this is bbc news. the headlines at 12pm. one of the two people to test positive for coronavirus in the uk is a student at the university of york. the search is now on for people who've had close contact with the two chinese nationals. dozens of britons have spent theirfirst night in quarantine after being flown home from china. the death toll from the corona virus reaches 259 in china — with nearly 12,000 people infected there. the uk enacts its most profound strategic change in a generation, leaving the european union after nearly half a century. to be independent, to be free to make our own trade rules, is supremely important for me as a briton. they sing.

as some celebrated, others comisserated — among them, ex—pat brits who live in one of the 27 eu countries. if necessary, i will take out the spanish nationality, because i want to stay here. the bbc finds that more than a thousand people with the most serious complaints about the department for work and pensions face a delay of 18 months before their cases are even investigated. the acquittal of president trump becomes all but certain, as senators vote against calling witnesses at his impeachment trial. and coming up in half an hour here on bbc news, click is in bangladesh, to see how global advances in automation technology could impact the lives of millions of garment factory workers.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. some breaking news. one of the two individuals who has tested positive for coronavirus in the uk is a student at the university of york. two chinese nationals — who are related — were taken ill while staying at a hotel in york. a spokesman for the university of york says they have been advised that the risk of infection being passed on campus is "low". and public health england says it is making good progress in tracing people who have come into close contact with the two people. this all comes as 83 british people, who were evacuated from the centre of the virus outbreak in china, have begun their 14—day quarantine on merseyside. the uk nationals were taken

by coach to arrowe park hospital, on the wirral, and arrived last night. we can speak to luxmy gopal who's in newcastle, at the royal victoria infirmary. we now know that the university of york student was one of the two chinese nationals and that will help the investigation. this is something thatis the investigation. this is something that is coming in the next limit last couple of minutes. it narrows down the identity of the potential people. they say they understand it will cause anxiety for the staff stu d e nts will cause anxiety for the staff students and wider community at the university of law. they say that the risk of infection is low and the stu d e nts risk of infection is low and the students didn't come into contact with anyone on contact while they had symptoms. but they are still

coming into into the investigation. they have set up a call centre over the weekend for anyone concerned. the other individual is also a chinese national and member of the same family as that student. both of them are here and the infectious diseases centre at the royal infirmary ina diseases centre at the royal infirmary in a building just behind the one behind me there. they are safely in quarantine and isolated. but what's the mission is now is to try to track down anyone else who may be at risk after having come into co nta ct may be at risk after having come into contact with that student and their relative and as you mention, public health and say they are mentioning that it might making —— they are making good progress. nobody in that same hotel needs to panic because what public health and saying are those that are at risk are those who have been within two metres of the pair for 15 minutes or

more. they are trying to get in to contact with anyone in that category and have been given a contact number to call if they display any symptoms of poor health over the next two weeks. the other, getting factor is presumably all others passengers from china who arrived in this country from wuhan over the last few weeks. before any of these measures we re weeks. before any of these measures were taken. weeks. before any of these measures were ta ken. presumably weeks. before any of these measures were taken. presumably those people will have to be tracked. absolutely. this is a big mission to be able to narrow them down. 0ften, this is a big mission to be able to narrow them down. often, the symptoms don't really present until further down the line. it is going to ta ke further down the line. it is going to take a bit of time before public health england will feel they have a track down everybody who may well be a potential risk. the message is not to panic. residents here in newcastle have been told they are not at any extra risk from these two people being treated here and the

people being treated here and the people who were visiting york at the same day as the student and their relative where there. they are being told that they are at minimal risk of this. it is a precautionary measure to find anyone who is actually at potential risk for having come into close contact. as regards the two patients who are being treated here, in terms of being treated here, in terms of being updated on their situation, the team have told me here that that will come from the department of health when they issue a more general update in a couple of hours' time. thank you. earlier my colleagues at bbc breakfast spoke to matt raw from his quarantine at arrowe park hospital. here's our bedroom. now, every single thing that we have asked for, there is an army of people here that are looking after us extremely well, they are running out and buying everything. a television, i'm just taking you through towards the living room now. they have bought us televisions,

radios, you name it, anything we have asked for, they have bought for us. can ijust ask, matt, as you are showing us around... 0ur neighbour, who is happy to be here as well, and my neighbour may want to say hello to her husband, if she may. hello, i am happy here. matt, can i interrupt for a moment? as you show us around, tell us a bit about the restrictions. you are allowed out of the apartment itself. who are you allowed to have contact with, in terms of other people other than immediate family? we are allowed to have contact with anybody within the facility, as long as we are wearing facemasks. in our own apartment, of course, we can't. there is actually, i'm trying to show you the area just down there, i will get my finger out of the way of the camera.

we can actually go outside and get some fresh air. the windows, i think, maybe we can... yes, we can actually open the windows and get some fresh air there. so you know, very much we are being looked after to the absolute maximum that anyone could possibly expect. and we'll be answering your questions on the coronavirus outbreak in the next few minutes. we have also got details on the website which you can get which will give you an update on all of the sorts of issues you might want to address, and we will talk about some of those a bit later. the uk is out of the european union after 47 years of membership. the historic moment, at 11 o'clock last night,

was marked by celebrations — and some commiserations — across the country. thousands of brexit supporters gathered in parliament square where speakers, including nigel farage, addressed the crowds. there will now be a transition period until the end of the year, during which the government will try to forge a new relationship with the eu. john maguire reports. they had come to parliament square from far and wide, from the north... from teesside. ..and from the south... i've come from brighton. ..to witness what the rally‘s star attraction called the greatest moment in modern british history. we should celebrate the fact that, freed from the constraints of the european union, we, once again, will be able to find our place in the world. to be independent, to be free to make our own trade rules, our own laws, our own trade laws,

who we trade with, is supremely important for me as a briton. big ben's brexit bongs hadn't materialised. instead, clocks, both digital and famously analogue, were projected onto 10 downing street. while outside the palace of westminster, they partied like it was 2020. well, that is it. brexit, the giant screens declare in red, white, and blue, "we're out." 11 o'clock on 31 january, 2020. one, of course, for the history books but really, it's the future that will determine whether or not this was the right call. of course, not everyone celebrated. some commiserated. this was 0xford. are we proud to be europeans? crowd: yes! my business was put at risk because of this, my kids' futures and jobs are being put at risk and i just profoundly

disagree with it. in edinburgh, capital of a country that had voted to remain in the eu, they used music to soothe their souls at holyrood, and some called for independence to pave the way for a return. the fact of the matter is that the only way back into the european union for scotland is if we regain our statehood and regain our independence. but celtic cousins in wales, where leave had the upper hand, lowered the european flag outside the senedd for the final time. what we really won during this whole thing wasn't just a political party, it was democracy. democracy has won and that's what i'm celebrating. and on the irish border, for so long the issue that seemed insurmountable in the pursuit of brexit, remainers expressed concern and regret. tomorrow morning might not be different, but in the coming weeks and months ahead, as we see rights and opportunities taken away from us, we'll

certainly feel it then. leave supporters in parliament square were told we would still be friends with the people of europe despite leaving the union. meanwhile, a conciliatory message was emblazoned across the white cliffs of dover. the face we still show to continental europe even if, from now on, so much of our relationship has changed. john maguire, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent, tom barton is here. tom, we will know fairly soon what the negotiating heads will be. the list might be the easiest bit of the actual process. there is an over lot to be agreed here, notjust the trading relationship, although that is the headline if you like, but also all of those bits of eu membership which sit outside a hard and fast trade deal. things like

fishing rights, agriculture, that sort of thing. there is an over lot to talk about. and not very long to do it. we have a transition period which keeps everything the same and nothing has really changed since 11pm last night in practical terms in the way we live our lives. in fa ct, in the way we live our lives. in fact, the foreign office was tweeting earlier reminding people that you can still travel to europe in exactly the same way you could do yesterday. but it is not a very long time. 11 months to sort out a trade deal with the biggest trading bloc in the world. david davies even, today, one of the architects of brexit, acknowledged that it would beafair brexit, acknowledged that it would be a fair race to get it done. he fought it would be achievable but his counterparts on the other side of the argument, we had an irish senator on the radio this morning saying that they see the eu has been

a strong ability in the uk. one of the interesting things was the optimism of those leaving the eu at the beginning and what britain would be able to do, exploit differences between the other member countries. perhaps the baltic states would be more keen on one area of negotiations, the french on another. 0n exploiting that difference, but it didn't turn out that way. is there a chance at this stage that there a chance at this stage that the countries might not be a single anonymous voice saying no, they may well be able to concede things the commission is not keen on? the union have been good at maintaining the united single voice through the chief negotiator but things that they have been negotiating have been much more ephemeral than what we are getting into now. we are now getting

into the nitty—gritty and detail, the training over fishing into the nitty—gritty and detail, the training overfishing rights if you can have ourfinancial services. when you get to that level of negotiation, you may well find and we hope the british government will hope that you might find them in a position to exploit them. we have tough talk from the british covenant already about whether this will turn into the sort of deal they want in 11 months‘ time, we will find out. thank you very much. american senators have voted against calling witnesses in president trump‘s impeachment trial — it‘s a development that will probably bring a much faster end to a political process which has gripped the us capital for months. the democrats failed to persuade enough republicans in the senate that more witness testimony was necessary. mr trump is now expected to be acquitted in a final vote on wednesday. chris buckler reports from washington. president trump left the white house

to spend the weekend at his mar—a—lago resort in florida and he can afford to relax now after a vote that will cut short his impeachment trial. are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 49. the nays are 51. by the narrowest of margins, a request to call witnesses was rejected. two republican senators did vote with the democrats, to hear potentially damaging testimony and demand documents, but that was half the number they needed. if the president is acquitted, with no witnesses, no documents, the acquittal will have no value, because americans will know this trial was not a real trial. among the people the democrats wanted to call to give evidence wasjohn bolton, the white house‘s former national security adviser. in a forthcoming book, it‘s claimed he says mr trump

told him of a plan to put pressure on the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, with the specific aim of forcing him to launch an investigations into president trump‘s political opponents. but the president‘s lawyers insist that transcripts of their phone calls prove he did nothing wrong. let me read you what our ukrainian allies said. "it was normal. "we spoke about many things. "i think, when you read it, that nobody pushed me. "they think you can read minds. "i think you look at the words." senators will convene again on monday for closing arguments and then on wednesday for a final vote. it would take two—thirds of the senate to convict mr trump and remove him from office and across america, everyone knows there is no chance of that happening. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. the headlines on bbc news... one of the two people to test

positive for coronavirus in the uk is a student at the university of york — the search is now on for people who‘ve had close contact with the two chinese nationals. dozens of britons have spent theirfirst night in quarantine after being flown home from china. the uk enacts its most profound strategic change in a generation, leaving the european union after nearly half a century. the bbc finds that more than a thousand people with the most serious complaints about the department for work and pensions face a delay of 18 months before their cases are even investigated. more than a thousand people with the most serious complaints about the department for work and pensions face a delay of 18 months before their cases are even investigated.

radio 4‘s money box programme has found the independent case examiner is also regularly missing targets about how long investigations should take once a case has been opened. 0ur correspondent dan whitworth spoke about the impact the delays are having. ultimately, you can talk about as many figures or numbers as you want, at the heart of the story is people. i want to give you one example. a gentleman we are speaking to, who we are calling allen, has a dispute with the child maintenance service, which, of course, comes under the auspices of the dwp, and regardless of the rights or wrongs of his individual case, i have numbers for you here now. he initially complained to the child maintenance service in november 2017. it took a year and a half to exhaust their complaints process, that brings him to summer 2019. he was then allowed to apply to the independent case examiner. it is a little bit like the ombudsman for the dwp. they said yes, we will investigate your case, but... this was the summer of last year? this was the summer of 2019. "but it is going to take a year and a half before we even investigate it",

and i know, from data we have found out, that investigation will likely take six months. add all of that... that takes us to the beginning of 2022. around about summer 2021, but if you add all that up, that is essentially nearly a four year wait in this case. he has described his life as flatlining during this time, he has described that delay as obscene. it is extraordinarily long. how is the process supposed to work? supposedly notjust one person sat with a desk piled with stuff like that. that will take a while. the independent case examiner, as i said, it is a little bit like an ombudsman for the dwp, you have to exhaust the complaints process with your individual organisation, like the child maintenance service. then you go to the independent case examiner. you have to be, sort of, accepted by ice, and then you have to wait for this investigation to start. that whole process, we have found out through a freedom of information request, there is an 18 month gap, if you will, between the independent case examiner accepting your case and starting to investigate it.

and when that case is investigated, that should be a 20 week target. most of the cases are missing that and most of the cases are hitting around six months. so we have big numbers of cases on backlog, what is the dwp saying itself about all this? it has actually held its hands up a little bit. we asked for a ministerial interview and they said no. but they did give us a statement. i have it here. "we understand the impact that waiting for an investigation can "have on people and their families," it says, "we are hiring and training "new staff as quickly as we can and it does say we have cleared more "complaints last year than the year before," just adding finally, "the vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the with the "service they receive." residents to the south of australia‘s capital canberra have been put on alert over fears that bushfires may spread. a state of emergency was declared on yesterday — the first in the area since deadly fires there in 2003. shaimaa khalil has more.

the bushfire south of canberra at a national park behind me has been burning for more than a week now. today was meant to be the worst day. it has already ravaged through 115,000 hectares, about 15% or more of the australian capital territory or the act. the head of the emergency services here has said there is no immediate danger to suburbs in canberra but said the situation can change for areas south of the capital. so in the suburb of banks where i am right now, people have been told to keep an close eye on fire activity. and you have the combination of sweltering heat. today has been a really hot day. the wind has been picking up and tinder, dry landscape. that is how things can get worse. fire itself has been behaving quite erratically. spreading in multiple directions. then of course there are the embers. theyjump way ahead of the main front, causing the fires.

we understand that embers from this place have caused spot fires in new south wales. that is really what is worrying people in the southern suburbs, the kind of damage that embers can cause. something else has been weighing heavy on people here and that is the memory of the devastating fire of 2003, when four people were killed and 500 homes were destroyed. that is why the authorities are not taking any chances. a state of emergency has been called, there are constant warnings on the radio. we have seen aircraft fly over the blaze, dumping water and fire retardant. the military has been knocking on some people‘s doors advising people what to do in the case of evacuation. everybody now is watching closely and waiting to see how the fire is going to behave. 2019 brought another year of record—breaking temperatures, rising sea levels and melting ice caps. but have you ever wondered how scientists know the true extent of the climate crisis? they have to put up with some pretty extreme conditions. 0ur chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt, has been for a tour of the most remote campsite on earth.

right, so up here we have the massive thwaites glacier. the work these scientists are doing should help us all, giving us a much clearer understanding of how sea level could rise worldwide and that is why we are camping here. this is the residential area, this is where we sleep. these are scott tents, after captain scott. james. how are you? can we see inside? by all means, be my guest. check out his crib. you‘ve got everything you‘re going to need to be in the tent for a long time. so we‘ve got a light source that also is a heater. we‘ve got a stove... scott himself could have used this. i think he actually used this one. so the idea is that you could get stuck in a tent like this for days and you‘d be able to survive for days. we normally have a 20—day food box outside so, if it‘s a really big blow, you have everything you need to be self—sufficient for a long time. now, we come to the delicate subject of the antarctic toilet. and you have choices here.

you‘ve got the pee stick here or the toilet tent. ok, so what you‘ve got is a big hole in the snow and then this like throne which for some reason — no—one can explain why — is called a johnson box. one more lunch, do you think? yeah. so this is a water treatment plant. the purest water in the world. fresh, glacial water. turn on the furnace. let‘s get it in. it‘s pretty basic, we start with a little bit of water to make melting easier and it‘s fresh antarctic snow, fresh to drink. sausages and grape seed oil. you get them out in the frying pan and, oh, beautiful. spam. this is tinned cheese. slightly processed, slightly plasticky, melt it out, you get a cheese fondu, you get your biscuits in there — oh, it is perfect. special antarctic recipe. the best thing about antarctic camping, the tents?

the white and blue colour scheme, i think that's really beautiful. and i decorate my own home with that. the friends you make, while you're out here struggling. also the sun dogs, the bright crystals that you get in the air, sparkling everywhere and what it does to the sky and the ground. it‘s just a sense of quietness and peace and it is absolutely beautiful. time now for your questions answered, where we‘ll be tackling all your questions about the coronavirus outbreak. here to try and tackle some of your questions is professor john ashton, who is a former regional director of public health in the north west of england and president of the faculty of public health,

which sets standards for practitioners in the uk. hejoins me from arrowe park hospital on the wirral. you hospital on the wirral. will do your best to answer them. you will do your best to answer them. just before we start with the questions, you had some direct involvement with the public—health to sars. i had a strange experience, to sars. i had a strange experience, to be honest, my wife and i were in beijing on a who trip and one morning found a small english—language newspaper in the foyer of the hotel just a small circulation, reporting the first cases of sars. it hadn‘t been known about. i faxed it cases of sars. it hadn‘t been known about. ifaxed it back cases of sars. it hadn‘t been known about. i faxed it back to the uk and when i got home, sometime later, i discovered it had never got further than the fax machine. but it was a couple of weeks before the news broke about it. it gives you an

indication, really, of the fact that news can travel slowly in a huge country like china with rural poverty and all of the rest of it. that can be compounded by a relu cta nce that can be compounded by a reluctance to share information. the basis of managing outbreak like this is good intelligence, good information and sharing it between countries so that other countries can be forewarned and forearmed. we will deal with some of those points asa will deal with some of those points as a result of these questions in the course of the next few minutes, but the first question i want to put to you is from roy, who asks, why do you think the people on the plane we re you think the people on the plane were brought all the way to the wirral when they could have been isolated, roy thinks, nearwhere theirflight originally isolated, roy thinks, nearwhere their flight originally landed? isolated, roy thinks, nearwhere their flight originally landed ?|j think their flight originally landed?” think that is a question for whoever is in charge of this outbreak. it is a bit confusing because it is not clear whether it is the secretary of state, chief medical officer, people

senior in the public health in them, or the nhs. but somebody there needs to be in charge. they should be able to be in charge. they should be able to a nswer to be in charge. they should be able to answer that question. i know here on the ground on the wirral people are very puzzled, not to mention concerned, about this. probably unnecessarily so. and one of the other thing that is needed in this situation is reassurance based on trust. but you don‘t get trust if you do not have clear lines of communication and consistency of message. i‘m sorry to say, we are not really getting that at the moment. the wirral is, as you are aware, almost an island, sticking out into the irish sea, maybe that was the thinking of putting people here rather than in oxford. who knows, we could ask people at the centre why they have done this. thank you for your question, roy. we have a question from nina who asks,

what is likely to happen to the sort of facilities that people who have come in contact two on the way? i suppose nina is asking about the buses that have transported them all of the way up and presumably they will have to be isolated and so on and will they have to be cleaned? is and will they have to be cleaned? is a sort of thing likely to happen? yes, deep clean. by chance, i visited a modern poultry farm and slaughterhouse for chickens last week in north wales. you saw the sort of deep cleaning of the vehicles that bring the poultry from the farms to the slaughterhouse there. you‘re talking about bio—security, biological material here, and my understanding is that this virus is actually quite fragile. it doesn‘t live all that long. but proper cleaning,