for the eu.g point where on day one we will both have the same laws and rules. so rather than having to bring two different systems closer together the task will be to manage the relationship once we are two separate legal systems. to do so and to realise his level of ambition, there are five things that must underline our relationship. first we need reciprocal commitments to ensure open competition. such commitments are part and parcel of any trade agreement. why would any country enter into a privileged economic partnership without any means of redress of the other party engaged in anti—competitive practices. but the level of integration with the uk and eu markets and our geographical proximity means that these reciprocal commitments will be particularly important in ensuring that uk business can compete fairly with eu markets and vice versa. they deep and copper offensive agreement with the eu will therefore need to include commitments reflecting the extent that the uk and eu economies are ent

of some of the eu agencies. is it something the european parliament, that the eu, would welcome?hat is being pushed by industry in the united kingdom and i'm very glad to see for the first time very concrete realities again dawning in the united kingdom, that leading —— leaving regulatory agencies will impact on business in the united kingdom and patients. while there are people like norway part of many of our agencies and are valued. if the united kingdom wants that there is a price to be paid and the prime minister has acknowledged that. and there is value to be gained from that as well. i would hope on those issues we could make progress but it would be part of an overall package. and remember that the red lines are still very heavily red, leaving the single market and customs union. there is then a sense, adding laid out those red lines, of saying, on the other hand we like what the eu has created in a whole range of issues. as i read this it's a bit like saying, look, we want to be part of the european union but don't want to be called part of the european union. on that not

the eu and nato speaking as one.idarity with the united kingdom, and oui’ extreme concern about what has happened. it is really unacceptable. all 29 nato allies stand united. we stand in solidarity with the united kingdom. and the uk is not alone. as an anti—russian reflex. as for russia's diplomats in london, well, some of these officials and their families will be heading home tomorrow, 23 in all. with a similar number of british diplomats leaving moscow shortly. tomorrow, the national security council will meet to decide britain's next step. there is a live debate within government — should they retaliate and escalate, or simply do nothing? should they kick yet more russian diplomats out of the embassy here, or should they find new ways of penalising russia ? the risk for britain is that a bilateral confrontation with russia might overshadow attempts to maintain international pressure. back in salisbury, the police tonight revealed the full scale of the investigation, with 250 counter—terrorism officers examining

i work for an eu firm and i have an eu wife.ut whether we would be able to trade or sell services into the eu any more, whether my wife will be able to stay. the future for my kids, who are half eu, they have german and british citizenship, there is no certainty at all. thank you. how are you feeling?” there is no certainty at all. thank you. how are you feeling? i am very negative about the whole situation. we just heard the prime minister says she wants to unify the four nations of the uk when she hasn't consulted them. wales hasn't been consulted them. wales hasn't been consulted and they have complained about it. scotland have been consulted and they have complained about it. and there is also a suggestion from members of the government that there was going to bea government that there was going to be a custom deal for northern ireland in terms of free movement. so one of the things we have to be aware of is that the prime minister is talking about unity. one of the issues i had with the eu as a leaver was about democratic l

uk citizens living in the eu. be able to negotiate trade deals during the transition period. but not yet agreed is the issue of the border with northern ireland. our europe editor katya adler has more. in the quest to resolve relations after brexit today was a big moment between the eu and uk. an historic handshake to seal a deal, not the final brexit deal but the long—awaited agreement on transition to ease the uk from leaving the eu to life on the outside. the eu and uk's chief brexit negotiators were visibly relieved, they had been under pressure from business. businesses need not delay investment decisions or rush through plans based on guesses about the future, instead they now have certainty about the terms that will apply after withdrawal. certainty, not quite. an oft repeated phrase at ago she nations is... nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. the transition deal is part of the uk's complex moved to all withdrawal agreements from the eu. areas highlighted in green indicate where agreement has been

the eu and nato speaking as one.r is our full solidarity with the united kingdom, and our extreme concern about what has happened. it is really unacceptable. all 29 nato allies stand united. we stand in solidarity with the united kingdom. and the uk is not alone. but in moscow, as president putin began his fourth term, the defiance continued. his foreign ministry dismissing the eu statement as an anti—russian reflex. as for russia's diplomats in london, well, some of these officials and their families will be heading home tomorrow, 23 in all. with a similar number of british diplomats leaving moscow shortly. tomorrow, the national security council will meet to decide geek. in. 53355553; the 53555. 12:5:3557’32357177 .— ; 1. 4; s; s; examining 4,000 hours of cctv, 800 exhibits and 400 witness statements. detectives said this could last many months. james landale, bbc news. one of the biggest inquiries into the alleged abuse of teenage recruits in the british army has collapsed after a judge stopped the first of three

so it will be outside, it will fall all of the eu's into the eu's budget, allow eu citizens to move into uk will not have full control overfishing rights, the eu will continue to decide those. so in many areas the uk has had to come from ice. on the one key issue that is outstanding, so in many areas the uk has had to come from us. on the one key issue that is outstanding, the really big issue at the heart of this, the issue of how to avoid a border between north and southern ireland, the eu has insisted and the uk has agreed today that in the withdrawal agreement will be the eu's third option that northern ireland, part of the uk, remains still under the eu's rules, regulations, custom zone as well, the customs union, if a better solution can't be found. the uk still does not view that as the preferred option, that still has to be sorted out in the negotiations the conditional but at the heart of the agreement, the whole agreement conditional upon getting the sorted before the end of the year, before brexit happens and this agreement has to be in place. fishing opportunities will contin

dashes rogue the eu. -- the eu some other countries. dashes rogue the eu. —— the eu has formed.ble to let other countries sell more into the uk without making it any easier for us to sell more to them or the uk signing up to the common commercial policy. that would not be compatible with a meaningful, independent trade policy. it would mean we had less control than we do now over our trade in the world. nobody would wa nt trade in the world. nobody would want that. we thought seriously about how our commitment to a frictionless border can best be delivered in last year we set out two potential options for our customs arrangement. option one is a customs arrangement. option one is a customs partnership between the uk and the eu. at the border the and the eu. at the borderthe uk would mirror the eu's requirements for imports from the rest of the world, applying the same tariffs and same rules of origin as the eu for those goods arriving in the uk and intended for the eu. those goods arriving in the uk and intended forthe eu. by those goods arriving in the uk and intended for the e

as a member state of the eu we pay into the eu budget every year and that money is then spent accordinges, in various memberstates, including however brussels decides, in various member states, including in the uk. the bill has been worked out in the early pa rt the bill has been worked out in the early part of the negotiations as an agreement between brussels and the uk as to what it owes for the next year or so before the eu agrees its next budget. the government will have already factored in the spending to its yearly budget so it isn't going to come as a new charge. the money will already be accounted for as part of government spending. it was a question of how long the uk would go on spending money into the eu budget. another person asks about mobile roaming rates being great for the public and business, will we lose them? we don't know, but it will be subject to negotiation. it will be subject to negotiation. it will be subject to negotiation. it will be up to grab. it was agreed as an eu directive, in force across the european union, that there is a cap on charges that mobile pho

president it are one -- complained that the eu is not come up with the cash. what does the eu say?eporter: there does seem to be two sets of accountancy going on here. he keeps on complaining that the eu has not paid their money. the eu claims to pay their money but it did not go to the turkish state. it went directly to the refugees and ngos that catered to them. obviously, he has an ongoing problem there. he wants to have the money. he wants to receive it directly and do with it. as he pleases the european union says, it is not to support the turkish state that it is to directly support the refugees. they simply do not trust the turkish resident to do right by them. brent: speaking of trust, he said today that he expects turkey to join the european union but the relations have been increasingly strained. 20 turkey's chances to join the eu look right now? -- how do turkey's chances to join the eu look right now? barbara: they do not look well. he knows the mood and it is only over everybody's dead bodies that turkey would be a member of the eu. talking about angela merkel and berl

and russian delegation to the eu and russian delegation to the eu and russian delegation to nato andriguing to see some of the countries that have not taken action explaining why, a tweet from the spokesman for the maltese prime minister basically saying their presence in russia is so saying their presence in russia is so small that if they expel russian diplomats from malta then russia could expel all of the maltese diplomats from moscow leaving them com pletely diplomats from moscow leaving them completely unrepresented there was no is to the ground at all other some might say it is more because of the influence of russian money on the influence of russian money on the maltese economy. the austrians do not want to expel anyone because they say they're about to take up they say they're about to take up the rotating presidency of the eu in the rotating presidency of the eu in the summer and they want to remain neutral. people will say it is more for political reasons and that is excuse. for political reasons and that is excuse. yes, a massive massive diplomatic effort we have seen fr

the eu is not offering bad.do you make of the chancellor's argument?” think what we are seeing with philip hammond is with their degree of frustration. he is trying to see exactly how he can make things work for the uk economy, whereas the european union obviously has ruled that it wants to stick by, and there isa that it wants to stick by, and there is a degree of frustration coming by. the most important thing here is that banking and finance are actually a climate for the british economy. they contributed 7.2% to gross value added. i driven 24 billion per year to the uk economy. he is trying to protect that and understandably so. doctor harding, he also spoke about other financial centres in europe, thing that of london was aside, it will not necessarily be frankfurt paris that will benefit but new york and singapore. what do you make of those arguments? years making a good point. london is a large financial centre and it has a great amount of capital flowing through it, centre and it has a great amount of ca

we will leave the institutions of the eu ina will leave the institutions of the eu in a year, but nobodyat we will have concluded by october this year because it is not going to be a year from now, the deal has to be done by october, but no one thinks in that agreement we will have sorted all of the arrangements and drawn up a treaty covering everything, it is a very long list of things that have to be dealt with. no one thinks we will have done that by october, so the challenge for parliament, how are we going to vote on the deal where our future relationship are we going to vote on the deal where ourfuture relationship is still unclear not because it wasn't possible to negotiate something which provided greater certainty but because the government decided to ta ke because the government decided to take off the table certain options, like staying in a customs union which i have been arguing forfor a long time, that is the policy of the labour party, and that would answer a number of concerns of business and thatis a number of concerns of business and that is why the cbi supports staying

the difference is that the rest of the eu, the eu 26 in this case, and the heads of the eu institutionsment. and they mean it when they say you must be happy with this arrangement. they take the good friday agreement seriously. that's a very real concern. seriously. that's a very real concern. for spain it is a national pride issue. it is seen as such. it's used by the spanish prime minister for domestic reasons. if you were to use this and put into peril and agreement to the eu very much once, notjust peril and agreement to the eu very much once, not just the peril and agreement to the eu very much once, notjust the uk, then you can expect the weight of the 26 to come bearing down on it. we've had a lot of political heat around the irish border question. yet up until now the gibraltar question, yes, different, hasn't really forced itself to the front of the discussion. it doesn't have the emotion behind it, either. with a lot of brexit, its economic arguments. when it comes to fishing, if peoples livelihoods are... i am not belittling that, but i need when it comes to the irish border

as the eu summit come under way.leaders expected this but feel exonerated and see that eu unity raise dividends. >> we made it clear in the commission we don't want a trade war, which would not help anyone. and we made it clear that we are ready and able to undertake adequate countermeasures. first of all, the eu presented a united front. that's good, and also a commitment to free trade and against protectionism. since the beginning of the month, u.s. president trump threatened to levy a 10% tariff on aluminum and steel. however, after intensive negotiations with the european union, washington will exempt the eu and six other nations from the tariffs, for the time being at least. that is when these countries and their leaders are wary, and asking the u.s. to reconsider for the long term, and not create any trade barriers. >> my wish at least is that we continue with the rules of international trade, which are good for us all. what would also be good for all of them is to come to further agreements with prime minister

— from the rights of eu citizens, to the transition period and how much the uk will pay.avoid a hard border in ireland is still an issue. the announcement comes ahead of an eu summit later this week which the prime minister hopes will pave the way for talks on trade. our europe correspondent, damian grammaticus, is in brussels. today has been a busy day here in brussels, david davis called it a significant step, mr barnier called ita significant step, mr barnier called it a decisive step. the outline agreement for this transition period that would come in in one year's time when the uk leads the eu, the link all the rules and trading freely but there are crucial issues remain an earlier today the irish foreign minister was here to make sure the irish border issue was not overlooked. first thing this morning and it was the irish foreign minister who was in brussels meeting michel barnier before david davis got there. his aim was to see to it that irish concerns remained uppermost in the brexit negotiations. simon coveney began the day tweeting that he was on an early fligh

today, eu leaders said, ok, go ahead.ng for the bridging transition agreement. again, eu leaders said, yes, you can have it. still, part brexit remains a complicated one. there are still big issues to resolve, including the irish border problem. although eu leaders said yes a lot to teresa may, they also pointed out that they are still working on the possible scenario of brexit talks breaking down altogether and failing. thank you. a gunman who went on a shooting spree in southern france, killing three people and injuring 16, has been shot dead by police. the man, named as redouane lakdim, pledged allegiance to the islamic state group. he began the attacks in the city of carcassone — then drove to a nearby town where he took people hostage in a supermarket. from there, lucy williamson reports. it wasn't a symbol that was attacked in trebes today. a local supermarket provided the only target necessary — people. special forces surrounded this provincial branch after a gunman burst in, shouting his allegiance to the jihadist

and if you leave the eu, you can cooperate closely with the eu.a pity that you can no longer sit at the table during these decision—making processes. but even if the uk had already left the european union, this country, this great nation, would have received the same wave of solidarity from france, germany and others, because we understand this attack is an attack on our way of life. one down, four summits to go. at next year's summer gathering, the uk will be out of the room. but it is unlikely to find itself a stranger in this town. joining me now is ambassador kurt volker from the mccain institute. he is a former us ambassador to nato and is the us special representative to ukraine. we will discuss the security aspects of this. let us start with the outcome today in brussels. downing street painting this is a great triumph, is it or is this the least you can expect from close friends in a situation like this? the context i put this in is nota uk and europe context but rather europe and russia. what we have seen is that even though it is difficu

eu leaders have vowed to retaliate in kind.lso in the next hour: a right royal celebration for harry and meghan‘s wedding weekend in may. pubs in england and wales will be able to stay open for an extra two hours on the friday and saturday nights. would you stop interrupting me when i am interrupting you? oscar hopes for gary oldman for his portrayal of winston churchill in the darkest hour. he could be one of the winners at tonight's 90th academy awards. good morning and welcome to bbc news. theresa may has urged the eu to engage with her ambitious but practical vision for economic relations with the uk after brexit. she defended her plans on the future of trade and city of london services as she rejected claims that britain is trying to cherry pick the best eu regulations. susana mendonca is here. that big speech we heard the other day and now this interview with andrew marr. what has she been saying on brexit? reinforcing the point which she was making on friday, really. jack knowledges that what she is asking of the eu goes

the eu trade commissioner had called for the eu to be excluded from the tariffs.ck to that story because the european union says those trade talks with the us have ended with no immediate clarity on whether the eu will be exempted from ta riffs whether the eu will be exempted from tariffs on steel and aluminium. the two sides had been trying to reach a deal following president trump's plans to impose tariffs. britain has said it will seek an exemption. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. the meeting between the us trade representative robert lighthizer and his eu counterpart cecilia malmstrom had long been in the diary for saturday, but following the formal imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium by the us this week, the meeting took on some urgency. the eu is not one of the biggest steel exporters to america, but it does not want its producers to pay a 25% tariff either. to complicate matters, britain is quitting the eu next year but cannot get an exemption to the tariffs until then. but its international trade minister, liam fox, travels to washin

we have so many eu countries.citizens living in the uk. they have other citizens who want to come to the uk. spain is another country, italy. it is thought possible that the government may use some kind of eu immigration quotas asa bargaining some kind of eu immigration quotas as a bargaining chip. it is out there. i have to ask you picking up on the conversation by vince cable. how often, when you are in conversation, does the issue of brexit come up? and when does it become very divisive? sort of thing where levers and remainers are at each other‘s throat. where levers and remainers are at each other's throat. some of my friends didn't vote. some voted to leave. we debate it. they have my point of view. —— they have their point of view. —— they have their point of view. —— they have their point of view, i have mine. we voted to be more inclusive. so at the moment we have a migration system which favours predominantly people of one race from one continent. we voted to be more open, to have more people from more r

have the eu side also been clearer than the uk side so far? definitely. montclair ransoms of objectives and what they are prepared to do. this is the one thing we can see from now on, if we want to change perceptions of power, one of the best ways to do that and drive negotiations is to propose solutions, and i think that is what we need to do now. rather than react to their positions and what they talk about, we can be much clearer in our side and changes necessary. how much of this is the prime minister having to bear in mind that, to an extent, she is also having to negotiate with their own party as she stands up and delivers a speech such as today is? that has been the reality so far, and i think she has been fairly hamstrung in many ways though far. down to this lack of unity. you can take a balance within the cabinet and governments, and all the other political parties, business and those interests, every side has its own requirements. she has political pressures on her as well as negotiating pressures. whereas the eu been able to present a much mor

as we heard, the eu has recalled its ambassadorfrom russia, a group of eu countries has coordinated a out of solidarity with the uk. they have concerns over russia, but still. and brexit, a symbolic day. for a long time the uk has wanted negotiations to talk about trade and future relationship after brexit. yes, you can have that now said he eu leaders. and the uk asked for a bridging transition period, you can have that, said eu leaders here but the road to brexit is difficult with big issues to be resolved, such as the irish border issue and even though eu leaders here says yes to lots at the summit, they pointed out they are still planning for the possibility that brexit ‘s negotiations could break down and fail altogether. thank you. our top story this evening... three people are shot dead and 16 injured in a series of attacks by a suspected islamist gunman in southern france. and we will be live sport relief where the republic of ireland goalkeeper shay given has been trying to save for seven hours. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, ominous signs ahead of the first race of the

with eu rules to avoid a new border.t a backstop solution must form part of the legal text of the withdrawal agreement. the backstop will apply unless and until another solution is found. the uk is still hoping a border can be avoided, but if it does not now present a better option, than the alignment of all parts of the island of ireland should be the solution. in a moment, we'll get reaction from westminster with our assistant political editor, norman smith. but first, let's go to brussels and our europe editor, damian grammaticas. your thoughts on what has happened today and the kind of framework it now provides going forward?” today and the kind of framework it now provides going forward? i think the significant thing today is this overarching political agreement, conditional agreement, and that is an important word, conditional, which sets out the transition period. so it isjust a which sets out the transition period. so it is just a year away and the uk and the eu have agreed broadly what will happen after brexit i

we talk about eu standards but actually what we are talking about is not eu standards, not european standardsause many of these things are developed in an international market. what we would be doing would be ensuring we are meeting standards that enable us to trade elsewhere. we have been hearing from the irish government's foreign minister and he has cast doubt on whether or not the eu would go for this idea that theresa may has come up with, this customs arrangement as opposed to a customs union. he is basically saying that the idea of theresa may's to have the soft border is likely to be rejected by the eu, because it would bring into doubt the integrity of the single market. i am not sure that the european union will be able to support a situation whereby 80% of companies that trade north—south and south— north will actually protect the integrity of the eu single market, which of course will be a big priority for the eu negotiating team. while of course we will explore and look at all of the proposed british solutions, they are essentially a starting point in the negotiations, as opposed

while eu leaders agreed.acron and angela merkel, we agreed on the importance of sending a strong message on russia's actions, notjust in solidarity with the uk, but recognising the threat posed to the national security of all eu countries. the council agreed immediate actions, including withdrawing the eu's ambassador from moscow. today, 18 countries have announced their intention to expel more than 100 russian intelligence office rs more than 100 russian intelligence officers from their countries. this includes 15 eu member states, as well as the united states, canada and the ukraine. this is the largest collective expulsion of russian intelligence officers in history. i have found great solidarity from friends and partners in the eu, north america, nato and beyond over the past three weeks, as we have confronted the aftermath of the salisbury incident. together, we have sent a message that we will not tolerate russia's continued attempts tolerate russia's continued attempts to flout international law and un

agencies, we would be happy to pay and observe eu standards, we would stick by some eu rules and theret has all been rejected and at first glance, you say that looks like a blow to the solar plexus for mrs may. talking to downing street folk, they say that this is only a draft text, it is early days, we hope the eu will respond more imaginatively and creatively, and they‘ re respond more imaginatively and creatively, and they're great hope is that eu leaders in individual european capitals will be much more receptive to the sort of hand of friendship being reached out by mrs may and will be much more willing to doa may and will be much more willing to do a deal. why? self—interest, because they do an awful lot of trade with britain and they do not wa nt to trade with britain and they do not want to lose that. britain is also a huge contributor in terms of european security and, crucially, ha rd european security and, crucially, hard cash. we have offered up to £39 billion but we are not handing over the money unless we get that deal. one other thing that may comfort number ten from thi

america — the eu's biggest car market.heir already massive tariffs and barriers on us companies doing business there, we will simply apply a tax on their cars which freely pour into the us. they make it impossible for our cars and more to sell there. big trade imbalance. as yet, there has been no retaliatory response. the white house press secretary simply saying no one should be surprised at mr trump's announcements. andrew plant, bbc news. some breaking news now from north—east london. police were called just before 1:30pm we hear from the metropolitan police to reports of an explosion in harold hill. 0fficers reports of an explosion in harold hill. officers from the london fire brigade, the london ambulance service, at the scene now. no confirmation of the cause of the explosion, no confirmation on casualties. residents being evacuated, and the local authority informed with local road closures in place. pedestrians are advised to avoid the local area. we will bring you more but as get it. large numbers of people are rep

we want and eu that protects. and basically, you are going to see a lot of emphasis on border security and i think you'll see today something that may come out in this meeting where they have a deal that will extend the refugee deal and are be some -- and maybe there will be some other things thrown in. there is a consensus in europe -- where i see the problem coming is the new austrian chancellor courts coming out yesterday or today and the negotiations with turkey altogether on eu. there's were to be pressures coming to take that position and that is something i don't think germany or france would go for at this point. that could be an area. i think it is going to be those divisions. in terms of the other question, i see a lot of little things more likely to happen. for example, on the turkish side , i think the easiest thing they can do is get more flexible on cyprus. the military presence in cyprus baffles me, why they think it is troops innt to keep cyprus -- there is a major card they can play and can open t

months, by the time of the next eu summit in june?at britain and the eu had a deal on island come on the irish border, in december. when that was converted into, albeit fairly stark legal language, when the draft withdrawal treaty, the british withdrawal treaty, the british withdrawal treaty, the british withdrawal treaty, was first published in february, it was vehemently rejected by theresa may. there was a sense this was britain backsliding, it was bad faith. she has since recommitted to some of the options on the irish border, in a letter to donald tusk. i think the irish government say, well, time is running short. we need to operationalise the arrangement on the irish border, keeping them in the irish border, keeping them in the single market to a large extent. that needs to be given clear language and britain has to get back on track on that. they don't want the process to be sidelined or pushed off course by things that they think are properly related to they think are properly related to the future trade relationship. they wa

the eu side is what we want he said. the eu side is waiting for that.t does not wa nt know. the uk has said it does not want a border between northern ireland and the republic and theresa may has said she does not want that to be moved to between the uk and ireland of ireland. if mrs may sta rts ireland of ireland. if mrs may starts to say today that she was to have special access for some parts of the uk economy to the eu, i think that will not go down very well. the eu is saying there are difficult choices the great britain has to face up to, it could bring barriers to trade with the eu. how much control does it want over rules and regulations, the same thing. the eu wa nts regulations, the same thing. the eu wants the detail and they will respond. not long to wait. damian grammaticas and norman smith. damian grammaticas and norman smith. and you can watch that speech live on the bbc news channel — it's due to begin at half past one. as soon as that gets under way we will carry it on the bbc news channel. our top story this lunchtime: snow, ice and st

the difference is that i think the eu 26, in this case, and the heads of the eu institutions, are 150%ay it you have to be happy with this arrangement. they take the good friday agreement very seriously, and that is a very real concern. for spain, it is kind of more of a national pride issue, and it is seen as such. it is used by the spanish prime minister for domestic reasons, and if you were to use this, and to put into peril an agreement that the eu very much wants, notjust the uk, then can expect the weight of the 26 to come bearing down on rajoy, i think. but the interesting thing is that we have had a lot of political heat around the irish border question, and yet, up to now, the gibraltar question, yes, different, has not really forced its way into the discussion. it nearly did, though, didn't it? i think a lot of brexit, it is economic arguments. when it comes to fishing, it is people's livelihoods. of course, i am not belittling that. what i mean is that when it comes to the irish border situation, people remember the troubles. it is about peace. it is about violence. and i th

what happens if the eu will not give us what happens if the eu will not give usa what happens if theal brexit deal? all of which said, within downing street, i think there is now more confidence that they are going to be able to get the trade deal and to be able to get the trade deal and to deliver brexit perhaps than any time since the referendum. norman, for now, thank you. norman smith at westminster. the queen has marked maundy thursday by taking part in the ancient ceremony of distributing commemorative coins to pensioners. the presentation of the money took place during the royal maundy service at st george's chapel, windsor castle. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. the signs are not too bad for the start of the easter getaway. thing is not looking too bad at the moment. in places, some sunshine. that was nottinghamshire early on. not like that everywhere. showers spreading in from the south. dorset looking pretty soggy. the afternoon, showers continuing to drift in from the south, some heavy with pale and thunder, still showers of rain, sleet and hill snow acros

more than half all eu states are expelling, backing britain with action, notjust words.ly canada is also clearing out some russians, as is one of president putin's largest victims, ukraine. and the list may get longer. the prime minister could hardly have hoped for more. she told the commons it was the largest collective expulsion of russian intelligence officers in history. i have found great solidarity from ourfriends and partners in the eu, north america, nato and beyond, over the past three weeks, as we have confronted the aftermath of the salisbury incident. together, we have sent a message that we will not tolerate russia's continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values. three weeks after the salisbury attack, as the investigation goes on, and warnings to those who were in the area at the time remain in place, the diplomatic heat on president putin is being turned up again. in brussels, the president of the european council, donald tusk, said today's eu action could even be extended quite quickly. additional measures, including further expul

but the opposition labour party coming out in favour of closer ties with the eu.ster —— prime minister ‘s morning of the dangers of leaving europe and pleading with politicians and voters alike to think again. the politician left with carrying out the result of a referendum that has divided britain like no other issue in decades said the country was facing a crucial moment. thank you. few would disagree. how was the speech received on the continent? here is katya adler. here in brussels it has been rather muted and wary. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, took to twitter to thank the prime minister for her clarity and say that confirmation that the uk would be leaving the single market and the customs union meant that it was heading for a free—trade agreement with the eu. privately, eu diplomats have praised the prime minister's more realistic tone, they said, admitting that both sides can't have exactly what they want. but they said they couldn't find much new in her speech and they lamented the absence of a workable solution, they said, to the iri

are leaving the eu, and we will have unity in brexit. government beginning parallelons right now to this on the future relationship with the eu. the government still holding their position that the eu is going to be outside the single market and customs union and are going to have some kind of the spoke deal on how trade is going to work. the biggest opposition party, labour, are still arguing that we should stay inside the customs union once the u.k. has left the eu. many british people are still opposing brexit. there are still campaigns going on to have the whole thing overturned. just on saturday they were massive marches across the whole country with people trying to stop brexit. a second referendum does look to be very much off the table, but it will come back to parliament eventually. they will get a vote on whether to accept the deal that the u.k. government comes up with. labour once the deal to pass -- wants the deal to pass six tests to get approval. they suggested that labour might be pragmatic and just just death just sugges

a lot of other eu states.ours of other eu states. not so dissimilarto ours and of other eu states. not so dissimilar to ours and quite a number shared common views on focus issue of immigration. number shared common views on focus issue of immigrationlj number shared common views on focus issue of immigration. i wish i could share this optimism that things will be worked out in the end but it is not a threat, the eu is not threatening the uk, it is very pragmatic, this language of adversarial threat and enmity, and trying to bully the uk, it is really unhelpful, because... it is not personal, no one in the eu wants to punish the uk because it is in their interests that the uk does well. if there is any unhelpful time, if there is any unhelpful time, if there is any threats, it is coming from the right flank of the conservative party, that seems to, whenever progress is made, either participate in publicity hijinks, like throwing fish from boats, on the thames... dead fish, to protest against deals on fisheries

total to 16 eu member states.he bbc‘s europe editor katya adler in brussels on the eu response. well, in eu circles, foreign policy decisions have to be taken unanimously, and that is why, today, a group of eu countries, altogether, more than a half of eu nations, have decided to take matters into their own hands and expel russian diplomats themselves. this after the eu to the unprecedented move up ringing home its ambassador to russia. now, eu leaders say this is in solidarity with the uk, but as a senior german government source pointed out to me this evening, there are also wider concerns about russia behind this, about its actions recently, in syria for example, and in ukraine. and then, of course, in salisbury, so much closer to home. russia says all of this is "unfriendly". i think all sides would agree on that. the foreign ministry said, "the provocative gesture of proverbial solidarity with london by these countries, having being led along by the british authorities in the so—called skripal case and not ha

and the eu, and the ypg, which is not. that legal distinction separates the two groups and also was part of the basis for which the united states was able to cooperate with the ypg. the reality is that there are clearly very close connections between the groups. you have a movement of the fighters between the groups, you have ypg forces in in syria that have pictures of the leader of the pkk, which the turks inested with usd i help syria. there is clearly connections between those groups, and i think in response to your question, the u.s. has not been as sensitive as it should have been to some of the legitimate security concerns that the turks have. the turks have suffered more deaths over the years at the hands of pkk terrorist attacks than they have by some of these other isis-related groups. there also has been very mixed messaging coming out of the administration on this. the obama administration had been clear to the turks that the ypg would be able to clear isis forces and then would move east of the euphrates, whic

ijust the rights of eu migrants coming to britain.e must be strict agreement and friendship and i hope that our friends understand that. the difficulty is whether the proposals that mrs may sketches out and a language that users will go far enough because the line from brussels in the past few days seems to have significantly hardened and they have never really budged from they have never really budged from the hall —— they have never really budged from the hall -- quora red lines that you cannot cherry—pick, you cannot say we will have that bit of the single market but we do not want the obligations that go with it and the dangers are that the proposals that mrs may, but do they do not address those concerns. but what we will see it at least an attempt to get the eu to sit down and begin those crucial trade talks. ok, norman, thank you very much. this beat is notjust for the domestic audience, the european union will also be listening to the uk's negotiating position and whether i spoke to adam fleming, our brussels reporter, and ask

so the eu is still by jesting what the closer than that.inister said, and apart from those who said they regretted that she did not come to any concrete proposal as to how to any concrete proposal as to how to solve the irish problem, another eu diplomat said to me this evening that they were looking for clues as to what might become future uk policy at negotiations. the very same happened, he said, after the last brexit speech the prime minister made in autumn. laura, was the speech enough to placate the leave and remain camps within the tory party? for now, tonight, yes. that does not mean they will swallow the compromises she says they will have to make in the longer term, but in terms of this speech, number ten believes this has been a step forward , believes this has been a step forward, if not a giant leap. there are still contradictions. there was no dramatic evidence of new thinking. but there was a new layer of detail and most importantly as far as downing street sees it, a message to the eu, let's do a deal. and a signal, a concre

if we're leaving the eu, why take it abroad? it's prestige.should be printed in made in england. and they shouldn't be made elsewhere in europe? i don't think so, no. regardless of cost? regardless of cost. the british government should step in and try and make sure... i think it's, the name of the company, de la rue or something... ? they should maybe get the contract. but again they may have to look at the price. the government says the deal could save the taxpayer up to £120 million, and they're playing by the rules. great uk companies compete on a world stage, and we often win business around the world, and will continue to do so, both before and after we leave the european union. and they say on the new—look passports will only be added here, not abroad. danny savage, bbc news, durham. now it's time for newsnight. advice from one who knows, if you work for the house of commons and you're bullied by an mp, it is best to complain. it was such a long, drawn—out, painful process, with so little to say for it at the end of it that i wish i had

first her five tests for any deal with the eu.n enduring solution, protecting our security and prosperity, delivering an outcome consistent with the kind of country we want to be and bringing our country together. ministers promises honesty and a real step forward. and this reality check. promises honesty and a real step forward. and this reality checklj wa nt to forward. and this reality checklj want to be straight with me, the reality is that we all need to face up reality is that we all need to face up to some hard facts. we are leaving the single market. life is going to be different. in certain ways our access to each other‘s markets will be less than it is now. how could the eu structure of rights and obligations be sustained if the uk orany and obligations be sustained if the uk or any country were allowed to enjoy all the benefits without all the obligations. as well as sounding reasonable, she was resolute. after months of talk from brussels of having cake and eating it she hit it. every free trade agreement has differing

the hard exit from the eu means the loss of eu unregistered community design rights and vital actione way to lose london fashion week. business minister said new schemes would be established to protect rights. we will bring forward various batches of in this country to further our rights, there are negotiations that will take place with the eu as part of the leading process, which we hope will deal with these matters are. but that didn't convince one labour pm. organisations like london fashion week will disappear and the amount of gdp that it rings to this country is enormous and further as it is not doing very well in other parts of the world, we need it to continue. can you ensure that these industries are welcomed here and will make sure this can happen quite quickly otherwise they will look at going to paris and milan because they are asking and taking them to come. paris and milan because they are asking and taking them to comelj think the noble lady is taking the rather pessimistic view of things but obviously we are aware of those risks. when anyone thinks of the strength of

on the eu side as well? on the eu and the uk, yeah., until now. national interests in trade talks will surely strain that unity, to what the uk hopes will be its advantage. katya adler, bbc news, warsaw. football, and england have taken on italy in a friendly at wembley tonight ahead of this summer's world cup. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, was watching. the first home game of the year for england was the last chance to impress before russia. italy failed to qualify for their first world cup in 60 years. right from the off, it was hard to see why. immobile, immobile long enough forjohn stones to clear. it took more than 20 minutes for england to string any meaningful passes together. but when they did, some quick feet from sterling and some wonderful quick thinking from lingard reaped rewards. the goal was good. var wasn't on england's side in the second—half. why replays showed that tarkowski had stepped on his foot.

i know this desire is shared by our eu partners.wever, as is the case today, there may be occasions when our vital national palsy means we cannot agree with the eu decision. in those cases, the uk can choose not to apply it. securing the cementation period with his key flex abilities is a major achievement and if it was all we achieved this december i would be proud of my team. but in addition we have made rapid progress across the wider agreement reaching agreement on much of the legal text and locking down entire chapters on citizens rights and the financial settlement. most blu ntly, and the financial settlement. most bluntly, this means just and the financial settlement. most bluntly, this meansjust as and the financial settlement. most bluntly, this means just as we are giving certainty to businesses we are also providing the same for citizens and in doing so we have reached agreement on the package that should apply to those who arrive during implementation period itself. a few weeks ago, we proposed a pathway to settlement to