fires will be. british soul singer celeste has won bbc music's sound of 2020. the award is given to artists who are tipped for success in the coming year. she joins a stellar line—up of past

winners, including adele and ellie goulding. it's been a good year for celeste so far, as she's also just been announced as the winner of the brits' rising star award. even better news, she is going to be on the sofa. i'm sorry i can't bring the same levels of talent. i've got disappointment from the england cricket camp. that man behind you, jimmy anderson. this is a man who only came back injury, which he picked up on the very first morning of the ashes. this time his broken rib and could be out for 6— eight weeks. this is a huge blow. out of the final two tests. england's all—time leading wicket takerjames anderson suffers another injury blow he is ruled out of the final two tests in south africa leading to questions about his future

in the sport. leicester city and aston villa draw the first leg of their league cup semi—final thanks to a second half equaliser from kelechi ihea nacho at the king power stadium. ashley young is going to play for interim alignment italy. he could even move in the january transfer window. and great britain are trying to make it through to the semi finals of the atp cup. they're into a deciding doubles match against hosts australia after dan evans levelled the tie in sydney. that match only ended in the last few hours. three hours and 23 minutes. dan again —— dan evans digging deep to keep written in it. great britain have far exceeded

anyone's expectations stop the first time it's ever happened. here's carol with a look at this morning's weather. let's see if carol can exceed expectations. no pressure. happy new year. and the same to you all. it seems odd saying it is late. the weather today is very complex. a couple of areas of low pressure crossing us. overnight rain until snow. a lot of that will pull away into the north sea. the wind will ease and we have another area of low pressure scooting across southern areas as we go through the course of the day. to try and paint the picture, you can see this is the system that's brought the rain on the hill snow across northern areas overnight. we still have gusty winds across england and wales for the next few hours but they will tend to ease in the next few hours. there

goes the rain on the hill snow. it may affect the higher roots on the trans— pennine ways and the southern upland spit behind, dry conditions, hazy sunshine, the best of the brightness across the north of scotland. northern ireland, some bright spells, and don't forget the low pressure crossing the south of england. showery rain that we see that heavy bursts in there and also thunder and lightning to boot. temperature—wise, milder in the south but in the north, look at that. three, four, five. it will feel rather cold. as we head on through the evening and overnight, showery outbreaks of rain and thunder and lightning. also a bit of cloud around stop showers in the north and the west and also looking at clear skies in the north so you can expect some lost in the risk of ice were it has been wet at transient ridge of high pressure builds across through the course of the night. a lot of the showers will tend to fade. temperatures, much

cooler than in southern areas but you can expect some frost and in some parts of north—east scotland, temperatures as low as —5 four —6. we pick up the forecast tomorrow morning. a cold start, the risk of ice on untreated surfaces and the winds which will be quite blustery across the english channel, later, the wind will pick up and here, we are looking at rain coming our way in this rain is likely to be heavy. it could cause some problems. it will be mild as we go into saturday. it is not going to last however. on saturday, they goes out cold front. it would be a windy day with gales across the north—west of the country and this is where we will see the rain, friday into saturday. hi totals which could lead

to some localised flooding across parts of scotland. the driest conditions in the south—east. hoping my earpiece stays in for the next bed. i had not even notice. that is how much of a professional you. no—one noticed. let's take a look at today's papers: there's only one story in town on today's front pages — the duke and duchess of sussex announcing they will step back as senior royals and work to become financially independent. "megxit", the sun declares it, as the paper says the announcement left prince charles and prince william, "incandescent with rage". "queen's fury as harry and meghan say: we quit," is the headline on the front page of the daily mail in its "bombshell special issue". the telegraph says the "extraordinary" and "unprecedented" statement left the queen and royal aides "blindsided", as they had only very recently been made aware

of the sussexes' intentions. and it's big news across the atlantic too, with canada's globe and mail reporting that the couple plan to spend more time in north america. lots of other news going on.|j lots of other news going on. i am going to start with some teachers this morning. the former boss of nissen, carlos ghosn, broken his cover after leaving japan and turning up in lebanon. he said he was not going to be given a fair trial in japan. he was not going to be given a fair trial injapan. he was smuggled out ina trial injapan. he was smuggled out in a musical instrument case and turning up in beirut... a musical instrument case! he has a bit of a double bass... a big box. a xylophone... double bass... a big box. a xylophone. .. he appeared in double bass... a big box. a xylophone... he appeared in lebanon on to give this a press conference

and he says he will be guaranteed a freak trial that he would not have been guaranteed in japan. freak trial that he would not have been guaranteed injapan. it included all sorts of details including a powerpoint presentation about the trial he hopes to have. and this picture as well... this is a very serious story but the two things i have come away with is that he was smuggled out in a musical case and he had a powerpoint presentation, sorry stop from the sublime to the ridiculous. take a look at this picture. i know what it is, we spoke about it. this is a camel sale. i have been to a camel duty contest when i was a correspondent in the middle east... what part of the camel to look it? mascara on the eyelashes, they go all out. really! they go for a lot

of money, good camel breeding because they have camel races,...lj never knew you had this area of expertise. i am stuck on the mascara on the camel. i used to do ship judging back in the day and we definitely did not have mascara on the sheep. but presumably that was not for beauty. it is of it. i am looking at the position of your hands... what was... ? you are an expert. i am going to move on and move away from this! i want to draw your attention to a fantastic interview in the sun with rob burrow who was diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the end of last year stop

an incredibly sad story. he talked about how he told his children. his two little girls, macy and ir, and their attitude was, that is a boring why are you telling us this. —— maya stop he says their attitude has helped him go through the journey. "an exciting new step". that's how the duke and duchess of sussex have described their shock decision to step back as senior royals and spend part of their time in north america. there's speculation that the couple could make canada theirfuture home, so how has the news gone down there? let's speak now to jamie samhan, who is the online editor for entertainment tonight in canada. good morning to you. give us a sense of how this news has been welcomed in canada? it is still the same day here so everybody is still adjusting

it. a bit of a shock, excitement, confusion and a lot of questions that still need to be answered but overall, they are viewed as a celebrity couple so they are excited at the prospect of them calling canada home. i live very close to where they spent time there and it isa very where they spent time there and it is a very beautiful area and i can see why they want to. whether able to live a different lifestyle which is clearly pa rt to live a different lifestyle which is clearly part of what this decision is about? were they able to do that in any real sense when they we re do that in any real sense when they were in canada recently?” do that in any real sense when they were in canada recently? i think they got a taste of it. six weeks is not significant amount of time for anybody to adjust to a new lifestyle but i think they had the experience of mostly being left alone, a little family of three, able to go for hikes and enjoy their time in the peace and quiet. would it be the same way if they lived here permanently? the papparazzi would

have more access to them. depending on the security. i think they have a taste of it but whether it is about a vacation lifestyle... i think many of the questions here are being asked there. in practical terms, what does this mean about their roles within the royal family? absolutely. there are a million different questions i could name. one of them being who will pay for everything. it is not a small cost what they need. they do have both have good financial background but how far will that take them. if they wa nt how far will that take them. if they want to be financially independent they may take on new projects. so many questions to be answered. it sounds like the palace and the queen and prince charles had no idea this

was happening. if it is part of their plans to spend more time in canada, how do you see that working in practice? i think... canada, how do you see that working in practice? ithink... if canada, how do you see that working in practice? i think... if the queen calls on them to fulfil their roles within the commonwealth they are going to do that. they will pop over to the uk and go on engagement her majesty request but when they are over here, they will be essentially private citizens, more of a celebrity aspect and they will be able to take on new projects. charities and other projects. we will see the details when it comes to it. but it is a very ambitious step forward and whether it works out as well as they have let it out remains to be seen. thank you very

much. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london, i'm victoria hollands. mp's held a special debate in parliament last night on the alleged exploitation of young people by a london church known as spac nation. the labour mp for croydon north steve reed called the debate after raising concerns it was an orgasnisation simply masquerading as a church. it claims it helps former gang members turn their lives around and is carrying out its own investigation. but the mp says something now needs to be done to control what's happeneing. dust produced by worn out brake pads could be contributing to the poor quality of our air in london. research from kings college london has shown it can cause

inflammation of the lungs and reduce the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria, increasing the risk of respiratory infections. it's the film that has already won 2 golden globes and has 9 bafta nominations. ‘1917‘ is a film about 2 young soldiers during the first world war. it is loosely based the war stories of the director sam mendes' grandfather. the two main characters are played by london actors george mackay and dean—charles chapman, who had to spend 6 months rehearsing their scenes. we sort of took it gradually and i am pleased people are responding to the fill really well. it is amazing the fill really well. it is amazing the film has not come out yet. that needed to be seen about the water bottle. but those things happen. there are some mistakes which have ended up in the film. let's take a look at the travel situation now... there's a good service on the tubes

this morning but london overground is part sdudspoended. on the trains, because of a signal failure at brockley, there's a reduced service on southern and thameslink trains via norwood junction. on the roads, traffic is building up on the inbound a13 from dagenham to barking. and on mitcham road, there's a closure in place near wandle road for works to the bridge. a look at the weather now. once again it is a very mild start to the day for this time of year with some of the temperature on 12— 13 degrees. a bit of everything today. a cloudy start, early outbreaks of rain, quite windy but the wind is easing down. brightness, sunshine and showers as we head towards dark. south eastwards breeze. through the afternoon some sunny spells developing and cooler air by the time we get to the end of the day when they can also be heavy

than showers, especially in the south, likely to rumble on as we head through the evening rush hour. heading eastwards as we head through the night. the dry side to the day tomorrow. more of a north—westerly wind. much cooler air, tomorrow. more of a north—westerly wind. much coolerair, overnight lows of 4— five celsius. tomorrow should stay dry and there will be some sunshine but it will feel cooler. windy again by saturday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. bye for now. hello — this is breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. we'll bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment, but also on breakfast this morning. it won big at the golden globes this week — and the war epic 1917 looks destined to be one of the films of the year. star actor george mackayjoins us on the sofa after 8:30.

also today, as whirlpool begins to recall hundreds of thousands of its fire—risk washing machines, we'll find out all you need to know about your rights and what happens next. and she's just been crowned the winner of the bbc‘s sound of 2020 — the singer—songwriter celeste will be here to share her exciting plans for the year ahead. good morning. senior members of the royal family are said to be "hurt", after the duke and duchess of sussex announced that they're stepping back from their royal roles. harry and meghan's decision is believed to have ‘shocked' the royal family, with reports the couple didn't consult the queen or prince william. the couple say they'll now work to become financially independent and split their time

between the uk and north america. let's speak to simonjoan stop patella so little more. this is being described by royal commentators as a real bombshell the com pletely commentators as a real bombshell the completely line side of the palace. in an official statement which was very sure, we heard from the palace that they understood prince harry and meghan wanted to find a new path, they said initial discussions had been taking place but they describe this situation is complicated. what we're hearing from inside the palace is this situation has really people by surprise. they're describing it as disappointing and talking about a degree of hurt chair which is unusual because in the past when they have been issues to do with the royal family when they face problems, usually the family comes

together in a paper over the cracks but here it seems very much there is a division between the two sides. we have learned a little more about meghan and harry see their future roles, from a website they launched yesterday. they say when they are in the uk they intend to carry on living at frogmore cottage if the queen allows them to do that and they wanted new relationship with they wanted new relationship with the media where when they carry out events, they may decide what journalists they want to attend. they also once again criticised certain elements of the press or in accurate reporting. the key question really and there are lots of pistons, is how they are going to pay their way financially. they say they want to work and they want to become independent financially but if they take a job, they are likely to face criticism they could be cashing in on the royal brand to raise money and you can understand why the word we are getting in the

palace is that this situation is complicated. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, says talks in washington with his us. counterpart about how to deal with iran have been "positive and constructive". the meeting came after tehran fired missiles at air bases housing american troops in iraq. the attack was in retaliation for the killing of the top iranian military commander, general soleimani. ukraine's president says he has received an initial report into yesterday's plane crash in iran that claimed 176 lives, including three britons. it's not yet known what's in the report, but so far no evidence has been made public to suggest it was anything other than a catastrophic technical failure. overnight a team of 45 ukrainian experts and officials arrived in tehran to assist with the investigation. it's been the hottest year on record for australia, and its expected to get even warmer in the coming days. fresh alerts have been issued across the south, as the growing bushfires continue to endanger lives and homes. at least 27 people and 800 million animals have died since the blazes began in september.

a roman fort on hadrian's wall has been donated to the nation by the landowner. carrawburgh fort in northumberland — which will now be under the care of english heritage — would once have been a garrison for 500 soldiers, defending the wall from attack by tribes in the north. i don't do if it was sheep or horses running towards it but the tribe would have been attacking it. running towards it but the tribe would have been attacking itm they had been sheep, hollywood have been running. i'd better person to you if they were sheep. how do you judge your sheep? coat is very important. legs are important. head. to be honest, when it started out, you said legs are important. you've

lost my confidence. at three legged sheep wouldn't have a chance? honestly, to explain to anyone not watching, i used to do a bit of sheepjudging. in my young farmer days. it says a lot. i remember the first time i had to be judged for sheepjudging, it's first time i had to be judged for sheep judging, it's a first time i had to be judged for sheepjudging, it's a competition. and they laughed at me. if you said what you said, that legs are important. alex is a very attractive sheep. they can be very pretty. exactly. i thought so about this one. take as to the land of cricket. jimmy anderson, he got injured on the first day of the ashes way back in the summer. rule him out for the tour of new zealand. he came back to

south africa and has now picked up another injury. the grand old age of 37. you know what it's like, charlie? you not yet? read on. england will be without jimmy anderson for the final two tests in south africa. he's heading home after breaking a rib during england's win in the second test. anderson is england's leading wicket taker, but the injuries keep mounting up — remember he missed most of the ashes series with a calf problem. he's 37 years old, and some have questioned whether his body can hold up to test cricket. but former england bowler ryan sidebottom says anderson's the older you get, those little niggles take a fraction longer to heal. injuries start creeping in that he will be determined. he is very driven, he's a fantastic bowler and he offers so much

and i think, let's not just write him off. as you get older, i think, you need to keep the body going, and you need to bowl as much as you possibly can and i think it is difficult for him, as a bowler, knowing myself, when you stop, when you have a week's break, it is difficult then to get back into a rhythm, but he will come back fit and stronger, absolutely no doubt, and he's still got so much to offer england. great britain are in to a deciding match in their quarter final at the atp cup. this is a new tournament that's been brought by the men's tour to kick off the new season. . .and britain seem to like it. dan evans won his singles match to level the tie against hosts australia. jamie murray and joe salisbury are playing the deciding doubles game, and that has gone to a third set. nothing to separate leicester city and aston villa after the first leg of their league cup semi—final. villa led for most of the game at the king power stadium, having taken the lead through defender frederic guilbert. leicester eventually levelled in the 75th minute when then took advanctage of some dawdling in the villa midfield to set up

kelechi iheanacho. the return leg is at villa park in just under three weeks time. meanwhile the manchester united captain ashley young's on his way out of the club. he's agreed to join the italian side inter milan when his current contract expires in the summer, but he could still move injanuary if united allow him to go. casey stoney says that wsl has better things to spend its money on the nva are in the video assistant referee isn't used in any domestic competitions but was used in the world cup. she says she likes the drama of football and wouldn't use it for that reason. and finally, we just have time to show you one of the most

bizaare own goals we have ever seen. it's from the french cup were psg were taking on st etienne. we've all seen goals were the ball takes an unfortunate deflection off a defender but for this one the ball bounced off not one,not two, but three players and the post before finding it's way into the goal. psg went on to win the game 6—1. didn't it bounce off to have their own defenders? exact leave. all three of them. imagine what the team talk will be like. i feel for them. are you one of the hundreds—of—thousands of people affected by the latest recall of whirlpool washing machines? the manufacturer says you'll be offered either a repair or a replacement, after some were found to be a fire—risk. but the consumer group which? says that could leave you with a potentially dangerous appliance, and is calling for refunds to be given instead. adam french, from which?

joins us now. when you last month that whirlpool was happy to recall these white goods. now it's happening but you are saying what they are doing is not enough. completely. first and foremost it's crucial we are raising awareness of this recall. whirlpool, there are two brands of washing machines and there is a potential fault with these that could in some cases lead to a fire. around 500,000 out there in uk homes. people have been told not to use them. you been told don't use them, or you can decide to use them but only 20 degrees or less. it's not an ideal temperature to be using a washing

machine out. beginning to smell, your clothing can smell. we have heard from people over christmas you've identified effective machines and they are angry, they are angry at having to travel across town to do their washing because they registered their machines and replacement programme won't start until early next week and we should be hearing from whirlpool today onwards when it's making appointments to get this repair and replacement programme up and running but a lot of people don't trust whirlpool anymore. we saw recall of dishwashers and tumble dryers. some have been unfortunate enough to have both recalled. the trust is really low and will be hearing from consumers, they want a refund, they wa nt consumers, they want a refund, they want their money back. they want their money back to spend where they like to. take us through some of the

practicalities. if you know or think a machine in your home is one of those factors, how do you know? hotpoint and indices machine which have been manufactured, you could have been manufactured, you could have bought one relatively recently. if you have a hotpoint or indicit washing machine, check the website. when see? you should have a model number on the machine. sometimes it's on the front right of the machine. in some cases, the back of the machine. i would encourage you to get to that whirlpool website. all of the information is there. we also published some really useful information on our website. how do

you think whirlpool has behaved? it was criticised heavily acting quickly enough. it was made clear that six weeks ago is going to recall these machines. it's been much better behaved or clear. we certainly expect them, there were issues. we do hope that people will be seeing the repairs and replacements quickly but where people have these machines in the homes for weeks or months, waiting for repair and replacement. hopefully well cool can get this done quite quickly but we do think it will help to have that refund option for people who wanted so they can get machines out. has this been tested? have people been told know if people want that money back? people have been

registering machine and will pull will be talking to people from today onwards to have them repaired or replaced. we had for people who do not want it replaced but to get their money back and get the machine out of their homes and i think people who feel this badly let down by the company, it is perfectly understandable. you can understand the argument that is there anything within the system, legally or in trading terms that would require whirlpool to do that? it is setting up whirlpool to do that? it is setting upa whirlpool to do that? it is setting up a moral argument. whirlpool to do that? it is setting up a moralargument. it whirlpool to do that? it is setting up a moral argument. it has happened, maybe they have not done too well so they should but is there something beyond that? as a legal minimum they should be offering the replacement previously, when they have recalled double drives last year, they were offering refunds but

some of them were old. if it works relatively smoothly, the regulator can decide to step in and require them to actually start offering people refunds as well. we have not got to that point yet and hopefully we do not have to but it would be good for whirlpool to offer refunds to those who want them and make sure those faulty machines are taken out of homes. whirlpool has apologised for any inconvenience by the recall and repairing the machine is the best way to ensure dangerous appliances are removed from people ‘s homes. appliances are removed from people 's homes. it is time for us to say good morning to carol to tell us all about the weather. good morning to both of you. low pressure dominating our weather. overnight rain pushing northwards.

still snowing in the pennines. bear that in mind if you are travelling. that will clear. a blustery night and winds across england and wales will also clear. but the temperatures by day and night have been fluctuating and today, if i show you our temperature gradient, you can see what i mean. today we have cooler air represented by the blues and then it is usurped by the milder yellows and ambers. as we head into sunday, the cold air returns once again. back to today, this is a system that has brought the rain and hill snow overnight. that will clear away to the north sea. another area of low pressure introducing showers at times across southern england heavy and thundery but that will arrive later on. in between the two systems, cloud, rights guys, a few showers but the brightest guys across the north of scotla nd brightest guys across the north of scotland and the wind will be

strengthening later. —— brightest skies. we are hanging onto the milder conditions in the south but it will feel colder here. aberdeen only three degrees today compared to the 12 and 13th we are looking in plymouth and london. blood pressure crossing these counties. rain heavy at times. things settled down and it will be a cold night. colder in the south than the last few nights. in the north, freezing on the actual charts, particularly north east scotla nd charts, particularly north east scotland temperatures can fall to —5 or —6. we could have an issue of ice on surfaces first thing in the morning. as we head through friday, the next atlantic system to come in

and they will potentially be problematic. before they arrive, a lot of dry weather, a few showers in the east and west and later on, the wind strength is particularly in the north—west and the arrival of this rain. temperatures a bit lower across the board. enter saturday, we still have the weather from producing the band of rain, very slowly sinking south eastwards. it will be windy, windy across the board particularly in the north—west with some gust to galeforce. rain careering south eastwards. large rainfall totals accumulated. in some parts 100 millimetres so the risk of localised flooding, particularly in scotland. the further south—east you travel, the dryer and brighter it will be. temperatures of double

figures across the board and back into the milder conditions. as we had to sunday, the weather front clears the south—east leaving showers behind. some showers in the hills of scotland will be wintry because the temperature is on the way down, just hanging onto something milder in the south but even here it will turn cooler through the course of the day. temperatures are way down, that is what i got from you. # way down... # that was good. very impressive, carol. she will do a different act every hour. the high street has suffered its worst year ever, that's according to the british retail consortium. ben is here. what about some of the individual retailers? yes. they have been looking at the year

asa they have been looking at the year as a whole and it is pretty depressing. they say that last year was the worst year on record for retail sales. it will not come as a huge surprise but to have that title will worry many people, both custom and businesses. it has been going that way anyway. yes but it seems to be the worst point we have had so far. and what can retailers do? we have had the updates from retailers after the christmas period. it says for the whole of 2019 sales across all retailers were down 0.1%. so a tough year. it says this is the worst

on record so back to 1995. it is non—food that is a particular area of concern. black friday coming into its own as a shopping day, much more than christmas. it has ove rta ke n more than christmas. it has overtaken it for sales and that is one area the retailers are looking. how they can cash in. and this is what they told us earlier. it is not surprising, this is part of an ongoing trend. what we are finding is that on line, you have unlimited access of choice and even the smallest retailers have a global audience and taste in change. food details. people like to go out and eat. so there is so much competition. sales down so in theories that means doors in trouble. yes and a number ofjob

losses. a number of firms disappear from high street and the jobs to go with it. so far this week, sainsbury's boss said that their sales were down by 0.7%. it is the argos part of the business which is argos part of the business which is a down. aldi did really well saying it was the best christmas period in the uk. greggs had a stellar set of results. opening more stores. vegan. cashing in on that trend. they are in more places than ever before, more outlets than mcdonald's so it

was a really good time of year. in about seven minutes we will get the results from tesco and m85 and we will talk about those later and find out how those two stores went. m&s of the bellwether of the high street. losing its crown a little bit but still important. an invisible keyboard for your phone and a microwave that cools hot items down, are just some of the state—of—the—art gadgets on show in las vegas this week. do they sound like useful gadgets? set the time right. as well as tech industry giants, such as samsung, google and sony, there are also thousands of start ups hoping

to win financial backing for their big ideas. bbc click reporter chris fox has been to try some of the new tech out for himself. a very good money from las vegas. i spent the whole day at eureka part, the part of ces when you get the more we had a wonderful ideas on show. how do you like my tattooed? they are not real. this is hello in korean but this is from an ink printer that gives you attached to just for a day and they promised me i would off in the shower. this lets you type in any surface, no keyboard required. it uses your phone's cell for camera to work out where your fingers would be landing so if you can touch type, you can type on any service with no buttons. no place for that in a phone just yet. this is another prototype, it looks like a cubics cube but every single is a

screen so you can use it for all kinds of different games. another device which did impress me, you can think of it as a reverse microwave oven, it cools down things really quickly. at the moment you can put one can of drink and it would cool down to really chilled in about 90 seconds. admittedly, at first i thought, this is frivolous, why would you call down one can of drink ata would you call down one can of drink at a time. the company told me it wa nts to at a time. the company told me it wants to replace the hotel minibar. if you think about all the hotels with minibus but do not use them very often, you can leave the drinks on the site and call them down when you need them and that would save a lot of energy. another day of ces tomorrow so i'd better head off. you can see all our coverage on click. so we got it wrong. it is a chiller.

ido so we got it wrong. it is a chiller. i do not have one but they do exist. did you see the size of that pineapple? i bet you say that to all the girls. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. still to come this morning. remember cracker the dog? he was left tied—up at a church after his owner felt she could no longer look after him. we've got some good news for you — and we'll be catching up with cracker later this morning. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london. i'm victoria holland. good morning from bbc london. i'm victoria hollands. mp's held a special debate in parliament last night on the alleged exploitation of young people by a london church known as spac nation. the labour mp for croydon north steve reed called the debate after raising concerns it was an orgasnisation simply masquerading as a church and says it should be investigated by the police.

the church claims it helps former gang members turn their lives around and is carrying out its own investigation. they have no fixed location, they do not have a home church which makes it much harderfor not have a home church which makes it much harder for authorities to track them. the reason no command unit keeping track of what they are doing, there is no local safeguarding board which is keeping track of the risks to young people. dust produced by worn out brake pads could be contributing to the poor quality of our air in london. research from kings college london has shown it can cause inflammation of the lungs and reduce the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria, increasing the risk of respiratory infections. david bowie and george michael are among those added to the national record of people who shaped british history. they died in 2016 and other biographies amongst hundred 28 that

will appear in the oxford dictionary of national biography. nearly 64,000 people have had that love story immortalised in the book. let's take a look at the travel situation now... there's a good service on the tubes this morning but london overground is part sdudspoended between sydenham and west croydon on the trains, because of a signal failure at brockley, there's a reduced service on southern and thameslink trains via norwood junction. on the roads, traffic is building up on the inbound a13 from dagenham to barking. westbound traffic on the penton street. now the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello, good morning. once again it is a very mild start to the day for this time of year with some of our temperature on 12 or 13 degrees celsius. a bit of everything going on today really. it's a cloudy start, some early outbreaks of rain. it'll stay quite windy as we head through the morning,

then the winds will ease down. some brightness and some sunshine, and then some showers as we head towards dark. these early outbreaks of rain are going to move their way south—eastwards as we head through the morning. an awful lot of cloud around. a very brisk south—westerly wind, gradually easing down. through the afternoon, some sunny spells developing and some cooler air by the time we get to the end of the day, when there could also be heavy thundery showers pushing in from the south, so watch out for those. and they're likely to rumble on as we head through the evening rush hour. gradually moving their way eastwards as we head through the night. so it will turn out to be a dry start to the day tomorrow. we've got more of a north—westerly wind. much cooler air, overnight lows of 4—5 celsius. tomorrow should stay dry and there will be some sunshine but it will feel a bit cooler. windy again by saturday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. bye for now.

please good morning — welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today. disappointment and hurt at the palace after the duke and duchess of sussex tell the world they're stepping back from royal duties — without consulting the queen. prince harry and meghan say they'll split their time between the uk and north america, and work to become "financially independent". demands for whirlpool to offer refunds as the recall of hundreds of thousands of faulty washing machines gets underway.

it was the worst year on record for british retail. christmas high street sales end the poorest 12 months ever for the uk's shops. we'll also get the latest results from tesco and m&s. injury forjimmy anderson england's leading wicket taker is out of the final two tests in south africa after breaking a rib. good morning. today we have a band of rain until snow pushing north, clearing into north sea later. behind it the wind will ease in the driest conditions and the brightest weather will be across the north of scotland. it's thursday, the 9th of january. our top story. senior members of the royal family are said to be "hurt", after the duke and duchess of sussex announced that they're stepping back from their royal roles. harry and meghan's decision is believed to have ‘shocked' the royal family,

with reports the couple didn't consult the queen or prince william. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell reports. they'd had a 6—week break and they'd clearly been considering their future. back in london on tuesday during a visit to canada house, harry and meghan were settled but they were about to spring spring a major surprise on the wider world and even their family. they did not consult the queen, the prince of wales or prince william before issuing their personal statement: welcome to the canada gallery. the statement leaves many questions unanswered. what is a progressive new role? how do they intend to become financially independent? only one real detail was given. they will henceforth, they said, balance their

time between the united kingdom and north america. buckingham palace issued to a state, saying: the clearest indication there can be that they think sussexes have not thought this through. at the same time it was being made clear that senior members of the royal family including the queen and harry's father and brother felt hurt with the way the subsectors had behaved. the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life had been apparent for some months, notably during and since their tour of southern africa. my british friend said to me, "i'm sure he's great "but you shouldn't do it because the british tabloids "will destroy your life." and i very naively, i'm american, we don't have that there,

"what are you talking about?" it was just 20 months ago at their wedding in windsor, it had all seemed to offer such promise. a young prince married his american bride, they brought a freshness to the royal family and seem now at least some of those hopes seem to have been dashed. for a royal family which is looking more and more to the core group of younger members, the partial withdrawal of the sussexes is a drawback and after the controversies around another second son, prince andrew it is, as officials have indicated, disappointment. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, says talks in washington with his us. counterpart about how to deal with iran have been "positive and constructive".the meeting came after tehran fired missiles at air bases housing american troops in iraq. the attack was in retaliation for the killing of the top iranian military commander, general soleimani. we can speak now to our middle east editorjeremy bowen who joins us from baghdad. there were real concerns about escalation. where are we now? those concerns have been wound down a

little bit because of the iranians we re little bit because of the iranians were quite careful to calibrate and measure their response. first of all, they had to satisfy all the iranians who are curious about what had happened and there was a lot of shock as well among hardliners the top of the country, the top of the regime bit at the same time, they didn't want to do so much that the americans will hammer them back because they are hardliners but they are rational. don't have a death wish, don't want the to be destroyed because of something, because of the americans kicking back at them. they chose it, they calibrated it and they got it more or less right because while the underlying really dangerous and toxic —— toxic conflict continues, the fact is, this particular chapter feels in conflict continues, the fact is, this particular chapterfeels in a way like a lot of the anger has gone out of it. having seen all the

demonstrations across the weekend, your sense is that to a degree, the crisis has been averted and we went to see what donald trump's next move is in terms of any kind of dialogue. i think dialogue is a bit too strong a word of the moment between the americans and the iranian ‘s. it was at the diplomatic process with lead to the iran nuclear agreement in 2015. donald trump pulled out of that. fact is, this cycle that will eventually lead to much worse things i would say, if it's not arrested, will continue. both sides of pushed brinkmanship and they just will continue. both sides of pushed brinkmanship and theyjust step back a little bit from the cliff edge. the fact is, the cliff edge is still there. ukraine's president says he has received an initial report into yesterday's plane crash in iran that claimed 176 lives, including three britons. it's not yet known

what's in the report, but so far no evidence has been made public to suggest it was anything other than a catastrophic technical failure. overnight a team of 45 ukrainian experts and officials arrived in tehran to assist with the investigation. 2019 was the hottest year on record for australia, and its expected to get even warmer in the coming days. fresh alerts have been issued across the south, as the growing bushfires continue to endanger lives and homes. at least 27 people and 800—million animals have died since the blazes began in september. let's get the latest from our correspondent, katy watson, who is at a foodbank in melbourne. so many people out of their homes now. and we've seen people trying to help those who are suffering. absolutely. we're talking about 2000 homes that have been destroyed since bushfire season started. behind me

here at food bank victoria in melbourne, since they open the doors to the public, 3000 donations have come in. people dropping off food and water. it gets distributed to areas of need, communities in need and any isolated communities that have been cut off since the fires. and that gets taken in by armed forces to be able to get to those communities for food and water. with me is the ceo of foodbank victoria, dave mcnamara. explained to me how the community has come here together since the devastation. just like these bushfires are unprecedented, so is the response from the community. we opened up the public six days ago and we've had over 3000 vehicles here from the community donating food. those vehicles have included cars, vans, fire engines, horse trailers, even a guy with a

wheelbarrow. that is expected to continue. we've onlyjust started bushfire season. bushfire season has not even officially started. it usually starts later in the month. this is unprecedented. the food packed by these guys, that is going out to those isolated communities and all those communities across east gippsland. the next few days of the most concern. temperatures are expected to rise here in parts of victoria. they extended estate of disaster, telling people in areas that might see these fires grow in the next few days to get out while they can. so people here are watching and waiting and of course as dave says, this bushfire season is only just begun, as dave says, this bushfire season is onlyjust begun, the next few weeks, months. they're expecting these fires to continue. british soul singer, celeste,

has won bbc music's sound of 2020. the award is given to artists who are tipped for success in the coming year. she joins a stellar line—up of past winners, including adele and ellie goulding. it's been a good year for celeste so far, as she's also just been announced as the winner of the brits' rising star award. so what next for the duke and duchess of sussex, as they reveal they're stepping down from their royal duties? an announcement that's said to have shocked senior members of the royal family. so how significant is this, and how might the queen have reacted to the news? let's speak to the royal historian, professor kate williams, whojoins us from buckingham palace. thank you for talking to us this morning. one of the things we've heard is that the royal family, buckingham palace wasn't closely consulted about this move to step back from public duties. well, it's

interesting, essentially were told the roles don't explain, don't complain and yet it was made very clear to us last night when we first saw this statement coming through from buckingham palace, what harry and meghan were doing was really under their own bat. harry and meghan put out their own statement saying what was going on and it seemed well thought out and there are sections on this new website they've set up and it was made very clear in this short statement when they said discussions were at an early stage and they were complicated matters. when harry and meghan seemed bent on this, buckingham palace was saying, we don't know anything about this so it makes it very obvious to the commentators in the world, really, that there is a difference of opinion here between buckingham palace and harry and megan machen harry and meghan feel this is what they want to do. harry has always wa nted they want to do. harry has always wanted a wider role. he's found aspects of the royal family

constraining and this is how he feels he can gain that for himself and protect his family and they've clearly spent this 6— week sabbatical thinking very hard at what they want to do and the answer is this. many as have been very surprised by this big announcement that they've been planning it for long time. how big a surprise is it really? we think of the interview with the duchess of sussex, struggling with public life in the media glare. there have been reports ofa media glare. there have been reports of a rift between harry and william as well. there have been steps along the way that have indicated this could have happened. yes, there have been steps along the way and if we think back to the engagement interview with harry and meghan, they were talking about their global work, the work that has to be done and what presidents and ex— prime

ministers do, set up a big global foundation which is what they are aiming towards doing. word that something like this is being discussed even last year but i have to say i didn't expect it quite this quickly. i thought it would be opened as a discussion this year but clearly harry doesn't want to wait any more and this is the decision he has made. he wants to be a different type of royal and this is the ambition he has. it will suit him. he's been very constrained and distressed by being in the public glare. there is a possibility after this break in canada, someone observing what they were announcing. in canada, they would have more of a normal life. is it ever really possible for a royal?|j normal life. is it ever really possible for a royal? i think this is the question because there are minor royals who do go about their life in a quiet way and don't get much followed but harry and meghan are global celebrities. meghan was

already famous and harry is one of the most famous men in the world and he will only get more significant because when charles becomes the king, he is the second son of the king and he will be the brother of the king so he is always going to be very close to the royal fold. it's going to be difficult if harry and meghan are going to live in canada, a certain period of time and try to get on with business and be normal charitable ceos, it's going to be difficult and they will require security because i don't see media interest in them waning, it will probably increase because what they are doing is so unprecedented for royals. who pays for it then? they have this life, they need security, they are not earning any money themselves at the moment. who is going to foot the bill? they say security is going to be important and when they are on royal business, if they are going to do

commonwealth business, they have talked about supporting the queen and of course at that point it would be paid by the metropolitan police or the foreign office but it will be difficult to have security in canada. my presumption is that they will be as part of these global charitable foundation and that will cover their expenses and if there is security needed, as the reason people like bill gates, it would be covered i presume by the foundation. but these are all complicated questions that will need to be ironed out. it is not impossible but i think it will take some further talks. this is a breakfrom royal reality and this is how harry and meghan are doing it that way. you have made the comparison to bill gates. he had money from microsoft and a career. the money that harry and a career. the money that harry and meghan have — the duchess had a

career as an actress dash but it is negligible considering what they cost the taxpayer here. obviously they have quite a few millions. harry has money left to him by his mother in her will, princess diana. we do not know whether prince charles... a large bulk of the funding comes from prince charles through the duchy of cornwall and that probably will continue as well so there is money they do have but if it is a charitable foundation it will be depending on donations. clearly they think it is possible and they can do it. i haven't seen all kinds of things this morning. isil abc, the big american company, saying if they want to produce tv, they have an office there. —— i saw

abc. they can take a pic of what they can do. thank you for that. it is thursday morning, let's find out from carol what is happening with the weather. good morning to both of you. the weather will be mixed. you can see it is snowing here. we have seen some rain and hill snow pushing northwards through the course of the night. gusty winds as well. it will clear to the north—east through the day. the temperature fluctuates for the next few days. if you look at the next few days. if you look at the temperature gradient, mild in the temperature gradient, mild in the south, usurped by colder air. friday and saturday, the mild at returns across the board. replaced by colder air once again. the weather is not boring, that's for

sure. moving north—eastward through the day and then a second one coming in across the south later on. the winds easing into the next few hours across england and wales. some hill snow, quite heavy across parts of the pennines into the southern uplands. that will push away into the north sea and clear. behind it some brightness. a fair bit of cloud. rain coming into southern england. showery, thundery as well. the wind will pick up across the isles of scilly, the channel islands. some bright spells but the brightest guy today are going to be across the north of scotland. here the temperature will be four degrees in aberdeen, compare that to 13 in norwich and london. overnight, we still have the showery rain. the

chance of a rumble of thunder. pushing towards the south—east. a ridge of high pressure building up behind it so things settle. colder in southern england and scotland. some parts temperatures could dip down to —5 four —6 and we could see ice where it has been wet. goodbye to the weather front end of the south. friday is looking drier and brighter before the next clutch of atla ntic brighter before the next clutch of atlantic front come our way. when we lose the cloud, a few showers in eastern parts of the west. they will fade and then a lot of dry weather, some bright skies, sunny skies but the wind will start to pick up to the wind will start to pick up to the west, particularly the north—west, heralding the arrival of this band of heavy rain. on saturday, slow—moving. all the isobars tell you, wherever you are, it will be windy. windiest in the north—west with gale force winds.

the rain will start to total up. potentially 100 millimetres and that could be a risk of localised flooding in parts of scotland. the driest and brightest conditions further south and east. once again, look at the temperatures! they are back up in double figures. have you noticed we have read the memo stop and charlie does not even like magic lives. does he have a spotting top? no, spotted sock. i did not know the soccer camp was in operation today. that is a disgrace. —— sock camera. the us vice—president says intelligence reports suggest that iranian militias have been told not to attack any more american targets.|t comes after iran launched missile strikes on air

bases in iraq in revenge for the killing of their top military commander, general soleimani. meanwhile, the foreign secretary, dominic raab says discussions with america on how to deal with iran have been ‘constructive'. we can speak now to the former british army officer colonel tim collins and former uk ambassador to iran, sir richard dalton. so richard, a lot of people suggesting at this stage, an early stage, a crisis has been averted. with your expertise and knowledge of these things, what do you make of that? yes, an immediate crisis has been averted but the situation remains very fragile. the militias in iraq who have lost that leader are still extremely angry and are not necessarily under iran's control so iran and the us have stepped back, thank goodness, but serious negotiations will have to follow soonin negotiations will have to follow soon in order to stabilise the

situation and then move on constructively to deal with the underlying issues. negotiations, is that realistic given what has just happened? well, it is going to be difficult to re—establish confidence because it has been comprehensively destroyed by the united states's withdraw from the excellent nuclear agreement which succeeded in protecting british and european interests and indeed the interests of the region. there are other issues in dispute with iran and they need settling in a multilateral context, not in a bilateral contest in which the nuclear question has been dealt with and, of course, the sanctions are so punishing that you run is going to be very reluctant to make concessions unless it is offered some relief. —— iran. and heather to the us is not offered any

negotiations to start so there are difficulties about china, russia, the european union, nato, are determined to try and make something of the opening which this crisis has created. there is a suggestion that iran's missile strike on the us base was an attempt to de—escalate, effectively. is it and has it worked? absolutely. they had to do something to satisfy that home population and i think that is a clear message, both physically and in rhetoric, that they want to step back from this. i am optimistic that actually negotiations could reopen about the nuclear deal. the thing about the nuclear deal. the thing about the nuclear deal. the thing about the deal, whether excellent or not, it was undermined by one individual, qasem soleimani and he's

gone now. there is to restart the process and address the other issues around it because one of the main protagonists preventing from taking things forward is out of the way. one of the immediate consent after the killing of qasem soleimani was a safety of troops, british troops in iraq. they are mentoring iraqi forces and in my experience, with my company there, they will very well received. the elephant in the room isa received. the elephant in the room is a struggle against islamic state which has the potential to come back to life in many respects, is still there and that is keenly felt by the iraqi authorities and i think they would urge everyone to get back to business with that and i think that is what will happen. ultimately the person whipping up the popular militias against coalition forces was again this one individual, qasem

soleimani, and he is now out of the picture so i think it is business as usual. in terms of us and british troops, so richard, how do you see it? i would also like to pick up the suggestion that qasem soleimani was an unmitigated evil. it was his leadership of the iranians response to the initial advances to islamic state which contributed immensely to saving baghdad from preventing iraqi forces being overrun. there has been a tacit alliance between qasem soleimani and the militias in dealing with islamic state. but now, there needs to be an early resumption of the mission against islamic state with iraq in the lead and we need to see some efforts to re—energise the regional track of diplomacy which qasem soleimani was engaged in when he was killed. we

know from the iraqi minister that qasem soleimani was carrying an iranians response to a saudi message and it is notjust for outsiders, who very often created more trouble than they have created solutions, it is very much for the countries of the region to find the modus operandi. in connection with the boeing 737 that went down outside tehran's airport, the ukrainian plane. we are awaiting confirmation but there are concerns about that in itself? yes, my impression, but it is only a hunch, is that it is in no way connected to these tensions stop the needs to be now a strong effort to engage the united states and iran. gentlemen, thank you both very much for speaking to us today. thank

you very much. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london. i'm victoria hollands. mp's held a special debate in parliament last night on the alleged exploitation of young people by a london church known as spac nation. the labour mp for croydon north steve reed called the debate after raising concerns it was an orgasnisation simply masquerading as a church and says it should be investigated by the police. the church claims it helps former gang members turn their lives around and is carrying out its own investigation. they have no fixed location, they do not have a home church which makes it much harder for the authorities to track them. there's not a home police command unit which is keeping track of what they are doing, there is not a local safeguarding board which is keeping track of the risks to young people.

dust produced by worn out brake pads could be contributing to the poor quality of our air in london. research from kings college london has shown it can cause inflammation of the lungs and reduce the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria, increasing the risk of respiratory infections. musicians david bowie and george michael are among those who have been added to the national record of people who have shaped british history. the london—born singers died in 2016 and now their biographies are among 228 that will appear in the new edition of the oxford dictionary of national biography. overall, nearly 64,000 people have had their life stories immortalised in the book. let's take a look at the travel situation now... there's a good service on the tubes this morning but london overground is part sdsupended

between sydenham and west croydon on the trains, because of a signal failure at brockley, there's a reduced service on southern and thameslink trains via norwood junction. on the roads, traffic is building up on the inbound a13 from dagenham to barking. now the weather with elizabeth rizzini hello, good morning. once again it is a very mild start to the day for this time of year with some of our temperature on 12 or 13 degrees celsius. a bit of everything going on today really. it's a cloudy start, some early outbreaks of rain. it'll stay quite windy as we head through the morning, then the winds will ease down. some brightness and some sunshine, and then some showers as we head towards dark. these early outbreaks of rain are going to move their way south—eastwards as we head through the morning. an aweful lot of cloud around. a very brisk south—westerly wind, gradually easing down. through the afternoon, some sunny spells developing and some cooler air by the time we get to the end of the day, when there could also be heavy thundery showers pushing in from the south,

so watch out for those. and they're likely to rumble on as we head through the evening rush hour. gradually moving their way eastwards as we head through the night. so it will turn out to be a dry start to the day tomorrow. we've got more of a north—westerly wind. much cooler air, overnight lows of 4—5 celsius. tomorrow should stay dry and there will be some sunshine but it will feel a bit cooler. windy again by saturday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. bye for now. this leads hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. senior members of the royal family are said to be "hurt", after the duke and duchess of sussex announced that they're stepping back from their royal roles. harry and meghan's decision is believed to have ‘shocked' the royal family, with reports the couple didn't

consult the queen or prince william. the couple say they'll now work to become financially independent and split their time between the uk and north america. our correspondent, simonjones is at buckingham palace this morning. simon, the news came as a bit of a shock to the royal family? the daily mail has called this a royal bombshell special issue. it's been described as a bombshell and said that buckingham palace were blindsided by this. the royal couple have been described as a rogue royals by some of the newspapers. i think in terms of the reaction, the official comment from buckingham palace is discussions from 10—— prince harry and meghan were at an early stage. the palace pointed out this is complicated and it's going to ta ke this is complicated and it's going to take some time to sort out. a few more choice words than that. we

understand that the palace was not informed in advance to the queen didn't know, prince charles did know soa didn't know, prince charles did know so a great sense of shock, not only the announcement that the royal couple were effectively saying they wa nt couple were effectively saying they want independence from the rest of the family but the fact that this was announced without the palace knowing in advance. the reason behind that is why there are so many questions being asked about how this future royal role might work out. we have got a bit more of an idea thanks to a website which was launched last night by prince harry and meghan. in that, they state that they want a new relationship the media. they are critical of some of the press in the past on this website. they say in future, when they carry out events, they may decide who they want to attend those events, depending on what they are talking about, the issues they are trying to raise and they say they potentially want to stay living in frogmore cottage in windsor which

was recently renovated at a cost of several million but you can see why the palace does describe this is complicated. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, says talks in washington with his us. counterpart about how to deal with iran have been "positive and constructive". (tx 00v) the meeting came after tehran fired missiles at air bases housing american troops in iraq. the attack was in retaliation for the killing of the top iranian military commander, general soleimani. another tense night. the iraqi military said there were no casualties. on tuesday night, the pentagon says iran launched 16 short—range ballistic missiles against two us bases. , again, no casualties. but it was a gesture of

retaliation that met with strong support on the streets of tehran. donald trump's response was measured. he suggested iran was standing down and that americans should be grateful. but iran and the us are still locked in a tense stand—off. the question is, what happens next? in washington, the british foreign secretary met with his us counterpart to discuss the ongoing crisis. we are committed as our american and european partners in avoiding iran acquiring a nuclear weapon and we've been committed but we've reached a point where more compliance has been so acute in the most compliance has been so acute in the m ost rece nt compliance has been so acute in the most recent steps, obviously we're going to look very hard at what should happen next. ever since the corel in —— the killing of the arabian general, there have been questions about donald trump's claim that there was a threat to the united states. us senators have been

briefed about intelligence that led to attack. i'm convinced if decisive action had not taken, we could be here talking about the death of dozens here talking about the death of d oze ns if here talking about the death of dozens if not hundreds of americans at the hands of militias working as proxies for the iranians. democrats plan to vote on a resolution designed to curb the president's literary actions against iran. international rhetoric may have softened but mr trump still faces strong opposition at home. ukraine's president says he has received an initial report into yesterday's plane crash in iran that claimed 176 lives. it's not yet known what's in the report. overnight a team of 45 ukrainian experts and officials arrived in tehran to assist with the investigation. let's get more on this from our correspondent, jonah fisher who's in kyiv. just bring us up—to—date in terms of the investigation and any development. i can update you. we do have some information as to what is

in that initial report that's been put together by the iranian authorities. it's 24 hours since that plane came down just outside tehran and to run you through the main points through that initial report, they say the plane was on fire for it came down, that the plane did make an attempt to turn back just before it plane did make an attempt to turn backjust before it hit the ground and was at the point of impact trying to head back towards the airport and thirdly, that no distress call was made from the aircraft back to the authorities to indicate what was going on. very broadly speaking, those initial findings tally with what the iranian saying for the last 24 hours or so, at the most likely cause of this plane going down with some sort of catastrophic technical problem on board the plane. obviously questions

about who will get access in terms of any ongoing investigations, given the number of foreign nationals involved. ukraine sent a big team to tehran overnight, 45 experts and officials are now on the ground there. it will be interesting to see what sort of access they get to the ongoing investigation. also interesting to see what happens to the black box recorder, this data recorder which carries important information about the final moments ofan information about the final moments of an aircraft when it goes down in a situation like this. yesterday, the iranian said they were not going to share it with boeing, the manufacturers of this plane, and they didn't wanted go to america. it will be interesting to see whether they are willing, for example, to let the ukrainians get their hands on the black box recorder to reveal that important data about the final moments of this aircraft. the recall of more than half—a—million potentially dangerous ‘whirlpool‘ washing

machines begins today. if you're affected, you'll be offered either a repair or a replacement. but the consumer rights group, ‘which?', says that's not enough and is urging the manufacturer to offer refunds instead. whirlpool has apologised and says its solution is the most effective. it's been the hottest year on record for australia, and its expected to get even warmer in the coming days. fresh alerts have been issued across the south, as the growing bushfires continue to endanger lives and homes. at least 27 people and 800 million animals have died since the blazes began in september. carol will have the weather soon between need talksport. rib injuries. james anderson, this is a man, the england cricket team only just got him back. he had an injured ca lf just got him back. he had an injured calf which he picked up, the first day of the ashes during last summer and now he's gone and broken his ribs. it was during the second test

in south africa. unlike rory burns was playing ball. he's broken it. some scans have found he could be out for 6— eight weeks. theyjust got him back and off he goes again. england will be without anderson. he is heading back home after breaking his rib. england will be without jimmy anderson for the final two tests in south africa.he's heading home after breaking a rib during england's win in the second test. anderson is england's leading wicket taker, but the injuries keep mounting up. remember he missed most of the ashes. he's 37 years old, and phil tufnell reckons retirement must have crossed anderson's mind. but another former england bowler says jimmy's still got a lot to offer. the older you get, those little niggles take a fraction longer to heal. injuries start creeping in that he will be determined. he is very driven, he's a fantastic bowler and he offers so much and i think, let's not just write him off. as you get older, i think, you need to keep the body going,

and you need to bowl as much as you possibly can and i think it is difficult for him, as a bowler, knowing myself, when you stop, when you have a week's break, it is difficult then to get back into a rhythm, but he will come back fit and stronger, absolutely no doubt, and he's still got so much to offer england. in the last hour, great britain have lost their atp cup quarter final against australia. it went right down to a tie break at the end of the final doubles match — jamie murray and joe salisbury were just edged out by nick kyrgios and alex de minaur in sydney. this is a new tournament that's been brought by the men's tour to kick off the new season. . . britain were captained by tim henman, and they'll be looking forward to coming back after a pretty successful few days. nothing to separate leicester city and aston villa after the first leg of their league cup semi—final.villa led for most of the game at the king power stadium, having taken the lead

through defender frederic guilbert. leicester eventually levelled in the 75th minute when then took advanctage of some dawdling in the villa midfield to set up kelechi iheanacho. the return leg is at villa park in just under three weeks time. meanwhile the manchester united captain ashley young's on his way out of the club. he's agreed to join the italian side inter milan when his current contract expires in the summer, but he could still move injanuary if united allow him to go. the manchester united women's manager casey stoney says the wsl has better things to spend its money on that var.the video assistant referee isn't used at any major domestic women's competition at the moment but it was used in the world cup. stoney says she wouldn't welcome it in the women's super league, because she likes the drama of football. don't we all? and we've got some brilliant pictures from the sport of wheelchair motocross. it's all about riding a wheelchair over the ramps and jumps at a skate park.

this is 15 year—old lily rice from pembrokeshire. she was born with a condition that causes stiffness in her legs, and says the sport has changed her life. she won her first world title last year, and now wants to get wheelchair motocross into the paralympics. i would watch that. it takes real nerve. you wonder how someone trains. the first time they tried it jump, trains. the first time they tried it jump, it's remarkable. if you try to doaflip jump, it's remarkable. if you try to do a flip on roller boots or escape board, you can fling it away. if you get that wrong. that's what the helmets are for. here's carol with a look

at this morning's weather. that looks like a christmassy scene. if you are travelling on the trans— pennine routes, do watch out for it. it eventually moves away. this is a weather watchers picture. the outlook for the rest of the week remains unsettled. it looks like it's going to be driest on friday. it will be windy and wet at times. temperatures fluctuating. they are pushed away by colder air. that's pushed away by colder air. that's pushed away by colder air. that's pushed away on sunday by colder air. an area of low pressure pushing northwards. we have another one coming in right behind it. winds

will ease over the next couple of hours. we have the band of rain and mostly hills no pushing towards the home —— the north—east. look at the next area of low pressure coming in. this is going to produce some showery outbreaks of rain and also some rumbles of wonder. the wind will strengthen on the south—western approaches. for northern ireland, you're going to see some showers and it will brighten up and there will bea it will brighten up and there will be a lot of cloud but the brightest quys be a lot of cloud but the brightest guys across the north of scotland but here, we'll have some of the lowest temperatures as well. we hang on to the low pressure comment moving into the south—eastern corner. things quietened down and they also cooled down. a much colder night than we

have been used to in the south. where we have had the damper surfaces, the risk of ice, if you're travelling first thing in the morning. for tomorrow, travelling first thing in the morning. fortomorrow, we travelling first thing in the morning. for tomorrow, we say goodbye to the front taking its cloud with it. a ridge of high pressure fairly settled. a clutch of weather fronts coming away introducing wet and windy weather. the cloud goes from the first weather front, the cloud goes from the first weatherfront, sunshine, the cloud goes from the first weather front, sunshine, bits the cloud goes from the first weatherfront, sunshine, bits of pieces of cloud around. showers fading in the east and west. later, the wind strengthens and we see a return of wet weather coming into western scotland. temperatures are down for most of us. that weather front will be with us on saturday, slowly slipping southwards. the strongest winds with gales at times will be across the north—west. this band of rent will be heavy. we could have as much as 100 millimetres in

some parts of scotland so there is the risk of localised flooding. it sinks down into northern england and wales. dry conditions further south you travel on saturday. temperatures back up again into double figures. thank you very much carol. we've been talking all week about the state of the high street and how the big names fared over christmas. today we've had updates from tesco, marks and spencer and john lewis. ben's got all the details. it has been very busy. tesco has reported not point for 5% up but the devil is in the details. the headline figure suggesting sales up by 0.4% but the biggest risk came from its wholesale business which it bought in 2018. more than 4% rise in

that. tesco supermarkets in the uk, they actually fell by 0.2%. m&s, overall sales up and it looks 0k given the state of the high street but again, it is a familiar tale. the food sales did pretty well. but we we re the food sales did pretty well. but we were not buying clothes and home goods. john lewis and this is a really interesting one. two big stories coming out here. first of all the numbers. sales at department stores were down. that is much like the m&s story but they said the board will meet in february to decide whether it is prudent to pay a partnership bonus. john lewis, their staff, they are partners in their staff, they are partners in the business. they share in the profits with the success of the firm. back in 2011 they got 18% of

their salary firm. back in 2011 they got 18% of theirsalary ina firm. back in 2011 they got 18% of their salary in a bonus and they are suggesting they might not pay at this time it gives you a sense of how difficultjohn lewis is this time it gives you a sense of how difficult john lewis is finding it at the moment. really part of their salary every year and they may not pay for the first time since the 19505 not pay for the first time since the 1950s so quite a crucial moment. is that february? yes, they announced that february? yes, they announced that down and then pay it february and march but it has been falling consistently since 2011 and we are now at a period where they may not pay it at all. to solve some of these problems, they are talking about merging the officers. john lewis boss, paula nichols, is going to quit. she says, after some reflection of a proposed new role, we have decided that february is the

right time for her to move on. this is all pretty major forjohn lewis considered an important store in the high street. about how happy the staff are and the relations with customers and standards. a massive move customers and standards. a massive m ove sto p customers and standards. a massive move stop really big and i think this is evidence that firms are finding it really, really tough. the british retail consortium is issued a warning that last year was the worst year for retail ever said that gives us a sense of what they are all coping with and the fact that john lewis, this firm that seems to do everything right, is finding it so tough out there right now so potentially losing that bonus for staff and a new chairman starts in february. sharon white. she has no

retail experience so a lot of people concerned about her appointment but it might be the fresh pair of eyes and new pairof it might be the fresh pair of eyes and new pair of hands but given the sort of situation it is finding itself in right now, difficult to see what happens next. thank you. before christmas, you may remember, we brought you the sad story of cracker the dog. he'd been found tied up and left at a church, with a note from his owner that said she was unable to look after him anymore. but, after a short stay at a rescue shelter, we can now reveal that cracker, or rooney as he's otherwise known, will be going home to be reunited with his owner. let's find out more from lucy bellwood from the charity street paws, who joins us now from stalmine in lancashire. good morning and lovely to see cracker or his proper name, rooney.

tell us a little bit about what you know about rooney? well, rooney was surrendered by his owner, abandon, because she had been put in a situation that should not think she would be able to continue living where she was so that she has had to make the difficult decision to hand him over to authorities. we were able to figure out who he was. i recognised him from information we had. we managed to track her down and we are going to be helping out from here on. you say you recognise rooney from the press coverage. did you have contact with both the dog and owner previously? yes. i had met rooney in the past. when his owner

approached us for help. he is quite distinctive boy so when i saw him on the bbc app i knew i knew him. we have quite good channels and quite good social media and what have you so we were able to put the feelers out and track her down. it was a bit difficult because we do not tend to get a lot of contact details due to the situation people are in. for obvious reasons, the owner is remaining anonymous but from what you knew of the story, there was a lot of interest obviously in rooney about how he was but also concern about how he was but also concern about the owner because looking at that note that was left, it said, my dog means the world to me. i do not know what else to do. i have no home or money for him. life has taken a bad turn for me and i can imagine him being outside and hungry with

me. iam him being outside and hungry with me. i am so sorry. concern for the owner as well as rooney. it was very concerning the note she left and we we re concerning the note she left and we were worried about her and her state of mind and her health and things like that at the time but she is now getting the help she needs and the guidance that she needs to help sort out and get her life back on track. it is good news all—round. out and get her life back on track. it is good news all-round. what about the immediate future for rooney, and he looks relaxed and happy where he is now.|j rooney, and he looks relaxed and happy where he is now. i know, he's ina happy where he is now. i know, he's in a private boarding residents at the moment. they will look after him until such time as he is ready to go home. we might arrange a visit for mum and we get on quite well so we might spend some time together. he is quite safe and secure and been

well looked after until such time as he is ready to go home. clearly, from what you told us has happen over a period of time, he has been through some hardship itself, along with his owner. rooney has led quite a difficult life in some ways? yes, he is such a well love dog and it is such a shame. certainly, for the past few weeks he has been a bit messed around so we are glad to get him finally somewhere where he can be settle and get some consistency as well. we do not know what life was like before she felt she had to abandon him but we certainly seem a well—balanced, happy boy and we hope he does not have any long—term effect from this period of stress. couple of favourite toys and very co mforta ble couple of favourite toys and very comfortable on the sofa on thursday morning. yes, i know, he is very

happy. not one side or the other, just across. very lovely. it is a story of someone clearly in dire circumstances and now rooney is getting some help and it is good. the joy of getting some help and it is good. thejoy of adult getting some help and it is good. the joy of adult being reunited with their honour, there is nothing like it. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. still to come this morning: # back on this road, back to our... #. haunting, lovely. she's just been crowned the winner of the bbc‘s sound of 2020 — the singer—songwriter celeste will be here to tell us all about her exciting plans for the year ahead. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are.

good morning from bbc london. i'm victoria hollands. mp's held a special debate in parliament last night on the alleged exploitation of young people by a london church known as spac nation. the labour mp for croydon north steve reed called the debate after raising concerns it was an orgasnisation simply masquerading as a church and says it should be investigated by the police. the church claims it helps former gang members turn their lives around and is carrying out its own investigation. they have no fixed location, they do not have a home church which makes it much harder for the authorities to track them. there's not a home police command unit which is keeping track of what they are doing, there is not a local safeguarding board which is keeping track of the risks to young people. dust produced by worn out brake pads could be contributing to the poor quality of our air in london. research from kings college london has shown it can cause inflammation of the lungs and reduce the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria, increasing the risk of respiratory infections.

musicians david bowie and george michael are among those who have been added to the national record of people who have shaped british history. the london—born singers died in 2016 and now their biographies are among 228 that will appear in the new edition of the oxford dictionary of national biography. overall, nearly 64,000 people have had their life stories immortalised in the book. let's take a look at the travel situation now... there's a good service on the tubes this morning but london overground is part suspended between sydenham and west croydon on the trains, because of a signal failure at brockley, there's a reduced service on southern and thameslink trains via norwood junction. on the roads, traffic is slowing westbound along the highway through wapping towards tower hill. the a40 is partly blocked london—bound towards the polish war memorial in ruislip following a collision. that's causing delays

back through hillingdon now the weather with elizabeth rizzini hello, good morning. once again it is a very mild start to the day for this time of year with some of our temperature on 12 or 13 degrees celsius. a bit of everything going on today really. it's a cloudy start, some early outbreaks of rain. it'll stay quite windy as we head through the morning, then the winds will ease down. some brightness and some sunshine, and then some showers as we head towards dark. these early outbreaks of rain are going to move their way south—eastwards as we head through the morning. an aweful lot of cloud around. an awful lot of cloud around. a very brisk south—westerly wind, gradually easing down. through the afternoon, some sunny spells developing and some cooler air by the time we get to the end of the day, when there could also be heavy thundery showers pushing in from the south, so watch out for those. and they're likely to rumble on as we head through the evening rush hour. gradually moving their way eastwards as we head through the night. so it will turn out to be a dry start to the day tomorrow. we've got more of a

north—westerly wind. much cooler air, overnight lows of 4—5 celsius. tomorrow should stay dry and there will be some sunshine but it will feel a bit cooler. windy again by saturday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. bye for now. good morning, welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: disappointment and hurt at the palace after the duke and duchess of sussex tell the world they're stepping back from royal duties — without consulting the queen. prince harry and meghan say they'll split their time between the uk and north america, and work to become "financially independent". demands for whirlpool to offer refunds as the recall of hundreds of thousands of faulty washing machines gets underway. trouble at john lewis. the department store chain could axe its annual bonus for staff, for the first time in more than six decades, as sales fall and its boss quits.

injury forjimmy anderson. england's leading wicket taker is out of the final two tests in south africa, after breaking a rib. good morning. the rain and mostly hill snow pushing north—eastwards will continue to clear into the north sea. the gusty winds in england and wales will ease and pick up england and wales will ease and pick up later as moore rain arrives. and it's being touted as the movie of the year, and is already scooping up awards in hollywood. the stars of the new first world war epic 1917 joins us on the sofa. good morning, it's thursday the 9th of january. senior members good morning, it's thursday the 9th ofjanuary. senior members of the royalfamily ofjanuary. senior members of the royal family has had to ofjanuary. senior members of the royalfamily has had to be hurt after the duke and duchess of sussex announced they are stepping back from their royal roles. the decision is believed to have shocked the royalfamily is believed to have shocked the royal family with reports the royal

couple didn't consult the queen or prince william. sarah campbell is a buckingham palace for us this morning. a lot to digester here from that statement, in amongst it their suggestion now that other members of the royalfamily, suggestion now that other members of the royal family, including suggestion now that other members of the royalfamily, including the queen, were not consulted in advance of them making the announcement? that does appear to be the suggestion. our understanding is that the royal family were aware around a week ago of the duke and duchess of sussex plans to go it alone but that those discussions we re alone but that those discussions were at a very early stage, with details to be worked out but clearly it would appear, from the statement that was released by the duke and duchess of sussex yesterday, that they saw it differently. it is the announcement and the way it was made which appears to have caused shock waves. as you say, among senior royals, which we have to take to be the queen and prince charles, reported to be disappointed and hurt. how much of a surprise was the

announcement? certainly anybody who has been following prince harry and meghan for the last few months will have seen it has been clear they haven't been happy with their situation. i think no more clearly was that shown by the interviews they gave during their tour of southern africa. my british friends said to me, "i'm sure he's great, but you shouldn't do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life. " british tabloids will destroy your life." part of this job and part of anyjob, like life." part of this job and part of any job, like anybody, life." part of this job and part of anyjob, like anybody, means putting ona anyjob, like anybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek toa on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff. but again, for me, and for my wife, of course there's a lot of stuff that hurts. not many people have asked if i'm 0k but... it's a very real thing to be going through behind—the—scenes it gives you a sense hearing the comments to the build—up at this moment. we look at the statement again and they say they want to

carve out a progressive new role within this institution, meaning the royalfamily, within this institution, meaning the royal family, and work to within this institution, meaning the royalfamily, and work to become financially independent. that raises a lot of questions, in practice, what will the future look like? so many questions which we are waiting for the answers for. partly funded by the sovereign grant currently, taxpayers money, but the majority of their income comes from the income from the duchy of cornwall‘s private estate, that is essentially how they are funded. the question is, will they getjobs now? in the statement they said on their website that they value the ability to earn a professional income. you would assume from that that may be yes, they would want to getjobs. we know they want to set up a charitable foundation, that was a lwa ys charitable foundation, that was always on their agenda for this year. that is undoubtedly part of their plans. they plan to balance their plans. they plan to balance their lives between the uk and north america. it looks at the moment like canada, where they have just spent that extended six week break, that will be the most likely place they will be the most likely place they will stay. there is also the big

question of security, because the taxpayer, or it is paid for by the metropolitan police, essentially the taxpayer. they are clearly high—profile members of the royal family at the moment. if they take a step back, as senior members of the royalfamily, step back, as senior members of the royal family, what will be the situation with their security? the website that was created and put live yesterday seems to suggest they would still expect their security to be paid for as they are high—profile members of the royal family. be paid for as they are high—profile members of the royalfamily. as i say, there are so many questions to be worked out. i think the palace statement, which was released a couple of hours after the duke and duchess's statement makes that very clear, when it said we understand their desire to take a different approach but these are complicated issues which will take time to work through. charlie. sarah, for the moment, thank you. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, says talks in washington with his us counterpart about how to deal with iran have been "positive and constructive". the meeting came after missiles

were fired at air bases housing american troops in iraq. earlier, our middle east editor, jeremy bowen told us tensions between iran and the us were starting to ease... i think those concerns have been wound down a little bit because the iranians were quite careful to calibrate, to measure their response. first of all, they had to satisfy all those iranians who were curious about what had happened and of course there was a lot of shock among hardliners at the top of the country, the top of the regime. at the same time, they do want to do so much that the americans would want to hammer them back because they are... they are hardliners that they are... they are hardliners that they are rational. they don't have a death wish. they don't want their country to be destroyed because of something, because of the americans kicking back at them. so they chose it, they calibrated it and i think they got it more or less right

because while the underlying, really dangerous and toxic conflict continues, the fact is that this particular chapter feels in a way like a lot of the anger has gone out of it. 2019 was the hottest year on record for australia, and its expected to get even warmer in the coming days. fresh alerts have been issued across the south, as the growing bushfires continue to endanger lives and homes. at least 27 people and 800—million animals have died since the blazes began in september. let's get the latest from our correspondent, katy watson, who is at a foodbank in melbourne. the reason you are there of causes so many people have been forced from their homes as well and donations have been coming in, good morning. good morning. iam infood bank, victoria, melbourne. you can see at the food that has been donated. since they opened, donations from the public about a week ago, there have been thousands of people coming here by car, bringing things in wheelbarrow as well to be able to donate to those communities who have

been most affected by the fires. i am here with dorothy, the chair of food bank victoria. bushfires are obviously a thing that australians are used to but this year it's been particularly bad. how has that affected the community? it is unprecedented in terms of their size and the amount of loss we had, in terms of peoples houses and people being displaced right out of the community. we can't even get into some communities yet. it is really enormous from the public to wa nt really enormous from the public to want to support anyone displaced or affected by the fires and their generosity has been felt here because we have had a line—up of cars, one after the other,. they are unloading and donating goods. families giving from the heart, wanting to show they support other people in fires. we have got all of this food here and we have hampers over here ready to get onto the tracks, so we can send that out tomorrow morning to go into bushfire

areas. donations of food and water will continue for the short term? we are here for the long term. we can help anyone affected right now but we know there is a rebuilding process and we know people are heartfelt, they have a long way to go before they recover from this. food bank is here for the long term. we are now seeking donations because we need to buy food for the long term to help anyone. dorothy, thank you very much. that is the concern, that this is an issue for the long term. the next few days are the most important, certainly here in victoria, where they have extended a state of disaster to particular areas, fire affected areas in the state and they are expecting higher temperatures and perhaps stronger winds and it is that that will see bushfires extend foster people are standing by to see what exactly the impact will be and if there are more communities affected, then that will mean more communities in need of the

food and water and we will be seeing more donations, no doubt. of course, thank you for bringing us up to date. it is 8:09am. british soul singer, celeste, has won bbc music's sound of 2020. the award is given to artists who are tipped for success in the coming year. she joins a stellar line—up of past winners, including adele and ellie goulding. it's been a good year for celeste so far, as she's also just been announced as the winner of the brits rising star award. 8am. let's go back to one of the stories which has been a real concern for a lot of people. are you one of the hundreds—of—thousands of people affected by the latest recall of whirlpool washing machines? the manufacturer says you'll be offered either a repair or a replacement, after some were found to be a fire—risk. so, what are your options? joining us now from our london

newsroom is the consumer rights campaigner, lynn faulds wood. and here in the studio is becky rooney whose washing machine caught fire. becky, take us back, what happened? i had two washing machines catch fire, the 1st of march 2016, it was set my kitchen with my elderly mother and one—year—old baby and then suddenly smoke started coming from the machine. we turned it off, throw it out, put it in the garden and they gave us a replacement and then that replacement caught fire. same thing again. it developed a fault, we tried to work out what the fault, we tried to work out what the fault was and then we were looking at it and took the top of the machine and suddenly it started smoking and it was the door lock. when you'd had that one replace, had you been told it was safe? yes, it was a brand—new machine we were told it was absolutely safe, it was a one—off, the door lock wasn't an issue as far as they were aware. so we just went ahead and used it. what

did whirlpool say when you said, you tell me this was safe and now it's not? again, they were very aggressive. they refused, they never apologised, they refuse to accept it was a fault on the machine. when this first came out a few weeks ago before christmas, they were saying, we have known about this fault for a few weeks but as i said, i reported mine in march 2016 so i suspect it's a fault they've known about for a long time. a couple of things spring to mind immediately. it happened you we re to mind immediately. it happened you were there in the room when the smoke came out. there was every chance you could not have been there and seen it? absolutely. i have two young kids and quite often the machine is running over night or when we are out of when i am at work. so it was pure luck, really. and then also what happened over christmas is with the new recall, i checked my mother—in—law‘s machine, she has one of the machines that are on the danger list as well. just finish the story offer us in terms of your battle to try and sort something out, what happened?m

looks weaker tweeting and e—mailing and whirlpool said we will have to refer it to our legal team and they we re refer it to our legal team and they were quite intimidating. eventually, after weeks and weeks are pushing, i did geta after weeks and weeks are pushing, i did get a refund but i still ended up did get a refund but i still ended up out of pocket because i'd spent money on launderette fees and a new machine. i won't have hotpoint in the house any more. so my new machine was more expensive than theirs. we ended up out of pocket. let's talk about the process you have gone through. lynn faulds wood, good morning. you had been working quite a lot on consumer rights when it comes back to the whole system, the whole way things are recalled. listening to what happened to becky here, it was more than a refund that was needed in this instance, wasn't it? absolutely. becky is a great witness and thank you very much for doing this item because one of the problems is they are launching the actual recall today, yet it is a big news day so there is every chance it

will get wiped off the new schedules. 30 years ago plus, i used to sit on the breakfast time so as a consumer champion and did loads of stuff about recall is that there has never been a proper system on this. so at the moment, what whirlpool are saying is, we don't actually technically in law have to do anything but we will repair your machine or we will replace it. this, in my opinion, is no longer good enough. well poll in the last four years have made a major hash of all of this. they have handled it so badly and i think for a lot of people, what they should have done was what they used to do with me years ago, approach me and say, would you please announce our recall? get credible tv presenters like your good selves to announce the recall because you will reach far more people. don't try and hide it as it feels to me they have tried to do with becky. it is interesting with the government now, i know you have been campaigning to look at

this. the department for business, energy and industrial strategy has said the government's office has ensured that whirlpool has acted to prom ptly ensured that whirlpool has acted to promptly inform customers about the safety risk and it will take further action if this important recall of whirlpool washing machine is not effective or if there are delays in customers receiving replacements. so the word there... how effective, how sharp are the teeth, should we say? the words are there. four years ago the government came to me and said, would i do a review, an independent review because i have a reputation. are they potential death traps? i agree to do it at the third time of asking provided they do something about it. what they have done about it in the last four years is, in my opinion, really lamentable. this office they talked about, the office office they talked about, the office of product safety and standards, theyjust change of product safety and standards, they just change the of product safety and standards, theyjust change the name of a department working inside government over one weekend from business facing into this product safety

department. that is not good enough. their top thing i called for was a national agency for product safety, one that is independent of government but backed by government that has got real teeth. i think that has got real teeth. i think that whirlpool should have been brought into this earlier. i'm very sorry they bought these companies, who belonged to the italian owner four years ago, five years ago now, and i'm sorry they bought them but you did and you are now responsible. i think you did and you are now responsible. ithinka you did and you are now responsible. i think a lot of people, like becky, should have been given a refund without going through hoops and being threatened with the legal department. yes, becky, let's come back to your situation. there will bea back to your situation. there will be a lot of people who are thinking, they want a refund because theyjust don't trust this company and their products, which is perfectly understandable. but it appears you only got your refund because you threatened them? yes. did they give you an explanation why you're

getting what a lot of people haven't been offered that? i think i just wasn't going to go away. i was so cross about it, for the second machine to do that, ijust kept fighting and i wouldn't let it go. every time they came back with something, i was pushing and pushing. they would leave it a few weeks and i would push again. the other thing with refunds is how they get round it is they said if you give us back the machine, you will get a refund. but who has space to store two washing machines? so they find every way they can, they skirt just down the side of the law to find every way they can to not do their duty, really. becky, a very interesting story, thank you. and lynn faulds wood, thank you very much as well. well paul have issued a few responses, firstly in response to the recall that is happening. it says it's working tirelessly to ensure it can reach out to all affected customers, saying it serves more than a thousand consumers and

will provide remedies to all 60,000 consumers registered with them. when it comes to the issue of whether the refu nd it comes to the issue of whether the refund should be given, it says the priority is pushing the situation —— putting the situation right for eve ryo ne putting the situation right for everyone affected. it says replacing and repairing units free of charge com pletely and repairing units free of charge completely removes the risk of this issue. so we will follow this story with interest. thank you very much. thank you. 8.18 is the time. let's talk to carol and find out what is happening. it has been good golfing weather, i can't deny it. i have had a couple of days off and been golfing every day because it has been mild but it won't continue? to psy—tu rvy been mild but it won't continue? topsy—turvy in terms of temperatures asi topsy—turvy in terms of temperatures as i will show you in a minute but it has been cold enough overnight for some of us to see some snow. this picture from a weather watcher taken in the scottish borders. but not just across the taken in the scottish borders. but notjust across the southern uplands but also northern england. if you are travelling on trans—pennine routes this morning, you could

encounter some snow. it won't last, the whole lot is pushing north—eastwards. for the rest of this week, remaining unsettled. looks like the driest day will be on friday. it will also be windy at times and as we rightly had, the temperature is fluctuating. let me show you that on our temperature chart. mild yellow still in the south today but blues everywhere else, indicating it's colder. that will not last. look how the mild yellow return again on saturday. that won't last because by the time we return to saturday, the cold blues return. topsy—turvy. this morning, we've watched this area of low pressure and it fronts moving north—eastwards, that has produced the rain and also the mostly hill snow. wind is behind easing until the next area of low pressure comes our way later on. when it comes and it will bring showery outbreaks of rain across southern england. we will also see or hear some thunder and lightning and the wind will freshen as well across the south—west, the isles of scilly and

in towards the channel islands. move north of that, it dries up with just a few showers and brighter skies today will be across the north of scotla nd today will be across the north of scotland but here as well, the lowest temperatures. only four in aberdeen, 13 in norwich and london. as we head on through the evening and overnight, we still have the low pressure moving across the south of england. still the risk of some thunder and lightening on that and a cold wind coming down the north sea coastline. but a ridge of high pressure building across us so things mostly dry, settled and cold under clear skies. colder in the south and it has been of late. temperatures in parts of scotland could get as low as —5 or —6. tomorrow morning, where it has been damp, watch out for ice on untreated surfaces. by the time we get to daytime on friday, we still have this transient ridge. later on a clutch of weather fronts come our way, look at those isobars, the winds will strengthen. we say goodbye to the cloud in the south—east in the morning. most of us have a dry day when we lose early

showers. there will be sunny spells and then the wind picks up in the west, particularly the north—west, where we see the arrival of this band rain. temperatures are dam for all of us but saturday, they go up again. thank you very much. 8.21. we turn our attention again to the fires in australia. an online fundraiser to help communities caught up in the devasatation of the australian bushfires has now reached more than £15 million. this is one of a number of efforts set—up around the world over the past few days. joining us now are three australian expats — ben, david and georgina — who have been organising special events to raise money for family and friends who've been affected. good morning to everyone. before we talk about the actual fundraising, it is very close to home. i know you live here now but presumably you are watching the pictures at home, really worried? definitely worried. i think it's great we still can

communicate with back home but it is so raw. whereabouts and your family, give us a sense of how they are affected ? give us a sense of how they are affected? my family are on aubrey, the new south wales victorian border, not directly impacted by fire danger. the nearest buyers are an houroran hourand fire danger. the nearest buyers are an hour or an hour and a half away but i no add a lot of family and friends working as firefighters out there, volunteering. ben, what about you? in terms of geography... i'm from brisbane in queensland. the fire is kind of started up in new south wales and then spread further south. there have been a few on the gold coast, around that area, so my family is all located... friends and relatives down south. what have they been telling you? it's. .. there are no words. you see the sky and it is just red. you see the air, you can't breathe the air. big cities as well

as rural communities. you just watch on the news and he had a fire runs through it. david, it must be hard. where are you from? i'm from north queensland, which is usually quite a drought stricken area. we have been lucky so far not have any fires but the season isjust getting started. a bit nervous going further into january. so you are used to, you understand how fires can be coped with. why do you think... we know that the temperatures, it's been a record year for temperatures and thatis record year for temperatures and that is difficult but why do you think they haven't been, the country is not coping with these as well as they have done, having that familiarity with queensland ? they have done, having that familiarity with queensland? we have had a pretty good response in preparation since the black friday fires back in victoria a few years ago. we have never had it this extreme in new south wales and queensland. sol extreme in new south wales and queensland. so i imagine their servicesjust aren't queensland. so i imagine their services just aren't there, as they have been in victoria. georgina,

tell us a bit about fundraising. there have been some very high—profile names linked to some of the fundraising campaigns, what is it you are doing? i suppose i feel quite useless being over here in london when everything is going on back home. i'm about supporting anyone who is going to get out there and actually give their time and effort to support everyone back home. i think it's great a lot of people are getting on board, australians living in london and also our friends we have made australians living in london and also ourfriends we have made in london that are getting behind australia. we need that support right now. i think more and more, it's about donations to people on the ground in australia, so they can do thejob they the ground in australia, so they can do the job they need to do to support the people in immediate danger. also the long—term impacts of these fires. and it is australia day on the 26th? yes, we have a few events this weekend focused on that, when people will come out and we have heaps of people that we have on board, travel companies and musicians and venues, who are donating their time and raising funds. the focus is around that

weekend. do you think you are typical of how expats, australian expat here, or those visiting or living here now, feel about what's going on in australia at the moment? purely anecdotally, people i've spoken with all feel really helpless. i think we all feel really helpless. i think we all feel really helpless living over here, watching our home literally burning, on fire, and we want to do anything we can to help. the number of people that have come out and offered their time and services and money has been incredible. so, yeah, there is a real sense of community that has come about over here. david, looking at some of these images, we have spoken several times. some of the volunteer fire crews who are involved are showing immense bravery in really, really difficult conditions. yes, it's been quite amazing, the volunteers. it's not predominantly fire service. it is your neighbours, your parents, your brothers and sisters who are heading down there to fight these fires. as

ben was saying, it's good seeing the unity of the london expats get together to raise more funds, to provide more services. georgina, thought about the wildlife, that's another thing that has been highlighted in this process, the scale of the damage. it is the forest and the bushfires but then the damage to the local wildlife as well. yeah, it's extraordinary and devastating. i thinkjust the magnitude, the loss of wildlife and how we can try and rebuild our ecosystem after this, because it hasn't even finished. as david said, the bushfire season hasn't finished, we are generally at the beginning. ben, what are your family saying? they look up and see the sky is black, what do they see after this is finally tackled? it's a really good question. as you said, it is onlyjust beginning. to think about the end of it is such a way off. but it's clear it will take decades to from this. we wish you well with

yourfundraising, from this. we wish you well with your fundraising, thank you for coming in today. find out what is happening where you are this morning. we will see you in about three minutes. good morning. the first this morning is giving us some heavy rain and hill slow in northern england and central and southern areas of scotla nd central and southern areas of scotland and it will drift away before the next area of low pressure moves into the south—west bringing thundery rain in the afternoon. for many as the rain clears away from the north—east, dry in the afternoon, may be bright and sunny spells for some. quite a contrast in temperatures. england and wales, double figures. further north, quite chilly, particularly in the north—east of scotland. tonight we

will continue with the thundery rain across drifting further east. for many, a quiet night with clear skies, especially for northern areas. a ridge of high pressure sta rts areas. a ridge of high pressure starts to develop as we go through into friday. it will be a chilly start, especially for northern england and scotland, frost here. temperatures close to freezing. further south, five, six. friday, more straightforward, quiet weather for most. plenty of sunshine for england and wales and most of scotland, but rain gradually moving into western scotland and western northern ireland, maximum temperature is 6—9dc. on the weekend, getting more complicated again. quite a deep area of low pressure towards iceland, this weather system will move south and east on saturday. look at the white lines, quite close together, gales on saturday, especially in northern and western areas, the rain spreads

to the south—east but not reaching the far south—east of england a milder day. goodbye for now.

this is worklife from bbc news, with sally bundock and karin giannone. pension protests — france grapples with another huge day of strikes over plans to raise the retirement age. live from london, that's our top story on thursday, 9th january. the transport system, schools and the courts are all grinding to a halt in france as the unions fight back against president macron's plans for a more affordable pension system.

we will be live to