Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC Newsroom Live 20240714

According to a report by the childrens commissioner for england, who says the situation is a scandal. Cardinal george pell, the most senior catholic cleric to be found guilty of child sexual abuse, has lost an appeal in australia against his conviction. President trump has cancelled an official state visit to denmark after the nations Prime Minister confirmed greenland was not for sale. Good morning. Welcome to bbc newsroom live. The government has appointed a panel of experts to review the h52 Railway Project to check whether and for how long the project should continue. The first segment of h52, the line between london and birmingham, is due to open at the end of 2026. The second phase linking leeds and manchester is due for completion by 2032 33. In 2015 the cost of the project was predicted to be more than £55 billion. But borisjohnson has said he expects the costs to spiral to over 100 billion. This morning the transport secretary grant shapps didnt rule out scrapping the project. This is a genuine review to see whether we are going to get the benefits from it, what the full costs are going to be from this project. Because it is so much public money involved, the responsible thing to do is to really look at it and say is this actually going to stack up . Does it work for the country . So you are not ruling out that hsz, High Speed Two, could be cancelled, even though more than £7 billion has already been spent, and youre unlikely to recoup all of that money . Of course, the thing is, you could get some money back and, you know, the point about this is just because you spent a lot of money on something should not mean that you just carry on ploughing more and more money into it. But what weve said, what the Prime Minister made very clear during his leadership election, is we want to see great infrastructure in this country, we want to see it stack up, we want to see it work for rail commuters, people right across the country, so we need to have a look at hsz, we need to make sure that it is under control, that the money is being well spent, if that is the way we go, and that its actually going to provide the benefits that the country wants. Until weve done that, i cant pre empt the answer until weve carried out that investigation. But hs2 could be scrapped . Clearly if you are going to look at something from scratch and youre going to take into account all of the costs and all of the benefits and have, if you like, starting with a blank sheet then of course the outcome could be any of these things. We want to build great infrastructure. That is exactly our purpose and we believe in Building Infrastructure for the future. Its got to be the right infrastructure and its got to actually be beneficial for everybody, notjust along the route but for the whole of the united kingdom. Our news correspondent andy moore has been taking a look at whats been announced today and joins me now. This is being described as a no go or go decision which we will get in autumn but in a sense we are already gone on this because of the uk has spent £7 billion already on the project. Development began last autumn at euston station. I drive by on the western section of the m25, there are access roads built, electricity pylons taken down, a lot of earth moving. Something like 9000 people are due to be employed on this project. 900 homes have been bought by hs2, some of those are lying empty at the moment, so a lot of people will say if it is cancelled, we havent got that far yet, it will be a huge reversal of government policy. We have had some comment from stop hs2, campaigners against it, saying it is no good to announce this part of government are serious about it being a serious review they have to stop the irreversible destruction happening right now. How much do we know about the terms of the review and what they will look at . It will be chaired by douglas 0gilvy, former chairman of the project, and it will be short lasting, it will report by autumn, and what grant shapps is saying is that the government is clear that infrastructure has the potential to drive economic growth, redistribute opportunity and resources a cross redistribute opportunity and resources across the uk but that must be subject to continuous assessment of the costs and benefits and that is why he says they are undertaking this review. It will look at all the evidence available and provide the department for transport with clear advice on the future of the project. It has not been without controversy and it looks like it will continue. Yes. A lot of people along the route were very concerned, concerned their properties have already been blighted. But it is a project that will increase the speed of transport to birmingham and the north, not only the speed but the capacity. We are told that if it is completed then the uk will be able to move tens of thousands of people an hour speed between the north and south of england. Joe rukin is from the stop hs2 Campaign Group. Hes currently walking the route of hs2 and joins me now from hoo green, near knutsford in cheshire. What is your response to the announcement . Three weeks after borisjohnson said he would start the review, he started it. The phrase independent is worrying from oui phrase independent is worrying from our point of view because douglas 0gilvy is the former chairman of hs to limited so he is being given the chance to mark his own homework and see what happened in the years since his absence. When he was there he was nicknamed captain invisible, so we are not totally convinced that this is going to be the best review you could possibly have, and what has happened in the past when hs2 has happened in the past when hs2 has been in trouble they have just said they had to invent economic benefits and have outlandish figures forjobs. Thejobs projections at the moment, if hst was ready tomorrow, it would apparently eradicate unemployment in england. This is ridiculous because projects like this dont create jobs, apart from at the stations, but the influence the location ofjobs, not create them. If this is a genuine review and if the government is genuinely looking at saying it is a yes or no decision, they must stop work now, because irreparable damage is being done, as we speak, right now, two unique habitats, ancient woodlands. They are coming down. Hs2 limited i think have got wind of this and realise there is a chance the project might be cancelled so they are sending out possession orders for land like there is no tomorrow, with no intention of paying for the land itself, just taking possession of them, so it is a legal night nightmare. 0nce ancient woodlands have gone they are gone. I think there is a school of thought at hs2 limited that if they create as much damage as they can then they will look pretty stupid if they cancel it. That has to stop now. Im sure those involved in the project would refute a lot of what you have said. What do you think are the key questions you want answered before a decision is made . The key questions you want answered before a decision is madam the key questions you want answered before a decision is made . It is patiently obvious that hs2 has been overbudget for a number of years and the first question i want answering is who knew and how long have they known far and was parliament misled . You have had mps saying parliament has been misled. Lord berkeley said hst limited is rampant with fraud. There are serious questions about the probity of this project because it seems that what has happened over the last nine years as whenever hst has been in trouble or any criticism it has just been fingers in the yea rs it has just been fingers in the years and nobody listened. Hs2 has been rated as amber red, danger of failing, every yearforsix been rated as amber red, danger of failing, every year for six years running. Every time a report like this comes out they say everything is fine now and then of course next time again it is amber red again. It is the worst project on the governments books since the inception of the Major Projects authority. Nothing has happened. When the Public Accounts Committee look at it, the lords economic committee, treasury select committee, they said it is a disaster, we have had a parade of transport secretaries to say it is fine. Hs2 has only got this far because it has been lobbied for by the people who want to build it. There is a multi billion pound industry behind hs2 that needs this project completed. They dont care how much it is going to cost. From their point of view the more it goes over budget the better because the more money they will make. Thank you very much. A body has been found during the search for a child who fell into the river stour at sandwich in kent. Six year old lucas dobson has been missing since last saturday. Kent police said the body has not been formally identified but lucas family have been told. The man accused of murdering pc Andrew Harper, who was dragged under the wheels of a vehicle in berkshire last week, has appeared by video link at reading crown court. Pc harper was killed last thursday evening in the village of sulhamstead while responding to reports of a burglary. Jed foster denies any involvement in the officers death. Borisjohnson will meet the german chancellor, Angela Merkel, in berlin later today as he tries to persuade the eu to agree to fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Allies of mrs merkel have accused mrjohnson of making a completely impossible request, and not being serious. The major Sticking Point remains the backstop, an insurance polcy that would keep the uk in the eu customs union, to prevent the return of border checks on the island of ireland. 0ur Political Correspondent iain watson is in westminster. What do you think borisjohnson will hope to achieve given he has already had quite a clear message from Angela Merkel in advance of the meeting . Partly this will be showing he is reaching out to european leaders, he will be welcomed by our military guard, there will be a mini press co nfe re nce military guard, there will be a Mini Press Conference stressing cooperation with Angela Merkel in other areas, international fairs, security etc, but fundamentally there is a big gap on brexit. He says that cant be a deal with the Northern Ireland backstop and she says there cant be a deal without one. How did they bridge the gap . Her compromise suggestion is if borisjohnson goes along with this deal in the short term and accepts the backstop then she will work desperately hard with other eu leaders to make sure it is never implemented. That will not be enough for borisjohnson implemented. That will not be enough for Boris Johnson and implemented. That will not be enough for borisjohnson and many of his supporters on the conservative backbenches. I think what he is trying to achieve it is simply an attempt to say to Angela Merkel and president mac present Emmanuel Macron is that they should not listen to people who say they can block an ordeal. He says he is serious about leaving on october 31 so if they have a compromise or some kind of deal then now is the time to do it. That will be his message. There are others in the conservative party who think he up to something quite different. Ed vaizey suggests he is going through the motions and hell bent on no deal so his agenda is to blame the other european leaders forforcing is to blame the other european leaders for forcing britain out without a deal. We are joined from tyrol in austria by thomas matussek, former german ambassador to the united kingdom, and now a Senior Advisor at flint golbal, which advises companies on german and european regulatory developments. We are hearing allies of Angela Merkel say the Prime Minister is making a completely impossible request and not being serious as he comes to see her. Nevertheless the meeting will be good and useful. You remember the Prime Minister said about two weeks ago when and if the europeans look into our eyes and think, my god, the british are serious, but it also works the other way round. If he looks into Angela Merkels eyes and into the 5a eyes of the 27 european leaders, he will see, my god, they are serious, and they stand firm on the backstop and the agreement which has been signed, but there is ample scope in the political declaration to talk about their future relationship and hopefully come to a relationship and hopefully come to a relationship which makes the backstop obsolete. I think this is the purpose of the meeting. You have underlined the issue that it is almost a game of chicken. We have seriousness in the eyes of all those people involved and nobody seems willing to budge. We cannot budge on this because if we forgo the insurance policy of the backstop, we risk a hard border in ireland, risk pulling the carpet from under the good friday agreement. There is danger of the troubles restarting again. That is a matter of great seriousness, life or death, for ireland, and the europeans are not prepared to throw ireland under the bus in order to get some arrangement with britain. There was a lot of talk in this country at the moment about the implications of a no deal brexit for british industry. As somebody who himself is now working with companies on political and regulatory developments, how concerned are German Companies about the implications of no deal on the 3ist the implications of no deal on the 31st of october . The germans dont like no deal but in the scale of priorities, the integrity of the Single Market is much more important than business with britain and i believe the percentage of german business with britain is much, much lower than the other way around. An extra £9 million is to be given to local councils to help them prepare for brexit, with half the money going to areas with major ports. Ministers say the funding will help councils develop local brexit plans, and cover additional staffing costs. Kent council will get more than £2. 5 million due to the potential pressure around the port of dover. The headlines on bbc news. The government is to review the high speed rail link hs2. The transport secretary says all options are on the Table Including scrapping it. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into the river stour in kent on saturday. Borisjohnson will meet german chancellor Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. And in sport, enough is enough, Manchester United players urge social Media Companies to react after paul pogba receives racist abuse online. Englands women book a place in the semifinals of the euro hockey championships with a narrow win over belarus. Ireland could join them with a win over germany, it is 00 them with a win over germany, it is 0 0 in the First Quarter. And england batsman jason 0 0 in the First Quarter. And england batsmanjason roy has come toa england batsmanjason roy has come to a concussion test and is available to play in tomorrows ashes test at headingley. He was struck in the neck yesterday. Ill be back at 1130 am. A report has warned there are more than 200,000 children in england without a permanent home, with some living in converted office blocks or even former shipping containers. The childrens commissioner, anne longfield, says whole families are being housed in flats little bigger than parking spaces. The government says its invested £1. 2 billion to tackle all types of homelessness. 0ur social Affairs Correspondent Michael Buchanan reports. Im joined now by polly neate, the ceo of housing and Homelessness Charity shelter. This report makes pretty bleak reading. It is really depressing and i have met mums whose babies are not reaching developmental milestones because there is literally no is based to crawl between the wall to wall beds in the one room in which the families living in a hostel. Sadly it is not that surprising to us sadly it is not that surprising to us at shelter. We see this all the time in our services up and down the country, but bleak as the word, isnt it . Housing in shipping containers, supposedly temporarily, have you come across this . Yes, and totally unsuitable bed and brea kfasts, totally unsuitable bed and breakfasts, converted office blocks with potential fire risks, breakfasts, converted office blocks with potentialfire risks, places with potentialfire risks, places with no windows, i mean, frankly this really has got to be a wake up call to a new government. This is a failure of successive governments over the years to see the housing crisis in terms of anything other than Home Ownership on one hand and rough sleeping on the other hand. Actually these homeless families are the real human face of our housing crisis and the reason for it is a decades long failure to build social housing. We have to see a change. It is about political will and frankly about money and we need to see the new government make a stand on this. Local councils have said they have a funding gap of £159 million. Does that get them off the hook or are their legal obligations some of these councils are not making . They are between a rock and a hard place and it is absolutely right that in order to build enough social housing that the country needs, it will need investment from government so, yes, thatis investment from government so, yes, that is true, councils do have legal obligations though and families should not be in inadequate or dangerous accommodation at all and certainly not for the length of time that the childrens commissioner has found some of these children are stuck in what is really damaging accommodation that is going to have an impact on their childhoods, impacting on mental health, education. Teachers have told us in research we have done that they see childrens Education Research we have done that they see child rens education performance plummet when they become homeless. It just isnt plummet when they become homeless. Itjust isnt 0k plummet when they become homeless. Itjust isnt ok for the country to be doing this to so many of its children. You need our fundamental change, a massive House Building project. What is the scale . We reckon and i think the childrens commissioner report supports this, that we need 3 million new social homes over the next 20 years. We need a 20 Year Building Programme and the sooner we start the better because the issue is urgent. It is a National Emergency now that were looking at. We needed to start as soon as looking at. We needed to start as soon as possible but we need a 20 building programme. That is a significant investment but it will pay back. 0ver significant investment but it will pay back. Over an extra ten or so yea rs, pay back. Over an extra ten or so years, the investment will pay back just from the reduction in housing benefit alone, never mind the other savings. If you look at the damage to children, you can see the cost to the education system, Health Service and so on. This is an investment, not just and so on. This is an investment, notjust spending money or throwing money away. Its been a few short weeks since the town of Whaley Bridge looked dangerously close to being completely flooded when a nearby dam partially collapsed. The residents of the derbyshire town are back in their homes after a million tons of waters was pumped from the local reservoir. Our correspondent, dave guest is at toddbrook reservior. As you can see, the reservoir is a shadow of its former self. Almost like a large puddle rather than a reservoir. They pumped out a billion litres of water because three weeks ago this dam was in danger of bursting. 0ver ago this dam was in danger of bursting. Over here you can see some of the damage and some of the repairs carried out, those famous images of the helicopters dropping bags of aggregates to plug the hole and save the town of Whaley Bridge. They did save the town and now they are beginning to work on permanently repairing the dam. What is your priority . Most of the water is out under the priority . Most of the water is out underthe repair is priority . Most of the water is out under the repair is done, we will have a Management Plan in place to keep the water out and that the water level down and make sure it is safe for the people of Whaley Bridge. That is why the pumps are they are behind us. Once that is working we can start the investigation into how this incident happened and that will build into the design and eventual repair. The pumps are under those pontoons and i believe they can take out 250 litres per second, each one. A tremendous amount of water can be taken out so the risk is managed through those pumps, we could bring in more if we had to, but there is enough to manage any situation we can see. So the people of Whaley Bridge can be reassured it is safe now. Yes. This reservoir is safe and so is Whaley Bridge. It is not a reservoir of Drinking Water but it supplies the Canal Networks are what has the impact been on the Canal Network . The supply to the canal comes from four different reservoirs, this is just one of them. It is not ideal but we can manage in most situations and canal boating can continue. We we re and canal boating can continue. We were looking at temporary repairs carried out with the help of the raf. Are you going to have to rebuilt the dam bleakly . Then this completely. Rebuilt the dam bleakly . Then this completely. We want to make sure we understand what happened and then we understand what happened and then we can work out what will happen next. I imagine we will be here anywhere between 18 months and three years. It is needed to get this reservoir back up and running and making sure the canal can be enjoyed by people. And Lessons Learned here can be used up and down the country because there are thousands of dams. I think the details of what we find out will be shared around the country and this will be no different. The work is going to continue here at the reservoir and at the dam for some time yet. The Chinese Foreign Ministry Says it has detained a worker at britains hong kong consulate for allegedly violating the law. Simon cheng man kit has not been seen for 13 days after he failed to return to work after a business trip to shenzhen on the chinese mainland earlier this month. The Uk Foreign Office had earlier said it was extremely concerned about his case and has reached out to authorities in the country. The gap between scottish public spending and estimated taxation has narrowed to £12. 6 billion. The figures come from the annual Scottish Government publication known as gers, or government expenditure and revenue scotland. Tax revenue is reckoned to be slightly lower per head in scotland, but spending per head is more than £1,600 higher than the uk average. Lorna gordon has been looking at the figures. Give us a sense of what the figures tell us. Fiscal issues in scotland. It is produced by Scottish Government statisticians, independent of government. It shows the difference between what scotland brings in and spends. All public expenditure, both devolved and the area is reserved to westminster. The figures released a short while ago sure that there has been an improvement in scotlands Public Finances with the take from scots and businesses in the country growing to £63 billion while expenditure has topped £75 billion. But the deficit has fallen by £1. 2 billion over the past year and that is equivalent to 7 of the countrys gdp. It is interesting because this notional deficit is often taken as the starting point for Public Finance if scotland were to become independent so these figures are often employed by both sides of the debate over whether scotland should remain as part of the union or should become independent. Given that those figures tend to be weaponised like that, what has been the response . The scottish secretary alisterjack said that the figures show that there is, to use his words, a £12. 6 billion black hole at the centre of an independent scotlands finances. He spoke of what he called a Union Dividend of around £1600 per year per person here in scotland. Unsurprisingly the Scottish Government finance secretary derek mackay takes a different position. He says these figures show that revenues exceeded £60 billion for the first time in scotla nd £60 billion for the first time in scotland and they reflect the strength of the scottish economy that revenue is growing at a faster rate than expenditure and of course he points out that the figures represent scotlands position is pa rt represent scotlands position is part of the uk and he believes you can only unlock the full potential of the scottish economy with independence, and with brexit looming and the Scottish Government position that a no deal breaks it would be very bad indeed he says that a no deal brexit could reduce revenue in scotland by around £2. 5 billion per year. Amazing how statistics can be used in so many different ways. Now its time for a look at the weather with simon king. Mixed fortunes today, for many dry and bright, sunshine continuing this afternoon, different north and west. Looking at the satellite, quite beautiful swirl of cloud around the low pressure behind me, but this area of cloud brings rain which continues for Northern Ireland and scotland, particularly heavy in the west, accompanied by a strong and gusty wind across the North Western parts. Southend is the sunshine continues, maximum temperatures 17 to 22. Through tonight the rain moving south breaks up, patchy rain across Northern England and north wales and southern parts of Northern Ireland into thursday morning otherwise clear skies, temperatures staying in double figures. Through thursday the rain across Northern England, clears and more rain spreading into scotland and Northern Ireland with england and wales and largely dry with sunshine and temperatures on the rise. Hello, this is bbc newsroom live, the headlines. The government is to review the high speed rail link hs2 the transport secretary says all options are on the Table Including scrapping it. Give us exactly where we are up to, really genuinely what it would cost to complete this project, and then we all know, well be in a much better position to make that decision, go or no go, by the end of the year. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into the river stour in kent on saturday. Borisjohnson will meet german chancellor Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Thousands of Homeless Children are growing up in converted shipping containers and office blocks according to a report by the childrens commissioner for england who says the situation is a scandal. Cardinal george pell, the most senior catholic cleric to be found guilty of child sexual abuse, loses an appeal in australia against his conviction. Sport now and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, heres holly hamilton. Good morning. Manchester united players have showed support for paul pogba have he received racist insults on social media after missing a penalty in uniteds 1 all draw with wolves on monday night. Englands Marcus Rashford tweeted. Uniteds new signing Harry Maguire says. Twitter say theyve since suspended several accounts involved. Former chelsea and germany defender robert huth says there is no place for any abuse in football. People get to the stadium and are allowed to go in, a boy with his dad at the sideline and you get abuse. It is horrific. I am not making light of what happened but that is pa rt light of what happened but that is part of a bigger problem is people are allowed to abuse people when it comes to football. Returning to football Ashley Williams has been left out of their squad for the euro 2020 qualifier against azerbaijan in cardiff next month. The wales captain has been capped 86 times and led wales to the euro 2016 semi finals. He is currently without a club after being released by everton but is now set to join bristol city. Borussia Dortmunds Jadon Sancho has agreed a new contract with the Bundesliga Club worth about £190,000 a week, including bonuses. The england winger who was the subject of summer interest from Manchester United scored 13 goals last season as dortmund finished second behind bayern munich. Sancho also scored in their 5 1 Opening League win on saturdays. England openerjason roy has come through a concussion test and is fit to play in the third test against australia which begins at headingley tomorrow. Roy was struck on the head by a ball in the nets yesterday. Australia lead the five match series 1 0, but will be without star batsman steve smith. Hes still suffering from concussion after being hit by a Joffra Archer delivery at lords. After the men were knocked out yesterday, englands women secured a place in the semi finals of hockeys eurohockey championships with a narrow win over belarus. Lily owsley opened the scoring in antwerp after ten minutes before Isabelle Petter got her first england goal. Belarus struck back in the final quarter to level the score at 3 3, they failed to score in their opening two matches and were beating 11 0 by ireland last time out. England were shocked back into the game, Hannah Martin restoring the lead to seal the victory we just were not good enough across the board. We need to look at today, we cannot just ignore the board. We need to look at today, we cannotjust ignore it and all our focus is on the semifinal, we do not know who it will be against that whichever of the three teams are fighting for it, everyone of them is going to be tough. We need to look and see even need to develop and get better and went back to the first half performance in the germany game and try and get back some of that which was really good and be opened up and created chances so good that got the point and through to the semifinals but disappointed. Ireland could join england if they beat germany in their final group match. Its germany who took the lead after pia maertans found the net in the first corner with this absolute rocket in the First Quarter right over the keepers head. Ireland have just levelled. Here are live pictures from belgium. Few minutes in in antwerp. Remember if ireland dont win, they are destined for pool c, where they will need to stay in the top two teams to avoid relegation to division ii. You can watch via the bbc sport website and app. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in the next hour. The high court in dublin has approved an application by ryanair to stop a strike by pilots based in ireland. The 48 hour walk out was due to take place on thursday and friday. Meanwhile, a separate court case has begun at the high court in Central London over ryanair trying to block similar industrial action by its uk pilots. The highest ranking catholic cleric to be convicted of child sex abuse, Cardinal George pell, has lost his appeal against his conviction. In february he was found guilty of abusing two boys while archbishop of melbourne in the late 1990s. The former vatican treasurer is serving a six yearjail term. From melbourne heres phil mercer. Once part of the popes inner circle, today george pell arrived to hear his fate in the back of a prison van, hoping to overturn his conventions. At his trial, pell was found guilty of a brazen and forcible sexual attack on two choirboys at st patricks cathedral, in melbourne, in the late 1990s. His lawyer said the case against him was flawed and that the jury was wrong to convict him on the uncorroborated evidence of one surviving accuser. And the man who was australias most powerful catholic official did not have to wait long for the chiefjustice to dismiss the appeal. Justice maxwell and i accepted the prosecutions submission that the complainant was a very compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist, and was a witness of truth. Outside the Victorian Court of appeal, there was relief for those who campaigned for victims of clerical abuse. It is just a wonderful day for survivors, for victims. I think it sends a message that justice will be served no matter how high you are, or how old you are, or, you know, what yourjob is. This is. This is a crime, it is against children, that innocence. George pell is the most senior catholic figure worldwide to be convicted of child sexual abuse but this case that has got global significance might not be over. Pell said he is disappointed by the courts decision and his legal team is considering challenging his convictions in australias high courts. But campaigners say another appeal would be a waste of time and money. Well, i think the Catholic Church should stop wasting money on appeals and give that money that they would spend on fancy lawyers to the victims of their crimes. George pell is 78 and is now back in prison in disgrace, for crimes he committed more than 20 years ago, when he was archbishop of melbourne. He will have to serve more than three years behind bars before he is eligible for parole. Phil mercer, bbc news, melbourne. President trump has cancelled an official state visit to denmark after the nations Prime Minister said greenland was not for sale. Announcing the changes to his plans, mr trump tweeted denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksens comments, that she would have no interest denmarks Prime Minister said the suggestion that greenland might be up for sale was absurd, and that she hoped the president was not being serious. Our north america correspondent, david willis has more details. You probably couldnt make this stuff up, could you . There he was saying at the weekend he was interested in greenland because of its significance geopolitically, and so on, but that the intended visit to denmark in a couple of weeks time was nothing to do with the acquisition, or potential acquisition of greenland. You mentioned the danish Prime Minister, denmarks Prime Minister attempting to scotch the plan, calling it absurd. But President Trump retweeted after that a picture of a gold trump tower superimposed on the greenland skyline with the words, i promise not to do this to greenland. Fast forward 2a hours and that same president is saying his visit to denmark is being postponed because, as he put it on twitter, denmark is a very special country with incredible people. But based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksens comments that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of greenland, i will be postponing our meeting. So, it would appear that despite what he had to say to the contrary, central to those planned negotiations in copenhagen was discussion of a potential acquisition by the united states. The Trump Administration has approved a potential eight billion dollar sale of f 16 Fighter Aircraft to taiwan. The sale would involve 66 warplanes the largest such transaction in decades. The proposed deal has been sent to congress for its consideration. On monday, beijing said american arms sales to taiwan amounted to severe interference in chinas internal affairs. Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro has been blamed for a Record Number of wildfires across the amazon rainforest. Conservationists say the leaders policies have encouraged the clearing of land by farmers and loggers, leading to the outbreak of more than 70,000 fires thats an increase of more than 80 percent on the same period last year. The president said the fires were simply seasonal. All this week were taking a look at the farming industry, from how its dealing with climate change, to what brexit means for the future of agriculture across the uk. Today were asking if the way we grow our crops could change once we leave the eu. Graham satchell reports. And, Graham Satchell has spent the morning at the stanley family farm in leicestershire discussing whether people would consider trying genetically modified food. Well, will the debate change . With me is liz oneill from gm freeze who is opposed to gm crops and Wendy Harwood who is a gm scientist. Wendy let me ask you first, weve had this debate i mean weve decided in this country that we dont really like gm foods, that theyre a bit weird, fiddling with nature that they cross, pollinate with other crops that we dont want them. I dont think thats true. So gm offers a huge amount of possibilities. Weve got a lot of gm crops that are grown worldwide at the moment over huge areas. The farmers are getting on very well with them, you know, they love them, but some of the technology is developing all the time and some of the new opportunities that weve got coming up now are even more exciting. And i think you know we really cant afford to sort of turn our back on a technology that could offer us so much to solving some of the problems were going to be facing in the future. Liz, dale in the piece said that weve been fiddling with nature for 9,000 years. Isnt there just more clever ways of making crops have better yield and using fewer pesticides and being better for the environment . Its just clever science, isnt it . Its just very clever science, but gm is a technology and the way that we apply the technology is what matters. We need proper safeguards. We need robust regulation to provide this. If we had proper regulations, why not go for it then . Well, youd also need to get rid of patenting so gm crops are patented which means that theres much more centralised control of the food chain. Really what we should be doing is getting closer to nature and not further away from it. Wendy, i dont know what you thought about boris being a cheerleader. Boris, i call him the Prime Minister being a cheerleader in downing street. Do you think it does change the debate . Do you think were any closer if we do leave the eu . Theres so many uncertainties at the moment, we really dont know. I think the only thing i would say is that these technologies are incredibly important for research and if there are any changes thatjust make it a little bit easier for us to go ahead with the research then thats got to be a good thing. But beyond that we really dont know. And what do you think, does it feel like were a step closer to this . It feels like everything. You know, its up in the air but i think we are concerned. Were concerned that safeguards could be scrapped in order to get a trade deal. Were concerned that Consumer Choice could be undermined by the loss of gm labelling. So i think we need to be worried about the safeguards that weve enjoyed from the eu and that we were promised would be kept in place. And you know now were talking about being liberated from that. I dont want to be liberated from safeguards. I want to be liberated from the idea that technology can solve all of our woes. Yes. Well, the thing is though, technology, because technology can help us. Does it frustrate you that you guys are doing all this kind of remarkable work and there are brilliant scientists here in the uk and none of it ever gets to the field . It is very frustrating when you see things that you think are really promising but you know that they havent got much chance of getting to the field. I mean weve done some work on drought tolerance. Weve seen some barley for example which are incredibly drought tolerant. They look great. Weve grew them in field trials in a very dry country. But you know we havent been able to take that work further. So i think it would be great if we could see more of these really exciting opportunities Going Forward and actually getting into the field so that farmers. Do you understand that frustration that there are people here who are trying, theyre not trying to do sort of evil things theyre trying to help humanity, theyre trying to use less water. Theyre trying to do good things. But if we really want to address whats wrong with the food system then we need to look at waste. We need to look at how we share out the resources that weve got. People arent hungry because theres not enough food produced. People are hungry because theyre poor. So actually you know the things that are wrong with our food system are largely political. And looking for technological answers isnt going to solve that. On monday we brought you cowcam from the farm today we have bee cam. We can take you now inside a bee hive. You can see more of our bee cam on the the bbc news website at bbc dot co dot uk forward slash news. In a moment well have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. The government is to review the high speed rail link hs2 the transport secretary says all options are on the Table Including scrapping it. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into the river stour in kent on saturday. Borisjohnson will meet german chancellor Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. In the business news. The government says it will automatically enrol british firms in a customs system as it speeds up preparations for a no deal brexit. 88,000 companies will be signed up to the system which will allow them to trade with eu states after brexit. Ryanair is heading to court to try to stop uk pilots from striking on thursday. They have just won their bid in the high court in dublin to stop irish pilots doing the same. The strike is over pay and conditions. Barclays tops the list of banks for the most it shutdowns over the last year according to analysis by the bbc. It had 33 incidents while rivals natwest had 25 and lloyds had 23. Customers face an average of ten it shutdowns a month. Government borrowing has gone up. So much so that its Budget Surplus the amount extra it brings in over the amount it spends actually shrank last month. We were expecting that surplus to be almost £3bn but instead it only came in atjust over a billion. The government usually gets a boost to its coffers injuly, because of people filing their tax returns. Andrew wishart is a uk economist for capital economics1. Why is the surplus sinking2. July is a month were we always see a july is a month were we always see a surplus but the fact that it is smaller than last year shows what we have seen across the first four months is that although tax returns are months is that although tax returns a re pretty months is that although tax returns are pretty good, pushed up by strong employment and wage growth, Government Spending is rising even faster than that and that is a result of the spending on the nhs announced last year. Perhaps also some spending by the government on their preparations for brexit. As brexit making the government take its eye off the ball and it comes to raining in public spending . Its eye off the ball and it comes to raining in public spending7m its eye off the ball and it comes to raining in public spending . It is more of a change of emphasis over the past decade, austerity has been the past decade, austerity has been the big theme and Government Spending fell for six years from 2012 to just 1 of gdp which is really low. Rather than having to continue admit should brings borrowing down it is now at a stage winner can spend more on the nhs and the extra spending it might be doing to prepare for brexit is not going to prepare for brexit is not going to cause investors to lend the government take flight. These are huge figures most of us can dream about, what for the impact be on the likes of us . Although borrowing has risen a bit this year, it is not something we should be worried about. The big picture is borrowing is ata about. The big picture is borrowing is at a level no with the government can make choices to support the economy needs to and to do that would be borrowing more but it is doing so at very low Interest Rates. I think we work the government has done to bring down the deficit over the past decade means the government can respond to shocks like a no deal brexit so although the borrowing is rising maybe we should feel fairly co mforta ble rising maybe we should feel fairly comfortable and happy that the government can choose to support the economy if it needs to. Well borrowing for the government be more expensive after believe the eu . You might expect somewhat actually government bonds are seen as a safe haven so as uncertainty over the Global Economy has increased over recent months, actually cost of borrowing for the government gilt yields has fallen and any of the outlook for the uk economy worsens as most investors think it would after a no deal brexit admit mean that Interest Rates set by the bank of england and investors pay on uk gilts for even from the. They might fall even further. Thank you. In other business stories weve been following britains top chief executives have had a big paycut. Their salaries are down by 13 . According to the trade body for the hr industry. But they still make more than a hundred times the £29 and a half thousand earned by the average worker. There are reports that chinese e commerce giant alibaba has delayed its 15 billion dollar stock market debut in hong kong. The city has had 11 weeks of Anti Government demonstrations which have caused disruption to travel and business. Uk Tech Companies won a record £5. 5bn in Foreign Investment in the first seven months of this year, according to government figures. Experts say the weaker pound is drawing investors to the uk tech sector, which is the Fastest Growing in europe. Us and asian firms invested most. The ftse has been edging up today making up ground after yesterdays losses. Leading the pack is the Tour Operator tui thats after some positive news about its popularity with consumers. Not so great news for Mining Companies their shares have been hit because of the falling prices of base metals. So bhp billiton and rio tinto seeing their shares under pressure. Thats all the business news. Scientists are urging people to recycle their old phones, laptops and tablets which contain increasingly rare and valuable materials. The Royal Society of chemistry estimates there could be up to a0 million unwanted devices squirreled away in homes across the uk. Our science correspondent victoria gill reports. Most of us upgrade and replace our smartphone about every two years. But as we embrace all that new technology, our old gadgets are piling up. 0h, 0k wow and like many of us, louise has a hidden stash of different devices. There could now be as many as a0 million pieces of Old Technology languishing in drawers and cupboards around the country. Thats according to a new study that investigated how many of our old gadgets we now have just stowed away. Theres another one. Recycling is part of our life now, and if you are doing that with all the products you use on a day to day basis, you use these on a day to day basis. When you see them all together like this, what does it make you think . 0h as i said before, ifeel a bit ashamed, because actually, we are not dealing with it, are we . This busy recycling plant in huddersfield is dealing with some of the half a Million Tonnes of electronics that are recycled in the uk every year. But thats just a fraction of the mountain of so called e waste thats building up in landfill and in peoples homes. Here, devices are stripped down to the Raw Materials that can be made into new products. But hidden in all those screens and circuit boards, there is an urgent problem. What is so important in these to extract and reuse . There are loads of different elements, especially in a smartphone, up to 30 different elements. Touch screens contain indium tin oxide, which is a compound that is perfect for touch screens because it conducts electricity and is transparent. And it is useful for all sorts of things, including solar panels. And we are running out of it . Yes. In order to extract a few milligrams of indium, you need a kilogram of metal ore. Theres not a lot of it in the earth at all. So, how can we make sure the most precious elements in our gadgets can be extracted and reused . First, dont throw them in the bin. Retailers are actually obliged to take back an old device when you buy a new one from them. And if you take them to your local council tip, they should end up in a place like this. Laptops hidden away in here. For many like louise, the biggest concern is personal data. But tech experts advise that a factory reset before you recycle will keep that safe, because we will all need, researchers say, to start mining our devices for the very rarest elements before they mines themselves run out. Victoria gill, bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with simon king. Lots of fine weather in many parts of england and wales at the moment, different and Northern Ireland and scotland. The satellite imagery shows a bank of cloud moving in and rain beneath it, continuing for Northern Ireland and western scotland, heavy bursts, a strong south westerly wind developing, pushing east and southern scotland and to once the Lake District and isle of man. Elsewhere staying largely dry with the sunshine and temperatures up to 22 in the south east this afternoon. Tonight the rain moves further south, breaking up as it does, starting quite damp across Northern Ireland through the isle of man into Northern England on thursday morning. Overnight between ten and 13. Rain initially clearing away, more rain spreading into scotland and Northern Ireland during the day but for england and wales a bit of cloud around but sunshine especially towards the south temperatures up to 24 towards the south temperatures up to 2a celsius. Youre watching bbc newsroom live. Its midday and these are the main stories this morning. The government announces an independent review of whether the High Speed Two rail link should go ahead. The transport secretary says all options are on the table, including scrapping it. Give us exactly where we are up to, really genuinely what it would cost to complete this project, and then we all know, well be in a much better position to make that decision, go or no go, by the end of the year. Borisjohnson will meet Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into the river stour in kent on saturday. A man accused of murdering pc Andrew Harper has appeared in court and faces trial injanuary in front of a high courtjudge. Thousands of Homeless Children are growing up in converted shipping containers and office blocks according to a report by the childrens commissioner for england, who says the situation is a scandal. And our focus on farming coverage continues this afternoon well be looking live inside a beehive with our honeycomb cam. The government has appointed a panel of experts to review the hs2 Railway Project to check if the project should continue and, if so, for how long. The first segment of hs2, the line between london and birmingham, is due to open at the end of 2026. The second phase linking leeds and manchester is due for completion by 2032 33. In 2015 the cost of the project was predicted to be more than £55 billion pounds. But borisjohnson has said he expects the costs to spiral to over 100 billion, and this morning the transport secretary grant shapps didnt rule out scrapping the project. This is a genuine review to see whether we are going to get the benefits from it, what the full costs are going to be from this project. Because it is so much public money involved, the responsible thing to do is to really look at it and say is this actually going to stack up . Does it work for the country . So you are not ruling out that hs2, High Speed Two, could be cancelled, even though more than £7 billion has already been spent, and youre unlikely to recoup all of that money . Of course, the thing is, you could get some money back and, you know, the point about this is just because you spent a lot of money on something should not mean that you just carry on ploughing more and more money into it. But hs2 could be scrapped . Clearly if you are going to look at something from scratch and youre going to take into account all of the costs and all of the benefits and have, if you like, starting with a blank sheet then of course the outcome could be any of these things. We want to build great infrastructure. That is exactly our purpose and we believe in Building Infrastructure for the future. Its got to be the right infrastructure and its got to actually be beneficial for everybody, notjust along the route but for the whole of the united kingdom. Our news correspondent andy moore has been taking a look at whats been announced today and joins me now. This has always been a controversial project. This is an interesting development. This is described as a go or no go decision but in a sense, to use a railway metaphor, the train has already left the station. It may not have got very far but quite a lot of work has already been done, Something Like £7 billion worth of work, a lot of demolition around euston, preparatory work around birmingham, earth moving around the m25 west london where there have been access roads constructed, and obviously the Campaign Group stop hs2 are interested in this development. I think you spoke to one of them who is walking the route of hs2. If this is a genuine review and if the government is genuinely looking at saying it as a yes or no decision, they must stop work now, because irreparable damage is being done, as we speak, right now, to unique habitats, ancient woodlands. They are coming down. It is patently obvious that hsz has been overbudget for a number of years and the first question i want answering is who knew and how long have they known for and was parliament misled . Grant shapps was saying that there are all kinds of options on the table. What are the possible outcomes . One is we can carry on as we are and spend an awful lot of money. The second possibility is scrapping it entirely, although a lot of money has already been spent. Then there are the options between those two. Like example reducing the speed of the trains, or only taking the route to birmingham and not going on with the other two channels going on with the other two channels going to manchester and leeds. There are various options in between carrying on as we are and total cancellation. Why did this project come about in the first place . Cancellation. Why did this project come about in the first place7m cancellation. Why did this project come about in the first place . It is to update our rail network. If it was built it would improve speeds of trains to birmingham and beyond, the speed of a train might be cut from one hour 20 minutes down to 49 minutes. But even more important is the capacity of the railway system, so if this was constructed, hs2, the rail network would have Something Like 15,000 People Per Hour being moved between london and the north and the other way around. Mike spicer is director of policy for the British Chamber of commerce and joins me now from westminster. What did you make of the announcement . We are focusing in the Business Community on the strong economic case for delivering all phases of hs2. Lets be clear about the nature of the problem we are trying to solve with hst. Businesses have had to cope with the victorian error railways on which the full range of Passenger Services and Freight Services, on which they rely on both of those things, share the same tracks, vying for priority. Hs2 for 25 major towns and cities with stations, provides dedicated intercity express routes creating a lot of capacity notjust for Passenger Services but also for commuting, localstopping Passenger Services but also for commuting, local stopping services and Freight Services across the west coast, east coast and the midlands. This is a major generational project that cannot just this is a major generational project that cannotjust be looked at in terms of cost but in terms of what it would deliver. Given that the transport secretary grant shapps this may as a result of the review be amended or even scrapped, how much of a blow would that be to the Business Community . The problem is that as they our big and it is not going to go away so it would leave a huge gap in our infrastructure planning. There is a very short timescale for this review so what we hope and expect from government is that this review engages fully with the Business Community, there are concerns and hopes and aspirations. There is no blank cheque for any major Infrastructure Project but this is an opportunity for businesses to help hone and improve hs2. It is businesses to help hone and improve h52. It is notjust an issue of money but of course we said in our introduction that this looks like it may go from an initial costing of 55 million to over £100 million. That isa million to over £100 million. That is a difficult case to make. That is a large number but even that would be less than 1 of gdp. If you look at the existing main line is we have built in the late victorian error, they still provide services over 100 yea rs later they still provide services over 100 years later so this will provide benefits for multiple generations into the future for a fraction of our national output. There is a strong economic and strategic case and it is something which will benefit the whole country notjust birmingham, manchester, london and leeds but all the places in between. Some critics said it is something of a White Elephant and misses the point that technology has moved on so much that a lot of meetings dont need to be face to face and trains are not the solution to bringing additional wealth to parts of the country outside of london. Firstly that has been an argument for nearly 100 years and has been a major factor in why britain has not built ra i lwa ys factor in why britain has not built railways as fast as some of our major competitors but also it is out of whack with what other major technologically advanced countries like south korea are doing, investing heavily in high speed rail. What we are doing is absolutely about modern technology, it cant come in place of it. A body has been found by Police Searching for a child who fell into the river stour in kent at the weekend. Six year old lucas dobson has been missing since last saturday. Kent police said the body has not been formally identified but lucas family have been told. The man accused of murdering pc Andrew Harper, who was dragged under the wheels of a vehicle in berkshire last week, has appeared by video link at reading crown court. Pc harper was killed last thursday evening in the village of sulhamstead while responding to reports of a burglary. Jed foster denies any involvement in the officers death. Our news correspondent Duncan Kennedy is at reading crown court. What have we heard this morning . This hearing lasted about 30 minutes or so. Jed foster himself was not present in court but he was present via video link from the prison where he is being held and he gave his date of birth and his nationality. Just across the court there were ten or 15 members of his family and friends. On the other side of the court were three members of pc Andrew Harpers family. They were all listening to what went on today, which was in a sense a technical and administrative hearing. The main decision taken was that the trial of jed foster will take place on january the 20th next year. It is due to last about three weeks or so and it will take basic you are at reading crown court. Thejudge imposed an order on the media not to print or show any photographs ofjed foster because he said identification will be an issue when that trial starts in january. Identification will be an issue when that trial starts injanuary. There was no application for bail on the pa rt was no application for bail on the part of mr Fosters Legal team and he was remanded in custody. Borisjohnson will meet the german chancellor, Angela Merkel, in berlin later today as he tries to persuade the eu to agree to fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Allies of mrs merkel have accused mrjohnson of making a completely impossible request, and not being serious. The major Sticking Point remains the backstop, an insurance policy that would keep the uk in the eu customs union, to prevent the return of border checks on the island of ireland. Our Political Correspondent iain watson is in westminster. What kind of reception do you think the Prime Minister will get in germany . I think on the surface it will be a convivial reception, a military guard of honour when he arrives, somejoint words military guard of honour when he arrives, some joint words with the german chancellor Angela Merkel, emphasising they are working together on areas apart from brexit, International Affairs and Security Matters and so on. But there is a huge gap between them between getting our brexit deal. Boris johnson is saying there can be no deal with and Northern Irish backstop and Angela Merkel says there can be no deal without it. She will sound like she is trying to compromise, if he can sign up to this now they will work very hard to make sure it is never implemented and just make sure it is never implemented andjustan make sure it is never implemented and just an insurance policy, but she said the same to theresa may and i dont think that will be good enough to Boris Johnson i dont think that will be good enough to borisjohnson and i think he would feel he would alienate himself from conservative backbenchers. There are another group of people at westminster including some conservative mps that i think he will be quite undiplomatic about, those who say they can block a deal, and he will try to convince Angela Merkel tomorrow that is not the case and he is determined to leave on october 31 so they will have to compromise including a major compromise on the backstop including a major compromise on the ba cksto p if including a major compromise on the backstop if they want britain to leave with a deal. Former minister ed vaizey believes borisjohnsons actions are different, not trying to force a compromise but in effect he is hell bent on getting no deal and leaving with no deal at all and shifting the blame to the eu for that particular outcome. Those around Boris Johnson would that particular outcome. Those around borisjohnson would deny that and say he is energetic and trying to get a deal but he has been quite straightforward in face to face meetings that if the backstop remains he cannot get a majority here in parliament. That meeting is scheduled about 5pm this afternoon in berlin. Our correspondentjenny hill is in the german port, hamburg, and told us what people there are expecting from this afternoons meeting. Angela merkel is sticking to the eu script. I dont think anybody here or indeed further afield in germany expects Boris Johnson to walk away from todays meeting with mrs merkels blessing to reopen that Withdrawal Agreement and take out the irish backstop, for all sorts of reasons, chief among them that for mrs merkel the backstop is a bit of a red line. She grew up behind the iron curtain, she doesnt like walls or borders, she doesnt want a hard border on the island of ireland, she wants to protect the integrity of the eu Single Market. There is also some scepticism behind the scenes in berlin that actually taking the backstop out would necessarily guarantee the Withdrawal Agreement even making it through the house of commons after all. Either way here in hamburg they are going to be keeping a very close eye on proceedings today. That is because borisjohnsons threat of a no deal brexit has sent a shudder down the spine of economists in this region and further afield. Hamburg as a region exports and imports 6. 5 billion euros to and from britain, last years figure, so britain is big business. They are really concerned about what a no deal brexit could do to the economy here. But nevertheless i have been talking to politicians and businesses here and they have all said the same thing that whilst they want Angela Merkel to try and avoid a no deal brexit, she shouldnt do that at any cost. Germany has no appetite for a no deal brexit. But it is what the new british Prime Minister is threatening to dish up if he does not get what he wants. In hamburg, where much of the fish comes from british waters, that is a concern. Translation we are not panicking but expect prices to rise. We will have to pass costs on to the customer. So should the eu renegotiate the terms of britains departure . Translation i do not think the eu should give any more. Europe has gone a long way to make concessions and i think we have reached the limit. Germanys gateway to the world, vulnerable to a no deal brexit. Its estimated that hamburg would suffer more financial damage per head of population, than any other part of the country. Other regions worry for their car plants, their Drug Companies in hamburg it is aeroplanes. Translation of course we are worried about what brexit will bring. We are the third biggest Aviation Industry site after seattle and toulouse. Hamburg produces a lot of airbuses, whose wings come form wales. 111,000 jobs depend on that. Still struggling over the same old ground, europes queen of compromise encountered plenty of hot air as she toured a geothermal site in iceland yesterday. Berlins still not sure whether borisjohnson is calling europes bluff but Angela Merkel has her red lines and the irish backstop is one of them. In hamburg, they come and they go, but germany has never altered its brexit course. You really get the sense here just how close germany and britain have been. They have traded through this port for centuries. Germany wants to keep britain close but it values europe and the Single Market more. Those hoping that this countrys soft spot for the british can translate into more brexit concessions may be disappointed. And even as it seeks to prevent it, this city, this country, is steeling itself for a painful farewell. Actually what is really striking when you talk to people here in hamburg and further afield is the sadness at britains decision to leave the eu. It is notjust about economics for germany, although of course germany is determined to keep britain as a close trading partner. Some would argue it needs to, its an important partner, and that is why todays meeting with borisjohnson is likely to be a relatively warm and friendly one despite not really having any kind of constructive outcome, its suspected. It is also worth pointing out that whilst germans reacted with shock and sadness to the referendum result, i think three years on watching whats going on in britain, most of the political establishment, the Business Establishment and a great deal of the public are now looking at britain with disbelief and horror. An extra £9 million is to be given to local councils to help them prepare for brexit, with half the money going to areas with major ports. Ministers say the funding will help councils develop local brexit plans, and cover additional staffing costs. Kent council will get more than £2. 5 million due to the potential pressure around the port of dover. The headlines on bbc news. The government announces an independent review of whether the high speed 2 rail link should go ahead the transport secretary says all options are on the Table Including scrapping it. Borisjohnson will meet Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into a river in kent on saturday. Bookings for Manchester United players have showed their support for paul pogba their support for paul pogba after he received racist insults on social media following that missed penalty against wolves on monday night. The former chelsea and germany defender robert huth says there is no place for any abuse in football. People get to the stadium and it seems to be allowed tojust go in, go out fora warm up and there will be a five year old boy with his dad and you go and get the ball from the sideline, you get abused. It is horrific. And it is not making light of what happened with paul pogba and all the other players, but i think its part of a bigger problem. People are allowed to abuse people when they come to football. England openerjason roy has come through a concussion test and is fit to play in the third test against australia which begins at headingley tomorrow. Roy was struck on the head by a ball in the nets yesterday. Australia lead the 5 match series 1 0, but will be without star batsman steve smith. Hes still suffering from concussion after being hit by a Joffra Archer delivery at lords. After the men were knocked out yesterday, englands women secured a place in the semi finals of hockeys eurohockey championships with a narrow win over belarus. Lily owsley opened the scoring in antwerp after 10 minutes before Isabelle Petter got her first england goal. Belarus struck back in the final quarter to level the score at 3 3, they failed to score in their opening two matches and were beating 11 0 by ireland last time out. England were shocked back into the game, Hannah Martin restoring the lead to seal the victory. Ireland could join england if they beat germany in their final group match. Its germany who took the lead after pia maertans found the net in the first corner with this absolute rocket in the First Quarter, right over the keepers head. Ireland have just levelled. Ireland have just levelled. Sarah hawkshaw scored. Here are live pictures from belgium. Its the last seconds of the third quarter. Unlucky for ireland with a penalty corner. A draw will be enough for germany to qualify but ireland need to win or they are destined for pool c. Another penalty cornerfor ireland. Destined for pool c. Another penalty corner for ireland. This could be crucial. Unlucky for wilson. Corner for ireland. This could be crucial. Unlucky forwilson. Looks like we are going into a Fourth Quarter and ireland are fighting for the win and they will need the victory to stay in the top two teams and avoid relegation to division two. You can watch via the bbc sport website and app. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in the next hour. A report has warned there are more than 200,000 children in england without a permanent home, with some living in converted office blocks or even former shipping containers. The childrens commissioner, anne longfield, says whole families are being housed in flats little bigger than parking spaces. The government says its invested £1. 2 billion to tackle all types of homelessness. Our social Affairs Correspondent Michael Buchanan reports. Would you like to live here . This office block in essex was converted into flats to house homeless families. Developers dont need planning permission after the government relaxed the rules to boost the housing supply, and tens of thousands of Similar Properties have been created in recent years across england. Todays report highlights that some of the flats are tiny, however, whole families living in an area little bigger than a parking space. The childrens commissioner calculates that there are more than 210,000 Homeless Children in england. 124,000 are in temporary Accommodation Office blocks, bed and brea kfasts, even repurposed shipping containers while a further 90,000 are sofa surfing. Children become very anxious, withdrawn. They feel ashamed that theyre homeless, they feel ashamed of where they are living. I mean, if you are living in an old shipping container, or a converted office block, its not particularly nice to invite your friends around after school. All of that has a really severe emotional impact and teachers tell us that childrens education is suffering. Councils say the housing crisis and budget cuts are forcing them to place increasing numbers of families in temporary accommodation, and they are calling on ministers to ensure that all homes are built to a high standard. Michael buchanan, bbc news. Joining me now is dr sam royston, policy and Research Director at the childrens society. Does this report bear out to the experiences you see . Yes. It should be shocking that there is a single child in this country who doesnt have a safe, stable place to live, but there are hundreds of thousands facing homelessness and unsuitable accommodation and it is truly shocking. For many of them, it means being uprooted from their community, often having to travel for many hours to get to and from school. In other cases it is about children ending up in deeply unsuitable, and sanitary conditions and that is why it is important for the government to ta ke it is important for the government to take action to make sure, particularly for people having to rent privately, housing benefit properly covers the cost of renting. Many families are under real pressure as a result. We will come to possible solutions in a minute. How easy is it for you with the families and children that you seek to unpick what has happened, which leaves those people in such a precarious position . In a lot of cases it is because families are not getting the amount of benefit that they need to fully cover the cost of they need to fully cover the cost of the rent and as a result they get into arrears, into debt on their rent, and as a result they end up with the eviction and having to move and find somewhere new, often presenting to the council at that point as homeless as a result of not being able to find somewhere, but to the consequence for that is children being moved in many cases many miles from their local community, or even ending up in deeply unsanitary conditions, and we spoke to 110 year old who was living in a rat infested flat, it cant be right. It has an impact on well being and future health. What rights do people have when they approach the council when they are told they have something for them and they are shown something they feel is totally inappropriate for the needs of their family . I think it is important that families are challenging that and getting good independent advice on what their rights and ability to challenge in their circumstances are. But we need to make sure that councils both have the funding that they need to properly house people but also that less families are in that circumstance of having to present to their council as homeless because they are getting the support that they need to properly cover the cost of rent. You mentioned housing benefit being key to that and you would like to see that going up. I imagine that is something you have lobbied the government on. How optimistic are you that you will see a change . We need to see what the new government decides to do in coming years but we have had housing benefit frozen for a number of years now and it no longer bears any relation to what local rents look like in many different parts of the country. As a result families are getting into debt, being evicted, and we need to make sure housing benefit properly covers the cost of rent. The high court in dublin has approved an application by ryanair to stop a strike by pilots based in ireland. The 48 hour walk out was due to take place on thursday and friday. Meanwhile, a separate court case has begun at the high court in Central London, where ryanair is trying to block similar industrial action by its uk pilots. Coming up in the next halfan hour. We will be alive from the hive. I am surrounded by hundreds of thousands of bees and we will see how the harvest has gone this summer in buckinghamshire as part of the bbcs focus on farming series. We look forward to that. Now its time for a look at the weather. Mixed fortunes for scotland and Northern Ireland with some rain on the way, england and wales are staying away from the rain for the large part although a few showers in North Western areas. Temperatures up to 23 in the sunshine but under the cloud and rain temperatures just into the high teens. Tonight, the wet weather moves south, the rain will eventually appear in Northern England and northern wales, where it will be slow moving, a few showers for northern scotland. Tomorrow this band of rain across north england and north wales moves back north, moving through Northern Ireland and into scotland later. Further south, dry weather for most of wales and england. It will get up to 25 in the sun. The rain becomes quite heavy eventually in scotland. That will clear it later in the week and it will warm up in Northern Areas too. Hello, this is bbc newsroom live. The government announces an independent review of whether the high speed 2 rail link should go ahead the transport secretary says all options are on the Table Including scrapping it. Give us exactly where we are up to, really genuinely what it would cost to complete this project, and then we all know, well be in a much better position to make that decision, go or no go, by the end of the year. Borisjohnson will meet Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into a river in kent on saturday. A man accused of murdering pc Andrew Harper appears in court and will face trial injanuary in front of a high courtjudge. Thousands of Homeless Children are growing up in converted shipping containers and office blocks according to a report by the childrens commissioner for england who says the situation is a scandal. The office for National Statistics says that since 2016, it has been under estimating the number of migrants coming from the eu to the uk. Our home Affairs Correspondent danny shawjoins me now. What are we learning . This was a surprise, the latest emigration figures come out tomorrow it will give us a picture of the rate of migration to the uk and what the office for National Statistics has revealed today is that there is considerable uncertainty about these figures and whether or not we can rely on them because they have done an analysis comparing how they collect the data with figures from the department for work and pensions about the number of people who are in work in the uk and what these figures suggest as they have been underestimating the number of people from European Union countries who are coming to the uk who are migrants from the eu and they have been overstating the number of people from outside europe. In the 12 months to march 2016 the net figure, the difference between people arriving and leaving was 16 higherfor eu people arriving and leaving was 16 higher for eu ignition people arriving and leaving was 16 higherfor eu ignition and 13 people arriving and leaving was 16 higher for eu ignition and 13 lower for non eu migration. Overall they see the trends are broadly the same but this raises some doubts about what they have been relying on and what they have been relying on and what we have been relying on to gauge the progress the government is making towards its target it had to get net migration down to below 100,000. What are the implications . It is about the trust we have in official statistics because what has happened as the office for statistics regulation which covers the whole space of data of official data has downgraded the immigration statistics from its kitemark of National Statistics to experimental statistics of that is an embarrassment for the office and raises questions as to whether we can trust these figures, as to whether the number of eu migrants in the uk has been underestimated for a number of years and whether the figures are right. There are still significant uncertainties about the figures post 2016. Thank you. Thank you. More now on the news that borisjohnson will meet german chancellor Angela Merkel in berlin later, where he is expected to reiterate his call for the irish border backstop plan to be scrapped. Earlier we spoke to thomas matussek, former german ambassador to the united kingdom, and now a Senior Advisor at flint golbal, which advises companies on german and european regulatory developments. He told us what he expected to happen at the meeting. The meeting will be good and useful. You remember the Prime Minister said about two weeks ago when and if the europeans look into our eyes and think, my god, the british are serious, but it also works the other way round. If he looks into Angela Merkels eyes and into the 5a eyes of the 27 european leaders, he will see, my god, they are serious, and they stand firm on the backstop and the agreement which has been signed, but there is ample scope in the political declaration to talk about their future relationship and hopefully come to a relationship which makes the backstop obsolete. I think this is the purpose of the meeting. You have underlined the issue that it is almost a game of chicken. We have seriousness in the eyes of all those people involved and nobody seems willing to budge. We cannot budge on this because if we forgo the insurance policy of the backstop, we risk a hard border in ireland, risk pulling the carpet from under the good friday agreement. There is danger of the troubles restarting again. That is a matter of great seriousness, life or death, for ireland, and the europeans are not prepared to throw ireland under the bus in order to get some arrangement with britain. There was a lot of talk in this country at the moment about the implications of a no deal brexit for british industry. As somebody who himself is now working with companies on political and regulatory developments, how concerned are German Companies about the implications of no deal on the 31st of october . The germans dont like no deal but in the scale of priorities, the integrity of the Single Market is much more important than business with britain andi believe the percentage of german business with britain is much, much lower than the other way around. Cabinet Office Minister michael gove has been in holyhead this morning. He said he thought there was a chance that a deal could be reached with the eu tx sot i certainly do not want no deal, i wa nt i certainly do not want no deal, i want a deal with the eu. The primaries that rose to the European Council in order to spell out what a deal could and should involve. We have had three attempts to pass the existing deal that theresa may concluded with the eu and the house of commons has rejected it. I voted for that deal because i want is to leave with a deal. But you are milling for us to leave without a deal. We have to leave, we voted to leave. You said earlier you would not take the risk know you are going to run the risk. Politicians do not get to choose the votes to honour, people voted to leave, but a few choice is no brexit or brexit and no deal then i would choose brexit and no deal and i have always been clear on that point. The highest ranking catholic cleric to be convicted of child sex abuse, Cardinal George pell, has lost his appeal against his conviction. In february he was found guilty of abusing two boys while archbishop of melbourne in the late 1990s. The former vatican treasurer is serving a six yearjail term. From melbourne heres phil mercer. Once part of the popes inner circle, today george pell arrived to hear his fate in the back of a prison van, hoping to overturn his convictions. At his trial, pell was found guilty of a brazen and forcible sexual attack on two choirboys at st patricks cathedral, in melbourne, in the late 1990s. His lawyer said the case against him was flawed and that the jury was wrong to convict him on the uncorroborated evidence of one surviving accuser. And the man who was australias most powerful catholic official did not have to wait long for the chiefjustice to dismiss the appeal. Justice maxwell and i accepted the prosecutions submission that the complainant was a very compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist, and was a witness of truth. Outside the Victorian Court of appeal, there was relief for those who campaigned for victims of clerical abuse. It is just a wonderful day for survivors, for victims. I think it sends a message that justice will be served no matter how high you are, or how old you are, or, you know, what yourjob is. This is. This is a crime, it is against children, that innocence. George pell is the most senior catholic figure worldwide to be convicted of child sexual abuse but this case that has global significance might not be over. Pell said he is disappointed by the courts decision and his legal team is considering challenging his convictions in australias high court. But campaigners say another appeal would be a waste of time and money. Well, i think the Catholic Church needs to stop wasting money on appeals and give that money that they would spend on fancy lawyers to the victims of their crimes. George pell is 78 and is now back in prison in disgrace, for crimes he committed more than 20 years ago, when he was archbishop of melbourne. He will have to serve more than three years behind bars before he is eligible for parole. Phil mercer, bbc news, melbourne. Chinas Foreign Ministry have confirmed a Uk Foreign Office employee has been detained for breaking chinese law. Simon cheung who works at the hong kong consulate went missing on 8 august on a business trip to shenzhen on the chinese mainland. Our china correspondent robin brant sent this update from shanghai. For almost two weeks now weve had very little detail but now there is some more specifics coming from the chinese authorities. They confirmed from the Foreign Ministry that simon cheung was indeed detained on august eighth in the city of shenzhen, that is in the south of china very close to hong kong. And they say he is accused of breaching Public Security laws. Thats it. We do not know when this happened, exactly what he is accused of doing but simply its an alleged breach of Public Security laws. He is being held by the police under whats known as administrative detention. Now that gives the police the power to hold him with no trial for up to 15 days and then presumably release him. This is a way of dealing with fairly minor in the context of chinese law allegations. So that 15 day period is going to run out in about 48 hours time, hopefully then mr cheung will be released. What do we know about him . Well, he is 28. He lives in hong kong and he works at the uk consulate there for the Scottish Government. Hes actually a trade and Investment Officer at scottish development. In terms of his status, well, its a little bit complex. He has we understand whats known as a British National overseas passport. So hes kind of a hong kong citizen but that in a way is a bit meaningless because hong kong of course is part of china. The Chinese Government regards him as chinese. That is why they also regard this matter not as a diplomatic incident, they say, not the intentional targeting of a uk government employee, but this is about a chinese citizen who is accused of breaching a chinese law. I have to say there are many who will be very skeptical about that. Weve seen similar detentions of canadian citizens over the past year as tensions have increased between canada and china with regard to the arrest in canada of a huawei official. The headlines on bbc news. The government announces an independent review of whether the high speed 2 rail link should go ahead the transport secretary says all options are on the Table Including scrapping it. Borisjohnson will meet Angela Merkel in berlin later today to repeat his demand for fundamental changes to the brexit Withdrawal Agreement. A body is found by Police Searching for six year old lucas dobson who fell into a river in kent on saturday. All this week were taking a look at the farming industry, from how its dealing with climate change, to what brexit means for the future of agriculture across the uk. Today were looking at some of the issues affecting the world of bee farming. And we have our very own bee cam at a bee farm in buckinghamshire. Is mesmerising and beautiful to watch. And Gareth Barlow is buzzing around at oakfield honey farm in buckingham for us. The hoods are down, we are feeling very confident, the bees are nice and calm. We are looking at agricultural across the uk for the focus on farming series and the honey harvest is no different to any other at this time of year. I am joined by beekeeper Rebecca Marshall stop we talk about the weather and climate, how is 2019 going . Ok so far, the art of the honey crop this week so we hope it is a good year. What makes a good year . The sun allows the bees to fly but you need moisture on the ground to create nectar in the plants and trees for the bees to collect. We are next to a hive, what is happening at the moment . That is the entrance of the hive and some will be coming out to cool down, some will be young bees coming out for the first time and working out where the entrance is and also guard bees which guard. How many bees inside . This is a nucleus colony which is more than full sized but you will get still up to 20 20000 and 40,000 at this time of year. We have been very placid and calm. What are people around the country, gardeners and people who ca re country, gardeners and people who care about nature and the environment want to know what they can do to help and support these. Planting wildflower in your garden or having troughs on a balcony or small garden. Encourage bees with something for them to collect but what are trees so bees can hydrate is also useful. The wasps typically are not being as calm as the bees. With regards to the harvest from my relatively good year, what about the quality . Theres that vary on whether or plants . Not so much the quality full stops on a, asps and getting on my hair. The weather is very dependent on how much the bees can produce and collect. What is in store and the rest of the year wester mark . Were real queen bees until september and we do Health Checks and put queens back into the house. You send them in the post. Beekeepers will output re queen their hives every few years, gives a good temperament to the hive so people will be buying them also not for that. You can one look at the website, look in the camera inside one of these behind me. I like that expression, im going to requeen my hive. And for more on the issues well be focusing on throughout the week here on bbc news and to see more of beehive live go to our special section of the bbc news website. Thats at bbc dot co dot uk slash focus on farming. The nhs is to fund a new treatment for 2,000 people in england with severe haemophilia. The new drug is said to dramatically cut their risk of life threatening bleeds and reduce treatment times. Emicizumab is also much easier to take than current treatments. Its given as an injection just under the skin, rather than into a vein. For years, it was widely believed that women experienced different symptoms to men while having a heart attack. But new Research Suggests that isnt the case. The British Heart Foundation says misconceptions about a womans risk of having a heart attack, meant they received unequal care compared with men, often leading to misdiagnosis and even death. The nhs says its working to improve services preventing cardiovascular disease. President trump has cancelled an official state visit to denmark after the nations Prime Minister said greenland was not for sale. Announcing the changes to his plans, mr trump tweeted. Denmarks Prime Minister said the suggestion that greenland might be up for sale was absurd, and that she hoped the president was not being serious. Our north america correspondent, david willis has more details. You probably couldnt make this stuff up, could you . There he was saying at the weekend he was interested in greenland because of its significance geopolitically, and so on, but that the intended visit to denmark in a couple of weeks time was nothing to do with the acquisition, or potential acquisition of greenland. You mentioned the danish Prime Minister, denmarks Prime Minister attempting to scotch the plan, calling it absurd. But President Trump retweeted after that a picture of a gold trump tower superimposed on the greenland skyline with the words, i promise not to do this to greenland. Fast forward 24 hours and that same president is saying his visit to denmark is being postponed because, as he put it on twitter, denmark is a very special country with incredible people. But based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksens comments that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of greenland, i will be postponing our meeting. So, it would appear that despite what he had to say to the contrary, central to those planned negotiations in copenhagen was discussion of a potential acquisition by the united states. The Trump Administration has approved a potential eight billion dollar sale of f 16 Fighter Aircraft to taiwan. The sale would involve 66 warplanes the largest such transaction in decades. The proposed deal has been sent to congress for its consideration. On monday, beijing said american arms sales to taiwan amounted to severe interference in chinas internal affairs. Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro has been blamed for a Record Number of wildfires across the amazon rainforest. Conservationists say the leaders policies have encouraged the clearing of land by farmers and loggers, leading to the outbreak of more than 70,000 thousand fires thats an increase of more than 80 percent on the same period last year. The president said the fires were simply seasonal. A few weeks ago the town of Whaley Bridge looked dangerously close to being completely flooded when a nearby dam partially collapsed. Now the residents of the derbyshire town are back in their homes after a million tons of waters was pumped from the local reservoir, removing the risk. Our correspondent, dave guest, sent this from toddbrook reservior. As you can see, the reservoir is a shadow of its former self. Almost like a large puddle rather than a reservoir. They pumped out a billion litres of water because three weeks ago this dam was in danger of bursting. Over here you can see some of the damage and some of the repairs carried out, those famous images of the Chinook Helicopters dropping bags of aggregates to plug the hole and save the town of Whaley Bridge. They did save the town and now they are beginning to work on permanently repairing the dam. Sean mcginley is from the canal river trust. What is your priority . Most of the water is out under the repair is done, we will have a Management Plan in place to keep the water out and the water level down and make sure it is safe for the people of Whaley Bridge. That is why the pumps are there behind us. Once that is working we can start the investigation into how this incident happened and that will build into the design and eventual repair. The pumps are under those pontoons and i believe they can take out 250 litres per second, each one. A tremendous amount of water can be taken out so the risk is managed through those pumps, we could bring in more if we had to, but there is enough to manage any situation we can see. So the people of Whaley Bridge can be reassured it is safe now. Yes. This reservoir is safe and so is Whaley Bridge. It is not a reservoir of Drinking Water but it supplies the Canal Networks are what has the impact been on the Canal Network . The supply to the canal comes from four different reservoirs, this isjust one of them. It is not ideal but we can manage in most situations and canal boating can continue. We were looking at temporary repairs carried out with the help of the raf. Are you going to have to rebuilt the dam completely . We dont know yet. We want to make sure we understand what happened and then we can work out what will happen next. I imagine we will be here anywhere between 18 months and three years. It is needed to get this reservoir back up and running and making sure the canal can be enjoyed by people. And Lessons Learned here can be used up and down the country because there are thousands of dams. I think the details of what we find out will be shared around the country and this will be no different. The work is going to continue here at the reservoir and at the dam for some time yet. Now its time for a look at the weather. The satellite picture shows the rain bid include working in across Northern Ireland, pushing east to bring the wet weather and across scotla nd bring the wet weather and across scotland through the rest of this afternoon. Across most of englund and wales away from that weather front it stays dry with variable cloud must sunshine when it comes out and is going to feel one with images up to 23 degrees, not quite as one underneath the cloud and rain in the north west. The weather picture overnight, the conference sinks into Northern England and north wales, perhaps the north midlands and then stops moving so it stays dry for southern england, shoppers across northern scotland, the main focus of rain across north england and north wales. From there tomorrow the rain band moves north again so returns across Northern Ireland and back into scotland all the while, southern counties of england and the south of wales stayed right with warm sunshine. Temperatures reaching a height of 25 in london but the rain could still be quite heavy at times across the west of scotland. An area of High Pressure on the continent moves east and that will allow winds to move on from the continent bringing a much warmer spell of weather for most of the uk. Temperatures will surge through friday, rain cleaning eventually from northern scotland becoming drier and sunnier. Winds generally from the south, cloud breaking up to give warm sunshine but the temperatures we are looking at highs of 27 towards london and the south east, 21 in belfast and 20 and in. It will continue to get warmer through the weekend, a lot of dry weather and sunshine and temperatures will continue to rise, looking at a hot spell of weather and time for the weekend. 29 to was london, 26 in cardiff, still into the low 20s in belfast and edinburgh but in the sunshine it will feel pleasa ntly warm but in the sunshine it will feel pleasantly warm and the warm if not hot weather looks set to last for some into according monday. Bank holiday monday. An inquiry is to be launched into whether the high speed 2 rail link should go ahead. £7 billion has already been spent on the project, to connect london and birmingham, and later manchester and leeds. The government says it will make a final decision within months. Give us exactly where were up to, really, genuinely what it would cost to complete this project, and then well know and well be in a much better position to make that decision go or no go by the end of the year. Well have the latest on the scheme, which has been forecast to cost more than £85 billion. Also this lunchtime borisjohnson will meet Angela Merkel later, with a call to scrap the irish border backstop, in order to secure a brexit deal. Its emerged the uk has been under estimating the levels of eu migration for a decade the office for national