but he won't get a very warm reception from mark drakeford, i'm afraid.r a no—deal brexit and that it could be catastrophic for wales. so, there'll be plenty to talk about on the prime minister's first visit to wales. michael gove, the new cabinet minister in charge of no—deal planning, is chairing his first meeting today of a special committee overseeing preparations for brexit. a source at downing street said the daily operations committee was being structured in a way so the treasury would be a "motor" for delivering brexit. the new chief secretary to the treasury, rishi sunak, is also expected to attend. the company which owns british gas has announced that its chief exectuvie, iain conn, is to step down. centrica has reported a pre—tax loss of £446 million in the six months tojune. our business presenter, dominic 0'connell, joins me in the studio. centrica has been under pressure for a while so why has iain conn stepped down now? i spoke to him this morning and he said he had come to the end of a natural restructuring at centrica, or a natural break,

mark drakeford said before the meeting he would give them a clear message that brexit would be catastrophicales for the brexit would decimate the agricultural and manufacturing sectors and risk ripping the union apart. borisjohnson has also been speaking to farmers as he tries to gather support for his brexit plans. their union has warned of ‘unrest‘ if the uk leaves the eu without a deal — one farmer told him to stop playing ‘russian roulette' with the lamb industry. farming is worth just over six billions pounds to the welsh economy. if the uk government decides to press on with a no deal brexit then tariffs on welsh lamb could increase by up to a0%. no deal could also impact exports, with 92% of all welsh lamb being sent to countries in the eu. let's discuss this more with phil stocker, chief executive of the national sheep association. thank you forjoining us. what is the actual effect of a no—deal brexit in practical terms to sheep farmers if it happens? they could beat two immediate outcomes and firstly the possibility we could lose access to the open market entirely which certainly w

then head here to the welsh assembly for his first meeting with the first minister of wales, mark drakefordish counterpart, nicola sturgeon, has one of the consequences of a no—deal brexit and supports another referendum. in a moment we'll speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith, in westminster. but first, our wales correspondent, tomos morgan, is in cardiff. intense worry from welsh farmers. what do they want to hear from the prime minister? well, they want some clarity because arguably farmers in wales and across the uk face the biggest shake—up of all the sectors that will be impacted after brexit. one of the issues they have, the concerns they have,is issues they have, the concerns they have, is what will happen to the common agricultural policy, the eu policy that davies out of the subsidies to farmers. that is in place until 2020. after that it is not clear what will happen. welsh farmers alone receive around £300 million in subsidies from the eu each year. now agricultural and former —— farming subsidies are devolved to the welsh government. farmers hope a scheme can be

mark drakeford will remain steadfast in his message that a no deal brexit would be devastating for theime minister is also due to go to ireland soon. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster, but already a phone call with his irish counterpart — the first since he became prime minister — has rather set the tone for the meeting. yes it has, it is extraordinary it has taken a week for the two men to speak andi has taken a week for the two men to speak and i thinkjudging by the conversations there is not much chance of a brexit borisjohnson boris johnson talked borisjohnson talked about approaching the negotiations in the spirit of friendship, but the two are at loggerheads over the backstop. leo varadkar said the insurance policy to stop physical checks at the boarder in ireland had to stay in and he repeat the eu's line that deal that theresa may agreed would not be renegotiated. leo varadkar also invited boris johnson to dublin, but i get the sense from downing street he won't be hot footing it there soon. what we are seeing from borisjohnson is a continuation of

today the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, said he looks forward to meeting borisjohnson, bute, the most pressing issue mrjohnson faces is brexit. throughout the leadership contest he said we'd leave the eu with or without a deal by october 31st. but he faces a battle, not least within parliament. our deputy political editorjohn pienaar looks at the challenge brexit poses for the next prime minister. he has wanted this for years, sometimes so much it's hurt. now what will he do? about brexit, about leaving by october the 31st. do or die, remember? because the brexiteers who helped him certainly will. those brexiteers will be in here with him watching because mrjohnson's promise to seek or demand a better brexit deal or else. or else what? well, to leave without one, if he can, unless the eu backed down and makes concessions they've never offered before. so, what are the chances? well, brexit may be on the agenda next time eu leaders gather on october the 17th. we'll have an idea of how mrjohnson is getting on with his pledge to renegotiate the terms of brexit with the new eu c

tonight the prime minister held talks with wales's first minister, mark drakeford, and promised supportrs in the event of no—deal. sian lloyd's report has some flash photography from the start. a prime minister with the future of farming in his hands, and one who wanted to tell those working in the agricultural sector that it can continue to thrive post—brexit. as borisjohnson makes his first visit to wales as prime minister, a country which voted overall to leave the european union, today farmers' leaders are warning of potential civil unrest in the event of a no—deal brexit. wales exports more to europe than any other uk country, and there are fears that living without a deal could have a catastrophic impact on people's livelihoods. we will make sure that they have the support that they need, that if there are markets that are going to be tricky, that we help them to find new markets, that we have interventions that are aimed to support them and their income. but this farming family wants to know the details of his plans. the huntleys have been rearing sheep in the hills above pontypr

tonight the prime minister held talks with wales' first minister, mark drakeford, and promised supportor farmers in the event of no deal. sian lloyd's report has some flash photography from the start. a prime minister with the future of farming in his hands. and one who wa nted farming in his hands. and one who wanted to tell those working in the agricultural sector that it can continue to thrive post brexit. as borisjohnson continue to thrive post brexit. as boris johnson makes his continue to thrive post brexit. as borisjohnson makes his first continue to thrive post brexit. as boris johnson makes his first visit to wales as prime minister, a country which voted overall to leave the european union, today farmers' leaders are warning of potential civil unrest in the event of a no—deal brexit. wales exports more to europe than any other uk country and there are fears living without a deal could have a catastrophic impact on people's livelihoods. we will make sure they have the support they need, that if there are markets that are going to be tricky that we help them to find new markets

meet farmers and farm workers in south wales, before talks in cardiff with welsh first minister mark drakefordrning from the farmers‘ union of wales that there'll be "civil unrest" in rural areas if the uk leaves the european union without a deal. earlier, i asked the government's secretary of state for wales, alun cairns, what a no—deal brexit would mean for farming. there is no doubt that leaving with a deal, and we need to see a shift in the undemocratic backstop, in order to get to a position where we can have a deal with the european union. i'm optimistic about all of the efforts that are going on across government but michael gove and i we re government but michael gove and i were at the royal welsh agricultural show just last week talking to farmers and farming unions directly to better understand their concerns and that is why the prime minister is visiting today. he specifically recognises the importance of the agriculture sector to the uk economy, but it specifically in wales. clearly, i have not met a farm that does not complain about the common agricultural policy. it is anti—envir

nations, nicola sturgeon the scottish first minister, mark dra keford the scottish first minister, mark drakefordd as well. most interestingly, he has held his first official talks as prime minister with both the german chancellor angela merkel and the french president emmanuel macron. saying to both of them what he told the country on wednesday. the brexit deal needs to change. he is not just the brexit deal needs to change. he is notjust going to try and repackage it and have a few tweaks here and there, that the backstop, the controversial insurance policy to stop a hard border in ireland, has to go. there has to be some sort of replacement for that. i'm sure that both angela merkel and emmanuel macron have made clear to boris johnson that that is in a central pa rt johnson that that is in a central part of the deal that has been agreed. both have said consistently they are not going to renegotiate, but the arguments are being put on the table for the first big confrontation, whenever that comes. we have also heard this afternoon from ireland's foreign minister, who sounds less than impressed

we'll have the latest from wales and hearfrom the first minister of wales mark drakeford.he other main stories on bbc news at 5. a former high courtjudge says police officers investigating an alleged vip paedophile ring may themselves have broken the law. this the plummeting pound — sterling continues to fall on currency markets — as market jitters grow at the prospect of a no—deal brexit. liverpool's lord mayor resigns following complaints about a video he shared containing racist material last night. president trump arrives in jamestown, virginia to mark the 400th anniversary of democracy in the united states. some black groups stay away. people with alcohol problems in england are half as likely to get the right help compared to other areas of britain. it is 5pm, our top story. boris johnson has spent the afternoon meeting welsh farmers who have expressed their strong opposition to the uk crashing out of the eu without a deal. in the latest stop on his tour of the uk he visited a farm in newport and said agriculture could thrive with new trade deals, insisting the ball

today tweeting, the first minister, mark dra keford, tweeting, the first minister, mark drakeford, said perhaps one of the first thing is the first minister would bring up is what boris johnson the first minister would bring up is what borisjohnson said at a hustings here in cardiff around the replacement cash replacing the eu finds that, here, because he said that assembly ministers should have a say in how that is spent. let's go to worcester now, which is a marginal seat. our correspondent phil mackie has been to the local conservative association there. what has the reaction been to the new prime minister? asi as i would expect in most parts of the country, they‘ re as i would expect in most parts of the country, they're probably not entirely focused on westminster, they have been trying to focus on they have been trying to focus on the weather today. it has been as much as 33 degrees today, most people looking for a cold drink and ice cream and to find shades. but when you talk to them about boris johnson, there are mixed views. this isa marginal johnson, there are mixed views. thi

in the last hour, the prime minister has been meeting wales' first minister, labour's mark drakeford,e welsh secretary alun cairns. after the meeting, mr drakeford said he gave the prime minister a "very clear message" that "brexit will be catastrophic for wales". what i want to impress on the prime minister, that a campaign of a bluff and bluster and a belief that if we simply indulge ourselves in a vacuum a sense of optimism, that is not going to get us through this. we need a properly detailed and serious conversation that measures up to the seriousness of these issues. which allows wales and scotland and other parts of the uk to make their case and a way that is listen to and makes a difference. we'll bring you more on all of that and find out how that story and many others are being covered. in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are pippa crerar, the political editor at the daily mirror, and claire cohen, who's the women's editor at the telegraph. the value of the pound has continued to fall as the government insists

meet farmers and farm workers in south wales, before talks in cardiff with welsh first minister mark drakeford a warning from the farmers‘ union of wales that there'll be "civil unrest" in rural areas if the uk leaves the european union without a deal. the pound has suffered further falls this morning, dropping another 0.5% in early trading, the day after it sunk to its lowest level for more than two years — as markets become increasingly worried over the possibility of the uk leaving the eu without a deal. £1 currently gets you around 1.10 euro. that could mean good news for tourists coming to the uk, but not if you're heading abroad on holiday. sterling is also down against the us dollar to around $1.22. attempts to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and other children in england's secondary schools is almost at a "standstill", according to a new report. the education policy institute found poorer pupils are, on average, 18 months behind the rest of the class by the age of 16. the government says nearly £2.5 billion has been spent to support disadvantaged pupils this year

as he mentioned, boris johnson will be meeting for the first time with mark drakeford, the leader ofuilding behind me. mark dra keford are the building behind me. mark drakeford are queueing some of the views of nicola sturgeon yesterday but also echoing the views of the farming unions here in wales, that no deal would be catastrophic for the farming industry and the welsh economy and also adding the prime minister doesn't have the mandate for a no—deal brexit. he tweeted saying the prime minister must stop playing fast and loose with our country. and mark dra keford with our country. and mark drakeford has also been one that's been campaigning for a people's vote, should it come to that, something the majority of the assembly members have been talking about over the past year or so as negotiations continue to come to no avail. when that brexit vote happened in 2016, wales voted to leave, the only other country besides england that voted to leave the uk of the uk nations. actually, wales is one of the biggest beneficiaries of eu money, because we are so poor we actually get such a hu