live from london, this is bbc news.

the uk economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year, according to revised official figures just out. the office for national statistics said that uk gross domestic product — gdp — showed no growth betweenjuly and september, in the run up to the autumn budget. it comes as the british retail consortium and the confederation of british industry warn uk firms face a difficult start to 2025. new data suggests a lack of confidence after the budget could affect both sales, and how firms operate. the government says it's delivering stability for companies. we'll get analysis from our businsess correspondent, theo leggett, in our business centre — and the political reaction from damian grammaticas in our newsroom —

but our first report on that business warning from essyllt carr. we are asking businesses to contribute more, and i know that there will be impacts of this measure felt beyond businesses too. ever since the chancellor delivered her budget, she has faced a backlash from businesses. many say a higher rate of national insurance contributions, increases to the minimum wage, and the cost of new workers�* rights legislation amount to a significant burden on firms. the cbi, which says it represents around 170,000 companies, says its survey of around 900 businesses suggested a steep decline in activity in the first three months of 2025, with expectations at their weakest in more than two years. but according to the british retail consortium, which represents the likes of marks and spencer and tesco, it's notjust businesses feeling downbeat. its monthly survey of around 2,000 people found consumer confidence in the economy had dipped, as had people's plans for spending in the next three months. this is a real concern for retailers, particularly with spending expectations down

six points, both general spending and retail spending specifically, which means that injanuary, many retailers could find themselves squeezed between these low expectations of spending and the billions, around seven billion in new costs that are expected to come down the line. a treasury spokesperson said they had to make difficult decisions to fix the economy. businesses say the new year could bring some tough choices for them, too. 0n hiring, investment and prices. esyllt carr, bbc news. let's speak to our business correspondent theo leggett also with more on this, our political correspondent damian grammaticas. theo, why where the numbers revised and what is behind them? the figures were not right to begin with. the estimate of growth for the three months to the end of september was for positive growth of 0.1%. it has now been

revised downwards to static zero growth. it's not a huge revision, but it is psychologically significant. what lies behind it is that a lot of the smaller businesses, pubs, retailers, businesses in the service sector have performed more poorly than expected. that is why we are seeing these figures. there is more information available and there was with that first estimate.— there was with that first estimate. ., , , there was with that first estimate. . , , ., estimate. there has been no urowth. estimate. there has been no growth. damian _ estimate. there has been no i growth. damian grammaticas, this was for the period from july to september, so immediately after the election before the budget. what is the political significance of them? political significance of them ? the political significance of them? the fact that it is the period immediately after the election means— immediately after the election means the government can point to it and — means the government can point to it and say this is the situation they inherited, and that— situation they inherited, and that is— situation they inherited, and that is what they are doing. chancellor rachel reeves has released a statement in which she said — released a statement in which she said the challenge they face — she said the challenge they face is _

she said the challenge they face is huge because of 15 face is huge because of15 years— face is huge because of15 years of— face is huge because of 15 years of neglect. the difficult bit for— years of neglect. the difficult bit for the government is that it is a — bit for the government is that it is a slight revision downwards, but also the forward—looking part, which is that— forward—looking part, which is that business survey and the lack— that business survey and the lack of— that business survey and the lack of confidence about what is coming going forwards. rachel_ is coming going forwards. rachel reeves' deputy darren jones, — rachel reeves' deputy darren jones, the chief secretary at the treasury, has been commenting. this labour government is going into 2025 with absolute resolve i to work with investors, - wealth creators and workers across the country to stimulate economic growth and improve i living standards for workers across the country. - this is our number one mission as a government, and we start| from a disappointing set of economic statistics i as we end 2024, but that's why we're going to fight every day l to make sure we improve the lives of working - people this country. now, the conservatives, unsurprisingly, have been

criticising labour. shadow chancellor mel stride has said this is— chancellor mel stride has said this is a — chancellor mel stride has said this is a problem of labour's making _ this is a problem of labour's making and urge them to ditch the policy in the budget. the budget— the policy in the budget. the budget came just after the period _ budget came just after the period covered by the economic statistics — period covered by the economic statistics. the issue for the government is that it is pihhihg _ government is that it is pinning its hopes on this promise _ pinning its hopes on this promise to deliver economic growth _ promise to deliver economic growth. there are reforms it is bringing — growth. there are reforms it is bringing into the health service, planning a system to stimulate _ service, planning a system to stimulate housing and infrastructure projects. the critical _ infrastructure projects. the critical thing for the government is, can that stat to deiiver— government is, can that stat to deliver the growth impetus it is saying _ deliver the growth impetus it is saying it wants to see? theo, _ is saying it wants to see? theo, when we look ahead to the forecast, economic data are obviously complicated and based not on what is going on in the uk, but affected by global and unpredictable factors. but still, the warnings we are getting about the next three months don't look good. it is

months don't look good. it is not looking _ months don't look good. it is not looking positive, - months don't look good. it 3 not looking positive, at least for the next three months. there are the uncertainties you mention. for example, what will happen when donald trump takes office in the us and whether he will go through with some of his policies with regard to tariffs, which could affect uk trade as well. so there is a lot of uncertainty, but the problem the government is grappling with is that there is also a sense of gloom. we had the results of that survey from the results of that survey from the cbi. that is 900 firms polled, suggesting that they are not positive about the next few months. the british retail consortium suggest that consumers are not feeling positive. the problem with the idea of confidence is that it can become a spiral. if people are not confident, they don't invest, they don't spend. that deprives companies of revenues and if it carries on like that, you can build up momentum. so the problem is trying to change

that mindset as well as trying to get the economy back on track. ., ., ., ., track. the two have to go together- _ track. the two have to go together. damian, - track. the two have to go together. damian, doesi track. the two have to go i together. damian, does this mean there will be another attempt at a reset in the new year from the government? 0bviously, that sense of optimism is something they want to project. i optimism is something they want to ro'ect. ~ optimism is something they want to ro'ect. ,, ., ., to pro'ect. i think another reset to project. i think another reset is — to project. i think another reset is unlikely. - to project. i think another reset is unlikely. the - to project. i think another. reset is unlikely. the budget was — reset is unlikely. the budget was the _ reset is unlikely. the budget was the key moment in terms of fiscal— was the key moment in terms of fiscal policies, looking ahead. therr— fiscal policies, looking ahead. then we — fiscal policies, looking ahead. then we had a political relaunch, as some termed it, and _ relaunch, as some termed it, and you — relaunch, as some termed it, and you focus on priorities that— and you focus on priorities that we _ and you focus on priorities that we had a few weeks ago. what — that we had a few weeks ago. what we _ that we had a few weeks ago. what we will get in the new year— what we will get in the new year is _ what we will get in the new year is that the government has been _ year is that the government has been working on its longer term spending. — been working on its longer term spending, looking two to three years— spending, looking two to three years ahead. it will unveil that— years ahead. it will unveil that in— years ahead. it will unveil that in the coming months of the new— that in the coming months of the new year, and that will be criticai— the new year, and that will be critical because it will set

the — critical because it will set the government's spending priorities over the medium term period~ — priorities over the medium term period. the budget was an immediate response to the situation they say they found. what — situation they say they found. what is — situation they say they found. what is coming will be the way they— what is coming will be the way they will— what is coming will be the way they will be allocating money, time _ they will be allocating money, time and _ they will be allocating money, time and focus, and that will come — time and focus, and that will come next year.— come next year. damian and theo, come next year. damian and theo. many _ come next year. damian and theo, many thanks. - a disturbing story coming from new york — where police have arrested a suspect, after a woman was burned alive on a subway train. police said the man approached the woman on board an f train at coney island on sunday morning as she appeared to be sleeping — and set her clothes on fire with a lighter. 0fficers responded with fire extinguishers, but she died at the scene. here's transit chief, joseph gulotta. in the investigation, she is definitely there. she is motionless.

if she's asleep or not, we're not 100% sure, but she appears motionless at that spot. there's no interaction between the two, and when the incident happens, there's no interaction between the two. cbs news correspondent tammy mutasa is in new york with the details on what happened. this was a brutal attack on a woman who just appeared to be sleeping on a public train, and police found that victim when they saw smoke during a routine patrol. after the nypd released images of a person of interest, three young men called 911 when they saw the suspect in a different subway. police stopped the train and arrested the man. there must be strong, swift consequences on this person, and i use that term lightly, who committed this brutal, brutal homicide. nypd said cameras have been installed in every subway car, and it's because of images from those cameras that led to this arrest. this week governor kathy hochul announced an additional 250 national guard members will be deployed on subway cars to make sure everyone is safe.

to germany now and the aftermath of friday's car attack at a christmas market in magdeburg where five people were killed and many more injured. the country's interior minister has promised to leave no stone unturned in the investigation into what happened. this is the scene live in magdeburg, where people have been leaving flowers and candles near the scene of the attack, with the growing number of floral tributes stretching across the pavement. let's speak to our correspondent bethany bell, who's in magdeburg. there are so many questions on what the authorities were told about the saudi suspect? yes. the head of— about the saudi suspect? yes. the head of germany's - about the saudi suspect? yes the head of germany's federal criminal police unit yesterday said on german television that

they had received a warning from the saudi authorities about the suspect a year ago. he said the police initiated an investigation, but the threat was deemed to be too unspecific. we are seeing questions in the german media about how there were other complaints and warnings about this man. he was not an unknown quantity, in the words of one official. he was known to be an activist and was very active on social media. there are many questions as to whether more could have been done to alert the authorities about the danger. there are also questions about what happened in this market. what about the security here? how was it possible for this car to get in? most of the market where i am now was surrounded by a concrete perimeter made of concrete perimeter made of concrete blocks, but the car seems to have entered through a

route that was meant for emergency vehicles. there is a lot of discussion about why it wasn't possible to put a barrier across that route and just lift it for emergency vehicles. 0ne just lift it for emergency vehicles. one man came up to me and said, i am from magdeburg, but it's clear something went badly wrong. but it's clear something went badly wrong-— but it's clear something went badly wrong. what about wider security at _ badly wrong. what about wider security at christmas _ badly wrong. what about widerj security at christmas markets? it is a time when families want to celebrate, but what is going on on that front? the to celebrate, but what is going on on that front?— on on that front? the market here is now _ on on that front? the market here is now closed. - on on that front? the market here is now closed. people . here is now closed. people behind me have been able to come to their stalls and clear away the food and dismantle what they had. security has been increased at christmas markets around the country. as i said, there are a lot of questions about what more could have been done to protect this

place. it's known that there have been attacks in markets in germany in recent years, including eight years ago, an attack on a christmas market in berlin. but people are saying much more should have been done here. it shouldn't have been possible for this car to drive through the way it did. this is bbc news.

in gaza, the civil defence agency says an israeli strike killed at least five people at a shelter for displaced people. they said drones targeted tents in a humanitarian area of al—mawasi, in western khan yunis. israel said the strike was aimed at hamas operatives. its not the first time that the site, home to thousands of displaced people has been targeted by the israeli military. let's go live tojerusalem and our correspondent, emir nader. what do we know about

these latest strikes? the latest reports indicate that it wasn't just a single strike, but in fact three strikes over night that were targeting various sites in al—mawasi, this huge encampment in the south of gaza, a location where there are over 100,000 displaced gazans who were told to go there by the israeli military throughout the war, into a zone which was supposed to be a safe humanitarian zone. we have seen images of burning tents and more recently of a cadre appears to have been hit directly by a strike. between the three strikes that have been identified, the latest reports are of around 11 people who have been killed. there has been an idf statement which says they were attacking a

hamas target in the location. al—mawasi has already been in a dire situation in recent weeks, especially with the onset of winter. it is on the beach. there has been flooding when there has been rain and the tents are flimsy. the basic infrastructure is struggling with a lack of toilet facilities as well. these strikes overnight, we had a statement this morning from the aid agency 0xfam, looking at the north of gaza, in particular an area in the northernmost part of the strip, where the aid agency says in the past two and a half months, they have been attempting to

get aid into those locations and aid trucks have only been given permission for 3h tracks, which they say is a meagre amount. of those, only 12 have been able to deliver aid. they accuse the israeli military of deliberate delays and systematic obstruction of the attempts to deliver aid in that location, where they say there is essentially a military siege ongoing. the idf has not responded to that 0xfam statement directly, but they have said previously that they 1530