this is bbc news. i'm carrie gracie. the headlines at eight. severe flood warnings and evacuations as river levels continue to rise in some parts of england and wales. the aftermath of storm dennis is taking its toll on businesses, some farmers face a catastrophic spring season. the level of wanted that we are talking about is actually quite humbling and phenomenal. hundred and 60 acres under four feet of water it is that millions and millions of tons. a british couple on board a cruise ship quarantined in japan say they've tested positive for coronavirus, as the foreign office says it's working to get all brits affected back to the uk. 35,000 jobs are to go at hsbc, after the bank's profits fell by a third.

a bbc undercover investigation in leeds reveals how it's quicker to order drugs than have your take away delivered. and doing battle for the top prizes at tonight's brits, dave and lewis capaldi lead the nominations for the 40th awards. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the emergency services are warning that the aftermath of storm dennis still has the capacity to cause damage and endanger life. evacuations are under way in towns along the river severn in shropshire with parts of south wales, herefordshire and worcestershire also under water.

there are six severe flood warnings in place in england, meaning there is a danger to life. and there are 163 flood warnings in place across the uk, which means immediate action is required. jon kay reports. the river why it should flow between those trees. look at it now. even though this is a flood plain, it has never looked like this before. the farce set of traits is where the river should be at the moment. ali's family has farmed inherits a chair for generations. now their land is under unprecedented amount of water. cani under unprecedented amount of water. can i sling for as it is absolutely devastating for the staff the feel of mayfair is dead. it is going to cost us a lot to sort it out if we ever had the chance. i have never known a deer where the entire country has been impacted quite so

badly. in shropshire 500 tonnes of water has been flowing beneath the famous iron bridge every second. in the beaver won't peak here until late at night. downstream, western city trying to keep going despite the challenges. further south a nap and upon said the library holding out for now. but it is still a precarious situation. the advice is to heed the warnings made preparations. answerjenny‘s plan at yourjennings did not drive into a flooded roads. here where they have suffered so badly before they are preparing for the worst while in hartford to help the worst is behind them. pete is wondering when he can't reopen. beer, wine, and spirits destroyed by water.m can't reopen. beer, wine, and spirits destroyed by water. it makes you think, sometimes is it worth it? you that if i have ever you accept

the fact that it might slide over a half years. but you never believe it's going to be as bad as it is. 24 hours after they were rescued by boat, ray and maureen are here to see us. boat, ray and maureen are here to see us. 0h boat, ray and maureen are here to see us. oh my god nearly 90 years old they are trying to be strong. i have never seen anything like this. it looks like a jumble sale. may is being treated for cancer and now faces another battle. we may alter the water so we have this to put up with now. but if he is like a warrant click yes oh the baby might. but in the garden some good news. the cloying carpet that they had

reared for 50 years have survived. —— toy car. a rare moment ofjoy is another storm comes in. john k, bbc news. john k, bbc news. yet another winter of flooding has raised questions about britain's defences, notjust about how much we spend but whether that money is allocated to the right places. under current plans a third of the five billion pounds budgeted for flood defences over the next six years is to be spent in london and the southeast. here's our science editor david shukman on what it takes to protect places at risk. the river wye tearing along at a record height in monmouth, in wales. the torrent‘s so large, it's even overwhelmed the water treatment works. in derbyshire, the river trent has burst its banks, flooding one village after another. stephenjones, a pub landlord, shows me his cellar,

where the food and drink are now ruined. the beer barrels are floating. they said we are going to flood, but they didn't tell us at the time when it were going to flood. itjust came up from about eight o'clock in the morning yesterday, and then by nine o'clock, it was underwater. do you think you should get more help? yes, of course. yet again, the country faces the difficult challenge of how to stay safe from flooding, how much public money to invest and, crucially, where to spend it — and all the time, warnings from climate scientists that storms are set to become more intense. as well as homes, it's often key infrastructure that's hit by floods. five years ago, i saw how, in carlisle, the west coast main line was underwater. so was an electricity substation. experts who've studied the threat say it needs to be taken far more seriously. not only do we have power plants in flood plains,

but we then have all of the other things — people, homes, businesses, other infrastructure which connected to that. so this represents a real potential systemic risk which we need to get a grip on. at the moment, the government is providing £2.6 billion over a six—year period. for every pound spent, the treasury expects an economic benefit of at least £8, a system which favours cities. but flooding across the uk is estimated to cost £1.1 billion every year. one idea is to try to hold water back in the uplands — rather than resorting to hard concrete, using nature instead. all options are going to be needed as the climate changes. we're getting more moisture held in a warming atmosphere, so there's quite a lot of evidence to suggest that yes, overall, we are experiencing climate change and we may expect to see more events on a par with these — or potentially even worse — into the future. back beside the river trent,

the waters are receding a bit, but more rain is on the way. and with it, more pressure on the government to offer more help. david shukman, bbc news, in derbyshire. mary dhonau is a flood resilience expert. she joins us from worcester. which isn't really struggling which is struck with water at the moment mary. yes i have had a dreadful journey trying to get here. there is so journey trying to get here. there is so many roads closed and divergence. i had to park my car on a straight studio and wind my way lots of dark alleys to get here. you are lucky to have me. we are indeed. you have written a guide on slide at resilience, presumably the people and worchester are screening for this advice now click hello i written several guides. how to recover from the flight and the

homeowners guide and flag resistance. more importantly i have read ina resistance. more importantly i have read in a new guide which is at real—life case studies, homes and businesses that have updated to you and able then to recover from flooding more quickly. these are really positive and inspirational stories. 0nly last week at a branch with some of my case studies, and there were small and dependent shops in the past had been annihilated by floodwater had been closed for many many months. 0nly floodwater had been closed for many many months. only two days after they fled the shops that i had done case studies on how to, because they had said floodwater minimum damage. that is fascinating. what are the key slot asked that they had learned? there are all sorts. we can try to keep water out, and a lesser

slide it is perfectly possible to do that. it's like in this country is about .3 metres. so things like ordinary —looking toys that mark said tested for betterment specifications and self closing air brake. the letter sent to a close. you can paint the outside of your home or business with a waterproof case which allow the property to breed, but as an extra barrier to slow you water. importantly, a pump some on everybody‘s list. said floodwater that's getting in, it is immediately pumped out levels at cantaloupe. things like washable plaster light socket set up the walls. hardwood doors always survive a flat. water proof kitchens are a big price tag and i did not have to

cost much more. solid wood kitchens, staying at the cl, freestanding kitchens, and even ideas didn't project up in cumbria catching that was shipped in from school. it actually did not cost much more than my sister's new kitchen. it does not have to cost a lot more, why stand we can get out of it again. do you feel that people are pulling in this wisdom, by your guidance or talking to each other that people are becoming more resilience both preparing and reacting to a flight after. i think it is slowly percolating sprays. most people want to put their home back to normal. i have to normal. after va sure people are watching, it does not have to look any different. i then went house last week that was right on the edge at the bank of the river

leaves, i have never been in a house closer to a river. they have a membrane system between their walls and there plaster when the floodwater could come through the walls, the walls under the floor and was pumped out. he had affected la kes was pumped out. he had affected lakes as well as a normal looking floor, floor, but it was plastic. they told me that they could quite easily wash that down. they know it is waterproof. the house with a bone dry. she looked beautiful, not any different. it did not cost a lot of money, about £15,000. 97 people, there are those that flight with slide read the insurance that provide flight insurance at people. 0nce provide flight insurance at people. once that legislation is passed, they are able to give people money towards building better. i encourage everybody to think about how to

build better. they artie gave money to build back better. that is the way to doubt in thank you for talking but not tonight. we wish you a safe journey talking but not tonight. we wish you a safejourney home. we wish you a safe journey home. with me is our weather presenter, stav da naos. help us understand how well we managed to predict exactly where the flats are going to happen. and we look at the next coming days. flats are going to happen. and we look at the next coming daysm flats are going to happen. and we look at the next coming days. it has been any cumulative effect. it started based on keira. saturated with the rain. in the north and the length of the country. damaging winds as well a week later thanks to the jet stream arrived and gained over a month's the jet stream arrived and gained over a months worth of rainfall in a day. on an already saturated

grounds. we saw river levels of running a particularly hall —— currently. particularly we have seen those levels rising letting off all of the mountains and into the river basin. but we really can't deal is a huge area of high pressure with dry and sunny pressure but the jet strea m and sunny pressure but the jet stream is staying strong across the north it will be firing more at low pressure systems to arts our choice. we have warnings again in northern wales primarily. and we had been hearing about members rising, rising to record levels. people really consummate fingers tonight. yes, they are but it does not like a are enforced. maybe happy st. mary has, through wednesday and thursday could be the right to stay. 60 to 100 mm not northern and. it looks more the

couple of days will be on the western slopes. not for an example of the welsh marches which is what we sow of the welsh marches which is what we sow the start of the next. i could be some really fresh ruptured. the western side of the mountains couldn't band up right at this new rain. as we head into friday, the more weather northern scotland and then the weekend we could see similar warnings and forest for gales and also send a happy rain. when are you going to get that nice dry place not now any time soon. next week we see some more rain. very unsettled pattern at the moment. of course the ground is saturated sale my name advice is keep checking the forecast on the bbc website. keep up to date with the information with a slight blind number. we well. thank you. thank you. and you can get the latest information on the impact

of storm dennis in your area from bbc local radio or go to our website bbc.co.uk/news. a british couple on board a quarantined cruise ship in japan say they've tested positive for coronovirus. sally and david abel from northamptonshire are among 74 britons on the diamond princess, which was quarantined in the port of yokohama two weeks ago. more than 500 people on board have contracted the virus. they're due to be transported to specialist hospitals from tomorrow. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. 0n—board the diamond princess, they're getting very close to the end. for those out strolling on the sun deck today, there are less than 24 hours to go until the quarantine is supposed to end. but the ambulances parked next to the ship tell a different story. all day, they've been removing more passengers infected with the coronavirus. 88 new cases today alone.

this afternoon, the news that britain's david and wendy abel are among them. in this video posted this morning, they spoke of their growing anxiety. and now, every single time there is a knock on the door, your stomach flips. yeah, and you just don't know whether they are going to come and say ok, let's go. and we are going to be taken off to a medical centre. hours later, that's exactly what happened. their son managed to contact them as they were preparing to leave. i got an e—mailfrom my dad saying both mum and i have been tested positive. the words are "he's going to a hospital". i facetimed them straightaway. i haven't spoken to my dad or seen my dad. i've only got through to my mum, but i heard my dad in the background, not sounding too great. for the britons still on board tonight there is better news. from tomorrow lunchtime, the quarantine will officially end,

and the 2000 or more passengers still on board, who have tested negative, will be allowed to start leaving the ship, they can walk out of this gate, hail a cab, get on a bus. what happens then is much less clear. the british government says it is sending a plane to pick up the british passengers. but it hasn't yet said when, or whether they may face further quarantine when they get back to britain. 0ne japanese expert today told me he thinks they should be because the quarantine on board the diamond princess has clearly not worked. almost forgotten in the concern for all the passengers, the crew. they've continued to work throughout this quarantine and somehow maintain a sense of humour. their future is now very uncertain. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, yokohama. joining me now from norwich is professor george lomonossoff. he's a virologist at the john innes centre, which looks at plant and microbial science.

thank you forjoining us. are you concerned by the spread of infections on the cruise ship? 0r id one saint could she cruise ships when did you expect?” one saint could she cruise ships when did you expect? i have heard that they are floating petri dishes which is unfair. i tried to keep approaching. the problem is this is an airborne virus. cruise ships are probably fairly used to dealing with things like not a virus which you picked up her surfaces. it sometimes called, it is much more difficult to contain a something which is an airborne and water droplets. although it is not certain why it hasn't been contained, to any batch only a few people. one possible suspect is the fact that all of the canons are air—conditioned. say you get a sort of recycled air basically. so that could be a

problem. food also has to be provided to the people in there, and so there is some kind of contact, obviously people wear masks and the like but it is very difficult when people are relatively close in proximity to very prevent the transmission. we had hurt the british citizens will be coming how tomorrow they help, and do you think they will be quarantined when they get here? ideally, there should be 14 days or quarantined from that date at the last case and a particular area. that would be the precautionary thing to do. my heart does after the people involved in fat. i suspected there would be the sensible option. do you think they will be at transmission in a hotel on the perimeter of an airport possibly then there is on a cruise

ship? it all depends on what the a i rflows ship? it all depends on what the airflows are. and the structure of the building. from what i understand, the facility proved to be very effective. said yes, i think it probably will be and you have a bit more space, a bit more control. i'm not sure how many people have come aboard the cruise line to help out and has not been clear today. the weather we had been lying ijust stop. i didn't, are under a lot of pressure. i have great sympathy for the crew on the ship. you don't hear much about them. it will be easier on land and to be able to get his grades space. professor thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane. after 20 minutes and it's1—0. any other darden is playing a game after 20 minutes and 0—0. tom himself is like zinc and metlife 16 type tomorrow. they will be been out who has broken down arm. he 70 nj on sunday. he's going to win there. the manager thinks he may mess and then of the season which presents a problem at front, back to albany without another play. just one game in the scottish cap tonight. fifth—round replay it's currently whitehall. he got in front in the 14th minute, five pike before it

will equalise. thanks to the paul west. it scored another goal from hartley at 33 minutes. just before that he got his second in the night. the winners will all again. 3— line at the moment. two minutes for paul, phil nettle hello kelly, she is the top scorer this event only made one senior appearance for england. grace has also get her call. indent takes on spain and the check which stops march. the bullet management you quys march. the bullet management you guys get things were times are going well and things may get. and they did get up and we take responsibility and accountability for that but the excitement is that

we have a really, fantastic group of players who want to get better. i wa nt to players who want to get better. i want to learn and develop. i want to charge to win things. that is a challenge for the next 12 months. auntie become a building after this weekend wales has tied up hide its blues that six taken scribes are best not become a building after this weekend wales has tried to hide its blues to that six date inscribed against france. he originally missed out from an ankle injury that returns but only build out a saturday's match. josh adams also ate out. meanwhile a good will be without this man for the six nations match against ireland. he has returned to tom cat. this court gladly may then change in their last game. that's all for sports and not just to let you know it is still ten ofa just to let you know it is still ten of a little pull champions league. you can find out more on all of the stories on 500 bbc sport website.

morphine in sports day at 10:30 p:m.. morphine in sports day at10:30 p:m.. a jury has started deliberations in the sexual assault trial of harvey weinstein. seven men and five women will have to decide whether or not to find the disgraced film mogul guilty of rape and sexual assault. if found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. 0ur correspondent nada tawfik is in new york. it's the first huge case of the need movement. yes absolutely. all eyes on how thejury movement. yes absolutely. all eyes on how the jury will decide this. whether they will be able to come to decision. sell who they will believe physics when you have testified against harvey weinstein. today in court we had more fireworks because this class has been a very public case. being discussed a great deal in media, protesters outside the

courthouse. today there is an from prosecutors about an opinion piece that was published by harper harvey weinstein's to acquit harvey weinstein's to acquit harvey weinstein present it on jury tampering. the gentle lines are very weinstein tampering. the gentle lines are very wei nstei n scott lawyer tampering. the gentle lines are very weinstein scott lawyer to stop discussing the line out front in the press. after that it was down to jury press. after that it was down to jury deliberations and the press. after that it was down to jury deliberations and beach errors did come forward with a question. just to day just to come forward with a question. just to dayjust to clarify come forward with a question. just to day just to clarify the come forward with a question. just to dayjust to clarify the nation are set up a they could find him guilty of certain towns and not others. a past to the charges against nestor weinstein. whether they could find him guilty of certain towns and not others. as pointed to jerry taking this certain towns and not others. as pointed tojerry taking this very seriously going through these charges when a fine count. landmark at invited me to notjust weinstein's accusers but all the victims of sexual violence and look

to see college errors and they'll treat the linens that have testified. nada tawfik thank you. a government adviser has resigned, after a wave of criticism about past comments he made about eugenics and race. andrew sabisky suggested black people have lower iqs than white people. he's also alleged to have said compulsory contraception could prevent creating what he called "a permanent underclass". he was drafted in to number 10 after the prime minister's chief adviser, dominic cummings, called for ‘misfits and weirdos' to apply to advise the government. andrew sabisky has accused the media of selective quoting and hysteria. sir anthony seldon is the vice chancellor of the university of buckingham and author of ‘may at 10'. he has been working on a book about boris johnson. thank you very much forjoining us. this story, has a lot of angles. what should there have been a better

effort i think this young man. is that where you stand yet to wouldn't let someone into a school or university, who have expressed such fears. why why i feel engine number ten downing st that needs to be looked at very carefully. you can't have somebody with those sorts of views that they have expressed, they might well say that they unrepresented that the point that he sent them. you have somebody like that in the highest most powerful office in the land. period. how did you try to expand away from the group are bringing outliers and where does. and that dominic cummings has talked about. they are going to say awful things maybe? to

have a original thinkers as creative thinkers, thinkers who are operating outside the box is all very good. we don't want to have conventional, dull, boring people. but you have to be original and creative without having to use that are totally a cce pta ble having to use that are totally acceptable and offensive. to every decent woman and man in the country. there are screening ways that we to have more need creative and imaginative people. in downing street, and government cannot to be in public service is a wonderful honour. we need to school teaching, university life everywhere. there is no correlation at all between being original and creative, which is what i understand mr original and creative, which is what iunderstand mrcummings original and creative, which is what

i understand mr cummings talking about, and calming use. do you think there is an issue with thinking and think about boris johnson, there is an issue with thinking and think about borisjohnson, let's face it, he is gotten into trouble for some of the things that he had said in the past. is it possible that they were happy with what they've added? i simply did not know they've added? i simply did not know the answer to that. i very much doubt it. boris johnson the answer to that. i very much doubt it. borisjohnson has said certain, made some comments which upset, ifind certain, made some comments which upset, i find that not acceptable what he has said. for example what he saw about muslim women. that is in his business. i don't think, i think it is unlikely that there is a lettering at the threshold as a result of that. following this, daily offensive area there will be a

far tighter screening. there are vast numbers of highly talented people out there who had so much to offer the british government and the country. that don't have vcs. it's such a shame that one of the first ones data. lessons learned all around. do you think the episode has done any lasting damaged quiz night our lesson learned and move on? we tend to think when an issue is like unable to live forever, but i'm sure it will be rapidly yesterdays news. i don't think that borisjohnson can afford a similar such appointment. there will be whether they admit it or not, at far more careful screening of people as they come forward. we have to be careful in what we say. particularly if we are

trying to be in public life and the very top of public life as well. i think lessons learned. thank you so much forjoining us. now it's time for a lookat the weather with darren bett. hello again has turned to match my salary we have seen some severe flood warnings still around today. records never levels as well and set me along the rivers. the sham is that we have seen today are going to be fair. many places dry and clean our skies. likely wintry showers and icy patches but temperatures like last night very close to freezing. after a bright start for eastern with sunshine and clouds over the last. smart rain on the way quickly to easter. how this will be a weather for the rest of the hills

where temperatures will be at 90 or 10 degrees. quite would be as well. smart rain on the land areas of concern being the northwest wales way that rain will be happy and continue into thursday. it increases the rest of more flooding. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... severe flood warnings enforced and more homes are evacuated as river levels continue to rise in some parts of england and wales. the aftermath of storm dennis is taking its toll on businesses, some farmers face catastrophic expenses. the level of water were talking about is quite humbling. it's quite phenomenal. 106 the acres by four foot of water, its millions and millions of tonnes of. a british

couple on board a cruise ship quarantined in japan say they've tested positive for coronavirus at the foreign office says it's working to get all brits affected back to the uk. 35,000 jobs are to go at hsbc after the bank ‘s profits fell bya third. hsbc after the bank ‘s profits fell by a third. bbc investigation and lead leeds reveals its easier to order drugs that have your take away delivered. 0ther brits, the scottish singer was named winner of best new artist. more now on the floods affecting parts of the west of england and south wales in the aftermath of storm dennis. more than 160 flood warnings remain in place, six of them are severe meaning a danger to life. anthony perry from the environment agency has been speaking to phil mackie in worcester about what residents can expect in the coming hours with the river severn expected to peak later this evening.

0n the river, we've got the second peak coming down from shropshire and that's a result of the rainfall on saturday night into sunday. levels are very high upstream and as it comes down the water will flatten out as it comes into the water flood baysin out as it comes into the water flood bays in the lower. we are to seek levels hi again and with it being very saturated, for the rainfall, we do need to keep an eye on the situation. this is the fifth flood of the winter at the biggest yet. why is this happening, why are we getting so many? the ground is so saturated from that rainfall that we had before christmas. doubled the monthly average rainfall in october, november in the places and the runoff from the storm that we had last weekend and again, it's just

impacts on the river so quickly this winter. hundreds of homes have been flooded. the environment minister rebecca pow said even more had been saved thanks to careful planning by the government. it's absolutely tragic for those people who have been flooded and that's about between 500 and a thousand homes. my heart goes out to those people, but if it wasn't for the money that this government have invested in the last 20 years, on a flight invested in the last 20 years, on a flight of the scale, one would have expected between 7000 and 10,000 days to be flooded, so the work that's been going on consistently with the money going up in every spinning round is definitely protecting increasing numbers of properties and that's what we should be doing. the emergency services remain inundated trying to rescue people from their homes. in gloucestershire, a 62—year—old woman was rescued by firefighters after spending 24 hours stuck on the roof of her car which was stranded in flood water.

matthew squire from gloucestershire fire and rescue said the conditions made attempts to rescue her difficult. we had a car that had, a lady had driven it across the lane and realise she got stuck and she was there from eight yesterday morning, so we got there today she had been there for 24 hours. the car was submerged completely just before there for 24 hours. the car was submerged completelyjust before the roof. we had to get the best we could only do so much. she got hypothermia so they took her to hospital. she couldn't raise the alarm? yeah, it was challenging all

around. but a success at the end of the day, she's 0k. yes, she's on her way and hopefully she makes a full recovery. meanwhile, more than 30 properties have been evacuated in the shropshire town of ironbridge. many of them have taken refuge in cleo's cocktail bar. we can speak now to the owner, mike perks. it's very kind of you to talk to us. describe the scene. at the moment, it started to quiet down a little bit. they told us it might peak at nine o'clock now and if it does, it's been a hectic day but it's great for the spirit of this town. everybody pulled together and we got through it. i hear what you say that it calming down by now, and fingers crossed that you're right that it's about to peak in the next few minutes, but what has been the scene

in your cocktail bar today? i understand you've been playing host to pretty much the whole village. we started off at 11 o'clock last night, and from seven o'clock we had mainly residents and the police and you got the guys working on the bridge and the guys working on the flood control, its quite a lot. we just about run out of every bag of coffee. and you've been feeding them as well? yes. a lot of people now that their homes are flooded, they gone and we've had a great community with free rooms, and people have actually been coming down dropping in food and stuff like that. it

sounds like a cheerful atmosphere. it's a good experience. laughter well that is good. do you think you're gonna need more tomorrow?” think tomorrow is gonna be another day. i think we mainly will be doing stuff or the environment and the quys stuff or the environment and the guys just left from upstairs, they're going down there all night. they're going down there, will be in here from seven o'clock serving sandwiches and coffee to make sure they're all right. we just have to get on with life. mike, thank you for that thought and thank you for being with us. we wish you all the best tomorrow and the rest of the community they are. thank you very

much. he quickly removed the tweet. and clients into the death of caroline flack will open tomorrow. she was found at her home dead having taken her own life. plans are cut operation across europe and the united states to save £3 million in cost, so what could that mean for the tens of thousands of hsbc staff here in the uk?

what's gone wrong? well, ever since it was started in 1865 to facilitate trade between europe and asia, hsbc has had bases here in london. today, it operates in 64 countries with 235,000 employees. once, the european operation was a source of great pride. now, it's among the weaker parts of the business. instead, most profits are made in asia. so hsbc is shifting its focus there, returning to its roots. despite the short—term disruption from coronavirus, it thinks it's the best long—term bet. what does it mean forjobs? well, up to one in seven of the global workforce could be affected. at the moment, there's little word on where the axe might fall, but those working in branches in america are more likely to be affected than the 41,000 people working for hsbc here in the uk —

many at its 621 branches on high streets. in fact, hsbc today reiterated its commitment to the uk retail bank. so what happens next? well, it's those here in hsbc‘s investment banking division could see the worst cuts. their budgets are set to fall 25%. hsbc is embarking on its third restructuring in a decade, hoping to put the financial crisis, a money laundering scandal and overexpansion in the past. now, 25,000 workers leave every year of their own accord, so the compulsory cuts may not be as bad as the headlines suggest. but the unions want urgent clarification. and with global growth slowing, the coronavirus impact and unresolved trade tensions, the move east could bring its own challenges. dharshini david, bbc news.

average weekly wages in the uk have reached their highest levels since before the financial crisis in 2008. weekly pay reached five hundred and eleven pounds in the three months to december. although wages have gone up, the rise is very small. against last year's prices, average pay has only risen by 65p per week in the last twelve years. flood warnings remained in force. more homes are emasculated as river levels continue to lies. —— evacuated. a british couple say they tested positive for coronavirus. 35,000 jobs are to go at hsbc after the bank's profits fell by a third.

an nhs trust at the centre of concerns over maternity failings says it doesn't know how many cases of baby deaths were not passed on to coroners. east kent hospitals nhs trust has acknowledged there have been at least 15 preventable baby deaths since 2012. last week nhs england ordered a review of maternity care at the trust. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been speaking to one mother about the trauma of losing her baby in 2014. you may find some of the details distressing. we try to make sure she is thought of as part of the family. i don't want it to be a dark, scary thing. helen is a professor of medieval history at oxford university. in 2014, while living in canterbury, she became nervous over a second pregnancy — having nearly lost her first child due to complications in labour — but she says that east kent hospitals weren't interested in her concerns. there was little desire

to talk with me about what would make me feel safe. i was just told, "this is how we do it, these are our policies." she asked to give birth in the midwife—led unit in margate and was refused, so she opted for a home birth within minutes of the hospital. but when her labour failed to progress, she was transferred to the maternity unit. i was eventually seen by the senior doctor. and at that stage, it felt to me as if... i knew she was dying. harriet was born in a poor condition and needed immediate life support. but she died in august 2014, aged just eight days. she looked about as unwell as a baby could look, as ill as she was. amid all of the heartache, helen was left to feel as though she's to blame for harriet‘s death.

that was the single most shocking moment for me of all of it, because the calls throughout that we declined things, when we, at no stage, declined any medical intervention whatsoever. and you were effectively being told that the reason for all of this is your fault. that's extraordinary. it felt like a murder charge. "it felt like a murder charge." for two years, she lived with her guilt until an independent review of maternity care looked at her case and found... i want herjust to be her. i suppose that's one of the things that i've always felt is that without a better understanding of what happened, it's very hard just to think about her. east kent hospitals trust say they accepted they could have

done more to help helen. michael buchanan, bbc news. drugs delivered to your door quicker than it takes to order a take away. drugs charities say the ease with which people now have access to drugs makes it increasingly difficult to break the cycle of addiction. home office figures show that 53% of young people say they could get illegal drugs within 24 hours. an undercover bbc investigation found that dealers in some parts of the country are now handing out business cards to attract new customers, with deliveries made in under 7 minutes. alasdair gill reports. people willjust pull over in cars and you expect tinted windows, they roll down their windows and you say something like, do you guys do coke, do you guys do weed? and if you say yes,

they will give you a card. that's a business card from a drug dealer. in leeds, students say they get given them all the time and using hidden cameras, so did we. bud is cannabis, md is mdma, better known as ecstasy, and a class a drug. i've been given loads of these now, all apparently from different dealers and all offering everything from cannabis to cocaine, delivered wherever you want it. this is drug dealing for the on—demand generation. they never say drugs, it always says whatever you need, or it advertises something that you know what it means. cards like these are notjust being handed out in leeds. there's reports of them

in manchester, london and liverpool as well. according to the home office, more than half of 16 to 24—year—olds say they would find it easy to obtain illegal drugs within 24 hours. what we've discovered is that you can get mdma and cocaine even quicker than that. we texted the dealer in the white car at half seven one night. 20 minutes later, he replied and then this. so that was incredibly fast. from getting the first message from the dealer to getting these in my hands tookjust seven minutes. lab tests of both substances confirmed they were cocaine and mdma. young people are getting to a point

where they see buying drugs is not when you see a lovely shiny business card, it quite easy to forget that you're actually buying something that could potentially be risky and do your harm. young people have always found ways to get a hold of drugs. what's changed is how easy it's become and how fast you can do it. alisdair gill, bbc news, leeds. some transgender people are self—medicating with hormones bought online from unregulated sources. they say it's because of long waiting times for nhs specialists. michael cowan has been investigating. kara is a 20—year—old law student. she's been on the waiting list for a gender identity clinic for two years so far. last summer she started self—medicating with oestrogen pills she bought online. she's aware of the dangers, both physically and mentally. but with all risks considered, for kara and many others, she saw it as her only option.

i was so low before that it basically felt like a choice between suicide or self—medicating, because i couldn't deal with the thought of further masculinisation, in my case. data obtained exclusively by the bbc has found every trust in england is consistently missing their target of 18 weeks. in northern ireland, their target is to be seen within 52 weeks, but patients will wait over three years. wales and scotland don't have targets but the highlands are home to the uk's shortest waiting time, at 32 weeks. london's tavistock clinic weren't able to provide accurate figures, but anecdotal evidence points to patients waiting up to two and a half years to be seen. nottingham has the longest wait in england atjust under three years. dr grainne coakley at sheffield's gender identity clinic acknowledges

wait times contribute to self—medication, but would caution against it. if you take testosterone, there is a risk of a condition which can lead to spontaneous clotting of the blood. again, there's increased risk of clotting if you take oestrogen. if that's not being monitored by a gp, somebody isn't having regular blood tests, then they are putting themselves at risk. we bought hormone projects from unregulated websites based outside the uk. we sent them to a lab to test their authenticity. the oestrogen products appeared to be authentic, but the testosterone we received contained only one out of the four ingredients it claimed to, meaning it's a counterfeit product and potentially unsafe to use. is it fair that you had to make that decision? it obviously was my choice, but i feel like i've been basically forced into it, because in no way, shape orform do

i want to be taking hormones not under the guidance of a medical professional. michael cowan, bbc news. if you've been affected by the issues in this report our actionline website is bbc.co.uk/actionline. there are organisations listed there who can help. or you can call the number on your screen right now - 08000155 998. the new chancellor has confirmed that the budget will go ahead as planned on the 11th of march. there have been speculation that it would be postponed after the resignation. the chancellor said he's cracking on with preparations for the statement next month. the brit awards are taking place

this evening at the 02 in london with lewis capaldi tipped to take top honours. his main competition comes from the london—born rapper dave. lewis capaldi, who's up for four awards, is among those who will perform at the ceremony. he was followed by the most moment aged woman. —— nominated woman. the best mail so though it —— male solo was presented to stormsy. to be the best mail, i got the most incredible females on my team. i love you guys.

a number of the musicians walking the red carpet could not forget caroline flack and pay tribute. she died over the weekend. she told the bbc she believes it's time for new laws to protect those in the public eye. i feel like i know a lot of people who have endured the same pressures and i also have, but i deal with a different way. i don't really read the comments, but i know some people do and i'm also sort of aware of how mental health is like a silent illness that people don't really know about and it takes more than a hashtag to stop that happening. i don't really agree with just hashtags, i want people to act. i think there need to be new laws put in place. she's not alone. faith

talking to colin paterson. hello there. today, we've seen the rivers still reacting to all that rain that we had over the weekend from storm dennis. that's led to some record river levels along parts of the trent, the severn and particularly in the wye. and some severe flood warnings and evacuations, too. this was the scene earlier on on the severn in iron bridge. you can see the extent of the flood defences there. and this is the flooding that we've had on the trent in nottinghamshire. and that despite the weather turning more showery. and we're switching a lot of those showers off overnight. many places becoming dry. skies will tends to clear. we'll keep a few wintry showers going. perhaps in scotland, then, the threat of some icy conditions as well. because, like last night, temperatures are going to be close to freezing. but notice towards the south west, and here, it's knocking to be as cold because by the morning, we've got cloud and rain that will quickly move into wales, into northern ireland. and after a bright start for eastern

parts of england and scotland, it clouds over the patchy rain here. but the wetter weather is going to be further west over the hills, where temperatures are going to be nine or 10 degrees. it will be a windy day but it's the rain that's going to cause concern again, particularly in northwestern parts of england and wales, where it will be heavy and persistent over the hills, increasing the chance of some more flooding. we got several weather fronts on the scene, and this second one arriving overnight is going to bring some heavy rain because i had of it, we've got some mild south—westerly winds. behind it, we've got a colder, westerly wind. a band of heavy rain overnight into thursday, some snow over the scottish hills perhaps. that band of rain at least does move fairly quickly south eastwards and then we change the wind direction, the sun comes out, showers develop, particularly in the north, and those will turn increasingly wintry because the air is getting colder. and you will feel colder in the wind as well.

we in the wind as well. look ahead to friday and there more we look ahead to friday and there is more strong winds. there's more rain to come. looks like it's going to be mainly north wales northwards at the stage for the south, if there's a good chance it will stay dry during the day but it will be windy. widespread strong to gale force winds are quite likely, but at least it will be mild i suppose. temperatures around 11—12dc. more rain on top of what we've had. it's not going to be good news.

disha hello, i'm ros atkins, this is 0utside source. this is 0utside source. china's offering the children of medical staff battling the coronavirus outbreak priority placement in schools. new figures show medical staff are most at risk of dying from the virus. this cruise ship off japan has been under quarantine for two weeks — more than 450 people on board have the virus. as more and more passengers are repatriated, the crew is doing its best to keep spirits up. harvey weinstein's lawyer has been warned not to talk to the press, after she wrote an article warning jurors not to be swayed by what they read in the press. we'll be in new york as thejury considers