in a statement, the chair of ukip's merseyside branch accuses mr nuttall of crass insensitivity. rseyside was one of those who resigned. i spoke to him earlier. aaron banks comments were a disgrace. so it was aaron banks, not paul nuttall? that was an error that paul nuttall? that was an error that paul nuttall? that was an error that paul nuttall made but it's aaron banks basically saying they were milking it, it wasn't a tragedy, it was an accident and it's 27 years that the families of the victims have actually tried to getjustice. was that your own decision or was there pressure on you from collea g u es there pressure on you from colleagues in merseyside? no. it's my own decision. i represent the people of this city for ukip and i think the comments from aaron banks have caused a lot of problems. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. what reaction from ukip over this? remarkably little. they have said nothing publicly, they don't want to go on the record. privately, they are suggesting that two men quit because of a backlash in liverpool following the

mr nuttall, minus 18. he could be falling even lower in recent days. closely than anyone else. what do you think is the explanation? let's stick with labour down at 27. i think in one poll, they were wrecked 24, really dangerous territory. what is your explanation? the long-term is your explanation? the long-term is fairly clear. difficulty number one for labour is, how do they persuade people that actually eight social democratic party like labour can manage capitalism in such a way that, to use the currentjargon, the left behind feel that labour can govern in their interest. i think, since the financial crash, it's been very difficult for labour to make the case. that isn't unique to the labour party, it's common to a number of social democratic parties. the second problem that labour have isa the second problem that labour have is a problem of leadership. it's clear that so farjeremy corbyn has convinced very few people in the country that he has what it takes to be prime minister, but the other real problem is, once you raise that point, you go ont

in a statement, the chair of ukip‘s merseyside branch accuses mr nuttall of crass insensitivity.back of aaron banks‘ comments, they are totally a disgrace. that‘s why. aaron banks‘ comments, they are totally a disgrace. that's why. so it was aaron banks, rather than the paul nuttall controversy over hillsborough, was it? that was an error made but it‘s aaron banks basically saying they were milking it, it wasn‘t a travel di, it was an accident and, you know, it‘s 27 yea rs accident and, you know, it‘s 27 years that the families of the hillsborough victims have been trying to get justice. hillsborough victims have been trying to getjustice. was that hillsborough victims have been trying to get justice. was that your own decision or was there pressure on you from colleagues in merseyside? no. it's my own decision. i represent the people of this city for ukip. i think the comments from aaron banks have com pletely comments from aaron banks have completely caused a lot of problems. norman smith said the resignations we re norman smith said the resignations were another dent in paul n

certainly the timing could hardly be worse, just days before the crunch by—election where mr nuttall you could see as make or break. nigel farage described it as a must win. those in ukip have played this incident down, suggesting they were under huge pressure because of a public backlash in liverpool following those claims on mr nuttall‘s website, false claims, saying that he had known people who had died in the hillsborough tragedy. these do not seem two men going meekly more in sorrow than anger, they have gone out all guns blazing, accusing mr nuttall of being crass and insensitive, calling his approach in tolerable and questioning whether he is fit to lead. bear in mind that these are two people who know mr nuttall, they are the chairman of his local party, the liverpool party and the merseyside regional party, which raises questions notjust of how far this will dent mr nuttal‘s chancesin how far this will dent mr nuttal‘s chances in the by—election but it may actually dent his leadership, given that ukip scene, really since nigel farage stepped aside, to struggle to find a lead

they are not stinting in their criticism of mr nuttall.ersy as an unprofessional approach and. they talk about the reaction in liverpool where his comments had been viewed as upsetting and they go on to question whether he is fit to lead. which suggests they are angry not just about the tenor of those remarks and now they have been perceived in liverpool but also about whether mr nuttall frankly is capable of being ukip reader. other news out of westminster, the bill on withdrawal from the eu and triggering article 50 continues on its path through the various processes , its path through the various processes, going to the house of lords today. the start of the house of lords process which is likely to bea of lords process which is likely to be a lot more problematic and difficult for the government than the commons. something like 190 peers are due to speak over the next couple of days, the whole barrage of amendments likely to go down. the government could potentially face some defeats. i am joined by the leader of the liberal democrats

saying mr nuttall's comments had provoked "a strong reaction" from people in liverpool.ximum jail term for animal cruelty in england and wales "laughable". battersea dogs and cats home is calling for prison sentences to be increased from six months to five years to bring the punishment in line with crimes such as fly—tipping. england and wales currently have the lowest maximum sentence in the uk. it is so low it is unbelievable. you can get up to five years for fly—tipping. up to seven years for theft. but if you take a dog and do horrendous things, i have done dog rescue the 25 years, the dogs we have picked up, tied to a railway line, she had been hit by a train resulting in severe injuries, starvation, total neglect, starvation, total neglect, starvation of dogs. these people are getting off with it scot free. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. we are going to be talking about amy's place. this e—mailfrom rachel, i am desperate to get help, i have tried to get into a rehab centre. i have relapsed after 14 yea rs centre. i have relapsed after 14 y

mr nuttall admitted yesterday, in an appearance on liverpool's radio city talk, that claims that he's untrue. he said he hadn't written or seen the information on his website before it was posted. people who have grown up in care are far more likely to die in early adulthood than those who haven't, according to figures revealed by a bbc investigation. although care leavers make up just i% of all 19 to 2i—year—olds, they accounted for 7% of deaths amongst that age group last year. it's thought poor mental health and difficulties accessing support could be to blame. the government says it is investing £10 million in support for those leaving care. a lack of sex and relationships education in some of england's secondary schools is creating a "ticking sexual health time bomb", according to councils. the local government association says pupils are not being prepared for adulthood and is calling for sex education to be compulsory in all state secondary schools. currently, all schools in england under local authority control have to teach the subject as part of the national curriculum, but

nuttall is not celebrating either, of course. i don't think there will be much celebrating by mr corbyn or mr nuttall.let's be honest, this was notjust a harrowing night for labour in copeland, it was a difficult night for them in stoke, too. even though they won, they had too. even though they won, they had to struggle to hold on in what should have been an easy to the park by—election for them, because stoke has been a labour seat pretty much since the year dot. —— should have been an easy cheesy stroll in the park. we are seven years into a conservative government. we have what many people with a real problems in the health service. and still labour is having to fight very ha rd still labour is having to fight very hard in one of its safest seats. as for ukip, the question that arises following their defeat in stoke is if they can't win here, then where can they win? stoke was a prime target for them. it is weak brexit country. it's a traditional working class seat. —— it is big brexit country. paul nuttall himself took a battering. the one person who seems to have emerged significantly strengthene

he told me mr nuttall should apologise for claims on his website that he lost personal friends in the. i'm not happy about it, but he should get his facts right, really. it's a judgment of error, he's put an error out there on the web page, you know, he's got to correct that, and what he should do, i know he has apologised for it, but he should come to this city of liverpool to say, "listen, i'm sorry for that error." but it was this tweet from ukip donor arron banks that was the final straw. mr banks said he was sick to death of hearing about hillsborough. i'm not going to be serving the party. i can still serve the people of this city, which i do every day anyway. but i'm not going to serve ukip if it's got arron banks as a donor, sorry. that is my argument. ukip's liverpool chairman, stuart monkham, has also resigned, saying "this unprofessional approach and crass insensitivity from high—profile people, closely within and without ukip, is upsetting and intolerable." paul nuttall is well aware that hillsborough remains a painful, sensitive issue here on merseyside. questions about h

stoke was a strong brexit voting area and mr nuttall is hoping he can become ukip's second mp.rday in a bid to show this isn'tjust a two horse race. 0ur reporter gillian hargreaves was born and brought up in stoke. she's returned to her home town to talk to people there. music plays. what i like about stoke is that i think it is a really friendly place. you can guarantee that people are going to be welcome wherever you go. yeah, it'sjust a happy place. i like coming home. it's a friendly place to live. hopefully, touch wood, there's not much trouble, where i live anyway. people talk to you. they're so friendly, but they are fiercely proud and outspoken and i'd say that kind of covers myself as well. i'm quite an outspoken person and i'm proud to be from stoke. the sense of community and the fact that everyone has a real passion for the city that they live in. it doesn't matter how tough things get, everyone still sticks together and helps everybody out. that's a good thing about stoke. # this is all that we've been left with.# for me, stoke is home. it's where i was born and br

mr nuttall said he hadn't written or seen the article before it was posted. friend. there was people who i knew through football and things like that. i basically went to your website last night and searched for hillsborough and it's paul nuttall mep.com. that's your website. yes. i'm sorry about that. but i haven't put that out and that is wrong. the stoke on trent central by—election takes place on the 23rd of february, here's a list of the all the candidates standing. you can find more information on the bbc news website. the european commission has sent a final warning to the uk for failing to address repeated breaches of legal air pollution in 16 areas which include london, birmingham, leeds and glasgow. there had been worries of the last two weeks given the cold and very still whether we have experienced a high pollution in cities. the european commission has sent ourfinal warning to cities. the european commission has sent our final warning to the uk about those levels of possession in 16 areas. american media reports say harrison ford has been involve

tough questions for mr nuttall in the wake of stoke. norman, thank you very much.urtice is professor of politics at strathclyde university, and he's at westminster for us. thank you forjoining us today. first of all, that comment by labour election strategist saying labour doesn't want introspection after these two by—elections. is that what is going to happen? certainly, what we've seen in the last couple of weeks is that the labour party is struggling to remain together on the question of brexit. a serious lit inside the parliamentary party on the three line whip. some of you might want to ask whetherjeremy corbyn handled that effectively, if indeed his wish is to maximise unity within the party? given that mr corbyn‘s personal ratings in the opinion polls are frankly as bad as those of any labour leader since michael foot, it's almost inevitable that the question of the leadership is going to continue to be discussed. there isn't much prospect ofa discussed. there isn't much prospect of a challenge but it doesn't mean to say there is and going to be discussion.

nuttall and arron banks. by this afternoon, when they were talking to us, adam heatherington at least was focusing his criticisms quell er on mrs release that it was an incredibly politically damaging time for them to do what they are doing, notjust because paul nuttall is their party leader, but he is the candidate in the stoke by—election as well. leader, but he is the candidate in the stoke by-election as well. ok, chris, thank you for that, chris mason at westminster. footage has emerged of the moment the north korean leader's half brother was attacked at kuala lumpur airport in malaysia. a woman appears to cover his head with a cloth for a few seconds before walking away. kim jong—nam is then seen telling police what has happened. he collapsed shortly after and died. but north korea has questioned the identification of the man who died and has demanded the body. daniel boetcher reports. cctv footage at kuala lumpur international airport. a figure in a light suit with a bag slung over his shoulder walks through the hall. it's believed this man is kimjong—nam. the next pictures are less clear. the man is grabbed from behind

paul nuttall has been embroiled in a row after his website incorrectly claimed he'd lost close friends in the tragedy. in a statement, the chair of ukip's merseyside branch condemned mr night in sweden — sweden! who would believe this? sweden! they took in large numbers and they are having problems like they never thought possible. he tweeted the following day, saying, it was "in reference to a story that was broadcast on fox news concerning immigrants and sweden". the swedish embassy responded saying they look forward to advising mr trump's administration about swedish immigration and integration policies. angelina jolie has spoken for the first time about her separation from brad pitt, in an exclusive interview with the bbc. the actor and director has been filming in cambodia, the country where she adopted her son maddox in 2002. she's been speaking to our reporter yalda hakim. i'm here because 17 years ago i came to this country and fell in love with its people and learned about its history and in doing so realised how little i actually knew in my early 20s about the world so this country for me has been... was my awakening and my son changed my life. do you think

mr nuttall was speaking in stoke, where he's standing as the ukip candidate in a parliamentary by—election stoke—on—trent central.

as for mr nuttall himself, he suffered a right old roughhouse of a campaign and he sort of scuttled outs i think. the problem they face is where do they go now? if they can't make any inroads here, where do they make inroads? inevitably, people will argue now we have brexit, now we have nigel farage has gone, now theresa may has sort of shifted the tory party onto a lot of ukip territory, what is the point in ukip? territory, what is the point in uhp7i territory, what is the point in ukip? ithink territory, what is the point in ukip? i think they will face some very tough questions about whether they are actually on the cusp of steady decline. norman, thank you. we will speak to the ukip party chairman and also some mps about their take on what has happened in their take on what has happened in the by—election. let's catch up with the by—election. let's catch up with the rest of the news. annita is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. royal bank of scotland has reported an annual loss of £7 billion, its ninth consecutive year in the red. the figure represent