Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171210

Also in the next hour, well. Discuss city celebrating in the Manchester Derby as they set a new record to go 11 points clear at the top of the table. And at 7. 30 meet the author will speak to writer and historian norman davies. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. An amber weather warning has been issued for much of england and wales as heavy snow continues to cause disruption for travellers across the uk. Over 100 flights have been cancelled at heathrow and passengers have been stranded on planes for hours that have landed at the airport but are unable to dock with the terminal. Elsewhere a further 50 flights have been cancelled at stansted and flights at birmingham international, east midlands and Belfast International airports have been affected. A number of motorways and a roads, including the mi and mao have been dealing with temporary closures due to numerous breakdowns and collisions. Rail lines have also been impacted a landslide has halted crosscountry Train Services between birmingham and bristol for the rest of the day. Electricity supplier sse says up to 2a,000 homes in 0xfordshire, berkshire and wiltshire are without power. And School Closures have already been confirmed for monday across worcestershire, walsall and shropshire, due to the snow. With all the latest now on the impact the bad weather is our correspondent richard lister. Few people this far south had expected to see snow when they woke up expected to see snow when they woke up and they expected proroguing did not expect it to hang around as long as it did. The roads are slushy and pavements are slippery. Getting anywhere where it has snowed has been something of a treacherous ordealfor many. Been something of a treacherous ordeal for many. Of course, that has been the story for millions of people around the country. Much of britain look like a Christmas Card today. Scotland and Northern England had been expecting snow, but this was bucks and it wasnt pretty. Breakdowns and blizzard conditions on the m25 near gerard s cross made for slow going. 0n the asa meant two stuck lorries meant the southbound carriageway is had to be close. In wales, some small communities were cut off and thousands lost power. This is the worst i have ever seen. It is probably the worst snow i have ever seen, it is certainly about a foot deep. In the midlands they hoped gritters would keep the roads safe, but in redditch they needed snowploughs. It has been a long day for Breakdown Services like the rac, which is getting five calls a minute. Problem starting it. I tried starting it last night. Tried to start it this morning. Mark says everything he has dealt with has been weather related. 0nly travel if you have to, if you do, make sure you have a fully charged phone, warm clothing in case you get stuck because you may be stuck in traffic for hours and hours. This car at least got going again. This is just one of an estimated 25,000 breakdowns across the uk, 15 more than usual. Everything from flat batteries to people stuck in their drives because of the snow. Its not just motorists who have been having problems. 70 flights were cancelled at heathrow, luton and stansted had problems and there were unhappy passengers at east midlands airport. Bit frustrated and a waste of time. They could have told us when we checked in the flight was cancelled. We have been cancelled, so were waiting around for about six or seven hours. P 0 ferry with 300 passengers on board ran aground in calais due to the wind. No one was hurt and it was refloated but this was a day to stay at home. 0k, calm down. Where we live, we never get any snow, it isjust sleet. I like snow because you can make snow angels and snowmen and i find it really fun to do. And maybe do some of this. It has been a great day for snowmen, sledging and snowballs. But what looks like fun on a sunday afternoon, can look very different on a monday morning at rush hour. Gritters are out in force as the roads ice up for a difficult day tomorrow. So what is on the cards for tonight, then . Well, you can certainly feel it here. The temperature is dropping rapidly and that means that ice will be the problem. The met office says for the next 2a hours due should watch out for eyes and in some places it is still snowing, so that really m ea ns places it is still snowing, so that really means that the rush hour tomorrow morning to be dreadful in many places. You really do have to ta ke many places. You really do have to take care, and before you set out, ask yourself the question, do you really need to make thatjourney . If you live in an area which has had snow, make sure that if we need to find this out that your school for your children is open because some schools will be closing tomorrow. Theres also a real possibility of snow and ice is bringing down tree branches, disrupting power lines. 24,000 branches, disrupting power lines. 2a,000 people in wiltshire and berkshire and 0xbridge are currently without power. That number could rise in other areas. If you dont need to take to the roads tomorrow and it is snowy, try to find a way to avoid it isnt if you do have to go out in your cart go prepared and make sure you are wearing warm clothing and boots, take some food and drink, take medication if you need it and you could be in trouble if you dont have access to it for an extended period of time. Above all, the advice is it is probably a goodidea all, the advice is it is probably a good idea to take a shovel. 0n the line is matthew cole, a bbc political reporter hamish allan who has been at it all day. What has happened . I was trying to get a connecting flight to denver and we sat on the tarmac for seven hours. We have now got off the flight, it seven hours. We have now got off the flight, it having been cancelled but we are in baggage reclaim. We have just been told that we might be waiting here for about four hours with all of the bikes just sitting around and many more on the carousel. You around and many more on the carousel. You were around and many more on the carousel. You were sat on the tarmac for seven hours. What were you told . Well, the captain couldnt tell us very much, really. What happened was that there were a lot of planes that needed de icing and heathrow didnt have the capacity to do that. We we re have the capacity to do that. We were told at one stage that some of the planes had already been de iced but then needed re deiced. And then the situation, once the cabin crew we re the situation, once the cabin crew were out of time that they werent allowed to do it and then the flight crew we re allowed to do it and then the flight crew were in the same boat. And in the end the flight was cancelled but we we re the end the flight was cancelled but we were still on the plane for a few hours after that. Basically, heathrow is in a logjam. The baggage reclaim area. So there is a succession of problems. People have issued a statement this evening saying that airlines are responsible for ensuring their flights are fully de iced before they operate. This has resulted in some delays or cancellations of which you are a victim, hamish. What is going to happen now . Well, i am rebooked on the equivalent flight tomorrow. A p pa re ntly the equivalent flight tomorrow. Apparently i can get my bag sent but who knows how long that would take. There are thousands of people in the same situation. The queue to get the claim form will probably take several hours, so i am going to try to find a place to stay and see if the Airport Hotels are booked up. I will go towards london until i find something free. How do you feel about the way in which all of this has been handled . Well, heathrow are saying that it is the airline s responsibility to do the de icing. I am surprised. If ba cant get de iced, something is wrong somewhere. This is happening more and more frequently. So they really obviously need to put their capacity. Hamish, we hope you get your baggage soon and get to the city and comfort of hotels in. Thank you very much for talking to us. I should say that heathrow is apologising to those affected by todays whether they say the safety and comfort of their passengers is a lwa ys and comfort of their passengers is always our First Priority and they advised passengers to continue to check the status of their flight with their airline before coming to the airport. We will find out how the airport. We will find out how the story and many others are covered in tomorrows front pages. At 10 30 and 11 30pm this evening in the papers our guests joining me tonight are the parliamentary journalist, tony grew and entertainment reporter, caroline frost. The foreign secretary borisjohnson has held talks with the iranian president in a bid to secure the freedom of citizens with dual nationality currently being held in iranianjails. They include Nazanin Zaghari ratcliff, whos accused of spying. Mrjohnson described his visit to tehran as worthwhile. Today mrs zaghari ratcliffs husband said he hoped his wife would be home for christmas. 0ur Diplomatic Correspondent James Robbins reports. Borisjohnson spent nearly an hour with irans president. That access itself, seen as a good sign as improving relations. The Foreign Office says both sides spoke forthrightly about obstacles in the relationship and the need to make progress. Borisjohnson raised the case of dual nationals in iranians prisons, including Nazanin Zaghari ratcliff. The foreign secretary met some of herfamily in tehran. In london, her husband richard is much happier, showing me pictures of his iranian family and delighted by the fact she didnt have to face a possible court appearance. He told me about the family meeting with borisjohnson. The foreign secretary also met with herfather and had a long chat with him, talked and said, i have raised her case with everyone i have met. Keep worrying and battling for her. Dont worry, we will do what we can. They came away pretty helpful. If there has been progress, where might it have been made . The foreign secretary has been careful to say nothing publicly while in iran. But a Foreign Office statement says the two sides discussed the full range of issues, including banking matters and concerns about the consular cases of dual nationals. Those banking matters include two major in iranian grievances. One, that no uk bank will open an account for Irans Embassy in london, fearful it could put them in trouble with us authorities. There are signs that could be sorted soon. Second, the iranians want britain to pay a long standing debt of around £400 million. A way to do that without breaching sanctions looks closer. Both sides say these issues say they are not linked to prisoner releases, but giving one side something it wants often helps the other to give return. 0ne gift to britain would be the reunion of Nazanin Zaghari ratcliff with her three year old daughter, seen here just before her arrest in april last year. The family is feeling much more positive. The Foreign Office delegation left iran sensing both sides wanted to resolve the difficult issues in the relationship. The qatari government is buying 2a typhoon jets from bae systems. Britains defence secretary Gavin Williamson signed the deal, worth in the region of £5 billion in doha. Around 5,000 bae employees are involved in building the typhoon, mainly at warton in lancashire. Our business correspondentjoe lynam is here with more. Good news for bae systems. Yes, the value of the deal is £6 billion because £5 billion will go to bae systems for these Eurofighter Typhoons, but then a further billion pounds will also go towards other services. As for bae systems, it secures work, making those Eurofighter Typhoon jets into the 20 20s. Eurofighter typhoon jets into the 20 205. It Eurofighter Typhoon jets into the 20 20s. It will not, though, prevent thejob 20s. It will not, though, prevent the job cuts 20s. It will not, though, prevent thejob cuts which 20s. It will not, though, prevent the job cuts which were announced in 0ctober the job cuts which were announced in october by the company. They will go ahead anyway. But it does extend the Manufacturing Programme for the typhoon jet Manufacturing Programme for the typhoonjet made by Manufacturing Programme for the typhoon jet made by bae systems, so its good news for them but would necessarily save jobs. And its good news for them but would necessarily savejobs. And does its good news for them but would necessarily save jobs. And does this do have a wider significance . Interestingly enough, qatar is in the midst of a massive economic blockade by its nearest neighbours, led by saudi arabia, the gulf council states. They have accused qatar of terrorism or supporting terrorism, a claim which it flatly denies, of course. It means that flights cannot get into qatar from those other countries and they are not selling goods to qatar as well. So im guessing qatar will hope that by signing such a huge deal, £6 billion, with the uk government to support britishjobs, billion, with the uk government to support british jobs, but it will at least curry favour with the foreign 0ffice least curry favour with the Foreign Office when it comes to this kind of battle versus the saudis on this issue. We dont know what the Foreign Office thinks of that aspect of it, but they will certainly welcome the jobs of it, but they will certainly welcome thejobs for of it, but they will certainly welcome the jobs for the uk. 0k, thank you. The headlines on bbc news up up to 30 centimetres of snow falls in some areas of the country, affecting travel and leaving thousands of homes without power. Also cancellations and delays at many major airports. The foreign secretary leaves iran without any agreement to release the jailed british woman Nazanin Zaghari ratcliffe. The disgraced publicist max clifford dies in jail. He had been serving an eight year sentence. The brexit secretary david davis, says britain wont pay the divorce bill for leaving the european union, if theres no final trade deal with the eu. Today, hes been giving details of the kind of future arrangement hed like to see. Meanwhile the labour party has suggested it may be willing to pay for access to the european single market, in order to retain its benefits. Heres our political correpsondent iain watson. The strain was beginning to show. This was the Prime Minister on her Early Morning dash to brussels on friday. It was meant to be the easy bit, but getting the eu to talk trade proved tricky and serious challenges lie ahead. The eu has called for more clarity about what kind of relationship britain wants in future. Today the brexit secretary tried to give it. Canada plus, plus, plus. So what on earth does that mean . Well, canada has negotiated a wide range of trade deals over seven years. But it doesnt include financial services. A canada plus deal would cover this vital industry for the uk. What else could we expect . Look at any free trade deal, what you see is agreement on where product standards normally comply. Thats what it comes down to. Sometimes you see other things. In the free trade deal between europe and canada, they say on labour standards, they will not go below the ilo, the International Labour 0rganisation minimum. But he made clear that paying a divorce bill to the eu would be dependent on getting a good deal. I dont expect to see an awful lot of seasonal goodwill when ministers finally discuss what kind of deal they want to do with the eu just before christmas. Already, for example, the brexit secretary and the chancellor seem to disagree over whether we should pay a divorce bill under all circumstances. But one thing has become clearer today. What labour would do ifjeremy corbyn moved in here to number ten. The shadow brexit secretary suggested it would be economically damaging if britain moved too far away from eu rules and regulations. What sort of britain do we want to be . Do we see europe as our Major Trading partner in the future . Or, do we want to rip ourselves apart from that . And he suggested, like norway, labour wanted to stay close to the eu and may be prepared to pay for access to its single market. Norway pays money in. They do it on a voluntary basis, but there may be. Would you accept it . There may have to be payments, that would have to be negotiated. And the shadow foreign secretary would consider staying close to the eus customs union, which might restrict the ability to do trade deals. We have always been pragmatic and realistic. Most of our trade is with the european union. We are just stating a fact and so we should not be kiboshing that. The Political Parties have contained some of the disagreements in europe by being a bit ambiguous about the future. With trade talks about to start, difficult decisions can no longer be deferred. Ian watson, bbc news. The disgraced publicist max clifford has died. He was 7a. Hed suffered a heart attack in prison, where he was serving an 8 year sentence for 8 indecent assaults against teenage girls. Danny shaw reports. He was the pr supremo who could make or break a reputation. But when Max Cliffords past caught up with him, his own career lay in ruins. The last three years of his life was spent in prison in Failing Health and this morning, after suffering a heart attack, he died in hospital. The allegations in respect of which i have been charged are completely false. Max clifford always denied the claims of indecent assault that eventually led to his downfall. But his trial heard evidence of his manipulative behaviour and how he promised to boost the careers of aspiring models and actresses return for sexual favours. He was found guilty of eight charges against four women and girls, the youngest victim was 15. For 30 years, he provided sensational stories for the tabloids. He represented this lady, who had an affair with sven goran eriksson. It was clifford who helped expose the relationship between a former conservative mp david mellor and this woman. The part of it were not true. This story was also fiction but it made the great headlines. His death leaves many unresolved legal issues. He was being sued by his victims and appealing against his convictions, protesting his innocence to the end. There have been more protests against president trumps decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel. Demonstrators gathered in several cities in the region, including istanbul, cairo and the moroccan capital rabat, where thousands attended a rally declaring thatjerusalem is the palestinian capital. And clashes have broken out in the lebanese capital beirut, where protesters threw stones and set fire to tyres near the us embassy. 0ur middle east correspondent martin patience sent this report from beirut. Well, the protest has turned ugly again. Some of the protesters are throwing stones and rocks and whatever theyve got at the gate and its that gate where the Lebanese Security forces are holed up. That leads to the us embassy. Tear gas is now being fired and well just move along. This is the second time. Thats more tear gas. We need to keep on going and move down this way. Theres tear gas, just move down. Just move away. From the situation. As you can see, its dispersing. Ivejust taken a lungful of tear gas. This shows the emotional power of this issue. Jerusalem remains a rallying cry for palestinians and arabs across the region. Speaking a short time ago in paris during a press conference with president macron, israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the sooner palestinians accept the decision, the better will it be for peace. Paris is the capital of france, jerusalem is the capital of israel, it has been the capital of israel for 3,000 years, it has been the capital of the jewish state for seventy years, we respect your history and your choices and we know that as friends, you respect ours. I think this is also essential for peace. I think what peace requires is to be built on the foundation of truth. And the facts of the past and of the present, this is the only way that you can build a realistic and successful future. In response to his remarks, Emmanuel Macron said he believed that a two state solution was the only way forward. Translation i explained my disapproval of the recent declarations by the president of the United States which france considers in breach of International Law. I believe that these statements do not serve security, including the security of israel and the israelis. France remains convinced that the only solution in accordance with International Law and in accordance with our long term commitments is to enable the establishment of two states living side by side in peace and this can only happen thanks to negotiations. The singer chris rea is said to be in a stable condition after collapsing on stage last night. The 66 year old whos hits include driving home for christmas fell ill about 45 minutes into a concert in oxford. He suffered a stroke about a year ago which prompted him to give up smoking. Tonights concert in brighton has been cancelled. Venezuelans are voting to choose mayors for more than 300 towns and cities. 20 Million People are eligible to vote but turnout is expected to remain low. Major opposition parties are boycotting the elections. They allege the Voting System is rigged in favour of president nicolas maduros candidates. Katy watson has more from barquisimeto in venezuela. This is one of the voting centres where people are choosing their local mayors. Currently, 70 of these are in socialist hands. These numbers are expected to rise during the collections. Matt elections are not a priority for many people and the fact that this has been eight commodity was a difficult year, people are disillusioned so voter apathy is expected to be high. The major opposition parties have said they would participate in these elections. They say the electoral system is flawed. But there are some smaller candidates that are being put forward, and thats a problem. The opposition is divided and it is in tatters, so it is expected to strengthen the governments and, ahead of potential president ial elections next year. There may not be any protests, but likely is still hard. Hyperinflation, food, medicine shortages, and queues for basics like bread roll peoples lycia. Theyre fed up. They might not want the government but they dont think the government but they dont think the opposition can offer an alternative ever. They want to do is live their lives. An 18 year old man arrested in connection with the deaths of two teenagers on a night out in plymouth has been released under investigation. The 19 year olds had taken a form of the drug, ecstasy, when they collapsed at the pryzm nightclub in the early hours of yesterday morning. Californias governor says devastating wildfires fuelled by Climate Change are the new normal. Jerry brown made the comments after surveying the damage in ventura county, north of los angeles. Six fires have destroyed hundreds of buildings and forced two hundred thousand people from their homes. The flames have been driven by low humidty and parched ground. This is the new normal. And this could be something that happens every year or every few years, or it happens to some degree. It isjust more intense, more widespread, and we are about ready to have a firefighting christmas. This is very odd and unusual, but it is the way the world is, with the kind of Carbon Pollution that we are not only living with, but we are generating still, it is still increasing. We have to make that turn. It is going to take heroic efforts. There are many places in this country that dont get it yet, there are several countries of the world that dont quite get it. Time for the latest weather prospects now, with sarah keith lucas. Good evening. The weather had continued to cause quite a bit of disruption through the day on sunday. With snow, ice, and strong winds. If we concentrate on the snow, look at some of the depths we have seen today. 32 centimetres in wales. We have seen the worst of the snow. Still some showers towards the south. They should either way tonight, but then i is becoming a widespread problem as we moved into monday morning. It will be a very cold night. A widespread, sharp frost. Minus three celsius in towns and cities, but in the countryside we could see those temperatures falling two minus double digits. A very cold starting monday morning with sleet and snow showers in the far north. By monday morning, do watch out for some potentially very icy conditions. Then during the day on monday, our attention turns to this area of low pressure bringing disruptive weather to portugal, spain and france. It could come into the south east of england. Here, we are likely to seek a mix of rain for the likes of kent, butter turning perhaps to sleet and snow a little bit further inland. In the far south east. Away from the south east, less windy and also drier with some wintry sunshine but a really sharp frost. Do watch out for icy stretches across wales and much of Northern England do. We have a lot of snow lying around still. For Northern Ireland and scotland, some showers putting into words the north and falling as snow in the north and falling as snow in the north of scotland. Sleet and snow for Northern Ireland. During the day, the showers will ease but we will get some continuing into the afternoon. We have got that rain, sleet and snow towards the south east with some strong winds here too. Elsewhere, wintry sunshine but feeling cold. Then through the cause of monday night, we have clear skies. Sleet and rain clears away from the south east. Still some coastal showers in both the east and the west continuing into the early hours of tuesday morning. Again, bitterly cold in this country. Very cold to start the day on tuesday. A bit of a change through the day on tuesday. Things are looking mostly dry with a ridge of High Pressure and the breeze starts to come in from more of a westerly influence. So not quite as cold, some break into the west later on. Goodbye. Hello