so that was george eustice speaking to andrew marr.as been criticism for the prime minister as well for being rather absent or invisible during the floods for not going to see what was going on around the country? absolutely. we have been in recess this week and the parliament has not been sitting. the prime minister has been at chevening, the country house usually used by the foreign secretary. checkers is being renovated. where he hasn't been is out and about seeing some of the damage of the flooding and speaking to people affected by this. george eustice did speak about that and said that the prime minister is fully engaged in response to this flooding, but he does delegate. he said this is a cabinet government, it is not a one—man show. but said there are daily conference calls, there is a national flood response centre. he was also asked why, in november, during the election campaign, the cobra emergency committee was convened. why it hadn't been this time. he said now there is a national flood response centre, which has been put

that is the environment secretary george eustice.line of where the water came up to in the early hours of yesterday morning. it has decimated this street in nantgarw, just north of cardiff. you can also see the wooden flooring, it has come off the floor where it has been. this is carolinejones's home. caroline, you have been here for seven yea rs, you caroline, you have been here for seven years, you spent all that time making it into the home you wanted it to be. what was it like when you came in this morning and saw it in this state? it is devastating. i don't know where to begin, this is my home, this is my pride and joy. i just don't know where to start and i'm still traumatised about what happened yesterday. what are your plans over the next few days? you obviously don't have anywhere to sleep, to hold your possessions that are safe. have you even been able to think about that? i am just taking things hour by hour. i am waiting for the insurance assessor to come round. i stayed last night in a hotel, i don't know where i'm going

here's the environment secretary george eustice. are monitoring things very closely in particular the river severn talents such as shrewsbury and to experian other areas looking at closely because water levels are to rise and some of those catchments. because water levels are to rise and some of those catchmentsm because water levels are to rise and some of those catchments. if you're watching in the uk on bbc news channel, find more information on the website. goodbye. hello there. after a stormy weekend, monday gave us the opportunity to assess some of the devastation that storm dennis brought us. in parts of south wales and the south—western midlands, we saw over a month's worth of rain in just 48 hours and there has been some severe flooding as you are well aware of. it does look as though it will stay pretty unsettled for the rest of the week. tuesday packed with plenty of isobars on the chart, and this mini weather front will enhance showers, so sunny spells and blustery showers once again. showers from the word go on tuesday

the environment secretary, george eustice, offered his condolences to the families of the five peopleld continue to be felt this week. some areas already received double their average rainfall for debris with others experiencing a months worth of rain injust21i with others experiencing a months worth of rain in just 2a hours. records have been broken, 18 river gauges across the dean rivers recorded the highest levels on record. on the 17th of february, a record. on the 17th of february, a record concurrent total of 632 flood warnings and alerts issued in a single day, to severe flood warnings, 107 warnings and 207 blood alerts remain in place in england. an additional 13 flood warnings and 39 but alerts that remain in place in wales and one flood warning in scotland. the minister said the government was committed to spending another £4 billion on the defences over the next five years and then he progressed to the bigger picture. climate change is making the uk warmer and wetter with more extreme frequent weather events. we need to make nature part of our solution alongside traditional

the environment secretary george eustice told the bbc the government is taking action.0 environment agency staff out in the field, helping people prepare for the floods, helping them to evacuate where that is necessary. we are monitoring things closely, in particular the severn river, bewdley and tewkesbury, because water levels are expected to continue to rise in some of those catchments. travel services continue to be affected across parts of the country today. the effects of storm dennis are still being felt. so the environment agency says it will be keeping a close eye on tenbury wells over the next few days. it is no stranger to a flooding incident in 2007. the council similar levels of water, although some have suggested that the impact wasn't as great then. but questions have been asked about how to protect towns like this in the future. at the moment, some of the effort and the focus is over the border in hereford, where evacuations are still ongoing as the river wye continues to rise. kathryn, many thanks. kathryn sta nczyszyn kathryn, many thanks. kathryn stan

that was george eustice there.wales, politicians representing rhondda cynon taff have written to the uk government asking for money to help people and businesses affected by the recent floods. the welsh government's previously said £10 million will be provided across wales, but the politicians behind the letter say tens of millions more is needed. rhiannon wilkins reports. pontypridd high street this time last week. businesses and homes, flooded with water. in nantgarw, the flooding just as devastating. and a landslide in tylorstown. people living in rhondda cynon taff for the brunt of storm dennis. now, eight leading mps, ams and councillors representing the people who live here want the uk treasury to provide more money to help. a quarter of all the properties across the whole of the united kingdom that have been hit by the flooding are in rhondda cynon taff. we've got bridges that have got to be mended. we've got culverts that have got to be made good and tips that have to be made safe. the letter asks for a one

george eustice.h, the average home now costs more than £252,000. getting on the property ladder is a distant dream for many. but now the conservative mayor of the west midlands has come up with a solution. he wants to redefine what an affordable home is, based on incomes, rather than prices. it would mean developers having to build smaller, cheaper properties. our home editor mark easton has more details. what does affordable mean? here in wolverhampton market, traders woo customers with bargain vegetables. apples and pears, rabbits as big as hares! with homes, affordable is officially defined as 20% below average local prices or rents. but housing's so expensive, that still translates as unaffordable for millions. the government's focus is on affordable home—ownership with discount schemes for first—time buyers and key workers. but even with treasury help and even in less pricey areas like here in wolverhampton, most workers can never even dream of getting on the housing ladder. take zoe, who will q

george eustice, thank you very much for your time, george eustice, environment secretary, speaking toere flood warnings in force, five severe flood warnings throughout this morning, the flooding risk continuing throughout the day, perhaps into tomorrow as well. there is a storm dennis, moving its way out towards scandinavia, but white lines so close together across the uk, certainly throughout this morning it's quite windy, the strongest wind across scotland, northern parts of england, gusts of 60, 70 miles an hour, the wind easing during this afternoon. in terms of the weather, it's going to be a much quieter really. heavy showers moving their way south and east, there will be sunny spells in between the showers across england and wales, perhaps more persistent rain across scotland and northern ireland, and the showers turning wintry over higher ground. maximum temperature is getting up to 6—10d. to this evening and tonight we continue with this showery theme, especially in northern parts, some snow over the higher ground of scotland. temperatures dropping down to close to freezing i

george eustice, a fruit farmer, has been promoted from minister to secretary of state for environmenta braverman is the new attorney general who just last week, criticised judges for overreach. let's speak to sebastian payne, whitehall correspondent at the financial times, and olivia utley, deputy leader writer at the sun who is with me here. she's on her way. sebastian, do you spot any pattern in those who are outgoing today? laura talked about less friction. is this what you see in some of these departures? very much so. i think there's a broad theme for this reshuffle. it's about borisjohnson theme for this reshuffle. it's about boris johnson and downing theme for this reshuffle. it's about borisjohnson and downing street taking back control of this government. there are lots of ministers who have been sacked who may have descended from the prime minister or not necessarily always loyal to him. those of the two key themes. if you takejulian smith for example, the northern ireland secretary, he's a somebody who is well respected in northern ireland. he's achieved something that was

the environment secretary george eustice told the bbc the government is taking action.gency staff out in the field, helping people prepare for the floods, helping them to evacuate where that is necessary. we are monitoring things closely, in particular the severn river, bewdley and tewkesbury, because water levels are expected to continue to rise in some of those catchments. travel services continue to be affected across parts of the country today. the effects of storm dennis are still being felt. kathryn stanczyszyn with that report. 0ur correspondent, phil mackie is in hereford for us. word sort of fail you. that is a normally busy road. yes, absolutely, simon. although it is quite deep here, the road is in a dip, so if you were to walk along there, as we have seen some of the fire and road rescue service people, it is really this high, less high near the banks, and really that is just about the safest way and the only way to get about in parts of hereford today. as you said, there is a severe flood warning here, and it's not a surprise. down this road here, it goes o

the attorney general, the new secretary of state for international development, promotion for george eusticeenvironment secretary, and brandon lewis, former home office minister, now taking on the job of northern ireland secretary, after the sacking which came as a bit of a surprise to many ofjulian smith yesterday morning. he could legitimately have expected to be the big news yesterday, if it were not of course for that dramatic resignation of the former chancellor sajid javid who is replaced with rishi sunak, the person everyone is looking out for this morning. that was ina looking out for this morning. that was in a row over hidden being told to sack his special advisers, in favour of having an amalgamated team of advisers with number 10. many have put that down to the vision of the prime minister's most senior adviser, dominic cummings. this morning he was uncharacteristically quiet. good morning, mr cummings. are you responsible for sajid javid resigning yesterday? are you now in charge? are you running number 11 as well as number 10? are you the cromwell of british politics? thomas, t

yesterday, the environment secretary george eustice defended the government's response and said it couldlso ben willcock who owns mr ben's barbers in tenbury wells, in worcestershire — and has also been devastated by the floods. welcome both of you and thank you for giving us your time, i'm sure you've got way better things to do but they tell us about what happened to your pub yesterday?” but they tell us about what happened to your pub yesterday? i woke up at 5:30am, toa to your pub yesterday? i woke up at 5:30am, to a of noise. i went downstairs, the seller was flooded. we fought till about half 11 trying to keep the water back, then we gave up to keep the water back, then we gave up and we arejust to keep the water back, then we gave up and we are just totally underwater. it's up to the seller ceiling and about two feet in the pub itself. that sounds absolutely devastating and it's notjust you, of course. does it matter to give the prime minister comes to visit you, to see the damage for or not? no, because he can't do anything to make it better, it makes no odds whatsoever. i haven'

after seven yea rs as a junior minister, george eustice is promoted to environment secretary.heresa villiers who leaves the cabinet for a second time. there's also a promotion for former brexit minister, suella braaverman, who is the new attorney general. she replaces geoffrey cox, who said he was leaving government at the prime minister's request. anne—marie trevelyan will also attend cabinet after being given the brief for international development. oliver dowden is the new culture secretary. in the last hour, brandon lewis has been confirmed as the new northern ireland secretary. he replaces julian smith, who was the first ministerial casualty of the day, when he was removed from his post this morning. and former brexit secretary steve barclay has been appointed as chief secretary to the treasury, succeeding the newly—appointed chancellor mr sunak. our political correspondent chris mason has this report on the morning's events and a warning, it does contain some flash photography. at 10:30 this morning, sajid javid arrived in downing street as chancellor. an hour and a half

george eustice told the bbc earlier this week money will be made available for people recovering fromty, question round that, but also about a long—term plan, what can we do to protect rural economies, when the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable. the headlines on bbc news. there'll be no visas for low—skilled workers as the government unveils plans for a points—based immigration system. more heavy rain is expected in flooded communities in england and wales, adding to fears that flood defences might not withstand rising river levels. the first passengers who have tested negative for coronavirus have begun leaving a ship moored offjapan, after 1a days of quarantine. a spanish lesson for liverpool. they ta ke a spanish lesson for liverpool. they take a hit after they were beaten 1-0 take a hit after they were beaten 1—0 by atletico madrid. the second leg takes at anfield next month. spurses are in action tonight. jose mourinho will be without his first choice forward line. and tyson fury made his grand arrival at the mgm hotel in las vegas ahead of saturday night's title rem

people are telling me they would like someone like boris or george eustice to come and visit the floodedee the squalor and filth, to see the misery in their homes so that they can... they are feeling neglected right now, and they need a big boris cuddle. it's not just here in the west midlands. more rain has caused flooding further north. the peak is still working its way down the river severn in worcestershire. it'll be at its highest later in the village of severn stoke, which has spent most of the past fortnight underwater. and that is the restaurant you saw in my package from the early side of the river, you can see the water being pumped out. they are hoping that assumes dust as soon as it goes down, they can get back in. further along down the river is the cathedral and a place called the watergate there where they have marked historic heights of floods. they have two new signs commissions to go up after the water comes down. what we are waiting to see is how high they will go. will they go higher than 1947? the two absolute highest marks there are 1672 and 1770. it will be quite c

environment secretary george eustice said the government is investing in betterflood we are seeing morenot take it lightly, we are doing a lot of work to try to manage flood water. it is the biggest element of spending in my department, we will be spending 4 billion over the next five years, and in particular, what we want to do, which is very relevant to areas like the west midlands and worcestershire, is try to manage water better upstream, so using nature based solutions, natural dams, natural flood plains, so that we can hold water upstream and prevent it getting down to some of those lowland towns like tenbury wells, which have been most severely affected. let's speak to our correspondents who are in different areas that have been badly hit by storm dennis. first to our news correspondent kathryn stanczyszyn, who's in tenbury wells in worcestershire. yes, good morning, youjoin me yes, good morning, you join me at the 0rmiston academy, this is tenbury wells' high school, and it has been turned into an evacuation centre. dozens of people came here, there is a hole me were inflatable

george eustice, a fruit farmer, has been promoted from minister to secretary of state for environment london playbook morning newsletter. lots and lots for us to discuss. let's start with his departure. is this a government in disarray, or is this a government in disarray, or is this borisjohnson asserting his authority? it's a bit of both, to be honest. this is not how the government wanted to go today, this was not the plan. borisjohnson had this idea he wants to assert his control over his minister, particularly the treasury which is the most powerful department and government, by choosing who the political advisers are in these department. and although the people don't see that's the public don't see these people, they're important and how the government works and how policies are delivered. so to have downing street controlling all of them is quite a big deal. now he thought sajid javid would go along with that if it meant keeping his job. do you really think he did? i do, they knew there was a chance this might happen, but they didn't wa nt to this might happen, but they didn't

people are telling me they would like someone like boris or george eustice to come and visit the floodeds caused flooding further north. this is staithes in yorkshire. the peak is still working its way down the river severn in worcestershire. it'll be at its highest later in the village of severn stoke, which has spent most of the past fortnight underwater. let's get a look at the weather. very important, especially for those areas still flooded but it is know you have got in your picture there. we had a lot of rain over the month of february but what we have not had a lot of his snow. we are only a couple of days from spring are starting about scenes like this. plenty of snow across the northern half of the uk but we did see it falling. here in suffolk, a similar picture in birmingham. the sun has come out this afternoon so a fairly transient snow. the first snow of the winter just a transient snow. the first snow of the winterjust a few days of the start of spring. we have had a storming and strom dennis and now we have storm jorge. yes, it has been named by the spanish met service. no

hopefully the secretary of state, george eustice, when he comes tomorrow, will have further commitmentays said, it's no good talking about it, it needs to be in legislation, it is to be in the agriculture bill, as we transfer you lawn to the uk statute books, thatis you lawn to the uk statute books, that is going to define our future agricultural policy and trading relationship for decades to come. —— transfer eu law into the statue pics. it's really important that the government has given sort of mixed messages, if you like, there have been encouraging comments from the prime minister and indeed george eustice and previously from secretary of state theresa villiers when she was in office, so if they're saying it, there is no excuse not to put it in writing and legislate on it in the agriculture bill. as i said in the introduction, so bill. as i said in the introduction, so many things the industry is contending with right now, i would what you make of the announcement this week about immigration rules? the agricultural industry is one that relies a lot on important labour to pick, sea

to take responsibility for situations and get on and deliver for the public and in this case, george eusticeoach... i'm sorry, with all due respect, these are people‘s homes, livelihoods, businesses and mental well—being affected here and the prime minister is perhaps the individual that voters genuinely do connect with. i know there is a floods minister visiting shropshire today, rebeka powell, people might not know who she is let alone what she looks like. they want to see the prime minister, don‘t they? like. they want to see the prime minister, don't they?” like. they want to see the prime minister, don't they? i appreciate that but the approach of the prime minister is to make sure ministers are doing theirjobs, getting things done, working as a team and of course he‘s closely involved in that. i‘ve been working with him over the last two weeks. the over 100 homes in newark in nottinghamshire, in my constituency, has been flooded and i know what this is doing and the devastation it has caused first—hand to people. in my experience, some people would more value a visit from a politician

i'm going to be talking to george eustice, the environment secretary, about whether the government isey and the former exit secretary, david davis, who has stern words by the government over huawei. busy at nine o'clock. david grey and david davis. that is a joo—ho. grey and david davis. that is a joo-ho. and chris mason as well. i will be reading the news on that. stay with us, headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast with sally nugent and chris mason. good morning. here is a summary of today's main stories from bbc news: our main story this morning is tyson fury‘s stunning world heavyweight title win. we will get details from john in just a moment. but first, here is the rest of the day's news: italy is experiencing europe's largest outbreak of coronavirus, with 79 cases and two deaths. people will no longer be able to come and go from ten communities in the north of the country. 32 british and irish cruise passengers have spent their first night in quarantine in the uk after arriving back from japan yesterday. the left—wing candidate bernie sanders appears to have secured a re