rescue deal for british steel — buying it for £70 million and saving 4,000 jobs in scunthorpe and teessides been a big concern, hasn't it? nobody knowing what's going to be happening, whether they've got a job, pay their mortgages, feed theirfamilies. it's great news. it's finally something positive, it's good. more rain is forecast in areas of england already hit by flooding. five severe flood warnings, meaning a threat to life, remain in place. a state of emergency has been declared in new south wales and queensland — as bushfires continue to burn — posing what authorities say, is a "catastrophic" threat. families in england will benefit from two cannabis—based medicines approved for the nhs — but others say they still won't get what they need. good evneing. nigel farage has extended an election olive branch to the conservatives — by announcing the brexit party will not contest seats — which were won by the tories back in 2017 — a total of 317 seats. but he says he will fight against other parties, to try to ensure the uk leaves the eu. borisjohnson has welcomed the offer, but labour hav

boris johnson at teesside. let's let's leave that event there now. borisjohnson at teesside.rrespondent who is there. some familiar themes we are hearing through this campaign. a bit ofa through this campaign. a bit of a highlights reel from last night, the ninth nhs is going to be on the table and the trade deal, accusing jeremy corbyn of not having com plete a nswer accusing jeremy corbyn of not having complete answer when it comes to what he wants to happen with brexit. it is interesting to see the prime minister confronted on whether he wa nts tax minister confronted on whether he wants tax cuts for people like him, as one of the question is put to him. that is one of the things boris johnson has been keen to avoid. he is standing up for the rich rather than people across the country. something we have heard him hammer over the last few weeks. it is interesting to see someone asking that. there is also a row going on, continuing after last nights‘s debate about the conservative twitter stream. they changed the conservative hq press twitter to look like an independent fact

the teesside. the majority are in scu nthorpe. the crucial teesside.pening today or later in the week, you know, jingye hasn‘t made a formal announcement yet. that doesn‘t mean today can‘t be good news for the sector. what we want to see as an investor likejingye put in that investment and significant investment into british steel. not just today and tomorrow, but the longer term, because we could easily be back here in three years or five yea rs, be back here in three years or five years, saying it has happened again, looking for a new buyer. no, no, what we need to see as an investor -- is what we need to see as an investor —— is an investor who is in it for the long—term, and from what i understand, jingyejust the long—term, and from what i understand, jingye just that company. that is what i wanted to ask you, what makes this deal different? because we have been here before, other owners have said, we just cannot make steelmaking in this country work. well, exactly. there area country work. well, exactly. there are a couple of reasons. one is that

here in scu nthorpe, another 3000 people based at this plant here in scunthorpe, another 1000 in teessideef. the company has been bought. we are expecting the official announcement within the next hour from the company, staff are coming infor from the company, staff are coming in for shifts and they have already been told by their line managers that it been told by their line managers thatitis been told by their line managers that it is good news for the company. of course, it is still nerve—racking when any company takes over a big, significant, nerve—racking when any company takes overa big, significant, uk manufacturer, as to what the long—term future will be. as i say, there is 4000 directly employed staff here in the uk but there are 20,000 in the wider supply chain. so, this is an extremely significant company here, which makes long steel products and it is hoped that that workforce will be kept safe and here in scunthorpe. colletta smith in scunthorpe, in scunthorpe. colletta smith in scu nthorpe, thank you in scunthorpe. colletta smith in scunthorpe, thank you very much. the uk ec

the move will protect 4,000 jobs at its scunthorpe and teesside plants, and up to 20,000 in the supplygineers are sent in to help in yorkshire with more flooding expected this week. today we have rain moving from the west towards the east. that will clear and then heavy blustery showers with sunshine in between. the weather this week remains u nsettled.

principle to buy british steel — potentially saving up to 4,000 jobs at plants in scunthorpe and teesside been a big concern, nobody knowing what's going to be happening, whether they've got a job, can pay their mortgages orfeed theirfamilies. it's job, can pay their mortgages orfeed their families. it's great news. authorities warn flooding around south yorkshire's river don will continue, with more than two inches of rain forecast today. five severe flood warnings — meaning a threat to life, remain in place. the latest figures on economic growth are out showing a 0.3% rise from july to the end of september — avoiding a recession. in hong kong, a pro—democracy protester has been shot by police during another day of demonstrations while a pro—beijing demonstrator was set on fire after arguing with protesters. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. there's fresh hope for thousands of staff affected by the collapse of british steel, with a chinese firm on the verge of signing a recue deal. british steel collapsed six months ago, and has been run by the government at a loss ever since,

it's promising to invest in british steel's main plant in scunthorpe as well as its other sites on teessideusiness editor simonjack reports. this plant has been on government life support since it collapsed in may. technically in liquidation, it was offered a chinese lifeline today, and workers on their way home welcomed it. well, it's been a big concern, hasn't it? nobody not knowing what is happening, whether they've got a job, can pay their mortgages, feed theirfamilies. yeah, it's great news. obviously, there's been uncertainty around it, but now we know, this close to christmas, that we've got a job. with 4,000 employees and 20,000 in the supply chain, the steelworks is the lifeblood of scunthorpe. it's massive good news for lots of families and obviously for all the housing, for jobs, for younger people and older people alike, it's just great news. the thought of scunthorpe not having steel—making here really doesn't bear thinking about. charlotte charles worked there for 12 years and is now a union organiser. we're cautiously optimistic. our members have been in a state of flux for a

the fall off the wall so we'll take you to the world famous teesside gallery where artist painted the hopes and dreams of almost the hated symbol of deficient when it came down. i'm from gail welcome to the program. chinese president xi jinping and his french counterpart emmanuel macro have issued a joint statement reaffirming their support for the paris climate accord speaking in beijing president macro's that cooperation between europe and china on reducing emissions would be decisive this follows the trumpet ministrations beginning the formal process of withdrawing united states from the deal presents she described the deal signed in 2015 as the reversible. matilda ticklish look over the past 2 years in the fight against climate change we have consistently acted together with great effectiveness and commitment. but i regret the choices made by a few other countries but i want to see them as marginal choices. when china the european union and russia ratify the paris agreement and make a firm commitment the isolated choice made by one or another country won't change the course of the

great news for the 3000 staff year, 1000 more in teesside and more further afield.s to as many staff as they can, so that does not necessarily say all workers that currently a re necessarily say all workers that currently are employed will remain in their posts but that's something unions will be fighting very hard for and you would imagine the government and official receivers we re government and official receivers were working hard for in this deal, at least in the short term. the long—term future, as anything in the steel industry, it depends on the price of global steel. 0ne steel industry, it depends on the price of global steel. one third of the uk's steel production comes from this plant in scunthorpe, and that future is certainly secure for now. lots of people watching might wonder why when the biggest threat to british steel across the country was chinese imports, why the chinese company would get involved but of course the steel they make is rather specialist. this chinese company has only been in production for 20 years and over the past decade chinese c

rescue deal for british steel — buying it for 70 million and saving 4000 jobs in scunthorpe and teessideowing what would happen and whether they would have a job to pay their

a rescue deal for british steel buying it for £70 million and saving 4000 jobs in scunthorpe and teesside it's been a big concern, hasn't it? nobody knowing what's going to be happening, whether they've got a job, pay their mortgages, feed their families. it's great news. it's finally something positive, it's good. more rain is forecast in areas of england already hit by flooding. five severe flood warnings, meaning a threat to life, remain in place. a state of emergency has been declared in new south wales and queensland as bushfires continue to burn posing what authorities say, is a "catastrophic" threat. families in england will benefit from two cannabis based medicines approved for the nhs but others say they still won't get what they need. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. at 8:30pm, adam fleming and the bbc‘s politics team bring you the essential guide to the 2019 uk general election with electioncast. severe weather warnings are in place as floods affect the north of england so we will be examining the eff

importa ntly, the deal secures the future of 4,000 jobs at the firm's plants in scunthorpe and teesside a further 20,000 will be saved across the supply chain. but who is the new owner? we know surprisingly little aboutjingye — it has 23,500 employees and boasts £41; billion in assets across steel and iron making, and in tourism and real estate. and this is from the promotional video on their website. we are joined now by our economics correspondent andrew walker. they say wisdom, what's the wisdom in this? it's not entirely clear. it isa in this? it's not entirely clear. it is a relatively high cost operation by global standards, in particular by global standards, in particular by chinese standards. it might be there's a couple of areas where it seems, you indicated how little we know, but it seems there's a couple of areas where they aren't producing the goods that british steel produce, in particular railway lines and long products which is the big steel girders used in construction. there may be some benefit there, there may also be some sort of benefit in having more of a foothold

minister announced the policy whilst answering questions from workers at an engineering firm in teesside low tax for people like you or for people like us? no tax for people of the working people. ——low tax for people of the working people. if you look at what we are doing, what i said in last few days, we are going to be cutting national insurance up to £12,000, we will be making sure we cut business rates for small businesses, we are cutting tax for working people. national insurance is a tax paid by workers and the self—employed who are over 16, with the amount varying depending on how much you earn. the current threshold sees workers paying national insurance contributions once they earn over £8,628 a year. mrjohnson had promised to raise the threshold to £12,500 when he ran for tory leadership. that pledge could see workers saving up to £465 a year. with me is pauljohnson, director of the institute for fiscal studies. first of all, in terms of the specifics, this kicks in, the rate will change. what are the implications for that to the overall cost to government? is your duty at the

rescue deal for british steel — buying it for 70 million and saving 4000 jobs in scunthorpe and teesside has been a big concern, nobody knowing what would happen and whether they would have a job to pay their mortgage. finally something positive. it's good. there are 42 flood warnings still in place in the north of england. ministers will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow as locals underline the scale of the crisis. a state of emergency has been declared in new south wales and queensland as bushfires continue to burn, posing what authorities say, is a "catastrophic" threat. families in england will benefit from two cannabis—based medicines approved for the nhs — but others say they still won't get what they need. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are asa bennett, the brexit commissioning editor at the telegraph, and sienna rodgers, who's the editor of labourlist. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. the financial times says borisjohnson has been given a boost after nigel farage‘s announcement that the brexit party woul

the steel makerjingye group says it will invest over £1 billion at the plants in scunthorpe and teesside0 jobs there. british steel has been kept afloat by the government since may, when it went into liquidation. our business editor simon jack is in scunthorpe tonight. simon, a huge relief for the workers there, and of course, before christmas. you're dead right, fiona. this plant really dominates both physically and economically in this area. it has been here for over 150 yea rs area. it has been here for over 150 years and all that looked engraved out in may when the previous owner, a private investment firm, walked away leaving the company insolvent. as you say, the government has essentially been running it ever since. so grave concerns. we have looked for buyers around the world, a turkish firm came and went and today we got the news that this chinese steel—makerjingye was going to sink some money into it. subject to sink some money into it. subject to some regulatory approvals will stop a small company by chinese steel standards, but making some very big promises on investment whic

a chinese manufacturer is set to buy the company — safeguarding jobs at plants in scunthorpe and teessidesuffering from the effects of flooding. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — sarah.

in middlesbrough on teesside, one can find the other side of the argument, that migrants put extra pressurecal children recently couldn't access school places in the town because of unexpected foreign arrivals. well, i think they do need to bring down the population. we haven't got enough spaces. yeah, i think they should bring it down, because obviously it's taking ourjobs and that. when it is concentrated, it has an impact on the town. all the parties give you all the spiel, what they are going to do, what they are not going to do, and then at the end of the day you don't see any difference with any of them. it's the different experiences of places like middlesbrough and lowestoft that explain why the parties won't be clear about immigration. labour's talked of extending free movement, the liberal democrats want a system that works for the economy, and the snp wants more immigration for scotland. but in truth, britain still doesn't know what controlling our borders should look like. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn has refused to say whether he would want to increase or decrease immigrati

in middlesbrough on teesside, one can find the other side of the argument, that migrants put extra pressure local children recently couldn't access school places in the town because of unexpected foreign arrivals. well, i think they do need to bring down the population. we haven't got enough spaces. yeah, i think they should bring it down, because obviously it's when it's concentrated it becomes an impact on the fabric of the town. all the parties give you all the spiel, what they are going to do, what they are not going to do, and then at the end of the day you don't see any difference with any of them. it's the different experiences of places like middlesbrough and lowestoft that explain why the parties won't be clear about immigration. labour's talked of extending free movement, the liberal democrats want a system that works for the economy, and the snp wants more immigration for scotland. but in truth, britain still doesn't know what controlling our borders should look like. mark easton, bbc news, lowestoft. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has refused to say whether he would want to incr

on the campaign trail on teesside, borisjohnson holds out the prospect of major changes to national insuranceand in london, the lib dems publish their manifesto, pledging to stop brexit if they're elected. at the impeachment inquiry in washington, a us diplomat says he followed donald trump's orders to put pressure on ukraine to investigate a political rival. and the special one is on the move again. this time it's to spurs, where he's signed a four—year deal. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, it's a winning start for great britain in the revamped davis cup, beating the netherlands 2—1 in their opening group game. good evening. prince andrew, who's been engulfed in controversy because of his links with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein, has announced he will not undertake any royal duties "for the foreseeable future". the prince, who's 59, acknowledged that the epstein scandal had become a "major disruption" to the royal family, following his widely—criticised interview with bbc newsnight last week. he said he deeply sympathised with epstein‘s victims, and that he unequivocally

promising to invest in british steel's main plant in scu nthorpe, as well as its other sites on teessidebusiness editor simonjack reports. this plant has been on government life support since it collapsed in may. technically in liquidation, it was offered a chinese lifeline today, and workers on their way home welcomed it. well, it's been a big concern, hasn't it? nobody not knowing what is happening, whether they've got a job, can pay their mortgages, feed their families. yeah, it's great news. obviously, there's been uncertainty around it, but now we know, this close to christmas, that we've got a job. with 4,000 employees and 20,000 in the supply chain, the steelworks is the lifeblood of scunthorpe. it's massive good news for lots of families, and obviously for all the housing, for jobs, for younger people and older people alike, it'sjust great news. the thought of scunthorpe not having steel—making here really doesn't bear thinking about. charlotte charles worked there for 12 years and is now a union organiser. we're cautiously optimistic. our members have been in a state of flux for

rescue deal for british steel — buying it for 70 million and saving 4000 jobs in scunthorpe and teessideit has been a big concern, nobody knowing what would happen and whether they would have a job to pay their mortgage. finally something positive. it's good. there are 42 flood warnings still in place in the north of england. ministers will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow as locals underline the scale of the crisis. a state of emergency has been declared in new south wales and queensland as bushfires continue to burn, posing what authorities say, is a "catastrophic" threat. families in england will benefit from two cannabis—based medicines approved for the nhs — but others say they still won't get what they need. and at half past 11 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers asa bennett, the brexit commissioning editor at the telegraph and sienna rodgers, the editor of labourlist. there's been a potentially significant shift in the dynamics of the upcoming election caused by the brexit party's decision not to contest those seats won by the conservatives last tim

it out was thanks to somebody called claire cartledge who was its doors for washing the teens in teesside did a q&a for the workforce and in came claire with a killer question. you said low tax. you mean low tax for people like you or people like us? i mean low tax for people of the working people and if you look at what we are doing, and what i said in the last few days, we are going to be cutting national insurance up to 12,000, making sure that we cut business rates for small businesses, we are cutting tax for working people. just to be clear, national insurance contributions, you currently play 1296 contributions, you currently play 12% of your earnings above 8600 and something pounds. that threshold at which you start playing 12%, going up which you start playing 12%, going up to £12,500. it will start going up, the threshold, to £9,500, saving your average worker about £100 a year initially. it affects millions and millions of people but it's a small tax cut to start with. it's a really big policy. what we don't know really is whether or not they meant to drop it out or not. it had

in middlesbrough on teesside, one can find the other side of the immigration argument, that foreign arrivalson public services and jobs. well, i do think they need to bring down the population. we haven't got enough spaces. yes, i think they should bring it down, because obviously it's taking ourjobs and that. all the parties give you all the spiel, what they are going to do, what they are not going to do, and then at the end of the day you don't see any difference with any of them. it's the different experiences of places like middlesbrough and lowestoft that explain why the parties won't be clear about immigration. labour's talked of extending free movement, the lib dems want a system that works for the economy, and the snp wants more immigration for scotland. but in truth, britain still doesn't know what controlling our borders should look like. mark easton, bbc news, lowestoft. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has refused to say whether he would want to increase or decrease immigration if he became prime minister but he has hinted that labour would make it easierforfamilies to bring rel

important news for the 4,000 staff who work for british steel in scunthorpe and teesside.nce it collapsed in may. technically in liquidation, it was offered a chinese lifeline today and workers on their way home welcomed it. well, it's been a big concern, hasn't it, people not knowing what is happening, whether they've got a job, can pay their mortgages, feed theirfamilies. it's great news. obviously there's been uncertainty around it but now we know, this close to christmas, that we've got a job. with 4,000 employees and 20,000 in the supply chain, the steelworks is the lifeblood of scunthorpe. my dad worked at the steelworks from leaving school, and did an apprenticeship until retirement just a couple of years ago. it's massive good news for lots of families and obviously for all the housing, jobs, for younger people and older people alike, it's just great news that the deal's looking like it's going to go ahead. if the deal goes ahead, current workers' jobs are secure, according to company assurances to the government. well, i have been given reassurances that next to a

in middlesbrough on teesside, one can find the other side of the immigration argument, that foreign arrivalsenough spaces. yes, i think they should bring it down, because obviously it's taking ourjobs and that. all the parties give you all the spiel, what they are going to do, what they are not going to do, and then at the end of the day you don't see any difference with any of them. it's the different experiences of places like middlesbrough and lowestoft that explain why the parties won't be clear about immigration. labour's talked of extending free movement, the lib dems want a system that works for the economy, and the snp once more immigration for scotland. but in truth, britain still doesn't know what controlling our borders should look like. meanwhile the labour leader, jeremy corbyn has refused to say whether he would want to increase or decrease immigration if he became prime minister. but he has hinted that labour would make it easierforfamilies to bring relatives to live in the uk from overseas and for foreign workers to come to the uk to fill skills shortages. he was talking to o

felt for the conservatives is the only way to stop another independence referendum facade —— on teessideusing problems, flooding problems in places but also some really appalling travelling conditions on the roads and on the rails. many flood warnings issued across england and mostly in the north. last i checked 73 flood warnings but that has been growing. we have a met 0ffice amber warning enforced in parts of derbyshire, greater manchester and parts of west yorkshire. these areas have been seeing rain for the day as it piles into the evening. before heading out and about in these areas do take extreme care but also across many parts of northern england and wales, very wet weather to come. eulas see southeastward the very wet weather to come. eulas see southeastwa rd the night, very wet weather to come. eulas see southeastward the night, chilli further north end you will see... and as we get into tomorrow, shall remain to contend with in the central and eastern parts of england. much drier, much brighter, spells of sunshine. those top temperatures between 6—11 degrees. in the short term

prime minister made the pledge whilst answering questions from workers at an engineering firm in teesside business rates for small businesses that we are cutting tax for working people. our political correspondent nick eardley is travelling with the prime minister on his campaign bus. he said that the prime minister may not have been planning on revealing his tax plans today. we are spent a lot of the last couple of weeks hearing the rehearsed messages from the campaigns. it looks like boris johnson has come out with a slightly accidental one, perhaps given us his big tax pledge of the general election. he was asked a slightly awkward question by one of the workers at a dockyard. whether he would plan tax cuts for people like him orfor people like her. his response was he was planning tax cuts for workers and he was the giveaway, he said, we are going to be cutting national insurance up to £12,000. that is a new announcement from the prime minister, not one we think he was planning. the details are still a bit sketchy, we don't yet know exactly what it will look like. it sounds a bit like

during a visit to an engineering plant in teesside, he told workers the policy "put £500 in the pocketntly at £8,632 so people start paying national insurance after that point of earning and we will raise that in the first year, my first budget, will raise that to £9,500 and that will be a saving ofjust under £100 for 31 million people, a tax cut. the prime minister also said it is our ambition to raise it further, to £12,500 and when it gets to that, that is a saving of almost £500 per person and we‘re doing this because we have always believed that we have shown that these since being backin we have shown that these since being back in office that hard—working people should be able to keep more of their hard earned cash. one thing developing is trust, that we need to be able to trust what people say, specifically the leaders of party so ifi specifically the leaders of party so if i read a quote from boris johnson, he says, if we‘re lucky enough to elected, the first budget we will go up to the £9,500 threshold and that we‘ll put £500 into the pockets of everybody. is that true? what

in this stop here on teesside is another busy day for the prime minister, having visited the north—eastoday. he did so on that visit to the hospital in the east midlands this morning. and the aim is to cut the cost and make it more convenient and easierfor the cost and make it more convenient and easier for nhs workers, the cost and make it more convenient and easierfor nhs workers, doctors and easierfor nhs workers, doctors and nurses and others coming from outside the uk overseas to work in the nhs but as you suggest, it was criticised not just by the nhs but as you suggest, it was criticised notjust by other political parties who you might expect but nurses unions and medical groups and others who say this is ok as far as it goes but if the government is to address that staffing shortage, which runs into the tens of thousands, then more widespread action is needed. some suggest that really the cost of theseis suggest that really the cost of these is should be cut altogether if these is should be cut altogether if the government is serious about attracting talent from overseas in to t