but are smart motorways more dangerous than traditional motorways?cousens, the aa's head of roads policy. hejoins us now, thank you he joins us now, thank you for being with us on bbc news. let me ask you first of all about the conclusion of the mp's report. do you echo it and agree with them at this has to be stopped for now? yes, we do agree with the parliamentary group. that is simply because there is a lot of safety concerns around them, not just in terms of where there is an incident, because all lanes are being used, but also in terms of getting the emergency services to the scene of the accident. there was an incident yesterday, a road collision on the m25, on that stretch of falling running, and that... if all four lanes are being used,it that... if all four lanes are being used, it begs the question, how can emergency services get to that seen as quickly as possible? ambulances still need someone to land, and they might not have somewhere suitable? there are methods that the emergencies answers can use, for example travelling back down the c

services, we all raised that risk, but the government still decided that all lane running was the smart motorwayternative is in a sense probably that public and political pressure for improvements to reduce congestion and the demand for motorway space means that this will probably continue in some form. it is unlikely to be abandoned. you were talking about emergency areas and more of them, where people can get off motorways safely. under the original concept of all lane running smart motorways, they were spaced every 800 metres apart, and when it was trialled on the m42, that was the spacing used. once they got past the trial, the government increased the distance to every 1.5 miles. so there were fewer of them? yes, exactly. after consistent pressure, highways england in february decided to change that to every mile, instead of 1.5 miles instead, but we still feel it is too far spaced apart, and we would like to go back to the 800 metres used in the trial scheme. we understand that easing congestion and improving capacity is important, but safety should not be the comprising factor. that is th

mps say the rollout of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned intolane — should be stopped due to safety fears. good evening. a leading brexit supporter in the cabinet has suggested that parliament will have to look at other options if the government's withdrawal plan is rejected by mps. but the international trade secretary liam fox dismissed suggestions of another referendum, on the grounds that it would perpetuate divisions in the country. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. it is not hard to find divisions over brexit outside parliament. protesters with different views fight for attention. and it is not much different inside. at least the prime minister has found someone willing to play ball today. and yes, she still hopes she will get her deal through parliament, but many are now discussing what happens if she fails, with growing talk of another referendum. the international trade secretary, liam fox, campaign for brexit and hates the idea. —— campaigned for brexit. supposing we had another referendum, supposing the remain side won

mps say the rollout of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned intorth lane — should be stopped due to safety fears. and the bbc‘s sports personality of the year awards take place in birmingham later. i'm holly hamilton, live from the red carpet in birmingham, for the great and good of british sport together under the roof —— under the same roof to sell it another year of sporting success. and in ‘the surrogates club‘ we meet the women who volunteer to give birth to a stranger's child in exchange for expenses. a leading brexiteer in the cabinet has suggested that parliament will have to look at other options if the uk and the eu can't find a way through on the problem of the so—called irish backstop — as part of the uk's withdrawal agreement from the eu. but the international trade secretary, liam fox dismissed suggestions of another referendum, saying it would not heal divisions in the country. here's our political correspondent, nick eardley. it is not hard to find divisions over brexit around parliament. outside, protesters with different views fig

england has more than 100 miles of all lane running smart motorways, with 225 miles more planned. 11.7he documentary presenter, stacey dooley, won the series with her professional partner, kevin clifton who'd been a losing finalist on four previous occasions. our arts correspondent da vid sillito has all the details. it's the final! four couples, three dancers and from the very beginning, it was actually a former pussycat doll who set the standard. the big lift from dirty dancing was flawless. ten! the score, perfect tens. and those a0s kept coming. this athletic show dance on a raised and revolving platform. i personally as a dancer feel that you stretched yourself beyond limits, you've learned techniques you are not familiar with ever before, you have brought to the show a life, a style, and i truly am grateful for you. of course, craig did try to find a fault. i had a slight problem with your right toe, darling, but then i decided to get over myself. ten! not a point was dropped all night. but matching those scores dance after dance was faye tozer. this hollywood glitz in high heels

mps say the roll—out of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned intould be stopped due to safety fears. now, as we all know it's been an eventful few days in politics — let's take a closer look now with a week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament, your backstop to the most turbulent dramatic week at westminster since the last one. the parliamentary party does have confidence. the prime minister survives an attempt to force her out. but that wasn't the meaningful vote mps had been expecting. this house agreed to five days of debate. this house agreed when the vote was going to take place. amid chaos, an mp removes a symbol of royal authority in protest. shouting order. put it back. no, no, no, no. this was a week of two votes, one that happened, one that didn't. theresa may saw off an attempted coup by her own mps but only after promising not to lead them into the next election. even then, more than a third voted against her. that vote was prompted by her decision to pull the vote parliament expected on her brexit deal. as late as

mps say the roll—out of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned into should be stopped due to safety fears. more news at the top of the hour but now it is time for click. this week: tech driven by women, designed by women, and designed for women. oh dear... the children at this north london school have invited lara and me to learn about one of the most important events in british history. it has been 100 years since the first women in the uk were able to vote in a general election. and this vr experience is attempting to demonstrate how important it is to make your voice heard. and now repeat after me, this is my voice. all: this is my voice. before the suffragettes, a woman had to know her place. make noise is an eight minute interactive animated documentary story which you use your voice to interact with and it's about the story of the suffragettes. i walked down the strand and the first shop i came to, which was a jeweller's, bang went my hammer through the window. in the early 20th century the british suffragette movement fought for the right of wo

there's100 miles of all lane smart motorways in england with another 225 miles planned. —— fourth laneine buying are being blamed for shoppers staying away from the high street on what is usually the busiest weekend before christmas. retail experts say numbers were down almost 10% yesterday compared with the same time last year. earlier i spoke to diane wehrle from springboard, a retail analysis firm, about what had gone wrong. this year foot fall has been really hit. much poorer than we anticipated. we actually anticipated before december a drop of 4.2% and it looks like it will be in line with that and possibly more than that. the first half of the month was very poor with drops of —6% and -5% in was very poor with drops of —6% and —5% in the first couple of weeks, so a really challenging time for retail. going back to october, the retail sales figures were not particularly impressive, that was put down to consumer confidence being poor with brexit approaching, nothing spectacular comeback friday, then we had storm deirdre. what's going on? i don't to use the word perfect storm, it's

england has more than 100 miles of ‘all lane running‘ smart motorways, with a further 225 miles plannedhas died. several hundred people gathered in the city earlier to honour the victims. the attacker, cherif chekatt, was killed in a shoot out with police on thursday. more than a0 people have been injured in a huge explosion and fire in a restaurant injapan. at least one person is said to be in a critical condition, after the blast in the early evening in the city of sapporo — onjapan‘s north island of hokkaido. the cause of the fire isn‘t yet known, but local residents reported a strong smell of gas. gemma coombe reports. bright orange flames and thick black smoke. the immediate aftermath of a huge explosion in a busy japanese restaurant. it happened at 8:30pm local time in sapporo, the capital city of the northern main island of hokkaido. the japanese news outlets said the force of the blast was so strong, a number of nearby buildings collapsed. firefighters battled the flames, warning people there could be further explosions. video from the scene shows dozens of people gathered on th

mps say the roll—out of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned into should be stopped due to safety fears. now on bbc news — our programme in the 100 women series looks at the controversial subject of surrogacy. i'm creating not just a child these gentlemen, but i'm also creating a legacy. his dads, it was their faces. it was very, very raw emotion. if you're in this, you have to be in it for the love of giving. i use my body to help people build decks and sheds and i don't feel it is any different. women are not paid to be surrogates. it's a ten yearjail term or $500,000 fine if you purchase your surrogate a gift. they sent police. before i could stand up, i had a gun to my head. hope you like to see this. i will make as many babies as i possibly can, until it gives out on me. it's not your genetics. it's somebody else's. it's an extreme version of baby—sitting. tell me someone found my suitcase. yay! so today we are anticipating between 50 and 60 surrogates. we run these retreats every couple of months across canada. it's an opportunity for women to

mps say the roll—out of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned into million viewers tune in to watch the strictly finale.

mps say the roll—out of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned intone — should be stopped due to safety fears. now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm damian johnson. ahead on the programme... two goals from substitute xerdan shaqiri help liverpool beat manchester united and return to the top of the premier league. struggling southampton end arsenal's 22—match unbeaten run to snatch a precious victory on new manager ralph hassenhuttl‘s home debut. and hibernian stun celtic to stop the champions regaining top spot in the scottish premiership table. also coming up from us tonight.... leicester tigers‘ hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the champions cup are all but over after defeat at home to racing 92. hello and welcome to sportsday. two late goals from substitute xerdan shaqiri gave liverpool victory over manchester united to take them back to the top of the premier league. it means they remain unbeaten in the league and leaves united 19 points adrift of their big rivals. james burford reports. these two si

mps say the rollout of smart motorways — on which the hard shoulder has been permanently turned into

england has more than 100 miles of all lane running smart motorways, with 225 miles more planned.ve been building up to tonight's big event — the bbc‘s sports personality of the year awards, held this year in birmingham. it all starts at 7.00pm but for the rest of this hour, we're joining our colleagues radzi chinyanganya and jasmin sawyers on the red carpet in birmingham for a special programme as the guests begin to arrive. we still don't know who is on the shortlist, it will be revealed at 7pm this evening. they may be nominees you can vote for, and they may not be. it could be a joke. it could be a challenge. the ready. 0k. have you ever drunk techs did a famous contact in your firm? who and what? —— messaged a contact in your foneblog? what? —— messaged a contact in your foneblog ? do you what? —— messaged a contact in your foneblog? do you know what, i'm very