you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's11:ooam. i'm ben brown, live in birmingham. the main stories this morning. the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government. the prime minister will address parliament at 12:30. a transport overhaul — the government is pledging £5 billion to buses and cycle links across england. there is all sorts of investment we needin there is all sorts of investment we need in transport infrastructure in particular across this country. i have long said

this. i'm annita mcveigh — the other main stories this hour. the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve walsh from hove says he's made a full recovery. and as the coronavirus death toll hits one thousand the world health organisation will begin a two day meeting to speed up research. police investigating the murder of the journalist lyra mckee in londonderry arrest four men. a deportation flight to jamaica has left the uk despite a last—minute legal challenge but with fewer people on board than planned. good morning and welcome to birmingham. i'm here at curzon street, the

first planned new station on hs2‘s route. you can see behind me the old curzon street building of the old station which dates way back to the 1830s and they are using that as a shell of the new station here. the whole h s two project which is a high—speed link between london and birmingham then manchester and leeds is finally getting the go—ahead from the prime minister we understand in a statement at lunchtime. critics of course have said it is a massive white elephant and the cost of it has ballooned to more than £100 billion, but supporters say it is the best way to regenerate the economy and to rebalance the economy as well. . from euston in central

london to west london, through counties like warwickshire and up to birmingham, work to prepare the ground for the first stretch of a high—speed railway has been going on for years. here in solihull, they're diverting a road over the m112 to make way for the railway. the amount of work going on here, building a new bridge, diverting a road over a motorway, gives you a sense of why it has always been hard to imagine that the government might scrap this project, particularly the first stretch of it, running from here in the west midlands down to london. gordon brown was in charge when the project was conceived a decade ago. the time for high—speed rail has come. 0ther prime ministers have given it their backing. today, borisjohnson will, too. he'll back the whole project — a y—shaped railway. the latter phase linking birmingham to manchester and leeds will be reviewed to try and cut costs.

but it will go ahead. hs2 is needed, say supporters, because our railways are overcrowded. but the high—speed vision, this is what they hope birmingham station will look like, comes with a high price tag, which has risen and risen. 0riginally, it was expected that hs2 would cost £36 billion. that figure then rose to £56 billion. but last summer, hs2 ltd admitted up to £88 billion was needed. it's just an estimate, some believe the project could cost up to £106 billion. shouting: h52, we don't want you! as the budget has gone up, so did support for those saying the whole thing should be scrapped. but work on the first stretch of the railway is so well advanced that ultimately the government decided its best option was to keep digging. tom burridge,

bbc news in the west midlands. with me is our correspondent phil mackie. if you have been covering this whole his if you have been covering this whole h is two saga for many years. yes, i mean it is a massive moment notjust for the west midlands but the east midlands as well in terms of not just the construction of this site but what we're seeing. the skyline here has transformed over the past decade and beyond that you can just about make out another eight or nine cranes on other sites which are moving into the city and what they are telling me and what they are saying not just here are telling me and what they are saying notjust here birmingham but across the west midlands is that there are a lot of other projects which will come once the green light is given. of course there are opponents as well to the

projects, around the country but also here in the midlands. yes, we have seen state m e nts the midlands. yes, we have seen statements from birmingham city council, for example, welcoming it today, but i know that once you get outside this area, in the rural areas, they don't see much benefit from it, may see a lot of money being spent on what they would column white elephant. in those areas like warwickshire where people just see a massive investment coming that would ruin their countryside. they are on the route but they don't see the benefits which are clearly visible here in the city, to then it is just visible here in the city, to then it isjust a visible here in the city, to then it is just a waste of money. visible here in the city, to then it isjust a waste of money. we have heard it is already bringing jobs here to birmingham and surrounding areas. absolutely, tens of thousands ofjobs and investment is already coming to birmingham and the black country and coventry. the west

midlands meier has been a huge champion of hs2 and this is quite an important political moment because he is the conservative meier of the west midlands, there is a election campaign on now, and he'll be on later today. however his labour opponent has been saying that whoever wins the contract to build the chains, £25 billion worth, must guarantee that those trains are also built in the west midlands. thank you very much. the government confirming the hs2 project today are also unveiling £5 billion today are also unveiling £5 billion to be spent the prime minister is also due to announce money to improve other transport services. mrjohnson is set to pledge £5 billion over the next five years to improve bus and cycling services in england.(read today i am pleased to turn out to say that £5 billion of fresh funding for buses and cycling in every region of the country outside of

london. this is going to be transformative when it comes to local transport links, it will mean more buses for example, higher frequency services, more turn up and go services, it will mean simpler and more affordable fares, in terms of cycle links, 250 miles of new dedicated cycle links. i think these kind of local transport investments are essential too. the shadow transport secretary, andy mcdonald, is at westminster. we are expecting confirmation from the primacy of hs2, what are your about that. that would be the right thing to do but it does not disguise the fact that this government has lost grip of the project over the last ten years. it was initiated by labour in 2009 but i am afraid there has been a complete lack of

leadership since then hence the escalating costs. but it is the right thing to do, we need to get that capacity at least on our conventional rail lines for local, regional and freight, and this is the right way to go about it, it will have that better connection dividend, but also uplift areas of the midlands and the north that people described. so i am fully supportive of it but it must be integrated with northern powerhouse rail or crossrail for the north, whatever you want to call it, it is essential that the two schemes dovetail into one another so we can get the full productivity needed and the benefits. that is an essential pa rt the benefits. that is an essential part of this and i hope the government will publish a report so we can see exactly what it says but ultimately this should be a public railway, it should be run in the public sector, and not simply left open to yet more privatisation and people taking value

out of the system. what you say to the argument that this money, this £100 billion 01’ that this money, this £100 billion or whatever it ends up costing, could be better spent on smaller projects improving existing transport links? well, both have to be done and that is why i am stressing that especially for phase two b it is essential that the connection from crewe to manchester and especially to leeds dovetail into better connections through the midlands and the north and up to the north of england. that is critically important and it isn't an either or choice. we did see that hs2 and crossrail both went ahead and it is essential for both of these to go ahead for the midlands and north to see the benefits. we will also get the shift from not only road to vail but also aviation to veil so we can look back on internal flight as

something from the past. this is how we should be going if we want to deal with congestion and we want to deal with congestion and we want to deal with congestion and we want to deal with the environmental matters of transport. that includes cycling and walking and robust investment for local people. what i was saying about the government today was that that source of investment is paltry and it will not affect the deficits we currently suffer from. there is a lot more to do. we can speak now to matthew fell, chief uk policy director for the cbi, who's in our london newsroom. what are your thoughts? hs2, we understand is getting the go—ahead to finally from the prime minister ata to finally from the prime minister at a huge cost. do you think it is going to regenerate the british economy? this does need to be given the go—ahead by the prime minister and the government today which is good news for business and good news

for the country for many reasons i think. first that point about capacity. it is just a fact that all of our trains today right around the country are full to bursting. the second point is that connectivity just matters. all of our economic insight say that the best way to regenerate the country and to tackle some of the social and regional qualities is to bring people closer together. and also i think confidence matters. we know that we are looking to embark on a decade of jobs and growth in this country and this is a really clear signal that not only levelling up the country matters but the uk is absolutely open for business. what about the costs though? £100 billion that we are told and the slipping timescale. how worried are you about that and that a lot of people are saying this could cost even more and take even longer than is projected at the moment? i think on that point about cost it is clearly important to

remember that clearly this important has to wash its face but the opportunity cost of not moving ahead with the project is even greater than the cost of building, and also we should remember that this is not an investment that is just going to last for decades but actually centuries, so for many many years to come people will be taking advantage of this. and of course critics of the scheme will say it is a white elephant, it is a vanity project, and more than that they are worried about the destruction of large swathes of countryside and beauty spots in england. i think on that point about the environment it is worth remembering that there are significant mitigation gone into the project to make sure that it causes the minimum disruption possible but even more than that i would say we know that we have got a massive job to do in this country to decarbonise oui’ to do in this country to decarbonise our economy in many, many ways and that includes transport, so moving across to lower carbon forms of

transport, which hs2 is, will help to make that a reality and add the capacity that will get freight and ca i’s capacity that will get freight and ca rs off capacity that will get freight and cars off the roads and onto our rail systems. so there are many benefits as well as those challenges which we need to mitigate. many thanks for being with us but we are expecting the announcement finally from the prime minister giving the go—ahead tohs prime minister giving the go—ahead to h s two prime minister giving the go—ahead to h stwo in prime minister giving the go—ahead to h s two in the comments at around lunchtime. meanwhile, work here in birmingham continues apace as he hs to create this new station in curzon street, a vital part of the project as it gets up and running, but of course the whole project at the moment is not scheduled to be finalised until 2040. actually in the studio. the headlines on bbc news:

the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government — the prime minister will address parliament at 12.30 a transport overhaul — the government is pledging five billion pounds to buses and cycle links across england. the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve walsh from hove says he's made a full recovery. manchester united have applied to install safe standing rail seating at old trafford. a trial for around 1500 fans could take place later in the season. former celtic captain and dundee united manager jackie mcnamara is ill in hospital. he collapsed at his home in york at the weekend. and shauna coxsey will represent team gb in sport climbing at the olympics. she said it was a privilege to compete for her country in the sport's debut at tokyo 2020. join me again at 11:30am for a full round up.

the british man who contracted the coronavirus in singapore and then infected 11 people has said he's fully recovered and that his thoughts are with the other patients. steve walsh from hove in east sussex says that as soon as he knew he'd been exposed to the virus he contacted his gp, nhs111 and public health england and followed their advice. as we mentioned, mr walsh, caught the virus while on business in singapore he then travelled to a french ski resort, where he is thought to have infected 11 others while he was not symptomatic. five of the cases linked to mr walsh are in england, five are in france and one is in mallorca, spain. it takes the total number of people infected in the uk to eight. two of the new uk cases are understood to be gps, one of whom works at the county 0ak medical centre, in brighton, east sussex. speaking to my colleage joanna gosling a short time ago, health minister caroline dineage said the public should be re—assured

that the government are well prepared to deal with coronavirus. i think that the nhs and public health england are really prepared for this sort of thing. when i was an education minister two or three yea rs an education minister two or three years ago i had to sit on a practice run for years ago i had to sit on a practice runfora years ago i had to sit on a practice run for a widespread potential virus, just to see how every element of government would work in such a case, so every part of the government is ready, public health england have been tracking down, well over a thousand people have been tested, and nhs england is very prepared to deal with the consequences. and you know, my boss at hancock has made additional regulations available so we can make people quarantined if necessary. we are taking every step in the public need to be reassured about that. welljames waterhouse is live for us in brighton.

we understand that two branches of the same gp surgery and i were affected by this. is that correct? that is exactly right, so we are actually at the surgery which is a mile and a half on the county medical centre which first underwent this extensive cleaning process on monday warning. it has been a bit of a strange morning when patients and staff were turning up frustrated at the lack of information and were wondering over their personal safety. then word came out that this centre had actually closed a mile and a half away, it sits over a block of flats as well. and this is all coming in the wake of the new cases of coronavirus that happened yesterday. what you get a sense of it is the localised fight that has happened here to try to can train the coronavirus. two of the new cases are known to be gps and we know that at least one of them works in the centre is here. information is trickling through what we do have

more information on the businessman who has been named at the heart of the spread, steve walsh, who has given a statement saying he would like to thank the nhs for their help and care, and while i am fully recovered my thoughts and prayers are with others who have contracted coronavirus. when the diagnosis was confirmed i was sent to an isolation unit in hospital, where i remain, and asa unit in hospital, where i remain, and as a precaution my family was also asked to isolate themselves. he thanks friends and colleagues for his support and asked the media to respect his privacy. so this is what is going on in brighton, the media are keeping a wary eye on the contacts with those people in the ski resort after the trip to singapore, and will be very keen for it not to spread further. you talked about the local effort to contain the virus and prevent its spread. the zoom oblivious gps have had quite a few

contact —— presumably these gps have had quite a few contact with patients. have you any idea on what has been done to contain this? i think on the ground level it is being coming down to earth sign on the door. patients are being urged to contact nhs111. there was a real area of confusion and then you would house staff members as well who would turn up to a small surgery in a pocket of brighton to find it surrounded by news cameras and with a sign on the door saying the city is locked so there is a certain delay in information getting down, but the surgeries have issued a statement saying that they have carried out this clean of all surfaces and the wider surgery to protect both patients and pharmacists and medical staff as that is their priority. we know in the case of the county 0ke

centre that this has been done and we have seen patients going in and out now but it is quiet here and for a very good reason, as we understand that same process is going to happen here. thank you very much. a flight deporting 17 jamaican born offenders has left the uk despite a last minute legal challenge. last night a court ruled that 25 other detainees should not leave the country over concerns that mobile phone problems had stopped them from having access to legal advice. the government this morning has disputed this. critics say the deportations are unfairly sending some potential minor offenders back to a country they haven't lived in since they were young children. the home office says it makes "no apology for trying to protect the public from serious, violent and persistent foreign national offenders." well i'm joined now in the studio by our community affairs correspondent, adina campbell so, in edina, what do we know about

the people who have gone on this flight the people who have gone on this flight and weren't removed? well there have been conflicting reports all morning but in the last few minutes we had just found out that 17 people were in fact deported to jamaica earlier this morning. 25 people are still in the uk and they are court orders going through to see whether or not they may be deported at a later date. as i said, this has been a very confusing picture over the last few hours because there were last—minute attem pts because there were last—minute attempts last night with legal applications going through to stop some individuals from leaving the uk, so let me bring you a timeline of where we have at the moment. yesterday i spent the day at the high courtand yesterday i spent the day at the high court and basics pm we knew that some of the applications had been refused to stop some individuals being taken on that flight. -- individuals being taken on that flight. —— my 6pm, then by 9p and a second application was taken to show

that some of those applications have been successful. this was because some of the parties being held in some of the parties being held in some deportation centres did not have access to a working mobile phone which did which meant they did not have access to legal advice. a second hearing will be held. what is the update? we make no apology ever for seeking to remove serious foreign national offenders and will be urgently appealing. these people have committed serious offenders, offences such as class a drug dealing. that is the home office statement. at present we know that at the moment 17 people and i will not flight to jamaica and 21tp more people could be sent to jamaica. the government is saying that the people it is looking at in terms of those

it is looking at in terms of those it has deported should not be co nflated it has deported should not be conflated with the windrush generation, this is a real point of controversy isn't it? yes, the timing of this according to some campaigners and the family of some of these people does not look good because it is less than two years since first scale of the wind was scandal was first reviewed and we still have not had that government review. there was a leaked document last week recommending that these deportation flights should not happen, but before the windrush scandal these flights were routine and happened on a regular basis, there was in fact one last february. i there was in fact one last february. , but there home office has been very clear that these are serious offenders who have committed serious offences and some of them are being deported back to jamaica. . we begin this hour with breaking news that police in northern ireland investigating the murder ofjournalist lyra mckee say they have arrested 4 men.

ms mckee was shot dead in the creggan area of londonderry on the 18 april last year. the four men aged 20, 27, 29 and 52 were arrested in derry this morning. those arrests have been made under the terrorism act after the new ira claimed responsibility for ms mckee's murder. final results from the irish republic's general election show that sinn fein have only narrowly missed out on becoming the largest party in parliament. they won 37 seats, one behind fianna fail, while fine gael have 35. the sinn fein president, mary lou mcdonald, says she is talking to other left—wing parties about a coalition, as she believes she should become the new prime minister: now it's time for a look at the weather. no sooner have we finished talking about skier that there is a new storm on the block. storm gen x has now been named by

the met office —— storm dennis has now been named by the met office. we will expect snow on southern uplands and blizzard —like conditions into the evening rush hour. it is certainly very brisk wherever you are across the country, even when you have the drier brighter weather towards the south and there is a loss of wind into day's temperatures to come highs of up to 12 celsius. it is a slightly quieter day of weather tomorrow morning, some snow across the highlands and perhaps the pennines as well, then in the south—west of england there will be some showers moving across south wales and perhaps the midlands too. quieter tomorrow, the wind will be lighter and it won't feel quite so chilly but there will be some more stormy weather coming our way as we head through

the rest of the week.

the headlines on bbc news: the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government — the prime minister will address parliament at 12.30 the government is to pledge £5bn to buses and cycle links across england but labour says it's not enough to reverse years the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve walsh from hove says he's made a full recovery. and as the coronavirus death toll hits 1,000, the world health organization begins a two—day meeting to speed up research. police investigating the murder of the journalist lyra mckee in londonderry arrest four men. the arrests have been made under the terrorism act. the new ira admitted

responsibilty for the killing in april last year. a deportation flight to jamaica has left the uk despite a last—minute legal challenge, downing street has confirmed 17 people have been deported. anything sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's ben croucher. good morning manchester united have applied to install rail seating for up to one thousand five hundred spectators at old trafford. all premier league grounds have to be all—seater as a result of the hillsborough disaster but the government has stated it will work with fans and clubs on safe standing. united made a request to introduce rail seating in december and a trial is likely to take place later this season. this is one further step in the process and clubs are, as we've seen what they are not allowed to do yet

is operate those areas is free standing areas. it is a bit of a sherrard at the moment and we would like to see that swept away. i have been told by my expert that these seats make spectators safer. jurgen klinsmann has stepped down as hertha berlin's interim head coach after just 10 weeks in charge. the former united states manager was named hertha's boss until the end of the season back in november, but they've won just three of klinsmann's nine league matches in charge and are 14th in the german bundesliga. one of the greatest footballers of all time — pele — is reluctant to leave his house and is unable to walk unaided — according to his son. the brazilian is 79 now and has had hip problems for some time — needing a frame to walk. his son edinho told brazilian tv his father is fragile and his mobility issues have made him reclusive and set off a kind of depression. the former celtic captain jackie mcnamara is in hospital after collapsing at home

in york at the weekend. his former celtic team—mate, john hartson, has written on social media saying that mcnamara collapsed on saturday following a bleed on the brain. mcnamara won 33 scotland caps during his career, and also played for aberdeen, wolves, falkirk and dunfermline. well jackie mcnamara's daughter has written a message on his twitter account. she says her dad is recieving the best care possible, and it's a difficult time for theirfamily. shauna coxey has been selected to represent team gb in sport climbing in this year's 0lympics. the event is making is debut in tokyo and coxsey — who won two bronze medals at the world championships last year — is the first british athlete confirmed for the games. she said it was a privilege joining so many talented athletes on the team. rory mcilroy has returned to the top of golf‘s world rankings for the first time since september 2015. it brings an end to brooks koepka's 38—week reign at the top... the northern irishman moving back to number one due to the two—year rolling format of the

ranking system. he's led in a most the statistics, he won the fedex cup last year, he played really well, unfortunately for him, his worst performances were in the majors. golfers like tennis, there are four majors and that is what your career will be looked upon. rory knows this but i think he wa nted upon. rory knows this but i think he wanted to up his consistency and he has done. the problem is, he needs the masters and if he wins that, he gets the grand slam he gets all four of them. that's a lot of pressure, the first major of the year is the masters. can he do it? day two of the welsh 0pen snooker is under way with a host of players aiming to join world champion judd trump in round two. trump avoided an upset to james cahill — easing through by four frames to one in cardiff. mark williams, ding junhui and mark selby are also through — although selby critised the scheduling as his match finished near to midnight. and you can watch live coverage

of the tournament this week on bbc two wales. you can also follow it on the iplayer and red button along with the bbc sport website. coverage starts today at one with ronnie 0'sullivan against zhang jiankang. lots more on our website and app. i'll be back again at around 12:15. thank you anita, we are expecting to hear from the thank you anita, we are expecting to hearfrom the prime minister in thank you anita, we are expecting to hear from the prime minister in the next hour confirming that hs2, after all the arguments and debates will be getting the go—ahead from the government. that high—speed link between london and birmingham and manchester and leeds, here in birmingham, this is the hs2 construction site at the station that the trains will come in and out of. curzon street in the centre of birmingham, you can see the work under way, just behind me, the

diggers, and this was a station in birmingham dating back to the 1830s so using this shell of the old station building as part of the new project. of course, we have heard so many stories about the ballooning costs of hs2 and estimates that in the end it could cost more than hundred billion pounds and not be ready until 201i0, lets get the thoughts of one expert, nigel harris. it has been mired in politics and of course, emotion as well, but if you strip them away, this is absolutely the right decision, we desperately need that capacity. we would have to close our main lines every weekend for 25 years to do an upgrade on the existing network and you wouldn't get the same capacity increase that hs2 can give us. £36 billion was the original cost, it went to the mid 40s and then the mid—50s, because of treasury contingencies and the way the treasury insists on putting these contingencies in.

we've got the mad contracting policy whereby the government is asking those who are building this railway to take the 30 year liability on it and that has added about a third to the cost and what the report is saying is that if we do not do something on phases 2a and 2b to manchester and leeds, then it could reach £106 billion, but if government was to drop that mad contracting policy, it has added £30 billion to the project as a whole. billions of pounds of extra costs would fall away. that was nigel harris. not only on the grounds of cost, but on environmental grounds is it opposed. they say that this project will devastate a swathes of the english countryside, and natural beauty spots. we have been talking to

jonathan bartley, spots. we have been talking to jonathan ba rtley, the spots. we have been talking to jonathan bartley, the co—leader of the green party. wejust think this is the wrong project, it was dropped out of the sky in 2009, saying it would be a cost of £7 billion, that has absolutely ballooned out of all proportion, now we know there will be widespread environmental destruction, over 100 ancient woodlands destroyed, lord berkeley, the deputy chair of the review which is about to report on which the prime minister will base his decision has pointed out that this is likely to lead to increased airport expansion at manchester and birmingham. this is not the way to move to the low—carbon economy, the £100 billion that should be spent, should be borrowed to invest in a complete upgrade of all of the uk's transport infrastructure, including electrifying rail lines, putting in new freight lines, renewing and expanding existing capacity right around the country. jonathan bartley there, the co—leader of the green party. let's talk about the politics of all of this with borisjohnson expected to

make the announcement confirming hs do quite shortly, let's go to iain watson our political correspondent. ian, plenty of opposition within the tory party, and indeed within downing street to the hs2 project? that's right, he has had lots of difficulties, he will make the statement in around 45 minutes, as you say, not only division in his own party, but some of his senior in visors are opposed to the decision as well, or are very sceptical as well that it should go ahead and thatis well that it should go ahead and that is one of the reasons why it has been... there is certainly a bizarre comment from his chief adviser dominic cummins who suggested that a cartoon character might doa suggested that a cartoon character

might do a betterjob than mps. mps in conservative party members have been talking this morning. david simmons who is a local councillor for the area has been very sceptical of this, for you this is very real if this goes ahead. h52 comes out of the ground in my constituency and there are families who have lost businesses, who have lost land, some who face imminent damage to their lives because of this decision going ahead and it is clear that the conduct of hs2 limited has been poon conduct of hs2 limited has been poor, lack of compensation being paid ina poor, lack of compensation being paid in a timely manner, the lack of sensitivity, there are more than 50,000 schoolchildren who are directly affected by hs2 construction so as a minimum we want

to make sure we have a regulator who it can be held to account for the damage they are doing to the environment and making sure... you are talking about regulating hs2, you must be disappointed, with details of the draft review, that the prime minister... people have lived with the threat of this in my area, we have seen lived with the threat of this in my area, we have seen massive destruction already because of the work hs2 has been doing to prepare the construction route and the land that they have been taking away from families who have owned that for a long time in order to prepare the ground i am regretful the prime minister didn't listen and it affects his constituents as well, but we need to make sure that in the interests of those residents, we protect them as far as we can, and damage to local water supplies is absolutely minimised and we need to make sure the hs to take

those things seriously and see a real change in the approach to this so that resident concerns are rightly addressed. there will be an opportunity... from the meeting you had with your colleagues today, is borisjohnson had with your colleagues today, is boris johnson likely to be facing his first rebellion? northern collea g u es his first rebellion? northern colleagues have mixed feelings about the northern route as well, many of us see the northern route as well, many of us see it as damaging as it is in my constituency and not bringing any direct benefit to local residents either, so they will be making that case strongly. what frustrates me is that there are people in my constituency who have been promised that they would be given proper support and protection, they have not received that from hs2 limited andi not received that from hs2 limited and i want to make sure that happens now. finally, are you expecting any kind of rebellion tomorrow and

what key demands are you making, you have already mentioned regulation of hs2 but what would you like the prime minister's transport secretary to do? if there is another vote on the london euston to birmingham roots that go through my constituency i would vote against that. we are told they will not be a vote, so we are going to be pressing that and we are told there may be a new hs to minister with specific responsibility for these issues to make sure my constituents are treated as favourably as possible. thank you very much, the recently elected mp for his constituency. he is opposed to it, but he won't have an opportunity to vote on that. the question is, will be see a wide rebellion on this? we will hear from the prime minister later

on, and we had a few words with dominic cummings this morning, and this is what he said, this is how he, shall we say expressed his scepticism. in the past you've called hs2 a disaster zone and an error so why is it going ahead? the night time is the right time to fight crime — i can't think of a rhyme... have you lost your influence now, is that the case, or have you just changed your mind on hs2? i think we need pj masks on thejob. is itjust a plan to win over northern voters, just to satisfy them? pj masks they're your guys. a comment on the cabinet reshuffle? pj masks could do a betterjob than all of them put together. so there you are, it's official, the superhero pj masks could do a better job than the cabinet put together, i think a few members around the

cabinet table might be worried about that verdict because there is a reshuffle that verdict because there is a res huffle o n that verdict because there is a reshuffle on thursday. ian, thank you very much indeed... extremely blustery there where ben is in birmingham, idon't blustery there where ben is in birmingham, i don't know if that is anything to do with the sound problems there. apologies, hopefully we can get back to him in a little bit. but before all of that lets me bring you some other news and one thatis that is weather—related. four people were rescued from ben nevis while trying to climb the scottish mountain during blizzard conditions — with no climbing equipment. lochaber mountain rescue team said the four people ‘were lucky to be alive' after finding them on steep ice, and taking them to hospital via helicopter. in a moment we'll have

all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government — the prime minister will address parliament at half past twelve a transport overhaul — the government is pledging five billion pounds to buses and cycle links across england. the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve walsh from hove says he's made a full recovery. hello, i'm ben thompson. the uk economy ground to a halt in the final three months of last year as manufacturing shrank for the third quarter in a row. the zero rate of growth comes after a volatile year — with repeated delays to brexit, car factory shutdowns, a lack of business investment, and stockpiling for a possible no deal brexit. frictionless trade with the eu will end this year and border checks are "inevitable", according to the government. when the brexit transition period ends in december, businesses are likely to face extra

costs from checks, and an industry body has warned the changes could hit food imports. the unite trade union says the move will have disastrous consequences. the government is considering taking a stake in troubled airline flybe. ministers are in talks with flybe and the european commission to ensure any rescue deal does not break state aid rules. officials say support given to flybe so far, such as a pledge to cut tax on some domestic routes, are industry—wide measures. we'll start with more on the flatlining of growth for the uk economy in the final three months of last year, gdp in the october to december period was the same as the previous quarter according to the office for national statistics‘. that's down from the 0.5% growth reported in the previous three months. what does this tell us about the economy is

headed ? what does this tell us about the economy is headed? sarah kieran is chief economist at standard chartered bank. give us a sense of what got us to this point? let's look at what is behind the numbers. consumption was very weak, business investment fell again but there was a big boost from government spending and some positives from trade, so the backdrop is not particularly good for the whole quarter. at the same time, if we look at december alone, there were signs of life in the economy, the growth rate did pick up and surveys that we have had since then, the january suggests a big bounce in services and to a certain extent manufacturing as well. very in the fourth quarter, but there are some signs of recovery in the data that we have so far this year. we should remember of course

that this is a backward —looking indicator, it's an assessment of what has already happened. this get is on to where we are now. what are you seeing for the first part of this year? growth should be positive and the question is how far this bounce in sentiment that we have seen over bounce in sentiment that we have seen over the past few weeks how far that continues into the rest of the year, we did have some slightly disappointing spending data overnight so we are not out of the woods yet and i think that the uncertainty that has held back investment for the last few years now, it doesn't seem as if that uncertainty will be going away, we have the trade negotiations this year. at the same time, new budgets next month, spending promises, those should be positive and we are seeing some signs of activity for example in the housing market which has been very wea k in the housing market which has been very weak over the past year.

in the housing market which has been very weak over the past yearlj wa nted very weak over the past yearlj wanted to ask you about that because we have had a statement from sergey javid this morning because he said in his budget today he sets out how we will move forward, how we will empower people in business so that eve ryo ne empower people in business so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive. that is quite ambitious and it isa thrive. that is quite ambitious and it is a claim he will need to deliver in that budget. what can he do? there have been some rumours about tax cuts, we know there will be additional spending that played out last year and spending in particular on infrastructure and investment. the issue with that is that it doesn't generally deliver growth in a hurry so while it may be goodin growth in a hurry so while it may be good in the long term, we may not see the positive impact this year so let's see what comes out in march. certainly it should be supportive to the economy, whether it can counter the economy, whether it can counter the headwinds on uncertainty over our trade relations with the eu this

time next year, that is the question. i'm sure we'll talk about it again sarah. you very much. let's have a look what's going on with the numbers there. the ftse100 up.jd with the numbers there. the ftse100 up. jd sports is 3% higher. the watchdog warned that its takeover of its rival foot asylum could be blocked. jd says that that is forward and in its words lost sight... so quite a spat going on between jd sports sight... so quite a spat going on betweenjd sports and foot sight... so quite a spat going on between jd sports and foot asylum. more from us in

the next hour. as well as giving the go—ahead to hs2, the prime minister is also due to announce money to improve other transport services. borisjohnson is set to pledge £5bn over the next five years to improve bus and cycling services in england. the prime minister is expected to promise passengers outside london a more frequent service with simpler fares. there will be new priority routes and thousands of "zero—emission" 0n cycling, mrjohnson is due to promise to create 250 miles of new cycle paths and to make cycling safer in towns by expanding projects dubbed "mini holland" schemes.but labour has called the plans "unambitious" and says the funding is nowhere near enough to make the difference that transport users, the economy or environment need. let's get more now on today's expected transport announcements. as well as the news that the whole of hs2 is expected to get the go—ahead, borisjohnson is also expected to pledge £5 billion pounds for bus and cycling services in england over the next five years.

we can speak now to tom forth, who's head of data at the open data institute, leeds. he's in our salford studio.(0s) we have to be sceptical of promises of money. £5 million over five years isa of money. £5 million over five years is a billion a year, that gets us back to the level that we were spending on buses in 2010 so we are currently spending about... this gets us back to where we were in 2010. that is the scale of the money. so you don't sound terribly enthused by that. i think that focusing on buses is the right thing to do, this is the majorform of public transport in our country, it is the right thing to do. putting it in the perspective of replacing cuts that have happened over the last decade is the right way to look at it but there some interesting stuff in there. there are some suggestions of more electric buses, an example of more electric buses, an example of that would be in harrogate, harrogate buses have been running electric buses for a while now,

they are electric buses for a while now, they a re really electric buses for a while now, they are really popular with customers, we've seen an are really popular with customers, we've seen an increase are really popular with customers, we've seen an increase in user ship. the scale of it is what's important though. you say that they offer a real choice to consumers who do want to help the environment then? definitely. 0ne to help the environment then? definitely. one of the biggest things that we can do as individuals to be better to the environment is to be better to the environment is to use our cars less. buses are the number one alternative to the car, for most people the bus is the way that they get in and out of towns and cities and improving those services is absolutely the right way to go. we've seen a lot of ambition from english cities already to improve their public transport, and it is good to see central government back that a bit and hopefully they will get alongside and

to deliver real improvement. we often see bus service in the rest of england compared unfavourably to bus services in london which are subsidised, so do you think elsewhere in england this planning will get anywhere close to emulating that kind of service in terms of the frequency, accessibility and so on? i don't think you will ever have the same frequency of services in rural england as in central london or central manchester, it's just a function of the density of population. the way that buses are run in greater london is different to the rest of england but there was a law that was passed in 2017 which allowed big cities to run their bus services in the same way as the mayor of greater london can run services there, that is being consulted on in greater manchester as we speak and there is real hope that, at least in the english cities and towns around them,

we might see quality of bus services approaching that of london in the next five yea rs, that of london in the next five years, i hope this hope of that happening now. we see these announcements today as a bigger picture, a step in the right direction do you think? definitely, but one worry i have is that buses are inherently a localform of transport, a bus in greater manchester doesn't go to leeds or liverpool or birmingham and central government announcing from whitehall and westminster what they want to happen in bolton doesn't feel like the right scale of decision to me so, if the money is used to support local government to deliver better bus services and better walking and cycling routes that's brilliant. if we command and control england's bus services from a bunker in westminster, we are not going to have a great outcome so i hope that the power and the money is devolved

to the places where buses are running and people know what needs improving. thank you very much tom. very interesting. the british artist david hockney‘s famous painting "the splash" is to go on auction this evening. the 1966 painting is the second in a series of three "splashes" and it is thought that it could go for between £20—30 million pounds — more than six times the price when it was auctioned in 2006 — 2.9 million pounds. the contemporary art correspondent for the art newspaper, louisa black, told me what's behind the price increase. sorry, we don't have that interview for you, hopefully we can get that next hour. now it's time for a look at the weather

with elizabeth rizzini that's right, we have stormed dennis to look forward to, some more destructive weather on the way. to start the day today, we have lots of localised weather warnings out there, and amber weather warning for snow issue for the southern uplands later this afternoon, that could be quite a lot of heavy snow falling on a short space of time so possibly a knock—on effect for the central belt of scotland, these wintry showers piling in on a very cold and brisk north—westerly wind. very blustery towards north—western areas of scotland, northern ireland and northern england, gusts of up to 60 or 70 northern england, gusts of up to 60 or70 mph and northern england, gusts of up to 60 or 70 mph and further wintry showers as we head through the afternoon. strong gusts of wind even in the south, but some dry and bright weather, a drier day than we saw yesterday. with wind—chill factor, temperatures between four and eight celsius. do look out for some

blizzard —like conditions over the southern uplands as we head into rush hour. there will be more accumulations of snow, possibly some drifting snow, wintry showers will continue. further south it is a drier picture, some icy stretches into tomorrow morning, temperatures dripping very close to freezing. tomorrow, a slightly quieter day, showers towards north—western areas of scotla nd showers towards north—western areas of scotland and also shouldn't showers creeping into the south—west of england and the midlands but elsewhere, mostly dry, some brightness, some sunshine and lighter winds than the last couple of days so it won't feel quite so chilly. you can just of days so it won't feel quite so chilly. you canjust see of days so it won't feel quite so chilly. you can just see this of days so it won't feel quite so chilly. you canjust see this rain creeping into south—western areas of england by the end of the day on wednesday and here it comes, another low pressure system bringing some strong winds and more

rain through thursday. maybe even some snow falling, but some uncertainty regarding that forecast. perhaps some snow on thursday for some of us, by the time we get to friday, some rain for the north but a quieter day for southern areas. 0n saturday, we have our next storm, after store after storm ciara, we have stormed dennis. keep an eye on that on the website.

you're watching bbc newsroom live. i'm ben brown, live in birmingham. the main stories this morning: the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government. the prime minister will make a statement shortly. labour say there's been a lack of political leadership. we are expecting the green light for the entire project and that would be the entire project and that would be the right thing to do but that does not disguise the fact that this government has lost grip of the project over the last ten years. a transport overhaul — the government is pledging

£5 billion to buses and cycle links across england. there is all sorts of investment we needin there is all sorts of investment we need in transport infrastructure across the country and i have long said that successive governments have not invested enough. i'm annita mcveigh — the other main stories this hour: the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve walsh from hove says he's made a full recovery. and as the coronavirus death toll hits 1,000, the world health organization begins a two—day meeting to speed up research. police investigating the murder of the journalist lyra mckee in londonderry arrest four men. a deportation flight to jamaica has left the uk despite a last—minute legal challenge. 17 people have been deported.

good afternoon and welcome to birmingham. i'm here at curzon street, the first planned new station on hs2's route. so the trains from london, the high—speed link from london to birmingham, will come into curzon street and eventually they will also be the hs2 link up to manchester and leeds as well and the ultimate date for all of that conflation is 2040. estimates of the cost of hs2 have ranged up to and above £100 billion but the prime minister borisjohnson is going to give the go—ahead for the project in the commons in a statement in about half an hour's time. supporters of the project say it will regenerate the british

economy and also rebalance the british economy so that the north of england will get better dividends thanit england will get better dividends than it does at the moment, but opponents say that it is not only a spiralling mushroom in cost but there is also the issue with the environment and that hs2 will devastate ancient woodlands and natural beauty spot in england. let us natural beauty spot in england. let us get this report now for our transport correspondence. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge reports. from euston in central london to west london, through counties like warwickshire and up to birmingham, work to prepare the ground for the first stretch of a high—speed railway has been going on for years. here in solihull, they're diverting a road over the m42 to make way for the railway. the amount of work going on here, building a new bridge, diverting a road over a motorway, gives you a sense of why it has always been hard to imagine that the government might scrap this project, particularly the first stretch of it, running from here in the west

midlands down to london. gordon brown was in charge when the project was conceived a decade ago. the time for high—speed rail has come. 0ther prime ministers have given it their backing. today, borisjohnson will, too. he'll back the whole project — a y—shaped railway. the latter phase linking birmingham to manchester and leeds will be reviewed to try and cut costs. but it will go ahead. hs2 is needed, say supporters, because our railways are overcrowded. but the high—speed vision, this is what they hope birmingham station will look like, comes with a high price tag, which has risen and risen. 0riginally, it was expected that hs2 would cost £36 billion. that figure then rose to £56 billion. but last summer, hs2 ltd admitted up to £88 billion was needed.

it's just an estimate, some believe the project could cost up to £106 billion. shouting: h52, we don't want you! as the budget has gone up, so did support for those saying the whole thing should be scrapped. but work on the first stretch of the railway is so well advanced that ultimately the government decided its best option was to keep digging. tom burridge, bbc news in the west midlands. certainly hs2 workers i have been talking to here in birmingham i believe that the prime minister has given the final go—ahead. i have also been talking to labour the shadow transport secretary, andy mcdonald, says giving the project the green light would be the right thing to

do. this government has lost grip of the project over the last ten years. it was initiated by labour in 2009 but i am afraid there has been a complete lack of leadership since then hence the escalating costs. but it is the right thing to do, we need to get that capacity at least on our conventional rail lines for local, regional and freight, and this is the right way to go about it, it will have that better connection dividend, but also uplift the areas of the midlands and the north in the way that people described. so i am fully supportive of it but it must be integrated with northern powerhouse rail or crossrail for the north, whatever you want to call it, it is essential that the two schemes dovetail into one another so we can get the full productivity needed and the benefits. that is an essential part of this and i hope the government will publish a report so we can see exactly what it says but ultimately this should be a public railway, it should be run in the public sector, and not simply left open to yet more privatisation and people taking value

out of the system. so so that is labour's view of the government announcement on hs2. the government announcement on hs2. the government were also pledging to spend £5 billion over the next ten years improving cycle links and also bus services around england. promising passengers outside london a more frequent service with simplerfares. with me is maria machancoses, director of midlands connect, which brings together local authorities, government agencies and business to consider the best transport options for the region. borisjohnson is boris johnson is going borisjohnson is going to give hs2 the green light, what is your reaction to that? today's reaction for the prime minister to give

haters to the full go—ahead is extremely important and much welcomed by everybody here in the midlands. we can actually now get on with construction, celebrate all the regeneration that is also happening here in the west midlands and also go with confidence moving into stoke, taunton, into stoke, staffordshi re stoke, taunton, into stoke, staffordshire and beyond so that we can plan ahead and work with all cities and make sure that h reaches out to everybody. so you think you are getting that certainty with the prime minister's announcement today? yes, it is certainly important to get that full support for the whole cross. “— get that full support for the whole cross. —— for the whole prospect. today we had a review and we will be very clear here in the midlands to engage fully with that view. there are engage fully with that view. there a re clever proposals

engage fully with that view. there are clever proposals for integrating hs2 into the wider network and that is what we will be calling on the government to supporters with. you have talked about the economic benefits but what about the cost of this whole scheme as we have just heard on that report? it could be something like £100 billion, it could be more than that ultimately, it won't be ready until 2040 and then there are the environmental costs, lots of sways of the english countryside may be destroyed. that is why we were keen to hear what the government had been advised. we know very well but government moving forward is going to have to keep a close control and cost but we will also need to put equal effort into selling this project to the country and understanding the much wider benefits that it will bring to towns and cities across the uk. good to talk to you, thank you very much indeed, a transport advisory group

here. we are expecting that long—awaited historic announcement from borisjohnson long—awaited historic announcement from boris johnson in long—awaited historic announcement from borisjohnson in the commons in the next few minutes and it is a decision to give the green light to hstwo decision to give the green light to h s two despite the opposition of some tory mps, despite the opposition of some cabinet ministers and members of his own advisers in downing street two, borisjohnson has decided to give the go—ahead to and will listen to them in the colin —— and we will listen to him in the commons later today. back to neat in the studio. lets go back to annita in the studio. the british man who contracted the coronavirus in singapore and then infected 11 people says he's fully recovered and that his thoughts are with the other patients. steve walsh from hove, near brighton, is still in quarantine isolation,

and says that as soon as he knew he'd been exposed to the virus he contacted his gp, nhs111 and public health england and followed their advice. in a statement he said... as i mentioned, mrwalsh, caught the virus while on business in singapore, he then travelled to a french ski resort, where he is thought to have infected 11 others. five of the cases linked to mr walsh are in england, five cases are in france and one is in mallorca, spain. it takes the total number of people infected in the uk to eight.

well, two of the new uk cases are understood to be gps, one of whom works at the county 0ak medical centre, in brighton, which has now been closed as a precautionary measure, along with its neighbouring pharmacy, where staff in protective clothing have been seen disenfecting the premises this morning. and our correspondent james waterhouse is at another gp surgery in north brighton which has also been closed to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. that is exactly right, so we are actually at the surgery which is a mile and a half on the county medical centre which first underwent this extensive cleaning process on monday morning. it has been a bit of a strange morning when patients and staff were turning up frustrated at the lack of information and were wondering over their personal safety. then word came out that this centre had actually closed a mile and a half away, it sits over a block of flats as well. and this is all coming in the wake of the new cases of coronavirus that happened yesterday. what you get a sense

of here is the localised fight that has happened here in this pocket of north brighton to try to contain the coronavirus. two of the new cases are known to be gps and we know that at least one of them works in the centre is here. information is trickling through what we do have more information on the businessman who has been named at the heart of the spread, steve walsh, who has given a statement saying he would like to thank the nhs for their help and care, and while i am fully recovered my thoughts and prayers and while i am fully recovered my thoughts are with others who have contracted coronavirus. so this is what is going on in brighton, the media are keeping a wary eye on the contacts with those people in the ski resort after the trip to singapore, and will be very keen for it not to spread further. 0ur corresponding bare at the other branch of the gp surgery which has now been closed for the time being. james was just mentioning there that the world health organization is involved in a two—day meeting

in geneva also to try to come up with a vaccine to see how it can help speed up vaccine to see how it can help speed upa vaccine to see how it can help speed up a vaccine to deal with coronavirus. )more on today's main stories coming up on newsroom live more on today's main stories coming up on newsroom live here on the bbc news channel, but now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. despite rising public concern, the health minister caroline dineage says here in the uk, people should be re—assured that the government are well prepared to deal with coronavirus. i think that the nhs and public health england are really prepared for this sort of thing. i mean, when i was an education minister two or three years ago i had to sit on a practice run for a widespread potential virus, just to see how every element of government would work in such a case, so every part of the government is ready. public health england have been tracking down...

well over a thousand people have been tested, and nhs england is very prepared to deal with the consequences. and you know, my boss ian hancock has made additional regulations available so we can make people quarantined if necessary. we are taking every step, the public need to be reassured. and you can send in your questions to us on coronavirus for a special edition of ‘your questions answered' on afternoon live — that's coming up on the bbc news channel, just after 2:30pm. send them in on twitter with the hash tag, bbcyourquestions, or email ‘your questions at bbc dot co dot uk‘. the headlines on bbc news... the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government — the prime minister will address parliament shortly. a transport overhaul: the government is pledging five billion pounds to buses and cycle links across

england. the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve walsh from hove says he‘s made a full recovery. just a quick reminder that we are expecting the prime minister to speak at half past 12, coming up in approximately five minutes‘ time, we will try to get as much of the days of the news before then including the sports news. manchester united have applied to install rail seating for up to 1,000 500 spectators at old trafford. all premier league grounds have to be all—seater as a result of the taylor inquiry into the hillsborough disaster but the government has stated it will work with fans and clubs on safe standing. united made a request to introduce rail seating in december and a trial is likely to take place later this season.

this is one further step in the process. clubs like wolves and spurs are now allowed to put in those seats but what they not allowed to do yet it operates those areas as formal standing areas. it is a bit ofa formal standing areas. it is a bit of a show about at the moment and we would like to see that swept away and say yes, i have been told by my experts that the cells of seats makes spectators safer and therefore i will allow the club to use the seats as formal standing areas. afterjust 10 weeks in charge, jurgen klinsmann has resigned as hertha berlin‘s interim head coach. the former united states manager was named hertha‘s boss until the end of the season back in november, but they‘ve won just three of klinsmann‘s nine league matches in charge and are 14th in the german bundesliga. shauna coxey has been selected to represent team gb in sport climbing in this year‘s 0lympics. the event is making is debut in tokyo and coxsey — who won two bronze medals at the world championships last year — is the first british climber confirmed for the games. she said it was a privilege joining so many talented

athletes on the team. wasps director of rugby dai young is to step down from first team duties for an undetermined period. he‘s been in thejob for nearly nine years but the club are currently ninth in the premiership and failed to progress from the groups in the european challenge cup. lee blackett, part of his backroom team, will become interim head coach. mark allen wasted little time in reaching the second round of the welsh 0pen snooker this morning. he made three half century breaks and a 114 break in the fourth frames as he beat andrew higginson 4—1 in cardiff. ronnie 0‘sullivan is in action at1:00pm. you can follow that one bbc two wales, red button iplayer and on the bbc sport website. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more at 1:30 including news on england‘s test squad to tour sri lanka. let‘s go now to the house of commons, wjere the prime minister let‘s go now to the house of commons, where the prime minister

will be making a statement on that big transport announcement on hs2. sajid javid, the chancellor on his feet at the moment has already been talking about it this morning and we will be back with you once that happens of course. a flight deporting 17 jamaican born offenders has left the uk despite a last minute legal challenge. last night a court ruled that 25 other detainees should not leave the country over concerns that mobile phone problems had stopped them from having access to legal advice. the government this morning has disputed this. critics say the deportations are unfairly sending some potential minor offenders back to a country they haven‘t lived in since they were young children. the home office says it makes "no apology for trying to protect the public from serious, violent and persistent foreign national offenders." well our home affairs correspondent adina campbell says the timing of the deporations has raised concern among campaigners especially in the wake of windrush. there have been conflicting reports all morning but in the last few

minutes we have just found out that 17 people were in fact deported to jamaica earlier this morning. 25 people are still in the uk and there are courts orjust going through to see whether or not they may be deported at a later date. as i said, this has been a very confusing picture over the last few hours because they were last—minute attem pts because they were last—minute attempts last night with legal applications going through to try to stop some individuals from leaving the uk. let me bring you a timeline of where we have at the moment. yesterday i spent the day at the high courtand yesterday i spent the day at the high court and by six o‘clock we knew that some legal applications had been refused to try to stop some individuals being taken on that flight. individuals being taken on that flight. then by nine o‘clock a separate court order was filed showing that some applications had been successful and the main reason stipulated in that court order was because some of the deportees being held in some of the detention

centres did not have access to a working mobile phone which meant they could not obtain legal advice. a second hearing is happening in regards to that court order on monday, so they need be deported at a later date. what is the government saying? there has been at the port from the government in the last ten minutes. they say we make no apology for trying to deport serious offenders and we will be appealing. these people have committed serious offences such as rape, manslaughter, and class a drug dealing. we know that there are 25 people still in the uk who could be sent to jamaica ata the uk who could be sent to jamaica at a later date but this morning 17 people are on that flight to jamaica. the government is saying that the people it is looking at in terms of those it wants to deport and has deported, that they shouldn‘t be conflated with the wind

was generation, this is a real point of controversy, isn‘t it? was generation, this is a real point of controversy, isn't it? the timing of controversy, isn't it? the timing of this does not look good and it is raise lots of eyebrows because it is less tha n raise lots of eyebrows because it is less than two years since the scale of the windrush scandal first emerged and we still have not had that the view that the government promised. before the windrush scandal these flights with routine and happened on a regular basis, there flax one last february, but there flax one last february, but the home office has been very clear that these are national offences that these are national offences that what had committed serious offences and some of them today have been deported back to jamaica. let us been deported back to jamaica. let us talk now to the leader of the group ba and ma blows thejustice who were many of their lawyers represent people on the flight. ——

bame lawyers. as some of the people represented by your group? yes they are and we are concerned that some of the people may not have had any access to legal advice at all. in fa ct rea cts access to legal advice at all. in fact reacts absolutely clear that one of them has had no legal advice whatsoever so there are still outstanding issues about the government, ethical, and legal behaviour in relation to some of the people but it got on that flight. i think it is important that people realise that 17 is a big drop down from 50 and that the reassurances that we had in the houses of parliament yesterday from the home secretary pretty patel and the undersecretary is secretary of state from the home office, about all of the people on that plane had their rights and legal protection is upheld, chose to be absolutely unreliable and untrue. of

the group the government wanted to be on that flight the government wanted to be on that flight but weren‘t removed, have you had any contact with them today, given that the government says it is urgently appealing this court reeling. is urgently appealing the court ruling, the government was defeated on appeal yesterday in relation to these matters and we believe that the number of those who are affected were able to resist the government application today but the whole problem in relation to these matters relates to the fundamental unfairness of british immigration policy as it applies to basically african and caribbean people, and indeed some asians. can i establish that they are getting access to legal representation today? some of them are getting access to legal representation today and will be,

are our members will be pursuing, their cases on their behalf throughout the course of today and tomorrow. thank you very much, apologies for the brief interview as we do have to get to the house of commons very we do have to get to the house of commons very soon we do have to get to the house of commons very soon but that was lee jasper from bame lawyers for justice. police in northern ireland investigating the murder ofjournalist lyra mckee — say they have arrested 4 men. ms mckee was shot dead in the creggan area of londonderry on the 18 april last year. the four men aged 20,27, 29 and 52 were arrested in derry this morning. they have been made under the terrorism act after the new ira claimed responsibility for ms mckee‘s murder. just a quick look back to the house of commons where we are expecting the fireman are set to make that announcement on h s two eminently. i think we can see some

images of the prime minister leaving number ten just a few moments a go, a really key announcement for the government given the city is talking about levelling up the country in light of the support it had in the general election from constituencies affected by h s two of own of course not all the mps in all those constituencies support the proposal. we are expecting the announcement imminently. the british artist david hockney‘s famous painting "the splash" is to go on auction this evening. the 1966 painting is the second in a series of three "splashes" and it is thought that it could go for between £20—30 million pounds more than six times the price when it was auctioned in 2006 for £2.9 million. melanie gerlis is from the art

newspaper. why such a huge difference in the place in a relatively slow period of time? it does seem hugely bore in the past few years we have seen a huge amount of global wealth creation and without the art market has grown enormously in certain well—known artists including david hockney have seen their value shoot up. the great thing about david hockney is the first and foremost he isa hockney is the first and foremost he is a great painter but has such international appeal. he is a national treasure in the uk but also popular in the us. it will be a private buyer almost certainly. what was going through hockney‘s mind when he was producing this work?|j think when he was producing this work?” think that is partly the appeal, it isa think that is partly the appeal, it is a painting of such joy, think that is partly the appeal, it is a painting of suchjoy, it is about a young gay man here in the

19605 about a young gay man here in the 1960s left the about a young gay man here in the 19605 left the uk about a young gay man here in the 1960s left the uk and found a place in california that was sunnier and more liberal than anywhere he had been before, and that was the same year he met the great love of his life. one is in the tate and that is ina life. one is in the tate and that is in a private collection, and of course you talk about global wealth creation and that is driving the increase in the prices paid for pieces like this, but do you hope the public will have access to this after the auction tonight, that is do you hope that it ends up in a museum where people see it?” do you hope that it ends up in a museum where people see it? i think the lovely thing is those are not mutually exclusive, you could get bought by a private buyer who then loa ns bought by a private buyer who then loans it to a museum so i think that would be the ideal solution. we will see whether it reaches that price of between £20 million and £30 million tonight at sotheby‘s. now for the weather

forecast. winter has been making a bit of a splash across the north of the uk. today we are going to see further wintry showers and we have even seen some snow further wintry showers and we have even seen some snow mixed in with the showers across the millers of south—west england and the salsbury planes. it stays very windy with gusts around coastal areas in excess of 60 miles an hour at times, so windy and blustery, those strong winds will blow those wintry showers through. tonight we are going to obviously see the temperatures drop but that increases the risk of seeing snow problems across this pa rt seeing snow problems across this part of scotland where the met 0ffice have issued in number weather warning. we are likely to see a lot of disruption, as much as ten centimetres of snow across this part of this world, leading to some rather icy conditions tonight particularly across northern areas.

that is the latest weather.

hello this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines. the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government. the prime minister is due to make a statement imminently. labour says there‘s been a lack of political leadership. we are expecting the green light for the entire project and that would be the right thing to do, but it doesn‘t disguise the fact that this government has lost grip of the project over the last ten years. a transport overhaul — the government is pledging £5 bn to buses and cycle links across england but labour says it‘s not enough to reverse years of under—investments and cuts. let‘s go now to the house of commons, were the prime minister is making a statement on that big transport announcement on hs2. there are all sorts of reasons

mr speaker why the city in which we now sit is the most productive region in the whole of europe. the agglomeration of talents and above all we have a mass transit system that everyday conveys millions of people efficiently and affordably with tubes, trains and 8600 buses into the central activity zone in the morning and out in the evening like the respiration of some vast undersea monster. as the public transport network has expanded the last 50 years, it has brought hope and opportunity and job prospects to people growing up in every part of this city and beyond. it is the ambition of this government to employ that same utensil, fantastic transport infrastructure to unite and level up across the whole country and of course, there is far more to do in london and the present

mayor should be so shaken out of its complacency. but there is even more to do across the rest of the nation. whether you are stuck on the outskirts of lincoln, trying to get to manchester from warrington, trying to get across the pennines by rail, you know that this country is being held back by our inadequate infrastructure. 0ver being held back by our inadequate infrastructure. over the next few days this government will be setting out more details of this transport revolution because we know the potential of transport to change your life and the life of your town or city. we know that efficient transport can clean the air and cut pollution and get cars off the road and we can simultaneously reach our ambition of net zero by 2050, we can shorten your commute and give you more time with your family, increase productivity and bring business and investment to left behind communities. that‘s why we are embarking now on a massive programme of investment in local

transport, starting with a record—breaking £5 billion of new investment in buses and bicycles. an investment that will mean bus passengers across the country seeing a dramatic improvement in their dailyjourneys. more than 4000 brand—new buses on the roads. zero carbon, british built buses on the roads of places like ashfield, barnstaple, southampton, manchester, many more towns and cities besides. more services including in the evenings and weekends. simpler, cheaperand more convenient. ticketing, properly designed priority schemes to speed passengers pass the trafficjams and it is an investment that will also mean cyclists enjoying hundreds

of miles of brand new separating lanes with mini hollands blooming like so many tulips across the country. and that‘s £5 billion is just the start, the chancellor will be making a full announcement in this months budget andi announcement in this months budget and i have no desire to steal his thunder. but i can signal that today we are taking forward transformative improvements from cornwall to the a1 north at newcastle from south salisbury to south... from cheadle to chih bowden, dual carriageways, roundabouts, underpasses, bypasses and those are just the roads. we have already set out plans to explore new networks in the rail across the north, developing proposals to reopen the fleetwood line in lancashire, the ashington rail line in the north—east,

improving middlesbrough station, installing new signalling in harrogate, one of north yorkshire‘s busiest stations and further south i can announce that we will be upgrading the bristol eastjunction, a major pitch point in the rail network of the south east, the south west and the splendour of bristol meads station. the transport revolution is local, because it must be local. we can unite and level up across the country with fantastic local improvements, better rail, less congested roads, british built buses, cleaner, greener, quieter, safer, more frequent. above all we can improve the quality of life for people, make places more attractive to living and to invest in. but we

cannot make these improvements in isolation from one another. because we will only be doing half the job. we will not fix the great musculoskeletal problem of uk transport. yes we must fix the arthritis in the fingers on the toes but we must also fix the spine, mr speaker. 0ur generation faces a historic choice. we can try to get by, we can try to get by with the existing routes from north to south, we can consign the next generation to overcrowding, standing up in the carriageways or we can have the guts to ta ke carriageways or we can have the guts to take a decision. no matter how difficult, unlike the party opposite, mr speaker. no matter how difficult or controversial, that will deliver prosperity to every pa rt will deliver prosperity to every part of the country. 50 minutes of the travel time to

glasgow, when it comes to advocating hs to it must be said that the task is not made easier by hs to limited the company. speaking as a member of parliament whose constituency is on the route i can say that hs to limited has distinguished itself. as everybody knows, the costs forecast have exploded. but poor management to date has not attracted in my view from the fundamental value of the project. the review recently conducted copies which will be placed in the libraries of the house, leaves no doubt of the clinching case of high—speed rail. a vast increase in capacity with hundreds of thousands of extra seats making it much easierfor hundreds of thousands of extra seats making it much easier for travellers to move up and down our long and narrow country. that means faster

journey times, extraordinarily faster journey times. journey times, extraordinarily fasterjourney times. passengers arriving at birmingham airport will be able to get to central london by train in 38 minutes. which compares favourably with the time it takes to get to heathrow by taxi. but this is not just about getting get to heathrow by taxi. but this is notjust about getting to london from birmingham and back. this is about finally getting a rapid connection from the west midlands to the northern powerhouse, to liverpool, to manchester, to leeds and permitting us to go forward with northern powerhouse rail across the pennines, finally giving the home of the railway the connections they need and none of that any sense without hs2. it‘s considered

that this first phase can be delivered for its current projected cost of 35 billion to 45 billion. the designs have been improved incredibly thanks to tireless contributions of campaigners including the member... if we start now, services could be running by the end of the decade. so today, mr speaker, the cabinet has given high speeds rail the green signal. we are going to get this done and to ensure that we do so without further blow outs to cost or schedule we are today taking decisive action to restore discipline to the programme. i will be appointing a minister whose full—timejob will be be appointing a minister whose full—time job will be to oversee the project. they will

be tasked with taking strategic decisions about it. there will be changes to the way that hsz there will be changes to the way that hs2 is managed. we will, in line with the recommendations, the interrogating the current costs to identify where savings can be made in phase one, without the costs and delays that would be associated with a detailed redesign and so that the company can focus solely on getting phases one and to build on something approaching time and budget. i will be creating new delivery arrangements for both the grossly behind schedule used in terminus and phase two b of the wider project. but before those designs are introduced, we will also present an integrated plan for rail in the north, informed by an assessment from the national infrastructure commission it will, in line with the

findings of the review, look at how we can best design and integrate rail investment across the north, including northern powerhouse rail between leeds and manchester. i have just spoken to the mayor of greater manchester who welcomes the project which i committed to supporting during my first days in office. i wa nt during my first days in office. i want the plan to identify the most effective design and sequencing of all relevant investments in the north. for example, with many in the north crying out for better east—west links instead of improved north—south ones which you have heard many times in this house, some have suggested delaying or even cancelling hs to in order to get northern powerhouse rail done more quickly. i want to say to you, mr speaker and the house, this is not an either or proposition. both are needed and both will be

built as quickly and as cost effectively as possible. to make sure that happens, we will, working closely with northern leaders, explore options for creating a new delivery vehicle for creating a new delivery vehicle for northern powerhouse rail and we will start treating hs to north of birmingham, northern powerhouse rail as one integrated master plan, high—speed north. something has to change. those who say otherwise are effectively condemning the north to get nothing for 20 years. that would be intolerable. we are not asking whether it is phase to be or not to be, the question is how we can bring a transport revolution to the north

sooner. a transport revolution to the north sooner. this transport revolution has the potential to be truly transformative for the entire country and, yes it is ambitious. but ambition is what we have lacked forfar but ambition is what we have lacked for far too but ambition is what we have lacked forfar too long. two but ambition is what we have lacked for far too long. two centuries ago our ancestors would have been content with breathing fast horses but instead they created railways, they looked to the future of transport and they made it happen. today, it is our duty to do the same. let us bring about a future where high—speed trains glide between our great cities, where electric buses convey as cleanly around our towns, where self driving ca rs around our towns, where self driving cars rome along roads that are free of congestion that causes pollution. and where new generation of cyclists pedal safely and happily to school and work in

tree dappled sunlight on their own network of fully segregated psychopaths. this government will deliver a new anatomy of british transport, a revolution in this nation‘s public transport provision and assigned to the world that in the 21st—century, this united kingdom still has the vision to dream big dreams and the courage to bring those dreams about andi courage to bring those dreams about and i commend... mr speakeri courage to bring those dreams about and i commend... mr speaker i thank the prime ministerfor and i commend... mr speaker i thank the prime minister for an advance copy of a statement. 0nce the prime minister for an advance copy of a statement. once again, we see the government taking ideas from the labour party. adopting our language but falling very long way short on the substance of

it. this, mr speaker, is a government that is unwilling to make the scale of investment needed to revive parts of this country that have been decimated by successive conservative governments. it is a government that has proved itself on able to manage infrastructure projects probably and am capable of gaping lid on the costs. —— incapable of keeping a lid on the costs. these plans are not enough. they don‘t even come close to repairing the damage done by a decade of tory governments. it‘s true, you know it. the prime minister laments our inadequate infrastructure, yet it is his party that has been starving the country of investment over the last ten yea rs.

of investment over the last ten years. resulting in the worst regional inequality in europe. today, the prime minister is selling his announcement as a prize for the midlands and the north. people in those regions to whom he promised so much in the election are going to be sorely disappointed when they see what actually happens. hs2 take for example. it is essential for boosting rail capacity and freeing up boosting rail capacity and freeing up other lines for increased freight news etc. but we don‘t see why the government should get a slap on the back for announcing its go—ahead. after all, it is only because of the abject failure of successive conservative governments to keep on top of the costs but the project‘s future was put in doubt in the first place. today‘s proposed boardroom shake—up comes far too late to

avoid the public having to fork out tens of millions more than what was forecast. it is money that has already been wasted because of the incompetence of this tory government and its predecessors. the leaked review is going to come out later was correct to say that hs2 must be integrated. it must extend to the northern cities, linking up with northern powerhouse rail and eventually to scotland to end the need for domestic flying in this country at the earliest possible opportunity. so, we are concerned that the links to manchester and leeds are now under review and could reportedly be even downgraded. hs2 must be developed with more sensitivity to local communities and much more sensitivity to the environmental impact, particularly

on modern and ancient woodland across this country. if it is to have public support, the fares on it hs2 must be comparable and affordable with the rest of the network. can the prime minister tellers where the trains will be built, will thosejobs in training be done in this country? also, mr speaker, what about other parts of the country? like the far south—west. when the prime minister match the could meet —— commitment to the south—west. we need better connectivity to devon and cornwall. we believe that the case is now u na nswera ble we believe that the case is now una nswerable that our we believe that the case is now unanswerable that our railways should be publicly owned and publicly run to improve the service and cut fares by 33%.

does the prime minister recognise that too many people are simply priced off the railways ? people are simply priced off the railways? the average commuter is now paying £3067 for their season ticket, £873 more than when the conservatives came into office in 2010. why won‘t the prime minister cut the cost of travelling? why should people in britain have to pay so should people in britain have to pay so much for expensive fares, more expensive than any other comparable country? when i first raised the questions of buses at prime minister‘s question time, i was ridiculed by many tory mps and many in our media. from the look of the front pages of our papers today, those same quarters now regard the focus on buses as a political masterstroke. i take the credit for it, it's masterstroke. i take the credit for it, it‘s fine. in reality, what the government have said today

about busesis government have said today about buses is frankly woeful. they have cherry picked policies from the labour manifesto, but underfunded them. it doesn‘t make up for the deep cuts since 2010. funding for buses has fallen by £645 million a yearin buses has fallen by £645 million a year in real terms since 2010, 3300 routes have either been cut or withdrawn and fares have soared at two .5 times of average wages. it is councils that keep bus routes open. we need long—term funding for our local authorities that have suffered such severe cuts and now face a further 8 billion black all over this parliament because of underfunding and the government is now refusing to give all councils powers to improve local bus services and the option of public ownership of their services. 0n cycling, all he is offering is 250 miles of cycle

routes. 0ur manifesto promised 3300 miles of cycle routes across the country. again, it isjust miles of cycle routes across the country. again, it is just plain inadequate by this government. under investment by the conservatives has created problems they are forced to acknowledge but they aren‘t serious about fixing them. regional inequality is going to be... is regional inequality be solved? is this just regional inequality be solved? is thisjust a regional inequality be solved? is this just a gimmick, regional inequality be solved? is thisjust a gimmick, creating opportunities for the super—rich to dodge taxes and launder money? the prime minister is clearly fond of announcing big projects like a bridge over the irish sea? why not go the whole hog and make it a garden bridge connected to an airport in the sea? it stands as

much chance of being built as any of those failed projects by the former mayor of london. 0r those failed projects by the former mayor of london. or why not a cable car between scotland and northern ireland? 0ra car between scotland and northern ireland? or a giant zip wire? car between scotland and northern ireland? 0ra giant zip wire? the prime minister could be the first to try it out. the saddest thing mr speaker about today‘s announcement is the high likelihood that so much of it won‘t be delivered. with the prime minister demanding 5% cuts in the very departments that are supposed to carry these policies out. i fear that those communities that desperately need investment and infrastructure are going to be let down when today‘s headlines become yesterday‘s news and they find that nothing has changed. i'm expecting to run this to around 140

so some members may not get in but if we all help each other, we will be much nearer to getting everyone in. prime minister. the right honourable gentleman, he raised some interesting points, we are doing a transport revolution across the whole of the south—west, not only investing in the sea wall but we will be upgrading the roads through the south—west, we will be doing improvements in wales and i think it is high time... hs2 brings 15 minutes off the travel time to glasgow, and i will remind him that fa res rose twice glasgow, and i will remind him that fares rose twice as fast under

the label government —— labour government. it is about competition, mr speaker, he made a heroic attempt to disagree with what is fundamentally a wonderful project for this country, he even tried to dislike our bus plans. he claimed them for himself, mr speaker i will ta ke them for himself, mr speaker i will take that. the leader of the 0pposition actively supports the government policy and i congratulate him. the additional £5 million for buses and cycle routes is welcomed. last year the transport select committee called for additional funding in buses and a buses strategy, both of which are coming to fruition. how will the prime

minister ensure that the money allocated to local authorities for these projects is spent by local authorities? will it be ring fenced and if not, how will we ensure that we are levelling up for our public transport system ? we are levelling up for our public transport system? i congratulate my right honourable friend and i say that we will ensure that when money is allocated for buses on cycling projects, it is spent on those projects. thank you mr speaker, let me thank the prime minister for the advanced copy of the statement. let me be mindful of one reality. no numberof prime me be mindful of one reality. no number of prime ministerial vanity projects will ever heal the economic damage and the damage of connectivity with this tory brexit will inflict. in terms hsz of

the, it's also welcome and despite the indecision and the ways it has been synonymous with this project. we will wait and see if the prime minister is capable of getting this decision through his own party and passed his own chief adviser. however, if the prime minister is truly committed to rail connectivity across these islands, will he engage with the scottish government to improve rail links from scotland to the major cities of the north of england such as manchester, newcastle and beyond? will he also explore collaboration on the extension of the borders rail line and what resources will be provided? the prime minister may talk about his priorities of one nation. we know what nation he is talking about and, mrspeaker, it know what nation he is talking about and, mr speaker, it certainly doesn't include the scottish nation. cani doesn't include the scottish nation. can i further ask, given his previous opposition to the barnett

formula and his party's repeated failure to fully implement it, can the prime minister confirm that if all of the spending that he is determined to engage and will be subject to barnett formula consequential is, yes or no? i welcome the fact that the uk government is following the lead of the scottish government who announced a £500 million bus infrastructure programme last september. mr speaker, given the prime minister's previous association with buses, can the prime minister reassure the house that false advertisements will be banned from the new bus fleet? finally, this is a prime minister that couldn't even build a bridge across the thames. you will therefore have to forgive those of us therefore have to forgive those of us who are sceptical of whether he can build one over the

20 mile spans of the north sea. will the prime minister therefore provide the estimated 20 billion for his project to the scottish government and the northern ireland executive so that we can spend that money on our own projects. mr speaker, i assure the right honourable gentleman that we will of course collaborate with the scottish government on projects that i think will be of massive benefit to the whole of our united kingdom and on his substantive question about the barnett formula, of course there will be barnett formula consequential is as far as the buses are concerned, i‘m not following him... as faras are concerned, i‘m not following him... as far as his are concerned, i‘m not following him... as faras his plans are concerned, i‘m not following him... as far as his plans to build a bridge across the north sea, mr speaker, i think he needs to look at the geography of the united kingdom. the only obstacle standing in his way of hs2 is the crackpot snp plans

to put an economic border between england and my my right honourable friend‘s comprehensive announcement today will be widely welcomed across the west midlands and in birmingham, and nowhere more so than in the royal town of sutton coldfield. will he pay tribute to the superb leadership of the west midlands mayor andy street, and the case he has put which will underwrite our economic prosperity for the future? my right honourable friend is absolutely right. i salute the work of andy street, his vision for transport in the west midlands, and that will be supported, encouraged and cemented by hs2. supported, encouraged and cemented by h52. i welcome the announcement

as far as hs2 and the further project is concerned. can the prime minister confirm that there will be morejobs in the north of england 02:01:14,1000 --> 02:01:15,394 if as well as building hs2 from london to the north, we also started building from the north of the south chris a final ambition, should you not agree that hs2 should go to scotland, which would help to unite the two countries? we will certainly get on with building hs2 already. hs2 already does go to scotland, one of the great advantages of this project. the prime minister will understand that andy street and i tend to talk about soft furnishers because it tends to avoid argument, because it tends to avoid argument, because i am less than enthusiastic about the root of hs2, which neither connects with eurostar nor with birmingham new street, nor

indeed with saint