Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC Newsroom Live 20170913

And australian actress rebel wilson is awarded more than £2. 5 million in damages after winning a Defamation Case against a celebrity magazine. Good morning. Its wednesday 13th september. Im annita mcveigh. Welcome to bbc newsroom live. Londons fire commissioner has said that the Grenfell Tower fire must be a turning point in fire regulation calling for sprinklers in all High Rise Council flats. A bbc breakfast investigation which focused on half the uks council and Housing Association owned tower blocks found thatjust 2 have full Sprinkler Systems. Tomorrow a Public Inquiry into what happened at grenfell begins. It will look at how the fire started, why it spread so quickly and the actions of public authorities before and after the fire. Graham satchell reports. The fire at the cell tower raised fundamental questions about the maintenance of council run tower blocks and what is needed to make them serve. Safe. In a foia request we found that only 2 of council one tower blocks have Sprinkler Systems fitted. Gear 2 is a shockingly low number. Danny cotton led the service at grunfeld tower. What about retrofitting . I clearly support retrofitting. Where you can save one life then it is worth doing. It cant be optional or a nice to have this is something that must be in place for the future to protect people. Recommendations to protect people. Recommendations to fit sprinklers have been made before. Six people were killed in a fire here at 2009. The recommendation for the coroner in the National Inquest was just simply ignored and absolutely nothing happened. It is very clear that we have a system of regulation over the fire safety of tower blocks that is systemically simply not working. The enquiry needs to get to the bottom of why that is and what has gone wrong. This is a sprinkler test. It is triggered when heat directly underneath reaches a certain temperature. A study by the National Fire Chiefs Council says that where sprinklers are fitted they extinguish or control 99 of fires. So why arent they fitted in more homes . The main reason is cost. In croydon, for example, the local authority plans to retrofit 25 tower blocks with sprinklers. £10 million, the cost. I wouldnt want money from central government, the government says it is the responsibility of the council. In wales, the lord james last year. Council. In wales, the lord james last yea r. Every council. In wales, the lord james last year. Every newly built flats must be fitted with a spring the system, wales the first country in the world is to make that change. Sprinklers have been around since 1886, and in the building industry we havent used them successfully so if you arent going to use them with goodwill, as we have done in wales we should mandate to use them to keep people safe. In the streets around Grenfell Tower, they are still memorials, and survivors like me del alvarez want realjustice and change to come from the enquiry. Sammy had to pay for what they did to us. Myself, i could be in ashes inside of the building. My hope is that we see a change in the policies around fire and also the people of safety. The government wants to make sure a fire like at grenfell never happens again. Lets speak now to tom gilbert, a fire risk analyst and associate director of frankham Risk Management services. Good morning. Lets begin with looking at the facts around fires in ill doings with and without sprinklers. What does the evidence tell us about the effectiveness of sprinklers in saving lives . Springers are very, very effective at preventing death once the fire and starts, importantly they dont stop fires starting. Evidentially you look across the pond at the United States where springers have been part of their firefighting measures in buildings like this for a long time. We get around and 8085 a long time. We get around and 80 85 decrease in fatalities where they are installed. Where they actuate properly. That percentage gain . 80 and 85 depending on which reports you read. When they activate properly you receive quite a high number, i ran 99 , but importantly they do gets taken off line, dont necessarily work the way they are meant to do in certain cases, and this is where we see the death rate increased slightly in buildings that are fitted with sprinklers that have operated effectively. Clearly they can be effective, based on those percentages. We make certain assumptions about where the file will start spread in when they are installed. Something the industry has looked at with their one actor in particular is the fire spread in the building. With the grenfell case. With an external facade like we saw at grenfell, and in places like to buy, sprinklers can be overrun quickly and can be ineffective in the sort of spread we saw at grenfell. Obviously it depends on the circumstances but more importantly do we in your opinion need an enquiry to begin retrofitting tower blocks built before 2007 when it became compulsory for sprinklers to be fitted in buildings higher than 30 metres tall . Absolutely, there is an absolute case for the retrospective fitting of sprinklers across the building environment in buildings and 30 metres plus, a requirement in this country. If you consider scotla nd this country. If you consider scotland than it is a requirement at 18 metres and if you look at wales it is any residential building, a bungalow, three bedroom semi or high rise block of flats. Many where you live in the United Kingdom the regulating environment will reflect differences. It is important that it is all covered by this same by safe the legislation, i would absolutely support retrofitting them. What is important is that it may not be possible to retrospectively fit them in all cases and it would be up to the responsible person, council or private landlord, to make decisions, have studies undertaken to make sure that retrofitting them is appropriate. In the interim to make sure the building is safe, regarding things like compartment asian, the exteriorfacade of the things like compartment asian, the exterior facade of the building, cladding and things like that. Fire doors, compartment asian common fire doors, compartmention with in the flats. It is something i have said it is day one, there are a lot of organisations who have a lot of high rise buildings immediately concentrating on retrofitting sprinklers in those buildings as an output of the Grenfell Tower disaster. It is although high rise blocks of flats received eight larger number of fires than any other sort of premises, they have a statistically lower number of the galaxies when the fire occurs. That is because of the way they are designed, there is no way of getting out of the block so we protect the individual flats to make sure that people can get to evacuation routes. Looking at buildings like bungalows which are inherently occupied by the elderly, although they experience a lower number of fires they experienced as statistically higher numbers of fatalities if fires occur, which to me means it is clear that in reality we should look at a demographic of the occupancy of any individual building which councils should be doing and then seek to spend money where they actually have the largest impact at reducing deaths that occur as a result of fires and statistically speaking that isnt in high rise block of flats, but in places like bungalows, believe it or not, Sheltered Housing schemes, Residential Care homes, where people cant evacuate on their own where they may not be able to walk or require assistance to get out. High rise blocks are something we should absolutely look at as a result of grenfell but it is important is that responsible people dont take their eye off the holistic profile of spending reducing fatalities and injuries as a result of fires. Thank you very much, very interesting to talk to you. The National Audit office says the governments welfare reforms are likely to have contributed to rising levels of homelessness in england. Its report claims that in the last six years, in temporary accommodation, including 120,000 children. Theres been a 60 rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation, including 120,000 children. The department for communities and local government says tackling homelessness is a complex issue. Marta newman reports. Homelessness in england is on the rise and the reasons are varied from a lack of social housing to less affordable private rental properties and even a reduction in housing benefit are being blamed. The number of families in temporary accommodation is up 60 since 2011, while rough sleeping has more than doubled to over 4,000 counted in one autumn evening. But this report paints a picture of a system that isnt fit for purpose, being overseen by ministers who have little interest in tackling it from simple things like assessing the impact of how many welfare reforms could exacerbate the problem. Well, what were seeing is a rise in all measures of homelessness in urban areas of the country. So what wed like to see is a proper co ordinated cross government approach between central and local government to try and tackle this because its very expensive for the public purse and it is a tragedy for the homeless households as well. While homelessness costs more than £1 billion a year, usually administered by councils, the report criticises ministers as paying little attention to how the money is spent. In a statement, the department for communities and local government said they will continue to invest £550 million tackling the issues until 2020, but it will shortly outline plans to eliminate rough sleeping entirely. Lets get reaction to this report. Im joined now by polly neate, chief executive for the housing and Homelessness Charity shelter. Thank you forjoining us this morning. 60 in six years, thats a striking statistic. In your opinion, from the people you who you help and who you talk to, how much of this increase is down to changes to welfare and benefits . A huge amount, really, because the safety net if you like or the money that we as a society provide for families whose falling incomes dont keep up with rising house prices, that whole safety net has been picked apart and in particular the local housing allowa nce in particular the local Housing Allowance has been frozen which means that as rents have soared, incomes in real terms that have fallen whether they be out of work. The safety net that makes up that gap has been frozen so it is not actually at all surprisingly in that situation that we are seeing increasing numbers of homeless families. Debris commendation that families. Debris commendation that families like this might sound themselves in, must be a real strain on the stock of temporary accommodation i presume, given the 60 rise reported. That in turn leads to poorer quality of housing used as temporary accommodation, families having more frequent moves, and when you think about children having to keep changing school, not knowing where they are going to be living under the strain that that puts on the aspects of family life, it is pretty much intolerable, actually, and quite often families can be in temporary accommodation forfar can be in temporary accommodation for far too can be in temporary accommodation forfar too long as can be in temporary accommodation for far too long as well, because there simply. The other issue as well as benefits is there simply isnt enough Affordable Housing around. We are talking about building Affordable Housing but far too often we are still fixated with affordable to buy. We have two stop seeing only in your own home as the only successful way to live in a property. We have many families who will always rent and that isnt a problem but we dont have the system in place to support families to do that. That is a very much british thing, rather than continental, where rental and is much more common. The National Audit office is accusing the government of having a light touch approach. It says that the department for work and pensions has failed to evaluate the impact of the benefits changes on homelessness. It is difficult to understand whether the department persisted with that light touch in the face of this problem. A real rebuke from the audit office. What are you saying to government at the moment . What are you looking for them to do in the short run a media turn . In the immediate term we have a budget not too far off and we call upon the government to end the freeze on local Housing Allowance. That would make an enormous difference and would also mean that what the government keeps saying they are doing is in preventing the homelessness reduction act whilst this is important, but when they freeze on local Housing Allowance that act like achieve its potential. It wont actually help the families that they and we want to help. Polly, thank you very much for your time today. Wages in britain are growing at the rate of 2. 1 , according to the latest official figures. It means salaries are failing to keep pace with inflation, which last month rose to 2. 9 . The data, from the office for National Statistics, also found employment between may and july this year rose by more than 180,000. More than three quarters of working age people in the uk found jobs during the period. The president of the European Commission, jean Claude Juncker, says he thinks the uk will soon regret its decision to leave the eu. Speaking in his annual state of the Union Address to the european parliament, he said the eu will regret brexit too, but it will move on because brexit isnt the be all and end all of europe. Mrjuncker said recent threats to the European Union posed by the migrant crisis and the rise of populism had diminished, and he urged eu Member States to embrace reforms and forge new trade deals. 0ur europe reporter adam fleming is in strasbourg. Adam, this was a upbeat speech from mr yunker wasnt it . As you said, his team at the commission how happy they have seen of the eurozone and greek crises. They have got a handle on migration and managed to prevent any countries heading out the exit door so far, and also preventing the brexit negotiations interfering with the eu day to day business. There was even speculate that he wasnt going to mention the brexit word at all. Turns out he did. He suggested that romania who will host the rotating presidency of the eu in 2019 in march when the uk leave the eu, he suggest they host a summit on brexit dated celebrate the 27 members remaining in the eu. He talks about brexit day and this is what he said when some british meps started a balding brexit in africa are prodding brexit in the Government Chamber behind me. March 29, the date when the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. This will be a sad and tragic moment in our history. We will always regret this but. Applause and i think you will regret it too, soon, if i might say. Applause number lest batterer nonetheless, we have the respect the will of the british people but we will make progress, we will keep movement, we will move on because beckett isnt everything, not the future of europe, not the be all and end all. Applause the future of europe asjean Claude Juncker sees it is all sorts of deeper integration. He wants every country part of the eurozone and the schengen borders, combining hisjob with the president of the council who chairs the summits, he wants to have new agencies do ensure workers rights. The action summed up in the words up to meps i spoke to. One centre right from finland said it was great, just what we need, more integration so every euro being spent more wisely. A eurosceptic fromjimmy said it spent more wisely. A eurosceptic from jimmy said it was spent more wisely. A eurosceptic fromjimmy said it was a spent more wisely. A eurosceptic from jimmy said it was a horrifying pathway to united europe. Basically the two views you will get in the building to the state of the union speech. More than 1000 people are still without power after the first named storm of the season. Gusts as high as 70 Miles Per Hour hit South West England and south wales overnight, but no serious damage has been reported yet. The highest gust of wind 83 miles an hour, the needles at the isle of wight. Now some sport. Good morning. Celtic boss mike worst home defeat in europe last night has been compounded by more bad news. Uefa have charged the club after a fan invaded the pitch during their five nil thrashing by paris st germain in the Champions League. Psts new talisman, neymar, got the opener at glasgow. He set up the second and then two from cavan a sealed and impressive win for paris. We were just too far defensively off them, and not tight enough, or close enough, and then secondly it was disappointing in how we retained the ball. From the midfield to the front, we didnt keep the ball for long enough. If you do that against what could be the best team in the world at the minutes, then they will punish you. Jose mourinho criticised his majesty united team for trying to play fantasy football. They still enjoyed a comfortable three nil win. England will end a four year wait to face the double world champions new zealand after announcing they will host the all blacks in next year but like autumn internationals. They last beat new zealand in 2012 of losing four times to them in 2014. They will face them in the second match of the autumn series at twickenham seeing them also host south africa, japan and australia. In netball, ink and have missed out ona in netball, ink and have missed out on a first series win against new zealand after a 6255 defeat in hamilton this morning. The sad lead with 26 by the Silver Silver ferns took control of the second quarter, 81 series win. A 2 1 series win. More sport later. The foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has arrived in the caribbean to visit the worst hurricane hit british 0verseas territories. Mrjohnson will see the relief effort first hand, visiting affected communities and meeting local officials. Its understood he will travel to the British Virgin islands and anguilla. The trip follows criticism from people in the caribbean and senior mps that the uks response was too slow. Meanwhile, the first british holiday makers stranded in the us and the caribbean have started to arrive back in the uk this morning. Since last week, more than 12,500 flights, including thompson, British Airways and thomas cook have been cancelled. Officials in florida say a quarter of homes in the keys area have been detroyed by irma. Dave guest is at Manchester Airport for us. Hello, dave. What stories have you heard . As you might expect, people travelling back on florida in particular visiting resorts, coming back with children, found it scary, but felt mostly safe. They just stayed in their hotels and villas. Manchester was due to receive five flights in total from manchester was due to receive five flights in totalfrom florida manchester was due to receive five flights in total from florida today. Earlier this morning to of those flights were cancelled but others have been arriving. Some arriving at 7 20am this morning recounted their experiences for us. The first 11 days it was fine, and then the harry kane 5 happened hurricane happened, we all gods hurricane happened, we all gods hurricane advice. Instructions sheets, telling us whats to do, we we re sheets, telling us whats to do, we were without power for 20 hours and were without power for 20 hours and we we re were without power for 20 hours and we were supposed to come home on sunday but sadly of course we got stuck on sunday, and there were palm trees brought down in rhode island, and we couldnt get out of the states. There were trees uprooted all over the place of honour raining, windy, really windy. The kids slept in the cupboards. We had put pillows everywhere. The kids we re really put pillows everywhere. The kids were really scared. They had quite big cupboards in the villa said they slept in there. It wasjust big cupboards in the villa said they slept in there. It was just the noise, the wind was howling. We just wanted to keep them away from the windowsjust in case we, we had the baby in the cot in the cupboards as well. It has been a worrying time for relatives back in the uk, and we have a couple of flights coming in here to manchester from cuba today, i was speaking to a lady earlier waiting for her daughter. She said it had been an nightmare to get information out of cuba, lots of delays in people getting out, but some thought they might have been able to get out before the hurricane struck. Lots of stories coming back as holiday makers arrive back from those harry kane ravaged areas. Hurricane. A court in australia has awarded the actress rebel wilson more than two and a half Million Pounds in a Defamation Case. She successfully argued that a series of magazine articles had wrongly portrayed her as a liar. Injune, a jury unanimously sided with ms wilson, who claimed the articles stifled her career in hollywood. She said she would give the money away. With me now isjenny afia a privacy lawyer who is head of entertainment at schillings law firm. Thank you forjoining us. How significant is this . Quite significant. It really shows how much importance of the law attaches to reputation nowadays which is com pletely to reputation nowadays which is completely right. It recognises that if you are tarnished, with false allegations published about you, it can be really horrendous to deal with. Are you surprised that the financial award was perhaps not even greater given that the rebel wilson had argued her career had been affected by these allegations . think it is about right. The court gave a proportion for the general damage and distress suffered as a result of the false claims, and then reflected the loss of say one movie contract and to me that sounds about proportionate. What sort of impact will this have on celebrity magazines who undoubtably will look at thisjudgment . Magazines who undoubtably will look at this judgment . Will it make a difference to the stories two they we re difference to the stories two they were run, how they behave . difference to the stories two they were run, how they behave . I hope it will deter some of the worst type of stories. He doesnt particularly focused on the fact this came an anonymous source who they said had anonymous source who they said had an axe to grind and hopefully magazines when they are weighing up whether they should proceed with stories should take that into account and just how much harm can be caused by false claims. Jenny and i thank you very much. At 12 oclock today we will have Prime Ministers questions, lied when that begins, but in the meantime we will have much more on the days main stories. In a moment we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc do that first that have a look at the Weather Forecast. Here that first that have a look at the weatherforecast. Here is simon. The winds were strong this morning, and for many others they woke up in the night. Destruction abounds, trees down, power lines, too. Things are improving and the strongest of these winds have cleared off into the north sea and what we are left with isa north sea and what we are left with is a mixture of sunny spells and some showers. Some of those are blustery, with more persistent rain across eastern areas, chilly across northern parts. For the evening, the wedderburn moves south. It will introduce rain across midlands and wales, eastern part of england into thursday morning. Temperatures down at about nine or 10 degrees, chilly first thing, but that rain gradually moves away to the south, and we will see some sunshine coming through. Then, some showers, in, merging together to give long spells of rain across the far north west of scotland. Those temperatures are down compared to today, a northerly wind meaning maximum temperatures are 13 18. Thats it from me, goodbye. This is bbc newsroom live with annita mcveigh. The headlines at 11. 30. 0n the eve of the grenfell inquiry, a bbc investigation has found that just 2 of the uks council and Housing Association owned tower blocks have Sprinkler Systems. The public spending watchdog has said that a 60 rise in homelessness is likely to have been driven by the governments welfare reforms. European Commission President jean Claude Juncker has said that the wind is back in europes sails after the financial crisis and that the uk would come to regret brexit. Uk employment remains at its lowest since 1975 at 4. 3 , but wages have dropped in real terms by 0. 4 . Uk unemployment. Celtic have been charged by uefa after a fan invaded the pitch in their match in the Champions League last night. In rugby union, england will end a four year wait to face the double world champions, new zealand, after announcing they will host the all blacks in next years autumn international. And england have mist out on a first series win against new zealand in netball after a 62 55 defeat in the third and final test in hamilton. I will be back with more on those stories at 1 30pm. In damascus, the syrian leader president assad has held a meeting with russias defence minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss the fight against terrorism. The russians now claim that 85 of syrian territory has been cleared of illegal armed groups. 0ur correspondent Steve Rosenberg is the only british tvjournalist with the russian army at an airbase near latakia, and hes sent this report. This is the russian airbase near latakia. It is the heart of russias military operation in syria. An operation which has changed the course of the war here. Its nearly two years since moscow launched its intervention in syria and now the russian army has invited a group of journalists here to give its perspective on how the operation is going. Translation as of today, 85 of syrian territory has been liberated from militants of illegal armed groups. Weve taken off from the airbase on a Russian Military plane and were heading somewhere, i dont know where, because when youre on a guided tour around syria with the russian army, they never tell you where theyre taking you. So weve been brought to a school in the city of aleppo to show that life is returning to normal here. We thank russia and the president of russia, president putin. Need peace, love peace. Working for peace in all the world and we are really, really thankful for russia and the president of russia. Its quite clear that a large part of aleppo still lies in ruins but what the russian army is trying to demonstrate by bringing us here, even if it does feel a little stage managed, is that gradually life is returning to this city and that russia is playing a part in that. Unemployment fell by 75,000 to 1. 46 million between may and july, taking the Unemployment Rate to its lowest level since 1975. The office for National Statistics says average pay increase by 2 but taking inflation into account, people are now earning less tha n into account, people are now earning less than a year ago. Suren thiru, chief economist at the british chambers of commerce, joins me now from westminster. Good morning to you. Take us through the factors behind this fall in unemployment first of all. It is clear from the latest data that the ukjobs market clear from the latest data that the uk jobs market remains clear from the latest data that the ukjobs market remains a bright clear from the latest data that the uk jobs market remains a bright spot for the uk economy. Job creation is still moving at a fairly fast rate. But beneath the surface, average earnings remain very weak and we are seeing inflation rise at a faster rate, which is squeezing Consumer Spending, a key driver of uk growth. What were also seeing is the hiring vacancies in the uk and as a sign of the higher level the Skills Shortage we face in the uk. We hearfrom our own members did talk we have done a study with a university that shows more than half of businesses across the uk have faced a labour or Skills Shortage across the last year. That is interesting because it does beg the question, if the uk wants to employ more british people, rather than bring people from elsewhere to work here, how is it going to match an employed british people to the skills that are needed . The question around skills has been quite a long one for many businesses across the uk and it is across all sectors and all skill levels. What is key is closing that skills gap. 0ne all skill levels. What is key is closing that skills gap. One area around the brexit about is how do we get a long term immigration system that better suits our Economic Needs and is flexible to changing economic situations over the next couple of yea rs. Situations over the next couple of years. It is interesting looking at the statistics broadly, unemployment falling to its lower thousands 1975, which sounds like a good thing, but those in work are not necessarily content with that because of inflation and the rate at which their pay may be increasing or not relative to inflation. We saw yesterday inflation rise of the joint highest in five years, 2. 1 , which is putting a squeeze on Consumer Spending, a major part of Economic Growth in the uk. However, we expect inflation to stop beating the end of this year at around 3 and start drifting back down in the next couple of years. That happens, the squeeze on Consumer Spending may ease over the next couple of years but it will still be there which means growth will still be subdued. Good to talk to you. Thank you very much. The funeral of the former catholic archbishop of westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy Oconnor is taking place this morning. He died on the 1st september, aged 85. Daniela relph is at westminster cathedral. The full requiem mass will be held here at westminster cathedral, beginning at midday today, expected to last a couple of hours. Cardinal Cormac Murphy 0connor was a man who didnt like Cormac Murphy 0connor was a man who didntlikea Cormac Murphy 0connor was a man who didnt like a lot of fuss and extravagance in life but there is quite a lot of fuss for the funeral today. There are going to be leaders of the Catholic Church, 47 bishops, more than 300 priests and deacons, as well as a number of politicians and dignitaries here to remember the life of Cardinal Cormac murphy 0connor. He was a leader in the Catholic Church during some very difficult, Turbulent Times and that will be reflected during toures mass, it wont be ignored. He was a man who, whenever you talk to anybody about was over being a good communicator, very affable, having a real glint in his eye and much irish wit about him and that made him extremely popular across the faiths. But it was also somebody who very much wanted tourays funeral mass to be in his image and in the days and months ahead of his death, he had cancer and knew that it was a terminal illness. But he was able to plan his Funeral Rites and planted av plan his Funeral Rites and planted as mass so he is very much contributed to what is going to be seenin contributed to what is going to be seen in the cathedral here today. He has chosen particular hems and readings and todays mass is very much in his image. Thank you very much. Lets get more on the cap on Public Sector pay rises in england and wales being lifted. Ministers will now get flexibility to bridge the long standing 1 limited up the announcement comes as the government said Police Officers will get a 1 rise plus a 1 bonus, with Prison Officers getting a 1. 7 rise, both from existing budgets. Arrow system Political Editor norman smith has the details. Downing street have announced that the Public Sector pay cut will end next year. We got the first instalment with the announcement yesterday that the pay cap for police and Prison Officers is to be breached. The question of where is the money to come from to pay for breaching the pay gap across the sector. Im joined by the former cabinet secretary 0wen paterson. Work with the money come from . Either from taxation or from borrowing and we should remember that although we are massively better position than we were when gordon brown left of the £300,000 a minute, we are still borrowing £88,000 per minute and before we increase public spending, forecasts that will grow to £110,000 a minute so we still have to keep tight control of Public Expenditure because each of these pounds has to because each of these pounds has to be borrowed or taxed and that has to be borrowed or taxed and that has to be paid for by people in the private sector. Isnt the danger that the government has raised expectations among teachers, nurses and others that they can expect their pay to go up that they can expect their pay to go up next year and that may be very difficult to deliver . The government has been quite clear that theyre going to stick to the advice of the pay review bodies which gives them a shield and these two bodies recommend these two Public Sector areas should get a modest increase but we have to go back to the incredibly simple facts that we are spending 42 of gdp and only raising 36 in taxation and we have to borrow the rest and the longer we go on, we are going to go on dumping a debt on ourselves, our children and grandchildren. Last year, Government Debt interest was the fifth largest area of Public Expenditure, costing 48 billion, and we cannot go on spending beyond our means. Given that, can the government afford to end the Public Sector pay cap next year . I think it will have to be veryjudicious and see where that money comes from because it might mean cutting back on equipment or, andi mean cutting back on equipment or, and i think Public Sector units have to recognise this, cutting back on recruitment. The danger, though, surely is that politically, having given a signal that the government is listening and understands austerity fatigue, actually austerity fatigue, actually austerity is going to have to continue and even the sort of pay clamp down, perhaps not in its current form, will also have to continue . I think theyve got a shield with the public pay review bodies but if you compare what weve done over the last two years compared to the republic of ireland, we havent touched austerity and they saw really massive cutbacks in public pensions, Public Employment and state funded projects so we really cannot and state funded projects so we really ca nnot ta ke and state funded projects so we really cannot take our foot off the brake. We are still borrowing £88,000 a minute and are forecast to go back up to £110,000 a minute next year. Win over the current settle m e nts year. Win over the current settlements for Prison Officers and Police Officers, the money is to come home within their own budgets. To using that should remain the approach for other parts of the Public Sector next year . Yes, i do because otherwise we willjust be inflating this balloon of debt and increasing the debt interest which is the fifth largest item of Public Expenditure last year. The longer this goes on, the longer we dump the debt on our children and grandchildren. Owen paterson, thanks very much indeed. We may get more details about the governments approach to the Public Sector in the budget in november, when it is expected that the chancellor will sketch out his thinking on what to do about the Public Sector pay cap. Lets look at some of todays other developing stories. Detectives have released another cctv image of the man who knocked a woman into the path of a bus in london earlier this year. The woman was walking across Putney Bridge shortly before eight oclock on the 5th of may when the malejogger pushed her, sending her sprawling into the road. Police have appealed to the public for any information which may help identify the man. The cctv still of the jogger is taken from the number 430 bus which narrowly avoided the woman. He is described as a white man, aged in his 30s, with brown eyes and short brown hair. Mothers who go into labour early should be given antibiotics to prevent passing on any potentially deadly infections to their babies. Thats according to new guidelines from the Royal College of obstetricians and gynaecologists. Group b strep is the most common cause of life threatening infection in premature babies, with 500 contracting it in 2015. The government has won a vote that will ensure the conservatives have a majority on key committees despite not having a majority in the commons. The leader of the house, andrea leadsom, said the arrangement with the dup meant the government had a working majority and should be able to make progress with legislation. Labour accused ministers of a power grab. More than a third black or ethnic minority employees have been bullied, abused or singled out at work, according to tuc research. 0nly work, according to tuc research. Only one in five reported the bullying and felt their complaint was properly dealt with. The union is calling for employers to take a zero tolerance attitude and develop a clear process for investigating every complaint. Is clear many of the people upon a survey felt afraid to report, and that tells me they are worried it will give them a bad name and get back emotional pay rise of theyre seen as a troublemaker so it is really important that employers are clear that it is the abuser who was the problem not the victim. The tuc general secretary frances 0grady there. A study of attitudes towards jewish frances 0grady there. A study of attitudes towardsjewish people suggests a quarter of the population has abuser could be viewed as anti semitic but overall the research reckoned level of prejudice in the uk were lower than anywhere else in the world. The study was commissioned by the institute for jewish policy research. Five sailors are missing after two boats collided in the waters off singapore. The collision took place between an indonesian registered tanker and dominican richard were registered tanker. The tanker was damaged on one side but none of its 26 indonesian crew members were injured. Airand 26 indonesian crew members were injured. Air and Water Operations we re injured. Air and Water Operations were under way to try and find the missing. For a full summary of the news, you can go to our website, where you can get more details of all of todays main stories. Myanmars leader, aung san suu kyi, has decided not to attend the annual meeting of the Un General Assembly in new york, amid criticism of alleged atrocities against the countrys rohingya muslims. Nearly 400,000 rohingya have fled to bangladesh in the last three weeks. Her spokesman said she had to stay and deal with the escalating crisis. A senior un official says the amount of money needed to help the refugees had risen sharply. 0ur south asia correspondentjustin rowlatt is into neill of the bangladesh and Myanmar Border and told us that they were receiving worrying reports of people drowning in their effort to escape. Apologies in advance for the break up on his line from bangladesh. These fishing boats are the way lots of Rohingya Refugees may a tea to bangladesh must have a travel from mr on these boats, around the bay of bengal and it isa boats, around the bay of bengal and it is a really perilous journey. They have to sacrifice what few possessions they have to make the journey and once they are a see it is very dangerous. We understand that a few hours ago, one of these boats sank and we are going down to find out what happened. Awful scenes bodies washing ashore. More evidence of the plight of these people and the scale of what is happening, because the latest figures are that 370,000 refugees have made this journey across me an mark so far. The fact that these boats. It really is a huge, huge humanitarian crisis that is unfolding here. You will have seen the scenes already of chaotic scenes around food trucks, with food being thrown out by bangladeshis and desperate rohingyas reaching out, fighting to get the food. In my view, really quite demeaning scenes for people forced to beg, having already made journeys. It is evidence that the aid operation herejust doesnt journeys. It is evidence that the aid operation here just doesnt seem to be working. Ive been here for about a week and virtually every refugee as speed two says theyve had almost no contact whatsoever. The aid agencies are here. In the hotels, there are representatives of the aid organisations and they do wa nt to the aid organisations and they do want to do their best. There was a terrible dilemma. There are 400,000 refugees here in bangladesh, who came before. Talking about another 500,000. The government is anxious to make it seem to present it is this is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and they are worried about dealing with they are worried about dealing with the scale of a crisis like this. Apologies again for the issues with the sound on that report. In a moment, a summary of the business choose this hour but first the headlines on bbc newsroom live. Londons fire commissioner says the Grenfell Tower blaze must be a turning point calling for sprinklers in all High Rise Council flats. The number of homeless families in the uk has risen by more than 60 and is likely to have been driven by the governments welfare reforms, the public spending watchdog has said. Brexit will be a sad, tragic moment for the eu that the uk will soon regret, european Commission President jean Claude Juncker has said. Im ben thompson. These are the top business stories. Unemployment in the uk fell to 1. 46 million in the three months tojuly, taking the overall Unemployment Rate to 4. 3 thats down from 4. 4 . But wages are still lagging behind rising prices, meaning a real terms cut in pay for many workers. Apple has revealed its high end smartphone, called the iphone x. It has no physical home button, but uses a facial recognition system to recognise its owner rather than using a fingerprint. But it will have a hefty price tag of £1,000 when it goes on sale on november 3rd. Uk Budget Airline easyjet is to let customers use its website to book long haul flights with other carriers. It says it is the first Global Airline Connections Service by a european low fares carrier. Easyjet is teaming up with norwegian and westjet to offer flights to north and south america, as well as singapore, from gatwick. Weve had another update on the jobs market this morning and the figures show unemployment in the uk fell by 75,000 in the three months tojuly. That takes the jobless rate down to 4. 3 . Thats a new 42 year low. But a squeeze on incomes continues. Wages were 2. 1 higher than a year earlier thats little changed from the previous months rate. And with inflation hitting 2. 9 in august, its joint highest in more than five years, wages are failing to keep up. And it means in real terms, weve all had a pay cut. Jane foley is a senior strategist at rabobank. We have talked about squeezes, but that the prices are going up, our wages arent going up as much and so we are worse off in the pocket it up we are and the 0ns puts a number on that for todays data and says this month wages are down 0. 4 in real terms, when inflation is taken into consideration. If you push that the time of the financial crisis, that means we are 3 brora in terms of our purchasing power of our wages and that is a conundrum for the bank of england because yesterday we had that strong cpi inflation data, up 2. 9 , well above their target, but it is not coming through in real wages so what were seeing is inflation going up because of import costs, because of last years fall in sterling, and our purchasing power is not keeping up. We are getting poorer and that means consumption and demand at home is probably going to be relatively weak. That is the issue, what we all start to feel it, because we get to the point where we think, ive got less money in my pocket at the end of the week, that they know was going to buy from the supermarket or the restaurant i was going to go to, i cant afford it this week. Thats exactly it. Many of us will have to buy the same amount of food we were buying at the start of last year. After we estes as it is, we have less money for Everything Else and this is why a lot of economists about the growth will remain sluggish in the uk this year, because consumption demand is likely to be quite low. Whether or not we will make up for that with exports because of the weak sterling or whether we are going to see more investment, after all Global Growth is quite strong, growing to be seen. But many economists remain quite pessimistic about the outlook for the uk economy in relation to europe and that is largely because of the impact on inflation on our pockets. Briefly, what will the bank of england make of this . The bank of england make of this . The bank of england meeting is tomorrow. There was a difficulty here, that there is at least two members likely to vote foran at least two members likely to vote for an immediate rate rise tomorrow. That is because of the high level of inflation but others, including governor carney, say this is not the time to raise rates because of this impact on consumers pockets. Thanks for explaining all of that. Lets show you what the market numbers are doing. Ive put dunelm on the board to talk a bit unusual because they have warned that the future is looking pretty tough. If we have less money in our pocket we are less likely to go out and spend and the dunelm group that makes Home Furnishings on things like that say they are really worried about what happens next and whether consumers will feel the squeeze. Apple are down 0. 4 , some concern it is a lwa ys down 0. 4 , some concern it is always the same story they have launched the new iphone, are there enough to go around . Will limit demand . What does it mean for suppliers . We will talk about that later. In the next few minutes Prime Ministers questions will be getting under way. Its the last pmqs before the Party Conference season. 0ur assistant Political Editor norman smith is in central lobby and is ready and waiting and on stand by for all of it. What with Public Sector pay and power grabs, it has the potential to be quite a fractious pmqs, doesnt it . There is a huge amount for both sides to go out because there has been a really busy week or so since parliament came back from summer recess. I think mr corbyn will almost certainly go for pay. We had a bit of his argument yesterday at the tuc but i think he will be back on the attack over that. Today, trying to hammer home the message that austerity hasnt really ended, that the increase for police and Prison Officers are still doesnt match the rate of inflation, there is no promise for other Public Sector workers, just that in areas where there are pinch points in terms of staff retention, they may get more down the line, so expect mr corbyn to pile in an pay. He makeover power grabs, too, because there was me a lot of argument about whether the government is trying to ram through brexit by trying to sideline parliament, in part by the withdrawal bill that gives ministers the power to change legislation without necessarily having to consult mps. 0n the conservative side, you can bank on it that some tory mps will get up and site todays unemployment figures, down again to the lowest level since 1975, back to the era of the bay city rollers and david essex. What else might she go on . She might goad Jeremy Corbyn over his Single Market model. You remember he got a little bit of confusion about whether he was leaving the door open to labour backing continued membership of the Single Market. Plenty for both sides to go at. I love how norman manages to go at. I love how norman manages to work the bay city rollers and david essex into that answer time now for the Weather Forecast with simon king. Storm aileen rattled a few windows overnight last night and as it moves eastwards, it is going to move into northern parts of the netherlands and northern germany, rattling more than a few windows. Some very strong winds expected but for us across the uk, things are a bit quieter. 0vernight, it did bring some pretty strong gusts of wind, up to 60 mph. In avonmouth we saw a gust up to 70 mph and these wind strengths brought some disruption this morning. Trees we re some disruption this morning. Trees were down and there was a lot of debris on the roads and some power cuts as well to after the storm, we have some sunshine and this was the scene recently in kent. Many of us enjoying sunshine at the moment, still blustery conditions, especially where you have showers across the Western Areas, which will drift further eastwards. But across scotland, in eastern scotland more persistent rain will last well into the afternoon. Pretty cloudy, pretty cool the afternoon. Pretty cloudy, pretty cool, pretty wet across much of northern scotland. Maximum temperature is about nine to 11. A mixed of sunny spells and showers in Northern Ireland and through much of england and wales, there will be lengthy dry spells with sunshine between but you could catch the odd shower moving through. But with fairly gusty winds, blustery conditions, they will move through fairly quickly and temperatures getting to 15 to 17. Through this evening and overnight, this weather front across the north will move further southward and continue to bring showers, longer spells of rain into the midlands, eastern parts of england, wales as well. Turning quite chilly behind that weather front, temperatures down to about nine to 11. Pretty chilly across the south. Through thursday, a rather brisk north wind with further showers and sunny spells between. Showers becoming more scattered into the afternoon, but with that rather risk northerly wind it will feel a bit chilly at times. Maximum temperatures 13, 14 in the north, 16 to 18 in the south. Friday, again, that mixture of some sunshine and showers but on friday, some of the showers but on friday, some of the showers will be particularly heavy, especially across england and wales. More dry weather with a bit of sunshine across the north. Into the weekend, High Pressure situated to the west. A weather front towards the west. A weather front towards the east but we still have the northerly airstream, which will continue to bring in a few showers over the weekend. Some sunny spells, scattered showers but, again, feeling on the cool side. See you later. This is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday only 2 of council owned tower blocks have full Sprinkler Systems, a bbc investigation finds. Londons fire commissioner says they should be mandatory. This cant be optional, it cannot be a nice to have. This is something we must have and it is something that must be in place in the future to protect people. The 60 rise in homelessness in england is due in part to the governments welfare reforms, says the spending watchdog. The president of the European Commission says europe is bouncing back after the Global Financial crisis and britain may soon regret its decision to leave. The Unemployment Rate is down to its lowest level since 1975, but wages have fallen in real terms. This is the scene, live, in the house of commons where Prime Ministers questions will be coming up shortly. Also. Borisjohnson visits the british 0verseas territories in the caribbean hit by Hurricane Irma. The foreign secretary will spend the next few days visiting the worst hit areas but faces criticism about the uks response. Australian actress rebel wilson is awarded more than £2. 5 million in damages after winning a Defamation Case against a celebrity magazine. Straight to the hazard thomas moore Prime Ministers questions. Im sure all of our thoughts remain with those affected by Hurricane Irma. As i told the house last week we had a navy ship reposition in the region and humanitarian experts coordinating response. Since thursday the government response has been coordinated regularly bringing together military aid and consular effort and today i announced additional £25 million to support recovery ever further to the £32 million of assistant finance last week. We have about 1000 military sure all members join sure all members join me sure all members join me in. Sure all members join me in paying all members join me in paying tribute nbers join me in paying tribute to ers willjoin me in paying tribute to the artwork of people military and civilian an incredible job in difficult circumstances. This morning i had ministers meetings, and will have more. Thank you, i would like to echo the words of sympathy for the families and the children affected. 0xford west and abingdon has a vibrant local economy but reliant on the University Science streams, it is set to strength if we shrink if we lead the european community. Isnt the time for frankness about the dangers of leaving allowing people a say when we finally know the full facts of brexit . I had to say do the honourable lady that her view of what will happen when we leave the European Union is not the right one and if she is telling her. If she telling her constituents that 5 121125 e . 112533~§21§4£€~i she needs to think she 2 f e f l7, 5 l5 5 to 5 5 5 5 ,7, 5 5 5 to with. 5 5 5 5 ,7, 5 5 5 to with. Work with the needs to work with. Work with the government to ensure we get the deal as we leave the European Union that gives us access to many things, bringing trade deals and prosperity and jobs. Mr speaker many of my constituents feel that yorkshire has not had its fair share of the transport infrastructure take over recent yea rs transport infrastructure take over recent years especially compared with london and the south east. Will the Prime Minister therefore promise to significantly increase the proportion of transport infrastructure spent in the north generally and in yorkshire specifically in this parliament . Perhaps my right honourable friend can perhaps my right honourable friend ca n start perhaps my right honourable friend can start as she means to go on by ensuring we get the much needed and long awaited shipley eastern bypass. My honourable friend raises a point and never ceases to the concerns of his raise the concerns of his as he rightly should in committed to this house. We are committed to making sure the whole country gets the chance whatever structure it needs and that is not about, i want to reassure him, not about making a choice between north and south and thatis choice between north and south and that is why we are carrying out one of the biggest investments in transport in the region for a generation, spending £13 billion northern transport in this and parliament, that is the largest in government history. As regards the shipley eastern relief road i believe there is a decision to be taken believe there is a decision to be ta ken by believe there is a decision to be taken by the local authority but we do want to see these sorts of improvement is being supported and thatis improvement is being supported and that is why we have allocated up to £781 million for the West Yorkshire plus transport fund to deliver local priorities. Jeremy corbyn. 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People have been hit hardest disable people have been hit hardest by taxes government has made stop in response to the references made to the uk response to Hurricane Irma i can assure him that uk response was a speedy one, we already had military personnel reposition coming and going in to anguilla first of all to make necessary repairs ensuring the hospital there could continue to operate. It was able to do that straightaway. 0f continue to operate. It was able to do that straightaway. Of course we recognise that the devastation that has taken place means that there will be a significant need for reconstruction in those British Overseas Territories and of course other members of the caribbean countries have been hit and we will honestly look, to start the reconstruction, one that is right, and of course we will work with overseas and of course we will work with overseas territories to ensure we are able to see those countries actually brought to life once again. And people are able to have a good economy and a good life. Relating to the questions about disabled people i have to say to the right honourable gentleman that over the time that we have been in government, we have been seeing more disabled people get into the workplace, we have focused crucially on the support we are giving to disabled people on those who are most in need, and we have increased the amount of support that is being given overall to disabled people. So again the picture that he presents is not a fair one. Jeremy corbyn. The United Nations committee says, andi the United Nations committee says, and i quote, that Government Policies have caused grave and systematic violations in the rights of disabled people. We have seen punitive assessments and sanctions cuts to disability benefits, and the bedroom tax that has hit disabled people, 4. 2 million of whom now live in poverty. At the weekend, mr speaker we were told that the Public Sector pay cap had been dropped. On monday the Prime Ministers spokesperson said it would continue as planned. Yesterday they said the pay cap was over. Then we later found out that police and Prison Officers still face a real terms pay cut. Can we have the midday position today to mark . Cut. Can we have the midday position today to mark . I would like to remind him and we spent £50 billion on peoples benefits and disabled people. Our capacity is the second highest in the g7 and i think we should look again at this. Relating to Public Sector pay i said to him i think last week when questions were raised about this that there were two further Public Sector review bodies that had to report and the response from the government was forthcoming. Those were for Prison Office rs forthcoming. Those were for Prison Officers and Police Officers, they reported, and as we have accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies across the Public Sector, we accepted them for those two groups as well. We also recognise as i have said before to him that we need to ensure that we balance out protecting jobs in the Public Sector, being fair to Public Sector workers, and being fairto Public Sector workers, and being fair to taxpayers who pay for it, memory of whom are Public Sector workers. There is a need for greater flexibility, as we look at the issues are Public Sector pay in the future. We will work on this in the lead up to the budget, in the rivets for the pay review bodies for 20182019. Does the Prime Minister understands that inflation at 2. 9 , and anything less means that dedicated Public Servants are worse off again and have been made worse off again and have been made worse off every year for the past seven yea rs. Off every year for the past seven years. Yesterday the Prison Officers association werent impressed either with the 1. 7 of saying it is a pay cut, not acceptable. We discovered mr speaker that they have been offered, the police as well, a slightly smaller real terms cut in their incomes, and the news that this will be funded by more service cuts. Can the Prime Minister guaranteed no police or Prison Officers will be lost as a result of the decisions she has made this week . What the right honourable gentleman fails to remind people is that these pay review bodies who have reported and recommended these sums of pay are independent bodies, they make a recommendation to the government, and the government has taken those government, and the government has ta ken those recommendations. Government, and the government has taken those recommendations. He has also failed to mention one or two other things, failed to mention the automatic pay increases over and above the 1 that many Public Sector workers get, indeed, a coalition suggest that a new Police Officer in 2010 thanks to progression pay an annual basic salary increases and the increase in the personal allowa nce the increase in the personal allowance that is a tax cut for people are actually seeing an increase in their pay over £9,000 in 2010, a real terms increase of 32 . Jeremy corbyn mr speaker, there are. There are 20,000. Far Jeremy Corbyn mr speaker, there are. There are 20,000. Far too much noise in the chamber we wont get through the questions at this rate. Jeremy corbyn. They do that is bigger. There are 20,000 fewer Police Officers and 7000 fewer Police Officers and 7000 fewer Police Officers and 7000 fewer Police Officers than there were in 2010. 43 of police stations have closed in the last two years alone. Police budgets have been cut by £300 million. But the chancellor is absolutely on the money on this one, literally, because last week at the 1922 Committee Meeting he told conservative mps. Laughter he told conservative mps. He told conservative mps. No mortgage, everybody with a pension, never had more money in the current account. A conservative Prime Minister, a conservative Prime Minister, a conservative Prime Minister once told britain you have never had it so good. Now tory mps tell each other weve never had it so good. Can the Prime Minister tell us what has happened in the last seven years us what has happened in the last seven years to the average persons bank account . Can i say to the right honourable gentleman that i am very registered he talks about ordinary he talks about what the situation is that they face. This is his fourth question. He has not yet mentioned the employment figures today. That show unemployment at the lowest levels since the mid 19 70s, and employment, people in work, people taking home a wage, a salary, to support their families, at record levels. The highest levels since records began. Jeremy corbyn. The only problem is more people in work are in poverty than ever before. More are in insecure work. More are relying on tax credits and housing benefits to make ends meet. Consumer debt rises by 10 as wages are falling. Household savings are lower than at any time for the past 50 years. That is the conservative legacy. Mr speaker, a young woman called aisha wrote to me last week. She says. She says i have recently graduated from university. I have a hefty amount of debt on my head. However. She goes on, mr speaker. I cannot understand why conservative mps and want to listen to this question. I really cant. Iwill persist. She goes on, i am scared about the future of other young people, people who have always dream of being a nurse, who can no longer trained to become one. Her government, with the support of the lib dems treble tuition fees. Will the primers that take the opportunity this afternoon to vote against another tory hike in student fees . Well, i had to say to the right honourable gentleman once again there are a few things about peoples circumstances it has failed to mention. Things that the government has done, think that the government has done, think that the government has done, taking 30 million, a tax cut to 30 Million People. That means, for a basic rate taxpayer £1000 more in their pocket. That is what sound management of the economy of a conservative government delivers for people. But the right honourable gentleman talks about delivering for students. Lets talk about delivery. Lets talk about promises that are made. He promised. Order order there is far too much noise on both sides of the chamber. Remember for brent central, i think you need to steer clear of whatever you had breakfast. The right honourable gentleman promised workers to protect their rights, and on monday he let them down. He promised students that he would deal with their debt, and he has let them down. He promised the british people that he would support trident, and he has let them down. He promised voters he would deliver on brexit and he has let them down. What people know is that it is the only conservatives that deliver a better britain. Jeremy corbyn. Mr speaker at the institute for fiscal studies and reports that english graduates have the highest student debts anywhere in the world. The poorest students now graduate with an average debt of £57,000 who is responsible but her party and the liberal democrats . Mr speaker, we are in the middle ofan liberal democrats . Mr speaker, we are in the middle of an economic slowdown. The obr says there is a growing risk of recession under her watch. Growth is slowing, productivity worsening, wages falling, jobs becoming more insecure, personal debt increasing, saving levels are falling, and homelessness rising all over the country. And it is forecast that by the end of this parliament 5 million children in this country, the fifth richest country in the world, will be living in poverty. Isnt it true that not only is our economy at breaking point but for many people its already broken as they face up to the poverty imposed by this government . Order yet again he has failed to mention on student fees who it was that introduced tuition fees. Wasnt the conservative party but the labour party who introduced tuition fees. But lets look at what has happened, lets look at what has happened in our economy. What do we see . Record levels of direct investment in the british economy. Firms investing in this country because they believe in the future of this country. What we also see from the employment figures today, more people in work than ever before. We see more women in work, we seek more 16 24 year olds in work or in full time education than we have seen before. That is what you get with a Strong Economy and what do we know . What do people know . That the labour party with its high debt, high taxes, you arejobs, the labour party will only destroy our economy as they did last time. We had to sort it out, the only people who paid the price for the labour party are ordinary working families. Thank you, mr speaker. Britain to the countryside is the most spectacular in the world. It is cared for by our farmers. Given todayis cared for by our farmers. Given today is the nfus back british farming day will my right honourable friend join me in recognising the huge contribution farming makes to our economy and our country, and in her clear determination to deliver a brexit that works for britain will she insure it is a brexit that works for britains farmers as well . she insure it is a brexit that works for britains farmers as well . I am cfiz join £33. 37 join my honourable very happy to join my honourable friend in marking that british farming day to recognise norm is an important time to reach and made by the food and farming industry to our economy. As he implies in the question, leaving the eu does give us and new opportunity for british agriculture with policies designed for our Agricultural Industry that actually took the United Kingdom and our countryside and environment. And can provide better value for the taxpayer. So yes, i am can provide better value for the taxpayer. So yes, iam happy can provide better value for the taxpayer. So yes, i am happy to back the back british farming day, and yes, we will make success of leaving the European Union for ourfood and farming industry. Ian blackford. Thank you, mr speaker. Since 2007, annual real wage growth in the oecd has been an average of 6. 4 . Can the brahmin estate went to the house how the uk has measured up over the same period . Can be brahmin is that explain . It might be interesting for the memberto explain . It might be interesting for the member to describe the economy in scotland. I seem to recall it isnt doing as well as. Order their body should yell from a sedentary position. I had been doing my best to nurture the honourable gentlemans rights to statement ship, but he supports me at every turn. At every turn. Calm, propose, stated like behaviour. Statesman like. Stated like behaviour. Statesmanlike. I think we should look at the academy under an snp government. The snp government is failing the people of scotland and the people of scotland now have a strong voice in this house through our 13 conservative members of parliament. Mr ian blackford. Thank you mr speaker, i was under the impression this is question is did the Prime Minister. Cheering one might ask if Ruth Davidson might a nswer one might ask if Ruth Davidson might answer a question . the uk economy has been significantly worse than almost every other country. Real wages in the uk have fallen by 2. 6 since 2007. Wages arent going up, the cost of living is rising, Household Budgets are stretched. Mr speed of the government can find the money for quantitive easing, 435 billion since 2009, but they cant find the money for fiscal measures to grow the economy. This is a government that does not understand how to use economic levers for the people that are paying the price. Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for the government gross mismanagement of the uk economy . I notice in all of that rather lengthy question. Never once did he record the increase in employment that is taking place across the United Kingdom, what the figures showed today. He also started off by standing up and complaining that i had referenced the acts of the Scottish Government. He believes in independence, believes that scotland should only believes that scotland should only be run by the Scottish Government so i think the scottish people deserve to look and in this house we deserve to look and in this house we deserve to talk about what the Scottish Government is or is not doing for the people of scotland. The one thing i can tell him and others is that the scottish economy and the livelihoods of the people of scotla nd livelihoods of the people of scotland are better off in the United Kingdom. We have some very excitable denizens of the house today. They ought to take some management will this speaker, residents in the World Community have been angered by a seemingly endless stream of travelling chapmans. Will the brand minister look at what government can do more to help local authorities close these illegal cabman to more quickly and at less cost to local taxpayers . Quickly and at less cost to local taxpayers . Encampments. Quickly and at less cost to local taxpayers . Encampments. He has raised an important issue but not an issue you need to his constituency of wales, but felt by many members across the house and we are concerned about unauthorised encampments and the effect they have when they leave communities. There isa when they leave communities. There is a wide range of powers available to authorities and police and we wa nt to to authorities and police and we want to see them working together with local landowners, and we keep theseissues with local landowners, and we keep these issues under review and be right honourable friend in the Community Sector will meet with my right honourable friend to discuss this. Mr speaker, four years ago after the death of her mother, my constituent alistair became the sole carer for constituent alistair became the sole carerfor her constituent alistair became the sole carer for her three siblings. Now, her elder sister has gone to university and melissa has had a child of her own. Despite saving the state, she is ineligible for a short start grant and child tax grant. This is an anomaly or kinship carers. Will the brahmin is the correct this in the autumn budget . There are certain rules in place for these situations. The honourable lady has raised various aspects of it, i suggest you are doing so i look at the details. Bats she writes to me. I will happily meet the new conservative member of the West Midlands went deep dari allowance. When my diary allows. Midlands went deep dari allowance. When my diary allows. Last week in the face of stiff competition birmingham defeated liverpool and won the award for the Commonwealth Games in the West Midlands, excellent news for the economy not only for birmingham but also for the greater West Midlands including litchfield. Would my right honourable friend speak, and i see she is sitting next to him, to the chancellor to ensure he backs the bed as well, and then for britain to ensure birmingham wins the Commonwealth Games over kuala lumpur question . Im Commonwealth Games over kuala lumpur im gratefulfor his question. I have noticed that my honourable friend apparently is shortly to appear on friend apparently is shortly to appearona friend apparently is shortly to appear on a channel 4 programme called celebrity first dates. Laughter what i am not sure about is whether my honourable friend is the celebrity or the first date. He has raised the issue of the time of games and are busy bee, games are being hosted in the uk in twenty20 do words it with drugs and a brilliant opportunity for the common law. Birmingham must devastate value for money in the bid but subject to that i have no doubt that birmingham will continue the uks rich history of hosting successful supporting sporting events. Mr speaker, crime involving mopeds and bikes has soared across the country in recent years. Given yesterdays underfunded real terms pay cut to the police, it will actually cost us more front line officers, can i suggest to the Prime Minister that the best she can do is change the law to protect Police Officers if they are driving according to their training and experience when pursuing and responding to blue lights, and send a message to the house that no force should operate a blanket no pursuit policy. Two police protective everyday isnt it high time the isnt it high time the police are protected as they protect us . Each cheek on the ball will make operational decisions in their own force. On other issues he raises, crime relating to mopeds and it clearly, this is an issue of funding issue puts it. It is not an asu funding. It is an issue of how to respond those crimes. The policing minister held a round table on this issue yesterday to look at how we ensure the Police Respond fully to it will stop thank you mr speaker. would like to thought the banister with her talk to the Prime Minister with my already ongoing to get the third week in a power station built quicker in evesham . My honourable friend is containing silently campaigning tirelessly for his constituency. We need affordable, clean energy to keep lights on and in the decades ahead, and he is absolutely right that Nuclear Energy an important part of the energy mix will stop regarding that particular site. I believe next to the existing power station, one of the eight sites in the uk designated for new nuclear hills. Mr speed of the house on the brahmin is the will remember the days of my constituent whose daughter is under threat of female genital mutilation from an abusive ex partner. I want too thank channel 4 news for breaking the story, and i like to thank the minister for intervening foran18 thank the minister for intervening for an 18 month reprieve. Blonde uncertainty is what this girl needs. Will be Prime Minister look again at this case and allow laura and her family to stay long term in livingston . She rose this case before and the immigration minister was in touch with and as she has said to the house, following up on branson and rigorous review, this woman has been granted leave to remain in the uk as the honourable lady set out. I wa nted the honourable lady set out. I wanted to Say Something about the female genital mutilation issue because she raised that and the concern about the daughter and the threat she might be under. This is an absolutely abhorrent crime and a lot has been done by the government to deal with the fgm issue, but we cannot tolerate this practice and our work to tackle fgm is an integral part of our violence against women and girls strategy, which we published in march last year. I think we all accept, though, that we do need to do more to ensure that we do need to do more to ensure that young girls are not subject to this horrific abuse. Thank you, mr speaker. Does my right honourable friend agree that the party opposites cynical attempt to block the eu withdrawal bill on monday shows that they are still only interested in playing party politics, rather than delivering the best dealfor ourfuture, politics, rather than delivering the best deal for our future, which politics, rather than delivering the best dealfor ourfuture, which is what my constituents and the majority of this country want to see . She is absolutely right atop most people in this country want to see the government doing what we are doing, which is getting on with delivering the best deal for brexit. There was a certain amount of noise on the opposition benches when i said earlier that the right honourable gentleman, the leader of the opposition, had let workers down by failing to protect their rights on monday. But that is exactly one of the issues there. What i was about was bringing workers writes, eu legislation, here into the uk, and he voted against it. Thank you very much, mr speaker. As the Prime Minister was leading survivors of the manchester terror attack, families who were heartbroken to have lost their children were also in the vicinity but they were not visited by the Prime Minister. Chloe rutherford and liam curry from South Shields tragically lost their lives. The parents feel ignored by the Prime Minister. I wrote to her seven weeks ago with their concerns but shes failed to respond. When will shes failed to respond. When will she properly acknowledge their loss . Cani she properly acknowledge their loss . Can ijust she properly acknowledge their loss . Can i just say, she properly acknowledge their loss . Can ijust say, the honourable lady has raised an important issue. Im not aware of her letter, so i will of course look into that immediately today, to see why she has not received a response, and i can only apologise to her for the fact that she has not received a response yet. At the time, and i continue to acknowledge, that that attack in manchester damaged lives in many ways to talk those who were injured and who may be living with the consequences of their injuries, those who lost loved ones, who lost relatives, who lost friends, will be affected by it and, of course, there are those lives that were sadly cut short at all too young an age. What we all must do is ensure we are providing support for the victims but we also must ensure that we have the power as far as authorities and Police Authorities and agencies are able to prevent attacks in the future. But i will look into the issue of the letter because, as i say, she should have had a response already and im sorry that seven weeks have gone by and she hasnt. Following a successful offshore europe is exhibition last week in aberdeen, can a primerto europe is exhibition last week in aberdeen, can a primer to give me and my constituents reinsurance butter bought the oil and gas industry will be at the heart of the industrial strategy so we can maximise recovery in the north sea, and does she agree with me that the biggest threat to the industry would be the instability of a second step of independence referendum . Divisive independence referendum to talk we have given significant support to the oil and gas industry. I was pleased the months ago to visit aberdeen and the Technology Centre for the oil and gas industry, which is doing really interesting work, looking not just which is doing really interesting work, looking notjust at the existing fields that decommissioning work and how they can export their knowledge and expertise across the world, but he is absolutely right to talk what people want, what businesses want, is the certainty of knowing that scotland will remain in the uk and there wont be a second independence referendum. Parents tell me that when youll be returned to schools and colleges last week, in some cases they found that almost half the cooks and cleaners had gone. The Cambridge News reports that pubs in the area wont be able to serve food because they cant find the Skilled Staff to do it. Isnt it ironic, taking back control isa isnt it ironic, taking back control is a further grow to the Great British pub . Can the Prime Minister tell us what planet is put in place to help institutions deal with this chronic and acute sudden shortage of labour . The honourable gentleman talks as if there is no net migration into this country any longer, wheres there is that migration into this country, people are coming into this country to take on work. But there is a wider issue that we need to deal with, which the government is dealing with and we have seen that in some of the announcements by right honourable friend the secretary of state education has made, which is making sure that young people here in the uk do get the training and skills and Technical Education they need to be able to take on the skilled jobs of the future. Today is world sepsis day. Sepsis claims at least 44,000 lives a year in the uk and earlier this year i almost became part of that tragic statistic. Will the Prime Minister look at what more the government could be doing to support awareness and raising programmes so that we can catch sepsis more quickly, treat it more effectively and save more lives . Im sure i would echo the feeling is that everybody across this whole house has in saying that we are pleased that my honourable friend managed to battle sepsis and come through and win that particular fight, and battle sepsis and come through and win that particularfight, and i commend him for his recovery, but also commend all those who supported him in that fight and that battle, including the excellent medical staff who provided him with the care he needed. Is absolutely right atop the estimate is that 10,000 deaths a year could be prevented by an earlier diagnosis of sepsis and we do need to get better at spotting it. We will be publishing a new sepsis action plan, the nightspot Quality Standard is due to be published this week and is going to be publishing guidance forfront line staff. The nice Quality Standard. In the last census there we re standard. In the last census there were 3000 aberdonians who said they we re were 3000 aberdonians who said they were bored in nigeria and recently the Un Human Rights Office reported concerns about threats to people in northern nigeria. I know the foreign secretary recently visited the country. Could she tell me what government is doing to encourage the countries bear to live in peace . We do make efforts on a number of fronts in relation to this and we are beginning to get support nigeria ina are beginning to get support nigeria in a brighter ways and there is a significant diaspora of the book with connection that heritage in nigeria here in the uk and she is right that the foreign secretary has blurted nigeria, and we continue to work with nigeria and one of the things i think is important is working with nigeria on the state of their economy to ensure that communities across nigeria can build security for the future. Yesterday, the shadowjustice security for the future. Yesterday, the shadow justice secretary security for the future. Yesterday, the shadowjustice secretary refused four times to condemn illegal strike action and labours Biggest Union paymasters seems to agree. Such illegal action would, of course, cause misery for millions of people across the country. Does my right honourable friend join me in condemning illegal action, and does she agree with me that it is we conservatives who understand that this great country was built on the principles of democracy and the rule of law . I thank her for her question and she is absolutely right. I was struck this week to see that len mccluskey, or perhaps mahatma, as his friends call him, had said, if they need to act outside the law, so be it. I have to say that ijoin my honourable friend on this side of the house. We are very clear, we condemn illegal strikes and action outside of the law. The people who suffer from these strikes are the ordinary working families who cant get their children to school, who cant access the Public Services they need, and who cant get to work. Once again the price of labour is paying for ordinary working families. Owing to recent changes to Maternity Services in my constituency, a vastly increased number of pregnant mothers are having to make and over 200 mile return trip to give birth. You can imagine how dangerous it is in the depths of a highland winter. While i recognise this as a devolved matter, but i nevertheless ask the Prime Minister for advice but i nevertheless ask the Prime Ministerfor advice as to but i nevertheless ask the Prime Minister for advice as to how i can help sort out this desperate situation . , said the honourable gentleman, obviously he is right to speak upon behalf of his constituents in the highlands. He has referenced the fact that health isa has referenced the fact that health is a matter for scotland as a devolved matter, so of course it is for the Scottish Government to make full use of their powers available to deliver Health Care Services people in scotland deserved it up i think the people in scotland will be sorry that the Scottish Government is failing to deliver for them in relation to Health Services and, of course, this week we mark the 20th anniversary of the votes to create the scottish parliament, so it is particularly notable. But as the honourable gentleman takes his place in this house, can i welcome him to his place in this house. I wish the best in his efforts and i think standing up and mentioning the failure of the Scottish Government in this house is part of the answer to his question. The widow of our murdered colleague ian gow has expressed dismay and disgust that hundreds of former soldiers face reinvestigation yet again about incidents 40 years ago, whilst the suspected killers of her husband walk free. Will the Prime Minister now bring forward legislation for a statute of limitations, coupled with a truth recovery process, finally to put an end to this grotesque situation, as she is perfectly able to do . Can i say first of all to my honourable friend that the overwhelming majority of our armed forces in Northern Ireland served with great distinction and we over huge debt of gratitude for what they did. Obviously, as part of our work to implement the stormont house agreement, we will ensure that new bodies will be under legal obligations to be fair, balanced and proportionate, and this will make sure that our veterans are not u nfa i rly sure that our veterans are not unfairly treated and will recognise the fact that 90 of the deaths in the fact that 90 of the deaths in the troubles were caused by terrorists and we should never forget that fact, but our focus is on ensuring that the investigative bodies responsible for looking at deaths during the troubles will operate in a fair, balanced and proportionate manner. Today is also backed welsh farming day and nfu cymru estimated agriculture contributes 60,000 jobs in wales as well as £0. 5 billion at how will farming be able to continue that once the International Trade secretary opens up domestic markets to lower Standard Food while simultaneously losing unrestricted access to our biggest market . simultaneously losing unrestricted access to our biggest market . I back britain farming day and i back those farmers in wales as well and ive been pleased in recent months to visit farmers and sit down and talk to farmers in wales. What we are doing in relation to the eu is looking to leave the European Union with a good trade deal which will enable trade to take place on as friction free and tariff free basis as possible and that will be good for welsh farmers. But we also want to ensure, and i think there are opportunities for welsh farmers, fritz walter around the rest of the world that we can insure with our trade deals for the rest of the world. Mr speaker, tomorrow i will have a great honour and privilege of hosting in this place a celebratory event marking the 50th anniversary of the multiple sclerosis society. We will be welcoming partners from across the world who have come together over that half century in order to tackle and defeat that pernicious condition. And i invite my right honourable friend, as Prime Minister, to send both are good wishes to the ms society internationally, as the celebrities aboard a milestone, but also commit the government, as it has done over the government, as it has done over the last few years, to work across the last few years, to work across the departments in order to ensure that those with ms have both maximum support and also the encouragement to get back into work, which so many of them wish to do. I thank him for raising this issue im very happy to join with him in sending absolutely our best wishes to the ms society, andi our best wishes to the ms society, and i know from my own family the impact that multiple sclerosis can have. The subsided as campaigned tirelessly for google with ms and i am pleased that he has posted this. We have seen progress over the last 15 years. The department of health has made a big available the neurological research, which includes ms, but this is not an issue which is just for the department of health. It is important, as we doing doing the department for work and pensions, to look at helping people with ms back into the workplace because many of them wants to be able to be in the workplace and provide for themselves and their families. Four years after teenager Christina Edkins was tragically killed by philip similarly, a man who was acutely ill with psychosis and had only recently been released from prison, the chair of the independent panel has expressed his extreme concern are vulnerable prisoners are still being released from prison without adequate support. Will the Prime Minister gave it her urgent priority to ensure that we guarantee that there is proper support, proper continuity of care and the sharing of information between prison and mental Health Services to reduce the risk of another tragedy taking place . The right honourable gentleman raises an important issue. On mental health, he has campaigned long and hard and made a huge contribution in doing that. But what i would say to him is, this issue of the relationship between Health Services and prison is a long standing one. Efforts have been made, and there has been some progress made, in improving that relationship in relation to the responsibilities of the department of health, the nhs, in prisons to ensure that exactly the of crosscutting action can be taken but we will continue to look at this. Studio a lengthy session of Prime Ministers questions still continuing but going back to the beginning of the session, Jeremy Corbyn taking on the Prime Minister on the question of the pay cap and those rises, pay rises, announced for Prison Officers and Police Officers. Jeremy corbyn said, does the Prime Minister understand that inflation is now to buy my and dedicated Public Servants are now in effect worse off . Theresa may responded by saying that the government had accepted recommendations on pay increases made by independent bodies, so that was one of a number of issues that they tackled one another on. This was the last pmqs before the Party Conference season. Lets move onto one of our other main stories. A bbc investigation has found that just 2 of council owned tower blocks in the uk are fully covered with Sprinkler Systems. The findings are from a freedom of information request covering around half of the tower blocks in the uk. We found that 68 of tower blocks have just one staircase and 30 have some form of cladding. A Public Inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower begins tomorrow. The london fire brigade commissioner told us the figures are shockingly low and says if the inquiry doesnt recommend retrofitting sprinklers to all tower blocks it will have failed. I support retrofitting. Where you can save one life, it is worth doing. This cant be optional. Cant bea doing. This cant be optional. Cant be a nice to have. This is something that must happen and it must be in place for the future to protect people. Lets speak now to alan brinson from the european fire sprinkler network. It is clear what londons fire commissioner thinks about the use sprinklers. What is the evidence tell us about how effective they are in saving lives where they are fitted . We have had statistics from the us, where they have been used for decades and high rise buildings, and they show that they reduce the incidence of death by over 80 , on top of all the other measures that are sensible like smoke detection and fire doors and so on to talk so, and fire doors and so on to talk so, a very effective means of fire protection. Do you think they might have made a difference in the rental situation, when the fire went up the exterior of the building . The fire didnt start of the exterior of the building. We understand it started ina building. We understand it started in a refrigerator which was by a window and spread from there into the cladding. It is unclear whether spengler could have not that out. Irrespective of that, in your opinion, do you think we need enquiries to order that the tower blocks should be retrofitted with Sprinkler Systems . Cheese of what we do know from other countries that if they have had sprinklers in them, nobody has died. Out total evidence shows that this makes a difference and if grenfell had been knew it would have had sprinklers in it. It is an old building. The concept of fire safety, that fire stays on the flat where it started, feels quite often in older buildings and sprinklers are a means to prevent the fire moving outside even the room where it started the fire moving outside even the room where it started i understand that you think the threshold should be lower. 2007 was when it was ordered that it should have sprinklers fitted in new tower blocks over 30 feet. Other countries, 80 metres in scotland, about six stories, all new flats in wales. We have seen with evidence, a nalyses wales. We have seen with evidence, analyses done by other independent experts that there was an economic kissable sprinklers in all blocks of flats and qualitatively thinking about it, if there is a fire in a flat there was a reasonable chance it will impact of the people of the same building. In a house, there is much more separation so you are safer. We have evidence that high rise fires are more dangerous than building fires, fires and other types of buildings, so we think this is the right way to go. We should reduce that threshold and put them in all new blocks of flats. Other marked differences between the public and private sector in terms of the approach to fitting spengler systems . Of the approach to fitting spengler systems . Well, the private sector follows the regulations so it will put sprinklers in buildings higher than 30 metres but quite often they have been putting them in low rise buildings and that is because of games they get in terms of the layout of the building. They have been doing that to. I understand that following the groenefeld tragedy, another of developers have just decided they are going to put sprinklers in all the new flats they build. Thank you very much. The headlines for you on bbc newsroom live. Londons fire commissioner says the Grenfell Tower blaze must be a turning point calling for sprinklers in all High Rise Council flats. The number of homeless families in the uk has risen by more than 60 and is likely to have been driven by the governments welfare reforms, the public spending watchdog has said. Brexit will be a sad, tragic moment for the eu that the uk will soon regret, european Commission President jean Claude Juncker has said. Performative to feminist and nick clegg has revealed his 15 year old son was treated for blood cancer. The former deputy Prime Minister nick clegg. He and his wife told itvs nick clegg. He and his wife told Itvs Lorraine programme but it was the toughest thing to find out their son antonio had hodgkins lymphoma last september after the teenager found a small, painless lump in his neck. After receiving nhs treatment including four cycles of chemotherapy and steroids, they said he is in remission. Some breaking news is coming into us. The private Health Care Company spire has agreed to payjust over £27 million into a fund to provide compensation to around 750 victims of the robert breast surgeon ian paterson. He was the surgeon who carries out unnecessary breast surgery in nhs hospitals and the private sector. Spire health care announcing today that it is going to pay £27. 2 million into a fund to provide compensation to around 750 victims of ian paterson. More than 10 Million People in the uk played video games online and one of the most successful titles for children is mine kraft. The Company Behind the construction game is about to launch a new update but it has raised some concerns about pa rent has raised some concerns about parent or controls and privacy settings. Newsrounds ricky boleto has been finding out more. Minecraft, one of the most popular games on the planet. Since its release in 2009, its sold more than 120 million copies. In 2014, microsoft paid £1. 8 billion for the swedish creator of mine kraft based here in stockholm. Later this year the developers will launch better together, a new version of minecraft at has raised some questions. Won a major update on the way allowing fans to play on a number of different devices like the xbox one and the nintendo switch, are the team here worried about safety . Online safety is so important to us so we actually have tools and Parental Controls in place for parents to take an active look at who their kids are playing with. At the onus is still very much on pa rents at the onus is still very much on parents and adults to change the settings, which isnt always straightforward. If someone is really bothering you, you shouldnt play with them. If youre on a realm, that means you can un whitelist them. If you are on other services, there are also other ways that you can block players that are not playing with you the way you want to be played with. Like many games on the market, minecraft is coming more social. Players can access different servers to share their builds, sometimes with strangers. Disabling chat mode to block all communication isjust one way to deal with that problem. What about the amount of time children are spending playing the game . You could definitely put a limit and a number on it but i think that number would be different for different people. Ina in a moment, the news at one with Sophie Raworth but first the weather with a lead ed jenkins. This time last year it was the warmest day of the year and the hottest september day in over 100 yea rs. Hottest september day in over 100 years. 34. 4 celsius recorded in gravesend, kent, and while there are blue skies around this afternoon a very different feel and places struggling to get much above 17 or 18 at the highest. Readily storm aileen has pulled eastwards towards the low countries, taking the girls with it, particularly along the east coast. Still some persistent rain for eastern parts of scotland. That will pull away to be replaced with fairly heavy and in places under a shower stood up they will creep eastwards through the afternoon, not so many getting across to eastern parts of england but nowhere in the introductory will be quite frequent for a wow, for South West England, north wales, or merging together longer spell of rain and look of temperatures, struggling in places to get much above 12 or 13. Sunshine and showers across Northern Ireland and across scotland but they will merge together or persistent speu will merge together or persistent spell of rain as we head towards the evening, and temperatures not much higher than 11 or 12. This feature will pass up the rain across southern parts of scotland as it moves into northern parts of england and parts of eastern england. There will be some showers, which will become more confined to Western Areas and in clear skies we could get temperatures into low single figures, a touch of frost across the Scottish Islands and rural parts of england and wales. Potential for persistent rain across the eastern side of england but slowly the winds will be starting to ease down and thatis will be starting to ease down and that is the trend as we go into the weekend, still quite a cool feel to the end of the week, 15 or 16 celsius at best on friday afternoon. For the weekend, it stays rather cool but the winds will ease and we still keep this mix of sunshine and showers. A bbc investigation finds that almost every High Rise Council block in the uk does not have a full Sprinkler System to deal with fires. On the eve of the Grenfell Tower fire Public Inquiry, senior fire officers say the devices should be compulsory. For me, where you can save one life, then it is worth doing. This cant be optional, it cannot be a nice to have. This is something we must have and it is something that must be in place in the future to protect people. At the moment only 2 of Council Blocks in the uk are fitted with the Sprinkler Systems. Unemployment falls to its lowest level since 1975, but the cost of living outstrips any rise in wages. Boris johnson arrives on the caribbean islands hit by Hurricane Irma, as the Prime Minister announces an extra £25 million to help the recovery effort. The uk will soon regret leaving the European Union, says the president of the european comission