nick eardley, thank _ that should be revisited.ritishvolt is expected to go into administration after hopes of a last—minute bid for the company faded. the firm had been expecting to build a new £3.8 billion factory in the port of blyth in northumberland. our business correspondent theo legget is here. that project, the factory, it was huge and ambitious, what happens now? , ., ., , ., now? the question now is what ha--ens now? the question now is what happens to _ now? the question now is what happens to the _ now? the question now is what happens to the site _ now? the question now is what happens to the site and - now? the question now is what| happens to the site and whether now? the question now is what - happens to the site and whether this factory can ever be built. this was a hugely ambitious project, building a hugely ambitious project, building a battery factory capable of producing some 300,000 battery packs for electric cars every year from scratch. the problem is, setting up something like this takes a lot of money. bu

nick eardley at westminster, _ coming too. nick eardley at westminster, thank - coming too.fered to striking health workers in wales. our correspondent hywel griffith is in cardiff. talk of one—off payments. talk of one-off payments. first minister mark— talk of one—off payments. f "st minister mark drakeford speaking today saying that over the christmas and new year period he has been rattling the tin around the finance ministry, checking under the sofa, and he believes they have been able to find enough cash to make a one—off offer to nhs workers here in wales that would apply only here in wales. it has happened before, a couple of years ago, that nhs staff in wales, as they were in scotland and northern ireland, were given a one—off bonus to reward them during the covid pandemic. it worked out after tax at a maximum of at around £500. there has been no amount put on this offer. they have written to the health unions here in wales and hope to meet them by the end of the week about the initial noise from the royal college of nurses say they welcome some development but they

ione wells, bbc news, westminster. 0ur chief political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. portant development, then, in this story this morning?— this morning? yes, it is, clive. nadhim zahawi _ this morning? yes, it is, clive. nadhim zahawi had _ this morning? yes, it is, clive. nadhim zahawi had been - this morning? yes, it is, clive. | nadhim zahawi had been facing question after question, there had been a drip drip of information about exactly what had gone on with his tax affairs, and clearly, the prime minister thinks there are questions to answer, he's said so this morning and he has ordered this investigation from his ethics adviser. nadhim zahawi has said that he's willing to cooperate with that and welcomes someone looking into it. my gut instinct is that probably buys mr zahawi a bit more time, it means that ministers will turn around probably in the next few days and say, we need to wait and see what the investigation says. that, of course, unless there is more of that drip, drip, drip to come in the next you days. but fundamentally, the question will have to be

thank you, nick eardley in westminster.graphy, spare, has gone on sale in the uk. some shops opened at midnight to meet demand, and the waterstones book store, says it's one of its biggest pre—order titles for a decade. much of the book's contents is already public, after copies were leaked in spain. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell reports. kept under wraps until publication date. a few stores including this one in london's victoria station opened at midnight. members of the press outnumbered customers. after the leaks, accidental sales in spain, tv interviews and endless comment... ..people were finally able to get hold of their own copy of prince harry is memoir. i cannot wait to read it, i cannot wait to read what he has got to say and to listen to the audio. i'm going on holiday with some friends. i i thought what better| present can i give the group than harry? we are bound to talk about it. to leave the family and leave the country, i want to know in his own words why. translated into 16 languages the global la

earlier i spoke to our chief political correspondent nick eardley about the situation about the continuing chairmanship. those questions have continued to government ministers this morning who have said we need to let the investigation from the ethics adviser play out before we get the feel of the answers, but i get the impression speaking to some conservative mps that they are uncomfortable about the situation, about the cloud hanging over the party chairman, about the impact it has on the government, and a fear it might undermine some of rishi sunak�*s attempts to move on from some of the scandals of the past few years. you will remember you would have heard us talk about the promise for integrity, professionalism and accountability, and this morning on bbc breakfast one conservative mp, caroline nokes, said nadhim zahawi should stand aside during the probe. i think nadhim should stand aside until this matter is all cleared up. i think the longer it all drags on, the worse it gets for him, so i hope the investigation is swift. actually, i think for his own sake, he should allow there to

that is nick eardley — way he promised. thank you. that is nick eardley at _ way he promised.e is. 26 suppliers i signed up this scheme and within that around 1 million households and businesses are part of it. how much would you save? has been in touch and thinks he will save about 14p this evening if reduces his energy use but national grid says you could save up to £100 as part of the scheme and it is cumulative and this is a test run that is going live tonight. why is it happening? part of the reason it goes live at this point is that we are going deep into the cold snap. we will be using more energy because of that and the national grid i worried not about supply. national grid i worried not about supply, but about the buffet they have in case that they think it will be stretched. because of that they have asked have in case that they think it will be stretched. because of that they have asked for have in case that they think it will be stretched. because of that they have asked for three have in case that they think it will be stretched. because of that they have asked f

nick eardley, thank _ offer has changed as well. nick eardley, thank you. _ a busy day ahead. the trades union congress. good morning and thank you for your time today. picking up on the report that ministers are prepared to look at a one—off payment, a hardship payment, essentially, for health workers for this current year and then move on to discuss wages for next year. what do you make of that? is it something that might be acceptable?— is it something that might be acceptable? is it something that might be acce table? ., ., ~' �*, ,.,, ., acceptable? look, it's positive that ministers have _ acceptable? look, it's positive that ministers have finally _ acceptable? look, it's positive that ministers have finally agreed - acceptable? look, it's positive that ministers have finally agreed to - ministers have finally agreed to meet unions, but they need to be discussing what the current disputes are actually about, which is about pay this year. so far we haven't had any indication they are prepared to do that. those meetings are taking place today and unions will be listening

thank you, nick eardley, our political - eardley, our political correspondent.bal accountancy firm kpmg. good to have you with us, just the imf's good to have you with us, just the imf�*s forecast for it with kpmg's? they are actually a little more optimistic than us and quite a few other analysts to expect the economy to shrink by more like 0.9% at this stage, although dato keeps coming. we could see changes, these are just forecasts at the start of the year. i wanted to put it into context in the sense that this is a relatively mild contraction. if you look at the recession that we are expected to see in the uk, we are expecting peak to trough, output to fall by around 1.6, 1.7, relatively to trough, output to fall by around 1.6,1.7, relatively mild to trough, output to fall by around 1.6, 1.7, relatively mild compared to even the early 90s recession where there was a contraction of 2.75 and more than double that during the great recession of 2008, 2009. so even though we are seeing a slowdown in the uk and it may be worse than other countries, it is still not

nick eardley in downing street. are back on strike today, in a dispute over pay. paramedics, control room staff and support workers from three unions are taking part in the latest round of industrial action. our business correspondent, marc ashdown, reports. yet again, ambulance workers are taking to the picket line. several thousand members of three unions are walking out today, mainly in the midlands, north of england and wales. london and the south—west are also affected. for specialist paramedic tom, it's a frustrating time. he's been in thejob for six years and loves it, but says the past six months have been increasingly challenging. recently, certainly in the last couple of years, really exacerbated in the last six months, thisjob has become very, very difficult. we are all very, very tired. the pressure on services, nhs wide, but also on the ambulance service, has increased exponentially. and it's really hard to be in the position that we are at today where you are sort of looking from the position, i don't

he became aware that mr zahawi had paid a penalty to hmrc. 0ur chief political correspondent, nick eardleyminster now. has rishi sunak now drawn a line under this matter?— has rishi sunak now drawn a line under this matter? that's certainly what is heping _ under this matter? that's certainly what is hoping this _ under this matter? that's certainly what is hoping this morning. - under this matter? that's certainlyl what is hoping this morning. telling journalists he had acted decisively, that as soon as he got that report yesterday morning, he had taken the decision to sack esther zahavi, it only took the prime minister a couple of hours from receiving it to us all knowing that nadhim zahawi was no longer in hisjob. but there are those who think that the minister could have acted sooner. there are conservative mps who think that mr sunak waited too long to start the investigation into the tory chairman in the first place. 0pposition parties are saying the promised probably didn't need an investigation to tell him that mr zahawi had fallen foul of the rules that ministers have to follow. a

let's talk to our chief political correspondent, nick eardley.t westminster. it's a theme which came up westminster. it's a theme which came up time and again at pm keys. the labour up time and again at pm keys. tue: labour leader up time and again at pm keys. tte: labour leader keir starmer chose to really push on the current state of the nhs in prime minister's questions, using a series of questions to highlight the experiences of individuals trying to use things like waiting for ambulances, highlighting the extremely long ambulance waiting times for example for people who experience heart attacks and really painting that picture of the problems their are within the nhs at the moment, hitting them on the governments handling of the nhs using examples from across england. he accused rishi sunak of the siding over lethal chaos on his watch and he needed to stop blaming others and take responsibility. you heard a bit of rishi sunak�*s response to that area, talking about there being unprecedented challenges for the nhs, brought about by the covid

our chief political corrrespondent nick eardley is at westminster.nts to focus on policy at this meeting but it is all overshadowed by personalities?— it is all overshadowed by personalities? yes, jane, as ministers — personalities? yes, jane, as ministers sit _ personalities? yes, jane, as ministers sit around - personalities? yes, jane, as ministers sit around that. personalities? yes, jane, as l ministers sit around that table round about now, they want to talk about how they turn their fortunes around in the polls. but the backdrop is pretty difficult for rishi sunak. because those questions that have been swirling around westminster all week are not going away. let's take nadhim zahawi, the tory chairman, first. his hands are largely tied by the investigation that's going on from the pm's ethics adviser. but another intervention this morning that is going to be pretty difficult for mr zahawi. remember, we know, he paid a penalty to settle a tax bill. the head of hmrc, the taxman, has been giving evidence to mps this morning and he says, i can't

we can speak now to our chief political correspondent, nick eardley.ishi sunak�*s judgment, about why he didn't act earlier, whether nadhim zahawi should even still be an mp. yes, there are indeed. when you read the report by the adviser on ethics, it is pretty damning, seven occasions on which he concluded nadhim zahawi had broken the ministerial code and after he got that report yesterday rishi sunak did act within a couple of hours to sack the tory chairman. but there is no question of why the prime minister didn't act sooner. maybe last week, for example, when it emerged that penalty had been paid as part of mr zahawi plasma tax bill. we were told by number 10 that the pm hadn't known that, that he only found out in the media. so there was a question i think about why the prime minister decided to launch an investigation rather than just sack nadhim zahawi straightaway. this is what the labour party argued this morning. have a listen to the shadow cabinet member nick thomas—symonds. the member nick thomas-symonds. the prime member nick thomas—symon

our chief political correspondent, nick eardley is at westminster.fference a week make, it was this time last week where rishi sunak was saying that the questions had been addressed in full. a very different set of answers from rishi sunak this afternoon, the case for the defence is that you need to let due process play out and rishi sunak didn't know the full story when he turned up at pmqs last week, the case for the labour party is that rishi sunak is too weak to act, he is trying to keep the different factions of his party together, so he doesn't want to sack someone who was a prominent backer of boris johnson. the big question that remained unanswered, and unasked by the labour party, is whether the prime minister thinks it is ok that this time last week he was allowed to turn up at prime minister's questions without nadhim zahawi making him aware of all the full facts, that he had paid a penalty as part of a tax dispute with hmrc. so where are we this afternoon? for now nadhim zahawi remains in hisjob but there is a significant cloud brett hank

and ministers overpay looks stuck, so the disruption goes on. 0ur chief political correspondent nick eardley so, a wave of winter strikes goes on, any end in sight? well, there's nothin: on, any end in sight? well, there's nothing on — on, any end in sight? well, there's nothing on the _ on, any end in sight? well, there's nothing on the table _ on, any end in sight? well, there's nothing on the table that _ on, any end in sight? well, there's nothing on the table that would - nothing on the table that would suggest an end is imminent and, yes, there was a bit more optimism over those talks on monday, and yes ministers are now looking at the idea of a one—off payment or potentially backdating next year's pay deal to cover the start of this calendar year as well. but what we don't have any specifics at all, really, about what the government might be prepared to about what the prime minister might be prepared to agree to. what unions might sign off on, although some of them have said this morning they would be prepared to look at frankly anything to try and get this over the line. what we're h

nick eardley. chief _ potentially be called off soon?iety in england. good to have you with us. on the face of it, the decision to call an ambulance, orto face of it, the decision to call an ambulance, or to call or visit your local pharmacist, it doesn't seem like a like—for—like decision, but i wonder if there was any particular advice or help that pharmacists can offer today in this situation? across the country, pharmacists are open and supporting their patients. we have a bit of a different role to ambulance services and it's important we encourage patients to access the right care in the right place. in terms of how people can support themselves, i think it's really important that, obviously if there are some red flag symptoms you are concerned about and it is life—threatening, it's obviously important to call 999 as appropriate. but in your community pharmacy there is a hub of advice and colleagues have been working extremely hard over the winter period and during covid as well, which hasn't quite gone away. there's 65 million inf

nick eardley in downing street.m the chairman of the bbc, richard sharp. he says, "we have many challenges at the bbc and i know distractions such as this are not welcome. 0ur i know distractions such as this are not welcome. our work at the bbc is rooted in trust, although the appointment of the bbc chairman is solely appointed for the government, i want to assure you that all the appropriate guidance was followed. the nominations committee of the bbc board has responsibility for regularly reviewing board members�* conflict of interest. " he has agreed with the senior independent director that the committee shall look at this when it next meets. and in the interests of transparency, publish the conclusions. that is a statement from the chairman of the bbc, richard sharp. thousands of ambulance workers in england and wales are back on strike today, in a dispute over pay. paramedics, control room staff and support workers from three unions are taking part in the latest round of industrial action. our business corresp

nick eardley.about the fact that the number of people who aren't working because of long—term sick issues has gone up, considerably, since the pandemic. it's gone up from about two million in 2019 to 2.5 million now. so, the government has been looking at ways to incentivise people back into work. none of these plans are finalised yet, but i think we're getting an idea of what the government is likely to do when it comes up with those proposals. so the key one is that people who get disability benefits won't lose them automatically if they go back to work. the idea is that you still have a bit of a safety net, that people aren't worried that by going back to work, that safety net is removed. so that's something that's looking pretty likely. the government is also thinking about reforming the eligibility plans, the way that you've got to set out that you're too sick to work. that's something that labour were talking about earlier in the week as well, so there's broad consensus on that. there's even

nick eardley, thank you.otiator for the unite union said the government needed to start focussing on this year's pay offer. the reality is we're not going to resolve the crisis in the nhs, we're not going to be able to move on unless we resolve 2022 pay. there is no point talking about april onwards 2023—2a pay when we are in dispute about 2022. that's what we need today. if they were to offer some sort of one—off payment would you listen to that idea? we'll listen. we will listen. we will talk and we will negotiate. the reality is we are a trade union so it will be up to our members and any offers go back to our members. but we need movement from the government about 2022. now, the statements we've had and the rumours over the weekend, rishi sunak giving some hint and then stephen barclay saying something else and then civil servants saying something else as well, it's absolutely ridiculous. surely they must know what they are doing. so look, i'm not going and full of hope today, unfortunately. i genuinely t

our chief political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. over to you.re taking place, so it is focused on some key emergency services, things like ambulances, the fire brigade, but also on key services like the railways, education etc. we heard this morning from the business secretary, who is taking care of this piece of legislation, and his argument was that it is reasonable, fair and that people expect some level of service even when strikes are taking place. it should be said other countries, european countries, modern states, france and spain, places like that already have minimum safety legislation. i think it's perfectly reasonable to expect that if you have a heart attack or a stroke you will still be able to get an ambulance. that's something with the nurses in the last round of strikes, they agreed a national level of support but unfortunately the ambulance unions did not and that is why we are introducing these minimum safety levels. that was a reference to the ambulance strikes in england just before christmas. we might —— you might remember

let's speak now to our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. good morning, nick.iament?- government likely to get this through parliament? good morning, sall . i through parliament? good morning, sally- i think — through parliament? good morning, sally. i think there _ through parliament? good morning, sally. i think there will— through parliament? good morning, sally. i think there will be _ through parliament? good morning, sally. i think there will be a - through parliament? good morning, sally. i think there will be a bit - sally. i think there will be a bit of a row over it, potentially a lot of a row over it, potentially a lot of politicians in the house of lords are going to say, this clamps down far too much on the ability to process. we are seeing a similar argument from human rights groups. to answer your question, i think it is pretty likely that this will get through parliament, even if it takes a while. the argument you are going to hearfrom the a while. the argument you are going to hear from the government is that this is about balance. they think t

let's speak now to our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. morning. he is in downing street ll face questions about this. why didn't he act sooner? we reported last week that mr zahawi paid a penalty as part of his tax bill and that was not enough for him to be sacked. the argument from the man who lives in a is that he wanted to follow due process can get his ethics adviser to look into all of this and then make his final decision. the man you have seen walking through the door, nadhim zahawi, he is not happy. some of his allies have been suggesting to us this morning that the process was flawed, he did not get enough of a chance to make his case to the independent adviser, this process was sped up because of the political damage it was doing the government. that said, when you read the report, all four pages of it, it is pretty damning. several breaches of the ministerial code. the independent adviser saying mr zahawi did not declare enough when it came to his taxes. there is that. this comes back to rishi sunak�*s attempt to try to clean up government and say up to some of

our chief political correspondent nick eardley had the latest from westminster. investigation they take some of the heat out of this, and probably buy nadhim zahawi a bit of time. put it in the hands of the ethics adviser, let him look into things and then make a decision once that report was done. but clearly some conservatives extremely uncomfortable with the situation, the impact it's having on the party and the cloud over their chairman, and this morning we have heard the first conservative mp say that nadhim zahawi should stand aside during this investigation. here's what caroline nokes told bbc breakfast earlier. i think nadhim zahawi to stand aside until this matter is cleared up, the longer it drags on the worse it gets for him so i hope the investigation is swift, but for his own sake he should allow there to be some space between him being a government minister and this sort of investigation. i don't think that's nadhim zahawi's plan, has been made perfectly clear by his allies he intends to fight his corner, he thinks he has behaved appropriately and w

let�*s get more on this now with our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. are spot on. _ soon. morning to you, sally. no, i think you are spot on. there - soon. morning to you, sally. no, i think you are spot on. there has l think you are spot on. there has been a huge political rally over the —— row over this that we have covered over the last couple of days over the row over how easy it should be to change illegal sex, what age should be to be able to do that, and the second big row over the decision by the uk government to block the scottish government�*s law. it is going to end up in court, the scottish government has made it absolutely clear that it wants to challenge this, it thinks its legislation is fine and it is determined to go on with it. we had a bit of an exchange in the commons last night with the scottish secretary saying, this is not about politics, i have made this decision purely based on the legality of it all. nicola sturgeon, scotland�*s first minister, is apoplectic about this. she has used the phrase culture wars, she reckons it is ab

let's get more now from chief political correspondent, nick eardley. opriate for nadhim zahawi or people acting on his behalf to make legal representations and suggest they might take legal action after questions were raised when this story was initially being investigated. there have been accounts given by the independent newspaper and by tax experts who looked into this that they were threatened with legal action. i think you are right, i think the broad question will come back to rishi sunak. what a difference a week makes. last week at prime minister's questions mr sunak stood up minister's questions mr sunak stood up and said this matter had been addressed in full by nadhim zahawi. he will not be able to say that today because a lot has changed since. a key question rishi sunak will face is what he knew and when. because my understanding, speaking to people in downing street is that rishi sunak did not know his minister, the man he made tory chairman, had paid a penalty as part of his tax bill until reports emerged over the weekend in the media. i

let's talk to our chief political correspondent nick eardley. very good morning to speak to you.hat will be the tricky areas for him? i an investigation. what will be the tricky areas for him?— an investigation. what will be the tricky areas for him? i think it was the hoe tricky areas for him? i think it was the hepe that _ tricky areas for him? i think it was the hepe that by _ tricky areas for him? i think it was the hope that by starting - tricky areas for him? i think it was the hope that by starting this - the hope that by starting this investigation, ministers would have a bit of a pious shield against the questions they would face. i think the story has kept going. more questions have emerged. the big problem for the prime minister is what he told mps last week. if you cast your mind back a week to prime minister's questions, he said that nadhim zahawi had addressed the matter in full. since then moore has emerged. we are told by number 10, their account is, when rishi sunak said that he did not know the conservative party chairman had paid a penalty as part of a tax disp

our chief political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. been saying in response? labour party been saying in resume?— labour party been saying in resonse? ., ., , response? the government argument is the legislation _ response? the government argument is the legislation is — response? the government argument is the legislation is reasonable, _ response? the government argument is the legislation is reasonable, that - the legislation is reasonable, that it will not go too far, but it is going to ensure that minimum service levels are enforced across great britain in certain key areas. so there's some areas where the government will decide that level like ambulances, the fire service and on the railways and then there's others were the government says we will negotiate over this and hopefully come to an agreement so we do not have to impose something, that's like education, border staff, nuclear decommissioning as well. that is the pits from the government. the accusation that they are facing is that this is unfair and that it will not work.

let's talk to our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. al plan by the government? yeah and it is, and araument government? yeah and it is, and argument you — government? yeah and it is, and argument you will— government? yeah and it is, and argument you will hear _ government? yeah and it is, and argument you will hear today - government? yeah and it is, and. argument you will hear today from the government is that you need a better_ the government is that you need a better balance between the right to strike _ better balance between the right to strike and _ better balance between the right to strike and the right to go about your— strike and the right to go about your daiiy— strike and the right to go about your daily business without being disrupted — your daily business without being disrupted by strikes, and the government has come down on the side that more _ government has come down on the side that more needs to be done to stop some _ that more needs to be done to stop some of— that more needs to be done to stop some of the most di

thank you very much- _ let's talk to our chief political correspondent nick eardley.e time we look for any indications that might be some sort of breakthrough, but it does seem that both the government and the unions are absolutely still dug in. are you hearing of any movement at all? hot dug in. are you hearing of any movement at all?— dug in. are you hearing of any movement at all? not on health service strikes. _ movement at all? not on health service strikes. obviously - movement at all? not on health service strikes. obviously all. movement at all? not on health | service strikes. obviously all the different sectors are slightly different, some of the government's responsibility, some are less the government was not responsible to and are about negotiations between the workforce and management, but in terms of the health service, you might remember that the star of last week there was a bit of a sense of optimism, actually, after talks between the unions and the health secretary, that may be something could be worked out, a one—off payment or backdating next your

let's get more on this from our chief political correspondent, nick eardley.abour as saying the bill does not go far enough, but it has been a long time coming. do you think it goes far enough?— think it goes far enough? hasn't it been a long _ think it goes far enough? hasn't it been a long time _ think it goes far enough? hasn't it been a long time coming? - think it goes far enough? hasn't it been a long time coming? the - think it goes far enough? hasn't it been a long time coming? the bill has changed in various iterations and what the government has conceded today really matters, because they thought they few years ago about putting on this criminal liability for tax bosses if companies do not protect children online, they decided not to do that and the government is being forced by its own backbenchers to put this back in —— criminal liability for tech bosses. we do not have the specific wording of what the government is promising, they have not published yet and we will hear more from ministers later, but speaking to the tory rebels who try to push thi

. | let�*s talk to our chief political correspondent nick eardley.e length of the investigation? calls from allies to step down. aha, of the investigation? calls from allies to step down.— of the investigation? calls from allies to step down. a very good question- _ allies to step down. a very good question- i _ allies to step down. a very good question. i think— allies to step down. a very good question. i think his _ allies to step down. a very good question. i think his position - question. i think his position remains pretty precarious this morning, the open government will have been that by launching this investigation they take some of the heat out of this, and probably by nadhim zahawi a bit of time. put in the hands of the ethics adviser, let him looking into things and then make a decision once that report was done. but clearly some conservatives, extremely uncomfortable with the situation, this american common control with the impact it�*s having on the party and the cloud over their chairman, and the cloud over their chairman, and this mor

let's get more now from our chief political correspondent, nick eardley, whojoins us from westminsterning, nick. this ethics inquiry might take some time to report back but how would you assess it is how we's chances of survival at this point? —— how would you assess nadhim zahawi's chances of survival? it’s assess nadhim zahawi's chances of survival? �* , , , assess nadhim zahawi's chances of survival? , , ., , survival? it's pretty precarious, laruel in survival? it's pretty precarious, largely in the — survival? it's pretty precarious, largely in the hands _ survival? it's pretty precarious, largely in the hands of- survival? it's pretty precarious, largely in the hands of the - survival? it's pretty precarious, l largely in the hands of the ethics adviser but also in the hands of the prime minister. wejust adviser but also in the hands of the prime minister. we just don't know how long this probe is going to take. this is up to the ethics adviser, this is one of his first investigations, so we do not really have a barometer on how long that is likely to drag out for. it was intere

joining me now is our political correspondent nick eardley. not even doing as well as russia. we have had from the chancellor _ address this? the argument we have had from the chancellor this - address this? the argument we have| had from the chancellor this morning is that there are some short—term challenges. that is the phrase he used. but he is more optimistic about the long—term prospects. i think that is partly management of expectations from the government, because as and it was just explaining, clarity of the government has set itself is on inflation, it wants to bring down inflation, it wants to bring down inflation significantly this year. —— as andy was just explaining. that is the main way to deal with the cost of living crisis, we have had from both the chancellor and the prime minister. but growing the economy is one of the rishi sunak�*s five big pledges that he has made to voters before the next general election. and there is an active debate at westminster about how to achieve that. so there are many conservative mps privately who are very worried, who think t

we can speak now to our chief political correspondent nick eardley. good morning to you.elling up cake, there are lots of different interpretations around, are at there? on how much difference it will make two areas or not. give us your analysis of it. fix, will make two areas or not. give us your analysis of it.— your analysis of it. a lot of it depends _ your analysis of it. a lot of it depends on _ your analysis of it. a lot of it depends on what _ your analysis of it. a lot of it depends on what you - your analysis of it. a lot of it depends on what you think. your analysis of it. a lot of it - depends on what you think levelling up depends on what you think levelling up is, because it is a catchphrase rather than a really well developed, defined proposal. so one of the things that is causing a bit of a debate today is the south—east of england is getting more than the north—east of england. london is getting more than yorkshire. for some people who thought that levelling up was about rebalancing power, to take some of it away from the south of england and put it in th

our chief political correspondent nick eardley joins us now from westminster. an away day. on the wall. concept, isn't it? morning. isn't it| just? oh, to be a fly on the wall in those conversations today, because nadhim zahawi, the tory chairman, will be there. he is under investigation from the ethics adviser, the prime minister's ethics adviser, the prime minister's ethics adviser, but his tax affairs. there are lots of concerns among mps, including ministers, who are unhappy with his conduct and how this has panned out. that could be awkward. what could also be awkward is the situation for the justice secretary dominic raab. reports this morning that the number of people who have complained about his conduct is as many as 30, and over two dozen. that is what the guardian is reporting. we have not confirmed that he had. number 10 are saying this morning they will not give a running commentary. but we did know he was under investigation over these bullying complaints. dominic raab was on the programme at the weekend. here is what he said about the status of those investig

nick eardley, chief political correspondent.tland today as teachers take part in industrial action in a dispute over pay. it follows a strike by primary school teachers yesterday, also over pay. last night scotland's education secretary said she would leave "no stone unturned" to reach a speedy resolution. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon has this report. chanting: we want 10%, - to pay the bills and pay the rent! out on strike again, these teachers are clear about what they want. they say they'd rather be in the classroom but feel they have no choice but to pick up placards instead. i feel very strongly about it. i don't want to be here. i want to be in teaching, i want the kids to be in learning, but it's been left to this. we can't do anything else. i've taught for 32 years, and this is the first time i've ever been out on strike, so it's not easy. it's not easy for the teachers, it's not easy for the parents. i'm a parent myself. families across scotland have been left feeling the impact of the strike, with primary sc

let's get more on this now with our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. intervention from the uk government, isn't it? yeah. it really is a big deal. it's the first time this has ever happened. this is the letter that the scottish secretary sent to nicola sturgeon last night, where he says he is worried about the adverse effect of the legislation if it's passed in scotland on things like single sex clubs, protections on equal pay. it is important for that issue of how you balance trans rights with women's rights. a big debate playing out in scotland for a few years. it is also a big deal in terms of how the uk works, because they say is an issue that is devolved. but it's the first time the uk government has used this power. the nuclear option, really. they are saying, no, we are going to stop this becoming low because we are worried about the impact it is going to have. the message we are getting from uk ministers, certainly once i have been chatting to, is that they are open to the scottish parliament looking at this legislation again and saying, can we

earlier, our chief political correspondent nick eardley told us more.t been hasn't itjust been a long time coming? and that bill has changed in various iterations. what the government has conceded today really matters because they thought they few years ago about putting in criminal liability for tech bosses if their companies do not protect children online, they decided not to do it on the government has now been forced by its own backbenchers to put this back in. we don't have the specific wording of what the government is promising, they have not published it yet and i think we will hear more from ministers later today, but speaking to the tory rebels trying to push this cause, they are absolutely confident that what the government has agreed to and what it will insert into this bill will be intact bosses that oversee firms who do not comply with the law in the uk could be sent to jail ultimately if they do not follow the rules, which is a significant escalation of the potential punishment to be meted out. there was always debate within the bill abou

let's speak now to our chief political correspondent nick eardley.chievements over the last three years but there are different interpretations about how successful brexit has been for the whole of the uk so far. , ~ ., ., , uk so far. yes. we are hearing rishi sunak say this _ uk so far. yes. we are hearing rishi sunak say this morning _ uk so far. yes. we are hearing rishi sunak say this morning he _ uk so far. yes. we are hearing rishi sunak say this morning he thinks - uk so far. yes. we are hearing rishi sunak say this morning he thinks it | sunak say this morning he thinks it has been a brilliant success, that the uk is harnessing what he calls the uk is harnessing what he calls the freedoms created by leaving the european union. the government would point to things like reforming farming subsidies and two things they see as cutting red tape. they point to the low tax zones, free ports rishi sunak likes to talk about. there are a lot of people in westminster who think brexit has been a really good thing and has given the uk more power over deci

listening to local communities in every part of this country. 0ur chief political correspondent nick eardleya really well developed, defined proposal. so one of the things that is causing a bit of a debate today is the south—east of england is getting more than the north—east of england. london is getting more than yorkshire. for some people who thought that levelling up was about rebalancing power, to take some of it away from the south of england and put it in the north of england, might scratch their heads a bit and wonder how that can be the case. the government would say in response, look, there are more people in the south of england in per capita they are getting more and there are pockets of deprivation in parts of the south of england that really need extra cash to bring up standards of living and opportunity. but i think there is going to be a bit of a clash today, actually, over whether the government has its priorities right. whether putting that money into london on the south—east of england is actually true to the spirit of that idea of levelling up. what do you make of the cri

that was nick eardley. been verified by the bbc shows the inside of the mosque after the blast. half of the wall has caved into the mosque. there is rubble and debris on the floor and you can see people clambering over that in order to try to get out. now, lady reading hospital in peshawar has declared an emergency. they are calling for blood donations to try to help. they have told the bbc that they are still receiving the injured and they have also received people who have died, as well. a government minister speaking earlier has said that they know that the majority of people that have been injured and died in this blast are police and he has suggested that they were potentially the target of this explosion. meanwhile, the government has announced details of a £1 billion investment to tackle emergency care delays in the national health service. the government is pledging 5,000 new beds, increasing capacity by 5%. there will also be a 10% boost in ambulances, with 800 new vehicles on the road. prime minis

our chief political correspondent nick eardley looks ahead to rishi sunak�*s appearance at prime minister's questions they would face. but i think as the story has just kept going, more questions have emerged. a big problem for the prime minister is what he told mps last week. if you cast your mind back a week to prime minister's questions, he said that nadhim zahawi had addressed the matter in full. since then, more has emerged. we are told by number 10, their account is, when mr sunak said that, he did not know the conservative party chairman had paid a penalty as part of a tax dispute with hmrc. inevitably, i think, there will be questions for mr sunak today about what he found out and when, about what advice he got when nadhim zahawi was appointed to hisjob, when mr sunak became prime minister. also i think about the relationship between the two. we were told last week by the pm's spokesman that he takes mr zahawi at his word. given we now know he did not have the full account at pmqs last week, does he still take mr zahawi at his word? this is a story that has got different elements to