election. and a bbc undercover investigation exposes a fertility scam fuelling a black market trade in babies in nigeria. hello, i'm martine croxall. more than 150 flood warnings are in place across the uk after storm bert battered britain this weekend. wales�* first minister, eluned morgan, has described the disruption caused as "absolutely devastating". hundreds of homes remain underwater and many roads have been turned into rivers as a result of the torrential downpours with some areas seeing more than a month's rain in the past 48 hours. vincent mcaviney reports. pontypridd was only under a yellow weather warning, but over the weekend it was one of the parts of the uk where storm bert dumped more than 80% of november's expected

rainfall in less than 48 hours, passing the record set by storm dennis in 2020 in some areas. it's been more than enough for the river taff to burst its banks again, flooding up to 300 homes and commercial properties across this county. a major incident was declared in parts of south wales with standing water, fallen trees and landslides closing a number of roads. council leaders are alarmed they weren't given stronger warnings about bert. i am really surprised we did not have an amber last night. and when you consider the amount of rain that came today and the flooding we've seen, i'm amazed there hasn't been a red warning either. so that is something certainly, as a local authority, we'll be raising directly with the met office. the welsh first minister believes climate change means there are difficult choices to be made. climate change is going to impact on us, and there will come a point when it will be too difficult for us to protect every home in the country.

but clearly we want to put the support in place if we're able to do that for the people impacted. in north wales, after a multi—agency search operation, the body of 75 year old brian perry was located in the area of gower road. mr perry had gone missing on saturday whilst walking his dog near the river conway. dog near the river conwy. for this family living near wrexham, firefighters had to evacuate them from their home. the flood has just come down and there's a tree crashed through the wall of the house at the top side. it's devastating to see. national resources wales, i hold you responsible. where the hell are you? come and do something about this. in the worcestershire town of tenbury wells, the speed at which floodwaters can advance was on full display. coupled with the melting snow, rising river levels have resulted in more than 100 flood warnings across the uk.

in west yorkshire, ii—month—old baby luka had a narrow escape with his father after their vehicle started to become submerged. whilst i was on the phone to the emergency services, water started rising into the car so i thought i need to get me and my son out of here. so i've climbed out of the driver's seat, ran round to his side, unstrapped him and got him out as quick as i could. and i'd say the water was about chest—high, so i was holding him up as high as i could, running out of the water. as storm bert finally clears as storm bert finally clears from the north east, from the north east, there's quieter weather there's quieter weather to follow for many. to follow for many. for residents in affected for residents in affected communities, they are once communities, they are once again faced with the unenviable again faced with the unenviable task of not only cleaning up, task of not only cleaning up, but also getting more funding counted in the first to reinforce defences to stop it from happening again. it from happening again. vincent mcavennie, bbc news. vincent mcavennie, bbc news.

with more than 99% of the votes with more than 99% of the votes counted in the first round of romania 5 presidential election, a far—right, pro—russia candidate has taken the lead. calin georgescu has an unassailable lead of more than 300,000 votes. he has no political party, and is known as the tiktok candidate after he used the social media platform to galvanise his support by calling for an end to aid for ukraine. only a few dozen votes separate the next two candidates, 0ur central europe correspondent, nick thorpe, who is in the west of neighbouring hungary, gave us his analysis of calin georgescu's surprise success at the polls. he's really come from nowhere, though he does have experience. he's been recommended before as a potential technocratic prime minister, though he never got very far with that. he talks about — his main message, isuppose, is restoring the dignity of romania and giving romania a voice in the world. so when he was asked in an interview once,

is he pro the eu or pro—nato? is he pro—russia? he said, no, he's pro—romania. so not much actual content of what he's actually for or the details of how he would influence romania. romania is a presidential democracy. the president has a lot of control, a lot of power, a lot of influence. not as much as in france, for example. but also he can, for example, veto bills passed by parliament. and he can strongly influence the country's foreign policy. so really an enormous surprise here.

marcel ciolacu, who is the current prime minister of romania, a social democrat, albeit quite a right wing, quite a nationalist figure in his own right. and elena lasconi. she's a liberal, the candidate of the save romania union. she would be much more leftist or liberal kind of candidate. whichever of those gets through, i think the dilemma facing many of the millions of romanians who didn't vote of romanians who didn't vote for either is, which would for either is, which would effectively be the lesser evil. effectively be the lesser evil. how to prevent how to prevent mr georgescu winning. mr georgescu winning. at the same time, mr at the same time, mr georgescu seems likely georgescu seems likely to gather more votes to gather more votes from another nationalist, from another nationalist, george simion. george simion. notjust here but in other simion, who came simion, who came fourth in this election, fourth in this election, but he also managed to get but he also managed to get 1.2 million votes. 1.2 million votes. and just in the immediate and just in the immediate aftermath of this remarkable aftermath of this remarkable result, late last night, result, late last night, late sunday night, mr late sunday night, mr simion urged his simion urged his supporters to back mr supporters to back mr georgescu in the second round. georgescu in the second round. so it could be a very so it could be a very interesting result. interesting result. i suppose, nick, it really demonstrates i suppose, nick, it really demonstrates

the increasing power the increasing power of social media in elections, of social media in elections, notjust here but in other parts of the world. that's right. what mr georgescu seems to have achieved, or one of the ways he's managed to publicise himself — because he was basically unknown in romania just a few months ago — he has managed to, as it were, crack the algorithm so that anyone who searched for his rivals�* names in this election, or even certain key words, immediately his name came up and that built up a kind of tsunami of support for him.

spiking food and drink is set to be made a specific criminal offence in england and wales under proposals announced by the uk government this morning. it comes as part of a wider push by the prime minister keir starmer to reduce violence against women and girls.

0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in downing street. and tells us what the government hopes to achieve with these plans. when the prime minister convenes people here in downing street, it is a sign, a symbol of a personal drive to sort something out. and in the run—up to the christmas party season, the prime minister wants to make it clear he sees this as a priority. spiking is already illegal but under a sort of patchwork of legislation, and what they hope this specific criminal offence will do is make it much easier to prosecute and convict people who are alleged to have taken part in spiking. worth noting, though, the government is not formally putting a timetable on when this will happen or what legislative vehicle there will be. i appreciate that sounds technical but it raises the question of how soon or not this will happen. what the government is doing

here is very much following through on the recommendations of the home affairs select committee, a cross—party group of mps, a couple of years ago. they published a report recommending various actions which the government is now adopting and they will hope that by following what is seen there as the best practice, they will bear down on this offence. henry zeffman. you are just seeing the head of the cbi, making her opening remarks, with speeches expected from the government and opposition leaders this afternoon. let'sjoin ray newton smith now and listen to her speech. newton smith now and listen to her speech-— her speech. our “ob in raising u . her speech. our “ob in raising u- the her speech. our “ob in raising up the — her speech. our “ob in raising up the voice of _ her speech. ourjob in raising up the voice of uk _ her speech. ourjob in raising up the voice of uk business, | up the voice of uk business, fighting for a better economy and a brighterfuture, making

the connections which help you as business leaders deliver the change you want to see in your local communities. and i hope that with this packed room, our amazing line up and our conference today, we can truly say we are back in business thanks to all of you. applause right now, we, this country, this government, all of you are standing on a shore line. and in the distance, there is an island, a vision of growth. the real, sustainable growth that we so badly need. it's a vision we so badly need. it's a vision we all share, it's a vision the prime minister and the chancellor set out with strength and determination, and it's a vision we in business feel down to our very bones. but what we must all understand is that there is only one force that can bridge that gap. 0nly that can bridge that gap. only one force that can turn that

vision into a reality, and it's the people in this room. it's the people in this room. it's the idea is, the ingenuity, the investment in business. you truly are the engine of growth. the ones who are quietly creating jobs, opportunities and better quality of life in your communities. but it's been a tough few years with too much time spent onjust a tough few years with too much time spent on just fighting fires. board rooms have been crying out for stability, optimism and the possibility of thinking for the long—term again. that's what we have been pressing this government for. be bold, be brave, give hope and have confidence. and we saw the chancellor deliver on that in part with stability in our public finances, with the brave decision to create more space in ourfiscal decision to create more space in our fiscal rules for capital spending. this should unlock

private sector investment in our infrastructure and the net zero transition. it would have been much easier to focus only on the here and now, but instead, this was a choice for future generations. then there was full expensing, the commitment to research and development, and above all, the corporate tax road map we called for to give business certainty for the long term. and when we look into the international scene, and when we look into the internationalscene, no and when we look into the international scene, no one can be sure of what is coming. the long and tragic war in ukraine, the devastating conflict in the middle east, the spectre of rising protectionism and sabre rattling from across the pond. in an uncertain world, it is even more important that we stand up for what we believe in, that we raise up the voice of business, that we reach out our hands across borders. and we have seen the commitment from the government to work

internationally. their leadership at cop29 where ultimately only investment by business will truly tackle climate change. the welcome reset of our relationship with europe, the engagement with china and the recognition of its economic importance. while things remain uncertain abroad, this government has put us in a strong position by drawing the curtain on a near decade of instability at home. what people are calling the dullness dividend of stability dullness. we could all use a bit more of it in our lives. but the challenge for all of us is when we look out across the water to our island of growth, when we look at the 0br forecast of just 1.5% growth by the end of this parliament, that ireland we are reaching for is still a long way off. that's because stability is a precondition,

not a blueprint for growth. the missing piece, this deal that holds the bridge up, that is investment. —— the steel. above all, it is corporate britain. for every £1 that smes invest, larger firms invest £500 so what drives growth is decisions made in boardrooms up and down the country. it is asking can we afford to invest? and william afford to take a chance on people? the answer we are hearing from so many firms is not yet. the rise in national insurance, the stark lowering of the threshold caught us all off—guard. along with the expansion on the rise of the national living wage, which everyone wants to accommodate, and the potential cost of the employment rights bill, they put a heavy burden on business.

companies i speak to want to be creating more opportunities, more investment, more training in their local communities. but instead, so many, especially in retail and hospitality, have gone into crisis containment. even where the risk isn't critical, firms that have been through really tough years are now in damage control again. they are looking with heavy hearts to cut training and investment, delaying net zero projects or pass on costs to customers. then there's the farming sector and family businesses. days ago, farmers marched past this conference centre in their thousands. 0n centre in their thousands. on top of nicks and all the other measures, they have had changes to inheritance tax and business property relief. some see those solely as personal taxes, but these are companies where the

professional is truly personal. and many are fearful of the impact, fearful they cannot pass on their livelihoods to future generations. and as one business owner powerfully told me, they had to scrap investment they wanted to do to put money aside just in case the worst happened. across the board, in so many sectors, margins are being squeezed, profits are being hit by a tough trading environment that just got tougher. and here is the rub. profits are notjust the rub. profits are notjust the extra money for companies to stuff into a pillow case. profits are investment, they shape your ability to invest and grow. future profits are your reason to invest, and from the leaders i talk to, they are clear. responsible business is using profit to solve the problems of people and planet. that's why profit is not a dirty word. if you are a multinational, profits create

objects that create newjobs in the uk rather than elsewhere. and if you are a low margin business, profits are pay rises, health benefits, investment in technology. and if you are a small business, profits are survival. when you hit profits, you hit competitiveness, you hit investment, you hit growth. almost two thirds of firms said this budget would damage uk investment. that's why we are still so far from that island, from the growth of the chancellor has rightly said matters. not only for politics but for people's livelihoods, and life ambitions. i didn't come into thisjob and life ambitions. i didn't come into this job to step back from our ambitions. come into this job to step back from ourambitions. i come into this job to step back from our ambitions. i am determined, i know we all are, determined, i know we all are, determined to play our part. because leaders are naturally optimistic, energetic. i mean,

many of you have met our chair rupert. the point is that after eight years of downcast ambitions and weak growth, i know we are all dead set on getting our economy moving again. so my message today to government and to all parties is work with us to get there. let's build that bridge together. from now on, we need together. from now on, we need to shift from consultation to co—design. tax rises like this must never again be simply done to business. that's the road to unintended consequences. instead, we need an elevated partnership for a higher purpose. and the cbi stands ready. i know this government wants us to be that partner, to be a critical friend, wants us to be that partner, to be a criticalfriend, to be able to speak truth to power. but ultimately recognise that elected governments are the ones who must decide. so last, i want to set out three pillars

for that bridge. first the immediate. too many businesses are having to compromise on their plans for growth. we can't let that stand. tax rises have put can't let that stand. tax rise