For emergency repairs on downed overhead power lines. And, in half an hour here on bbc news, the travel show goes to the usa, to meet competitors in a unique international championship. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. All four Board Members of the governments social Mobility Commission have stood down in protest at what they say is a lack of progress towards a fairer britain. Former labour minister alan milburn, who chairs the commission, said he had little hope the current government could make the necessary progress. The resignations also include the former conservative cabinet minister gillian shephard. Downing street insists it is working to provide opportunities for all. Heres our political correspondent, alex forsyth. Your chances of getting a job, finding a good school for your children, and being able to afford somewhere decent to live, issues at the heart of social mobility. And from day one in power, tackling inequality was a personal priority for theresa may. The mission to make britain a country that works for everyone, means more than fighting these injustices. If you are from an ordinary working class family, life is much harder than many people in westminster realise. But for the former labour cabinet minister alan milburn, who was in charge of monitoring the government s progress on social mobility, not enough is being done. What is lacking is transferring words into deeds. It is not about what you talk about, it is what you do. Im afraid the divisions in britain are becoming wider, socially, economically and geographically. Downing street said they already planned to appoint a new chair, so is the former ministers public resignation sour grapes or political point scoring . Alan milburn and i both care deeply about social mobility and equality of opportunities. He said that and he said you wanted to keep him on. I am not going to get into the discussions we had inside government. He had done a fantasticjob at his term had come to an end. I think it was about getting fresh blood into the commission. The education secretary went on to defend the governments record. We are seeing standards in schools rise and the attainment gap narrow, this is the difference in outcomes between disadvantaged children and their better off peers. In the report they found childrens life chances vary in different parts of england. Children with the best chance of success are in london, but rural, coastal and former Industrial Areas are being left behind. Deprived areas registered some of the highest support for leaving the european union. The government is facing criticism that it is so focused on brexit that it is ignoring the reasons which led people to vote for it. Earlier i spoke to dr lee elliot major, the ceo of the sutton trust about the what he made of the resignations. I think this issue of social mobility is such a big challenge. Alan milburn has done a greatjob in challenging the government, and i think it isjust challenging the government, and i think it is just because brexit is dominating so much of what government does, it is hard. This is a generational challenge. Literally, we are a country stuck in many ways, including journalism. The proportion of people at the very top have been at 15 . We are producing many children who dont have basic numeracy and literacy. These are profound problems so i think the government is doing good things but it could do more. Justine greening said there are a transformation or series of policies across Government Departments on social mobility. Do you accept that or is that an exaggeration . I think there are good things. We have something called the pupil premium funding. Were a country which designates funding for disadvantaged students in particular. That is a good thing but you can always do more. We need to look at how we encourage teachers to go to that area of the country that needs the most. One of the issues with social mobility is it is not only who you are born to, it is where you come from. We are witnessing an increasingly geographical divide in this country, as well as political and social division. I would agree with what alan milburn as saying. I think it is tough. At the end of the Second World War we had this boom in social mobility. I think we are entering an era of stagnating opportunity now. I think this is an issue which will not go away. One of the reasons this is hitting the headlines now is theresa may, when she first came into downing street and made that address on the steps of downing street, she made a big play about wanting to transform social mobility in this country. That would be at the heart of her agenda. Yes, i agree. But most Prime Ministers do say similar things. It is about can you deliver on the rhetoric. There are you deliver on the rhetoric. There a re lots of you deliver on the rhetoric. There are lots of things hitting the government at the moment. They have to look at teachers and apprenticeships as well. We have lots of non privileged students getting into top universities which is a big challenge, but at the same timei is a big challenge, but at the same time i think we need to strengthen apprenticeships. That is a huge challenge as well. I think in the workplace we can do more. There is a lot of inequality in the workplace. This is not a simple issue. It is a huge issue. I think the government has to do more. And a huge issue which transcends in some ways Party Political boundaries. Social mobility has been a problem in this country you are suggesting for decades and across different governments. Absolutely. Every Prime Minister since the war went to one university, oxford. Theresa may is one of those. I do think it is a cross party issues. It isa think it is a cross party issues. It is a societal issue. The thing is, if we dont do something now about it, it means there are greater problems for the next generation. One issue is if we are not helping young people today, it creates a greater lack of opportunity for the next generation. Do you think we are becoming less socially mobile and less equal as a society, or are we making gradual improvements to snack does almost stagnant at the moment. We are seeing a decline over recent decades. It depends how you measure it. What we dont know if its the government and sutton trust were not doing the things we are doing, would it be even worse . We do seem to have lower social mobility than places like australia and canada, similar societies. I think there is a lack of access to good schools and universities for those from poorer backgrounds. And increasingly i think it is about access to the workplace. Injournalism, getting those internships and work experience, we find study after study shows if you from a more privileged background, youre more likely to those opportunities. That was doctor lee elliot major from the sutton trust. Leading brexit supporters have urged the Prime Minister not to settle the uks divorce bill unless the eu agrees to a series of conditions. The leave means leave group, which contains former cabinet ministers, says brussels must end the European Court ofjustices jurisdiction over the uk. It also wants freedom of movement to the uk for eu citizens to stop when britain leaves the bloc in march 2019. Theresa may is to hold more meetings next week on the terms of the uk exit. One of those signatories was the conservative mp jacob rees mogg. He told the Bbcs Andrew Marr show that paying the divorce bill reduces the uks hand in negotiations. Its very important that we dont hand over a great deal of money, unless we have an agreement. The risk is, that we pay the money from the day we leave, and that reduces our negotiating clout, to get the trade dealfinalised, if it hasnt been done before the 29th of march 2019, and that seems an obvious point. Jacob rees mogg. Children will be able to get access to Mental Health support at schools or colleges in england under plans announced by the government. Campaigners say the measures are welcome, but long overdue. Tom burridge reports. I didnt have any therapy. One Young Persons story of suffering from an eating disorder and depression for five years. She waited two years before she got help. Ifeel i have not been properly treated for the mental side. They put me in hospital when my physical side is bad and dont treat anything else, and then they wonder why it keeps happening and i have to go back into hospital. The hospital she was sent to, hundreds of miles away, a nightmare scenario which the government now promises no family should phase. So ministers chatting here with pupils in east london are publishing plans to provide support in schools for so many children who face issues regarding their mental well being. Teachers will be trained at spotting problems early. I put excessive pressure on myself wanting to achieve high grades. And there will be new Mental Health support teams, the idea to bridge the gap between schools and the nhs. If your child has a Mental Health issue, we want to make sure you get the help much, much earlier than happens at the moment, and if possible, we want to work within the schools system, to prevent that condition deteriorating. But labour claims Mental Health care in england has been desecrated by cuts. Services are really overstretched and children are waiting years for that vital support that they need. This is a drop in the ocean and paired with the cuts that Many Services have faced. The government is facing up to the scale of the issue. It now hopes schools can spot problems and address them early. Some of the proposals in the green paper such as plans to introduce specially trained staff into schools are not new, as the chief executive of the Mental HealthCharity Young minds had been explained to me early on. That has been done in several individual schools when they choose to. What this is doing is to develop a workforce specifically for schools and to help with Early Intervention. We know Early Intervention is critical. We hear from we know Early Intervention is critical. We hearfrom parents and young people every day about the devastating effect of long waits and not knowing where to go for help. Having people in schools is written positive. However, it is the quantity of help that is concerning, when this will happen, and wanting to seek a long term strategy, not just a short term fix or a short term funding. We need to see this continue in the long term forever, if we are really going to have an impact on children and young peoples Mental Health. We talk about this Mental Health crisis among young people in particular, what are the reasons behind that . People talk about social media, the pressure of exams and so on, is it a combination of all those things . think that is the issue, it is not any one thing, it is a number of things. Those things you mentioned are absolutely true. What we have also seen is a real change in children in childhood. But also what we have seen a service is disappearing in earlier years, we have seen a service is disappearing in earlieryears, in particular, Early Intervention services. And the re welcome impact of the reduction of the stigma around Mental Health. So we have created a perfect storm in someways, of young peoples problems developing, and developing earlier sometimes, but there being no Early Intervention and early help. Those problems have escalated, and then the demand on Mental Health services has therefore increased, and those services themselves that previously we re services themselves that previously were under real pressure. So what we have then seeing if they have said we cannot help this number, so young people have got sicker still. This is their welcome. We know Early Intervention is critical. We know schools need help and are desperate for help. What we dont wa nt to desperate for help. What we dont want to see is money being taken out of one place to help another place. We wa nt of one place to help another place. We want to see services funded properly across the system, rather than a piecemeal approach. That sarah brennan, chief executive of young minds. Rail passengers travelling to and from london euston station have faced major disruption after all lines were closed. Emergency repairs are taking place on downed overhead wires. For the latest, live now to our correspondent, lisa hampele, whos outside euston. What is the latest now . More than 500 metres of those lines came down, that was on friday night. That meant they needed to do emergency repairs this morning, so no trains, no services have been going in or out of euston, until 12 oclock. At 12 oclock they started running again so this afternoon they are trying to catch up which means there are quite a few cancellations and quite a lot of disruption. But i am told the trains will be back to normal in the morning. There will be no problems with the rush hour in the morning. But we have a lot of people waiting for their services to get back to places like glasgow, liverpool, birmingham new street and manchester. The rail lines affected are at macro virgin, london midland and london overground virgin. They are main arterial routes as well as local services here. A lot of people do not seemed dismayed by this. They knew yesterday there would be disruption. They were told yesterday and they have been told they can get alternative routes and they can get alternative routes and they can get alternative routes and they can travel tomorrow if they prefer. So anyone wanting to use that ticket today, they can use it again tomorrow. But there will be a lot of delays and cancellations continuing this afternoon. Around 40,000 people who use the Service Every day and it is Christmas Shopping time now, so a lot of people are here and they are having to wait longerfor their people are here and they are having to wait longer for their trains or find alternative routes. Many thanks. The latest headlines on bbc news the chair of the governments social Mobility Commission quits along with the rest of the board, warning that the rest of the board, warning that the Prime Minister is failing to build a fairer britain. Children in england are to get access to Mental Health support in school or college and the government plans to improve services. It is 50 years since the worlds First Successful heart transplant. The service revolutionised the way heart transplants are treated. We can get the latest on the cricket and the rest of the sport. Good afternoon. I think it is the first time england fans have welcomed rain with open arms after the rain ended the days play early. From adelaide, and useless in this report. If day one had been tricky for england, day two was to prove even tougher, as first their hopes of restricting as australiass batsmen were emphatically dashed. Shaun marsh has had a stop start career. He seemed a strange selection for many, that as he completed a brilliant century, it suddenly made sense. Vindication for him, euphoria for the adelaide crowd. And when he did finally offer up a chance, this pretty much summed up englands day. Alistair cooke and james vince with a moment theyd both rather forget. A symbol of englands struggles as marsh simply piled on the misery. Australia eventually declaring an 442 8. Leaving england with the cricketing mountain to climb. Under floodlights, and the fiercest pressure, their openers needed a solid start. They did not get it. Mark stoneman trapped by Mitchell Starc for just 18. Australia in utter control. It was cricket at its most compelling. Cooke surviving another big appeal. England were jittery, but then, in the next time, the rain arrived, ending play for the day, but still leaving the visitors facing a huge batting challenge. It is not impossible to score runs out there. A lot of their batters made starts. So, it is not impossible to score runs. There is a long time left in the game, so it will be up to one or two of our guys to go in and make a big score, and not just make 40 or 50. For england, then, a frustrating and deflating day. They now need to bat at their very best if they are to save this match, and realistically save their ashes hopes. Ben stokes has been back in action. Dont get too excited though hes not in adelaide but in new zealand, where his much anticipated return to cricket with the bat was disappointingly brief for canterbury. He was dismissed forjust two runs. The all rounder, whos suspended pending a Police Investigation for an alleged assault, didnt take any wickets either. Speculation intensifies it aberdeen boss Derek Mcinnes will become the new rangers manager. Rangers won 3 01 wednesday and took home an early lead. The visitors are leading 1 0 on the verge of half time. Just two premier League Matches today southampton travel to bournemouth in the early game both sides coming off the back of midweek defeats while Manchester City take on west ham at home later, where theyll be hoping to regain their 8 point lead at the top. However, hammers manager david moyes is feeling confident. I dont think ive ever gone into any game not thinking that were going to win, or will get a chance of winning. And out today we are playing against the most inform team in the league, as everybody can see, but that does not mean they are unbeatable. They will be beaten somewhere and we have got to hope it will be us. Ronnie osullivan is in action in the second round of the World Snooker champion. Five time champion has won this event five times before. That is live on bbc two and on the bbc sport website. Alfie hewett has beaten his team mate gordon reid to win the wheelchair mens title. Gordon reid won the first three games but then hewitt won the next eight consecutive games. And that is all the sport for now. We will have more for you throughout the day on the bbc news channel. Thank you. Donald trump is facing accusations of obstructing justice, after suggesting that he knew his former National Security adviser, michael flynn, had lied to the fbi about contacts with russia before the president fired him. Mr trump said mr flynn had done nothing unlawful. Pioneering surgeons successfully completed a human heart transplant for the first time 50 years ago today a procedure which has changed the way Heart Disease is treated. The youngest person on the uk transplant list, eight week old baby charlie is making Good Progress following a nine hour operation where he received a new heart. Duncan kennedy reports. A tender moment Tracie Wright thought she would never have with her baby charlie. Charlie was born with only half a heart. Hospitals across europe were contacted to find an organ donor. This week, a heart did become available. And now, atjust eight weeks old, charlie has had a transplant. His skin colour was just amazing. I cant describe it. From going so blue, he wasjust blue all the time, to being so pink and peachy and perfect. Charlie was the youngest patient on britains transplant waiting list. His doctors say the operation went well. He was extremely lucky, considering his condition and his size, to get a heart, a suitable donor heart, on time. Its not known if the family who donated their babys heart know about charlie, but charlies mother says theyve given her a precious gift. Its the bravest thing anyone could do. Theyve given my boy a Second Chance at life, and for that, ill be forever thankful. I cried for them. Charlie is expected to be Strong Enough to go home in the new year. An unbearable loss in one family that became unrestrained joy in another. Duncan kennedy, bbc news. Stephen westa by Stephen Westaby is a heart surgeon at thejohn Stephen Westaby is a heart surgeon at the John RadcliffeStephen Westaby is a heart surgeon at theJohn Radcliffe hospital in oxford. He has been telling me about how only a fraction of those who need a heart transplant get one. Even if we are ageist, there are around 15,000 patients under the age of 65 who die from Heart Failure each year. On average, there are about 150 heart transplants a year. That is 1 of the potential patients that we could help. So, for a very long time, we have been looking for alternatives for the very many who will not get a donor heart. Ok, and the issue with heart transplants is the supply of organs. That is the difficulty. Transplants need somebody to die to provide an organ, and then a team has to go out, usually in the middle of the night in a helicopter, to go and queue up around somebody who hasjust died, waiting for the kidneys to come out, the liver to come out, to come out, and then finally, perhaps, the heart is removed. Then you set off back to the hospital where youre going to do the transplant. The logistics are very difficult. With the blood pumps, we are almost almost getting the same survival now as a transplant for patients with coronary Artery Disease in the United States and in many european countries. But the stem cell story is now becoming very interesting indeed as well. What we would love to be able to do in the next 10 20 years is regenerate diseased failing hearts, and we now have a stem cell which will actually remove scar from Adult Patients who have had a heart attack. And just talk to us briefly about how, since that first breakthrough, you talked about 50 years ago, when there is a heart transplant operation, patients, how long do they live, how does it work . The patients we all like to hear about are the ones who get to ten years or more. But that is only 40 . Some will live for 20, and there has been a patient who survived for 30 years, but the patients with coronary Artery Disease, those who have had a heart attack, and have diabetes or impaired kidneys, and so on. 60 of those dont make it to ten years. And the average survival for those is just less than four years. So heart transplantation is not a panacea. We have to be able to do better. And i hope in the future, a combination of these small mechanical assist devices, that we implant in the patients own heart, together with stem cell is to regenerate their diseased muscle, might provide a direct alternative for those thousands of patients who will never have a chance of a donor heart. That was Stephen Westaby from the John Radcliffe hospital. We can now speak to Richard Tyler who received a heart transplant three years ago. Tell us how that transplant has changed your life and saved your life . Hello, ben. Yes, it has given mea life . Hello, ben. Yes, it has given me a Second Chance. Just before my transplant i was not able to even walk, and within 17 days, i was back Walking Around and being as normal as anyone else was. It is just the case that it gives you the opportunity to be with your family for longer. And how are you feeling now, three years after that operation . I feel a lot better. Now, three years after that operation . Ifeela lot better. I cannot say 100 . That is just due to medications. But all in all, very, very good. It is extraordinary to think 50 years ago today there was the first heart transplant which has revolutionised medicine . Yes, most definitely, technology has moved on dramatically from 50 years ago to today. And also from the interview before. Technology is great, but you also do need the donors. Without the donors, i would also do need the donors. Without the donors, iwould not also do need the donors. Without the donors, i would not be sat here talking to you and a lot of other people wouldnt be either. talking to you and a lot of other people wouldnt be either. I know that issue of Organ Donation is something you want to raise awareness, because that is obviously awareness, because that is obviously a limitation on the number of transplants that can be done . Yes, definitely. When you look at it since 2008, heart transplants have gone up by 169 , and you have not got the amount of people fall that huge demand. But there are now hundreds of transplants in this country every year, arent there . 0h, country every year, arent there . Oh, most definitely. I was up at the qe, oh, most definitely. I was up at the oe, and when i was in the hospital, two had just had their heart transplants and whilst i was in there, another two lads were in the hospital waiting as well. And that was only over a space of four months. And that is without the u nfortu nate months. And that is without the unfortunate ones which never got the opportunity. Well, you did, and we wish you very good health, and thank you so much for being with us. Richard tyler who had a heart transplant three years ago, speaking to us on the 50th anniversary of the first heart transplant. Thank you. If all is state in the way through the rest of this week, as you should make the most of it. There is a lot of cloud around for some of us mad. A lot of cloud around. Areas have been struggling with grey, damp conditions, but this