the chinese technology firm, huawei, is to be allowed to help build the uk's 56 mobile network. the government says the telecoms firm won't be given access to sensitive areas such as military bases and nuclear sites the decision comes despite pressure from the us to block the firm. we'll have the latest from our security correspondent and from westminster. also this lunchtime: the salary threshold for skilled migrants coming to britain should be lowered to just over £25,500 a year — says a government—commissioned report. coronavirus has now killed more than 100 people in china — the foreign office says it's working on plans to bring home british citizens. welcome tojust a minute! cheering and applause. nicholas parsons,

who chaired radio 4'sjust a minute for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 96. and a glacier the size of britain is melting increasingly rapidly in antarctica — we report from a remote and complex scientific investigation: beneath the 600 metres of ice below me is the most important point of all. the point at which the ice meets the ocean water. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news, roger federer‘s miraculous comeback in melbourne, saving seven match points to reach the australian open semifinals.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the controversial chinese technology firm huawei is to be allowed to play a limited role in the uk's ultra—fast 56 mobile phone network. the us had urged the government to ban huawei, saying its use could open up the uk to surveillance or sabotage from china. though huawei denies any involvement in espionage, ministers announced in the last hour that it has been designated a ‘high risk vendor‘ and will be excluded from safety—critical or sensitive locations such as nuclear sites and military bases. richard galpin has this report. how are you going to keep your data safe 7 how are you going to keep your data safe? government ministers and other senior officials went into the meeting of the national security council this morning to make what is a huge decision for the country. and they've decided to allow huawei to help build the uk ‘s new five network. but in a statement, the

government said due to concerns about security, while it would be excluded from all sensitive parts of the network. and in all other areas, they'd be limited to providing just over a third of the infrastructure. it's claimed the sg over a third of the infrastructure. it's claimed the 56 mobile technology will change our lives, transforming how we use the internet. downloads will be far faster. an hour—long tv programme could be downloaded injust faster. an hour—long tv programme could be downloaded in just seven seconds, leaving ag way behind. and oui’ seconds, leaving ag way behind. and our devices could not only proactively contact us, but could also be in contact with the machines. for example, a patient ‘s medical history could be downloaded to ambulance crews on the journey to hospital, helping ensure the patient gets the right treatment. this is a hugely important emerging technology and it's very important that the uk leads on it. so every country will be making this difficultjudgment

and it is a difficultjudgment but i think a sensible compromise, whereby you use what is notjust cheaper equipment and while weight but generally acknowledged to be good quality equipment as well, is in the network but only where it's safe to do so. despite all this, many are convinced that allowing while weight to be part of the 5g development is a massive mistake, compromising security. the united states is particularly worried and now threatening the much vaunted post brexit trade deal with the uk.” think it would make it very difficult if not impossible for us to achieve that goal standard trade agreement which we all want, and i think the conservative mp that you have tom tugendhat, said it best, at a time when you've gone through this brutal effort in order to sovereignty from brussels, why surrender it to beijing? there are certainly risks involved in the decision on huawei. but uk ‘s intelligence agencies seem confident they can prevent china from using

its involvement in the network to collect sensitive information. richard galpin, bbc news. we will talk more about security in a moment stop at first 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster how big a gamble do you think this is? folk in downing street will be looking at the president ‘s twitter feed with trepidation, there is no doubt mrjohnson risks a full—blown i’ow doubt mrjohnson risks a full—blown row with the president are precisely the moment obviously, when we are trying to strike a post brexit trade deal with the us. so why has he done it? i think in part he hopes this halfway has compromise deal allowing huawei limited access, maybe that is something the president could live with, also, we are not alone, the eu have also said they will allow our way limited access but above all, if

you think about what was boris johnson ‘s big pitch post election victory? it was he was going to level of the country, to boost the prospects of so—called forgotten towns outside london and the south—east. and rolling out superfast broadband and boosting mobile phone coverage is regarded, frankly, is absolutely critical to that. so were he to back away from that. so were he to back away from that because he risks the wrath of the president, he would face a potentially huge backlash. and i think bluntly, mrjohnson has decided better to disappoint the president and to risk a disappointing those voters in predominantly northern seats, labour seats, who backed him at the election. interesting. norman, thank you. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera is here we've heard a lot about some people ‘s anxiety about this but what is your take on it? it's one of the most consequence of national

security decisions, one of the most long—term decisions that any government, notjust this government has had to take in recent times because this determines the security of our data, telecoms networks, which will become increasingly important to our lives for the decades to come. more and more data, more and more personal data will be carried around these networks. more and more of the infrastructure of oui’ and more of the infrastructure of our lives will depend on telecommunications. and so, whether there's the potential for espionage oi’ there's the potential for espionage or sabotage as some fear, is a really significant security risk. 0fficials certainly believe they can manage that risk, not eliminate it, manage that risk, not eliminate it, manage it, in other words, they can reduce the risks, something is happening, deal with it with it if it does happen. but even if you believe that long—term risk can be managed, there are short—term risks which are particularly with the relationship with the united states. close ally which has expressed its angen close ally which has expressed its anger, it's talked about restricting intelligence sharing, some people in the uk thought that was a blip, we are about to found out, really, how

angry washington really is. was this posturing part of donald trump is migratory dispute with china or is there a deeper concern about where there a deeper concern about where the uk ‘s is positioning itself as china and what will washington now do? gordon, thank you. the wages that migrants wanting to come to the uk must earn should be cut — according to a government commissioned report into the future of the immigration system after brexit. skilled migrants currently must have a job offer with a minimum annual salary of £30,000 — but the report says that figure should be reduced to help recruit teachers and nhs staff. it also says a points—based system, which was promised in the conservative party manifesto, should only apply to skilled workers. more details from our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani. in an era of mass migration, foreign workers are now everywhere in the uk, from schools to hospitals, restau ra nts a nd uk, from schools to hospitals, restaurants and building sites. workers from across the eu and the rest of the world, filling gaps in the labour force. but major change

is coming thanks to brexit, and the end to eu freedom of movement. ministers promising a new points—based system favouring skilled workers for the sectors most in need. the construction sector alone is short of more than a0,000 skilled builders. the research on migration shows the construction industry is heavily reliant on the workforce who were not born in the uk. the government has got huge ambitions for home—building, infrastructure and we need every engineer, every bricklayer, every carpenter we can get our hands on and that includes those who come in as migrants. the independent migration advisory committee says there is a way for ministers to make there is a way for ministers to make the most of the post brexit world. the salary threshold for skilled workers to come to the uk is £30,000. 25,600 the report says it should be the new minimum salary. it predicts with a favourite skilled workers like teachers and nhs staff.

the government has not top advisers say eu migration has been heavily concentrated in low skilled jobs, that's something that would fall under these proposals. some sectors would lose out, such as hospitality, and agriculture. just one of the difficult trade—offs in devising a post brexit system. any changes to who is allowed and not allowed to come to the uk is inevitably going to be to the advantage of some sectors in some areas, but to the disadvantage of others. and there's no way to come up with a system that pleases absolutely everyone. business leaders hope for more flexibility for medium and low skilled workers, but critics say the recommendations won't control the numbers or protect british workers. if the salary threshold is reduced to £25,000 a year. and the skill threshold is deleted as has been suggested, of exposing over 7 million ukjobs

suggested, of exposing over 7 million uk jobs to suggested, of exposing over 7 million ukjobs to new suggested, of exposing over 7 million uk jobs to new or increased global competition from around the world. the report will satisfy others either. the scottish government wants to set its own criteria to attract skilled migrants, now rejected by the report. the committee once it can't solve a uk crisis in social care, wages too low to attract workers from home or abroad. wages too low to attract workers from home orabroad. dominic casciani, bbc news. the new coronavirus has now killed more than 100 people in china, and new cases have been confirmed around the world — including a first case in germany. the foreign office has confirmed it's working on plans to bring home british citizens home from hubei province, the heart of the outbreak. caroline hawley has the latest. battling the virus with disinfectant. at bangkok airport today, all flights returning from china were being liberally sprayed. thailand will screen everyone arriving back for symptoms of the disease. coronavirus has now spread to 16 countries and the world is stepping up its response.

in hong kong, the railway station was practically deserted. the authorities have announced that from thursday, ferries as well as high—speed trains that cross the border, will be suspended. the hong kong leader, carrie lam, making a point to protect herself, urged citizens to return from the mainland as soon as possible and quarantine themselves at home for a fortnight. in germany, at this firm that sells car parts, a 33—year—old man has been infected by a woman from china who'd come to bavaria on a training course. it's the first known case of the virus being caught in europe. wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, is now effectively on lockdown. there are severe restrictions on people entering and leaving the city. in countries around the world, they are working on plans to evacuate their citizens. japan has chartered a special plane to bring its people home today. there are thought to be around 300 british nationals in the province. they are being urged to contact the consulate so that arrangements can be made for their return.

but some are critical of the uk government's response. i think they need to get a little faster in working something out. i mean, i believe it's not easy to do, i know the chinese government is very hard to work with on this, because they are locking down everything. but i think if the us can manage to do it then i think the british government should at least be able to do the same thing for the people out here. in beijing, the head of the world health organization met the chinese president, who has described the virus as a devil, but one, he said, he was confident china could defeat. he promised increased international cooperation to fight it. coronavirus has now silenced a city, killed more than 100 people and, with modern travel, caused alarm right around the world. thousands of miles away from wuhan, governments are scrambling to try to contain it. caroline hawley, bbc news. the public inquiry into the grenfell tower disaster has been shown emails suggesting that

companies directly involved in the building's refurbishment, knew the cladding they had specified would fail in the event of a fire. the evidence was highlighted by the firm which manufactured the insulation panels used in the work, as it defended suggestions it had not made clear the product would burn. 0ur correspondent danjohnson is at the public inquiry in west london. explain more about what has emerged here this morning. we were told yesterday to expect and merry—go—round of passing the buck and you could be forgiven for having got dizzy already as we get into the detail of the second phase of exactly who knew what regarding the refurbishment of grenfell tower and how it could have ended up being so flammable and so deadly. we've got cladding panels that were essentially plastic coated in aluminium and they were fitted along with insulation. the companies that manufactured both of those products say that they could be combustible

if they were not fitted in a certain way with specific measures taken to stop fires spreading but the architects, the contractors, the suppliers and fire safety co nsulta nts suppliers and fire safety consultants say the true danger of those products was concealed but this morning, e—mails were read to the hearing that showed the companies involved in designing, carrying out and inspecting the refurbishment work new there was a fire risk. 0ne technical manager wrote the cladding would be gone rather quickly in a fire and one of the architecture replied, metal cladding always burns and falls off and there was an e—mail from the fire safety advisers which acknowledged that the cladding they we re acknowledged that the cladding they were proposing at that time would fail ina were proposing at that time would fail in a fire. the manufacturers are arguing that fire safety has to be taken in the round, looking at the entire system and the weight the products are used together. there was a fire resistant alternative to the cladding that could have been used but that would have added half £1 million to the cost of the project. the inquiry hearings finished here today but there is months more evidence to be heard, to

get a proper understanding of exactly how this deadly combination got through the design, safety testing, standards and inspecting regime and ended up costing so many lives. dan johnson. thank you. nicholas parsons, the host of radio a'sjust a minute, has died at the age of 96. he chaired the comedy panel show for more than 50 years. today, gyles brandreth, one of its regular panellists, described him as a ‘consummate professional‘ who never stopped working. 0ur media correspondent david sillito looks back at a long life and career. welcome tojust a minute. he was the chairman ofjust a minute on radio a for more than 50 years. and now, from norwich... and he was the quizmaster on sale of the century for 12 years. hello, and welcome to the sale of the century. it's the quiz of the week... i‘m proud of the fact that i helped create a huge success. you don‘t buck success. i‘m proud of that fact.

but i don‘t want to be remembered just for sale of the century. i want to see your passport, please. indeed, there was a lot more to nicholas parsons. what is the purpose of your visit to england? he‘d appeared in more than 20 films. i have come to find a husband. and in the ‘60s he‘d become a household name as the straight man to the comedian arthur haynes. laughter. i'm sorry, vicar, i thought it was those carol singers. merry christmas. he‘d turned to acting after training as an engineer in a clyde shipyard. 0ne early role was the voice of a puppet cowboy. now get out of town and don‘t you ever come back. now, do you think you could try and keep quiet? 0n camera, he was a master of smooth—talking charm. a mask for his struggles growing up with dyslexia and a pronounced stammer. and then, in 1967 he was made presenter ofjust a minute. he‘d wanted to be a panellist but the producers knew his skill. the good—natured straight man

enduring a daily comic assault. as a straight man you know how to throw out the lines so the comic will have a good springboard to come back and make some facetious or humorous or witty response. and also you know how to take the joke at your expense because the comedian, the straight man in the relationship, is always the one that is put down. he was an absolute bbc and bbc radio legend. he was wonderful to meet, warm, generous, amusing, clever, and to host a show like that with all the contestants taking part in it, skill in that was amazing. and you know, to my view, to do that into your 90s, with such success, skill, such charm, i mean, well do you deserve the title 'legend'. and as the minute waltz fades away, once more it is my pleasure to welcome our many listeners... more than 50 years later, he was still in charge.

never regretting that day more than 70 years ago when he‘d swapped engineering for show business. nicholas parsons, who has died at the age of 96. our top story this lunchtime: the chinese technology firm, huawei, is to be allowed to help build the uk‘s 5g mobile network. and still to come... roger federer survives a scare and saves seven match points to reach the australian open semi—final. coming up in the sport, the series is one but stuart broad has been sanctioned for swearing at the south african captain.

in antarctica, scientists have confirmed fears that a glacier the size of great britain is melting increasingly rapidly. if thwaites glacier disappears it could lead to a huge rise in global sea levels — so understanding what‘s happening there is essential if water level rises are to be accurately predicted. until now, no—one has attempted a large—scale scientific survey on the remote glacier, which is more than 1,000 miles from the nearest research station. 0ur chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt travelled across west antarctica, to witness the huge and complex project. until this year, only four people had ever been here. the front of what they call the doomsday glacier. but understanding what is happening here is crucial for us all. this ice here is very accessible to change. and so if we‘re thinking about what is sea level going to be like in ten years, this glacier is the place to be and this is the location to be asking these questions at. we‘re standing right on it.

the chaos of broken ice at the front of thwaites is almost 100 miles wide and it‘s collapsing into the sea at two miles a year. it sits at the heart of a vast basin of ice in west antarctica. the glacier is the size of britain and contains more than half a metre of sea level rise. but if thwaites goes, much of the west antarctic ice sheet will too and there is three metres more locked up in that. it‘s enough to swamp many of the great cities of the world and drive hundreds of millions of people from their homes. getting here is not easy, it takes five weeks just to get the science teams and their equipment to the front of the glacier. this is a historic moment, the first time anyone has tried to drill down through this glacier. beneath the 600 metres of ice below me is the most important point of all, the point at which the ice meets the ocean water.

it is difficult work, but deploying instruments under the ice is the only way to begin to understand the processes at work here and to make accurate predictions of how sea level will rise in the future. this is a world first, the first time anyone has seen the place where this glacier goes afloat, the point where it begins to melt. i was yelling and screaming, like, "oh my god, we‘re there, "we‘re there, we‘re there!" you can kind of see the water, the water column narrowing and the ice coming down at you and this sea floor coming out at you and just this huge rush of energy. the bed of a glazier is a place we‘ve just really never been and in particularly right here where it starts to go afloat. and thwaites really matters because it‘s so vulnerable. strip away the ice from west antarctica and look, most of this part of the continent is below sea level, that means the glacier, indeed the whole region, could begin to retreat increasingly rapidly. this year‘s work has already confirmed the

scientist‘s worst fears. the deep, warm ocean water that circles antarctica is flowing into the coast here and because the sea bed slopes downwards, as the ice melts it willjust expose more and more ice to that water. it will take decades, may be more than a century for thwaites to melt, but it is melting and we need to know how quickly if we‘ree going to protect ourselves as the world‘s oceans rise. justin rowlatt, bbc news, west antarctica. and justin is here now. terrifying statistics partly contained there, but an extraordinary journey just two on the bbc news team to get there? yes, me and my camera operator, gemma. it was planned for a‘s journey, me and my camera operator, gemma. it was planned for a‘sjourney, but me and my camera operator, gemma. it was planned for a‘s journey, but my beard is testament to how long we we re beard is testament to how long we were there. we were there for two

months camped out in the west of antarctica. physically challenging but an incredible story. challenging conditions for the scientists who are doing very important work? yes, you need to get huge amounts of equipment, not to mention the people, fuel and stuff out into these remote locations. we had a staging post in the middle of the west antarctic ice sheet, it was 1000 miles from the nearest research station. everything i did needed to be brought in are brought in by these tractors, the specialist snow tractors. they brought ships to an ice shelf and unloaded hundreds of tonnes of gear and then dragged it up tonnes of gear and then dragged it up the whole continent ten miles an hour to extraordinary weather. it is a huge challenge. getting down to the front took two flights. 0ne camp and then a second point where the plane could reveal. 0nly and then a second point where the plane could reveal. only four people had ever been to the front of the

glazier before. —— glacier. it is one of the most remote places on earth but if we don‘t understand the science of what is happening, we won‘t be able to predict sea level rise accurately. so it is crucial this work is done. thank you. you can find out more about the ground—breaking science taking place at thwaites glacier at bbc dot co dot uk slash news or on the bbc news app. president trump will unveil his long—awaited plan to try to end the conflict between israel and the palestinians later today. he‘s called it "the deal of the century". israel‘s prime minister benjamin netanyahu will be alongside the president for the announcement, but the palestinians have already said they‘ll reject the proposals. let‘s talk to our washington correspondent gary 0‘donoghue. do we have any more sense what he‘s going to be announcing? looking at the detail, it is close to their chest but there have been some leagues in israel. it suggests the

palestinians‘ worst fears. effectively, the suggestion as some of the realities on the ground are going to be enshrined in a deal. in other words, the settlement is the palestinians and many around the world regard as illegal settlements in the west bank, the view is the americans are going to endorse them. they have already said they don‘t believe they contravene international law. there is the question of the jordan international law. there is the question of thejordan valley, which the israelis had wanted to have for a long time, that is about 30% of the west bank. and the whole business of the refugee return, palestinians returning to their old homes in israel. the suggestion is there might not be that right whatsoever. then you havejerusalem, which is a problematic area. the americans have already recognise jerusalem as israel‘s capital. not much in this, from what we can see for the palestinians. they have promised a day of rage in the territories. gary o'donoghue, thank

you. a lawyer representing women who say they were abused byjeffrey epsteen has urged prince andrew to co—operate with the us investigation into him. the prosecutor in charge said the duke had provided "zero co—operation" and that the fbi has not received a reply after contacting the duke‘s lawyers. the prince has said he did not witness or suspect any suspicious behaviour during his visits to epsteen‘s homes. andy moore reports. speaking outsidejeffrey epstein‘s mansion, the american prosecutor said he didn‘t normally comment on whether a witness was cooperating or not. but he would make an exception in this case because prince andrew had publicly offered to help. the southern district of new york and the fbi have contacted prince andrew‘s attorneys and requested to interview prince andrew and to date, prince andrew has provided zero cooperation. prince andrew says he did not see or suspect any suspicious behaviour when visiting the homes of his then friend.

now that prince andrew has stepped down from official royal duties, buckingham palace is not commenting. and there‘s been no response so far from prince andrew‘s lawyers but there has been from some of the women who say they were epstein‘s victims. there are dozens of women, i represent five of them, who allege that they were the victims of sexual assault by this predator, jeffrey epstein. it is time for anyone with information to come forward and answer questions. virginia roberts guiffre claims she was forced to have sex with prince andrew by epstein. andrew completely denies any sexual encounter with her. he knows what happened. i know what happened and there‘s only one of us telling the truth. in that now infamous newsnight interview last november, prince andrew said he was willing to talk to american investigators with some conditions. if push came to shove, the legal advice was to do so, then i would be duty—bound to do so.

in a statement a few days later, when he stepped down from royal duties, his commitment was even clearer. he said "of course i am willing to help in the appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required." american prosecutors have many questions to ask about prince andrew‘s relationship with jeffrey epstein. so far, at least, prince andrew seems unwilling to answer them. andy moore, bbc news. roger federer said he believes in miracles after reaching yet another semi—final in the australian open tennis. the 38—year—old spent nearly three and half hours on court to beat an unseeded american in their quarterfinal. it was a match full of surprises, asjoe wilson reports. the man on the right is tennis, the other guy is just called tennys, with a y. why indeed didn‘t tennys sandgren win? the american took the second set. you have got to give tennys sandgren

a lot of credit there. and the third? yes, him, roger federer had sworn on court. you can't repeat that, roger. no, i heard it. the lines judge knew what she‘d heard whatever language it was in. federer needed treatment and sandgren‘s calf muscle was hurt accidentally by a low—flying ball girl. here is the real pain. seven times in the fourth set sandgren had match point. seven beautiful opportunities. could he take any of them? no. it's it‘s still alive. it's still alive. tie-break to roger federer. the fifth was a 6—3 formality. roger federer said he was lucky to beat this opponent. formality. roger federer said he was lucky to beat this opponentlj formality. roger federer said he was lucky to beat this opponent. i feel a bit bad in a way, because i feel he didn‘t do anything really wrong. it was a look at some point and i have been on the other side as well.

these