stormont house in northern ireland, where we are waiting for the northern ireland secretary james brokenshireireland secretaryjames brokenshire to come out and make a statement. that was meant to be around apm. running late, but we can talk to our correspondent, who is there. chris, what are his options? he basically has three. number one, as the law stands, he has to call an election to the stormont assembly within what is described as a reasonable time frame. he is not regarding that is a good option. number two, frame. he is not regarding that is a good option. numbertwo, he frame. he is not regarding that is a good option. number two, he would pass emergency legislation in the commons that imposes direct rule, basically westminster takes over the running of northern ireland and devolution is suspended. i do not think he would think much of that option. option three, perhaps more appealing. when you look at the law on the timing of the new election, he has wriggle room because there is a phrase he has to do it within a reasonable period of time. nobody has defined how long a reasonable per

but not james brokenshire? clear that they do not considerjames making it very clear that they do not consider james brokenshire making it very clear that they do not considerjames brokenshire to be an independent broker, and that they would prefer someone from outside. 0n the big occasions and on the big issues of the past, when we have needed to find a way through, it is people from outside of here who have, if you like, drawn the map, showing the path, helped the direction. a final thought, showing the path, helped the direction. a finalthought, mike nesbitt when announcing he was standing down as ulster unionist leader, said his biggest regret was that northern ireland politics seemed more polarised than ever. yet the cross community alliance party increased its share of the vote, held onto eight seats, same as last time round. what role could be alliance party now play? the alliance party now play? the alliance party now play? the alliance party with eight seats and the green party with two seats punched a

the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire said he believed there was no appetite for yet anotherrrespondent chris buckler reports. there's been a lot of talk in northern ireland about restoring power—sharing, but at times it's felt like sinn fein and the dup have been speaking a very different language. much of the funding for this class for migrant workers in dungannon comes through stormont, but with no government, there's no budget. we might want to ask how much... and that means this community group can't be sure how much money they'll have once the new financial year begins, and that's just next week. if there's no funding, it would mean imminent closure within two months and alljobs lost. that's how serious it is. those concerns about budgets stretch across all departments including health and education. but at lipm, the deadline for an agreement, the politicians weren't electing a first and deputy first minister. the assembly chamber was empty. i think there are a short few weeks in order to resolve matters. the reason i say that is because of this issue, the stark issue i

what you think is going to be running through james brokenshire i's mind as he watches these resultsto fall apart. use your the dup and sinn fein and the british government, the irish government all saying that they want to fix this. but it is broken. it collapsed. people are saying that it might be difficult to put humpty dumpty back together again. ido put humpty dumpty back together again. i do not think they should attempt to do it in three weeks. i think that is crazy in terms of what is on the table to be resolved. and i think they need to take a pause. they need to take a longer time to negotiate. they need to get something this time it will stick. inafew something this time it will stick. in a few months' time, we add in another crisis mode and people will ask, what was this all about? villas are not wriggle room for the secretary of state, isn't there, to leave the assembly effectively in limbo. he could take the option of calling another election. if you look closely at the wording, it says, within a reasonable period. that provides perhaps an off time —— enough time to all

let's talk about james brokenshire. it is role injeopardy?there is a strong role for the secretary of state in co—ordinating these talks, and also, of course, in relation to how we deal with it legacy of northern ireland's troubled past. and we know that the dup and sinn fein are blaming each otherfor the breakdown. from the outside, it looks like neither side are willing to budge. but do you think things will... do somebody had to move first? or is it to sites? i think the move, one would hope, would be from both sides. reasonable, they are looking at very sensitive issues around culture and identity, and these, over the years, a gain and again, and caused political crises in northern ireland. but from my understanding, they have been some constructive talks. and although there was a degree of acrimony yesterday when they did not meet the deadline, there have been many insta nces deadline, there have been many instances where talks are broken up with much greater level of bitterness between the parties, i thought there were sending signals c

we are expecting a statement from the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire.all another snap election to the stormont assembly. the last one as you may remember was just over three weeks ago at the previous election before that was just in may last year, so if you don't go for an election, it would be the third election, it would be the third election in a little over a year. 0therwise, election in a little over a year. otherwise, he could pass emergency legislation at westminster which would enable the westminster government to impose what is known as direct rule, basically take over the running of northern ireland and that would mean the parliament he would be suspended. the third option which may be the middleweight and i suspect this is what he will go far, all the parties have said that unprincipled they are willing to go to another phase of docs. some parties have mentioned they would have to be in another format and there would have to be a chair to breathe new life into the process. mr brooke and shire could do that because the law says that he has to

well, we have listened to james brokenshire's statement today in westminster. always wanting to be part of discussions. we want to see implementation of what has been previously agreed. obviously, one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting aagreement on previous agreements has been the british government's approach over the last recent weeks, but indeed even longer. so when i listen to james brokenshire today i suppose i'll be concerned in relation to his comments with direct rule. direct rule is not an option. there is legislation in place which he must follow, which clearly says that he must call an election if there is no agreement here. we're working to achieve an agreement. we remain focussed on that. we want these institutions to work on the basis of equality, respect and integrity. direct rule is not an option. the new 12—sided pound coin entered circulation today. it marks the first change to the shape of the coin since its introduction in 1983. it's harderfor coin since its introduction in 1983. it's harder for criminals to counterfeit. some vendin

you be looking to have face—to—face talks withjames be looking to have face—to—face talks with james brokenshirent issues. there are ways of sorting these matters out. it isa ways of sorting these matters out. it is a common sense position. peter robinson stood aside twice. i would be delighted to nominate michelle o‘neill as i nominated martin mcguinness. let‘s come at this as michelle says with a good heart and find a way to deal with these challenges. we will seek meetings with the prime minister in britain. we will seek meetings with the taoiseach. we want to beat him at leadership level. during the three—week process? you are 100% right in identifying brexit as one of the big game changers in terms of the future of this island, this part of the island and our relationship with our nearest offshore island. we hope to enter into all of this. we have been on a diplomatic offensive in terms of dealing with the other european states, who will really be deciding on these matters and we continue with that work. seeking to put our views to the british prime minister will be part of that. for the sa

to do that by the 27th of march, one of the options open to the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshireer, though that would require an act of parliament. he could also call another election, he could also call another election, he could suspend this set the assembly, or he could try to create some breathing space to give the politicians more time to work out a deal. take you back to january when the assembly collapsed, the final straw as it were was a row over a renewable heating scheme, a botched renewable heating scheme, a botched renewable heating scheme, but that was just the final straw made a huge deterioration in the ratio between the two main parties in northern ireland. so it is looking very tricky as we look ahead to the beginning of the new week, and those three weeks of negotiations, to see how in three weeks' time of devolved government could be up and running again. thank you very much forbidding that into context and monitoring those results. human remains of infants and children have been uncovered as a former home for unwed mothers and babies in ireland. forensics scie

members are and the period that takes us up to the 27th of march has passed, it will be over to james brokenshirey first minister being appointed, it will be up tend to decide what happens next. direct rule would require new legislation. the most likely scenario is he will try to find more time in the hope of solution could be found to make the devolved institutions work again. so we will keep a very close eye on this very interesting election so far, some things are the same but are many unknowns and we will have more coverage for you right throughout the day. we will be back with anita mcveigh shortly but first we have the latest headlines. air accident investigators say the pilot of the vintage jet which crashed at the shoreham airshow was flying "too low and too slow" when he started a loop manoeuvre. eleven people on the ground were killed. theresa may has accused the snp of neglecting public services in scotland — because it's obsessed with the issue of independence, she said. and results are expected for the northern ireland election. there has been a big increase in turnout compared to la

the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, said it was a source of deep disappointment and regret. following the passing of yesterday's legal deadline, in northern ireland, northern ireland has no devolved administration. this also means that other elements of the belfast agreement, including the north—south bodies cannot operate properly. the consequences of all of this are potentially extremely serious. and the most immediate is that we're rapidly approaching the point at which northern ireland will not have an agreed budget. from tomorrow, a civil servant, the department of finance permanent secretary, will exercise powers that allocate cash to northern ireland departments. but let me be very clear, the situation is not sustainable, and beyond a short period of time, will have an impact on public services. what we're talking about here is the health service, schools, voluntary groups, services for the most vulnerable in society. this isn't what people voted for on the 2nd of march. he said he was hopeful of a positive outcome from the talks. if these talks are successful, it wo

the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire said he believes there is no appetite for yet anothera lot of talk in northern ireland about restoring power—sharing, but at times it's felt like sinn fein and the dup have been speaking a very different language. much of the funding for this class for migrant workers in dungannon comes through stormont, but with no government, there's no budget. and that means this community group can't be sure how much money they'll have once the new financial year begins, and that's just next week. if there's no funding, it would mean imminent closure within two months and alljobs lost. that's how serious it is. those concerns about budgets stretch across all departments including health and education. but at four o'clock, the deadline for an agreement, the politicians weren't electing a first and deputy first minister. the assembly chamber was empty. i think there are a short few weeks in order to resolve matters. the reason i say that is because of this issue, the stark issue in relation to public services here in northern ireland, and the lack of a

minister and deputy first minister are not appointed then in theory the northern ireland secretary james brokenshireions. that includes suspension of the assembly, possibly calling another election, direct rule from westminster although the westminster government certainly doesn't want that. that would take new legislation. 0r that. that would take new legislation. or perhaps he can find a way to buy some time. one senior politician, lord trimble, former leader of the ulster unionist party, suggested this morning when he spoke on bbc radio 2 fourballs today programme, that more time was what was needed. i would suggest it would be a good idea that the secretary of state for northern ireland be ready to rush through a little piece of legislation to give the parties more time. you see, under the belfast agreement there was more time. and when sinn fein and the dup did their original deal back in 2007, they reduced the time for the formation of an administration. that is going to come back and bite them. i put that thought that lord trimble had to claire hanna of the nationalist sdlp. she's an assembly

president, bill clinton, is due to attend the ceremony, as are the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshireime minister, enda kenny. mr mcguinness, a former ira leader turned politician, died on tuesday. the government is being warned against intervening in the energy market by capping prices. it's thought ministers are preparing to act to help customers on standard energy tariffs. five former energy regulators say doing so would have an "adverse effect" and could have "ominous implications" for other markets. let's have a quick look at the sport now and it was a disappointing night for gareth southgate in his first match as permanent england manager. it ended in defeat to germany. england dominated the first half but a stunning strike in the 2nd from lucas podolski, in his final international, sealed the 1—0 win in the friendly in dortmund. there was a disappointing performance from scotland — they had to come back from one nil down to earn a draw against canada at easter road. steven naismith with the goal. now back to charlie and sally in westminster. you're watching it first on bbc news

the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, has started talks with the main parties, but the democraticng to resolve the differences, which led to the collapse of the old executive injanuary. for the latest, let's join our ireland correspondent, chris buckler, at stormont. as you say, the parties have spent the day negotiating at stormont and those talks will continue tomorrow but they face many challenges to deal with all of those disagreements that became clear during a bitter election campaign. there is the potential for a election campaign. there is the potentialfor a deal to election campaign. there is the potential for a deal to restore power—sharing but it needs to be done within three weeks to avoid the need for potentially even the westminster government taking over control of northern ireland, at least for a period, or perhaps even another election. last week's vote saw a rise in support for republicans leaving some unionists shocked. my report does contain some flash photography. this is an island where political battles have replaced years of violence. and irish republicans

in the last few days, the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire has sounded optimistic, saying, it seems there is little basis for that optimism. the dup and sinn fein are as far apart so other parties have suggested these talks have gone nowhere, and now he and theresa may face the reality that there is a real crisis at stormont and have to consider the possibility another election, after what was a pretty divisive vote earlier this month, could lead to problems becoming worse rather than better. chris buckler in belfast, thank you. the head of britain's biggest union — unite — has said thatjeremy corbyn should be given 15 months to see if he can improve labour's poll ratings. be given 15 months to see if he can len mccluskey is standing for re—election as the union's general secretary. for re—election as the union's mr corbyn says labour is ready for a general election if one is called. is ready for a general meanwhile, mr corbyn‘s said he'll oppose the government's plans to change european laws without full parliamentary scrutiny when they become part of uk law because of br

it will be a scrutiny body for the decisions of james brokenshire.cap can get the deal along? thank you very much. as we head into the evening, we are a little over the halfway mark in terms of the number of seats declared. but i think as we look ahead to tomorrow, the clear themes are there, success for sinn fein in particular, even the dup leader, arlene foster, saying sinn fein has had a really good election. the dup and sinn fein might be a little closer at the end of this in terms of the number of seats they have. and where that leaves northern ireland politics, it is difficult to say. there are another possible avenues, a number of scenarios, but one thing is for sure — whatever negotiations begin next week once all seats are declared, by tomorrow afternoon, there are some difficult negotiations ahead. thank you very much, anita. we will have continuing coverage as those results come in. now the pilot of the plane of the shore disaster. the pilot who survive says he remembers nothing of the crash but investigators say he could have aborted his

it's up to the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire but really he has a limited number of optionst would be the third vote in just over a year. that's something the government don't want. they could play for time because he is only supposed to call back within a reasonable time period, so ultimately they could have talks while that takes place and they bluff that time for a while. the other option is to go to direct rule where westminster would effectively ta ke direct rule where westminster would effectively take over the running of northern ireland, that's something they don't want either. ultimately at the moment that leaves us in a kind of limbo and that has practical circumstances. budgets have not been set for public spending, so as far as health, public spending, all sorts of public services are concerts earned, that becomes a worry. getting out of that limbo will not be easy because politicians here are simply pointing at each other, blaming each otherfor the fa ct other, blaming each otherfor the fact that these negotiations have not been successful, and the gap between t

the signs are that james brokenshire, the northern ireland secretary, is determined to do everythingtaken, so what that means is very serious talks amongst the parties. but they cannot go on forever, the legislation talks about how they can last for a reasonable period of time, it was interesting that bertie ahern, the former irish prime minister, said in my interview that perhaps the rules could be tweaked to allow those talks to last as long as six weeks. there is even talk of possibly having a second election to concentrate minds. but i have to say, in the rain here in northern ireland i do not truly detect much appetite for yet another election. thank you. you can see a combines a guide to the parties and candidates in tomorrow's election on the bbc news website. one thing about president trump that everyone will agree on is that he has smashed the old rules of political communication, he's dispensed with the conventions of political spin and obfuscation, and re—set the relationship between government and the media. now there is one man who did more than anyone to expose the nons

also in the church, the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire, the irish president james higginssident bill clinton was also here. both of them had a role in the negotiations which led up to the good friday peace agreement here in 1998. bill clinton will address the mourners in the church. he is expected to speak towards the end of the service in about one hour azpilicueta time. prior to the service beginning, as you say a huge crowd here in derry where martin mcguinness lived for all his life. many thousands lined the streets. his coughing, draped in an irish flag, was carried around the streets. —— coffin. 0ne an irish flag, was carried around the streets. —— coffin. one of the areas of the city which so much violence in the height of the troubles in the early 1970s, run member martin mcguinness was a seniorfigure in the ira here, but there has been plenty of reflections in the last few days and that has been going to be continuing over the next few days. paramilitary commander to politician. now he is making his final journey. commander to politician. now he is making his fina

let‘s cross live to the house of commons because the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, isr to represent northern ireland in our negotiations to leave the eu, which is so important in the context of article 50 being triggered tomorrow. that said, it is also clear that significant gaps remain between parties, particularly over issues surrounding culture and identity. throughout this process the government has been active in making positive proposals to try and bridge those gaps and help the parties to move things forward. in law, the period allowed to form an executive from the date of the first sitting of the assembly after an election is 14 days. that 14 day period expired at 4pm yesterday with no agreement and therefore no executive. this is and therefore no executive. this is a source of deep disappointment and regret to me and many and i know there is widespread dismay across there is widespread dismay across the country. from all my extensive engagements across northern ireland, with business, civil society members of the public, i am with business, civil society membe

james brokenshire representing the government. the church, there was a crowd of many thousands, certainly more than 10,000 people following the cortege. now we can see the cortege moving through. being born pastor ‘s family home not farfrom through. being born pastor ‘s family home not far from here. through. being born pastor ‘s family home not farfrom here. and on towards the city cemetery, the major symmetry here in derry. they are just arriving at the cemetery. there martin mcguinness will be buried but before that there will be some graveside alterations by senior members of sinn fein, including gerry adams. in the republican tradition, graveside alterations are quite a big part of the republican tradition and i —— graveside ten one. “— tradition and i —— graveside ten one. —— graveside orations. let's here from the previous us president will clinton said in the service. so that's what he did come he persevered and he prevailed. he risked the raft of his comrades and the rejection of his adverse areas. he made honourable comp

there is the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, representing the government.ounced this morning she was to attend the service. it had not been clear if she would or not. the power—sharing executive collapsed in january, so these are difficult political times in northern ireland. it isa political times in northern ireland. it is a difficult matter for the unionist leader to decide to attend a funeral of a former ira commander. there are some of the vip, there shaking hands, including former president, clinton and other political leaders, the irish prime minister, enya kennedy and mr higgins, and many people from martin mcguinness‘s past and present playing a role in the service. of course martin mcguinness‘s family, his four children, his widow, bernie and his widowed grandchildren here. chris, we will be back to you later. thank you very much. chris cap page is in derry. and now to the events in westminster, of course. the police are urging anyone with information on the events to get in touch with them. they have issued a phone line. members of the public are

james brokenshire i have represented the government.oster, the present leader of the democratic unionist party party. and her predecessor, both have been first minister of the executive. martin mcguinness was deputy, a title he held for ten years. ending the service was the former us president, bill clinton, who delivered an address. he said martin mcguinness had shrank the definition of the word "event" and expanded the definition of the word "ask". —— them. there is devolved government negotiations going on to restore it. the cortege has gone back through the streets to the city cemetery here in derry, there will be a ceremony where martin mcguinness will be buried. the sinn fein politicians and president, gerry adams and vice president, gerry adams and vice president, a senior member of the party in the irish parliament, and the leader in parliament, michelle o'neill, they will deliver speeches before martin mcguinness is laid to rest in the republican area. —— in the republican cloth. rest in the republican area. -- in the republica

agree a way forward by 27 march of the secretary of state in the westminster government on the james brokenshireons, he can either give them more time to talk, if he thinks that is worthwhile, he could call more elections to see if there can be a further political settlement, all he could decide to impose direct rule from westminster. so i suspect if they cannot agree we won't see much ofa they cannot agree we won't see much of a way forward until the other side of easter. so, would you say this is a good or a bad result for the dup? it is difficult for them, isn't it, at one stage they were surging ahead. the difference between them and sinn fein for voter share is 0.2%, absolutely tiny, so the party has to ask questions about why it didn't get the vote out, why it wasn't appealing to voters in the numbers sinn fein was able to do. sinn fein has surged ahead and pulled a blinder in this election. it has increased its share of the vote by 4%. it has increased its share of the vote by 496. thank you. companies who automatically sign up customers for subscription services without their knowledge f

then the ball is in the court of the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire.e direct rule? that would take legislation and the westminster government does not have an appetite for that. could he suspend the assembly again? could he called for another election? interestingly the law around that says within a reasonable period and that phrase could give him some wriggle room and allow him to buy some more time for the parties to continue to talk. we will be back with you very soon with the latest update on how the voting is going. back to you from belfast. air accident investigators say the shoreham airshow disaster which killed 11 people was caused by the pilot flying too low and too slow. a vintagejet performing a loop manoeuvre crashed onto the a27 in 2015. in their report the investigators said the pilot could have taken action to abort the display even after he had started the maneouvre. 0ur correspondent richard galpin is at farnborough airport. this is a really important report by the air accident investigators here. it is theirfinal the air accident inve

james brokenshire, the northern ireland secretary, has held bilateral meetings with each of the top five has been an meeting which has the most important of all — the democratic unionists and sinn fein, the two parties who did form a power—sharing parliament here that collapsed in january have held a meeting themselves. they haven't given much away as to what they talked about, to the mood was like to stop one sinn fein member said the mood was businesslike, but it is the start of talking, the start of a process, and in spite of the fact that the rift is very deep, and everybody says it will be an uphill struggle to get an agreement, what we have heard from the parties today has been conciliatory, in contrast with the harsh rhetoric of the election campaign. both of the two big parties, sinn fein and the dup, say they are serious about getting power—sharing back, that they believe a deal can be done. whether it can be done in the three—week time frame which the legislation officially allows for remains to be seen. officially allows for remains to be seen. there is no deal after that, the

that takes us up to the 27th of march has passed, it will be over to northern ireland secretary james brokenshiresolution could be found to make the devolved institutions work again. we will keep a very close eye on this very interesting election so far, and election in which some things are the same and there are many unknowns, we'll have more coverage throughout the day. back to you, rebecca. many thanks. the pressure on the us attorney generaljeff sessions is expected to continue today — despite his decision yesterday to remove himself from an fbi investigation into russia's alleged interference in the us elections. his democrat opponents in congress say mr sessions lied under oath over his contacts with russian diplomats. donald trump has called the claim a witch hunt. joining us from washington is jane 0'brien. donald trump says it is which fred —— witchhunt, the foreign secretary for russia says it is a witchhunt, is this the end of the affair? where does it go now?|j affair? where does it go now?” think that the moment, jeff sessions is safe. he has removed himself from any allegation into