this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11. britain's outgoing ambassador to the european union attacks the government's approach to brexit, urging colleagues to challenge ‘muddled thinking'. an israeli military court delivers its verdict in the trial of a soldier who killed a wounded palestinian who had stabbed another soldier. shares in next dive as the retailer reports worse—than—expected festive sales. former drivers for the private ambulance firm that provides emergency nhs cover cd had just one hour blue light training. also, with a terror attack in the uk a severe threat people are being urged to be ready with life—saving skills, a new app offers a step—by—step guide to getting vital first aid for serious injuries. and the pde doubled brokers prepares for his nationwide tour.

—— the diplodocus. good morning. it's the 4th of january. welcome to bbc newsroom live. britain's outgoing ambassador to the european union, sir ivan rogers, has strongly criticised the government's preparations for brexit. in his resignation letter he said he didn't know what ministers‘ negotiating objectives were and called on his colleagues to challenge what he called muddled thinking. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports. sir ivan rogers has been britain's ambassador to the eu for three yea rs, ambassador to the eu for three years, and his criticisms about the government's preparations for brexit will be hard to ignore. in his resignation e—mail he said there is a short supply of serious multilateral negotiating experience

in whitehall and he said the structure of the uk's negotiating tea m structure of the uk's negotiating team need rapid resolution. he reveals that even he does not know what the government's negotiating objectives for brexit will be. but it is sir ivan's implicit in thinly veiled criticism of ministers that is most telling. he urges his fellow officials never to be afraid to speak truth to power and to challenge what he called muddled thinking and ill founded arguments. he said he should support each other in difficult moments when they have to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them. so sir ivan's charge is a serious one, that the government is not ready for brexit and it is ignoring the advice of its total mass. “— ignoring the advice of its total mass. —— diplomats. john whittingdale said he is disappointed that the remarks became public but

he said he thinks it is supported that the devil that involved are committed to achieving the best outcome for the uk. in disappointing -- i'm outcome for the uk. in disappointing —— i'm disappointed that these remarks were made public. these remarks were made public. these remarks should be made in private. i also think it makes sense that as people into what is an incredible that an incredibly important negotiation we should have some reading for the uk that clearly believes that the outcome can be beneficial for the uk and believes that the outcome can be beneficialfor the uk and i think it is apparent that it was not so ivan rogers's view. lets get more from oui’ rogers's view. lets get more from our chief political —— i'd get more from vicky young. this is clearly difficult for downing street, they appear to be on the back foot yesterday when the resignation came as the leaked letter is not helping matters. there have been lots of questions from opposition mps and some conservatives about a vacuum, the idea that the government does not know what it's negotiating objectives will be and of course this resignation and that letter

leads into all of that. let's discuss and more, i am joined leads into all of that. let's discuss and more, iam joined by leads into all of that. let's discuss and more, i am joined by sir simon fraser, who was a very senior civil servant at the foreign office. what do you make of the resignation and the letter? i think his resignation at this point before the tackling of article 50 is a shame because he's a man of great experience and expertise and knowledge it would be very useful for the government and the country in that causation. the latter, what it shows to me there's two things, first that he has decided that if he does not want to be happy person who will conduct the negotiation it is right him to leave and there is a logic to that but also clearly in the letter there is an undertone of concern and frustration about the way the negotiation positions of the uk are being coordinated in particular and a desire for more clarity. i'd make you happy that the half of the civil service for many yea rs, half of the civil service for many years, are eugene concerns from collea g u es years, are eugene concerns from colleagues about the scale of the task, that the government is not

ready in the civil service is not ready? is clear that the government and civil service are not yet ready and civil service are not yet ready and they would say that themselves, they have not yet integrated all the advice and information they have been gathering into a negotiating position. i believe that the prime minister had senior negotiators need to make clear in the weeks ahead before we try to article 51 position is going to be, more generally of course it is a big task for the civil service. david davies the minister responsible themselves has said that this is perhaps the most coveted negotiation has ever been. those people who say that civil serva nts those people who say that civil servants are making a mountain out ofa servants are making a mountain out of a molehill and that this can be done simply, i think are wrong because this is going to be a considerable challenge for the government and the civil service. are you concerned about some of the talk that the next ambassador would have to be a brexit proponent if you like? the role of the civil service, they are often painted as people who are not willing to do what the government wants or that they have to have a particular personal view

in order to do the job. people need to be clear that british civil serva nts to be clear that british civil servants are very loyal and dedicated and do what the government want, they give objective advice as best they can to ministers at the recogniser administers big decisions and then civil servants execute those decisions and that is a very important part of our system. when you appoint senior civil servants like the person who will replace ivan rogers i think what you should be looking for is not what they believe but what they know, very experience and the value that they can add to make sure that this country achieves the best possible outcome in the negotiation. the criticism, the visit criticism seems to be that sir ivan was almost too close to those he was working with in brussels and that he was not able to be objective if you like and he had gone native. i think ivan has a long record of negotiating hard for this country, he has worked in a number of prime ministers in europe and he has won the respect of prime ministers. he has a very clear

understanding of what is achievable and what isn't and i think he felt it was incumbent upon him to give his views on those things and that involved and sometimes giving advice which perhaps sometimes people do not necessarily want to hear and thatis not necessarily want to hear and that is a difficult position to be in and he has been out there doing that for quite a long time. thank you. no word from downing street yet about a possible replacement, eve ryo ne about a possible replacement, everyone will of course be looking at this crucialfigure everyone will of course be looking at this crucial figure at this crucial time very closely. thank you very much. and if you want to see the full resignation letter you can see it in the bbc news app, it is the letter that he said his staff, it starts saying dear all, happy new year, i hope you have all had or are still having a great break, the usual format to start with. then it goes on into much more detail and has the comments we have been talking about, talking about models thinking and speaking truth to power. you can see that the litter on the bbc news app. an israeli soldier has been

convicted of manslaughter for stabbing another soldier. it is a case that has divided israel. footage shows the knife attacker on the ground. you can hear the shot being fired. sergeant elor azaria filing the shot that killed them. the man, abdul fata h that killed them. the man, abdul fatah al—sharif, was stabbed and wounded during a wave of knife and cut running attacks. the correspondence is in tel aviv for us. tell us more about the background to this case. sergeant elor azaria was based in hebron, he was somebody who was a medic in the israeli army, serving the, he had actually treated the wounded soldier who was hurt in that knife attack on the 24th of march last year but then

there is that disturbing video that shows him some 15 minutes after that initial attack when both palestinian men, both attackers lying on the floor, one of them instead, the other one, abdul fatah al—sharif, is a p pa re ntly other one, abdul fatah al—sharif, is apparently incapacitated lying on his back when the young soldier, he was 19 at the time, coxes gunman fires a single bullet into his head. this became an almost unprecedented public trial for an israeli soldier for killing a palestinian, and it has taken place over several months, it has been extremely divisive in israel. we have only now heard the threejudges, militaryjudges in a panel delivering the verdict, they said it was a unanimous verdict that he was guilty of manslaughter. and over the course of two and a half hours they went through the defence argument saying why they found against them. basically sergeant elor azaria made the case in court

that he believed that abdul fatah al—sharif continued to pose a threat on the ground because he was still moving, and he worried that he might have had a suicide belts underneath his jacket. thejudges have had a suicide belts underneath his jacket. the judges said that these claims were made late during these claims were made late during the trial, the actor from his commanding officers in the field who questioned him shortly after the shooting and said he did not express such concerns. they also said that the accepted the findings of the postmortem examination that said that it was the single bullet to the head of abdul fatah al—sharif that had killed him. as you said this has been a case that has divided the country. what reaction has there been to these events in this verdict? already there are some small demonstrations taking place, we are actually in a location that was chosen for security reasons within the ministry of defence headquarters, that is where the military court is located. just outside there were scuffles as protesters with signs saying the

nation is behind you gathered here to show that they supported sergeant elor azaria actions, some people say he was a hero, already the israeli politicians who have come out saying that they believe he should be pardoned. all of this has caused a lot of tensions with the army which has made clear that it takes any breaches of military regulations and ethical code extremely seriously. of course palestinians and israeli human rights groups have also commented on this case saying that they feel it shows that excessive force was being used to try and stop palestinian attacks. thank you. the clothes retailer next has warned that this year will be "challenging" as it reported worse than expected sales in the run—up to christmas. the company said it would be a tough year ahead, with rising costs from the falling pound forcing an increase in its clothes prices. next said full—price sales fell by 0.4 per cent in the 5a days to christmas eve, with annual profits now set to be at the low end of expectations. the firm forecast full—year profits would be £792 million compared

with previous guidance of profits up to £825 million. shares in the clothing retailer fell by 12 per cent at the start of trading in london this morning, but have been recovering. with me is our business presenter. we are talking about next but this is being seen in the wider context, our next a barometer of what is going on? next in a bellwether, the audi first retailer to issue the christmas results so people have been anticipating these figures and they are especially bad because next did badly last christmas so there was a thought that even though the salesman be down this year, when you compare them to last year we might have seen an uptick but we saw quite a serious fall in sales. next to a gamble this year, in an environment where consumers are used to heavy

discounting and black friday, next stuck fast and well other stores have serious salesman —— in december next have serious salesman —— in december n ext ke pt have serious salesman —— in december next kept things phil price and held onto the legend eddie post—christmas sales. it was christmas sales fell by 7% so that didn't work. the are facing trend where we see less spending on clothing and footwear and more on going out and attack and as you mention inflation prices are rising and that is a difficult issue for all retailers. even something very interesting to bring in because we havejust had figures from john lewis which is written is biggest department store chain, talking about its sales in the week before christmas, up 36%. thosejohn the week before christmas, up 36%. those john lewis figures, the week before christmas, up 36%. thosejohn lewis figures, i think we kind of sort, i saw federer saying it was down 9.4% year—on—year to convert last yea r, it was down 9.4% year—on—year to convert last year, we just need to sit —— check those figures from the website. any figures they have will

have been affected by store closures and any bank holidays. the figures for the second half of the year, i did see up 4.2% suffering better than next, next struggling in that middle bracket of stores like marks & spencer there will also be issuing the figures next week. we'll have them and morrisons, primer and debenhams, the recovery is coming out next year —— next week. we will see where the headwinds like next year —— for this year for the major retailers. former drivers for a private ambulance firm that provides emergency cover for the nhs, say they were given just an hour's training to drive under blue lights. a company based in essex called the ‘private ambulance service‘ is contracted to respond to emergencies during busy times. the company says the level of training of its staff exceeds the required standards. more on that in the next half—hour. and the headlights, britain‘s

ambassador to the eu who resigned unexpectedly yesterday criticises muddled thinking over brexit. an israeli soldier has been convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a wounded palestinian knife attacker. and shares in next tumble as the high street chain warns of a tough year ahead. and in sport marcos silver is the odds—on favourite to take over from mike phelan as the manager of hull city, mike phelan was sacked last night afterjust city, mike phelan was sacked last night after just three months city, mike phelan was sacked last night afterjust three months in charge. chelsea chasing a record 14 straight win in the english top flight straight win in the english top flight in one season when they travel to topple the night, a win for the blues would extend the elite to eight points. and great britain blues to france in the team event in pairs after heather watson and then heavens were beaten in the singles matches. i will be back with more of those stories just after half past. senior military and civilian medical

experts are urging people to learn lifesaving skills in case they‘re caught up in a terrorist attack. they say people need to know how to give vital first aid before paramedics arrive. the experts, from a team called, citizen aid, have launched an app and a website offering advice. a warning, some viewers may find these images in smitha mundasad‘s exclusive report upsetting. what you see next is a reconstruction. and ordinarily evening. it turned to terror. this is not real but security officials say that the terror threat in the uk is high and despite the best efforts this could happen. many people could be hurt in the chaos. the problem is it may ta ke the chaos. the problem is it may take some time for help to arrive. police and security forces have to deal with terrorists first, making sure it is safe before paramedics

can come in and in that time lives could be lost. the first responders to that incident from the police perspective will inevitably be trying to deal with the people causing the set, they will not have time to help people who may have been injured. and we know that that gap is vital for saving been injured. and we know that that gap is vitalfor saving people‘s lives. so we are really interested in the work of eight. there is a common in the street, three people have been shot. the expert in citizen agency that the and pocketbook gives simple step—by—step instructions to save others. but the public should only attend first eight once they are safe themselves. the app says that you need to pack the wind put the pressure on the wind. and then keep a hand elevated. we know from recent military experience that if we give simple

skills to individual soldiers then they can save lives when there are very serious injuries as a result of combat very serious injuries as a result of co m bat style very serious injuries as a result of combat style injury, so plastered gunshot. what we are keen to do is to ensure that we transfer that learning from the military to the benefit of the wider public. learning from the military to the benefit of the wider publicm someone benefit of the wider publicm someone is bleeding severely, you can use anything you have to hand to try and stop the flow, don‘t be afraid to use a turn came made out ofa afraid to use a turn came made out of a scarf for example. attempting first eight may not be for everyone but military medics say it is better to have a plan in case this worst—case scenario to have a plan in case this worst—case scenario turns into reality. with me is sir keith porter, who is professor of clinical traumatology at queen elizabeth hospital birmingham, who created the app. thank you. hopefully this at, well

hopefully it would be needed but in the event of something happening, what you‘re doing here is obviously aimed at saving lives so tell us what the basic portables are citizen hate is a system —— citizen hate is a system of actions that the public should use of the atom in a shooting bombing or stabbing incident and it enables them in a safe way to deliver care to the injured. so what, obviously if you cut up in something like some terrible incident, all sorts of things will be happening around you. what is the sort of first basic advice. the first advice is to run, hide and tell, run away, and if you can hide if you can‘t, tell the emergency services what is going on. then there has been a void in terms of treatment as this app as the paper

version gives guidance for the general public to deliver life—saving skills. general public to deliver life-saving skills. at how simple are the sorts of things that people learn? you might very simple, similarto learn? you might very simple, similar to first learn? you might very simple, similarto firstaid learn? you might very simple, similar to first aid in the sense that you need additional skills, for example the arrest of haemorrhage which is the main killerfollowing this type of injury, which is direct pressure on the wind, packing and doesn‘t work, then the member of the public should then resort to using a tricky, whether improvised or commercial. and the app takes you to the logical process of coming to that decision making. you don‘t have to think for yourself, just follow the system when it is safe to do so. and what else is on the intent of life—saving help? and what else is on the intent of life-saving help? there are a number of skills as you would expect from the patient who may not be reading to the patient who has fractures to the patient has burns, and undoubtedly in the first moments following a bomb incident or a major

shooting, it is the arrest of haemorrhage which is the most crucial thing and this happens long before the medicine services can be on the scene. what sort of time frame you talking about? if immediate help is given. we know from our military experience, which is significant now, that by training the soldiers themselves and very importantly their colleagues to apply to the cats than they will save lives unless that happens within a matter of minutes and patients will die and simply in the uk and civilian practice the emergency services would be on the scene emergency services would be on the scene that quickly because it is not safe to do so. we are empowering the public to deliver these life—saving skills. so he obviously hope that people have a look at the app in a quiet moment. we would like them to look at the app but importantly we would like men to take advantage of the online system to actually go through some of the workshops so they can be familiar with what they

need to do in the unlikely event that they are cut up in an instance such as this. thank you. let me bring you some breaking news on the resignation of britain‘s ambassador to the eu, ivan rogers, the european commission said that it regrets his resignation just the european commission said that it regrets his resignationjust as britain is preparing to go into a brexit negotiations, saying we regret the loss of a very professional and knowledgeable well not always easy in the future and to a lwa ys not always easy in the future and to always loyally defended the interests of his government. that was a spokesman for the european commission. praise therefore him as a very professional and knowledgeable diplomat. always loyally defending the interests of his government. we arejust seeing his government. we are just seeing him with david cameron there, he did come in for some criticism over his role in

david cameron ‘s pre—referendum negotiations, some thought perhaps he had not pushed hard enough for concessions. there he is. he has resigned and the european commission expressing its regret. let‘s look at some of today‘s other developing stories. turkey says it has established the identity of the gunman who killed 39 people in an attack on an istanbul nightclub on new year‘s day — but has not officially named him. local reports suggest that the gunman had entered turkey from syria and went to the central city of konya — this cctv footage — obtained by turkish news agency dha is said to show alleged gunman at a bus terminal in the city. police have also detained 27 people as part of the investigation in the western city of izmir. the us president—elect donald trump has again sounded a sceptical note about allegations of russian hacking. mr trump has tweeted that an intelligence briefing to put him in the picture had been delayed. he suggested officials might need more time to build a case that russia hacked into democratic party

computers to try to influence the american presidential election. an earthquake was detected 100 miles from scarborough last night. the british geological survey says the tremor, which was in the north sea, happened just before 7 o‘clock yesterday evening and had a magnitude of 3.8. and the singerjanetjackson has given birth to her first child. the younger sister of michaeljackson, who is 50, has named her son, eissa. she is said to have had a stress—free delivery. the singer stopped a world tour last april, telling her fans she was planning a family with her husband. for a full summary of the news you can go to our website where you‘ll be able to get more details. you can also if you would like to see phil resignation letter by sir ivan rogers, that is also accessible through the news website as well.

west yorkshire police have carried out further searches overnight after a man was shot and killed by officers during a pre—planned operation. yassar yaqub died on monday evening, after police in unmarked vehicles stopped a carjust off the m62 in huddersfield. the independent police complaints commission is probing the discovery of a gun in mr yaqub‘s car. our correspondent phil bodmer is at ainley top in west yorkshire near where the incident happened. as those investigations into the fatal shooting of the 20—year—old father of two continued, there have been appeals for calm. that follows a spontaneous protests last night, one of those protests was in bradford following what some are estimated upto 100 people or bradford following what some are estimated upto100 people or so on leeds road in the central bradford and the echo calls made by the local labourmp and the echo calls made by the local labour mp who and the echo calls made by the local labourmp who on and the echo calls made by the local labour mp who on social media has said that she recognises that

feelings are running high within the community and understands the heightened tension of the events of monday night, and she issued an appealfor calm. the monday night, and she issued an appeal for calm. the independent police complaints commission who oversee this enquiry say this is a complex and detailed enquiry and it will take some time. they are also asking the local community will be patient as they pieced together the circumstances of what happened on the m6 62 circumstances of what happened on the m6 g2 on monday evening. they say that they are making good progress. as you mentioned police have been carrying out further searches in the huddersfield area and they say they are linked to the investigation into what happened on monday but they are not being specific as to those locations. we are expecting details of a postmortem to be carried out later today, meanwhile five people arrested in connection with the incident in maintaining, being detained currently in custody. thank you. dinosaurs haven‘t roamed the earth for quite some time but a famous

diplodocus is about to embark on something of a road trip. dippy the diplodocus, a 70ft long plaster—cast replica made up of 292 bones, is set to leave the natural history museum in kensington later this year. a six person team will start a three—and—a—half week dismantling of dippy on thursday before it will travel around museums across the country. tim muffett reports. # everybody walk the dinosaur # open the door, get on the floor # everybody walk the dinosaur. ..#. dippy is 21 metres long and made up of 292 bones. dippy is a plaster cast replica of a skeleton found in wyoming in the usa in 1898. dippy has been viewed by more than 90 million visitors. dippy will be going on a two—year tour around the uk and will be replaced here by the skeleton of a blue whale. we are a little sad because dippy sort of feels like an old friend,

part of the family. # i walked a dinosaur #. it gives people an opportunity to see an amazing dinosaur that perhaps they would not be able to see at all. # open the door, get on the floor # everybody walk the dinosaur. ..#. kat nilsson is the head of national programmes at the natural history museum and joins us now. i want to clear something up because iam i want to clear something up because i am saying diplodocus, i was put right by a professor of palaeobiology said it is actually diplodocus, everyone here says it one way, tell us, what is it. david attenborough says ken mack, other

people see diplodocus, they could really matters. is david attenborough says it then it is good enough for me. in the year as they say one thing, we say another. it is to nato, tomato. the important business, how tricky would be to dismantle that magnificent skeleton that has been the obviously for a long time? well we have a fantastic conservation team who are really skills and they will do an amazing job on taking dippy apart so he can be boxed up to go around the world, well not in the world but around the uk. sol well not in the world but around the uk. so i have absolute faith in the tea m uk. so i have absolute faith in the team that dippy will be safe and he will have a new armature which means that he will become a kit of parts so that he will become a kit of parts so that he can go to lead venues

across the uk and inspire the next generation of scientists and reconnect the nation with nature. as you say something like that really is inspiring, like many i remember going to the natural history museum asa going to the natural history museum as a young child and seen dippy the and it is one of those memories that has always stuck. why decide now to move him? well we have a while going in its place and the reason we‘re putting a quail in is because it talks to the narratives of the museum and it talks about sustainability and the real challenges that our planet faces, and so it is a time for refreshing and so it is a time for refreshing and rethinking and that is why dippy is being taken out and the whale is being put in and it is also an opportunity for us to share dippy with the nation. he is part of the national collection and belongs to eve ryo ne national collection and belongs to everyone and should be at the meeting everyone and really

inspiring everyone to look at nature and how we connect with nature and the fact that we need to study it to understand it so that we can secure the future of the planet. thank you. does the while another name? the future of the planet. thank you. does the while another name7m the future of the planet. thank you. does the while another name? it does not, —— no it doesn‘t. does the while another name? it does not, -- no it doesn't. i'm sure people will think of something. do you know, i had no idea it was a replica, i thought it was real! we have a nice crisp day on the way. after the clear skies this evening, it will be a really frosty on the thing tomorrow morning. it is not sunny everywhere. there are some clouds and spots of rain across eastern areas and a few showers flirting with the eastern coast of england. for most of us, not a bad

day. pretty chilly. here comes jack frost tonight. here is all the blue flooding the uk. in city centres it will be cold but not terribly cold. in rural spots it will be a bit colder. —6, even a suggestion it could be as low as —8 in some areas. then the frost later in the morning lifts and we are left with a nice, sunny day. knocking on our doorstep there is a weather front which will sweep through the country by the time ago to friday afternoon. there is somewhat weather and milder weather on the way after a bit of a chilly thursday. —— somewhat weather. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines at 11.32. in the last half—hour the government

says it regrets the resignation of britain‘s ambassador to the eu, sir ivan rogers. an israeli court has convicted a soldier after he shot a wounded palestinian man who was lying on the ground. following worse—than—expected sales before christmas, shares in the clothes retailer next drop by 9%. now we can join jessica now we can joinjessica with all the sport. thank you, joanna. good morning everyone. former olympiakos coach marco silva is the odds—on favourite to become the new man in charge at hull city, according to several bookmakers this morning. the 39 year—old portuguese left the greek champions last summer. phelan was sacked by hull last night after picking upjust 13 points in his 20 league games in charge, although he did take the club to the semi—finals of the efl cup. former birmingham manager gary rowatt, and ex—england boss roy hodgson have also been linked with the vacancy. bournemouth say they are appealing

the red card given to simon francis in last night‘s 3—3 draw with arsenal. francis was shown a straight red card by referee michael oliver for his challenge on aaron ramsey, with eight minutes left, as arsenal fought back from three goals down to earn a point. bournemouth manager eddie howe questioned the decision to send francis off, describing it as "harsh". chelsea are looking for a record 14th straight victory in the english top—flight, in one season. they play arch rivals tottenham at white hart lane tonight. a win would extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points, and match arsenal‘s top division record for successive wins, spread over two seasons in 2002. i think there is a bit of extra spice on this one with what happened

at sta mford spice on this one with what happened at stamford bridge last season. chelsea effectively ruined tottenham‘s chances of winning the league. totten will want to spoil that party. there is not often revenge in football because time moves on quickly and players change, but these are basically the same sets of players and tottenham will be desperate to stop them getting that record. british number two kyle edmund is through to a first atp tour quarter—final of 2017, after his opponent retired in the second round of their match, at the brisbane international this morning. edmund, ranked 45 in the world, beat lucas pouille, after the frenchman pulled out of the match, when trailing 6—3, 3—1. edmund will next take on us open champion stan wawrinka or viktor troiki of serbia in the last eight. britain have suffered another 3—0 defeat in the hopman cup in perth. they lost to france after heather watson was beaten by kristina mladenovic and dan evans lost to richard gasquet. the pair also lost the doubles. britain have already lost to switzerland, so their last group match

against germany is now meaningless. kyle edmund is through to the quarterfinal of the brisbane international. but disappointment for naomi broady in auckland — she was knocked out of the asb classic in the second round, beaten byjulia goerges in straight sets. paralympic champion kadeena cox has had her uk sport funding suspended while she takes part in channel 4 winter sport programme the jump. cox, who won cycling and athletics golds in rio, is one of three current sports stars among the 1a participants, along with olympic taekwondo gold medallist jade jones and gymnast louis smith. the medical teams from both sporting organisations are believed to have advised cox against participating in the show but have allowed her to make her own decision. england rugby coach eddiejones admits that leicester centre

manu tuilagi would be part of his plans, if it wasn‘t for the latest injury which means he has had to withdraw from the training squad for the forthcoming six nations championship. tuilagi suffered a knee injury in his club‘s match against saracens at the weekend. it is frustrating for him. he is a good kid. he really wants to play well for leicester, he wants to play well for leicester, he wants to play well for leicester, he wants to play well for england and he was just coming back into form, so it is enormously frustrating for him. for us, he is a player we would love to have in the camp, but if he is not there, we just have in the camp, but if he is not there, wejust get have in the camp, but if he is not there, we just get on with it. that is all the sport for now. the next update at 12:15pm. thank you. the husband of a british—iranian woman imprisoned in iran has said he is terrified about the possible outcome of his wife‘s appeal. charity worker nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, has been sentenced to five years

for allegedly plotting to topple the government in tehran, but details of the charges against her have been kept secret. nazanin‘s husband richard ratcliffe is with me now. richard, wellcome, good to see you. iimagine it richard, wellcome, good to see you. i imagine it has been a difficult time with christmas and new year. we had a very difficult december with nazanin going on hunger strike and feeling suicidal. there was a fallout with signing away rights but christmas was better. she had a family visit. she was able to give a christmas present to gabriella and gabriella could give one to her and then she was moved. she has been moved out of solitary confinement into the women‘s ward. she has got company again. she said the winning helped her. —— the women helped her.

we are on tenterhooks as to what could happen. she was sentenced back in september to five years on secret charges. goodness knows what they are, so charges. goodness knows what they are, so we charges. goodness knows what they are, so we will see today or perhaps it will not be until next week when the verdict comes about what happened with the case. how are you feeling with the ruling?|j happened with the case. how are you feeling with the ruling? i was all right until today but now it has hit me. the family in iran are terrified. i have had my moments when i think, goodness me, what could happen? it has been arbitrary all the time but this is final. once we get the sentence we have to look ata we get the sentence we have to look at a workaround. it is alleged she was plotting to oust the government but you have no real details on it, so but you have no real details on it, so how do you mount an appeal when you don‘t know what the charges are? she does not know what the charges are. she would have been in the

courtroom when that first trial happened when the discussion happened. she cannot talk to you about it? she cannot talk. the lawyer was at the trial and he will help write the appeal. presumably, there were some allegations and she has defended herself and said that is nonsense. my understanding in the court today is that it is the revolutionary guard their and they are the ones who put up the statement about her being involved in the overthrow of the government, and the tehran branch have talked about there being an agreement with the british government. we will see what comes. do you know when it will come? know. last time we were expecting that day and it did not come for weeks. today‘s the last day of the week in iran so it will be written verdict. it may not come out

today. i would expect next week or early next week. do stay in touch. thank you for coming in. thank you. i'll let‘s return to the news that the bbc has discovered that has discovered that some staff at a private ambulance company have had as little as one hour‘s training to drive under blue lights. nhs trusts are increasingly using companies and charities to respond to emergency calls when they don‘t have available crews themselves. the private ambulance company, based in basildon in essex, has a contract to respond to 999 calls for the nhs ambulance trust in the east of england, as well as emergency transport between some hospitals. whistle blowers have told the victoria derbyshire programme about a lack of training, dirty conditions in the vehicles and inappropriate equipment. the company denies the allegations, and says all its staff have appropriate qualifications. james melley investigates. sirens.

when we dial 999 for an emergency, most people expect nhs ambulances and their highly trained crews to respond, but increasingly, as nhs trusts struggle to meet demand, private companies are stepping in to take their place. one of these companies is the private ambulance service, which is based in basildon, in essex. it carries out work like taking patients to hospital appointments, transferring sick people between hospitals, and it also provides cover for 999 calls for the east of england nhs ambulance trust. but, whistle—blowers have told us staff aren‘t properly trained, and the equipment they use is not up to scratch. we‘ve spoken to several people that work or have worked for the private ambulance service. "paul" would only speak to us if we disguised his identity. he worked for pas as a medic, but lost his job last year. what was it like when you started working there? surprising, i never had any induction or training. pretty much just sent out and that was it. so you had no induction, no training? no. it was quite clear that i was working with people that,

not through their own fault, that weren‘t trained. they weren‘t competent in the job, and they certainly weren‘t confident in dealing with situations. in particular, on the ambulance side, coming across what we call running calls, so you come across a patient, quite a few staff didn‘t know how to respond. didn‘t know how to take simple things like blood sugars, ecgs, didn‘t know how to do manual blood pressures. basic, basic stuff, really. we started to hear more disturbing stories about a lack of basic training for staff at the private ambulance service. dan duke worked at the company in patient transport until 2013, when he was sacked. thejob could require him to drive under blue lights when taking an emergency patient between different hospitals. what training were you actually given, in order to drive under blue lights? an hour‘s training. that was it. one hour‘s training? one hour‘s training on blue lights, that‘s it. i think that‘s astonishing. it is astonishing. so, what is an acceptable level of training to drive under blue lights?

in your opinion, would it be possible to train somebody to drive under blue lights with an hour, a day of training? no. the fact that our whole course is four weeks long, and the first two weeks are the foundation, if you like, to actually move on to doing blue light training and then that training takes two weeks... we just couldn‘t, as an ambulance service trust, sanction anything really like that, no. we approached the private ambulance service for an interview, they declined, and told us... the nhs east of england ambulance service, which uses the private ambulance service to provide coverfor emergency calls told us... the rail union aslef has announced a

planned six—day strike next week has been cut to three days. bosses and unions wrangle over pay, jobs and conditions. as let‘s say there is still a likelihood of further action. a paid think tank says some top bosses will have earned more by midday today than some workers earn ina year. midday today than some workers earn in a year. research found the average wage for chief executives was nearly £4 million in 2015. that is equivalent to a rate of pay of more than £1000 an hour. meanwhile, the current national living wage for over 25s is £7 20 an hour and the

average uk worker earns a salary of £28,000 a year. with me is stephan serves of the high pay centre. thank you forjoining us. why have you done this research? i think this comparison does bring home the gap in pay. this is a relatively recent phenomenon when chief executive pay has really exploded while pay for the rest of us has chugged along in a pretty unexciting fashion. this annual measurement where we say the chief executive has earned an average annual salary by lunchtime todayis average annual salary by lunchtime today is just a symbolic moment that makes our point. why do you think he has exploded for chief executives over the last ten or 20 years?” don‘t think the system for top pay

is working. the system of pay in false some very highly paid professional people. there are not any ordinary people in the room in the so—called remuneration committee, so i think it is a rarefied conversation where people are desensitised to these very big numbers which have grown and grown without anything to stop it happening. there has been talk in government of putting ordinary people in the room when pay is decided, would you hold up much hope that would happen?” decided, would you hold up much hope that would happen? i think the signals are that workers on the full board of the company is looking less likely that the government has not ruled out in its consultation paper employee representatives, the question is how we can engage with views of the workforce, there is no more effective way than having life people in the room, properly resourced and able to reflect the view of the world. at the moment

this is the missing voice, the missing link in the conversation on top pay. they only find out what the real world things when you report it, when it is public. they could solve a lot of pr problems, apart from anything else, and the disruption to morale, by having these discussions privately before making it public. wenger is an environment where all of these bosses are paid at the same sort of level, if one company act unilaterally, then there is the argument we will lose the best people, week out attract them. presumably, if changes made across the board with the sort of thing you‘re talking about with ordinary workers being represented, that might change things, so how low do you think top pay should go? what do you think top pay should go? what do you think top pay should go? what do you think is a fair differential?” think the base pay in cash could go up. the real problem of the so—called performance related pay and the long—term incentive plans,

these are delivering vast sums of money, many times the basic pay. most of us get paid monthly in arrears. cash would be much better. the overall package might come down. it is very difficult to measure the performance of the single human being and say that person is responsible for the manoeuvre of a share price and profitability in tens of markets when thousands of employees are doing the work. the whole premise of so—called performance related pay for chief executives is pretty flawed, i think. good to talk to you. thank you for coming in. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first — the headlines on bbc newsroom live: european commission says it regrets the resignation of sir ivan rogers, britain‘s ambassador to the eu. an israeli soldiers convicted of manslaughterfor an israeli soldiers convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a wounded palestinian man.

and a company which provides ambulance services says they have just one hour‘s blue light training. iam i am rachel horne i am rachel home in the business news. next — usually an indicator of how things are going on the high street and the destination for sales shopping has issued a set of christmas sales figures that they would probably like to exchange or return. full—price sales fell by 0.4% in the weeks leading up to christmas eve, and the share price has fallen by as much as 12% today as the retailer warns prices could rise by 5% this year. elsewhere, john lewis reported a pre—christmas sales surge. female workers continue to face a "rapid rise" in pay inequality when they get into their 30s and 40s. that‘s according to a new paper from the resolution foundation. women born after 1980 can expect to be paid almost 10% less than men when they hit their 30th birthday. that compares with a 5% pay difference between men and women in their 20s. and having kids widens the gap — we‘ll have more on that in a moment. good news for the construction sector. fresh figures from markit/cips suggest construction companies enjoyed the fastest rise

in new orders last month, since january 2016. stronger demand led to morejobs but cost pressures are high as suppliers passed on higher imported raw material prices. hello, thank you forjoining me this morning. equal pay for men and women — according to a new report it‘s still not happening. the latest report from the resolution foundation says women are still paid less than men — the gap gets bigger as we get older and having children widens it even further. joining me now is stephen clarke, a policy analyst at the resolution foundation. thank you for taking the time to join us this morning. these reports can join us this morning. these reports ca n ofte n join us this morning. these reports can often be confusing. when you say there is a pay gap between men and women, are you comparing men and women, are you comparing men and women in the same jobs? no, we are not. this is just women in the same jobs? no, we are not. this isjust the pay gap between men and women at different

points of their life. is this more about gender or more aboutjob choices? it is about both really. one of the reasons why women may be paid one of the reasons why women may be pa id less one of the reasons why women may be paid less is they are in different jobs to men and those jobs may pay less, but it is also because women may take time out of the workforce to have children and when they returned they are paid less than their male counterparts at the same age. i think childbirth and leaving the workforce is one of the big issues here. women tend to shoulder that burden or the privilege of childcare more than men and perhaps when they return to work they take up when they return to work they take up those part—time positions which are up those part—time positions which a re less up those part—time positions which are less well—paid than a full—time position. is that fair enough if you ta ke position. is that fair enough if you take ona position. is that fair enough if you take on a job which is less responsibility then you are paid less tha n responsibility then you are paid less than someone who is prepared to work full—time and makes less sacrifices? part-time work does not have to involve less

responsibilities. big companies and large companies who invest a try not have a gender pay gap make sure part—time roles have as much responsibility as their full—time cou nterpa rts responsibility as their full—time counterparts and pay as well. i don‘t accept part—time roles have to accept less responsibility. one of the challenges is to create new part—time roles which can support people who are returning to the workforce whether they be men or women. from april2018, companies with more than 250 employees will have to pay information —— will have to publish information about the pay gap, do you think this will help? there is greater scrutiny of this issue but there has to be support for firms as well, not so much larger firms for firms as well, not so much largerfirms perhaps, for firms as well, not so much larger firms perhaps, but for firms as well, not so much largerfirms perhaps, but smaller firms in terms of crafting those roles and so on. there are other things the government could do around childcare to encourage women to ta ke around childcare to encourage women to take up full—time roles if they wa nt to to take up full—time roles if they want to but cannot because of childcare costs. stephen clarke,

thank you for your time. let‘s take a look at some of today‘s other business news. top bosses will have earned more by midday today than the £28,200 that the average worker earns in the entire year, according to the high pay centre think tank. they‘re calling it fat cat wednesday and it assumes that the executives work 12 hours a day, most weekends and take fewer than 10 days holiday a year. a six—day strike by drivers on southern railfrom monday has been cut to three days but there is still a likelihood of further action, according to aslef. the drivers‘ union said strikes would now be held on 10, 11 and 13 january, but not on other days next week. consumer borrowing rose at its fastest rate in more than 11 years in november. that‘s according to figures from the bank of england. consumer credit in november jumped by £1.92 billion — well ahead of forecasts. before we go, let‘s take a look at the markets. we have figures in for the markets. we have figures in for the euro zone inflation in december.

it was 0.6% in december. quite a big jump it was 0.6% in december. quite a big jump in december for the it was 0.6% in december. quite a big jump in decemberfor the countries using the euro. it was up by one point 1% which is higher than forecast but lower than 2%. the ftse is continuing its rally. it closed on an all—time high yesterday. next had disappointing christmas figures. marks & spencer ‘s are also suffering. i will be back with more later. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two — but first here is the weather. joanna, thank you. nice weather around northern areas at the moment. we have a sharp frost on the way tonight, thanks to the clear skies

which many of us will have in the afternoon. it is not so clear in the afternoon. it is not so clear in the afternoon. still pretty cloudy with spots of rain. we will have some showers flirting with the eastern coast of scotland and england. it will feel pretty raw, three degrees in aberdeen. the further inland you are, the light of the windsor and the nicer it feels. —— the lighter the nicer it feels. —— the lighter the winds are. at the moment we have some showers across the south—east. they should be gone by the time we get to the second half of the day. what is happening tonight? high pressure over us. a winter storm across central and eastern parts of europe. some extremely low temperatures in the coming couple of days. a very frosty night. by early on thursday, temperatures widely will be below freezing in the towns

and cities and in the rural spots i would not be surprised if it was as low as minus eight. frost tomorrow across the majority of the uk. maybe not in the sticky out bits of wales and east anglia. then we have a nice sunny day tomorrow afternoon. chile in yorkshire. then it is all change, from the cold and frosty and clear sunny weather, it is a completely different story. atlantic fronts coming in. much milderairsweeping in off the atlantic pushing all the cold air the east. let‘s have a look at friday. here is the rain. double—figure temperatures in belfast. still hanging onto some of the cold weather in norwich. come the cold weather in norwich. come the weekend, it is looking pretty u nsettled. the weekend, it is looking pretty unsettled. there will be a lot of cloud. the temperatures widely will

be into double figures and be prepared with your brolly because there will be some rain on and off through the course of the weekend. until then, let‘s enjoy the fine weather that we have across most of the uk through today and tomorrow. that is it from me. bye—bye. and let‘s just summarise, a that is it from me. bye—bye. and let‘sjust summarise, a nice that is it from me. bye—bye. and let‘s just summarise, a nice day on the way. i had a couple of seconds left over there! that is it from me, bye— bye. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday. britain‘s ambassador to the european union who resigned yesterday criticises "muddled thinking" and "ill founded arguments" over brexit. an israeli soldier who shot and killed an injured palestinian knife attacker is convicted of manslaughter. shares in next dive, as the clothes retailer reports worse—than—expected sales before christmas. back from holiday, president obama will head to capitol hill to try to safeguard his healthcare reforms.

also, with a uk terror attack a severe threat, people are urged to be ready with lifesaving skills. a new app offers a step—by—step guide to giving vital first aid for serious injuries. and dippy the diplodocus prepares for his nationwide tour. good afternoon. it‘s wednesday the 4th january. welcome to bbc newsroom live. in the last hour the european

commission has said it regrets the departure of the uk‘s ambassador to the us is ivan rogers who left yesterday. a spokesman described him asa yesterday. a spokesman described him as a diplomat who defended his government ‘s interests. brexit campaigners have defended the decision to step down. this has been described as a shot fired across the balance of the government‘s brexit strategy. sir ivan rogers has been britain‘s ambassador to the eu for three years, and his criticisms about the government‘s preparations for brexit will be hard to ignore. in his resignation e—mail he said there is a short supply of serious multilateral negotiating experience in whitehall and he said the structure of the uk‘s negotiating team need rapid resolution. he reveals that even he does not know what the government‘s negotiating objectives for brexit will be. but it is sir ivan‘s implicit and thinly veiled criticism of ministers that is most telling. he urges his fellow officials never to be afraid to speak truth to power and to

challenge what he called muddled thinking and ill founded arguments. he said they should support each other in difficult moments when they have to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them. so sir ivan‘s charge is a serious one, that the government is not ready for brexit and it is ignoring the advice of its diplomats. let‘s get more now with our chief political correspondent vicki young who‘s in westminster. there is no doubt that this came as a surprise to most people, sir ivan deciding to stand down, he of course has been at the centre of what has been going on in brussels. you would expect him to know the latest thinking on the government‘s negotiating position but he is suggesting that he did not know that

the british operation in brussels don‘t know and it feeds into questions that have been coming from many mps who say that the government does not have a strategy and frankly it is about time they did because of course by the end of march theresa may has said she will trigger article 50 and the because asians will begin. there has also —— and then the negotiations were content. it is said that the government needs people like side and at a time like this with his wealth of experience but others including sirjohn whittingdale who says that maybe this is not such a bad thing.” whittingdale who says that maybe this is not such a bad thing. i was disappointed that the comment he made became public because i think thatis made became public because i think that is damaging, of course they should be given to ministers but they should do some private. i also think it makes sense that as people into what is an incredibly important negotiation we should have somebody reading for the uk who clearly believes that the outcome can be

beneficial to the uk. it is apparent that this was not ivan rogers‘s view. there have been tensions between downing street and sir ivan, just before christmas there was a lea ked just before christmas there was a leaked memo from him suggesting that the great negotiations that will have to take place after the uk leaves the eu could take ten years or more. that led some to say that he was being overly pessimistic as some people believe that there has to be someone who needs to be more optimistic about brexit in newport and position of ambassador but others who i spoke to elliott including sir simon fraser who was once the most senior civil servant in the foreign office and i‘d recently said that sir ivan‘s resignation will be a loss. his resignation will be a loss. his resignation at this point before the triggering of article 50 is a shame because he is a man of experience and expertise and knowledge they will be very useful for the government in that negotiation. the letter, what it shows to me is two

things, first of all that he has decided that if you does not want to be happy person who conducts the holeable ossetian it is right for him to leave now and there is a logic to that, but also there is the undertone of concern and frustration about the way that the negotiation position of the uk is being coordinated and put together and it is -- coordinated and put together and it is —— and the desire for clarity on that. said ivan was due to leave his post in november and some are saying it makes sense for him to leave now rather than staying on for the beginning of the negotiations but not seeing them through, there is no doubt that this is difficult for downing street, everyone will now be looking at who they choose to replace him. thank you. if you would like to read the whole of his resignation letter you can find it on the bbc news app, the letter to his staff starts with happy new year and i hope you are all having a great break. as you can see it is quite likely. it has the

paragraph, contrary to the beliefs of some free trade does not happen when it is not sorted by authorities, increasing market access to other markets and consumer choice in our own depends on the deals, multilateral lateral and bilateral that we strike and sounds that we agree. he goes on to fling his concerns. let‘s bring you breaking news on strike action on southern railway because we are just hearing about more data being announced for further strike action, this is going to be happening now towards the end of january, southern railway to be happening now towards the end ofjanuary, southern railway drivers will strike on the 24th, 25th and 27th of january. those are additional dates that we have just had through from the aslef union, it is in addition to three days next week. there was due to be strike action between the ninth and 14th of

january but earlier today as was announced that the six—day strike action was being reduced to three days out of consideration for how long the dispute will last and because of concerns for the public about the impact of a week—long stoppage but at that time has made clear that it does not mean the union is rolling back and it did warn of further strikes. now we have more details on windows rights will be. the tenth lovers and 13th in the 24th 25th and 27th of january. as you‘ll‘s defence minister has called on the country to accept the decision of the court that convicted a soldier of manslaughter. footage from the west bank last march shows the knife attacker on the ground before sergeant elor azaria fires the shot that kills him. the man, abdul fatah al—sharif, along with another palestinian, had stabbed and wounded an israeli soldier during a wave of knife and car ramming attacks.

our 0ur correspondence our correspondence game is more background case. sergeant elor azaria was based in hebron, he was somebody who was a medic in the israeli army serving there, he had actually treated the wounded soldier who was hurt in that knife attack on the 24th of march last year but then there is that disturbing video that shows him some 15 minutes after that initial attack when both palestinian men, both attackers are lying on the floor, one of them is dead, the other one, abdul fatah al—sharif, is apparently incapacitated lying on his back when the young soldier, he was 19 at the time, firesa the young soldier, he was 19 at the time, fires a single bullet into his head. this became an almost unprecedented public trial for an israeli soldierfor unprecedented public trial for an israeli soldier for killing a

palestinian, and it has taken place over several months and been extremely divisive in israel. we have only just now extremely divisive in israel. we have onlyjust now had the three judges, militaryjudges in a panel delivering the verdict, he said it was a unanimous verdict that he was guilty of manslaughter. at over the course of 2/2 hours they went through the defence argument saying why they found against them. basically sergeant elor azaria made the case in court that he believes that abdul fatah al—sharif continue to pose a threat because he was still moving and he worried that he might have had a suicide belt underneath his jacket. the judges said that these claims were made late during the trial, at him from the trial —— they had heard from his commanding officer who had questioned him through —— after the shooting and said he did not express such concerns at the time and the also said that they accepted the findings of a postmortem which said that it was the single bullet to the

head of abdul fatah al—sharif that had killed him. this has been a case that has divided the country, what reaction has there been to these events? already there are some small demonstrations taking place, we are actually in a location that was chosen for security reasons within the ministry of defence headquarters. that is where the minister —— military was located. just outside our scott. with protesters saying the nation is behind you, gathered here to show that they supported sergeant elor azaria‘s actions. some people say he was a hero, already there are israeli politicians saying that they believe he should be pardoned. all of this has caused tensions with the army would has made clear that it ta kes a ny army would has made clear that it takes any breaches of military regulations that ethical code extremely seriously. palestinians and israeli human rights groups have also commented on this case say that

they feel it shows that excessive force was being used to try and stop palestinian attacks. aslef have announced changes to the strikes that were originally planned for monday. the strikes will now go forward on the tenth, 11th and 12th of january. and also forward on the tenth, 11th and 12th ofjanuary. and also on forward on the tenth, 11th and 12th of january. and also on the 24th 25th and 26. originally they have planned for six days of strikes straight and this has been pulled back to three. people took this as a gesture but frankly it never really was that, they were always going to shift the dates around, so when i brought him immediately after the news broke there was the suggestion that the bracketing the strike because of trying to make a deal, it wasjust about moving the base around. why do that? we don‘t know for certain but the reality is having spoken to quite a few drivers, they are not

being paid for each strike day, they don‘t get paid by the union either so don‘t get paid by the union either so perhaps straight after christmas the making things easier financially for the members which is understandable so they‘re not going on strike for six days at the start of the month, it will be later in the month which perhaps spread over two months in the pay packet. we don‘t know for certain that this is what it is not in effect we still have six strike days and i would say it is worse than that because what they have done is gone for the tuesday wednesday and friday of each week, and the thirsty in each week will be a disaster anyway because the trains will be in the wrong place so effectively it is not a strike day on thursday but you will still get major disruption. in effect you will have eight days disruption now they have spread it over two sections. going into the new year with the click a continuing stalemate, bring us up—to—date with how long this has been going on and what the outstanding issues are. the first strikes were in april, the drivers, aslef, which is what this

is about, that only started at the end of last year, and that is the really destructive strike action because if you don‘t have drivers shouldn‘t have trains and that basically brings also services to a standstill. the data are talking about now our driver strikes. effectively it is about the role of on—board conductor on a train, should they have this higher safety critical role, should they be closing the doors which is a safety criticaljob? work out and check no one is trapped in the doors. the company one is trapped in the doors. the com pa ny wa nts one is trapped in the doors. the company wants drivers to take over thejob and company wants drivers to take over the job and say it is happening company wants drivers to take over thejob and say it is happening on one third of services across britain anyway, we have had those services for 30 years, it is just modernisation. the unions say that this is the thin end of the wedge, we don‘t want one of that because whatever happens in southern railway it is likely those changes come into place and other franchises so if the unions can keep that second person on the train in southern with the safety critical role they are securing jobs in other franchises

around the country in future. this isa around the country in future. this is a battle on southern but it is a wider battle about whether you have to have two people working on a train or not. senior military and civilian medical experts are urging people to learn lifesaving skills in case they‘re caught up in a terrorist attack. they say people need to know how to give vital first aid before paramedics arrive. the experts, from a team called, citizen aid, have launched an app and a website offering advice. a warning, some viewers may find these images in smitha mundasad‘s exclusive report upsetting. what you see next is a reconstruction. and ordinarily evening. shots fired. it turned to terror. this is not real. but security officials say that the terror threat in the uk is high and despite best efforts this could happen. many people could be

heard in the chaos, the problem is it may take some time for help to arrive. police and security forces have to deal with terrorists first, making sure it is safe before paramedics can come in. and in that time, lives could be lost. the first responders to the incident from a police perspective will be trying to deal with the people causing the threat, you will not have time to help people who may be injured. we know that the gap is vital for saving people‘s lives. i are really saving people‘s lives. we are really interested in the work of citizen aid. there is a government in the street and three people have been shot. the experts behind citizen aid say that the app and pocket book gives simple step—by—step instructions to save others. but the public should only attend first aid once the save themselves. the ad

says that you need to pack the wound and then put the pressure on the wind. and then keep the hand elevated above the heart. we know from military experience that if you give simple skills to individual soldiers and it can save lives when there are serious injuries as a result of combat style injuries, so blast and gunshot and what we are keen to do is ensure that we tra nsfer keen to do is ensure that we transfer that learning from the military to the benefit of the wider public. if someone is proving severely you can use anything you have to have to stop the full. don't be afraid to use (you set of have to have to stop the full. don't be afraid to use ( you set of staff for example. that‘s factor user ken mack for example. attending first aid may not be for everyone but military experts say it is better to have a plan in case this worst—case scenario turns into reality. the clothes retailer next has warned

that this year will be "challenging" as it reported worse than expected sales in the run—up to christmas. the company said it would be a tough year ahead, with rising costs from the falling pound forcing an increase in its clothes prices. next said full—price sales fell by 0.4 per cent in the 54 days to christmas eve, with annual profits now set to be at the low end of expectations. the firm forecast full—year profits would be £792 million, compared with previous guidance of profits up to £825 million. shares in the clothing retailer fell by 12 per cent at the start of trading in london this morning, but have been recovering. with me is our business presenter rachel horne. rachel, we are talking about next but in the context, the broader context, the tellers about the figures. this is significant because next is seen as the bellwether, the

indicator for next is seen as the bellwether, the indicatorfor how next is seen as the bellwether, the indicator for how the rest of the high street is doing and that is the case it is not good news. next have not done well this year and it is significant because they did not do well last christmas so these figures are compared to last christmas and they are still down. next are suffering because of a gamble they took on sales, next are traditionally known for the seals, they don‘t do black friday or big discounts on other retailers do and as consumers we see heavy discounted as consumers we see heavy discounted as normal and we expect not to be full price for things. they held onto the full price for december and once the sale which is normally pretty manic and actually it was down 7% on sales in the post—christmas sale. they face issues that retails at —— retailers are facing, people are spending less money on shoes and clothes and more on tech and going out. say that next ora on tech and going out. say that next or a bellwether but obviously a

company‘s fortunes come and go depending on what the offer and as you say next leaving severed from other companies in terms of the pre—christmas offerings. how much, looking back to last year when you said the sales were down, how much with a representative? if you look at what some of the other big stories have been doing, john lewis have released some of the figures this morning and they saw a huge surge of 36% in the pre—christmas sales in the week before christmas, but we have to put that figure into context because compared to last year that we had two extra trading days, it is all i‘m sensitive. the week between christmas and new year, sales were down by 9.4%, because of timing is there a more bank holidays and fewer trading days. it is difficult to look at the specific time periods and see the wider picture but we do have the kind of last 56 months of the year from john lewis and the figures for that

period sales were up just over 4% so it looks like the bellwether, if next is the bellwether thenjohn lewis is either the exception or they may be the new bellwether, we will find out over the next week or so. will find out over the next week or so. would big retailers will release the figures, we will hear from tesco and sainsbury is, debenhams, so as those figures for the flu we see if next have lost the position as the indicator of the high street. let‘s catch up with the sport. for more “— let‘s catch up with the sport. for more —— formality across coach mark silva is an track to become the new couege silva is an track to become the new college at hull city. he left the greek champions last summer, whole sacked make phelan last night after picking upjust 15 sacked make phelan last night after picking up just 15 points and 20 weekend in charge. he did take the clu b to weekend in charge. he did take the club to the semifinals of the year fell cup. bournemouth say they are appealing the red card given to

simon francis and last night the old robert arsenal. francis was shown a straight red by the referee for his challenge on aaron ramsey with eight minutes left as arsenal fought back from three goals down to earn a point. the bournemouth manager described the decision as harsh. chelsea are looking for a record 14 straight victory in the english top flight straight victory in the english top flight in one season, they play totte n ha m flight in one season, they play tottenham at white hart lane tonight and a win would extend the lead at the top of the table to eight points and matt arsenal ‘s top division record four successive wins spread over two seasons in 2002. the game, for sure this is a good team and a strong team, for this reason it is important to try to continue run. leicester and england centre to

langley will be out for the rest of the season as a result of any injury he suffered as a result of his cost defeat by saracens. eddiejones confirmed that he would have been pa rt confirmed that he would have been part of the international plans. confirmed that he would have been part of the international plansm is frustrating for him, he‘s a good kid, he really wants to play well for leicester and england and he was just coming back into some form. you can see he was getting his power back so it is enormously frustrating. here‘s a clear we would to have in the camp and if he is not the then we‘ll just to have in the camp and if he is not the then we‘lljust get on with it. paralympic champion kate dean cox has had her uk sport funding suspended while she takes part in thejump. suspended while she takes part in the jump. she won cycling and athletics golds in rio and is one of the current sports stars among the 14 participants along with jake jones and lewis smith. teams from both athletics and cycling are

believed to have advised her against participating in the show but have allowed her to make your own decision. at the sport now the more next hour. the us congress is back in session for a second day. both parties are signalling what their policies and priorities in the next term will be, as the republicans prepare to hold a majority in both the house of representatives and the senate. the us president—elect has already disrupted republican plans to cut an independent ethical watchdog saying it was not a priority. he said tax reform and health care should take precedence. president obama is fighting to preserve the changes of the last eight years. obama care was passed in 2010, the law aims to bring health care coverage to the 1596 bring health care coverage to the 15% of the us population who lack it, then 22 million people. under the law all americans must have

health insurance, but the government offer subsidies to make coverage more affordable. it also means more businesses have to provide health insurance for their employees and it is easierfor customers insurance for their employees and it is easier for customers to shop around and compare policies. republicans criticise the law, saying it is too expensive business. many qualityjob killer saying it is too expensive business. many quality job killer and saying it is too expensive business. many qualityjob killer and see it as an unwarranted intrusion into the affairs of private business and individuals. in the dying days of the obama administration, how much of the battle is the over obama care? , the battle is the over obama care? , the battle has not really gotten under weekend but it was sure —— surely be one of the first things republicans in congress want to attack and as you can see president obama will head to capitol hill to meet with senate and house democrats, a rare occurrence for him but it shows how dedicated years to preserving at least pa rt dedicated years to preserving at least part of the law which are

viewed as one of his signature achievements from his eight years in office but there will be a huge public battle over the repeal or eventual replacement of this lock because as you mentioned it covers over 20 million people so republicans have made it entirely clear how they would replace the lock so there is a lot of concern for what this would look like and if it would wreak havoc on the health ca re system. with republicans in control, and donald trump clear on what he wants is there anything, is there much that obama can actually do? i think mostly it‘ll have to be confined to watching a public relations campaign and try to educate the public on the benefits of the log that some people said democrats did not do the best job of first time around because they do not have the votes in congress, they are in both chambers as they don‘t have much power to block changes republicans want to make but if they can remind voters of the good part of the law and the good it has done to get access to health insurance to more people then that might be the best strategy but

they will be discussing that today. how important is this for president obama ‘s legacy? i think it is huge, this was i mentioned one of his biggest compliments from this time in office, it had been decades before any president had really been able to make much more progress to gain health insurers for more americans and if this is rolled back it will be seen as a huge setback for his legacy, but it will not go down without a big fight. as the other battle that is signalled by donald trump is that over tax reform, when does the kick—off? what will it look like? there have not been many details on that, trump has said it is one of his priorities and has also mentioned infrastructure spending and reform is another priority. i think we will see a lot more details of those in the coming weeks. thank you. time for the weather.

the next 24 hours or so will feel decidedly chilly across most parts of the country, but actually there will not be with us for too long. things are looking milder by the time you get into the weekend. certainly not feeling mild on the east coast of scotland and east of england, strong women with showers, some of which will be wintry especially over high ground. extra: the far south—west of the country with rain here, but in between a decent amount of sunshine not doing much for temperatures which fall to 8 degrees. what it gets dark tonight the temperatures will plummet, you can see the blue shade spread across the map. we get showers across east anglia in lincolnshire with icy stretches into tomorrow morning, or be the odd fog patches well. we could easily get 2—5 —6 and in one or two places —7 or minus eight. they call a few out early tomorrow but a bright day with spells of sunshine, extra cloud in the west and the odd spot of rain with some showers for the east coast and

temperatures being 2—8d. as we go into the weekend things look milder but there will be a fair amount of cloud and rain at times. why is general richard bad so worried about nato‘s ability to combat new conventional and unconventional threats? this is bbc newsroom live with joanna gosling. the headlines at 12.30.

the european commission said it regrets the resignation of britain‘s ambassador to the eu, sir ivan rogers. brexit campaigners have welcomed his decision to step down. aslef have reduced next week‘s six—day strike to three but they have added three fresh days at the end of the month. an israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded palestinian knife attacker as he lay on the ground has been convicted of manslaughter. shares in the clothes retailer next drop by 9%, following worse—than—expected sales before christmas, and a gloomy 2017 forecast. former drivers for a private ambulance firm — that provides emergency nhs cover — say they had only one hour of so—called ‘blue lights‘ training. with a uk terror attack a severe threat, people are urged to be ready with lifesaving skills via a new app. janet jackson has — at the age of 50 —

given birth to her first child, a baby boy. the israeli government is urging the public to accept the decision in a court of a highly controversial case. an israeli soldier has been convicted of manslaughter for killing a wounded palestinian who had stabbed another soldier. footage from the west bank last march shows the knife attacker on the ground, before sergeant elor azaria fires the shot that kills him. the man, abdul fatah al—sharif, along with another palestinian, had stabbed and wounded an israeli soldier during a wave of knife and car—ramming attacks. the prosecution had been supported

by the israeli defence force. let‘s get more reaction to this verdict. lahav harkov is the parliamentary reporter for thejerusalem post in tel aviv, and has been covering the court case. she joins us via webcam now from tel aviv. thank you forjoining us. tell us about the reaction there has been to this case. the reactions have been very visceral and very personal, coming from all sides of the political map and israeli society. the reason this has been such an said stiff case is because israel has a mandatory draft. people do not see this as a verdict on one soldier, but a verdict on what people‘s sons and daughters will face when they go out and serve in the army. there are two different sides i would say. there is one side that they accept the verdict as it is, and they say the idf is a moral army which does not seek to kill people unnecessarily and this

palestinian man was subdued and he did not need to be killed and so the other people say the soldier deserves to be convicted. others say this was a soldier who was sent to protect israelis from terrorists and the palestinian man he shot had just stabbed someone and could have been a potential danger to other people and so that should be taken into consideration or should have been taken into consideration. there is a concern i would say of reduced morale orfear among concern i would say of reduced morale or fear among soldiers to actually fight terrorism. generally, people on that side of the argument are also sort of upset about what they saw as i‘m due intervention or too much expression from

high—ranking army officers, and from the defence ministry at the time of the defence ministry at the time of the shooting, who said after that that elor azaria should be convicted of murder. and what about the reaction from the palestinians? they say that there are a lot of cases like this and the only difference here is that this was filmed and they think they should be more prosecutions. in terms of tensions between israel and the palestinians, was there any great fallout as a result of this? the shooting itself happened in the middle of what was a wave of terrorism with palestinians stabbing israelis so it is hard to say. it is a chicken and egg situation. we were already in the

middle of a lot of violence. as far as what is happening today, it is a little too early to say because it has only been a couple of hours since the verdict. lahav harkov, thank you. let‘s return now to the news that britain‘s outgoing ambassador to the european union, sir ivan rogers, has strongly criticised the government‘s preparations for brexit. sir simon fraser warned that britain was losing one of its biggest experts. he has been speaking to our chief klitschko correspondent vicki young. i think this point is a shame because he is a man of great expertise and knowledge and he will be very useful for the government and the country. the letter shows me two things which is if they cannot be the person who will conduct the whole negotiation it is right for him to leave now, but also clearly in the letter as an undertone of concern and frustration about the

way the negotiating position of the uk is being coordinated and put together and a desire for more clarity on that. you have been at the heart of the civil service for many years. are you hearing concerns from former colleagues and others that the government is not ready and the civil service is not ready? to clear the government and the civil service are not yet ready. they would say that themselves. they have not integrated all the advice yet into an integrated position. i do think senior ministers need to make clearer what our position will be. more generally, of course it is a big task for the civil service. david davis, the minister responsible himself said this is perhaps the most complex negotiation that has ever been. those people who say civil servants are making a mountain out of a mole hill and this could be dumper is simply wrong. it will be a very considerable

challenge for the government and the civil service. are you concerned about some of the talk that the next ambassador would have to be a brexiteers, the role of the civil service, they are often being painted as people who are not willing to do what the government wa nts, willing to do what the government wants, or that they have to have a particular personal view in order to do theirjob? people have to be clear that british civil servants are very clear that british civil servants are very loyal and dedicated and do do what the government wants. they give objective advice as best they can but they recognise that ministers make decisions and then civil servants execute those decisions. that is a very important pa rt decisions. that is a very important part of our system. when you point senior civil servants like the person who will replace ivan rogers, you should look at not what they believe but what they know, their experience and the value they can add to make sure this country achieve the best possible outcome in the negotiations. the critics of sir ivan say he was too close to those

he was working with out in brussels and he was not able to be objective, that he had gone native?” and he was not able to be objective, that he had gone native? i think sir ivan has a long record of working ha rd ivan has a long record of working hard for this country. he has worked for a number of prime ministers. he has a very clear understanding of what is achievable and what isn‘t. i think he felt it was incumbent on him to give his views on those things, and that involves sometimes given advice on things which people did not this thoroughly want to hear and that is a difficult position to be in and he has been out there doing that for some time. let‘s bring you some breaking news on the investigation into the death of mohammed yasir yaqub when he was shot on monday on the m62. we are just hearing that three men remain in custody, two men have been bailed pending further enquiries. all five men were arrested on suspicion of

possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear. the incident is also being investigated by the independent police complaints commission which says it is working ha rd to commission which says it is working hard to establish the circumstances around the death of mr yakubu after what appeared to be a gun was recovered by investigators from the car he was travelling in —— yaqub. a cross party committee of mps says that brexit poses a significant threat to the uk environment and they are calling for new laws to ensure existing protections are not weakened. here‘s our environment correspondent matt mcgrath. from the cleanliness of britain‘s beaches to the protection of birds and habitats, much of the uk‘s environmental and wildlife legislation is rooted in eu directives and regulations. the government has said it will transfer many of these into uk law when britain leaves the eu but recognises that about a third of the existing rules will be difficult to incorporate. to ensure there is no weakening of safeguards, the environmental audit committee says a new environmental protection

act should be in place before brexit is complete. european law protects huge amounts of the uk‘s environment, farming and countryside, and the process of leaving the eu presents a huge risk to all of those protections, which is why, in our report, we are calling for a new environmental protection act so that when we leave the european union, we are no worse off protected than we are at the moment. the mps say that brexit also threatens british farmers, with the removal of eu subsidies, the possibility of tariffs on exports and greater competition from other countries. in response to the report, the government says that the uk has a long history of wildlife and environmental protections and is committed to safeguarding and protecting these. the bbc has discovered that some staff at a private ambulance

company say they‘ve had have had as little as one hour‘s training to drive under blue lights. the private ambulance company, based in basildon in essex, has a contract to respond to 999 calls for the nhs ambulance trust in the east of england, as well as emergency transport between some hospitals. an investigation by the victoria derbyshire programme was told by whistle—blowers about allegations of a lack of training, dirty conditions in the vehicles and inappropriate equipment. the company denies it, and says all its staff have appropriate qualifications. james melley investigates. sirens when we dial 999 for an emergency, most people expect nhs ambulances and their highly—trained crews to respond, but increasingly, as nhs trusts struggle to meet demand, private companies are stepping in to take their place. one of these companies is the private ambulance service, which is based in basildon, in essex. it carries out work like taking patients to hospital appointments, transferring sick people

between hospitals, and it also provides cover for 999 calls for the east of england nhs ambulance trust. but, whistle—blowers have told us staff aren‘t properly trained, and the equipment they use is not up to scratch. we‘ve spoken to several people that work or have worked for the private ambulance service. "paul" would only speak to us if we disguised his identity. he worked for pas as a medic, but lost his job last year. what was it like when you started working there? surprising, i never had any induction or training. pretty much just sent out and that was it. so you had no induction, no training? no. it was quite clear that i was working with people that, not through their own fault, that weren‘t trained. they weren‘t competent in the job, and they certainly weren‘t confident in dealing with situations. in particular, on the ambulance side, coming across what we call running calls, so you come across a patient, quite a few staff didn‘t know how to respond. didn‘t know how to take simple things like blood sugars, ecgs,

didn‘t know how to do manual blood pressures. basic, basic stuff, really. we started to hear more disturbing stories about a lack of basic training for staff at the private ambulance service. dan duke worked at the company in patient transport until 2013, when he was sacked. thejob could require him to drive under blue lights when taking an emergency patient between different hospitals. what training were you actually given, in order to drive under blue lights? an hour‘s training. that was it. one hour‘s training? one hour‘s training on blue lights, that‘s it. i think that‘s astonishing. it is astonishing. so, what is an acceptable level of training to drive under blue lights? in your opinion, would it be possible to train somebody to drive under blue lights with an hour, a day of training? no. the fact that our whole course is four weeks long,

and the first two weeks are the foundation, if you like, to actually move on to doing blue light training and then that training takes two weeks... we just couldn‘t, as an ambulance service trust, sanction anything really like that, no. we approached the private ambulance service for an interview, they declined, and told us... we outsource our bluelight driver training to an approved training organisation used by the nhs. we started using our current provider injanuary started using our current provider in january 2016. staff have to complete clinical

skills assessments and driver assessments prior to training being completed. the nhs east of england ambulance service, which uses the private ambulance service to provide coverfor emergency calls told us... turkey says it has established the identity of the gunman who killed 39 people out in istanbul might club on new year‘s day that has not officially named him. local reports suggest the gunman entered turkey from syria and went to the city of konya. this cctv footage is said to show the alleged gunman at a bus terminal in the city.

an earthquake was detective 100 miles from scarborough last night. the tremor in the north sea had a magnitude of 3.8. janetjackson has given birth to herfirst child — a baby boy — at the age of 50. her birth is reported to have been "stress free" and "healthy", she stopped her tour last year saying she was planning to start a family with her husband. the husband of a british—iranian woman imprisoned in iran has said he is terrified about the possible outcome of his wife‘s appeal this week. charity worker nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been sentenced to five years for allegedly plotting to topple the government in tehran. however details of the exact charges against her have been kept secret. nazanin‘s husband richard ratcliffe said the last month has been a particularly testing time

for the family. nazanin went on hunger strike and was feeling suicidal. then there was a huge fallout in terms of an alternation on her about signing away rights to gabriella and so on. but christmas was better. she had a family visit. she was able to give a christmas present to gabriella and gabriella was able to give one to her. she has been moved out of solitary confinement into the women‘s ward. there she has company again. she has had a family visit again. she has had a family visit again. being in contact is important. today is her appeal. we are on tenterhooks about what will happen and quite what it means. she was sentenced back in september to five years on secret charges. goodness knows what they are. we will see today or perhaps it will not be until next week when the

verdict comes about what will happen in that case. how are you feeling ahead of the ruling?” in that case. how are you feeling ahead of the ruling? i was all right until today and then today it hit me. the family in iran are terrified. i have had my moments where, goodness me, what could happen? it has been arbitral the time but at this point it is final and once we have got that, we have got a sentence we have to live with and workaround. how is the process working? it is alleged she was plotting to oust the government but no real details on its how do mountain appeal when you do not know what the charges are?” mountain appeal when you do not know what the charges are? i don't know that she doesn‘t know what the charges are, because she would have beenin charges are, because she would have been in the courtroom when that first trial happened and there must have been some discussion. but she cannot talk to you about it? she cannot talk to you about it? she cannot talk to you about it? she cannot talk about it and i have asked her and number of times. cannot talk about it and i have asked herand number of times. her lawyer was present and he helped write the appeal. her lawyer is there again today. presumably there

we re there again today. presumably there were some allegations and she has defended herself and said that is nonsense. my understanding in the court today is it is mainly the revolutionary guard from where she was first sent to the south and they are the ones who put out the statement about her being involved in the overthrow of the government, and the tehran branch were the ones holding her until recently and they we re holding her until recently and they were the ones who talked about there being an agreement with the british government so being an agreement with the british government so we being an agreement with the british government so we will see what comes. do you know when it will come? no. last time we were expecting that day and it didn‘t come forfour weeks. expecting that day and it didn‘t come for four weeks. today is the last day of the week in iran. it will be a written verdict. it may be next week, early next week. richard ratcliffe talking to me earlier. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the european commission says it regrets the resignation of britain‘s ambassador to the european union — while brexit campaigners welcome his early departure. an israeli soldier is convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a wounded palestinian

knife attacker. shares in next fall as the high street chain warns the year ahead will be "challenging". it follows weaker sales in the run up to christmas. two thirds of asthma patients in the uk aren‘t receiving the basic care needed to manage their condition according to research by charity asthma uk. they say that although the figures are slightly better than a year ago, almost 3.5 million people are still at risk. the charity has warned that this failing could cost lives as michelle roberts reports. being on the right medication and knowing how to use it is vital if you have asthma. so too is having regular check—ups and getting tailored advice on how to manage your condition. this year‘s annual asthma care survey shows most people with asthma aren‘t receiving this basic care, that‘s around 3.6 million people in the uk. in 2015 in the uk, nearly 1,500

people died from asthma attacks, the highest level in a decade. according to asthma uk, two in every three asthma deaths could be avoided with better care. most patients think the care they receive is satisfactory or excellent, but few get the full package of basic care. nhs england says every asthma patient should be supported to manage their condition and offered regular reviews. and it‘s notjust medical staff who need to do more, according to asthma uk, who say people with asthma must take responsibility for their own care too. dinosaurs haven‘t roamed the earth for quite some time but a famous diplodocus is about to embark on something of a road trip. dippy the diplodocus, a 70 foot long plaster—cast replica made up of 292 bones,

is set to leave the natural history museum in kensington later this year. a six person team will start a three—and—a—half week dismantling of dippy on thursday before it will travel around museums across the country. tim muffett reports. # everybody walk the dinosaur # open the door, get on the floor # everybody walk the dinosaur. ..#. dippy is 21 metres long and made up of 292 bones. dippy is a plaster cast replica of a skeleton found in wyoming in the usa in 1898. dippy has been viewed by more than 90 million visitors. dippy will be going on a two—year tour around the uk and will be replaced here by the skeleton of a blue whale. we are a little sad because dippy sort of feels like an old friend, part of the family. # i walked a dinosaur #.

it gives people an opportunity to see an amazing dinosaur that perhaps they would not be able to see at all. # open the door, get on the floor # everybody walk the dinosaur. ..#. kat nilsson is the head of national programmes at the natural history museum. she explained how difficult the process of dismantling dippy would be. we have a fantastic conservation tea m we have a fantastic conservation team who are really skilled and they will do an amazing job on taking dippy part so he can be boxed up taking dippy part so he can be boxed up and sent around the uk. i have absolute faith in the team that

dippy will be safe as he will have new armature. he can go to all at venues across the uk and inspire the next generation of scientists and reconnect the nation with nature. something like that is really inspiring. like many, i remember going to the natural history museum asa going to the natural history museum as a young child and seeing dippy there. it is one of the memories which has always stuck. why decide now to move him? well, we have a whale going in his place. the reason why we are putting a whale in is it talks about the sustainability and the real challenges our planet faces. it is a time for refreshing, a time for rethinking and that is why dippy is being taken out and the whale is being put in and it will also an opportunity to share dippy with the nation. he is part of the

national collection so he belongs to eve ryo ne national collection so he belongs to everyone and he should be at their meeting everyone and really inspiring everyone to look at nature and how we connect with nature and the fact that we need to study it to understand it, so we can secure the future of the planet. a two—week—old orangutan‘s made her debut at a zoo in america. she hasn‘t been named yet, but her birth is already being called significant, as her species is considered critically endangered. keepers hope she will help to raise awareness about the threats facing orangutans in the wild. ina in a moment, the news at one with simon mccoy that first a weather update. good afternoon. the weather will feel decidedly chilly over the next 24 hours. mild air will never be too far away. over the next few days,

the milder air will make a return. back to the here and now. we have a cold front sinking its way southward and westward is with the odd spot of rain. it is to the north—east really cold air is working in. for many of us, we are seeing sunshine at out to the far north—east there are some shower clouds gathering. anywhere exposed to the fairly strong westerly wind will catch some showers this afternoon. the far east and north—east of scotland and the eastern side of england, some rain showers, snow showers and sleet showers, snow showers and sleet showers though the high ground. it will feel cold and the wind. come further west, a lot of dry weather on sunshine. still some cloud left across the south—west. the odd spot of rain here. temperatures ranging from four to 8 degrees. at chilly feel for the day. showers will continue to pepper the east coast, particularly into lincolnshire and east anglia. out west, dry weather

and clearing skies, that means it will turn very cold. towns and cities widely below freezing. out in the countryside, some places will get down to —7, possibly minus eight degrees. a very cold start to do tomorrow morning. there could be the odd patch of freezing fog. for most people tomorrow is a beautiful day with crisp winter sunshine. the odd spot of rain and some showers down the east coast. then change as we go through thursday night into friday. a frontal system out west will bring some rain in on friday morning. further east, closest to this area of high pressure, there could be some dense fog to start the day. before the rain arrives, another chilly day in the south—east. a much milderair chilly day in the south—east. a much milder air out west. 11 degrees in belfast. at the weekend it looks rather cloudy, some dry weather but

with some patchy drizzle and it will feel a fair bit milder. a parting shot — britain‘s outgoing eu ambassador attacks the government for ‘muddled thinking‘ in its approach to brexit. as sir ivan rogers quits ahead of break—up talks, arguments over whether those involved in the negotiations should believe in brexit. we should have somebody leading for the uk who clearly believes that the outcome can be beneficial to the uk. i think that makes us all believe what we already suspected, which is the government does not have a plan. we‘ll have more on this growing brexit spat. also this lunchtime: shares in next dive, as the retailer reports falling christmas sales and warns of ‘great uncertainty‘ post—brexit. an israeli soldier filmed shooting a wounded palestinian attacker is convicted of manslaughter. a bbc investigtion uncovers the private ambulance crews responding to emergencies afterjust an hour‘s training. and: one of our dinosaurs will be missing.