you re watching bbc newsroom live — it's11am and these are the main stories this morning. the duke of sussex says there was "really no other option" in stepping back from being a senior royal. prince harry speaks publicly for the first time since the new royal arrangments were announced. the decision that i have made for my wife and i to step back is not one i made lightly. it was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and i know i haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. two men are arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were killed in north—east london. despite the best efforts of paramedics on the scene, they were pronounced dead on the scene. so, an absolutely tragic

event to take place here. tony to ny h olley tony holley standing down after seven tony holley standing down after seve n years tony holley standing down after seven years in the role. a leak of a government commissioned review suggests the h52 high speed rail link could end up costing £106 billion. a respiratory virus in china has spread from wuhan to other major cities with more than 130 new cases reported in two days. an urgent review into the safety of smart motorways is set to be released after nine people were killed last year. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. prince harry has spoken out for the first time about the decision to step back as a senior royal, saying he is "taking a leap of faith."

speaking at a charity event last night he said that he and the duchess of sussex had hoped to continue serving the queen without public funding but that had proved to be impossible. before we hear what harry said last night, let's just recap what this deal means going forward for both him and meghan. firstly, both of them will retain their hrh titles, short for his or her royal highness, but will no longer be able to use them. as senior royals, they both carried out official duties last year between them that amounted to 284 events. that number will now drop to zero. but they can continue supporting their favourite causes and can attend royal events at the invitation of the queen. currently, the couple receive £2 million a year from the sovereign grant, funded by taxpayers, and harry and his brother william split nearly £5 million from prince charles‘ duchy of cornwall. harry and meghan will now no longer receive any grant money,

and while they'll still receive money from prince charles, that will now come from his private investments. harry has three official miliatry roles which he will now have to step back from. and they currently live rent—free at frogmore and taxpayers paid £2.1i million towards renovations. that money will now be paid back, and they will begin paying rent on the cottage. let's listen now to more of prince harry's own explanation for the decision to step away from the royal stage. the decision that i have made for my wife and i to step back is not one i made lightly. it was so many months of talks, after so many years of challenges, and i know i haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. right, but as far as this goes, what i want to make clear is — we're not walking away. and we certainly aren't walking away from you. our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations but without public funding. this unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

i've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who i am or how committed i am, but i hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that i would step my family back from all i have ever known to take a step forward into what i hope can be a more peaceful life. i was born into this life and it is a great honour to serve my country and the queen. when i lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under the your wing. you looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force and my hope is, one day, our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger thanjust us. it has been our privilege to serve you and we will continue to lead a life of service, so in that respect, nothing changes. it has also been a privilege to meet so many of you and to feel your excitement for our son archie, who saw snow for the first time the other day and thought

it was bloody brilliant. laughter. i will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander—in—chief, and i'm incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support that they've shown meghan and i over the last few months. i will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me. together, you have given me an education about living, and this role has taught me more about what is right and just than i could have ever imagined. we are taking a leap of faith, so thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step. there has been a significant amount of disappointment online from the military community. a former officer

in the british armyjoins us now. what is your view of those pathogen is being severed 7 what is your view of those pathogen is being severed? it is sad because he was a valued member of the royal marine corps. he will be missed and will be hard to replace. we have to think about his circumstances. he is a young man with a difficult start in life losing his mother so early. he has served the country with honour and distinction and has now found happiness with his young family. if that is his priority, i think we should respect that. what does that actually mean to the army? what did that role intel for him? the kudos of having that... my experience and a general experience of the royal family is that it is a caring institution. they were

com pletely caring institution. they were completely ignored by the rest of the media and the government. so it is at times like that it really becomes valuable and i think prince harry will be missed but we have got to respect his well—being and his happiness. who do you think might step into the roles? it would be appropriate? they are different roles and i think that discussion will be coming on as we speak. it will be coming on as we speak. it will be coming on as we speak. it will be wrong to speculate because there is a number of factors that coming to decide who takes on those various roles. what are the factors? the royal marines want someone who has some connection with the royal marines. other regiments would be looking for someone who has a certain empathy or connection with,

not just a certain empathy or connection with, notjust a regiments, but the people who make up the regiment, the families. they are all different. they are looked after separately according to circumstance.” they are looked after separately according to circumstance. i am just thinking, is a someone in the royal family who has the experience? prince edward didn't finish his marine cost so i think that probably rules him out but he might be the quy: rules him out but he might be the guy, it is hard to stay. it is wrong to speculate because many other factors have to be taken on. —— it is hard to say. thank you for joining us. three men have been stabbed to death at ilford in north—east london. the metropolitan police say they were called to reports of a "disturbance" near seven kings railway station yesterday evening. the men were said to be in their twenties and thirties. two people have been arrested. danjohnson is at the scene. a big police investigation in this part of east london this morning.

and quite a big area that is being taped off. this is the focus of the investigation. you mayjust be able to make out the yellow and white police forensic tent on the corner there. that is where we believe at least one of these men died last night. three of them were found with serious stab wounds here after some sort of fight that erupted here in the streets before 8pm. and that is why there is such a big area cordoned off. there is a row of shops that is taped off by police, an area around the railway station as well as this residential street here. a lot of evidence for them to gather. there is a police helicopter above, presumably taking photos of the scene and a lot of concern in the community aboutjust how brutal this attack seems to have been. well, in the last hour we have got an update here from the local police borough commander. he is chief superintendent stephen klayman from the metropolitan police. the incident took place around 7:40pm yesterday evening.

it started near seven kings train station and moved to where we are now. it was a fight involving two groups of men. we believe those men were from the sikh community. the result of that fight, which involved knives had three people fatally wounded. this despite their best efforts, they were pronounced dead by paramedics on the scene. an absolutely tragic event to take place here. i can update that the enquiry overnight, two people had been arrested in relation to murder. we believe the parties are known to each other. we don't know more at this stage and i can speak about causes. this is why we need witnesses to come forward and give us more witnesses to come forward and give us more information about what they saw. and potentially information surrounding the event. we will be releasing the incident number. someone doesn't want to speak to the police, please call crimestoppers. the two people in custody are 29 and

39 years old. police have ruled out terrorism as a motive for this attack. they believe it is some sort of dispute within the community and some people who live here say there was a disturbance on saturday night, suggesting that perhaps this could have been something that followed on from that. a brutal attack. there are some videos on social media showing the aftermath of this incident and there are some very graphic images within that. that is a sort of evidence police are coming through. certainly there has been concern at such a loss of life because of knife crime. the report which has been seen by the financial times also recommends that the second phase of the project, linking them to manchester

and leeds, should be paused to see whether conventional rail lines could be used instead. let's take a look at what we know so far about the key facts and figures around hs2. the key facts and figures around hsz. the the key facts and figures around hs2. the existing budget is £55.6 billion. that compares to the original budget of £32.7 billion. 7.4 billion has already been spent and with this new projective figure of over £100 million for the total projected cost. according to hs2 there will be 9000 jobs supported by there will be 9000 jobs supported by the railway. there will be 345 miles of new high—speed track and it is estimated that the journey time saving between london and manchester will be 15 minutes. earlier my colleague spoke to our business presenter and asked him how on earth we got to this number of £106 billion. it is the old thing of

optimism bias when people start a project, people approve those numbers because they want the project approved but once you do some research, look at what will be required, we live on a small crowded island it was always going to be an expensive exercise. 106 billion is a very big number. there is an resemblance between this number and another number a week ago. he said the eventual number would be 107 billion. people said that was ridiculous. now a leaked version of the official review says it was 106 billion. he was right all along. it is interesting that they said it was a drop but they said it was accurate. it is interesting the idea of de—scoping the project. not it a

pure high—speed line. making it not a high—speed line, only a high—speed line north of birmingham. that has made andy burnham furious this morning. they said that the north should not accept second best. other people have said the best use of transport funds north of birmingham is actually improving local lights. that is really what frustrates people. they are so poor and it would be better to spend that rail money not on a high—speed line running straight past these communities but improving local services so people can get to work. the duke of sussex says there was "really no other option" to stepping down as a senior royal. it was prince harry's first speech since the announcement that he and the duchess of sussex intended to embark on a new life. two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were stabbed to death

in north—east london yesterday. in sparta, england has taken a bit to be in the third test against south africa. they took the four wickets they needed to clinch the win. venus williams has been knocked out of the first round of the australian open. the victory comes six months after... eddiejones names his england six nations squad later today. i will be back with more on those stories after half past. he will remain in the role for the next six months after seven years in

thejob. he said it was next six months after seven years in the job. he said it was a next six months after seven years in thejob. he said it was a hard decision but he wanted to put the interests of the organisation first. this was a big surprise. why is he going? i spoke to friends of his this morning who thought he was going to stick around until 2022. that is what a lot of people, including some senior management at the bbc felt. he has done seven yea rs the bbc felt. he has done seven years and that is a long time in a job which is exceptionally demanding andi job which is exceptionally demanding and i think the nature of the bbc director—general, it is a tough job because of relentless scrutiny from social media. but also you have to think that the bbc is currently in this posture which is basically brea ks this posture which is basically breaks for an enormous fight with the government and the bbc has to make a case for a new chapter in a couple of years in the half term negotiations. they will try to get formally been taken in 2027 but

there will be a discussion in 2027. —— a discussion soon. i think lord hollis done that pretty effectively for most of the seven yes but he properly feel that it requires a burst of energy and new thinking and that it burst of energy and new thinking and thatitis burst of energy and new thinking and that it is time to pass a button on. that brings us to the question of who will pick it up? you want me right now to tell you! he will be the next director—general! i think there are a number of internal directors who are strong candidates. charlotte mower, james pernell, a key strategic figure at the bbc. what are people in the commercial sector will fancy it and the decision will rest with the bbc board. sadly, i don't know who will be the next director—general at this point but i think the decision will be, do they need someone who will be best to make a political argument with the government and to secure a

royal charter, who has got that negotiating skills, or do they want someone negotiating skills, or do they want someone who will fundamentally question the bbc two commercial model and say that in the world of netflix and apple tv plus and disney tv plus, we need to think about how the bbc can commercially compete in the bbc can commercially compete in the new world. lord hall as elements... they would have the political clout to deal with westminster, the commercial nous, the editorial ability to be responsible for all these journalists and the managerial skills. it is an unbelievably tough job, one that has got significantly tougher. being director—general at the bbc in 2020 is properly tougher than ever. it will require someone with phenomenal skills. seven years asa with phenomenal skills. seven years as a long time to be on the job. with phenomenal skills. seven years as a long time to be on thejob. how

does he leave the bbc?” as a long time to be on thejob. how does he leave the bbc? i think he said he left the bbc in a stronger position than when he came. it is important to understand about his leadership that... crisis management. he arrived... it followed the revelations ofjimmy savile and the disgraceful mistreatment of lord mcalpine by bbc news. he had to steady the ship. there was a crisis. as a former news hand people thought he was effective at that. the second stage was this big negotiation with coalition government over the new terms of the royal charter and the new governance structure. the people who keep the bbc doing itsjob properly structure. the people who keep the bbc doing its job properly change from being a bit bbc trust to be

ofcom and his new government structure was a big change. there is a question over that negotiation with the government. the bbc would argue that he was effective and got argue that he was effective and got a good deal. one of the spill—overs was the bbc had to reveal much more information about salaries and that dominated the third chapter of his tenure. but really this final phase, the last two or three years, has been about negotiating a new world of technology and on that he has done more than most people are given him credit for. bbc iplayer went up to 12 months. he merged the bbc‘s commercial brings. he announced a big partnership with discovery. a lot has happened which doesn't necessarily get to the headlights. the issues of gender pay and equal pay has been more headline grabbing.

but over those three phases, we could say he has faced challenges and navigated it pretty well but whoever succeeds him will have to deal with that technological challenge above all and be incredibly effective. illegal migration in small boats will continue to be a challenge for law enforcement agencies, according to the national crime agency. it says gangs based in france are working together to smuggle people across the channel and have developed their tactics to evade detection. let's cross over to dover now, and our correspondent colin campbell. a dinghy full of migrants arrives on a kent beach. it's summer. they've just crossed the english channel. last year, the small boats made their way here every month. on occasion, ten launched simultaneously. there is some evidence of a surge tactic and it's a possibility

they think if they make a large number of departures on a particular day, at least some of them are more likely to get through, some of them are more likely to evade law enforcement, french law enforcement on the french coast. it isa it is a desperate race to try to get to the uk for these people. we also exposed the criminals drumming up business in french migrant camps. exposed the criminals drumming up business in french migrant campsm will cost you 3000 to £4000. the national crime agency say there is no evidence of a mr big controlling the smuggling operations but sometimes migrants organise it themselves. unable to afford to pay smugglers, masoud did just that. the former iranian canoeing champion bought an inflatable kayak in cali and paddled across the channel. the big storm was coming and the ships and the waves and together these waves where more than three metres,

i wasjust saved my waves where more than three metres, i was just saved my life. waves where more than three metres, i wasjust saved my life. i was paddling for more than 11 hours. the english channel can be a treacherous stretch of water. last year more than 1800 migrants reach the uk in small boats. of that number, around 125 were sent back to either france or other european countries. the majority coming across the sea are from iran and in 2019 63% of iranians were granted asylum on their first try. many bar winning iranians were granted asylum on theirfirst try. many bar winning on appeal. a spike in arrivals in the summit prompted tough talk from the prime minister. we will send you back and the uk should not be regarded as a place where you can automatically come. but some claim it is empty rhetoric. they are going to make this journey. it is empty rhetoric. they are going to make thisjourney. the people we are seen to make thisjourney. the people we are seen coming to make thisjourney. the people we are seen coming across to make thisjourney. the people we are seen coming across in boats have extremely good asylum claims. they are likely to be successful. the

national crime agency admit stopping the boats remains a big challenge but they are confident numbers will reduce and it won't get easier to cross after brexit. colin campbell is in doubt that now and we canjoin him there. over to you, colin. what ican him there. over to you, colin. what i can tell you this morning is that just after nine o'clock a small book containing 12 migrants, including two women and one child, was rescued just off the coast. all were suffering from mild hypothermia. they have now been taken away where they are said to be safe and well. i am joined by they are said to be safe and well. i amjoined bya they are said to be safe and well. i am joined by a representative from kent refugee action network. what types of people are we seeing coming across in the small boats? we work with people who have arrived with children and we have seen teenagers

from mostly iran and some from iraq arriving in thingies. are they aware of the dangers out there in the channel? yes, they are aware. they told me they are scared before they made the journey and the journey is absolutely terrifying. they are very aware of how dangerous it is. why are they leaving their home countries? for various reasons. many of them are kurdish so they are from a persecuted minority. if you are kurdish in iran, life is extremely difficult. if are kurdish in iraq where isis are rampaging, they see you as not being properly muslim and your life is in danger. the reasons are many and varied. france is a safe country. why don't they claim asylu m safe country. why don't they claim asylum there? many do. a very small number choose to come to this country. in a lot of cases, choice is not the right word. children are sent here and they don't have a choice of where they are going. the government says it will try to send

back anyone who arrives illegally in a small boat. isn't it right to try to deter these people for making these very dangerous voyages here? we absolutely agree that we don't wa nt we absolutely agree that we don't want anybody... one thing i can agree with the home office is that nobody wants them to make a dangerous journey by boat. what we need to be doing is finding a way for these people who have got good asylu m for these people who have got good asylum claims in our experience to be able to get safe passage to make the claim here. you think there will be any different after brexit? the claim here. you think there will be any different after brexit7m the claim here. you think there will be any different after brexit? it is really difficult to say. what i would say is that brexit gives us a fresh opportunity to look at this again and create a vast, fair and humane way of processing applications and allowing people to seek refuge in this country. thank you very much forjoining us. tragically, there were three fatalities last year. three individuals lost their lives trying to get across the channel in small boats. one was a female phd student

from iran his body was found washed up from iran his body was found washed up on the dutch beaches. two of the individuals were found on beaches. one was a 17—year—old child. they fear there could be more fatalities this year with smuggling gangs and french migrants. thank you very much, colin. thank you very much, colin. well, a new in—depth online bbc briefing policy guide on immigration is published today, launching two days of special coverage on the issue. our home affairs correspondent, dominic casciani is here. this is an enormous project. almost 200 pages. if you are a student writing your phd, put your pen down, copy and paste this, the job writing your phd, put your pen down, copy and paste this, thejob is done for you. what we have tried to do with this project which has been peer reviewed is try to put in the public domain in a fairly easy format of the available facts,

rather than myths, about migration. we are very conscious about there is a lot of confusion. it is an approach on a topic going back almost 200 years. it is to try and a nswer almost 200 years. it is to try and answer peoples questions. what does it tell us about trends in the uk? let's start with that because i think one of the key points in terms of policy in this country is what has been going on over the last 50 yea rs has been going on over the last 50 years and how people perceive that. look at this graph. we had two lines. the blue line is basically eu migration into the uk. the red lines from the rest of the world. if we look back to the early 70s, on 50 yea rs look back to the early 70s, on 50 years ago, very little migration from the eu because their economies we re from the eu because their economies were similar to ours. what a migration from the commonwealth because there are some who are countries. we were bringing in those workers. after the early 1990s, let see how this changes. we see this bigjump in see how this changes. we see this big jump in migration. that was driven by two factors. the first was

the fall of communism, the fall of the fall of communism, the fall of the berlin wall in 89, the collapse of communism in asia. our nation and other countries in the industrialised world experience similar movements. eu migration remains relatively low because our economies were the same because it sta rts economies were the same because it starts to move because of the uk become part of the free market area, guaranteeing freedom freedom of movement for workers. a big change happened in the uk. we see a big rise in eu net migration and that is because of the eastern bloc countriesjoining the because of the eastern bloc countries joining the eu, because of the eastern bloc countriesjoining the eu, workers from poorer countries taking opportunities in the uk where they can make more money, very often sent home. those workers really take off leading to controversy about the nature of our policy and feeding into the brexit debate because we know it was a big factor in that. interestingly, a big dip in the blue light at the end. that is after the referendum where the eu migration

sta rts referendum where the eu migration starts to drop off but the red line, migration from the rest of the world, carries on near record levels. so it is notjust about brexit controlling and managing migration, it is also about the policies to the rest of the world as well. what about people post my perceptions? really interesting. let's look at this next graph. a question about how many people the public perceive her immigrants in british society. when people were asked by ipsos mori they returned a result about a quarter of the british population they thought were immigrants. in actual fact, british population they thought were immigrants. in actualfact, the number drops back to about 40 and every 100. 40%. about 9 million people overall. migration is a lot smaller than what people actually perceive it to be. we see other things happening in other parts as well. for instance, there is a lack of clarity about illegal immigration. it could be a few

hundred thousand up to 1 immigration. it could be a few hundred thousand up to1 million. very difficult to get hard data. that feeds into people post my concerns. very complicated information about benefit takes. people perceive migrants are taking more benefits than paying taxes. in actualfact, more benefits than paying taxes. in actual fact, the tentative data believes most migrants are younger and fitter and tend not to have as many children when they are right in the uk. they tend to be paying more than they are taking out. we are entering a new world post brexit. immigration was one of the highest concerns in the run—up to the election. what will policies be going forward? this is the key quote from borisjohnson. going forward? this is the key quote from boris johnson. this going forward? this is the key quote from borisjohnson. this was part of the general election campaign. i guarantee an australian style points system to control immigration. what this points towards is a debate that has been shifting in the uk. all the main political parties are now largely behind the idea of a skills —based system. to try to get the

most talented and skilled people in over freedom of movement. most talented and skilled people in overfreedom of movement. the question here is whether or not the government wants to come up with some kind of controls to put a cap over the top of it. we don't know the government position on this. it has 11 months to find out. in the coming week of the main advisory body on immigration will report back on some of these questions. only then will we see some answers about what the prime minister's direction is. this is all on the bbc website? all on the bbc website. almost 200 pages. we have tried to answer every possible question. thank you. in the last two decades immigration has grown at a faster rate than ever before across the world, including in the uk. let —— yet it is an issue that continues to divide. should immigration be controlled or encouraged? divide. should immigration be controlled or encouraged ? what divide. should immigration be controlled or encouraged? what kind of immigration is right or wrong for our country? how the government will

deliver its reform of the immigration system while continuing to deliver highly skilled immigrants to deliver highly skilled immigrants to our shores will be one of the key test of brexit. if you have questions you want to put to our experts, we will be joined questions you want to put to our experts, we will bejoined by questions you want to put to our experts, we will be joined by the director of the migration observatory and our reality check correspondence, chris morris, at 12:30pm. let me know your questions by using the hashtag. you can e—mail them or text. texts will be charged at the standard message rate. time for a sports update with katie. good morning. england have taken a 2-1 good morning. england have taken a 2—1 series lead with victory in the third test against south africa. they took the four wickets they needed to clinch the win. stuart broad removed vernon philander in the first over of the day, with mark wood and don best also taking wickets before maha raj

wood and don best also taking wickets before maharaj was run out to seal the win forjoe root‘s team. it was england's biggest away win in more than nine years. certainly england have turned it around. they got thoroughly thumped in that first test in centurion. but since then they have played some great cricket. and although in port elizabeth here they won a good toss and it was really hot on the first day, you still have to play well. they have done that. they have done that. the first tennis major of the season is under way in melbourne. the american teenage sensation koko gough knocked out seven time grand slam champion venus williams. it comes six months after she also knocked venus out of the first round at wimbledon. the british number one, dan evans, is the first british player into the second round at wimbledon. he beat the american mckenzie mcdermott in five sets to set upa mckenzie mcdermott in five sets to set up a second—round clash with a japanese opponent.

the first time in his career he has lost the opening two sets to come back and win outright. it means he is into the second round. as we know, a lot of pressure will hinge on his shoulders now in the absence of andy murray. kyle edmund was up in his match before rain curtailed his opening round encounter. and joanna contact, the third british player due to be out in court today, but again rain forcing the cancellation of those matches. they should return tomorrow and they will be in action alongside five other british players hoping the rain subsides and they will get the chance to book their place in the second round alongside dan evans. some impressive victories today, not least by koko gough, who knocked out video —— venus williams. as for serena williams and roger federer, it was business as usual, as it was for naomi osaka, the defending champion in the women's single. john watson. liverpool are 16 points

clear at the top of the premier league after making it 60 four premier league points out of the 66 available to them so far this season. three of those points came yesterday with a 2—0 win over manchester united. they took the lead through virgil van dyke. but then had to wait until stoppage time for mo salah to make it two. that goal made by a brilliant pass from goalkeeper alison, who ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate with his team—mates. billy vunipola is likely to miss the six nations after breaking his arms —— arm for saracens against racing 92 yesterday. eddie jones saracens against racing 92 yesterday. eddiejones names his england six nations squad later today, with his side beginning the tournament against france. that is on february two. and the kansas city

chiefs will play their first super bowl in 50 years after beating the tennessee titans 35—24 to clinch the afc championship. they had to come from behind for the second week in a row. last season's most valuable player and in the touchdown as well as throwing this 60 yard pass to set up as throwing this 60 yard pass to set up victory. they will play the san francisco 49ers in the super bowl in two weeks. that's all the sport for now. you can find all of these stories on the bbc sport website, plus live coverage of the winter youth olympics. thank you. the health authorities in china are scrambling to stop the spread of a new pneumonia—like virus, as millions of people prepare to travel for the lunar new year. the wuhan health commission has confirmed a third person has died after contracting the coronavirus in the central chinese city of wuhan. china has just confirmed 217 cases

in total of the virus. now south korea has also confirmed it's first case of the disease. a 35—year—old chinese woman has been isolated by the authorities after she had travelled from wuhan to incheon airport on sunday. and there are fears the virus might spread to hong kong too. earlier i spoke to tarikjasarevic from the world health organization, and asked him if he was concerned by the spread of the virus. this is a new virus that has been identified only two weeks ago. we still don't know much of its features. we a re still don't know much of its features. we are not having enough information to determine how exactly it is being transmitted, what is the source of the virus, how severe it is. there is still a lot to learn. however, the good thing is it has been identified very quickly, that china has shared the genetic sequence china has shared the genetic sequence of the virus, so it helped other countries to start testing

people. we had cases in thailand, japan and korea. it is obviously something that everyone needs to monitor. we need to understand really how many people will get severely ill. we had a couple of casualties, as you mentioned in your report. so really, we are trying to work with countries to help them monitor this virus and treat those who get sick. with me is online health editor, michelle roberts there is a lot that is not known. this is a completely new virus. how will they go about ascertaining where it is, what is causing it and how it might spread? we are learning some new things about it. we know that it seems to have happened in wuhan. that the people who first caught it seem to have visited a seafood market there. they think probably it has come from an animal

and that has then infected people. we don't yet know how readily it can spread from person to person. that is the concern. that is the real thing we need to find out, how easy it can spread. obviously if people are in confined spaces together, coughing and sneezing, that is how infections can quickly evolve. the statistics so far, 217 cases identified in china. what would that indicate? is it possible to compare with previous outbreaks of new viruses and how quickly they would spread? at the moment, as we heard from the professor of the world health organization, people have got onto this quickly, which is great news. we know what the virus looks like. it is similar but not the same as sars. i don't know if you remember sars from early 2000. that was quite a deadly disease. this one at the moment, we know three people have died. those people were quite sick and elderly already. obviously

we need to know more. but at the moment it is more concerned rather than alarm. and containment is what they are trying to do to limit the spread. what can be learned from what happened with sars? ultimately sars day to die away and we remember it now has a case study, effectively, it didn't go on to become something that spread uncontrollably. yes. obviously what you can do for yourself is if you are around people, if they are sick, if they are coughing, they are sneezing, try to avoid people with flu—like illness, which is difficult in itself if you are sick. go and seek help. cough, sneezes, catch it, bin it, kill it is the usual advice. use a tissue, throw it away, wash your hands, good hygiene can stop viruses spreading. in the global community they will be learning more

and sharing advice between countries. some airports are monitoring people with temps micro. —— temperatures. a lot of different things can give you high temperatures. that is not necessarily going to stop it but monitoring and tracing is a way to try to contain this. thanks, michelle. our top story here today — prince harry has spoken out for the first time about the decision to step back as a senior royal, saying he is "taking a leap of faith." this morning he has been seen arriving at the uk investment summit in greenwich. speaking at a charity event last night he said he and the duchess of sussex had hoped to continue serving the queen without public funding but that had proved impossible. well for more on how the duke and duchess's decision will impact the royal family, i'm joined now by royal historian anna whitelock. and i, there is no halfway house. they are completely out. —— anor. impact will it have any practical sense? that is two key royals out of

the picture in terms royal engagements and pathogenesis? —— patronage is. there is a sense that still exactly what harry and meghan are going to be doing, and potentially what brand they are going to be endorsing, remains to be seen. going to be endorsing, remains to be seen. how they are going to earn a living, as such. we don't imagine they will be working on a conventional way. buckingham palace will be concerned they don't end up commercialising the brand. there are still going to be dining out on the royal brand. that will be a concern for buckingham palace. but the monarchy itself, we will now see it very much regrouping as it has been recently around the queen, of course, but also her next three airs. prince charles, prince william and prince george. it is that which ultimately matters. we saw the portrait image that was released at the beginning of the year which focused on the queen and the three

areas. and also the footage of all of them making christmas pudding. so really that is what the future of the monarchy is about. it is about the monarchy is about. it is about the direct line of succession, not about the wider royal family. they will be a concerted effort by buckingham palace to focus on those key individuals and the future of the monarchy as an institution. they will be the practical matter of who feels that she was in the patronage is that they have, importantly for the military. we were hearing earlier there was some upset of the fa ct earlier there was some upset of the fact that prince harry will not be involved in the key military roles that he has been in. that will entail drafting and members from the widerfamily, won't entail drafting and members from the wider family, won't it?|j entail drafting and members from the wider family, won't it? i think it will and i think that's where the danger lies. because obviously when you start to bring in other members of the royal family to a prominent position that they are not directly in line to the throne, it creates this idea of sort of hangers on, people who are paid for it by the

public purse but aren't integral to the future of the monarchy. but they can't all do everything. and certainly going forward prince charles had talked of a streamlined monarchy, but his intent clearly when he became king was to focus activities on himself and camilla, obviously, but also his sons, harry and william. this leaves william very exposed. he is now without the kind of emotional support of his brother, who will spend much time in north america. it also without the practical support of his brother when he becomes prince of wales himself. and then of course ultimately king. there is that personal cost of these to william and kate, that they are left somewhat in the lodge now by the duke and the us of sussex, left to carry on their royal duties and responsibilities, because they don't have the opt out that harry had because they are in line to succeed the throne whenever that time comes. thank you very much, anna whitelock.

in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. the duke of sussex says there was "really no other option" to stepping down as a senior royal. it was prince harry's first speech since the announcement that he and the duchess of sussex intended to embark on a new life. two men are arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were killed in north—east london. the bbc‘s director—general, tony hall, is standing down after seven years in the role. hello, iam ben hello, i am ben thompson. these are the top business stories. building the high—speed rail link hs2 could cost up to £106 billion, way above original estimates of £56 billion. a government—commissioned review says costs could rise by another 20%. the review also recommends pausing the second phase of the project beyond birmingham to manchester and leeds. intu, which owns some of the uk's biggest shopping centres, including manchester's trafford centre and lakeside in essex, has asked

investors for more money. reports say it wants to tap shareholders for up to £1 billion amid a downturn in consumer spending and poor results from retailers. china — one of the world's biggest users of plastic — has announced plans to reduce single—use plastics across the country. non—degradable bags will be banned in major cities by the end of 2020, and restaurants won't be allowed to give out plastic straws by the end of this year. good morning. today marks the start of energy saving week — the national campaign to help people cut their energy bills and get financial support if they‘ re entitled to it. but why are more people not doing more to save money and shop around for cheaper deals? laura mcgadie, head of consumer advice at energy saving, joins me now. laura, good morning. when we lay it out like that, that there is money to be saved by switching, there is

money to be saved by getting grants and other bursaries you might be entitled to, but more people don't do it. why not? yes, it is not a lwa ys do it. why not? yes, it is not always the top of our list to manage our energy bills. you don't get reminders like you do for insurance and things like that. we are encouraging people to think about it and think about the savings they can make. the research that energy saving trust has carried out, along with citizens advice and the uk government, has found that 28% of households in britain think they would save any money by switching, and 24% don't know. that is more than half of households in britain. and yet we know that most people can save money and yet we know that most people can save money by switching. that is why during this week we have put 20 easy ways to save online and you can easily access citizens advice price comparison tool, so you can check of the tariff is right for you. give me a sense of what some of those may be? what are the most important we should all be looking at? yes, these

tips are low—cost or no cost things. most don't cost anything. the key thing to look at is your heating. make sure you are using your heating timer, so your heating is only on when you need it on. try turning down your thermostat 1 degrees when you need it on. try turning down your thermostat1 degrees this week. see if that is still co mforta ble. week. see if that is still comfortable. keep going until you get to a point that is comfortable but not wasting energy. switching supplier is something we talk so much about. there is potentially hundreds of pounds you could save just about moving to another supplier. but it is not in the interest of suppliers to make it easy, is it? they rely on us not moving because that is where they make their money. sure there are many more regulation to make it easier to switch? -- should there be? asked ed have put in place a scheme which ensures you can switch and it can all be completed within 28 days. —— ofsted. your supply will be safe. suppliers are encouraging

people to shop around. but it is true if you have never switched, and we know that 29% of people have never switched, the chances are you are paying way over the odds and you could make hundreds of pounds of savings by switching. laura, good to talk to you. thank you so much. shop around if you want a cheaper deal. in other business stories, shares in fizzy drink maker fevertree have fallen more than 20%, after warning that christmas trading was "subdued". the firm says sales rose 10%, but that was lower than expected due to a weaker festive season. it said the firm had "not been immune from the consumer belt tightening". uk rail operator stagecoach is taking the government to the high court later, where it will argue ministers acted unlawfully in awarding rail franchises. last year, stagecoach and its partners were barred from bidding to run three franchises in a row over pension liabilities.

beals, one of britain plus my oldest department store chains, has confirmed it is in administration. itbut 1300 jobs at risk. founded in 1881 byjohn peel, the firm has been trying to renegotiate rent reductions with some of the owners of its stores. it is understood the stories will continue to trade during the illustration. a quick look at the numbers. into is down by nearly 9%. stagecoach group, one of those partners in particularly the west coast mainline, has changed hands from virgin to avante, their shares down marginally on the day. a lot of concern about the process that was carried out to award those new franchise holders. the ftse 100 carried out to award those new franchise holders. the ftse100 down 0.4%. more on the next hour. thank you, ben.

campaigners say smart motorways shouldn t open without technology which detects broken down vehicles. it comes as the government is about to release the results of an urgent review into their safety. smart motorways are designed to keep traffic moving, but it s claimed nine people were killed last year after hard shoulders had been removed from carriageways. our transport correspondent, judy hobson, reports. this is the m1 near sheffield. it's a smart motorway. overhead signs regulate the traffic and the hard shoulder has been converted to a fourth lane. in june, jason mercer was driving on this stretch of road when he had a minor collision. there is a sign further up saying the next era, emergency refuge area, is a mile away. but where they were, there was nowhere safe. there was a barrier stopping them getting the vehicles further over, and then a sheer drop. with no hard shoulderjason and the other driver got out of their cars on the inside lane. a lorry hit them, killing them both.

he was with me at eight o'clock and he was dead by 8:15. crucially the lane that jason had stopped and had not been closed to traffic. according to the aa, it takes an average of 17 minutes for the control room, run by highways england, to pick up on a broken down vehicle. and that means it's not safe for them to recover stranded motorists. we contact the customer to say, we can't stop, where you are, because it's in a live lane, so we will contact the highways agency andthen we will go to a safe area and wait for the vehicle to be delivered there by the highways agency. stopped vehicle technology is available and would alert the control room to a breakdown. but it is only in place on two sections of the m25. no other smart motorway in the country has it. these lorry drivers say that is a worry. i don't really rate the opening the hard shoulders up, breakdowns and that.

particularly if it's round a bend driving a truck. the highways agency is sat on top of the motorway. as i'm coming on you can see everyone slamming the brakes on, hazards on, because there's a car stranded. but there's no indicating to say that lane one is shut. in eight months, five stranded drivers have been killed on the smart motorway by sheffield. highways england has said it will ensure there are emergency refuge areas every mile. in addition they say, subject to funding, they will include stopped vehicle technology on any new smart motorways built after march this year. but claire is one of a growing number of people calling for smart motorways to be banned until they can be made safer. it's akin to manslaughter to remove the hard shoulder. the motorway is a dangerous environment and to remove the main safety feature, you know, how can anybody think that that is

going to improve the situation? it can only make it more dangerous. the department for transport wouldn't comment until after the publication of a review into the safety of smart motorways, which is expected shortly. judy hobson, bbc news. and there's more on inside out on bbc one in england at 7:30 tonight and everywhere else on the bbc iplayer. storms have brought heavy rain to fire hit regions of eastern australia. authorities are warning the nation's bushfire crisis is still far from over. the nation's bushfire crisis is still farfrom over. more than the nation's bushfire crisis is still far from over. more than 80 places are still burning across new south wales and victoria, despite the downpours in recent days. melbourne and canberra have been hit by heavy storms, with residents reporting hailstones as big as golf balls. further storms have been forecast for bushfire ravaged states. a rare turtle has been

rescued off the east sussex coast by two women out swimming. the injured turtle, usually found in the warm waters of mexico or the canary islands, was spotted 20 metres off seaford beach. she will be treated at the brighton sea life centre. time for the weather. here is a star. thank you. it has been a chilly start across large parts of england and wales. a bit of mist and fog around but not as much as we saw on sunday morning. quite a bit of sunshine because of this area of high pressure which will be with us today and for the rest of the week as well. further north and west of this weather front will be getting closer to the north—west of scotland. there are more isobars on the chart here. it will be a windy day. certainly for the north—west of scotland. northern northern ireland and into the north—west of england. some glimmers of brightness in eastern scotland but it will be quite cloudy and windy for the far north—west corner. you can see the wind speeds. as we sink further

south into england and wales light winds and more in the way of sunshine. a bit of cloud for northern england and south—east england as well. temperatures reaching 79 degrees. the sunshine will compensate. ten to 11 in the north. it stays cloudy tonight. the weather features sinking south into scotland. with the cloud, the breeze and the rain it will not be quite as cold on tuesday as it will be for the site. clear spells and mist and fog could be an issue through southern england and wales. poor visibility. bear that in mind if you are heading out early. we have got high pressure still with us on tuesday. this weather front bringing thicker cloud and rain to parts of scotland. it will slowly weaken and push its way eastwards. it is a dying feature. but it is going to be quite a cloudy day, i think, on tuesday across the north. across the board there will be more cloud around generally. with the best of the sunshine, eastern england into

eastern scotland, that loud thickest across western scotland, where you'll see outbreaks of rain. glimmers of brightness. those temperatures range from seven to 11 degrees. high pressure still with us into the middle part of the week. the weather front clears away. it will be a drier day. maybe the odd spot of light rain or drizzle. quite a cloudy, murky day on wednesday with some hill fog and some fog across southern england. glimmers of brightness here and there. perhaps again eastern scotland and eastern england are seeing the best. temperatures are a little bit higher on wednesday, nine to 11 degrees. that area of high pressure holds on through much of this week. a little bit of rain in the north on tuesday. it looks like things will become cloudier as we move through the course of the week with limited spells of sunshine. at least it will be staying dry.

world as well.

you re watching bbc newsroom live — it's midday and these are the main stories this morning: the duke of sussex says therefore is really no other option in stepping back from being a senior royal. prince harry speaks publicly for the first time since the new royal arrangements were announced. the decision that i have made for my wife to step back is not when i made lightly. it was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and i know i haven't a lwa ys challenges and i know i haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there was really no other option. two men arrested on suspicion of murder after three men we re suspicion of murder after three men were killed in east london. despite best efforts of paramedics, they we re best efforts of paramedics, they were announced dead at the scene. a tragic event. bbc's director general

lord hall is standing down after seven lord hall is standing down after seve n yea rs lord hall is standing down after seven years in the role. a leak of a government commissioned review suggest hs2 may end up costing £106 billion. an urgent review into the safety of motorways without hard shoulders is set to be released after nine people were killed last year. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. prince harry has spoken out for the first time about the decision to step back as a senior royal, saying he is "taking a leap of faith." as a senior royal, saying speaking at a charity event last night he said that he and the duchess of sussex had hoped to continue serving the queen without public funding but that had proved to be impossible. before we hear what harry said last

night, let's just recap what this deal means for both him and meghan. firstly, both of them will retain their hrh titles, short for his or her royal highness, but will no longer be able to use them. as senior royals they both carried out official duties last year between them that amounted to 284 events. that number will now drop to zero. but they can continue supporting their favourite causes and can attend royal events at the invitation of the queen. currently, the couple receive £2 million a year from the sovereign grant, funded by taxpayers, and harry and his brother william split nearly £5million from prince charles' duchy of cornwall harry and meghan will now no longer recive any grant money, and while they'll still receive money from prince charles, that will now come from his private investments. harry has three official military roles which he will now have to step back from and they currently live rent—free at frogmore and taxpayers paid £2.4 million towards renovations. that money will now be paid back, and they will begin paying rent on the cottage.

prince harry eplained his decision to step back at a charity event last night. the decision that i have made for my wife and i to step back is not one i made lightly. it was so many months of talks, after so many years of challenges, and i know i haven't always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. what i want to make clear is — we're not walking away. and we certainly aren't walking away from you. our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations but without public funding. unfortunately, that wasn't possible. i've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who i am or how committed i am, but i hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that i would step my family back from all i have ever known to take a step forward into what i hope can be a more peaceful life.

i was born into this life and it is a great honour to serve my country and the queen. when i lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under the your wing. you looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force and my hope is, one day, our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger thanjust us. it has been our privilege to serve you and we will continue to lead a life of service, so in that respect, nothing changes. it has also been a privilege to meet so many of you and to feel your excitement for our son archie, who saw snow for the first time the other day and thought it was bloody brilliant. laughter. i will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander—in—chief, and i'm incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support that they've shown meghan and i over the last few months. i will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities

and military communities that are so important to me. together, you have give me an education about living, and this role has taught me more about what is right and just than i could have ever imagined. we are taking a leap of faith, so thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step. three men have been stabbed to death at ilford in north—east london. the metropolitan police say they were called to reports of a "disturbance" near seven kings railway station yesterday evening. the men were said to be in their 20s and 30s. two people have been arrested. detective chief superintendent steve clayman described what happened. the incident took place around 7pm yesterday evening. it started near seven yesterday evening. it started near seven kings train station and moved to where we are now. it is a fight

involving two groups of men. we believe those men were from the sikh community. the result of that fight, which involve the use of knives, was three people were fatally wounded and despite their best efforts of paramedics, they were pronounced dead at the scene. an absolutely tragic event to take place here. i can update that the enquiry overnight two people have been arrested in relation to murder. we believe the parties are known to each other. we don't know more at this stage. i can't speak any more about the causes. this is why we need witnesses to come forward to give us more information about what they saw yesterday evening and information surrounding the event. we will be releasing the incident room number and if someone doesn't wa nt to room number and if someone doesn't want to speak to the police, please call crimestoppers. the two people in custody at 29 and 39 years old. the local community will see a high

police presence to provide reassurance. a local resident who tried to help save the lives of the men who were stabbed.” tried to help save the lives of the men who were stabbed. ijust saw three men laying down in the street. we re three men laying down in the street. were you scared ? three men laying down in the street. were you scared? yes, for sure. it isa human were you scared? yes, for sure. it is a human being, not a cat or dog. i don't know if there was a knife on there, the shoulder and chest. the head was damaged by the hammer and all the hand was scratched by the hand. i saw one knife and one hammer. then my cousin called the police. what did you do? did you try and help? yes,... iwas pumping the

men. three or four more people work there to help pump them but nothing happened because they were dead. lord hall is stepping down as the director—general of the bbc. he will remain in the role for the next six months before leaving in the summer — after seven years in the job. lord hall said it was a "hard decision" but that he wanted to put "the interests of the organisation first". i spoke to our media editor who said he faced unprecedented challenges in the role. he has done seven years and that is a long time in a job thatis and that is a long time in a job that is exceptionally demanding and i think the nature of the bbc director—general, it is getting tougher every thing a day because of the relentless scrutiny from social media and because of wider technological context. it also you have to think that the bbc is currently in this posture which is braced for an enormous fight with a government which is new, has a mandate and the bbc has to make a

case for a new royal charter in a couple of years in the half term negotiations. the royal charter get family reinstated in 2027 but there will be a discussion with the government pretty soon and he... bbc has to make a public argument. lord hall has done that pretty effectively for most of his seven years pretty properly because he requires a burst of energy and new thinking and it is time to pass the button on. who will pick it up? you wa nt button on. who will pick it up? you want me right now to tell you who will be the next director—general? there are a number of internal directors who are strong candidates. charlotte moore, james pernell has beena charlotte moore, james pernell has been a key strategic figure at the bbc. what are people in the commercial sector will fancy it. i think the decision will ultimately re st think the decision will ultimately rest with the bbc board. sadly, i don't know who will be the next

director—general but i think the decision will be, do they need someone decision will be, do they need someone who will be best to make the political argument with the government and secure a royal charter that will be effective into 2030 and further, the negotiating skills. 0r 2030 and further, the negotiating skills. or do they want someone who will fundamentally question the bbc plasma commercial model and say in a world of netflix and amazon prime and audible and disney tv plus, you need to think about how the bbc can commercially compete in that new world. the ideal candidate, and lord hall has elements of this come, would be able to do both things. commercial canals, the editorial ability to be responsible for the journalist and managerial skills to deal with slightly difficult issues close to home. it is an unbelievably toughjob, one close to home. it is an unbelievably tough job, one that close to home. it is an unbelievably toughjob, one that has got significantly tougher. being director—general in 2020 is tougher

than in almost 100 years at the bbc has been around. what is he dealt with? seven yet is a long time to be on thejob. how with? seven yet is a long time to be on the job. how does he leave the bbc? he said that he has left the bbc? he said that he has left the bbc ina bbc? he said that he has left the bbc in a stronger position than when he came. i think the thing to understand about tony holt is that... there are three distinct parts. crisis management. he arrived after entwistle who was a disastrous leader. it followed the revelations aboutjimmy leader. it followed the revelations about jimmy savile and the disgraceful treatment of lord mcalpine by bbc news. he had to steady the ship and there was an enormous crisis. as a former bbc news hand he was effective. the second stage was a big negotiation with the coalition government over the new terms of the royal charter

and the new governing structure. the people who keep the bbc doing its job properly changed from being the bbc trust to be ofcom. there is a question over that negotiation with the government. members of the former government to expected the bbc to be tougher. lord hall argued that he was effective and got a good deal. one spillover. that bbc had to prevail much more information about salaries and that dominated the third chapter of his tenure. this final phase has been about negotiating a new world of technology and on that i think he has done more than most people would give him credit for. bbc i player we nt give him credit for. bbc i player went up to 12 months. he urged the bbc plasma commercial brings so it could be a player in the commercial world. he announced a big

partnership with discovery. a lot has happened which doesn't necessarily get into the headline. the issues of a gender pay and equal pay a bit much more headline grabbing. over those three phases people would say he has faced some unprecedented challenges and navigated it pretty well but whoever succeeds him is going to have to deal with that technological challenge above all and will have to be incredibly effective at it. health authorities in china are trying to stop the spread of a new virus has millions of people prepared to travel for chinese new year. the wuhan health commission has confirmed a third person has died after contracting coronavirus. china has confirmed 217 cases in all of the virus. now south korea has also confirmed its first case of the disease. a35—year—old chinese woman has been isolated by the authorities there after she had travelled from

wuhan on sunday and there are fears the virus may spread to hong kong as well. coming up on bbc newsroom live. now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. the headlines on bbc news. the duke of sussex says there was "really no other option" to stepping down as a senior royal. it was prince harry's first speech since the announcement that he and the duchess of sussex intended to embark on a new life. two men are arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were killed in north—east london. the bbc's director—general, lord tony hall, is standing down after seven years in the role. england have ta ken england have taken a 2—1 lead in the

third test against south africa. they took the wickets they needed to clinch the win before lunch in port elizabeth. finder was removed in the first over of day with mark would end on best taking wickets before the win was sealed. it was also england's biggest away win in more than nine years. the first grand slam of the tennis season is under way in melbourne. the british number one dan evans is the first british player into the second round. he beat the american mackenzie mcdonald in five sets. with use of that and highlights of the rest of the day he wasjohn. highlights of the rest of the day he was john. he has lost the first two sets and come back to win outright. we see him here at a grand slam, a lot of pressure will hinge on his shoulders in the absence of andy murray. rain curtailed the opening

round. the third british player due to be out in court today, rain cancelled those matches on the outside courts. they should return tomorrow and they will be back in action alongside five other british players who will be hoping that the rain subsides tomorrow and it will get the chance to book their place in the second round alongside dan eva ns. in the second round alongside dan evans. impressive victories today. venus williams knocked out. serena williams and roger federer, business as usual. england head coach eddie jones has named eight uncapped players in his 34 man squad for the six nations. one player looks likely to miss the tournament. he broke his arm during the win yesterday. it is arm during the win yesterday. it is a fourth time in two years that the england number eight has broken his

arm. they will begin this years tournament against france on the 2nd of february. that is all the spot. i will have more fear in the next hour. i will have more fear in the next hour. the hs2 high speed rail link could end up costing as much as £106 billion, according to leaks of a government commissioned review. the report, which has been seen by the financial times, also recommends that the second phase of the project — linking birmingham to manchester and leeds — should be paused to see whether conventional rail lines could be used instead. let's take a look at what we know so far, about the key facts and figures around hs2. the existing budget is £55.6 billion. that compares to the original budget, of £32.7 billion. £7.4 billion have already been spent on the project. and now, we have this new, projected figure of over a hundred billion pounds for the possible cost, according to that leaked government commissioned review seen by the financial times. according to hs2, there will be 9,000 jobs supported by the railway.

there will be 345 miles of new high—speed track, and its estimated that the journey time saving between london and manchester will be 50 minutes. thank you forjoining us. how has it possibly gone to such an enormous figure. it was only a matter of if few years ago that the figure was how the projected figure now. few years ago that the figure was how the projected figure nowm few years ago that the figure was how the projected figure now. it is disappointing to see the price continue to escalate but the reality is it remains speculation and the project is still in the process of detailed design so we don't actually know the final cost until detailed design is complete and that only get completed as shovels hit the ground. the reality is you have to look at the price in relation to the value we get out of it. it is notjust a high—speed rail line. it represents the ability to improve capacity greatly for local travellers

commuting travellers and regional travellers and freight as well by freeing up space on the existing railway network. there is no viable alternative to that. hst remains the best alternative. we have had ten yea rs best alternative. we have had ten years in development. we really need that capacity in our railways. years in development. we really need that capacity in our railwaysm years in development. we really need that capacity in our railways. it is covering 345 miles of new track. how does that cost £106 billion? the cost includes several major station upgrade. it includes lots of tunnelling, particularly through urban areas which are very expensive. the particular challenge we have on the cost at the moment is actually not related to the physical infrastructure, it is related to the way the government has contracted this out, trying to put a lot of the risk in building their project onto contractors rather than taking on that risk itself. that is added as much as a third to the cost. we talk about cost, but it is about the

value. this is notjust money that just gets borrowed, coming out of taxpayers pockets. it is borrowed against future growth. it is an investment. we get huge return on that money. but every pound we spent we get huge return. maximum return in terms of improved services to services like manchester, leeds, areas outside of london. gareth dennis, thank you very much. gareth dennis, thank you very much. illegal migration in small boats will continue to be a challenge for law enforcement agencies, according to the national crime agency. it says gangs based in france are working together to smuggle people across the channel and have developed their tactics to evade detection. in the last two hours, authorities in france recovered 12 migrants, including two women and a child, from a small boat in the channel — bringing them back to the french port of boulogne—sur—mer. a dinghy full of migrants

arrives on a kent beach. it's summer. they've just crossed the english channel. in 2019 boats made their way here every month. on occasion, ten launched simultaneously. there is some evidence of a surge tactic and it's a possibility they think if they make a large number of departures on a particular day, at least some of them are more likely to get through, some of them are more likely to evade law enforcement, french law enforcement on the french coast. a dangerously overloaded dinghy taking on water. in 2018, i witnessed the start of the crossings. it is a desperate race to try to get to the uk for these people. we also exposed the criminals drumming up business in french migrant camps. a boat will cost you £3000 to £4000. the national crime agency say there is no evidence of a mr big controlling the smuggling operations but sometimes migrants organise it themselves.

unable to afford to pay smugglers, masoud did just that. the former iranian canoeing champion bought an inflatable kayak in calais and paddled across the channel. the big storms were coming and the ships and the waves and together the waves were more than three metres. i just saved my life, just paddling nonstop for more than 11 hours. the english channel can be a treacherous stretch of water. last year more than 1800 migrants reached the uk in small boats. of that number, around 125 were sent back to either france or other european countries. the majority coming across the sea are from iran and in 2019 63% of iranians were granted asylum on their first try. many more winning on appeal. a spike in arrivals in the summer

prompted tough talk from the prime minister. we will send you back. the uk should not be regarded as a place where you can automatically come. but some claim it's empty rhetoric. they are going to make this journey. the people we are seeing coming across on boats have extremely good asylum claims. they are likely to be successful. the national crime agency admits stopping the boat remains a big challenge. they are confident numbers will produce and it will get easier to cross after brexit. colin campbell, bbc news, dover. colin campbell is life in dover now. colin, what is being done to tackle that issue of the difficulties around sending migrants back? the national crime agency are trying to prevent the boat heading in this direction by trying to cut off the supply of the outboard motors in the inflata ble supply of the outboard motors in the inflatable dinghies to the criminal gangs over in france and the migrant groups. they say it is working in

close collaboration with french police and other enforcement agencies throughout europe to try to reach out to the retailers and suppliers of the equipment to try to prevent them falling into the wrong hands. the nca accepts that is a big task and a difficultjob. they also say the smuggling gangs are travelling further afield to try to get their hands on the equipment to make these crossings. this morning 12 migrants have been rescued in small boats just off the coast of france. in that both were two women, one child, all suffering from mild hypothermia. they were rescued by a french vessel who have now taken them back to boulogne where they are said to be safe and well. this is the conservative mp for dover. thanks forjoining us. last year 1700 migrants made it to the uk and only 100 of them were returned to france. when the statistics are like that, it is not a deterrent, is it?

it is not a deterrent when people know that if they get through on a small boat crossing, they are most likely to stay. that is why we need a fresh approach to this problem. and what would be the approach he would like to say? i think a deterrent would be when someone, wherever they are rescued, is returned safely and securely back to france. these are incredibly dangerous journeys that are organised and controlled by a very dangerous criminal gangs and we need to put a stop to it. how can he do that though if people coming into this country have genuine asylum claims, as we were hearing in our report. it is easier said than done, isn't it? at the moment, if someone isn't it? at the moment, if someone is picked up in a small boat and is on the english side of the channel, they are brought into britain. it is really important that we work with france to ensure that those boats are returned to france in safety. if that happens, that will be the best deterrent for both migrants and

traffickers. they know they can't use this route to get into britain. on what basis would they be returned to france if they are in english waters? at the moment we have territorial agreements with france, including the border controls that exist on french soil and vice versa on english soil. this would be an extension of that that recognised that between us and france is both french and british interest to put a stop to this dangerous trading people. how is it in france's interest? france has been long—standing a migrant magnet at the border and we have seen that successful operations over the years to close trafficking routes have actually helped polly and the region. what we have seen is a build—up and quite a lot of pressure on the french side building up again —— mack cali and the region. it is not what the french want and know what we want. working together we can put a stop to this dreadful trade. the mp for dover and deal,

how would you describe the impact on your constituency of this immigration? i think people are very concerned that people are taking these dangerous journeys. there concerned that people are taking these dangerousjourneys. there is nothing compassionate about letting very vulnerable people get into the hands of organised criminals and thatis hands of organised criminals and that is what is happening with these dangerous crossings. people are very concerned in my community that people are leaving the safety of france when actually they are safe and they should not be encouraged or supported incoming on these incredibly dangerous journeys. lives have already been lost by these small boats routes and we need to put a stop to it. thank you. thank you. much more on this coming up shortly, as in the last two decades, immigration has grown at a faster rate than ever before across the world, including in the uk. this yet, it is an issue that continues to divide. should immigration be controlled or encouraged? what kind of immigration is right or wrong for our country?

how the government will deliver its promised reform of the immigration system while continuing to attract highly—skilled and ha rd—working foreigners to our shores will be one of the key tests of brexit. to answer some of your questions, we'll bejoined in the studio by the director of the migration observatory, madeleine sumption, and our reality check correspondent, chris morris. that's at 12.30 this afternoon. you can get in touch using the hashtag bbcyourquestions, by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or texting 85058. texts will be charged at your standard message rate. and you can find out more about our immigration system, by going to bbc.co.uk? uk immigration, and you can download the new in—depth bbc briefing guide to the latest facts and numbers from bbc.co.uk? news. weather update. time to pause for

thought across the uk. a area of high pressure quietening things down. when weather front up into the far north—west. windy, gusts in excess of 40 miles an hour and cloud, may be drizzle. further south early morning mist and fog has lifted. we will see some sunshine. cooler here with temperatures of seven cooler here with temperatures of seven to 8 degrees as opposed to eight to 10 degrees further north. as we continue through this evening and overnight, it looks like the cloud will tend to think further south, clearer skies across england and wales. mist and fog likely to form here in places. the story remains a quiet one. more cloud over the next few days but are predominantly dry, cool across england and wales and milder in the north and west.

hello, you are watching bbc newsroom live. the headlines. the duke of sussex says there was really no other option in stepping back from being a senior royal and that he is taking a lea p senior royal and that he is taking a leap of faith. prince harry speaks publicly for the first time since the new royal arrangements were announced. the decision that i have made for my wife and i to step back is not one i made lightly. it was so many months of talks after so many yea rs of many months of talks after so many years of challenges. and i know i

haven't always got it right but as far as this goes really was other option. two men arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were killed in north east london. despite of the best efforts of paramedics, they were pronounced dead at the scene. an absolutely tragic event. the bbc's director general lord tony hall is standing down after being in the role for seven years. he said it was a hard decision but he wanted to put the interests of the organisation first. a leak of a government commissioned review suggests the hs2 high—speed rail link could end up costing £106 billion. the mayor of greater manchester says a delay would not be acceptable. the health authorities in china are scrambling to try to stop the spread ofa scrambling to try to stop the spread of a new pneumonia like virus as millions of people prepared to

travel for chinese new year. the wuhan health commission has confirmed a third person has died after contracting coronavirus and china has confirmed 217 cases in all of the virus so far. now south korea has also confirmed its first case of the disease. a35—year—old chinese woman has been isolated by the authorities after she travelled from wuhan to ensure an airport on sunday. there are fears the virus may spread to hong kong. —— in she an airport. the world health organization has been speaking about its concerns. this is a new virus that has been identified only two weeks ago. so we still don't know much of its features. we a re still don't know much of its features. we are not having enough information to determine how exactly it is being transmitted, what is the source it is being transmitted, what is the source of the virus, how severe it is. there is still a lot to learn. however, the good thing is it has

been identified very quickly that china has shared the genetic sequence china has shared the genetic sequence of the virus, so it helped other countries to start testing people. and we had exported cases in japan, thailand and korea. it is obviously something that everybody needs to monitor. we need to understand really how many people will get severely ill. we had a couple of casualties, as you mentioned in your report. so really, we are trying to work with countries to help them monitor, detect this virus, and treat those who get sick. now with a business update, here is ben. hello. i'm ben thompson. these are the top business stories. building the high—speed rail link hs2 could cost up to £106 billion. a

government commissioned review says costs could rise by another 20%. the review also recommends posing the second phase of the project that would run beyond birmingham to manchester and leeds. in two, which owns some of the uk's top shopping centres, including the trafford centre in manchester, has asked investors for more money. reports say it wants to tap shareholders for up say it wants to tap shareholders for up to £1 billion downturn in consumer spending and poor results from retailers. and china, one of the world's biggest users of plastic, has announced plans to reduce single—use plastics across the country. non—degradable bags will be banned in major cities by the end of 2020. restaurants won't be allowed to give out plastic straws by the end of this year. hello. not great news for drivers today. we are talking about one of the steepest increases in car insurance costs in recent years. let me run you through some of the numbers. the comparison site

confused odd contracts about 6 million quotes every three months. premiums jumped by more million quotes every three months. premiumsjumped by more than £40 from the same time last year. the average cost of insuring a car is now £815. it is also the steepest increase in those costs in two yea rs. increase in those costs in two years. not everyone has been hit equally. female drivers are paying £48, or 7% more than they did a year ago. prices are still high for men overall. there was a 7% jump for the youngest drivers. 18—year—olds are paying about £147 more than they we re paying about £147 more than they were a year ago. big questions as to why. we will talk about some of that ina why. we will talk about some of that in a moment with our guest. but let me run you through some of the other business stories. shares in the fizzy drinks maker fever tree have fallen by more than 20% after warning the christmas trading was subdued. the firm says that sales rose by 10% but that was lower than expected due to a weak festive

season. it said the firm has not been immune from consumer belt tightening. stagecoach has taken the garment to the high court where it will argue that government —— ministers acted unlawfully in awarding railfranchises. ministers acted unlawfully in awarding rail franchises. last ministers acted unlawfully in awarding railfranchises. last year they were barred from bidding to run three lines in a row over their pensions. beals, one of britain's old est pensions. beals, one of britain's oldest department stores, is going into administration. it puts 1300 jobs at risk. founded in 1881, the firm has been trying to negotiate with some of the owners of its 22 stores. it is understood the stories will continue to trade during the administration. let me show you what is happening on the markets. a real mixed bag today. the ftse100 that micro the two we are keeping an eye on today, into, feeling the belt

tightening from consumers. retailers try to renegotiate their rent big out—of—town shopping centres. their shares, having tapped investors for more money, now down 7%. stagecoach, as discussed, one part of the consortium bidding to run trains on the west coast mainline, its shares down by 0.2%. they say they will ask more questions about how that deal was awarded and what it could mean for their shares and crucially for the deal to get those trains running on the west coast mainline. that line now taken over by avanti. as promised, let's return to that story about car insurance. soaring costs for drivers. we can speak to louise o'shea from cardiff. glad we got there in the end. talk to me about some of these big increases. as we looked at the numbers, they are

eyewatering. why? absolutely. basically what is happening is insurers are experiencing increasing costs. if you are unfortunate to have an accident, the cost of repairing your car, and even if you are repairing your car, and even if you a re u nfortu nate repairing your car, and even if you are unfortunate you hurt yourself, the cost of repairing yourself is increasing. insurers are passing those increased costs onto customers. what many will find, i suppose, quite hard to digest is the fa ct suppose, quite hard to digest is the fact that these rises are coming on top of other big rises in costs for drivers. we know there are things like congestion charges, fuel prices have been rising pretty significantly. there are very few options to keep those bills down. you don't have a choice, you have to buy insurance? absolutely. it is a compulsory purchase. you definitely needed. the only way to save money is to shop around. when you know you —— when you get your renewal letter, see what the insurers are offering

you. even if it stays the same, or a gun down, i guarantee you can save money. we have a renewal guarantee. if we can save you money we will pay the difference of £20. i know there is another insurer out there, and we work with hundreds, who wants to give you a cheaper price.” work with hundreds, who wants to give you a cheaper price. i implore you to shop. explain some of the differences. women still paying a different price to men. a lot of people might remember a story recently about how that was ruled illegal. how is that still happening? absolutely. that comes down to the fact that in general women tend to drive smaller cars, meant tend to drive bigger cars and have more convictions. —— men. it is the other aspects of their driving which insurers are taking into account, which is leading overall to the differences. it is good to talk to you. thank you for your time. le

—— louise explaining some of that. more from us a little later. full coverage on that news, including the colla pse coverage on that news, including the collapse of beales. 22 stores now officially in administration. more on that later. thank you very much. see you later. no more and prince harry, who says his decision to step back as a senior royal is a leap of faith. this morning he has been seen arriving at the uk african investment summit in greenwich. speaking last night he said he and the duchess of sussex had hoped to continue serving the queen without public funding but that had proved impossible. johnny hornby is the chairman of a charity which supports the mental health and well—being of children and young people affected by hiv in botswana. what are your thoughts on what the prince said last night? i think it was heartfelt, wasn't it? everybody has

seen heartfelt, wasn't it? everybody has seen it now. he actually spent quite a lot of the evening and his speech talking about the work he was doing and the fight we have got against the stigma that it stops young people in lesotho and botswana coming forward and taking an hiv test. i understand most of the media today are not wanting to cover that piece of it as much. but obviously he also used the occasion of being among friends to punctuate what has been a complicated few weeks.” don't know how well you know him personally, i am assuming pretty well, because obviously this is a charity he has set up and it is close to his heart. did you think he would step away? i don't think anybody knew where the last few weeks and months would end up from the charity's point of view. he hasn't stepped away. we had a meeting on friday where we went through all the plans we have for the charity over the next year. he is very excited about the programmes we have been developing and the way we have been developing and the way

we have been developing and the way we have been developing our clubs and camps programmes across lesotho and camps programmes across lesotho and botswana. and he is very involved in those in attending all board meetings. he was in the country twice last year both on officially, to review the work he was doing, and also as part of his trip to south africa. he met with our youth lead advocates. he is the opposite of stepping away, which is important to us to the children we are try to help. there had been a lot of speculation previously that he might move to africa. that would have been his preferred option. did he ever discuss anything like that? he didn't discuss moving their or anywhere else. in a way doesn't really matter to us where he is. we know that he is committed to support us around the world and over the last few years he supported us in florida, in durban, singapore, new york. all around the world. there are global aids conferences. you will find him there. where there are

fundraising opportunities, he will speak. where there is an opportunity tojoin with other speak. where there is an opportunity to join with other organisations, whether it is the eltonjohn aids foundation or others, he convenes discussions to see how we can fight the stigma that is at the heart of the stigma that is at the heart of the problem in getting young people to ta ke the problem in getting young people to take a test for hiv and hopefully they will be able to go on and take they will be able to go on and take the meds that let them lead happy and productive lives. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. thank you. now it's time for your questions. our experts are going to be tackling your questions about immigration. today the bbc has launched a bbc briefing policy got on the issue. we have asked for your questions. plenty of you have been in touch. with me to answer your questions, the director of migration observatory, madeleine sumption, and home affairs correspondent dominic casciani. malcolm bell. hello. question for you dominic. tarquin asks, you stated 1800 immigrants

crossed the channel last year. the question is, where are they now? we can't say for sure because the home office, rather famously, doesn't give a running commentary on individual cases. it is probably worth extending how the system works. it depends what kind of migrants these people are. it is worth bearing in mind it is a small proportion of the number of people who come to the uk anyway. if they came in and claimed asylum under international refugee law, the uk has an obligation to look at that. as it would do for any other refugee. the konta getting factories whether that individual has stopped elsewhere in the eu first. —— the complicated factor in this is whether that individual has stopped elsewhere in the eu first. maybe greece, italy, got fingerprinted by the authorities before moving on to calais to cross the channel. the uk has a legal right to effectively ask

what the eu country who first received that person, to take them back. the complicating factor is that people are not fingerprinted along the way. that is quite common. particularly because of people smugglers shifting people across continents. the uk could theoretically remove these people to another country. some nations say they want to take people back. critically, if you try to put all of these people back on the boat to france, the french authorities will say, not our problem. you end up with people in bureaucratic limbo. that is quite a complicated thing. separate rooms for children. if children can show they have a claim on being in the uk as a refugee, because let's say an older relative who has fled the war—torn previously and made it to the uk, the uk is under a legal obligation to try and reunite that family in the best interest in the child. there is a debate in parliament about this at

the moment. a lot of parliamentarians say this is a wider legal obligation. if they are not asylu m legal obligation. if they are not asylum seekers, people effectively coming to work, perhaps clandestinely as an organised or illegal migrant, those people won't have a visa. the uk has every legal power to basically say we are going to re m ove power to basically say we are going to remove you to the country where you came from. again you have got a practical issue of how fast you can do that. in practice it can be difficult to remove some people. i'm not saying it doesn't happen because lots of people to get removed from the uk. they question to you madeline, michael wants to know the current weight of immigration, what you were white britons become a minority in great britain? this is a tricky one. the straightforward answer is quite possibly never. it is very difficult to project. the government doesn't do official projections of the ethnic minority population going forward. there has been some academic attempts to do it looking forward as far as 2015,

which suggests that non—white people would remain in a substantial minority. it's really complicated because on the one hand a lot of the maiga to come to the uk are white. ethnically they don't get classified as white british, they get classified as white other. but then in many cases they are children who are born here. they will no longer be part of the ethnic minority population. on the non—eu side, there are still a lot of people who don't see themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority necessarily, but they may be classified in certain statistics as being part of the non—white population. it is difficult to tell. it will vary a lot depending on where you are in the uk. if you are in the middle of london the situation will look very different compared to summer out in the countryside where the ethnic minority population tends to be low. morris asks, dudes does the government know how many people are living here illegally? no, it does

not. there have been some non—government attempts to estimate the illegal resident population. people living here without a visa. sometimes those estimates include people who do have a visa to be here. in generalthe people who do have a visa to be here. in general the estimates have beenin here. in general the estimates have been in the high hundreds of thousands. but you've really got to ta ke thousands. but you've really got to take them with a pinch of salt because the government simply doesn't cut it is a big issue. we know how many people roughly coming from other countries are living in the uk but the government doesn't have records of family people it has granted legal status to, which is the main thing you would need to know to work out how many are here on authorised. that is a big gap. dominic, after brexit my polished family need a visit to visit me, will my polished family need a visit —— visa to visit me for a few days

to from carolyn. carolyn should not worry. if you are an eu citizen there are no plans to make visitors have these up to to come to the uk on holiday, because by definition if we impose that on eu nations, they would impose that and our citizens going abroad. what will happen ten yea rs going abroad. what will happen ten years from now, who knows? we may end up with a programme where you register in advance that you are travelling to that country so they know you are going there. new zealand operates that, america. there is nothing like that in the pipeline. if some of those workers wa nt to pipeline. if some of those workers want to come on a visit and then work temporarily, like a holiday job, which eu citizens can do at the moment, it is likely we are going to be in moment, it is likely we are going to beina moment, it is likely we are going to be in a situation where they will need a short—term visa. where does all the refundable money paid as visa and naturalisation fees go to and what does the home office

do with the money? this is another controversial one. the uk has one of the most expensive visa systems in the most expensive visa systems in the world. for someone to get indefinite leave to remain, a permanent settlement in the uk, it costs more than £2000 for that application. those people will already have paid a few thousand pounds in initial applications along the way. in terms of where it goes, most of that processing money goes to the home office. the cost of the application is a lot more than it actually costs the home office to just look at that person's paperwork. but the money gets re cycled paperwork. but the money gets re cycle d to paperwork. but the money gets recycled to other parts of the immigration system, so things like enforcement. there are additional costs that occur outside of the home office. the famous nhs surcharge, for example, which has been controversial because it is effectively an additional tax on migrants to pay for the nhs in

addition to what they pay through income tax. that goes directly to the nhs. what are the total number of homes built versus immigration? how long have we got?! keep it snappy. this is really complicated. there is no doubt of the population has risen because of migration and that has created additional pressures . that has created additional pressures. there was a government analysis which said that increased migration is probably —— has put property prices up 21%. there are other more important factors in mixing house prices and stock. one of those is the rise in single households. 8 million people in the uk. a rise in the divorce rate. in 1970 40,000 people a year ago divorce. now it is about 100,000 people. historically low levels of social housing being built. structural problems in terms of how

fast house and gets built. if you compare our housing stock too, a good example would be germany or the netherlands, less of a debate there in some respects about migration in those countries but much denser housing stock. dominic, thank you. we are out of time. thank you very much. that was very interesting to get your answers to those questions. thank you. campaigners say smart motorways shouldn t open without technology which detects broken down vehicles. it comes as the government is about to release the results of an urgent review into their safety. smart motorways are designed to keep traffic moving but it s claimed 9 people were killed last year after hard shoulders had been removed from carriageways. our transport correspondent judy hobson reports. this is the m1 near sheffield. it's a smart motorway. overhead signs regulate the traffic and the hard shoulder has been converted to a fourth lane. in june, jason mercer was driving on this stretch of road when he had a minor collision. there is a sign a bit

further up saying the next era, emergency refuge area, is a mile away. but where they were, there was nowhere safe. there was a barrier stopping them getting the vehicles further over, and then a sheer drop. with no hard shoulderjason and the other driver got out of their cars on the inside lane. a lorry hit them, killing them both. he was with me at eight o'clock and he was dead by 8:15. crucially, the lane that jason had stopped and had not been closed to traffic. according to the aa, it takes an average of 17 minutes for the control room, run by highways england, to pick up on a broken down vehicle. and that means it's not safe for them to recover stranded motorists. we contact the customer to say, we can't stop, where you are, because it's in a live lane, so we will contact the highways agency and then we will go to a safe area and wait for the vehicle to be delivered there by the highways agency.

stopped vehicle technology is available, and would alert the control room to a breakdown. but it is only in place on two sections of the m25. no other smart motorway in the country has it. these lorry drivers say that is a worry. i don't really rate the opening the hard shoulders up, breakdowns and that. particularly if it's round a bend, driving a truck. the highways agency is sat on top of the motorway. as i'm coming on, you can see everyone slamming the brakes on, hazards on, because there's a car stranded. but there's no indicating to say that lane one is shut. in eight months, five stranded drivers have been killed on the smart motorway by sheffield. highways england has said it will ensure there are emergency refuge areas every mile. in addition, they say, subject to funding, they will include stopped vehicle technology on any new smart motorways built after march this year.

but claire is one of a growing number of people calling for smart motorways to be banned until they can be made safer. it's akin to manslaughter to remove the hard shoulder. it is. the motorway is a dangerous environment and to remove the main safety feature, you know, how can anybody think that that is going to improve the situation? it can only make it more dangerous. the department for transport wouldn't comment until after the publication of a review into the safety of smart motorways, which is expected shortly. judy hobson, bbc news. and there's more on inside out on bbc one in england at 7.30 tonight and everywhere else on the bbc iplayer. now the weather with louise. bye— bye.

now the weather with louise. bye—bye. hello. for those now the weather with louise. bye—bye. hello. forthose of now the weather with louise. bye—bye. hello. for those of you who wa nted bye—bye. hello. for those of you who wanted to dry, settled and so need to start the new year, we have had to start the new year, we have had to be patient. finally we get an area of high pressure packed across the uk and that is going to release a good deal of dry weather this week. some subtle differences. a few more isobars north and west, a weak weather front producing more cloud. may be thick enough for the odd spot of drizzle. further south, may be thick enough for the odd spot of drizzle. furthersouth, clear skies, early morning mist and fog has lifted and for much of england and wales along with eastern scotla nd and wales along with eastern scotland we see a good deal of dry and settled sunshine for the afternoon. more of a strengthening went into the far north—west. 40 to 50 mph in places. with the cloud around it is milder here. eight to 10 degrees under clear skies. on the chilly side. with those clear skies, again across england and wales, particularly further south, those temperatures likely to fall away through the night. we could have

mist and fog. temperatures below freezing. some of that fog could be dense in places. further north and west a mile to start. there is a week weather front toppling across the high which could introduce more in the way of rain as we go through tuesday. still that area of high pressure influencing the story. it is worth bearing in mind if you are up is worth bearing in mind if you are up early across england and wales, there could be some dense fog in places. we will need to keep an eye on that. that will hopefully lift and we will continue to see a dry story with some sunshine coming through. that weather front introducing more cloud across the north west, the great line in particular into the northern isles. here it stays on the mild side. ten to 11 degrees. further south, six or seven. to 11 degrees. further south, six or seven. high pressure starts to ease down to the south—west. we mayjust see a little bit more moisture being introduced into the story on wednesday. that basically translates asa wednesday. that basically translates

as a lot more in the way of cloud. it could be a dull, disappointing day but still predominantly dry. pieces of nuisance rain in the far north—west. as a result the cloud, not quite as cold. this week mainly dry, unfortunately becoming cloudy with mist and fog.

prince harry speaks out for the first time since deciding to stand down from royal duties — telling of his "great sadness" but insisting he had no other option. he described stepping back from being a senior royal as a leap of faith — and made clear that he and meghan had hoped to continue serving the queen but it wasn't possible. i want you to hear the truth from me, as much as i can share, not as a prince or a duke, but as harry. the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years. we'll bring you all the latest from our correspondent. also this lunchtime. a leaked report of a government review of the high—speed rail link hs2 could end up costing as much as £106 billion, says a leaked report ofa £106 billion, says a leaked report of a government