hammond is basically saying, we're still building up our debt.ng this, but he was saying i don't hunt and a nhs crisis, a social care crisis and anything else. light at the end of the tunnel. he wants to be more positive and i think tory mps wanting to be a bit more positive going into the next election in 2000 would you because they need something to fight labour on at the moment. at least it is something for them. he described it as tigger-ing. not eeyore! claire foy paid less than that bit. she was the queen! this is so tedious! the trouble with this is there are many, many more roles for men and many more starring roles for men and many more starring roles for men and many more starring roles for men, and if you allocate pay on that basis, the men are always going to continue to be paid more and on and on. she is the incredible star of that series. she's won the bafta and the golden globe. cheese in more scenes than him as well, isn't he? she absolutely held the whole thing together. she is the show. and the producers have said the next perso

that is what philip hammond was saying today.ormance in terms of share price. it‘s because they posted a £4.9 billion profit. but last year they had a £4.7 billion loss. every big swing like that, remember last year, a lot of court cases went on which caused a lot of the downside of a rolls—royce, what we are seeing now isa rolls—royce, what we are seeing now is a big swing to profitability, all aspects of rolls—royce performing particularly well. but much of that is down to cost—cutting. what rolls—royce have said today continuing from bad is that more jobs will go and more cost—cutting is still within the plan they made up is still within the plan they made up previously. so it‘s all about keeping to bad plan and continuing to almost restructure the company and give them this more profitable arm and —— keeping to the plan. where it becomes important is going forward and saying, once the cost—cutting is done can they still say profitable. there are issues going on with this trend 1000 engine, flights being grounded, we saw the s

but the chancellor, philip hammond, today signalling that there is, in his words, light at the end ofng cautious. he does not have the nickname spreadsheet phil for nothing. but he is suggesting that after years of austerity and strict limits on spending, things may be able to change in the future. he says we are at a turning point. here is what he said earlier. there is light at the end of the tunnel, because what we're about to see is debt starting to fall, after it's been growing for 17 continuous years. that's a very important moment for us. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. we have to get debt down. we've got all sorts of other things we want to do. we've taken a balanced approach over the last couple of fiscal events, using flexibility that we had to continue paying down debt, but also to provide additional support our public services, to invest in britain's future and to reduce taxes for families and small businesses who are feeling the pressure. a cautiously optimistic message. labour, as you might expect, take quite a different view. the shadow chancellor, john mc

philip hammond wa nts to not a budget period.umn really. if there are any announcements in that time we can assume he has had his arm twisted. there is a suggestion in the sunday times that these plans area the sunday times that these plans are a response to the growing realisation in cabinet that health is the tories‘ achilles' heel. realisation in cabinet that health is the tories' achilles' heellj highlighted that line because it is beautifully written as if they didn't know. we all know this is a massive problem. 22,000 operations cancelled, 4 million people on waiting lists, waiting times going up, there is a line that says: if nothing is done and they will be a funding gap of 20 billion by 2,022. we have an ageing population, the nhs is in crisis basically perpetually. we know all of this. will more funding be the solution? we we re will more funding be the solution? we were doing the maths earlier, four billion sounds a lot of money, not as much as the 18.2 billion the nhs was promised on the side of a bus, that 350 millio

the pressure on mr hammond to exceed two significant amount of extra spending are now huge.g questions in the house of commons following the spring statement but we will have plenty more from westminster later on. we will be coming from hero 2pm but now it is back to the studio. thank you. more later. we now want to bring you up to speed on the breaking news that you will have seen scrolling across your screen in the last 15 or 20 minutes. it is news out of washington. president trump has announced via twitter, it seems, that rex tillerson, secretary of state, has been relieved of his duties and as president trump's twitter feed said mike duties and as president trump's twitterfeed said mike pompeo, the president of the usa will become the new secretary of state. he thanks rex tillerson for his service. consequently as a result of the reshuffling we have seen there will bea reshuffling we have seen there will be a new director of the cia that will be the first woman so chosen so congratulations to all, says president trump. she is currently deputy director of the cia. so, so

mark: on the subject of hammond in the spring statements, one matter investors by watching out for was the assessment of the brexit bill, and one side could change in the wake of the brexit deal, however it goes, but we have an idea of the figure and it wasn't shocking. ballpark ofs in the the estimates, and it looks like it is not a huge controversy, but problematic is how long the u.k. will be paying. of course the whole thing about the brexit argument to as we hail this money to the european union every year and we need to channel it into public services. estimates are we will be paying this wellington 2060, not a huge -- paying this well into 2060, not a huge amount but that will provoke some brexit site people severely and we can expect strong words on that. the main number probably looks like it was ok and markets are not react either way. mark: 37.1 billion, gdp estimates this year, deficits coming down, debt sales coming down, and government wants to sell this year and the brexit vote was it within estimates. was it a good paper charts? david: you would have thought so. he was

what do you make of the exchange between philip hammond and donald tusk?re at the start of a set of negotiations and there is a difference of opinion, not very surprising. and of course we had not seen surprising. and of course we had not seen financial services as part of a major free trade agreement butjust because we have not so far does not mean it cannot be done. we are in a different position because the uk and eu rules on financial services are currently aligned. so there been pulled apart but i hear what donald tuskis pulled apart but i hear what donald tusk is saying about whether it is in the interests of the eu. and also i think london provides a huge amount of money for the rest of europe. we have very deep liquid capital markets and that provides great and if it to many european companies. so i suspect there is a deal to be done. let‘s see where we get to. but the kind of shape of deal that philip hammond seemed to hint that is that something you think is basically on the right track but what i think what phillips said today and what the prime

that is the big challenge for philip hammond, growth thatis challenge for philip hammond, growth thatss income for the government. less ability to spend money on those big challenges of health, defence and the police. thank you. a teenager accused of planting a bomb on a tube train at parsons green in london has said it became a fantasy for him when he was bored during the school holidays. ahmed hassan admitted building the device that partially detonated last september, but denies attempted murder. he told the court the idea of being chased by police was "very attractive" and he wanted attention. two victims of the serial sex attackerjohn worboys have taken their case to the high court. they're challenging a decision by the parole board to release the former taxi driverfrom prison. worboys has served 10 years in jail for attacks on 12 women in london. tom burridge was in court. john worboys tricked and drugged young women. just eight years ago, he was jailed indefinitely for one rape and several assaults in the back of his taxi. when the parole board announced earlier this year he wa

but what was this, a cheery philip hammond rushing to his place?mber, they're over there. i, meanwhile, am at my most positively tigger—like today. not much has changed from the world outside. true, the economy will grow a little bit faster. the debt will start to fall, just. the day to day deficit, remember that, it's gone. but compared to other countries, the economy is sluggish and slow, only a hint of easing off months away. if, in the autumn, the public finances continue to reflect the improvements that today's report hints at then, in accordance with our balanced approach, i would have capacity to enable further increases in public spending. that might have delighted his side. the speaker: john mcdonnell. but labour accused him of not being in the real world. hasn't he listened to the doctors, the nurses, the teachers, the police officers, the carers and even his own councillors, they're telling him they can't wait for the next budget. they're telling him to act now. but is he listening? this is the eighth year, the eighth year in a row when

the chancellor, philip hammond, has rejected calls to announce the end of austerity.elivers his spring statement, mr hammond said the government would still need to continue paying down the debt, but that there was "light at the end of the tunnel". labour has the accused the government of holding back growth. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake reports. morning, chancellor! is that a spring in the chancellor's step? philip hammond looked reasonably cheerful this morning as he arrived to deliver his message that the economy could be turning a corner. after a gloomy few years of relatively low growth, a hint things could be looking brighter. there is light at the end of the tunnel because what we are about to see is debt starting to fall, after it has been growing for 17 continuous years. that is a very important moment for us. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. we have to get debt down. we've got all sorts of other things we want to do, we've taken a balanced approach. that debt the chancellor talked about is too high for his liking, but forecasts sh

but what was this, a cheery philip hammond rushing to his place?ey're over there. i, meanwhile, am at my most positively tigger—like today. not much has changed from the world outside. true, the economy will grow a little bit faster. the debt will start to fall, just. the day—to—day deficit, remember that, it's gone. but compared to other countries, the economy is sluggish and slow. spending will stay tight. i do not agree with those who argue that every available penny must be used to reduce the deficit. and nor do i agree with the fiscal fantasists opposite who argue that every available penny should be spent immediately. but a glimmer for the end of the year. if, in the autumn, the public finances continue to reflect the improvements that today's report hints at, then, in accordance with our balanced approach, i would have capacity to enable further increases in public spending. that might have delighted his side. the speaker: john mcdonnell. but labour accused him of not being in the real world. hasn't he listened to the doctors, the nurses, th

philip salmond hammond said push it back to 2020.ity and what amounts to austerity. what the chancellor is trying to do is make this argument he is for a balanced approach. what is striking is that on the one hand he is saying there is light at the end of the tunnel, the vision of the optimists, but the vision of the pessimist, that's his view as well. today you had philip hammond and his opposite out and about, doing their thing. politically, five years ago, this would have been the staple of politics. you remember rows about spending cuts, are they necessary, should the be delivered, but now it is niche. so much airtime is spent oi'i is niche. so much airtime is spent on brexit. you have these gentlemen out setting out their budgets. this isa out setting out their budgets. this is a big fiscal event, moments with tax and spending changing hugely, significantly, at least they can. we have the spring statement. even calling it spring is optimistic. but it will be a non—event. calling it spring is optimistic. but it will be a non-even

so the bill for mr hammond has gone to be bigger than £4 billion?mpaigns but if you take it sector by sector, i'm sure people will be campaigning for pay but there are also very well—paid people in those services. we will have to see what happens. but i think the nhs is clearly a major priority. as i said earlier, the whole issue of pub etc pay was a real issue at the election and philip hammond is moving on that. are we seeing a strategic change of direction by the conservatives, if not ending austerity, certainly slamming the bricks on a?|j not ending austerity, certainly slamming the bricks on a? i think we are. austerity was the big issue. i think in the last few weeks, is on the economic figures have shown in terms of reducing the deficit, paying down the debt, it has shown the economy is in good shape, sol think there's an argument not stand austerity per se, not to take your eye off the ball in terms of keeping control of public finances, but certainly i think people want to see a signal as philip hammond said that there is light at the end o

a spring in his step — chancellor, philip hammond, says there's cause for economic optimism.s light at the end of the tunnel because what we are about to see is debt starting to fall but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. the move effectively allows president xi to remain in powerfor life. rain delays continue after pro—kurdish demonstrators forced the closure of manchester piccadilly station. celtic moves to nine points clear in the spl. with only ten men they manage a win against old firm rivals rangers at ibrox. joachim phoenix stars as a private investigator who uncovers a conspiracy while trying to save the kidnapped daughter of a us senator in the vigilante thriller you were never really here. find out what mark kermode thought about that in the film review. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. up to 500 people in salisbury who went to the same pub and restaurant as a poisoned former russian spy and his daughter are being advised to wash their clothes and clean any possessions they handled whilst there. england's chief medical officer, dame sally davies, stres

the chancellor philip hammond, has rejected calls to announce the end of austerity.his spring economic statement, he said the country was still heavily in debt, but there was "light at the end of the tunnel". labour has accused the government, of holding back growth. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has more. the chancellor suggested today that after years of gloom, the public finances might, just might, be getting closer to emerging into the sunlight. there is light at the end of the tunnel because what we're about to see is debt starting to fall after it's been growing for 17 continuous years. that's a very important moment for us. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. we have to get debt down. we've got all sorts of other things we want to do. we've taken a balanced approach. that debt the chancellor talked about looks like this, big by historic standards. but, forecasts suggest the amount the uk owes, relative to the size of the economy, could have peaked. labour, gathering this weekend in dundee for their scottish conference, claim there's little

the chancellor philip hammond, has rejected calls to announce the end of austerity.ys before he delivers his spring economic statement, he said the country was still heavily in debt, but there was "light at the end of the tunnel". labour has accused the government, of holding back growth. our political correspondent jonathan blake has more. morning, chancellor. there was little disguising philip hammond's smile this morning and perhaps even a spring in his step as he arrived to deliver his message that the economy is looking up. there is light at the end of the tunnel. what we are about to see is debt starting to fall after it's been growing for i7 continuous years. that's a very important moment for us. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment and we have to get let down. that debt, the chancellor talked about looks like this. dig by historic standards but forecasts suggest the amount that the uk owes relative to the size of the economy could have peaked. labour gathering this weekend in dundee for their scottish conference claimed there is little to celebrate a

chancellor philip hammond.conomy was performing better than expected. he told mps the british economy was performing better than expectedlj am performing better than expected.” am pleased to report today to the house on a uk economy that has grown in every year since 2010. an economy which under conservative leadership, 110w which under conservative leadership, now has a manufacturing sector enjoying its longest unbroken run of growth for 50 years. an economy which has added 3 millionjobs growth for 50 years. an economy which has added 3 million jobs and seem every which has added 3 million jobs and seem every single region of the uk with higher employment and lower unemployment than in 2010, seen that the wages of the lowest paid up by almost 7% above inflation since april 2015, and income inequality lower than at any time under the last labour government. solid progress towards building an economy that works for everyone. so mr speaker, i reject the party opposite's doom and gloom about the state of the natio

philip hammond said he would be looking at all options before the next budget.ourable friend that there is a mechanism for voluntary donations to her majesty's treasury and in case he is misled i will send a copy of our bank details. —— mislaid. 0ne conservative later made the point that perhaps imposing a new tax targeted at a core element of the party's support may not be a good idea after all. and that's it. so for now from me, mandy baker goodbye. hello there. plenty to talk about in the weather story for the remainder of this week. we closed out yesterday in the south—west with a beautiful sunset. however, u nfortu nately, that's the place today where we will see some of the wettest and windiest weather courtesy of an area of low pressure moving in from the atlantic. it is bringing quite a lot of heavy rain and gale force winds to parts of portugal and spain. this low will sit out in the atlantic and influence the story for the next few days to come. good news, a southerly wind will bring milder air across the country so if you managed to escape the rain an

and picking up from that point thatjohn macdonald was trying to make, the suggestion that hammond hasblic sector organisations, that is quite sensitive question in the week ahead for the spring statement? yes, on tuesday, we will hear from the chancellor an update on the economy. and the government's finances. we don't expect him, and we have been told not to expect any spending announcements. 0r told not to expect any spending announcements. or any tax changes. so this will not be like a budget. it will be something of an update. but he will perhaps announce areas of consultation whether government will take a broad look at how the tax system might change in certain areas and they could be to do with social care, and the changes in the economy. more people taking on freelance work and working for themselves in the so—called gig economy. so the government wanting to look at those big social changes and see how it can better create taxes to pay for the more readily. jonathan, thanks so much. 0n tuesday. the headlines on bbc news: traces of the nerve agent used to poison a former russia

joining us now, at hammond. -- ed hammond. >> if you are qualcomm shareholders, you feel annoyed abouthey had been quite keen to see this deal go through. they will feel this an disenchanted, even annoyed with qualcomm -- if you are qualcomm management, you are breathing a sigh of relief. you get to keep your job. six of them, the door was have open. the ceo was getting a low number of votes. vonnie: you are going to have to work harder and maybe implement some of the things that broadcom was going to do. it's now onr not, the management of the board to prove that they are good stewards of this company. they can take it forward and achieve these things. they said the broadcom merger was not a merger they wanted to do. they need to step up and do all those things they promised they could do. mark: does this mean of china has any sort of link to any company looking to take over a u.s. entity, no matter how tenuous, there's no chance? >> you find me a company these days that has any global hook that doesn't have chinese connections. this notion that broadcom is a chinese company is nonsen

the chancellor, philip hammond, is arguing that there is light there at the end of the tunnel for thes spring statement this week. the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, has criticised his approach, saying the conservatives can not deliver the change the country needs. earlier i spoke tojonathan blake, who explained that austerity measures have been part of the conservative government response for some years. on the theresa may and david cameron, the spending is to be controlled and the country as a debt problem. the aim has been, on the thomond park, to reduce the deficit and get it down to zero. that is the gap between the amount the government has coming in and the dispense. those plans have been loosened necessarily recently of brexit. but the chancellor, philip hammond, today signalling that there is, in his words, light at the end of the tunnel. he is known for being cautious. he does not have the nickname spreadsheet phil for nothing. but he is suggesting that after yea rs of nothing. but he is suggesting that after years of austerity and strict limits on spending, things may b

now that you've seen hammond. >> i think i need to see more hammond. i think baldwin is hilarious.he president is probably feeling threatened by what he said about the president, and obviously there's been multiple reports he's got a big ego. he's going to call him alex instead of alec. >> maybe it was auto correct. >> and perry, you've got a favorite. i'm going to play anthony from comedy central. here's his donald trump. >> mr. president, how do you respond to the judges rejecting yet another travel ban? >> i vereject their rejection. it's totally fake news. >> but sir, people are calling it the biggest public failure. you're the biggest public failure. >> why do you like him? >> his jabs aren't hard to miss. i wonder if the president has seen him. i think alec baldwin he doesn't like in terms of his rhetoric. >> he tweeted back, baldwin did, saying, agony as it may be, i would like to hang in there for the impeachment hearings, the designation speech, the farewell helicopter ride to mar-a-lago. you know, the good stuff that we've all been waiting for. >> this is who trump is. he

here to take us through that, at hammond -- ed hammond.about reshapes the pharma world. shyeire is one of the perennial takeover targets. abvi tried to buy it for years ago. in the was going through form of takeda buying them, it would be likely that other people would show up. this is a company that has attracted huge interest over the years. now, if you look at the share price, they are down about a third in value over the last year. this would attract interest from the likes of pfizer, abvi coming back. lisa: max had the line of the day. it shows that shire is cheap and vulnerable. some will come in to take them over. who doesn't want to look at someone cheap and vulnerable? i want to talk about what's going on in the oil space. we have had some stability in oil so far this year. i'm wondering how much that is sending a backdrop for m&a. real problematic thing in the backdrop is the uncertainty coming out of d.c. particularly for big-ticket m&a. we are seeing at&t-time warner at the moment. that has created an environment in which peopl

meanwhile, the chancellor phillip hammond said any deal that didn't include britain's service sectorwould not be a fair deal. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. a different mansion house. this time, ina a different mansion house. this time, in a luxembourg garden. but this strife ahead, even this the most tranquil surroundings. the european union, revealed its response to theresa may's plans for brexit. it will make it more complicated and costly tha n it will make it more complicated and costly than today, for all of us. this is the essence of brexit. a pick and mix approach for a non—member state is out of the question. we are not going to sacrifice these principles. it is simply not in our interest. unfortunately and we have to know, there will be be no winnerses after the brexit. both sides will be losing. the eu has been united with that gloomy message but it was only on friday the prime minister said she wanted an ambitious trade partnership where the bloc but accepted compromises would be made. so how do the two sides compare? the eu guidelines of a possible deal s

labour ministers say mr hammond must take the chance to end austerity.ill 35%, below the french and germans, for example. unemployment levels are low but the incredible amount of insecurity injobs, low pay, inflation is still high, investment both in the public sector and private sector are critically low. so i don't think it's time to crack open the champagne. but housing minister dominic raab said the chancellor would look to take a balanced approach with the public finances. one of the obvious thing he says is that he doesn't want to be engaged in tinkering, short—term measures. that's been welcomed by business and groups like the institute for government. i think you'll hear less of the political clatter and fanfare that normally accompanies these set piece events and more of the healthy economic hum that is warranted by the raw economic data. the european parliament meets in strasbourg later to debate the eu's guidelines on brexit. after a speech from the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, meps will discuss the guidelines, as well a

that is not philip hammond, but this is! it's an important sector for the uk.i think generally if you talk to people in the city they think the bigger changer is that jobs would move they think the bigger changer is thatjobs would move to the far east or new york, you're talking about the global financial capitals. i think everyone in the eu knows the only globalfinancial think everyone in the eu knows the only global financial capital in europe is london. i think london will survive, come what may. the deregulation was going to destroy the city, the fire of london was going to destroy the city! london survives, i think london will survives, i think london will survive brexit but i think the sobering point for philip hammond but he was making the argument that financial services can and should be pa rt financial services can and should be part of a future free—trade agreement. the document put out by the eu does not mention financial services at all. it is considered ladylike, a nonstarter. if the french finance minister was in london yesterday, i went to a spe

the chancellor phillip hammond will today outline his vision of an eu free trade deal for the financialter brexit. mr hammond, who wants special access to the eu's single market, is expected to use his speech in london to focus on an agreement which he says will be of mutual interest to both parties. the european commission has previously said that a free trade deal including the city is not an option. saudi arabia's crown prince, mohammed bin salman, is beginning a three—day visit to britain which will include lunch with the queen and talks with the prime minister. the government regards saudi arabia as an important strategic ally, but protest marches are planned by campaign groups angered by the war in yemen, where the kingdom is fighting rebels. here's our security correspondent frank gardner embarking on his first foreign trip since becoming crown prince, saudi arabia's mohammed bin salman is a man in a hurry. after stopping over in egypt this week, he is coming to britain to promote his vision of a new, tolerant saudi arabia. he's lifted the ban on women driving from june. cinemas

to peter home and then we got peter hammond to do in what must have been a world record transfer for an assistant coach and it will work fine in the end. point i knew we'd have a harmonious working out my sphere with the players as well. i still know a lot of the squad from my last time in charge of. the inside and i know that if i can bring my own style my character and my personality to bear. on the whole thing's going to function well your family doctor stories always seem silly improvement in terms of results and performance. but i doubt that any. but he quite expected the sustained level of excellence and dominance that we've enjoyed his whose fathers have quickly kind of going up. sometimes things just click into place a few tactical tweaks and some careful man management of byron stars and suddenly the team were back on fire. is think it does though i think it's up to the coach to clearly set the tone with regard to the extent and intensity of the training fun and intense accuracy precision passing the position will play attacking mountains but there's any number of different

mr hammond is expected to use his speech in london to focus on an agreement which he says will be of parties. we can speak now to our political correspondent jonathan blake who joins us live from westminster. how much do you know about what is in the speech on how significant is it? it is significant because if you consider your bank, your insurance company, your accountant if you have one, the financial services sector in the uk is huge, employing about 2 million people and is worth £125 billion to the uk economy. no surprise that ministers are trying to protect it and make sure those companies can continue to do business freely across the uk after brexit and they don't leave, taking jobs and business. the question is, financial services be included in a free—trade agreement struck with the eu after brexit? the chancellor says yes and it makes sense for the eu and the uk. but the eu's chief negotiator says it can't be done, it doesn't exist but the chancellor pointed out in response that the eu itself has tried to include financial services in a free—trade agreement before with the

it comes as philip hammond repairs to announce the smallest deficit in a decade.spoke to the bbc's andrew ma. >> there is light at the end of the tunnel because what we are about to see is that starting to -- debt starting to fall after it has been growing for 17 continuous years. that is very important. juliette: in new york city, all five passengers have been killed in a helicopter crash into the east river. the pilot freed himself and was rescued by a passing tugboat. the helicopter was being charted for a photo shoot when it went down near gracie mansion. global news, 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in what and when hundred 20 countries. you can always find more stories on the bloomberg at top . .att mentioned risk on it has been risk on in equities here in asia. australia closing higher by .5%. we mentioned fluctuation in the yen due to politics in japan. closedthe nikkei 225 higher by 1.7%. solid movement coming through in chinese markets. around .5% andby the overall regional index having its best gains since the end o

valley enough, philip hammond did see risks on the labour front bench.for a new ways to increase revenue. the longest serving mp, father of the house,is longest serving mp, father of the house, is kevin clark. a former conservative chancellor himself, of course. he had an idea. can i suggest that he looks at some of the extraordinary tax anomalies that he has inherited. it cannot be right... declare your interest! well, i think i am perfectly well placed. 0ne conservative later made the point that perhaps imposing a new tax targeted at a core element of the party support may not be a good idea after all. and now, let's have a look at some of the news from parliament in brief. the peer who was britain's first female muslim cabinet minister says she will not be intimidated by letters inciting violence against muslims. her comments came after four suspect packages were sent to mps of a muslim background. the previous day, mps had condemned the letters encouraging people to take part in a punisher muslim day. i received a long message from a friend at the en

philip hammond will tell european leaders it's in the "mutual interest" of the uk and the eu to includeancellor is due to make the argument in a speech later today. our economics editor kamal ahmed has details. tell us what he is going to say. this is the latest stage in that brexit battle. it is over an important part of the trade negotiations that are coming up — financial services. for britain, they're incredibly important. not just for the two million jobs that are connected to financial services across the uk, but because britain has a trade surplus with the eu on financial services of about £20 billion a year. so very valuable to britain. philip hammond is saying it is also valuable to the eu — london is also valuable to the eu — london isa is also valuable to the eu — london is a huge global market, where lots of european governments and businesses raise a lot of money. and he is going to say that it is important for both sides that there isa deep important for both sides that there is a deep and special agreement between britain and the eu once we have left the single market. wh

speaking two days before he delivers his spring statement, mr hammond said the government would stillat the end of the tunnel. labour has accused the government of holding back growth. jonathan blake reports. reporter: morning, chancellor. morning. is that a spring in the chancellor's step? philip hammond looked reasonably cheerful this morning, as he arrived to deliver his message that the economy could be turning a corner — after a gloomy few years of relatively litle growth, a hint things could be looking brighter. there is light at the end of the tunnel because we are about to see debt starting to fall after it has been growing for 17 continuous years. that is a very important moment. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. we have to get debt down. we have got all sorts of other things we need to do. we have taken a balanced approach. that debt is too high for his liking. but forecasts show the amount the uk owes could peak and then fall in the coming years. no cause for celebration, according to labour, who say other factors tell a different story. we should not be celebra

>> darrell hammond was great on "snl." >> you agree that darrell hammond was better on "snl." >> yes.bout favorite presidential important trails, will ferrell's george w. bush is pretty strong. pretty far up there. >> annoy idea why the president would be tweet go to alec bald went at 5:30 in the morning. i have no idea. it is so bizarre. so strange. "snl" didn't ever make fun of president obama but if they ever had, i can't imagine he would have taken the bait. right? >> or any other president. >> will ferrell was probably the best presidential impersonator. he made fun of him and poked at things american public poked at him about. but george w. bush wasn't getting up and talking about it. >> it does show a remarkably thin skin. >> and clearly there's not enough on the president's schedule to occupy his time. this is what passes on his desk first thing in the morning. maybe he's practicing for the correspondents dinner. >> this is what i've heard. they love trump. they think the economy is doing well but they wish sometimes he would lay off the twitters. and i think it is this kind o

welcome back to more of britain's finance minister or chancellor of the exchequer philip hammond will deliver a spring statement about the economy of the united kingdom mainstream media will no doubt focus on his abandoning of neocon neo liberalism maybe but less attention will be paid to a tory britain arguably riven by division thanks to everything from benefit sanctions to the slashing of public services to subsidise the city of london official figures are conflicting about inequality which worsened under the labor years of blair and brown but many would argue that whoever has been in power the voices of the most marginalized in society are being unheard senior producer pete bennett went to talk with the grassroots activists fighting for political representation in an effort to give the working classes of britain a starring role in their story how much of our lives are dictated by post schools and policies coming from the building behind me and this near liberal decisions are made on our behalf by select few how can elected members of parliament accurately represent the diversity o

the chancellor philip hammond, has rejected calls to announce the end of austerity. has rejected callse he delivers his spring economic statement, he said the country was still heavily in debt, but there was "light at the end of the tunnel". heavily in debt, but there was labour has accused the government, of holding back growth. our political correspondent chris mason has more. the chancellor suggested today that after years of gloom, the public finances might, just might, be getting closer to emerging into the sunlight. just might, be getting closer there is light at the end of the tunnel, because what we're about to see, of the tunnel, is debt starting to fall of the tunnel, after it's been growing for 17 continuous years. that's a very important moment for us. but we are still in the tunnel at the moment. we have to get debt down. the tunnel at the moment. we have all sorts of other things we want to do. we have taken a balanced approach. things we want to do. that debt the chancellor talked about looks like this, big by historic standards. about looks like this, but, forecasts sug

mr hammond said the uk also needed a free—flowing border at dover—calais.with the european union, including technology— based solutions to achieve that objective, lorries coming off the ferry at calais can roll straight through dover and vice versa, which has to be our objective. as we seek a solution that delivers that, we expect that we will find in that solution the basis for a working solution in the irish border as well. have you found who leaked those documents? the cross—government economist analysist. the cabinet secretary, as i understand it, is, you know... carrying out an investigation, as always happens when unauthorised leaks of documents occur. i haven't heard that he has reached any conclusions yet. the chancellor also said he was setting aside £3 billion over the next two years to prepare for brexit. it's being spent on ensuring that we're prepared for a full range of outcomes. some of it is being spent on preparations for a no deal exit in march 2019. clearly, we will make his money available to departments on the basis that we will continu

we are expecting a speech from the chancellor philip hammond a little bit later on this afternoon. of course. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first , the headlines on bbc news: the home secretary says more is now known about the substance used in the suspected poisoning of a russian spy. the president of the eu says a free trade agreement will have to be put into place after brexit — and says the uk's position will have "negative economic consequences." saudi arabia's crown prince is starting a three—day visit to the uk — protests are planned against his country's role in the war in yemen. in the business news... chancellor philip hammond will tell eu leaders it's in the "mutual interest" of the uk and the eu to include financial services in a free trade agreement. he's due to speak later today. earlier eu council president donald tusk repeated warnings about "cherry—picking". almost 1000 jobs are to go at new look after the high street retailer announced its company voluntary arrangement or cva. under the reorganisation, 60 stores will close, which is expe

chancellor philip hammond will be unveiling his spring statement later today.l be a few changes announced. sarah hewin, chief europe economist at standard chartered is here to tell us what we can expect. what will you be watching out for? well, three things. we are looking out for the chancellor, what he says about the economy, we are likely to see a slightly up for its revision to the economic forecasts for this year we will be looking out for what it says about public finances as well, revenues have done better than expected, the borrowing requirement is likely to come in a bit less than expected, so i‘m sure that philip hammond will be trumpeting that in the spring statement. thirdly, we are looking for some comments, some consultations about various tax proposals, for example addressing vat for small businesses, potentially a levy on plastics, possibly addressing inheritance taxation. but of course, this is going to be a very short statement, we will not see any particular details for spending and tax, that will be left until the main budget, which happens

philip hammond this afternoon is likely to say that any free—trade deal should include a good deal oneen the eu and britain. so far, the european commission has been pretty negative on this idea. michel barnier, the chief brexit negotiator for the commission, has said there has never been a free—trade deal including financial services done by the eu with a third country, which is what we will be. butternut donald tusk press conference we have just seen tusk press conference we have just seen that norman was talking about, he did say that a free—trade deal would look at all areas, including services. so there could be a slight opening for a negotiation. this is a negotiation. philip hammond will set out one stall, close alignment, the european union are going to say that that will be really difficult. somewhere in the middle, i am sure, there will be a way of organising it so there will be a way of organising it so that the deal me, yes, be more difficult in terms of the relationship between the eu and britain, but it won't be a complete brick wall between the two sites. britain, but i

and so philip hammond rose in the commons on thursday with what he said would bea on thursday with what he characterised his mood. if there are any eeyores in the chamber, they are over there. all members: hear hear.. iamat over there. all members: hear hear.. iam at my over there. all members: hear hear.. i am at my most tigger like today, asi i am at my most tigger like today, as i contemplate a country that goes from strength to strength. as i contemplate a country that goes from strength to strengthlj as i contemplate a country that goes from strength to strength. i have committed to £60 billion of new spending shared between long—term investment in britain's future and support for our public services. with almost £9 billion extra for our nhs and social care system. £4 billion going into the nhs in 201819 alone. -- 2018-19. the shadow chancellor was not positively not tigger like. his complacent today is astounding. we face in every public service a crisis on a scale we have never seen before. hasn't he listened to the doctors, the nurses, teachers, the police officers, the carers,

single market british chancellor philip hammond immediately responded to say any settlement without the services deal could not claim to be fair and balanced germany is more popular than ever with travellers four hundred sixty million overnight stays were not stopped last year that's a new record no wonder germany has so much more to offer than burley in b.f.s. and the black forest if you want to head off the beaten track you could try the state of mecklenburg for palm up the official partner of the i t b tourism fair which opened in berlin on wednesday. summer time on eastern germany's baltic coast. in the winter hardly a soul in sight. where nearly two hundred thousand people depend on tourism wants to attract more visitors with creation of accommodation like the fleet virals a campground. or the equally unusual dock in a hostile environment to where you can spend the night in a refitted cargo container an increasing number of guests are checking in even in the wintertime. the hostel which opened a year ago has already won a tourism prize. another local attraction is a darwinian at th