Governments agenda. Welcome to this bbc news special of the state opening of parliament. Im simon mccoy. The queen has laid out the conservative governments agenda for the year, following last weeks election win. There are around 30 bills. Lets have a look at some of them. Front and centre is delivering brexit by bringing the eu Withdrawal Agreement bill back to parliament to ratify the brexit deal agreed by the government in october. There will also be legislation on immigration. The government says it will End Free Movement of people and pave the way for a points based immigration system. On the nhs, there is a funding bill to enshrine in law the governments commitment to spend an extra 3a billion in cash per year by 2023 24. On education, there will be increased levels of pupil funding in england. And on social care, there is not much detail, but a pledge that no one will have to sell their house. And the government will seek Cross Party Consensus for further reform. On justice, the Counter Terrorism bill will keep terrorists in prison for longer and a sentencing bill will ensure serious offenders serve longer in custody. The Armed Forces Bill will seek to protect veterans from legal action, which will be controversial with some communities in Northern Ireland. In housing, the renters reform bill will abolish no fault evictions and introduce a lifetime deposit scheme. The employment bill is aimed at enhancing workers rights, supporting Flexible Working and ensuring workers keep their tips. To drive investment outside london, the government says it will draw up an infrastructure strategy and will introduce legislation to speed up the roll out of fibre broadband. And there are plans to cut Business Rates to help the high street and towns. And, finally, on the environment, a bill will ensure net zero green house emissions by 2050 and plans to host the Climate Change summit cop26 in 2020. Our assistant Political Editor norman smithjoins us now. Pretty much as build. Pretty much as buildi pretty much as build. I cant see any surprises. I know there were rabbits leaping out of hats, and thats obvious because its only ten weeks since the last queen speech and it will be slightly extraordinary if it was ripped off and they came up with something new. Its pretty predictable. The two things that jump out its pretty predictable. The two things thatjump out to me is there area things thatjump out to me is there are a lot of stuff in it. More than 30 bills, which is quite a heavy workload. What that tells me is that tea m workload. What that tells me is that teamjohnson workload. What that tells me is that team johnson want to send out a message to people that the great parliamentary gridlock is over, we are moving on. So the sort of stasis, the inactivity, the stock in the mud syndrome we had for the past three year as parliament has waged war has gone. Things can be done and changes coming. That is one part of the queen speech message. The other is that borisjohnson, and if you listen to him since he was re elected, every time he opens his mouth he says weve got to move quickly to assuage the voters who gave him the support, and that is the legislation around the commentary from Boris Johnson to demonstrate in areas where they normally wouldnt touch the tories with a barge pole that he Boris Johnson will be different. He will deliver on commitments to the nhs, for example, which is why we had this symbolic gesture of enshrining in law the increased funding for the nhs. Totally unnecessary. You dont need to do that. But it is saying to the voters, no ifs, no buts, its happening, its the law. Elsewhere we see him reaffirming the commitment to splash the cash outside of london which has sucked up outside of london which has sucked up so much of the resources in terms of transport, and a pledge to build roads, rails and bridges outside of london and to level up School Spending and that is designed for the same purpose, to try and keep those voters who were a bit iffy about Boris Johnson, but those voters who were a bit iffy about borisjohnson, but to say those voters who were a bit iffy about Boris Johnson, but to say to them, dont worry, i will stay true to the promises i made to you. The repeal of the fixed term parliaments act, and may be a fire across the bow was to the Supreme Court as well. Complex, complex, complex. It doesnt seem as easy as you think. The people i spoke to said, wejust go back to the Royal Prerogative determining when we have an election. It seems to be overly complex to do. I think there is unanimity that the fixed term parliaments act has proved a straitjacket that no one is co mforta ble straitjacket that no one is comfortable with. Everybody wants to get rid of it. Quite how you get back to a situation where the priming is to when and how he will call a general election, i dont know what the legalistic mechanism for doing that is and the other interesting area is the position of the Supreme Court in the wake of the slap in the face from borisjohnson over prorogation. Clearly that ra nkles over prorogation. Clearly that ra n kles a over prorogation. Clearly that rankles a bit. How far mrjohnson will move to curb the Supreme Court, i dont know. I suspect its probably more rhetorical than actual, a bit like the beef around the head for the bbc. Mrjohnson feels a bit bruised by his treatment by the Supreme Court and auntie and hes pushing his weight around a bit at the moment. We will wait and see what details emerge in both those area. I will talk to you later, but for now, norman thank you very much. Joining me now is director of uk in a changing europe, professor anand menon. Laura kuenssberg hasjust tweeted that it will close on january the sist, that it will close on january the 3ist, so all steam ahead as far as the government is concerned. The obvious thing to say is what a difference a majority makes. Its been so long since weve seen an effective majority government that for the first few months we will sit there going, wow, they are getting things done and there is no dissension on the backbenches. Hes ina very dissension on the backbenches. Hes in a very strong position in one of the ideas about getting rid of dexi is that there will be a Super Department and the Prime Minister will keep a close eye on it. How will keep a close eye on it. How will it work . I think, will keep a close eye on it. How will it work . Ithink, and will keep a close eye on it. How will it work . I think, and always the devil is in the detail, but we are collapsing to functions. The function of negotiating trade and the function of negotiating exit. Exit has been negotiated in their preparations to put in place in the plan will be to keep some of the people in there and point them towards the forthcoming negotiations with the European Union which will start on the day we leave because at that point we have 11 months according to the Prime Ministers deadline to get a trade deal approved before we leave the transition period. Interesting that the visa issue will get priority and this is what we were expecting to see. this is what we were expecting to see. The nurses will get priority. Very interesting and its not over the policy, but the fermentation. Whitehall will have a very busy year and whether the home office has the obesity ability to put this into action remains to be seen, i think. In put this into action remains to be seen, ithink. In terms put this into action remains to be seen, i think. In terms of how the timing works, january the 31st seems pretty much set in stone. A lot of scepticism as to whether the trade talks can be completed in time by the end of the year. Is there a sense that the government has tied its hands behind its back by saying that in law, we will have this done . Yes and no. The government wants to give the impression its tied its hand behind its back but they could pass a bill saying they could extend the transition want whenever they want, so its gesture politics more than anything else but yes, by saying in black and white in their ma nifesto saying in black and white in their manifesto they will not extend the transition, the government has constrained itself and now we know that if we asked for an extension we have to do it by the end ofjune. If not, then december the 31st is the new deadline for brexit by which time we had to have a trade deal or the transition ends and we end up trading on wto terms. Just wondering about the ardent toby Scottish Independence, the snp saying, with Nicola Sturgeon reiterating the unarguable case for a second referendum the issue of Scottish Independence. Does that complicated things to borisjohnson in the short term . In the short term i dont think it does because he has said hes not willing to give a referendum to the scottish people and if thats his position is very little Nicola Sturgeon can do. I dont think they will consider doing an indicative referendum that is not real but will show how strong the scots feel. I think the snp over the next year and they have elections in holyrood next year, is work towards those elections, play the politics of grievance and say we did really well in the election and the British Government is not giving us the democratic right to have another say, and use that to build up a head of stea m say, and use that to build up a head of steam for the elections in 2021 and if the snp get a good result, they will come back with a redoubled force and say we have a mandate you cannot deny. Its also worth saying in parentheses that the trial of the former leader of the snp starting january and that could have a bearing on all of this as well. Always good to see you. Have a good christmas. Lets hear a bit more about what the queens said in this queens speech, hence the lack of frippery normally associated with this, no gold coaches and the queen not wearing full ceremonial robes, but lets hear what she had to say in the speech about the process of negotiations over the trade deal after brexit. My governments priority is to deliver the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union on the 31st of january. My ministers will bring forward legislation to ensure the United Kingdoms exit on that date, and to make the most of the opportunities that this brings to all the people of the United Kingdom. Thereafter, my ministers will seek a future relationship with the European Union, based on a Free Trade Agreement that benefits the whole of the United Kingdom. They will also begin trade negotiations with other leading global economies. The integrity and prosperity of the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance to my government. My ministers will work urgently to facilitate talks to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland. That was inside the building behind mea that was inside the building behind me a short time ago. Lets pick up on the first part. The government s First Priority is to deliver brexit on january 31st and to negotiate an ambitious Free Trade Agreement with the eu that benefits the whole country. I am joined now by chris morris from reality check. Brexit, front and foremost, and did we learn anything new about what we expect to happen over the next few months . Not really. It was a reminder of how much has to be done. There is the Withdrawal Agreement bill and we know the numbers are there to pass it so brexit will happen on the 31st of january there to pass it so brexit will happen on the 31st ofjanuary and then there is notjust a trade agreement to be negotiated with the eu, there are trade agreements around the world but also a series of other bits of legislation set out in the queens speech which are going to have to be passed as a result of brexit, so an agriculture bill for a new Agriculture Policy to replace the Common Agricultural policy under new fisheries bill, a new trade bill, new immigration system and i think the challenge next year and it wont so much be legislation and getting it through parliament because a majority is there, it will be implementing all of these things. How do you implement a new immigration system on time by the end of next year . A whole new system to run agriculture in this country. Weve already seen, for example, an internal government document leaked to the ft and seen by the bbc which suggested there is concern in the Civil Service about how quickly they can implement new proposals for the irish border. How quickly they can implement new proposals for the irish borderlj remember you and i talking may be yea rs remember you and i talking may be years ago now about the prospect of copying and pasting what europe had, putting it into legislation and then you can tinker with it at will afterwards. Is that not possible . M is on some things. For example, agriculture, one of the themes of the entire Brexit Campaign was that we wa nted the entire Brexit Campaign was that we wanted to leave the Common Agricultural policy and they certainly want to leave the common fisheries policy but you cantjust then copy the common fisheries policy on your own law, you create your own policy. And the idea is that the government promised we would take back control of our own waters. Now what does that mean in practice . A lot of fishing communities want there to be massive restrictions on the number of european boats that are allowed to come in and fish in british waters. The problem with that is that its not just about where you catch your fish, its where you sell them. We know from the other side, the europeans will come back in those negotiations and say, if you want to sell your fish in negotiations and say, if you want to sell yourfish in our negotiations and say, if you want to sell your fish in our market, negotiations and say, if you want to sell yourfish in our market, and negotiations and say, if you want to sell your fish in our market, and we do sell most of the fish in the european market, we want access to your waters. Those are the kind of things we will see play out over the next 12 months. The queens speech is debated here this afternoon on the real action on friday when the Withdrawal Agreement bill is brought forward here, thats the next tangible moment in this process, isnt it . It is and its not the end of the process because it then has to go to the house of lords and go through an entire parliamentary process. The Withdrawal Agreement has to be ratified in the European Parliament which will happen sometime in january. So, parliament which will happen sometime injanuary. So, yes, friday is an important symbolic moment and prove what we know, the majority is there to get the legislation through to ensure that brexit happens on the 3ist to ensure that brexit happens on the 31st of january, but there are a few steps to go to end that process. In terms of other things in the queens speech, brexit front and foremost, but the nhs, other things this house will have to deal with . Certainly a priority focus for the government on the nhs, partly because that was one of the big promises in the election campaign. And so they know they have new voters in the north of england, for whom the nhs was a priority. They now have to deliver. Obviously there will be an argument from a diminished labour party, yes, but you are still not putting in as much money as we did the last time we we re money as we did the last time we were in government. As a cash figure its bigger, but when you take account of inflation, its less funding proportionally than was putting in the years leading up to 2010. In the end, when you put in the extra money, what are the results you see, what happens to waiting times . We have heard the phrase get brexit done, now hearing dbd. But its get brexit started, isnt it . Were getting anything done . 31st ofjanuary is an important symbolic legal moment. We will no longer be members of the European Union but people have to understand for 11 months after that, nothing will change at all, really. We still follow all the rules and regulations, still pay money into the eu budget but we dont have any say in making those rules are changing those rules. There are those in the conservative party who had said this is a vassal state, so its an awkward period for the government. Its not surprising that mrjohnson and his ministers want to keep it as short as possible but then you have to get through all the practical steps of doing your trade agreement and passing all these other bits of legislation, we mentioned agriculture, immigration and trade and so on, so you are ready come the beginning of 2021 to move forward. It is quite interesting watching the European Parliament, guy hofstadter basically said, hang on, uk, dont assume that whatever you pass in parliament he will get ratified by the eu. There is all sorts of wrangling and behind the scenes stuff going on . There is. I mean, ive heard guy hofstadter before warn of things that dont quite happen. Im pretty sure the European Parliament is going to ratify the european agreement because dont forget, the rest of the European Union wants to move on as well. They are fed up of our internal debate on brexit. They need to solve their problems and we need to solve their problems and we need to solve ours. And things like european rights, the european compartment has some questions about how they will be implemented but im fairly sure the will be ratified in the European Parliament next month. Chris morris, thank you. Lets talk now to Maddy Thimont jack, from the institute for government. Good morning to you, good afternoon shows how in touch i am. Lets talk about the timetable, as chris was saying, friday, we get their Withdrawal Agreement coming not for the first time in front of this parliament. What happens then . Today the government has said they were given notice to present the bill so we should see the text of the bill this afternoon. Tomorrow, we are expecting a second reading. That is the first chance for Boris Johnson to show that the election result means there is a clear majority in parliament and they will be able to get the bill through. After that point, we will see the timetable to get it through, so we will expect the commons to look at it in the first week of january to go the commons to look at it in the first week ofjanuary to go through those stages and then it will go over to the lords. I dont see a problem in terms of getting the bill through before the end of january. One of the things that is interesting is how much the bill is changed compared to what we saw in october because now he has a big majority, he hasnt had to make the same concessions to his backbenchers as he did in october. The department of the uu closing on the 31st of january. Underlining the power of borisjohnson now . January. Underlining the power of Boris Johnson now . Its clearly quite clear political statement. But it does also reflect the practical realities, theyre actually having. It didnt really work, basically, in terms of running the negotiations. We saw negotiations start off there, then into the Cabinet Office and then into number 10 under Boris Johnson. Cabinet office and then into number 10 under borisjohnson. It does make sense to think about managing the negotiations properly from the centre, the institute of government has recommended running it out of the Cabinet Office because they are used to working with departments and playing that brokering role. It makes sense that there is also clearly a political message. You and i over the months have been talking about the fixed term parliaments act and the intention to repeal that. Is it as easy and simple as that . There isa it as easy and simple as that . There is a big question about what they will do first will they just repeal the act and try and take back the Royal Prerogative power to be able to call an election . Are they going to call an election . Are they going to legislate, to actually enshrine the executives power to set an election date . Or are they, and this is something they properly wont do but they could look at trying to clea n but they could look at trying to clean up the fixed term parliaments act, to try and set out a clearer process for app and is in those 1a days but the clear message today that they wont be doing that, they wa nt to that they wont be doing that, they want to repeal it and take back control of that power to be able to call an election. How will that go down round the corner at the Supreme Court . Is this a warning shot . Down round the corner at the Supreme Court . Is this a warning shot7m down round the corner at the Supreme Court . Is this a warning shot . It is difficult to say. I think particularly on the fixed Terms Parliament act, that is just saying they obviously ran into difficulties earlier this year when they wanted to call an election and parliament wouldnt let them. I think it will depend how they go about doing it and whether or not people think they can mounta and whether or not people think they can mount a serious legal challenge. You mentioned the Supreme Court. They talked about their Constitutional Commission and that is obviously going to be a priority for the government, looking at the relationship between parliament and the courts. At this stage, its not quite clear what they are intending to do with that. We might learn more shortly. Ok, always good to see you, thank you. Plenty more to come from westminster on what is an historic day here with the queens speech, with the new government. We will be back a little later, now back to the studio. Thank you very much, simon. Lets catch up with the days are the main use. catch up with the days are the main use. Dess are the main news. Donald trump has been impeached over allegations that he abused his power for personal gain. It means he will now face trial in the senate, where he could potentially be removed from office. Hes only the third president in history to be impeached, as our north america correspondent peter bowes reports article one is adopted. And with that, donald trump entered the history books as the third us president to be impeached, a decisive vote by the house of representatives, controlled by the democrats, sealed the president s fate. It followed high drama rarely seen fate. It followed high drama rarely seenin fate. It followed high drama rarely seen in us congress which is bitterly divided. At the precise time of his impeachment, the president was being lauded by his fa ns president was being lauded by his fans at a rally in michigan, the kind of made for television choreography that donald trump revels in. They do nothing democrats, and they are do nothing, all they want to do is focus on this. Our declaring their d patriot and disdainfor this. Our declaring their d patriot and disdain for the american voter. This impeachment is a political suicide march that the democrat party. Have you seen my pals in the last four weeks . The president is accused of withholding military aid to ukraine to try and get that country to investigate his political rival, joe biden. That, say the democrats, is an abuse of power and the reason for the first article of impeachment. The second, obstruction of congress, came when it was claimed the president tried to block the inquiry into his discussions with ukraine. Article two is adopted. The passing of two articles of impeachment means President Trump will face a trial in the senate, where the republicans are the majority. Mr trump is almost certain to be acquitted but more high drama is guaranteed. Here, the ministry of defence is being urged to stamp out racisim within the armed forces. The watchdog overseeing complaints in the military is warning racist incidents are happening more and more often. It comes after a number of high profile cases involving soldiers whove taken legal action against the army. Our defence correspondent Jonathan Beale has more. A picture of my grandfather from world war ii and his medals. Mark de kretser has always had strong ties to the military. My dad, raf. His father, who came from sri lanka, joined the raf. Then we have mine. Those are your medals . Yeah. So, thats. Iraq, afghanistan. Mark signed up to the army soon after he left school, serving first as a regular and then a reserve. But it was not combat which left him suffering from post traumatic stress. It was racism. My name wasnt english and. As they said, i had a bit of the tar brush in me. There would be names that would come up in the meetings. I never asked to be called black, buddha, i never asked to have my heritage to be questioned. Itjust got to the point where i wasnt worried about how i performed at work i was worried about what was going to be said to me next. It is not the image the army wants. Recent recruitment campaigns have highlighted its diversity and tolerance. It wants more black and asian personnel, who currently make up just 7 of the armed forces. But the harsh reality is that ethnic minorities already make a higher proportion of complaints about bullying, harassment and discrimination. Earlier this year, two paratroopers won an employment tribunal, accusing the army of systemic racism. Now, in herfirst tv interview, the independent Armed Forces Ombudsman overseeing complaints warns they have a serious problem. I think racism is prevalent in the armed forces. Whether or not you describe it as institutionally racist or there are racist incidents which are occurring with increasing and depressing frequency, the issue needs to be tackled. If i tell you something you are doing is wrong, i expect you to buy in, accept that and change. The mod says it is committed to stamping out racism. Everyone in the armed forces now undergoes diversity and inclusivity Training Like this. You said you experienced racist remarks and that sort of thing. How did that make you feel . I didnt like it. And there is also a dedicated team to deal with what it calls unacceptable behaviours. The fact that the army has invested in a team of six, and hopefully a team that is going to get bigger, shows that the army takes all of these issues seriously and it is notjust about racism and sexism it is about all unacceptable behaviours. But it didnt stop mark from suffering racist abuse. It has broke me. Iwas. Really quite a strong character. Im. Mouse now. The mod has now paid him compensation but he will never trust the army he once loved. Jonathan beale, bbc news. An mod spokesperson says racism has no place in the military and that there are a range of measures in place to ensure the issue is tackled. The first minister of scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has outlined her case for another Scottish Independence referendum. The snp leader says she believes her partys success in last weeks election gives her a strong mandate for another vote. The governments says it will not support ms sturgeons plan. Speaking this morning, Nicola Sturgeon warned borisjohnson not threaten democracy in scotland by frustrating the will of scottish voters. I think it is reasonable for me to stand on the ground of expecting that election victory and that mandate to be respected. And if i look, as i hope i do because its how i feel, relaxed about this, its because that i also know that the more a tory government seeks to block the will of the scottish people, the more they show complete and utter contempt for scottish democracy, the more support for independence will rise. So their short term strategy, in my view, sows the seeds of their longer term defeat. It is self defeating but it will not hold because it is not a democratic position. I think we see the tectonic plates of this shifting already, in the days since the election. Lets speak now to our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, who is outside holyrood. Nicola sturgeon says there has been a Material Change in circumstances since the first independence referendum. She says the more Boris Johnson refuses to move on this, the stronger support will be for a second independence referendum. But ultimately, she is waiting on him to make their next move, isnt she . Yes, but she also said in that statement she gave earlier that she knew what his next move would be and that has been confirmed. The westminster government is saying no toa westminster government is saying no to a second independence referendum, saying that they think that would be a damaging distraction. But i think Nicola Sturgeon is playing a long game here. She is setting out what she sees as the arguments in favour of scotlands rights to choose its own constitutional future. Today, she is sending that letter, asking the westminster government to tra nsfer the westminster government to transfer powers to the parliament here at holyrood, enabling it to hold a referendum at a time of its own choosing because she believes she has not just own choosing because she believes she has notjust the mandate but also the momentum in favour of her arguments and her position. She thinks that the conservative government, westminsters position is untenable and will not hold Going Forward. But for now, it is a constitutional stand off, if you like, and its hard to see the way through. So when i talk about next moves, Nicola Sturgeon steading that news co nfe re nce moves, Nicola Sturgeon steading that News Conference earlier that she and borisjohnson had News Conference earlier that she and Boris Johnson had what News Conference earlier that she and borisjohnson had what she called a sleep deprived conversation on friday night and she said he committed to engaging seriously with proposals that were being put forward by her. But in terms of how borisjohnson forward by her. But in terms of how Boris Johnson might read forward by her. But in terms of how borisjohnson might read that, do you think the government, the conservative government in london, would look at perhaps considering devolving more powers to holyrood, is that what might happen next rather than saying they would grant a second independence referendum . Hard to see what their next move would be. Ithink hard to see what their next move would be. I think they will take a keen interest in scotland Going Forward , keen interest in scotland Going Forward, and the mood music from westminster is that they are interested in seeing more powers and more responsibility devolved from the centre to the north of england, perhaps that might be scotland as well. But Nicola Sturgeon would not be drawn on what her next steps would be in this argument as it evolved and she is playing her cards quite close to her chest. There has been rumour and speculation that perhaps there might be legal challenges ahead, but she says she wa nts challenges ahead, but she says she wants this to be a reasoned argument Going Forward and i think for her the key is that she wants this referendum, if there were to be won in the future and at the moment westminster is saying no to that, but she wants any possible referendum to be viewed as beyond legal challenge, to be viewed as legitimate by all sides. She wants it to be seen as legitimate, not just here in scotland, but also in the uk, europe and the wider world, so it is a longer game that Nicola Sturgeon is playing. She is holding her cards close to her chest as to what the next steps will be, but expect responses from the westminster government, notjust today, but in the days and weeks to follow. Lorna, thank you very much in edinburghfor us. Lets return now to the queens speech and to simon in westminster. And we can get a business perspective on this. What would you pick out from what we heard in that legislative programme that was set out just a legislative programme that was set outjust a short legislative programme that was set out just a short while legislative programme that was set outjust a short while ago by the queen that is going to be creating the biggest stir in the Business World . The biggest stir in the Business World . There are two big topics that will affect the Business World, and won his Business Rates on the other is the living wage. On Business Rates, we already knew that they had pledged a discount for retailers of up pledged a discount for retailers of up to pledged a discount for retailers of uptoa pledged a discount for retailers of up to a third and theyve increased that to 50 and are extending it to who can get the discount, so pubs, music venues, cinemas are included now and at the moment thing to £1 billion per year is paid in Business Rates £31 billion per year is paid in Business Rates, so some face a big burden. But the year one discount would only mean a saving of £320 million in total so it doesnt sound like a lot but it is relief for those people. The second thing is the National Living wage. At the moment if you are over 25, it is £8 21 p. The government want to increase it by two thirds of median earnings by 2025, and what that means is that it should be about £10 50, so thats quite a big increase but they also want to decrease the age of get the living wage, so they are expected to drop back to 21 and that will impact about 4 million people, so a lot of business groups are slightly worried about this. We had increases in the minimum wage and it hasnt had an impact on employment growth but it is a massive increase in quite a decrease in the age you can get it, so they are worried about whether this could impact on employment in the long term. A couple of other things to touch on briefly, Interest Rates, the bank of england has been announcing. Kept on hold, not a surprise and seven voted for the hold, two against but no change in Interest Rates from mark carney and the bank of england. And then the Financial Conduct Authority which regulates the Banking Industry is going to be looking into claims that Financial Traders were able to eavesdrop on sensitive banking information before a News Conference before everybody heard about them. It might sound like a lot and its between five and eight seconds before mark carney and the rest of the people in the bank of england talked about monetary policy, and they could hear what he was saying five seconds earlier. Traders in the city, called High Frequency traders, they react, they may lead to trading currencies and they react quickly to any information and have algorithms on their computers and can make trades on very small movements and they bet a lot on these movements as well, so there is a worry that they have seen this information ahead of time and been able to react to it and trade on the back of that, so the fca are looking into it. There is concern that they were able to do this. Thank you very much. A state of emergency has been declared in parts of australia as more than 100 bushfires continue to burn and temperatures hit a record high. Forecasters are predicting highs of nearly 50 degrees celsius by the end of the week. Its feared the soaring heat will make it difficult for the thousands of firefighters trying to bring the blazes under control. Our correspondent phil mercer reports from the Blue Mountains just outside sydney. These are the Blue Mountains, to the west of sydney, and the smoke you can see behind me is coming from two major fires that rage out of control. The authorities fear that these two blazes could come together to create a mega blaze. The smoke here is overwhelming. You can feel it stinging your eyes, you can feel it at your throat, and it makes your lungs sore. The reason why there is so much smoke in the air is because the fires are raging so badly. Across New South Wales, there are more than 100 fires burning. Today the State Government declared a seven day state of emergency. That gives a Fire Authority to additional powers to try to cope with this crisis. Temperatures today in parts of New South Wales have reached the mid 40s. It has been very, very warm. Air quality has been appalling. In sydney, that air quality reached hazardous levels. The fear is that, on saturday, conditions might be even worse, and we are hearing that three firefighters have been injured fighting one of these blazes that is responsible for this smoke. And we are told that two of those firefighters have been quite seriously hurt after flames apparently engulfed theirfire engine. And thatjust underscores the danger facing firefighters as the firefighting effort here in eastern australia is stretched to breaking point. Phil mercer, bbc news, in the Blue Mountains. Have you ever heard of a snow squall . Its a relatively new term to describe a short but intense burst of heavy snow and strong winds. Well, a snow squall hit new york overnight, and a camera at the top of the World Trade Centre captured this time lapse footage of it moving across manhattan. The storm lasted just half an hour, but in that time central park was left under almost half an inch of snow. Danny florence lost a hand and most of his remaining fingers and both legs when he got meningitis at the age of five and has received a bye in bionic hand. There you go, your new arm. Danny florence has waited a long time for this. More than 20 years, in fact. The chance to do something as simple as picking up a set of keys. The chance to do something as simple as picking up a set of keyslj should be able to be able to bring my fingers down to make a fist, sort of thing. And when i raise it up, i can then bring this thumb in and then do the same with a little grip between my fingers. Its called a hero arm and is responding to different muscle movements and could transform his life. Most importantly he wants to be there for his one year old sonjoshua. He wants to be there for his one year old son joshua. His he wants to be there for his one year old sonjoshua. His bionic limb helping him become a 6 million dad. He needs a fastener to zip on his coat, and i should be up to do that but i cant now. If it comes to strapping his seat belt in, i should be able to. Danny says he has ambitions to be an artist as well as being the best possible father he can. Ready to be there with a helping hand. Tim ullman, bbc news. The european premiere of the new star wars film, the rise of skywalker, has been held in london. The movie, starring daisy ridley and john boyega, concludes the star wars saga started by george lucas more than a0 years ago. Our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba was there. The fans were out in force for the evenings premiere. For so many, star wars is more than simply a movie. This film and the other two in the latest trilogy have all won praise for the way theyve seamlessly evolved from the original films, while also moving significantly forward when it comes to things like gender balance and diversity. 0h, they fly now they fly now . People have been fighting long and hard for characters like this, for women and anyone sort of not in the traditional film sense, to play. So im also thankful to all of the people who have been fighting for years and years and years for roles like this to be available. What has being part of this meant to you . Its meant being part of telling a 42 year piece of history. Its notjust been a movie its a cultural phenomenon. And again, to have contributed something to that is an incredible experience. Theres a lot of responsibility. I thought at the same time it is also shared responsibility, you know . Im there, we have a whole crew, we have thousands of people that work in this movie. So it doesnt all fall on my shoulders and im glad about that disney bought lucasfilm and the rights to star wars for around 4 billion, but the success of this new series now makes that look like a bit of a bargain. And its all because of the passion star wars still enjoys from fans 42 years after the saga first began. Lizo mzimba, bbc news, leicester square. The bbc news at one is coming up with sophie raworth. Now, its time for a look at the weather with nick miller. Hello, more rain on the way, particularly to those parts of england and wales that really do not need any and there could be disruption because of it. Weve seen one wet system moving north with some rain to clear in eastern scotla nd some rain to clear in eastern scotland but here comes the next one targeting england and wales this afternoon and that will be pushing its way northwards, strong winds again, especially towards the south coast and some of the rain will be heavy and some of it will be fringing into Northern Ireland and eventually pushing to scotland as well. This is the picture at 5pm, a few showers in western scotland were quite a lot of dry weather here to end the daylight but then we see this next area of wet weather bearing down on southern scotland going into the evening. Turning wetter in Northern Ireland, the further east you are, really soggy rush hourfor Northern England and some heavy showers following across southern parts once the area of heavy rain has cleared north, so again, some disruption and flooding and there are met Office Weather warnings in force for the rain and where we have seen a lot of rain, parts of south wales, southern england and into parts of the midlands as well. There is a bit of a break more wet weather pushes in, and part of the rain is heavy and for the most part temperatures are staying up. Lets go into friday. There could be some fog which is slow to clear across Northern Ireland and the winds are light. The rainfor ireland and the winds are light. The rain for england and wales, mostly avoiding scotland and Northern Ireland and fringing into the east of scotla nd ireland and fringing into the east of scotland and there is still an area of rain dragging its heels across northern and Eastern England during the day whereas elsewhere it will turn brighter. It will feel a bit colder and this is the big picture for the weekend, low pressure with weather fronts and rain skimming southern parts of the uk whereas elsewhere, a few showers around, but looking drier, so taking saturday first of all, some sunshine, some showers and the next area of rain with uncertainty about how north it gets pushes into parts of southern england and south wales and it will again feel colder with mojo most of us in single figures and the area of rain will pull away on sunday and then another day of sunny spells and a few showers, but it does look drier for many of us next week. The state opening of parliament the queen sets out the governments plans for the future, with brexit taking centre stage. The queen announces more than 30 bills for the next year. Leaving the eu onjanuary 31st is top of the list, but theres also a sharp focus on the nhs. My governments priority is to deliver the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union on the 31st of january. The start of a new era, as the Prime Minister leads his large intake of new mps after his decisive election victory last week. Im live in westminster, where parliament is getting back to work, debating the key issues raised in the queens speech, with brexit and the nhs top of the new governments to do list