for instance, they point to the royal fleet auxiliary mount spurra, to the royal fleet auxiliary mounty have deployed to the caribbean in anticipation of the hurricane season. so not in response to these particular storms, but acknowledging that at this time of year, you do tend to get hurricanes in that part of the world. they emphasise, too, that they managed to reopen the airport on the british virgin islands, which they saw as absolutely crucial to getting aid in there. there is a further boat en route from the mediterranean, hms 0cean, although it will be several days until that is there. but they are days until that is there. but they a re clearly keen days until that is there. but they are clearly keen to emphasise that they are doing as much as they can, whilst acknowledging that the scale of the hurricane season this year, and the scale of the devastation we have just been reporting, and the scale of the devastation we havejust been reporting, it and the scale of the devastation we have just been reporting, it is something that clearly requires one heck of a response. christma

captain steven norris, captain of royal fleet auxiliary mounts bay, thank you very much.ithjessica. hello, martine, chris froome has become britain's first ever winner of the world tours by no. he negotiated the final stage in madrid —— of the vuelta are espa na. final stage in madrid —— of the vuelta are espana. ben kaja has more. this was chris froome's today. a data capture the moment, for celebration, congratulation, and appreciation. to thank team—mates who have helped him win a maiden welter title. winning a grand tour isa welter title. winning a grand tour is a remarkable achievement, winning two back is for the elite. tradition dictates that the leader would be attacked on the final stage around the spanish capital. chris froome could take a few laps of honour before the final sprint to the line. that spread was taken by matteo trenton. but there was little doubt who was centre of attention. having previously finished second three times at the vuelta a espana, this was a race he always wanted to win. now he's done it. as the sun sets on a spectacular season, one m

a ship from the royal fleet auxiliary is now travelling to the british virgin islands, where a stateergency has been declared. nick bryant reports from nassau, in the bahamas. the turks and caicos, where the palm trees that usually attract people to these islands reeled under the violent onslaught of hurricane irma — a storm people here had been tracking through satellite images. a monster hurricane that looked terrifying from space. now, a horrifying, on—the—ground reality. picture—postcard holiday destinations like the british virgin islands, pummelled by 160mph winds. this uk territory has now declared a state of emergency. the bahamas are starting to be blasted. the only sightseeing this morning, from the relative safety of the balcony, watching the approaching storm. old imperial buildings that have stood for centuries in this former british colony are braced, shuttered, prepared for the worst. elton smith had onlyjust finished rebuilding his business from the last hurricane that caused such devastation, less than a year ago. this is one of the worst storms in living memory. so,

a ship from the royal fleet auxilliary is now travelling to the british virgin islands, where a statency has been declared. nick bryant is in the bahamas, which are facing storm surges of up to 20 feet. nick, what are the preparations there? fiona, the priority here is to evacuate those outlying smaller islands of this archipelago that are in the direct path of hurricane irma. because in the past few minutes the prime minister of this country has been telling his people that the bahamas faces the same destructive wind, the same district of storm surge as that have caused such devastation elsewhere. the turks and caicos. the turks and caicos, where the palm trees that usually attract people to these islands reeled under the violent onslaught of hurricane irma. a storm people here had been tracking through satellite images, a monster hurricane that has looked terrifying from space. now a horrifying, on—the—ground, reality. picture postcard holiday destinations like the british virgin islands, pummelled by 160mph winds. this uk territory has now declared a state of emergency. the bahamas

a ship from the royal fleet auxiliary is now traveling to the british virgin islands, where a state ofdeclared. nick bryant reports from nassau, in the bahamas. the turks and caicos, where the palm trees that usually attract people to these islands reeled under the violent onslaught of hurricane irma — a storm people here had been tracking through satellite images. a monster hurricane that's looked terrifying from space. now, a horrifying, on—the—ground reality. picture—postcard holiday destinations like the british virgin islands, pummelled by 160mph winds. this uk territory has now declared a state of emergency. the bahamas are starting to be blasted. the only sightseeing this morning, from the relative safety of the balcony, watching the approaching storm. old imperial buildings that have stood for centuries in this former british colony are braced, shuttered, prepared for the worst. elton smith had onlyjust finished rebuilding his business from the last hurricane that caused such devastation less than a year ago. this is one of the worst storms in living memory. so, you know, you'v

island, the secretary of state, borisjohnson, had contacted the chief minister and within 48 hours royal fleetd and helped us to reconstruct the hospital and reconnect energy supplies. we're still in a dire situation and there is need for food, still in a dire situation and there is need forfood, water and of course to address sanitation. those are ourtop course to address sanitation. those are our top priorities at present. let's deal with the food, water and sanitation issues. some of the assistance that has come in, are there engineers who are working to try to set up those facilities for people on the island again? what has happened and we must remember that this is — we've been between two hurricanes. so we had mount bay with us hurricanes. so we had mount bay with us for a matter of hours. six tons ofaid us for a matter of hours. six tons of aid was deposited with us. a lot of aid was deposited with us. a lot of repair work was done very, very swiftly a nd of repair work was done very, very swiftly and efficiently. then they had to move on, as you know our sister islands of bvi and turks

first, you have the royal fleet auxiliary ship.s offering help to the residents of anguilla, the british territory. that ship as helicopters, it has earth moving equipment, it has emergency rations on board. then there is a task group, the first elements of which are leaving this morning from brize norton. these giant c17 aircraft, carrying personnel and rations, some of them carrying helicopters, which are very important in the relief effort. then you have hms ocean, the flagship of the royal navy. again, it is an aircraft carrier, on its way from the mediterranean to the caribbean. but it will take up to two weeks to get there. let's head over to the bbc newsroom. annita mcveigh is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the days news. at least five people have died after an earthquake with a magnitude of eight has shaken southern mexico. the earthquake struck off the pacific coast and was felt in mexico city. a tsunami warning has been issued for mexico and six other central american countries. local authorities say it

british royal fleet rescue helicopter team saving a woman and two children.ight now more than 4,000 members of the u.s. army reserve are on the ground in puerto rico reporting massive destruction and nonexistent communications. let's go live to san juan. where nick valencia is reporting. the roads are submerged, infrastructure is broken and lights are out. >>reporter: you can tell how massive a storm this was. le here we are, days after hurricane maria made landfall. it's still raining. it has let up over the course of the last 30 minutes but we've seen lightning strikes and thunder throughout. this is going to be a major problem for flooding. we know high water rescues continue. the south was especially hard hit. we talk about the damage and devastation to the infrastructure. it has just been catastrophic and we saw that with our own eyes, home the and people trapped because they were unable to get out of the homes because the water was too high. we were unable to get out of san juan. we also visited a hospital. they're running off a generator, they have at

a royal fleet auxiliary ship which has delivered six tonnes of aid to anguilla is now travelling to thelands, where a state of emergency has been declared. it follows criticism that the uk hasn't respond quickly to the disaster. duncan kennedy reports from raf brize norton. the first raf flight from britain left at lunch time ahead a nine hour journey to the caribbean as the world's military response to the crisis gets under way. the loading operation at brize norton included tents, water and medical supplies. 30 pallet loads at first with more to come. everything from readymade meals to an industrial refrigeration unit. around 70 royal marines are also on board with a range of skills and experience of working in disaster areas. the base commander rejects claims that britain has been slow to respond. it's very important that we understand the effects of the hurricane, where is open to us, where we can get into safely and that's what we have been doing over the past 2a hours. now we are ready to make the rightjudgments about where we can most effectively deliver the aid and we will be do

so, we have the royal fleet auxiliary ship already in the area.ter rations. some of the aircraft later on will be carrying helicopters to the region. finally, there is the flagship of the royal navy, hms ocean, which will be leaving the mediterranean to head towards the caribbean. that is carrying a lot of helicopters but it will take ten days, two weeks to reach the area. it will then be helping residents recoverfrom not just one hurricane, but, by then, two. an earthquake with a magnitude of eight point four has hit southern mexico. the quake struck 75 miles off the pacific coast, southwest of the town of tres picos. but buildings shook in mexico city hundreds of miles away. reuters news agency are reporting that at least two people are dead. the pacific tsunami warning centre said tsunami waves were hitting mexico, the biggest being more than two feet, and more hazardous waves could be possible "within the next three hours" for the coasts of mexico and surrounding countries. young offenders from ethnic minority backgrounds will become the next

devastating hurricane in as many weeks. 0n the line is captain stephen norris, commanding officer of the royal fleeth is helping out in the caribbean coordinating the british aid effort. thanks forjoining us. first of all, what kind of destruction are you actually expecting in the british virgin islands potentially? the destruction from was quite characteristic —— hurricane irma was catastrophic, another of the same magnitude will cause even more died in destruction, —— damage and destruction. the concern is the virus that has been strewn indiscreet is now and the process of being cleared, could cause potential injury. in the eye and other areas in the past, they are battling down. what about the shelters on the island, were any of them damaged in any way, making it more difficult but another hurricane is coming after irma? they are on the virgin islands, the shelters remain intact, they are heading towards the shelters, the tension on the virgin islands which we attended was damaged, but i understand repairs have been made. the majority remain in good stead. what practical help of even offering isl

the royal fleet auxiliary ship is in position providing assistance with royal marines and army engineersth several hundred troops. joining us now is baroness valerie amos from soas university of london where she is director. thank you very much. we heard theresa may defending britain's response. how would you characterise what we have done so far for those territories? of course, this is devastating for those tiny islands in the caribbean. notjust the overseas territories, but also the independent irelands for whom not just homes but schools, health facilities, opportunities for employment, they have been wiped out. my heart goes out to all of those people. i think the issue here for the people in overseas territories is one around planning. we know that this is hurricane season and they would want support from britain in terms of planning in advance. then, they would want an urgent and immediate response. i do think that it is good that there's been an announcement of money, and of people, that there is a ship on the way. but, let's not forget that these are tiny places. they need suppo

more recently we've had confirmed by the defence secretary sir michael fallon that the royal fleet auxiliary on—board around 40 army engineers and royal marines with access to water transporting and earth moving equipment. we also know to reason may have spoken this morning to the french president emmanuel macron, they discussed a potential joint emmanuel macron, they discussed a potentialjoint response to this crisis, which might include the dutch government. there are several french, dutch and british overseas territories in the region. it's presumably the kind of thing they're talking about right now in the cabinet office behind me. i expect we'll know more in the next hour or so as the meeting adjourns and we'll expect to hear from the defence secretary sir michael fallon. thanks very much, matthew thompson. with the latest on the path of hurricane irma — and where it's heading — here's chris fawkes. yesterday, we were talking about this category five hurricane. it's the second strongest hurricane outside of the pacific basin that we've seen on record. the strongest was hurricane allen,

we know from the defence secretary the royal fleet auxiliary mounts bay ship is on stand—by in the vicinityeers on board with access to water transporting and earth moving equipment. we know to reason may have spoken with emmanuel macron, the french president, and has discussed potential joint cooperation with him, potentially involving the dutch government. those are the sorts of things they will have been discussing at this cobra meeting. the details will be forthcoming imminently with some sort of response from the secretary of state for defence, so michael fallon. lee miles from bournemouth university. professor of crisis management. looking at the pictures we are starting to see, there isn't much planning you could make for this, it wiped these islands out. good afternoon, yes. let's be clear, there is quite a lot of planning that take place of course because hurricanes and early warning systems means you can track them quite far out. quite a lot of measures were taken. particularly in the uk overseas territories, there is quite sophisticated disaster management systems a re sophistica

we can talk by phone now to commander stephen norris who's on board the royal fleet auxiliary mountsm currently 80 miles to south of puerto rico. the wind is quite strong. it is westerly, about 30 to 40 knots. quite heavy seas. quite strong. it is westerly, about 30 to 40 knots. quite heavy seaslj am assuming it is difficult for you to be involved in any kind of recovery, to be involved in any kind of recovery , rescu e to be involved in any kind of recovery, rescue operation that the moment because the seas are too difficult for you to make landfall, when you get to the islands, what will you be doing? we arejust holding to the south of maria to avoid the worst of the storm. then we will be going into the virgin islands tomorrow morning. i was in anguilla after hurricane irma, within 20 hours of the hurricane passing anguilla. mounts bay is the ship permanently based here. we are here 365 days a year and we always aim to be within 24 hours of the overseas aim to be within 24 hours of the overseas territories. it is christian in london, we are tracking maria and it looks as if it is

montserrat isn‘t as bad as it may have been but down there, is the royal fleet auxiliary ship providingengaged, i would other governors, participated in the cobra meeting earlier today. doctor freeman, stay safe, it‘s good to talk to you. thank you. doctorjohn freeman, the governor of the turks and caicos islands. let‘s go to the cabinet office in whitehall, where the cobra committee met earlier today — what can you tell us? you may wonder why a hurricane on the other side of the world has been deemed severe enough to trigger the government‘s emergency response committee, cobra. effectively these are british passport holders, with full rights, it is ultimately the responsibility of the uk government to care for and protect them. the uk government's response has already been criticised and she has condemned what she called the uk‘s pathetic and disgraceful response. this is what the secretary of state, michael fallon, had to take in response to that criticism. we have had our ship out in the islands already, in position, it is exactly the right type of ship for this with its helicopter a

territories, 50 police officers and over 20 tonnes of food in addition to the fact that our royal auxiliary fleetafter the hurricane as well, it sends out a very clear message about the strength of the uk's message about the strength of the uk's force but also response on the ground post hurricane.” uk's force but also response on the ground post hurricane. i think we should all recognise though this hurricane has been unprecedented, quite frankly this is open—ended right now in terms of the and support that is going in. there have been airport runways and airports have been devastated and it is thanks to some of our royal engineers and british troops on the ground that those airports and i’u nways a re ground that those airports and runways are now being cleared it up and running again, which importantly allows uk aid to get in to help the people in those overseas territories. and in fact is the hurricane we have had charter flights and flights going out every single day. let's go straight to america where donald trump is marking a moment of silence for the anniversary of 9/11, taking place toda

the royal fleet auxiliary in the caribbean now is heading towards the islands.out lunch time heading to the caribbean, taking eight or nine hours to get there, delivering all kinds of aid to the region, hoping ultimately to get as far as the british virgin islands. they'll have to decide on the ground how and where that aid is going to be distributed. the man in charge of raf brize norton is group captain timjones. this raf brize norton is group captain tim jones. this is the first aircraft. what exactly is going to be put on board here and when is it going to go? we have three aircraft going to go? we have three aircraft going today, the c—17 being the first. royal marines are speaking up, we have aid from dfid, including shelters, water, and medical aid, medics, engineers, so all the things you need to get some very basic support in place very quickly and then we can assess and see what further aid and support we can offer from there. where are they heading to, what are they hoping to achieve? the aircraft will go to barbados first, it hasn't been affected by

on the ground in overseas territories, 50 police officers and 20 tonnes of food, as well as royal auxiliary fleete that there's hurricane has been unprecedented and frankly this is open ended in terms of the amount of relief and support going in. there have been airport runways and airports have been devastated and airports have been devastated and it is thanks to our royal engineers and british troops that those airports are now being cleared and running, which allows uk aid to get in to help the people in those overseas territories and since the hurricane we have had chartered flights going out every day. hurricane we have had chartered flights going out every daym sounds like there is help going in for people and especially troops but there was a criticism that on the ground there was no british representative, there was a suggestion the dutch and the french had people who work coordinating things on the ground. are you confident you have the right personnel in place to allow communication to inform people of what they should be doing? absolutely and the foreign office has been working on this

defence secretary sir michael fallon about the government's plans to modernise and expand the royal navy fleetof the lack of fishermen? and, is life is a cabaret for singers louise redknapp and will young? they'll be here to tell us about dusting off their dance shoes for their new production of the smash hit musical. all that still to come. but now a summary of this morning's main news. a leaked home office document has set out plans for how the uk immigration system could work after brexit. the paper, which has been published by the guardian newspaper, considers how the government could dramatically reduce the number number of low—skilled eu migrants. it also proposes time limits on how long eu nationals could stay in the uk. the bbc understands the document, which was produced last month, has not been approved by ministers. let's speak to iain watson about it. you've got the document, what is in it? a risk of a new world record, summarising and 82 page document in a minute but there are several things we should concentrate on, you can go online if you want more detail but effectively this g