the pain that was assaulted... it was such a striking event that the cathedral has now put the damaged display cabinet on show as part of magna carta's extraordinary 805 year history. how much of a loss would it have been? well, it's incalculable. you cannot put a price on it. there are only for magna carta documents still in existence, there were rather more originally in 1215 and the years after, and ours, we like to think, today at 5pm, the death toll from the coronavirus rises to 170. is the it's now reached every region on the chinese mainland. best preserved. an evacuation flight to bring 150 it's remarkably clear as though it british nationals back to the uk has come out of a laser printer. from the chinese city at the centre after his arrest royden had of the outbreak is due to leave suggested to police that the document in the next few hours. was some families face an agonising decision over who can leave and who fake. must stay. would you be willing to leave your family well, as you can see, behind to the glass has now been replaced and the 3500—word document is safe once again. go to it all comes at the end safety? of a court trial at which it's a very hard and moral itself is based on the concept question because my daughter ofjustice that's enshrined in magna is only four years old. ca rta .

7000 passengers and crew are trapped mark royden, who will be sentenced next month, has become the on a cruise ship in italy after fears two chinese man who broke the law trying holiday—makers are to get his hands on the document carrying the that helped create the law. virus. duncan kennedy, bbc we'll have the latest news, in salisbury. on the spread of the virus time for a and how quickly a vaccine could be developed. look at the the other main stories weather. on bbc news at 5pm: nick miller is the chancellor, sajid javid, throws his support behind hs2 here. started the as a number of tory week on a cold note. all mps consider rebelling against a government go—ahead. has changed. to preachers above average for the time of year but if you look the number of rape prosecutions outside today, there is clad with continues to fall. that and some have had rain. wendy there's a renewed appeal for victims to have the is well and if that very windy out confidence to come there for some of us in here is the forward. a man is found guilty of trying murky view from earlier today on to steal a copy of magna carta, the sussex coast where just yesterday there was some blue sky here. smashing the protective glass around the 805—year—old document using a bringing up the airfrom a long way south of the uk, so follow the hammer. arrows here and the warmer colours. these colours represent the feel of the weather they may look like there isa the weather they may look like there is a lot of sunshine out there but there certainly is not. as i mentioned, it is quite windy out there, especially across parts of scotla nd there, especially across parts of scotland and especially in the east. north and northeast england with a chance of seeing gusts in excess of

the number of people who have been 60 mph fora chance of seeing gusts in excess of 60 mph for a time this evening. killed in the coronavirus winds slowly over the east and i and more rain in northern ireland and outbreak has risen to 170 and reached every region southern and western scotland and in mainland into cumbria and a mild night for parts of the uk in the south. china. health authorities chilly enough for a touch of frost in in the northeast colour when we have clear spells. tomorrow it is a wet start country said more for some in the rain will push further south across england three than 7000, wells during the day. brightening said more than —— 7700, up a bitand wells during the day. brightening up a bit and northern ireland having a largely fun afternoon and a few confirmed cases have now been identified. infections have also spread showers running into western to at least 15 other countries, and the world health organisation scotland, especially the northwest and they manage to give longer is meeting to consider spells of rain and it is another whether the virus constitutes a global health emergency. downing street has confirmed that wendy day. these are average speeds a flight to bring british nationals but some gusts will be around 40 or back to the uk from wuhan, 50 mph at times and it the chinese city at the heart of the outbreak, will leave tomorrow. is very robin brant sent this exceptionally mild for the time of report from shanghai. year. so while he temperatures into today was supposed to be the day double figures but you could well they got out and away from this. see 50 celsius across parts of the death toll and the number infected continues eastern england. that is to rise here in how friday china. shapes up and look at the big the city of wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak, but britons picture in the weekend. —— 15 are still stuck there celsius. low pressure close to because of bureaucracy. scotla nd celsius. low pressure close to scotland and this set of weather we were really worried fronts across southern england and

about the reports of younger mainly early in the day. so in and younger scotla nd mainly early in the day. so in scotland we have some rain, heaviest children becoming and most persistent in the west to start the day but it runs further sick. south towards northern ireland and at the time, they said through parts of northern england it was fine, but when i received and any of the early rain that may a call the next day, be affecting southern england pulls they said that only i could go away and there is some and my son would have to stay, afternoon which obviously was very sunshine here and those temperatures devastating to down a couple of degrees but still above average. by sunday, hear. we have brought another system overnight and english teacher natalie‘s son can't go because he has into sunday northwards and may not a chinese passport. re—support of scotland during daylight hours but cold enough for a chris hill has a similar problem. bit of hail support for more than his wife and daughter england and behind the rain there is have dual nationality. some funny spells in a few showers would you be willing to leave your family mainly for whales and western england and still mild of the behind to go to south and windy and north of our rain safety? it's a very hard and moral man isa and windy and north of our rain man is a chilly and next week is the question because my daughter colder air that winds out once is only four years again. albeit briefly and there will bea again. albeit briefly and there will old, so it's a very hard choice be a few wintry showers around at times too. but if your latest to make. other countries have forecast and see more online and on got their people out. the weather app. japan and the us were the first of several planned flights. india and australia are among those planning others.

the foreign office said it is working urgently to resolve the problem for british citizens, with talks at very senior levels. quarantine on a military base or an nhs facility back in the uk awaits. fear about the virus spreading has caused scenes like this across all of china. even in hong kong, which has now all but cut itself off from the mainland. translation: i queued for an hour and ten minutes and bought two boxes of masks. we were running out of them at home. hong kong should act like taiwan to stop exporting masks and keep them for the locals, so that we don't have to queue for hours. more cases are being reported around the world. in italy, passengers on a cruise ship are being held on board because of two suspected cases among them. but the head of the world health organization had nothing but praise for china's efforts. i will praise china again and again, because its actions actually helped in reducing the

spread of coronavirus to other countries. still, though, drastic measures are being taken here, far away from the worst affected area, to try to halt the spread. office workers in buildings over 1000 kilometres away are having their temperatures checked daily. so far, a total of 161 tests have been carried out on people suspected of having the coronavirus in the uk. none of these tests have come back positive. the department for health has today released figures showing that over the two weeks betweenjanuary 10th and the 24th, some 1561 passengers have arrived in the uk on direct flights from the chinese britons trapped in the chinese city of wuhan. city at the centre 162 of those passengers have of the coronavirus outbreak have been given permission to fly already left the uk, and 760 are now outside home tonight. of the incubation period. public health england as the virus spreads to every region in china, are working to contact hundreds prepare to leave wuhan and return to the uk. the remaining it's a massive relief. can't wait to get back now 639 passengers. and just sort of get away from everything,

and de—stress, i think. british nationals trapped in wuhan are expected to return home tomorrow. meanwhile, 6,000 passengers i'm joined now by are stuck on a cruise ship docked near rome after a passenger our was suspected of carrying the virus. health editor hugh we'll have the latest on the search for a potential vaccine. pym. also this evening... thank you very much for the number of rape prosecutions in coming in. in terms of those numbers, england and wales has fallen again, as the number some people still to find, to track of suspects charged rises down, to therefore test. but we know these people, we know who they are and we slightly. i think it's really important know who is to get on the plane that people do report. at the same time, my gut instinct and we know a bit more about what will is to happen when they land in this country. that is right. he will say don't be inafew country. that is right. he will be bother. in a few hours' time uk time, there the prime minister is holding is quite a process before they crucial talks on the future of hs2 get amid rising costs and criticism on the plane. chinese officials at from some conservative mps. a handling centre will assess their and the high tech trainers said to health. if there is any sign of feel like running on trampolines — symptoms or they are unwelcome they will not be allowed to go any are they giving professional athletes an unfair advantage? further and they will get as far as and in sportsday at 6:30, the airport and get assessed novak djokovic brushes aside an injury—hampered again by british immigration officials and roger federer to reach the australian open finalfor eighth time. health officials who are there before being allowed onto the plane. we gather they will be 200 passengers, 150 of them are british nationals. the other 50 are

from other eu countries, we think quite a lot from spain. the plane will then ta ke lot from spain. the plane will then take off and land at raf base west of london in 0xfordshire and then disembark the british passengers and then fly onto another destination miserably in spain. 0ne then fly onto another destination miserably in spain. one thing still not clear is one of the 150 might include spouses or partners of british nationals who the chinese authorities have indicated that if they were not british nationals, they were not british nationals, they would not be allowed to join they would not be allowed to join the fight —— they would not be allowed to join the fight -- flight. they would not be allowed to join the fight —— flight. there is no confusion there. i wasjust told from somebody that he could take his mother back but not his wife pat because she is chinese. downing street was pressing the chinese authorities to show flexibility there. it is still not clear what has happened. the british nationals who are disembark to, those 150, when they get to the base, they will be disembarked and they will taken be disembarked and they will taken be in some form a bus transport we assume to a facility in the

northwest of england and are told thatis northwest of england and are told that is an nhs facility and understand that could be accommodation, former staff accommodation, former staff accommodation occupied by nurses or doctors. will be kitted out for these individuals who will have to remain in quarantine for at least 1a days. so they don't get on the plane unless... they will not get on the plane and then walk away and say i will not be part of this. unless you set up in advance, you are not flying back. they will have to sign a contract which says if we get on this plane, we will agree to go into quarantine for two weeks. to be clear, there is no suggestion whatsoever that any of these people are unwelcome 01’ whatsoever that any of these people are unwelcome or have got the virus thatis are unwelcome or have got the virus that is the whole point of quarantine. the commission period is 14 quarantine. the commission period is 1a days of therefore you go into quarantine and are cleared before you can go off and get back in contact with your family or the wider public. —— incubation period. when the people who left wuhan before these measures were taken and talked about the figures of the 500 01’ talked about the figures of the 500 or so who they are trying to track

down individually. they hope that people have basically gone straight home and locked themselves in their bedroom and have not seen anyone but let's be honest, it is difficult. if they don't think they have any symptoms can might have carried on living their day—to—day life. symptoms can might have carried on living their day-to-day life. the health of your trip to a message for eve ryo ne health of your trip to a message for everyone who flown in from wuhan before flights stopped to self isolate. whether everyone got that message is another matter altogether or whether they went along with it. —— health secretary. i think public helping lynnfield 85061 who came in over that two week period, the fact they are left with only 600 the need to co nta ct they are left with only 600 the need to contact they will see that as moderate progress but borderforts are working with the airlock defined contact dealers for these people and get to them and say how are you feeling and can you self isolate? if they go along with that another matter. let's be blunt about this. is it matter. let's be blunt about this. isita matter. let's be blunt about this. is it a realistic expectation at some point we will have a case? the chief medical officer some point we will have a case? the

chief medical 0fficerfor some point we will have a case? the chief medical officer for scotland has said today she thinks it is very likely there will be a case and in the uk. public health england's official sets of the same thing. you could say it is quite surprising it has not happened already with 151 tests, all negative, france and germany have had cases before the british health system overall is prepared for one or more cases. with isolation facilities ready to receive a case if it is proved positive. many thanks, hugh. a vaccine for the new coronavirus could be ready for use in china before the end of the year. us pharmaceutical company inovio is one of a number of research facilities urgently trying to develop a vaccine as cases in china continue to soar. the bbc‘s global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports from their labs in san diego. we are on day 21 and unfortunately, as we wake up this morning, we're at over 6000 confirmed cases. they may be more than 10,000 miles away from the centre of the outbreak, but these

scientists are in emergency mode. do we know what the mortality rate is? they are working day and night to come up with a vaccine that could save lives in china and beyond. scientists were able to spring into action within just a couple of days of the new virus being identified after china posted details of the virus‘s genetic code online. we received the sequence from the chinese government. we worked overnight, and the next day, we had designed a vaccine. we immediately put that vaccine into manufacture, which is the stage that it's currently in, and we hope that that will be entering into human clinical trials by early summer. that timeline is absolutely unprecedented in vaccine development. scientists here are already developing a vaccine for another coronavirus called middle east respiratory syndrome. they're using the same dna technology for this new virus from china, too. swirling around in these fermenters

is a very musty—smelling solution of bacteria from which the main ingredient for this vaccine, a string of dna which it's hoped will trigger a strong immune response against this virus, will be extracted. traditionally, this process can take months. but here, using these new technologies, it's been taking scientists days. the work here and in two other research facilities in the us and australia is being funded by an organisation called cepi. it's a coalition of governments and philanthropic organisations that invest in developing new vaccines for emerging diseases as quickly as possible. doing this is exciting work, but this is a very dangerous time. this is a real viral threat, and we know these viruses do not respect borders so this virus could be on our doorstep very quickly. no—one knows how the outbreak in china is going to unfold and whether a vaccine will be ready in time.

it's still very early days for the vaccine being developed here, but this crucial work to help save lives is under way. tulip mazumdar, bbc news, san diego. with me is drjennifer rohn, a cell biologist at university college london. thank you very much for coming in. let me ask you first of all then about the kind of question that everybody wants to know about which is the prospect of a vaccine. how quickly realistically could one be found? developing the vaccine is one thing but they accelerate this to three or four months which is unprecedented, much faster than anything that has ever happened before but unfortunately after that point we had to go through these regulatory hurdles, have to be tested on animals and tested several times with humans of work can be released. could take up to a year. and even getting that, production of

volume sufficient to deal with it. i suppose a related point then is the good news is we have dealt with these kind of viruses before. the bad news or the nature of it is they keep changing all the time. the good thing about this virus is it is very similarto sars, about thing about this virus is it is very similar to sars, about 80% similar. we already had a vaccine backbone for sars and they have talked about plug and play with the sequence of the new virus which the chinese released in about a day and it popped released in about a day and it popped into this sort of template. this is really going to accelerate it but nevertheless we have these issues. you make you some recipe. biology is like cooking. the weather virus has progressed in terms of the number of cases we are saying, is it parfor number of cases we are saying, is it par for the courts? the jumps number of cases we are saying, is it parfor the courts? thejumps are not one especially shocking? parfor the courts? thejumps are not one especially shocking ?l parfor the courts? thejumps are not one especially shocking? a lot faster than sars but less lethal. so swings and roundabouts and it is ha rd swings and roundabouts and it is hard to tell because we don't know

the numberof hard to tell because we don't know the number of cases, there can be people wandering around who have said but we don't know if they have got a virus so until we have that total number, we cannot estimate the mortality rate and also is a moving picture in that this is very early days and it could be another issue is the virus might mutate and become more avirulent. we hope that will happen. about 5 million people roughly were thought to have left the province where wuhan is before the province where wuhan is before the travel bands are put in place in the travel bands are put in place in the chinese put quite drastic bands on their own population. in a sense, is any talk of quota at this stage give it as a have limited impact because people have already and maybe because of the incubation period have wandered around who have been carrying it and infecting others? it is tricky, it will affect the economy and have knock on effects with this is a completely other than effects with this is a completely otherthan —— effects with this is a completely other than —— unknown virus and we don't know what we are dealing with exactly so i think it is better to be safe than sorry. in the world health organisation meeting today, it is nice that they want ——

is it likely they will declare a global health emergency? i think they will and they can take control of the efforts and put teeth in the mandates not just advice efforts and put teeth in the mandates notjust advice but orders. and that is critical because it raises questions because people say should they have done that sooner?” think we can agree that china has done a lot better than they have done a lot better than they have done with sars, they have been surprisingly transparent and hopefully this willjust continue. thank you very much i suspect we'll talk about this before it all goes away. thank you. the transport secretary grant shapps has defended the right of tory mps to oppose hs2 following growing criticism of the project from a number of conservative mps. the government appears poised to give the scheme the go—ahead after the chancellor, sajid javid, signalled his support despite the mounting cost. let's get more from our chief political corresondent vicki young, who's in westminster. we expect

a meeting between grant shapps, the chancellor and the prime minister when they will discuss as we know in advance that the chancellor is now fully on board project which is a huge project if the government gives it to go ahead. but the course is something that does alarm some people, the growing cost from about 50 billion to over 100 billion so there are many who think that money could be better spent maybe on smaller projects linking other parts of the north and may be the railway line between manchester and liverpool. tran how teresa could improve the daily lives of computers rather than this huge in itself. —— the trans pen ines. that has caused division in the tory party even from some newly elected mps, those whose constituencies will be affected by the building of the new line, including this mp who spoke to us this morning. i was very clear in the general election campaign that i'm opposed to hsz.

it is absolutely wrong for my constituency and i believe it to be wrong for the country, and i made clear commitments in the general election that come what may i would oppose hsz. what i really want to get on with is convincing government that there are better projects we can deliver that will improve peoples' lives. now of course borisjohnson has a very healthy majority of 80, so it is unlikely that any legislation would be voted down despite the opposition from some conservative mps and it is clear from what boris johnson is that in the past that he is keen on this kind of project and has talked about leveling up, talking about having less reliance on london in the southeast and trying to improve infrastructure particularly in the midlands and the north and then today, not too surprising support from a previous conservative chancellor, george 0sborne, who himself was behind the original idea. well, when you see the brilliant science and business happening in the north, it would be nuts to cancel hsz. this is going to connect the north of england and the midlands to the south and help level up the economic geography of the uk.

and frankly, you can't be a government that says you're committed to the north and committed to infrastructure, as this government does and i really welcome that, and then cancel the biggest transport infrastructure project ever conceived for the north of england. so, i think borisjohnson, sajid javid, you know, they're going to see that this is a great project for the north of england, for the midlands and for the whole of the uk. and there are other senior conservative politicians, people like the mayor of the midlands who really wa nts like the mayor of the midlands who really wants this to go ahead. this is not just about speed, really wants this to go ahead. this is notjust about speed, people say just cutting the travel time between london and birmingham, what is the point of that? it is about capacity is well, looking further into the future saying the growing number of passengers means you are going to need this kind of increased capacity for those lines to operate. vicki, thank you very much, from westminster, our chief political correspondent. the headlines

on bbc news: the foreign office confirms a plane bringing britons home from the virus hit chinese city of wuhan will take off later tonight. the chancellor, sajid javid, throws his support behind hs2 as a number of tory mps consider rebelling against the government. the number of rape prosecutions in england and wales has fallen again — as the number of suspects charged rises slightly. —— and its ports, roger federer defeated by novak djokovic as a check of its customer of record eighth title. the striker goes to 0ld eighth title. the striker goes to old trafford for £46 million and george north switches from wing to centre for whales as they begin their six nations title defence against italy on saturday. although stories after half past 5pm for you.

companies involved in the refurbishment of grenfell tower prior to the fire knew their materials were dangerous, but promoted them in pursuit of money. that's the claim made by a barrister representing the victims, the bereaved and their families, who was speaking today at the inquiry into the tragedy. 72 people were killed when the building caught fire in june 2017. the second phase of the inquiry began on monday and focuses on the refurbishment of the tower block, which took place between 2012 and 2016. sarah campbell is following the inquiry. now, stephanie barwise, the qc who represents almost 300 of them, said that in both the management and the refurbishment of the tower, fire safety concerns were either ignored or overlooked. and she listed everything from door closers being removed to failing to provide an evacuation plan for all the residents. she talked about the fact that there was an epidemic level of incompetence for a fire safety perspective. inquiries have heard opening

statements all this week from the companies involved in that refurbishment. and today, the legal representatives of the families went through each one of those companies, emphasising the internal e—mails and communications explaining why they think these companies are culpable. but rather overshadowing the statements to a certain extent has been a legal issue which was raised by the chair, sir martin moore—bick. he revealed that he had been contacted by companies and individuals, their legal representatives, involved in this refurbishment and they want the inquiry chair to apply to the attorney general for protection from prosecution, ie that anything they say when they're called as witnesses here at the inquiry shouldn't be able to be used against them in a criminal prosecution. now, the reasons why were outlined today by one of the companies' barristers. there was a police investigation running alongside this

inquiry which is already interviewing potential suspects. jonathan laidlaw qc said there was no way witnesses could speak freely and honestly during the inquiry without there being a real risk of prosecution. so, it's fair to say the application has provoked as much anger as consternation amongst the grenfell tower families. stephanie barwise said the timing of the application, because it came very late in the day, gives the appearance of sabotaging the inquiry. sam stein, who also represents some of the victims‘ families, said his clients are furious about it. he said the companies responsible killed those 72 people as sure is if they'd taken careful aim with a gun and pulled the trigger. now, the application has already led to a delay. witnesses were supposed to be starting to give evidence on monday, but that's now been pushed back to at least wednesday while this issue is resolved.

sarah campbell reporting. the duke of sussex has lost a complaint against the mail on sunday after he accused the paper of writing an inaccurate article about wildlife pictures posted on his instagram account. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell is with me. why did prince harry lodge this complaint? good question. the first thing to say importantly is it has nothing to do with the core action that the duchess of sussex has taken against the same newspaper over its publication of a private letter she sent to her father. publication of a private letter she sent to herfather. this is all to do with photographs which it is thought the duke of sussex took of african wildlife including an elephant which he uploaded onto a social media account. the mail on sunday last april pointed out that at the time the pictures were taken, the animals were tethered. digested that one of them was also drug. —— suggested. they suggested harry had misled people into thinking wrongly of the circumstances of the

photography so paramedic complaint to the independent press standards organisation and they have rejected that complaint. assess the photograph of the elephant had been cropped to edit out the animal's tethered leg. the significance for a rather trivial complaint is this, that it underlies how ready harry is to ta ke that it underlies how ready harry is to take issue with the media. it underlines how ultrasensitive he is about what the media says about him and one must suppose that it will stiffen the determination of the mail on sunday to stand up to the sussexis mail on sunday to stand up to the sussex is as it approaches potentially this high profile court case involving the duchess. i think it also raises questions about the good sense of the kind of advice that they are receiving about was this really a well—founded complaint to make. clearly the regulator felt that it was not. thank you very

much. electricity customers in the uk have been paying too much for their bills, according to the national audit office. it's blamed the regulator 0fgem for allowing the network operators, which run the wires and pylons, to make bigger profits than they're allowed to. according to the nao, a total of £800 million has been overpaid over the past seven years. the number of cars made in the uk has fallen to its lowest level since 2010, with a further decline expected this year. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says 1.3 million vehicles were produced last year — a fall ofjust over 14%. it blames weak confidence at home and slower demand in overseas markets — as well as factory shutdowns related to brexit. the motorcycle company norton has gone into administration after having difficulty paying a tax bill. founded in 1898, norton is one of the last remaining british motorcycle brands and best known for its involvement in motorsport. it employs around 100 people near castle donington in leicestershire.

victims of rape are being urged to have the confidence to come forward as new figures reveal that the number of prosecutions continues to fall in england and wales. the figures, published by the crown prosecution service, show that for the year to september 2019, there were 2343 prosecutions, down nearly 700 on the year to march. the new data also shows that while there was an increase in the number of suspects being charged, police forces sent fewer cases to the crown prosecution service. let's now speak to dame vera baird, the victim's commissioner, who's calling for a full independent investigation into the figures. thank you very much for being with us on thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. you see this issue from a number of different perspectives as an mp, as a government minister, solicitor general and a police and crime commission or supporting police in trying to bring rate prosecutions

and representing victims. how disturbed all you by this apparent trend. it is very worrying indeed. and there is very little satisfaction to be brought from the figures today. i have to credit that there appears to be a small upturn in the crown prosecution service's prosecution rates. that is very cheerful that it is going to happen but the prosecution rates have collapsed and that is the charge rates of the crown prosecution service which have gone down far more steeply and far more deeply than the police referral rates. the police have referred 22% fewer cases to the crown prosecution service from what we want to know why. but over the last two years some of the charge rate where you have got that bundle of police cases, even though it isa bundle of police cases, even though it is a smaller one, you should be doing the same level of prosecutions as you were when it was a bigger

bundle. probably more. but actually the prosecution rate has slumped. so it is 52% less that it was only two yea rs it is 52% less that it was only two years ago so there is something seriously wrong with the way in which the crown prosecution service are deciding to charge cases.” heard the man in charge of that organisation in an interview earlier today saying we are doing a lot and there has been a lot of progress but he was very strongly pushing back about suggestions some of the campaign organisations have been making that there is kind of an odd system working saying what are the chances of us getting a conviction because they fear, not without some justification, even if it should not be an excuse for not doing prosecutions, but the fear that if you have a lot of cases that fail, it will make it even more unlikely that women will come forward. what is your interpretation of that? that would just be an inconceivable line. the fact that the only prosecutions

in1.5% of the fact that the only prosecutions in 1.5% of cases which report now, remember macro what three reports have gone up usually as police have tried to build confidence. —— rape reports. it is certainly not... confidence is being lost because of the differential. and it is right that police referrals have a lot to do with what they expect the crown prosecution service to charge. if they know this kind of case does not really find much favour, then it is conceivably backing up and persuades them not to refer about that critical fall of 52% in the charge rate for the cps is what is a real concern. are they looking for fewer rock—solid cases so there conviction rate goes up because the conviction rate goes up because the conviction rate historically since 2016 has been what the inspectors of the crown prosecution service have chafed and there is a whole story about some training carried out

by the legal services director from the cps going personally from head office to all 14 regions telling them to take 350 of the weaker cases out of prosecutions so that the conviction rate would go up. that is a real worry. that is a disturbing allegation. it is not being denied, it was in the paper. catholic a question as a result of that and that the chief inspector —— can i ta ke that the chief inspector —— can i take a question that the chief inspector published a report and he himself is a former cps lawyer and also has worked in the attorney general‘s office. there is some concern about the content of that report that in a sense it did not address some of these concerns about the fall and what the explanations are. he did not answer the questions fully and he excepts that in the report today, fair to him himself.

but there are real difficulties about his approach with of the cps are risk—averse. firstly, for i think of the inspectors acting for him who inspected the cps decision—making process are themselves recently rape and sexual abuse lawyers from the cps and they just moved over to the inspectorate. and the training i referred to which is not denied, they will have had. and the levels of ambition that the conviction rate should go up, which where they are years before the training, will have impacted upon those so you're looking at people who if this training took place and it had the effect that it was intended to have, then you're looking at people who have been trained to be risk—averse and looking at their past colleagues and saying are they being risk—averse? most rape reviews and certainly the last one that was done, he sent out hundreds of questionnaires to barristers, to the police came

in to judges, to the rape crisis sector, and he got a very powerful response and he got a very powerful response and and he was asking them what do you think about the way this is being done? no such questions were asked of anyone on this occasion at all. there were extensive questions asked of prosecutors themselves and managers, but none of it touched on this issue of risk aversion, none of it equated the training and asked what impact it had had so i think we need some better review and i'm not being over critical of kevin, he had to do it in being over critical of kevin, he had to do itina being over critical of kevin, he had to do it in a huge rush and he excepts himself it is only... and thatis excepts himself it is only... and that is what you want the attorney general to agree to? when you are an independent review with the victim's sector people in it to make sure this tiny upturn of this quarter and if it is real gets better. i don't wa nt if it is real gets better. i don't want confidence to be lost, i will people who are raped

to keep complaining. we will work with the cps and the police to make sure they get justice when they cps and the police to make sure they getjustice when they do complain and do please complain if you have suffered from this appalling crime. thank you very much. time for a look at the weather. here's nick. afternoon. cheering us up? if you wa nt afternoon. cheering us up? if you want higher temperatures, they are here. a good deal of cloud around and it rained and places as well, also very windy out that this evening across parts of eastern scotla nd evening across parts of eastern scotland towards the north and the northeast of england. still a chance of seeing some gusts of wind over 60 mph in some spots as the evening goes on. i chance a disruption with a few clear spells developing overnight and the strongest winds slowly easing. some rain coming back to northern ireland, southern and western scotland and parts of northern england. perhaps some frost

in northeast scotland to start the day tomorrow but for many it is cloudy and mild and a smell of rain pushing south tomorrow. behind that it brightens up a bit and largely try to northern ireland. a few showers follow into western scotland mainly into the northwest were some will be happy. it is another windy day wherever you are. these are average wind speeds with the gusts higher around 40 or 50 mph in places but exceptionally mild for the time of year. some spots in eastern england tomorrow seem temperatures hitting around 15 celsius. that is your forecast. this is bbc news. the headlines.

the foreign office confirms a plane bringing britons home from the virus hit chinese city of wuhan will take off later tonight. the chancellor, sajid javid, throws his support behind hs2 — as a number of tory mps consider rebelling against the government. the number of rape prosecutions in england and wales has fallen again — as the number of suspects charged rises slightly. a man has been found guilty of trying to steal a copy of magna carta — smashing the protective glass around the 805—year—old document — using a hammer. a royal marine who died after being injured in training two weeks ago is named as recruit ethanjones. never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. tributes to one of the last of ‘the few‘.. former battle of britain pilot

wing commander paul farnes has died at the age of 101.. just before we go to the support may bring you some breaking news coming into us from our health editor. he was here about 20 minutes ago but never stops, and he's managed to confirm that the passengers who are travelling back from the uk later tonight that will arrive here tomorrow will then be taken by road transport probably buses because we have seen the need to be protected from any contact it will be taken to a hospital. it's understood there will be taken to empty staff accommodation which is at arrow park hospital on the world. it's a 15 acre site which is used there as pa rt acre site which is used there as part of the hospital trust, they will have accommodation there and it would be possible to isolate

them for the two weeks until they can be certain that they are not infected with the coronavirus or if they are they can be taken away separately to be treated. we will bring you more on that if we get in the next half hour, let's get the sporting headlines with hugh ferris. novak djokovic was merciless in beating roger federer to reach yet another grand slam final. the defending australian open champion won in straight sets against a man clearly struggling with injury. but djokovic was determined to take a step closer to his 17th grand slam title. meanwhile the women's final will be sophia kenin against garbine muguruza. with more from melbourne here'sjohn watson. we have the women's final complete commit come to that in a moment but let's just reflect on another novak djokovic victory in the semi finals here to book his place in an eighth australian open final. 26 grand slam final as he brushed the mighty roger federer aside in some straight sets.

a medical timeout at the end of the first set which he lost and that it was comfortable in the end for djokovic as it moves through in straight sets. he had been to successfully defend his title here and we await who he will face in that final, the victor will come from the winter of alex and dominic thiem in tomorrow's men's semi final. the roll number one in the women's game beaten today in straight sets by sophia cannon of the united states. an inspired form as she came through comfortably commit disappointment as you can imagine who has been carrying the hopes of the nation here at this home australian open. a hopeful that they would see a first female australian into the final here in 40 yea rs. australian into the final here in 40 years. the party is over though, she goes on to face garbine muguruza. another surprise over

simona halep. another surprise over simona halep. a finalist here couple of years ago was she was beaten by caroline. it fell just short this time was she was beaten by caroline. it felljust short this time and garbine muguruza also coming through in straight sets. multiple grand slam champion and hoping to be adding a third grand slam to her trophy cabinet if she can come past sophia in these final. we will go on to see who faces novak djokovic, all eyes on that second men's semi final to come tomorrow. manchester united have completed the signing of portugal midfielder bruno fernandes for a fee that could rise to more than 67 million pounds. hejoins from sporting lisbon for an initial 46 million pounds on a five and a half year deal with the option of a further year. fernandes agreed personal terms and passed a medical today to become the biggest signing of the january transfer window so far. new wales coach wayne pivac has picked his first six nations team. they face italy in cardiff on saturday. and the new coach of the reigning champions has selected

george north at outside centre with wales struggling with injuries in midfield. uncapped scarlets wing jonny mcnicoll will take north's usual place on the wing. scotland coach gregor townsend will give edinburgh number eight nick haining his international debut against ireland on saturday. there are 10 changes to the starting fifteen that faced japan in theirfinal match of the rugby world cup. the third game of the opening weekend is on sunday when england take on france in paris. there will be no anthony watson though — who's been ruled out with a calf injury. uncapped 0llie thorley or george furbank are expected to replace him. sport in china continues to be affected by the coronavirus with the world motorsport governing body admitting that april's grand prix near shanghai is at risk. the fia says it will take any action necessary to protect the global motorsport community and the wider public. the race is due to be held on the 19th to the 21st of april. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the

bbc sport website. it's also on the app and much more indeed on all of the stories as well on sports day. a royal marine who died in a training incident in cornwall earlier this month has been named. ethanjones was part of a group that had been practising an assault from a landing craft on tregantle beach in cornwall. it's understood the recruit had been wearing full kit and had "gone under water" during the exercise two weeks ago. the royal navy said its "thoughts and sympathies" were with his family and friends and that the incident remains under investigation. i'm joined by our defence correspondent jonathan beale. what do we know about ethan and about the event? they have released his name, and also a photograph of ethan who was just 20 years old. we are not told at the moment where he came from, partly to protect the family privacy at this moment. but there's a statement saying he died

fulfilling his dream and doing something he loved, joining the marines was something he wanted to do as long as we can remember and we are very proud of all that he achieved. as a few comments from his comrades were all shocked by what has happened and the commandant of the royal marine training establishment says that he was selected by his instructors for leadership and tactical acumen and noting sadly that this will not be realised. a lot of sadness amongst the royal navy, the marines and obviously a life cut short. an marines face tough training what do we know but the incident what happened to him? we know that this was towards the end of his 32 weeks of training, he started it may and this was an assault, what marines are known for, doing an assault on the beach and a landing craft. it was at night and so it was dark, the

water would have been cold and we understand the water was deep when they were jumping into that sea water and there was an issue with a number of marines getting into trouble in the water at the same time, being recovered and then they noticed ethan and they 00:44:17,1000 --> 00:44:19,101 try to resuscitate him, he was flown by air ambulance to a hospital and clearly he died a few days later. just to give a sense of this, accidents or things that go wrong in the investigation and it's got to decide if anything did go wrong here and they do happen in training to the spent 147 deaths during exercises in training, that's over 20 years and 16 royal marines. it's tough training this is something that marines trained to do. there is risk involved but clearly there will be an investigation to make sure that everything was followed according to the book. thanks very much. more now on the outbreak of coronavirus. a flight carrying about 150 britons back to the uk has been

given permission to leave later this evening. around 200 us citizens have been flown out of wuhan, and are being isolated at a military base in california. let's talk to ian thompson — a brit with dual citizenship in the united states. he lives and works in wuhan. he has been airlifted back to the us and is currently in his second day of quarantine at march air force base in ontario, california. what is it like? it's actually not too bad. the location here is really nice, middle of california so it's sunny and warm will stop you had a lucky escape to what it has turned out you would be going to the wirral. it's lovely but in january compared to california may be a bit ofa compared to california may be a bit of a trade—off. compared to california may be a bit of a trade-off. yeah, the weather is really beautiful in the location is nice. they look after us really well and we got free rein in the area we are in, obviously. how many of you are in, obviously. how many of you

are there? but i'm told is nearly 200 here. and the staff, are they all end kind of of the all in suits and stuff just in all end kind of of the all in suits and stuffjust in case you sneeze on them, i'm not being flippant, this is serious. yes, that medical staff that are treating us are walking around commit on the first or were told to wear a mask full time and we have been allowed not to wear them today. just walking around normal. a visit any time we go near medical staff we have to wear masks and they are in hazmat. what do you make of the process of how evacuation was handled from the mainland?m the process of how evacuation was handled from the mainland? it was a very long process and it took, you know, nearly a week with working with the embassy to get sorted and getting on the list once he got on the list and we had to make her own

way from where we were to the airport, that was a challenge because it's close down and there's no transportation or taxis or trains, buses, nothing is travelling at all. so how did you get there? the only way to get around his each of the districts have cars that have been allowed to travel, you have to get approvalfrom been allowed to travel, you have to get approval from the district area manager to build to get that car, so i was lucky enough to manage to work it out with the district to get me to the airport. how great have you been over the last couple of weeks about the prospect of developing the symptoms of coronavirus? it's very hard, they have not been giving as much information at all about how bad it really is. certainly it's a lot worse than what was commit really went very quickly

from pretty much nothing to complete shutdown in one day. i was planning to be out by the week before but it was a wednesday, thursday morning they closed everything off and so one day i was planning to get out in the next day to stuck. i hope you get out to enjoy the california sunshine sooner rather than later. for now thanks very much for being with us on bbc news at five. tomorrow sees the united kingdom formally leave the european union after 47 years of membership. the departure — which was delayed three times — will officially come into effect tomorrow night at 11pm uk time. today in brussels, the friendship between the eu and britain is being celebrated. jenny hilljoins us live from there now. there was a bit of prickly nest yesterday in the european parliament, but then auld lang syne and all the rest of it. tomorrow will be very low key. what is happening now? welcome

and i think it's fair to say that brussels tonight has come over a little bit romantic. a bit of a love in going on in the central skipp square here. the buildings around it, the historic buildings you can probably just make out or being lit up and red white and blue, the colours of the union jack, and red white and blue, the colours of the unionjack, and crowds have gathered to hear a series of bands playing all sorts of music from folk songs to older british pop classics. the point of the event is to send a message, and is one which i think we have heard echoed by a series of politicians here of the last 24 hours or so, politicians here of the last 24 hours orso, and politicians here of the last 24 hours or so, and that message is to say the uk can we still love you and wa nt to say the uk can we still love you and want to keep you close, and we heard from the president of the european commission last night who has said pretty much words to that effect. britain, we still love you and we are not going to be far away. i think it's important to draw a distinction between what's going on in this square which is symbolising the affection for britain here

which many european capitals hold, and i think would be wrong to make the mistake of thinking that this is all about celebration. because of course here in brussels and indeed across many european capitals the next 24 hours are certainly not seen as a cause for rejoicing, for if anything they are very sad about what's going to happen, but it's also important to happen, but it's also important to notice that what they are also thinking about now is that after tomorrow the next stage begins, and there's a very tricky in negotiation over the future relationship between britain and the eu, and that's something which people here are very concerned about not least because they think that actually striking a deal is going to be very difficult within the 11 months that are left to do so. yes, we might be testing how much love there really is in that process. jenny hill in brussels, thank you very much. the prime minister is used to facing tough questions — but today he's faced something quite different.

this afternoon he's hosted a kids lobby‘ — where school children from across the uk have taken part in a question and answer session. let's see how he got on. prime ministers have done it before and some of them have been better than others answering the questions. good afternoon, welcome to number ten downing st. fantastic to see you all here. thank you very much for coming, wow, this is a pretty daunting looking crowd. right, these are very, very tough gig that i've got to do now. this is called school question time, is that right? the children's lobby. so children thank you very much for coming along.” children's lobby. so children thank you very much for coming along. i do intend to ensure our nhs remains free will making efficient and progressive beacon of medical practice? thank you, may stare. the way to make sure that the nhs is free at the point of view is rapidly everybody in the country is to continue to fund it properly. and to

increase its funding we have passed a law that says we are going to put in at record levels of funding not just this year or next year or for the whole of this parliament, £34 billion which is the biggest ever investment in the nhs, how many new hospitals do think we are building? 50 is good, a bit more. how many? 60? ok well we are getting too high here. you are ruining my point. how many do you think? 55? well, we are building 40 new ones but we are upgrading 20. and we are going to be recruiting 50,000 more nurses, but i like your ambition, you are right we should be building 55, we should be building more hospitals but the only way to do that is having a strong economy so that we have with the money to do it. primary school, community primary school. is

that whereabouts? i want to try to be an 00:00:00,062 --> 715827683:52:14,957 mp 715827683:52:14,957 --> 1431655367:44:29,852 from 1431655367:44:29,852 --> 2147483051:36:44,746 the 2147483051:36:44,746 --> 2863310735:28:59,641 south. 2863310735:28:59,641 --> 3579138419:21:14,535 total 3579138419:21:14,535 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 disaster.