Hello, youre watching afternoon live, im simon mccoy. Today at 2pm. Where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. What has been genuinely surprising is the way they have gone about making their intentions public. The fact that they didnt feel the need to inform the queen, the prince of wales, or Prince William, before publishing that statement yesterday evening. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson speaks by phone to the iranian president , and calls for an end to hostilities. Coming up on afternoon live, we have
all the sport withjohn watson. Yes, no plans for tim henman to lead Great Britain in the davis cup after a quarterfinal exit in the atp equivalent. Thanks, john. And Helen Willetts has the weather. Very changeable weather pattern in the uk at the moment. We had a rainbow earlier and i will look at some ice rainbows later. Speak to you later. Thanks, helen. Also coming up. Music plays. Tipped for stardom the singer from brighton whos been named the bbcs sound of 2020. Hello, everyone, this is afternoon live im simon mccoy. What the queen makes of it all will be anybodys guess. But she will have similar questions to the rest of us about harry and meghans decision to step back from royal duties. In effect, they want to go it alone. Theyve certainly done that so far not even telling her majesty or the prince of wales about their plans. But their decision raises many questions will they keep their royal titles . How will they pay for their new life . Where will they live . And who will be responsible for their security . Lots of questions. And, so far, no answers. Our royal correspondent Sarah Campbell reportrs. Sarah campbell reports. Prince harry and meghan were unhappy and that was obvious, they said as much in interviews, but what was genuinely surprising is the way they have gone about making their intentions public, the fact they didnt feel the need to inform the queen, the prince of wales or Prince Williams before publishing their statement yesterday evening. We understand that has caused disappointment and hurt. On tuesday, harry and meghan
arrived at canada house. It was their first engagement after a six week break spent with their son archie away from the media glare. At the time it was assumed this hailed their return to work as high profile members of the royal family. That assumption couldnt have been more wrong, as their statement, released yesterday evening, revealed. The couple outlined their new position. The couple outlined their new position. Its not yet clear what that progressive new role might mean for the couple and their position within the palace hierarchy. I see them now, to some extent, as setting up a kind of rival royal court or institution away from things, which frankly never really works because the main job of the royal family is to support the monarch, whoever
that happens to be. Prince philip, princess anne, absolutely brilliant, they were always there when they needed when they werent needed they quietly pursued their own endeavours, and i dont see why you cant work within the system. May 2018 the wedding which delighted millions around the world now seems a very long time ago. They represented inclusivity and in many peoples eyes they broadened the appeal and relevance of the royal family, but that harry and meghan were very unhappy was clear in interviews they gave during their tour of Southern Africa last year. My british friends said to me, im sure hes great but you shouldnt do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life. And i very naively im american, we dont have that there what are you talking about . Prince harry had accused the uk tabloid media of conducting a Ruthless Campaign against meghan. Many of their supporters believe at least some of the attacks on her are racist in nature and that their decision to take a step back from royal duties
is completely understandable. The best way we can compare this is probably to diana when she left the royal family after the divorce, shortly before her death. She strived to set out on her own, her own charitable humanitarian works, her own foundation, her own funding in that way, because of who she was, and that is going to benefit the couple in terms of people are interested, invested in them in that way, want to support them and the great causes they have championed but the question is how they do that outside the official royal funding and outside the royal family while still supporting the queen . So what now . The couple plan to divide their time between the uk and north america, striving to become financially independent, and will soon launch their own charitable foundation. A brief Statement Released by Buckingham Palace after the couples intentions had been made public described the situation as complicated. No more official comment from Buckingham Palace today other than to wish catherine, the duchess of cambridge, a very happy 35th birthday. Moving on from that rather terse statement that was released last night, the bbc understand there is within the policy sense of willingness to move on and to make this work somehow, as it is in the best interests of everyone in the royal family, but there must be an understanding that this will be complicated, particularly the financial aspects. After all, this new role, park royal, part private while, hasnt really been tried before and there is a lot to work out. What is the reaction across the atlantic . Laura podesta is correspondent for cbs news in new york. Laura, what do meghans fellow americans make of the announcement . Simon, i must be honest, this story is big news, but it is not reading headlines given that we are dealing with tension in iran and the upcoming impeachment trial. But it
is trending on twitter and it is a decision that americans are interested in. Many responses on social media are tongue in cheek, but americans are looking at this. Also any more seriously, we know that prince harry has spoken about his struggles with mental health, we saw what happened to his mother with the paparazzi. There is a lot of understanding and sympathy for meghan and harry to want to leave the intense microscope of being a pa rt the intense microscope of being a part of the tesol family and trying to carve out another way of life. Lot of speculation about what that life would entail, of course, she has acting to fall back on if she needs to, but what about prince harry . What other suggestions for how he could make money . Well, americans are obsessed with the Netflix Series the crown and are wondering whether meghan could play herself in an upcoming series . She might get back into writing with her
blog, the tag, perhaps. Some are speculating that both could create a Production Company or create a reduction deal like the 0bama family did recently with netflix. Prince harry has his own private inheritance with his mother and meghan reportedly made 160,000 each year working as an actress before she got married. Both are in the position that they do not have to rush and can pick and take the time they need to establish their new charity which they talked about in their instagram post. Charity which they talked about in their instagram posti charity which they talked about in their instagram post. I was watching her there, you suggested that prince harry could think about becoming an uber driver. There are lots of suggestions on twitter, open a restau ra nt, suggestions on twitter, open a restaurant, go to work like the rest of us, learn how to do taxes, all the things that us commoners have to do when we heard that clip from meghan saying that the british press, nobody could prepare herfor it, there are elements of the press
in the us what you do just the same similar things. Yes, we do have ta blets similar things. Yes, we do have tablets but the difference here is that anytime someone wants to become a politician or an actress or a celebrity, it is by their own choosing, they are born into this sort of fame or scrutiny. She is probably of the mindset where, if we wa nt to probably of the mindset where, if we want to step back, we should have the right and the freedom to do that, that is the american way of thinking. We do not have a royal family remember. Well, you are about to thank you, laura, thank you very much. The royal couple have strongly criticised the media for what they call frequent misreporting. and they now plan to restrict press access to their official engagements. Lets talk to our media editor amol rajan theyve had a pretty complicated relationship with the press. She is threatening legal action, it has got murky very quickly. Yes, it has, people with a long memory, including your good self, we have
been here before. If you think back to the mid to late 90s when lady diana was probably most famous person in the world, a lot of very negative headlines about her were written, not least when her marriage to Prince Charles broke down. It was the power of the tabloids. Princess felt that she needed broadcast media and the tabloids because they were the gatekeepers to the public. Something has fundamentally changed now, where social media and having an instagram account, millions of followers or your own website means you can communicate directly with the public. I think meghan and harry are of that generation and feel they do not need the tabloids to promote themselves. A website like the one they have now, that does not happen overnight, that have that must have been planned for a while. Yes. It is kind of a weird thing to do. This bullet pointed statement about how their relationship with the media will change. It is something
they have obviously thought about for some time. One or two things thatjump for some time. One or two things that jump out, firstly, for some time. One or two things thatjump out, firstly, there is quite a bit of nuance about it. They say at one point that their beef is not so much with royal correspondence not so much with royal correspondence who have been keen to say that they have the story correct, but editors who put their own spin on it. Sometimes a roll correspond variety telling you what is happening, then the editor puts an opinionated headline on it and their beef is with the headline more than a correspondence. They have said that they will not completely cut off access to a journalist, it is just that they will not operate the royal rotor system. Like the lobby in parliament, Privileged Access is given to certain genres. They will give access to younger come journalists and people who are pa rt come journalists and people who are part of causes that they believe in. It is part of a new progressive identity. You can call me naive, and you have done in the past well thats not just open you have done in the past well thats notjust open the door to the very people that many point the finger at over the death of Princess Diana . Finger at over the death of Princess Diana . These are
finger at over the death of Princess Diana . These are the people who make money out of photographs and if they are restricting access those pictures will become ten times more valuable. That is exactly right, there is the profound danger that this could backfire. There are lots of people who will tell you that they have been hounded by the press, andi they have been hounded by the press, and i cannot imagine what it is like to have that level of intrusion, to believe in. You say that, they have been on holiday for six weeks, there was not one story or picture of them, they have not been hounded on holiday, that would not have happened 20 years ago. Yes, and i am sure that would have involved intense negotiations with journalists and editors. And it is worth saying there is a live legal case where Meghan Markle is taking one newspaper to court over an invasion of privacy. They believe that there prevacid has been hounded. 0ne that there prevacid has been hounded. One of the things about tabloid newspapers, which are weaker than they used to be, they are very much with us, some have a circulation of over i much with us, some have a circulation of over million, there isa circulation of over million, there is a strong tabloid culture in north america and they will see this as a
declaration of war, and there will bejohn is declaration of war, and there will be john is lining declaration of war, and there will bejohn is lining up to say, you know what, meghan and harry, we can play tough to and apple lead to a sharp deterioration in the headlines. Are they open to the criticism that they are having their ca ke criticism that they are having their cake and eating it, or at least attempting to . Very much so, i think the charge of hypocrisy, one that was levelled at them last year, whether it is accurate or not, that remains to be seen, but it hurt them a lot. The headlines that were damaging was harry talking about having two children and then saying he would not because he was worried about the environmental consequences. That charge of hypocrisy is one that the British Public dont like. As we look for the next few years, and looked north america, there will be this divergence between the conversations on social media, on their instagram post, with little emoticons which
are positive about causes they believe in, and the uk press, who i think can be pretty brutal, and will come as you say, be aggressive in invading privacy if they think it will help shift newspapers. Thank you very much. Harry and meghan say they intend to become financially independent. Running a Royal Household will entail significant costs, not least on security, but some commentators have suggested the couple could develop lucrative business ventures. 0ur correspondent keith doyle has this assessment of how the couple might earn their income, away from the royal family. And a warning, his report contains flash photography. The duke and duchess of sussex say they are lloking forward to becoming they are looking forward to becoming financially independent. As senior royals in receipt of the sovereign grant, formerly the civil list, the sussexes are currently unable to earn money. Their royal duties are paid for by the taxpayer. They say just 5 of their costs are paid for by the sovereign grant, the rest comes from the prince of wales duchy of cornwall income. Prince charles gave £4. 9 million to his sons last year. It is thought harry received just
less than half of that. Three cheers for the duke and duchess of sussex harry and meghan say they want to be released from the financial tie of the sovereign grant. That will open up many lucrative sources of income to them. Keeping their titles will no doubt be an income booster. They have recently trademarked their sussex royal brand on products including t shirts and books. Meghan may restart her lucrative lifestyle blog, the tig, shut down when she got married. That was created by the same toronto based company that made the new royal sussex website. The obvious areas where they potentially could make money would be in writing books or appearing on television, or even going on the lucrative american lecture circuit, but all of these areas are fraught with danger. It is like walking into political territory, so there must be considerable doubt as to whether this will work in the long run. So how much will they need to sustain their new lives . They are both already wealthy people. Harry is thought to have inherited around £7 million from his mother dianas estate, as well as a trust fund set up by his great grandmother, the queen mother, thought to be worth £3 million. Meghan earned as much as £4 million from her acting career. The couple say they will keep Frogmore Cottage in windsor, which the taxpayer paid £2. 1i million towards renovating last year. But dividing their time between the uk and north america will mean increased travel and security costs, as well as running two houses and private offices. Harry and meghan hope what they call their progressive new role will allow them to be financially independent. The question is, at what cost to the reputation of the monarchy . Joining me now is katie nicholl, royal correspondent for vanity fair
and author of the book harry and meghan. Difficult to know where to start, but let us start with the queen, she will be dismayed, wont she . Deeply disappointed where the word is given to me bya disappointed where the word is given to me by a senior official. You know, i think this has torn through the heart of the royal family. It did not come as a complete surprise. There were, i am told, discussions going on over christmas, over the phone. Between the queen and harry . Yes, and the prince of wales, that they were having a great time out there and they wanted to continue that. They were omitting this idea of carving out different roles, doing things differently, something that has become synonymous with this couple. My understanding is that there was no real resistance, it was not a no from the queen but that this needs to be thought about. This is an institution based on thousands of yea rs of History Institution based on thousands of years of history and heritage. Things dont change overnight. I dont think anything has ever been
vetoed, i think the point was made that we need patience and time, we need a strategy, at what appears to have happened is that rather than wait and come up with a blueprint and revise it and come up with something that would work and keep eve ryo ne something that would work and keep everyone happy, the sussexes have jumped the gun and that statement and that website going live came as and that website going live came as a shock to everyone. Lots of questions but there are formats that strike me. Firstly, their title, if they are going to be normal, do they lose their title, your Royal Highness . There is no suggestion they will give that up, we have been through the website, there is no suggestion that they are giving up that title and they will probably be keen to hold onto that. If they want the spotlight on them, they want. This is about having their cake and eating it. Yes, how can you have the hrh title and yet, spend half of the year away, tucked away, out of the spotlight . It is really one or the other. Finances, how do they finance
this new life . People forget that prince harry inherited a lot of money from his mother. And the queen mother, dont forget. And it is paid through the duchy of cornwall. But what about the money that taxpayers pay, the sovereign grant . They are relinquishing that. That is only a fraction of what covers the Royal Household. The prince of wales frankly picks up the bulk of the wardrobe, the lifestyle and everything else. So, there is no suggestion that the prince of wales is going to pull that funding. So, i dont see, really, huge amount of change. But certainly, if they do stop taking the sovereign grant, are they going to embark on something more conventional, more commercial ventures . More conventional, more commercial ventures . The trademark sussex royal is fascinating come across a platter of things, which seems to suggest there is a lucrative marketing opportunity. But how well does that set with the royal family . It has
backfired stupendously in the past, look at the duchess of york accommodation, will they stay where they are . The public have just paid a massive renovation to their home. 2. 5 million. Listening to the radio phonein 2. 5 million. Listening to the radio phone in is this morning, radio 5 live, lbc, both said they had never heard so many calls coming in. People are really getting vexed about this. I wonder if the couple expected there to be this backlash and they have braced themselves knowing that there would be an immediate one. I am not sure. And then you wonder about the wisdom of then you wonder about the wisdom of the timing of the statement. But, yes, people are angry. And i think also, it is notjust the money, this is prince harry. This is a boy who grew up loved and protected and nurtured by the nation. He lost his mother, we all feel a huge amount of empathy to him, and suddenly he is. And i think people feel quite offended by it, actually. There is a
security issue here. Again, that sort of comes down to cost. They are not just sort of comes down to cost. They are notjust going to be able to become normal people and walk around. They will never be able to be normal people. I know prince harry once said to me what is it like to take the tube . He just was considering what it would be like to be normal. But that is not going to happen, they are amongst the most famous people on the planet. They will need protection, at the moment the british taxpayer. Bella. Well they only have Royal Protection when carrying out their official royal duties or what they have a role protection the rest of the time as well . We do not know. This is the point, and the point that the palace are trying to make. This is happening too quickly, these are the questions that have yet to be answered. There are some of us who we re answered. There are some of us who were around within the diana years and there is that sense of deja vu, in an uncomfortable sense, actually, that we are looking at two Vulnerable People making what appears to be a very rash decision,
who now have the anger of everybody focused upon them on social media, the very thing that they want to avoid. To escape. Are we right to worry about this . When i was in south africa with the sussexes, i did see quite a fragile person in prince harry, i think we all did, and when that itv documentary. I dont think any of us were that surprised. They have struck me as a couple for a while being at breaking point, and it is ironic and deeply sad that everything they are trying to escape, the backlash, the anger, the outburst, the attacks, the personal attacks, they have just walked straight into a fresh storm of it. Katie nicholl, always good to see you. Thank you. Patients in accident and Emergency Departments in england experienced the worst waiting times on record last month. One in five patients seeking Emergency Care was forced to wait
more than four hours in december thats the poorest performance since the four hour target was introduced 16 years ago. Nearly 100,000 of the sickest patients faced hours stuck on trolleys, and waiting in corridors, while beds were found for them. Dominic hughes reports. Accident and Emergency Departments across england are busier than ever. During 2019, a million more patients attended than the previous year. An ea rlier than expected outbreak of flu hasnt helped, but doctors say staffing shortages combined with a growing and ageing population are putting the system under intense pressure. Its very, very busy. Patients are queueing up and hospitals are jam packed. This is as bad as its been over the last few years. I do remember it one year worse, that was when we had the flu epidemic about ten years ago, but since then its been a steady ramping up of pressure and its as bad now as its been in my recent memory. In december alone, more than 2 Million People attended a e departments in england,
a rise of 6 on the previous year. Only four out of five people were seen within four hours, well below the 95 target. Ambulance Services Also saw their busiest month, managing an average of more than 25,000 incidents a day. But the whole system is struggling. Paul goddard has already been waiting months for a much delayed hip replacement operation. My problem has been going on since 2018 and since i started on this road ive seen doctors and specialists, physiotherapy teams and i got to the point where, we think the operations going to be done on easter 2020, now theyre telling me it could well be christmas 2020. Growing patient demand and a shortage of qualified doctors and nurses is taking its toll, so hospitals are asking people to think carefully before visiting a e. We are opening more beds and to do that we need more nurses but its
really important that the public stay healthy if they can, so theres still time to get your flu jab because flu is still around, and there are other services that can give you Health Advice such as our 111 call lines and local pharmacies. Experts say the entire health and social care service is facing its toughest winter in years. While solutions are available, things are unlikely to improve any time soon. There is light at the end of the tunnel but the tunnel is very long. To really be able to improve the performance of the nhs we need to be able to recruit 100,000 staff. The government has committed to recruiting 50,000 nurses. That wont happen overnight. Nhs managers spent months planning for the pressures this winter would inevitably bring but todays figures show that soaring demand is placing immense strain on services. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Borisjohnson has held a telephone call with the iranian president Hassan Rouhani in which he called for an end to hostilities between the United States and iran. The Prime Minister also urged tehran to comply with the International Agreement to curb its nuclear programme. President trump has already pulled out of the deal and is calling on britain and other allies to abandon it as well. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has this report. As long as im president of the United States, iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. At the heart of this weeks crisis in the middle east are Donald Trumps fears about iran getting nuclear weapons. Thats why two years ago, he signed this document pulling the United States out of the iran nuclear deal. Under the accord, known by its initials as thejcpoa, the International Community agreed to lift some economic sanctions in return for iran restricting its nuclear ambitions. But amid increasing aggression by iran in the middle east and a number of confrontations in the gulf, the us decided the deal wasnt working and withdrew its support. In turn, iran began restarting work in some of its nuclear laboratories. Britain and its european allies tried to save the deal by promising iran economic help. But after talks in washington with his us counterpart, the foreign secretary, for the first time, has threatened to pull the plug on the nuclear agreement, by triggering a special dispute mechanism known as the drm. Weve obviously been committed to thejcpoa, but weve reached a point where noncompliance has been so acute in the most recent steps taken by iran, that obviously were going to be looking very hard at what should happen next. We want see iran come back to full compliance and we will be looking at all measures, including potentially triggering the drm. And that matters because the chances of seeing the kind of military confrontation weve seen this week will rise if the Nuclear Deal Dies completely. For now, both sides appear keen to step back from the brink. Were receiving some encouraging intelligence that iran is sending messages to those very same militias not to move against american targets or civilians, and we hope that that message continues to echo. Much depends on what iran does now with its nuclear programme. This morning, Boris Johnson called president rouhani, who he met last year, and told him the nuclear deal was the best arrangement currently available. Carefully chosen words to leave the door open for change in the future. James landale, bbc news. Time for a look at the weather. Helen willetts is here. Some rather unpleasant weather for the United States and you will illustrate that. Yes, but i will begin with a pretty picture taken this week in anchorage, alaska. You canjust make out on either side of the picture some nice rainbows. Let me show you some nice rainbows. Let me show you some more pictures so that you can pick them out. Very pretty, taken earlier in the week, very similar atmospheric conditions at the moment. You can see that through the control tower and the last one is my particular favourite. Control tower and the last one is my particularfavourite. Here we control tower and the last one is my particular favourite. Here we go. It is pretty much like a rainbow that you would see, but this is one
that you would see, but this is one that has ice crystals in the atmosphere. It looks like a rainbow . Pretty much, the light gets split through water, for a rainbow, but in this case it is split through ice. 27 this case it is split through ice. 27 degrees in anchorage, that was a temperature last night. Worst to come . Yes, that is not the average temperature, we have much Colder Weather to come. Across the north in particular. We have this High Pressure around in anchorage at the moment which is why we are seeing some sunny skies. There is snow elsewhere, some really cold air meeting the warm air from the gulf of mexico, and when that happens you get some very aggressive weather, shall we say. So, we have the khodair are streaming down from the north, we have this warm air coming up, and the temperatures are about 10 degrees below average in the cloud and 10 degrees above in the warm air. That temperature gradient is enhanced, which is why there are
severe warnings out quite early in the season, through tornado alley, up the season, through tornado alley, up through texas into 0klahoma, the season, through tornado alley, up through texas into oklahoma, with the potential for some severe storms. Friday into saturday, that is. Look at how it intensifies, is this weather front. Significant snow to the north of that and some freezing rain any transition zone. We could see half a metre, possibly more snow as well in the plains and the midwest in the coming days, and enhanced across the great lakes. Look at that temperature contrast on saturday, 25 degrees. Quite incredible. And quite early in the season for tornadoes. Yes, but we have that use contrast on the weather which is affecting us, because it is strengthening ourjet streams. You can see these rather angry looking masses of cloud, low pressure, starting to work in. We had one exit this morning, snow and rain, let me tell you, it will happen from there one because it is
movable. Dont expect what you have to date to happen tomorrow. We have low pressure coming into the south and west and more rain on that particular weather feature. We say goodbye to the rain, hill snow in the north. Sunshine around, rainbow picture sent in by weather watchers today. By the time we get to russia, it looks wet, doesnt it, for the m4 corridor . Relatively mild air coming in off the atlantic though, and that is typicalfor the in off the atlantic though, and that is typical for the next session six to ten days. Temperatures are only two or three degrees in scotland, they will plummet after dark and we will have a widespread frost forming. 0ne dark and we will have a widespread frost forming. One or two showers giving the risk of ice and further south, even though the rain takes a long time to clear, we could have a dip in temperature around the dawn period. Just be aware that we could have some eyes, even further south on friday morning. 0therwise, friday looks decent, still some showers for east anglia and one or two in the north, but it is later in the day after dark for most of us, for most of Northern Ireland and western scotland, that the rain arrives. Slightly less cloud for scotland and Northern Ireland tomorrow, not as mild for england and wales. Mixing the erupt we have that cold start. High pressure hangs onjust about in the south. From then on we have a strong south westerly wind blowing in off the atlantic, mild air. That mild airwill in off the atlantic, mild air. That mild air will continue to push all this rain up and over the mountains. We are talking potentially about 100 millimetres of rain, if not more for parts of the highlands of scotland, possibly across cumbria, parts of Northern Ireland. Strong winds accompanying that rain, but you can see on saturday. The south and east is increasing the windy and showery and should have a drier day on saturday. But very mild for the time of year, temperature several degrees above average and wet. That rain through saturday into sunday does make its way southwards. Not as much on that weather front by the time it reaches the south, but again, things are so saturated that remains a concern. Sunday looks like a brighter day across the north of the country, drier, but stillshowers
and chilly, the further south we clear the rain and not a bad afternoon for getting out and about. It isa afternoon for getting out and about. It is a very changeable weather picture. These are pictures from leeds taken earlier on after the overnight rain, it shows you how saturated things are. This is bbc news our latest headlines. Where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson speaks on the phone to the iranian president and calls for an end
to hostilities. Britains retailers say sales plunged last year john lewis may not pay their annual staff bonus. Sport now on afternoon live withjohn watson. Tennis and a narrow defeat for Great Britain in the new format atp cup where tim henman has emerged with plenty of credit . Absolutely, unseemly, he has enjoyed his role as captain, and you wonder or not whether that will lead to him taking up the post again, but he says he has no plans to lead Great Britain in the davis cup, having captained them the atp cup. Its the first time its been staged, a rival of the more tradional International Team competition that gb won in 2015, and was staged six weeks ago. Jamie murray and joe salisbury lost to nick krygios and alex de minaur in the deciding doubles, after the tie was level at one match all. This was something that came out of the blue. You know, andy murray asked me, as the number one player, who could decide the captain. When he mentioned it, it made me think, andl he mentioned it, it made me think, and i was delighted to accept. It was obviously disappointing with his injuries that he wasnt able to be here, but i have thoroughly enjoyed it. I think liam smith is doing a brilliantjob at it. I think liam smith is doing a brilliant job at the davis cup, so it. I think liam smith is doing a brilliantjob at the davis cup, so i have no aspirations to do that either. So henman, having put us all through some exciting matches in his tiem, on the sidelines for this one, and very nearly into a semi final. You still shout out tim henman when you sit at matches on centre court lets move on, and talk about the continuing discomfort between Gambling Companies and the fa cup. It is one that hasnt sat easily when that announcement was made. Its emerged that bet 365 arent the only betting company to have
bought rights to show fa cup matches. A total of seven uk bookmakers have acquired rights for the next five seasons. The fa have been criticised, the deal could lead Vulnerable People those with gambling additions to be directed towards a gambling website to watch matches. Those companies have said theyre happy for the rights to be offered to the fa or another body for free. To avoid that from happening. An interesting move from those Gambling Companies today, in response to that relationship which has been a struggle between themselves and the fa. Lets stay with football now. Nick cushing is to leave his position as manager of Manchester City women to take up the post of assistant manager with new york city fc in the United States. Cushings final match in charge will be at home to arsenal next month, with Current Assistant alan mahon then taking interim charge. Cushing, who won the superleague back in 2016, will assist the the former celtic manager ronny deila who was named as the mls sides manager on monday. Both clubs are part
of the city football group. Mo farah says he would have quit his relationship with former coach Alberto Salazar sooner had he known what was to come from usadas investigation. Salzzer was banned for four years for doping offences. Farah was speaking ahead of his plans to return to the track this year. I believe in clean sports, as an athlete. And i continue to enjoy my sport and do what i do, at the same time. Hadi sport and do what i do, at the same time. Had i known the news, you know, what salzzer was taking, had i known that sooner, i would have been the first one out. That is the annoying bit, iwish the first one out. That is the annoying bit, i wish i the first one out. That is the annoying bit, iwish i had known quicker. Barry hearn, the man who runs the World Snooker tour, has been speaking to the bbc about his new 10 year plan for the sport. Hearn, who took over the commercial side of the game in 2009, wants to double the current prize fund of £17 million and continue the sports Global Growth by staging new tournaments around the world. When i compare snooker with other major sports, and i particularly live at golf and tennis, for example, we still have a huge way to go. Example, we still have a huge way to 90~ example, we still have a huge way to go. I look at golf and tennis. I would be disappointed if in the next ten years, we havent doubled the prize money that we currently have, but it depends on everybody doing their job but it depends on everybody doing theirjob properly, everyone pulling together, everyone having a common purpose, and most importantly, inspiring people around the world to say, this game is notjust entertaining, it is also an interesting game to play, and people will be inspired to follow some of the great players we see currently on television. And that includes a new tournament to be staged in saudi arabia, with a winning prize fund of around £500,000. Wejust wonder, of winning prize fund of around £500,000. We just wonder, of course, who will choose to enter, with the countrys human rights record. That is all the sport for now, back to you, simon. Thank you, john, talk to you, simon. Thank you, john, talk to
you later. Iran says the ukrainian passenger plane that crashed with 176 people on board was trying to return to tehran airport when it came down, killing everyone on board. A senior ukrainian official says four theories as to the cause of the disaster are being examined engine failure, the plane being hit by a missile or colliding with a drone, or a terrorist attack. From ukraine, jonah fisher reports. The vast majority of those on board the plane were destined not for ukraine but canada, and in iranians communities there, the sudden loss of husbands, wives and children is being mourned. And the demand for an explanation is gathering pace. 0ur government will continue to work closely with its partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated. Canadians have questions and they deserve answers. This is where the plane came down shortly after take off, killing all 176 on board. This morning, the results of irans
initial investigation were released. It states that the plane was on fire as it fell and that an attempt had been made to turn it around and return to the airport. Its evidence that supports irans claims that the crash was probably caused by a catastrophic technical failure. That explanation is not being accepted unchallenged in kyiv. As ukraines president paid his respects to the lost flight crew, he was sending a team of experts to iran. Theyd been tasked with looking at all options including the possibility that the plane was shot down. The key to understanding what happened is likely to be in the flight recorders, these so called black boxes, which will have documented the planes final moments as it came down. Theyve been recovered, but iranian officials have been suggesting they might be damaged and that they might not be handed over for further analysis. If that turns out to be the case, it will fuel the suggestion that iran has something to hide. Jonah fisher, bbc news, in kyiv. Authorities in australia are urging People Living in areas threatened by bushfires to leave their homes or risk becoming trapped. Hotter weather tomorrow is expected to increase the risk of the fires spreading. So far, theyve killed 27 people. 0ur correspondentjonathan head reports now close to the town of tomerong in new south wales. In the fire bleached bush along australias south eastern coast, gary simpsons backyard has taken a beating. Some of his tallest trees, badly charred, have had to be felled and dragged a safe distance from his house. Hes been clearing up ever since a raging fire swept through last saturday, and preparing for more fires once the weather heats up again. When this happens, i mean, do you ever have second thoughts about living in a place like this, surrounded by bush . Er, sometimes you do, but its such a great place to live. Youre self sufficient, youve got plenty of space. It. It was fine, its fine, and we wont be going anywhere, well stay. This was what was happening here last weekend. The whole forest around his house was ablaze. At one stage i said, this doesnt look good. This whole area was awash with flames. Its a pretty scary feeling. Yeah, it can be scary, yeah, most definitely. Weve been very lucky, we saved the houses. There were people down the coast, off the coast of new south wales, theyve been completely devastated. Theyve got only the clothes that they stand in. His voice breaks thats a horrible thing. It has been cooler this week,
though the hazy skies and the smell of smoke are still there. Its given gary and his neighbours a very welcomed break, and theyre not letting the thought of what might happen this weekend spoil theirfun. Jonathan head, bbc news, tomerong, new south wales. Talks are continuing at stormont to try to restore devolution to Northern Ireland. Its power sharing government collapsed three years ago, amid arguments over a green energy scheme. If devolution is not restored by monday, fresh elections to the Northern Ireland assembly could be called. A recall is beginning today of 500,000 hotpoint and indesit washing machines thought to be a fire risk. Customers were warned before christmas not to use them, after dozens of the machines caught fire. Their manufacturer whirlpool is offering to replace or repair the models in question. Heres our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz. Dealing with the backlog built up because your mum cant use her washing machine. It was ok at first. It wasjust, like, a couple of loads. But now, its just constant. Alex from west sussex has had to take in all her 75 year old mothers dirty clothes. To blame, a whirlpool washer, one of the ones at risk of catching fire because of a faulty electronic door lock. All of her washing is here, everything in my house. Its not even about the washing. This has cost us in so much money in electric, its cost her so much money in petrol. The first customers heard was on the 17th of december. They were told then to unplug affected machines or use them only on the cold cycle. 0nly today, more than three weeks later, is whirlpool offering a solution. Owners will get an email to choose a repair or replacement. There are no refunds on offer. They can then click on a link to book a date for the work. 60,000 affected machines have been located so far. The plan is these will be dealt with in a matter of weeks. Whirlpool told us last month what effort they were putting into the recall. This is a complex situation and i wish it could be done overnight, i truly do, but were working flat out to make sure that we have all of our people trained, we doubled the staff, were adding service engineers. Whirlpools already having to replace dryers with a fire danger. Now, its got more than 500,000 risky washing machines to find. To date, only a fraction of the washers have been located, so this whole recall process could take months. Simon gompertz, bbc news. In a moment, victoria is going to bring us the latest business news. First, a look at the headlines on afternoon live where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. Last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson speaks on the phone to the iranian president
and calls for an end to hostilities. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. The boss of the Department Store john lewis quits afterjust two years at the top as the Company Warns of lower profits. Paula nickolds has worked at at the partnership for 25 years. Meanwhile, Marks Spencers takes a tumble after reporting another fall in Clothing Sales and shaky sales online. John lewis and m s are not alone. A retail lobby group says 2019 was the worst year on record for uk retail. The airline veteran willie walsh steps down as the chief of british airwayss Parent Company iag after 15 years. And the transport secretary grant shapps says he believes the Northern Rail franchise can only continue for a number of months. A final decision on whether to strip arriva of the franchise completely
and bring it under public control will be taken later this month. Retail sales falling for the first time in a quarter of a century. And not evenjohn lewis is immune. Staff there have been warned that they may not get their annual bonus for the First Time Since the 50s. Managing director Paul Nickolds is leaving after two years at the top. Not a great two years for her. Why . Well, sales are down, profits are down, they are likely to fall further, and this is after christmas, which is supposed to be a boon for retailers. 0ne christmas, which is supposed to be a boon for retailers. One of the reasons as we are just not buying as much stuff. Some people might be feeling the pinch, maybe there are worried aboutjob security or uncertainty, there has been a lot going on in the news in the last six months which might put you off spending. There is also strong evidence that we would rather spend £10 in the pub then we would on a christmas stocking. We have seen
sales of toys, video games, everything from argos yesterday, they were reporting, they said they we re they were reporting, they said they were down. Even things that seem like things that people are by christmas, they are down as well. People are prioritising experiences and time of their friends and family, time in restaurants and pubs, that kind of thing, rather than more staff. Shoppers have got savvier, they know what they want, and they know where to get it. Rather than more stuff. If you want a vegan rather than more stuff. If you want a vegan sausage rather than more stuff. If you want a vegan sausage roll, i know you are a vegan sausage roll, i know you are a big fan of, and you . Know, but go on. You would go to greggs that is why staff at greggs are getting a £300 one off bonus, because the company is doing so well. There are things that people do have to spend money on, groceries, that sort of thing, but even the likes of tesco are only getting a 0. 1 sales growth and profits. So even they are struggling, and people like marks
and spencers as well, a big rival for them, making some really schoolboy errors on waste and their food division, which is normally lucrative for them. Theyre even ever stop to mince pies this year, which is why they have a surplus and you can get them cheap. Overstocked on mince pies. The margins are very overstocked on mince pies. The margins are very tight in all of this and that sustainability is the watchword. Are these kind of bulge bracket businesses really delivering for shareholders and for consumers . And for consumers who are much more conscious of things like waste, packaging and things like waste in their fridge, packaging and things like waste in theirfridge, they dont packaging and things like waste in their fridge, they dont want to be throwing things away injanuary, things they did not eat in december. School girls make errors as well, why is it always schoolboys are never schoolgirls . There are big girls blouse is and everything. That isa girls blouse is and everything. That is a road we will not go down now. Speaking of Consumer Behaviour the biggest tech show of the year is under way in vegas now where everyone tried to predict what will be the next big thing. Whats caught the attention of the media this year . Everyones talking about the future of tv. Does it even have a future . Do we have a future . You and i . Probably not best to answer that one. Traditionally, this has been the enemy of hollywood but one company, launching in april, is betting on this being the future. They hoping theyre going to be the future to save tv, save hollywood. Quibi short for quick bites is a new Video Streaming Service aimed at millennials looking for high end content on their mobile phones. Its attracted 1 billion dollars in funding and the attention of Steven Spielberg and reece witherspoon. But will audiences be prepared to pay for it . Bbc clicks Spencer Kelly met founderjeffrey katzenberg and chief executive meg whitman in las vegas. We knew we had to go seamlessly portrait to landscape, and we wanted it to be full screen video, because a lot of video on your phone isnt full screen video today because it hasnt been shot for the right aspect ratio. Its intimate, its immersive and its captivating and i think people are going to be surprised that its actuallyjust different. Are you aiming at the younger market . 0ur target audience is 18 44. The bulls eye for the creative is 25 35. So, yes, its a millennialaudience. Who do you consider your rivals to be . Because youve got the long form content streaming Services Like netflix and amazon, who are obviously competing against each other. Do you think of them as competitors or do you hope that people will also subscribe to a Second Service to provide this short form content . Were actually not competing with anybody. Were going into a new place, a new white space. We dont imagine that anybody is going to watch less tv, that theyre going to have less streaming services because of what were doing. If anything, we accelerate the experience of watching short form on your mobile device today so, youtube, facebook, instagram, tiktok, snapchat. Were probably more playing in their world than we are in the others and we think, really, more we accelerate growth in that world, as opposed to taking market share away from anybody. Sure, but theyre free and you are charging, so thats going to be a tough sell. Well, not when you see the quality. The quality of the shows and the immersive experience. Yeah, and youve seen the technology and, therefore, the way in which its being delivered. But, listen, theres no question, no ones done this before. In the words of captain kirk, we are going where no ones gone before how exciting. Lets check in with the markets, see whats going on. By the markets, see whats going on. By the power of magic and some wonderful people in the gallery, i can bring you the Marks Spencer share price. Down almost 11 at the moment. They had a very uncomfortable for ray with skinny jeans for men. Apparently, they didnt go down well so the Clothing Sales have not gone down well. People prefer a curvaceous leg. They made a bit of a mistake on mens fashion, which is one of the many reasons why m s shares are down
today. Talking of business and quick thinking, hearing from Madame Tussauds, wax figures of the duke and duchess of sussex have been removed from the royal set. The museum has separated harry and Meghan Markle from the rest of the family, you can almost see the company is working, how do we get our name into the papers. Lets physically step them back from eve ryo ne physically step them back from everyone in the family. 0dd decision. 0bviously, everyone in the family. 0dd decision. Obviously, i everyone in the family. 0dd decision. 0bviously, iwould imagine it is great publicity for this museum, but they are still part of the royalfamily, museum, but they are still part of the royal family, are museum, but they are still part of the royalfamily, are they museum, but they are still part of the royal family, are they not . Museum, but they are still part of the royalfamily, are they not . Why should they not still be in the same group in . Good question. Im sure therell plenty of people who would still want their photo taken with them. The waxwork of those two were here. Just the waxworks, yes . I wish they were still here. Talk to you later. A young singerfrom brighton has been named the bbcs sound of 2020 after topping the annual poll
which aims to predict the biggest new stars in music. Celeste, whos 25, follows in the footsteps of previous winners like adele and sam smith. She was chosen by a panel of 170 figures from the music industry. Heres our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba. It wouldnt move what could i . Do. The soulful sound of celeste. I touch your . Head. The young singer raised in brighton, whos been named the bbcs sound of 2020. Well, i cant wait now to see what the rest of the year looks like. I think you can never predict, even though sometimes you really want to, like look into a glass ball and see whats going to happen. But, no, im just like so thrilled and excited and, yeah, i cant wait. I dont want to put on pressure when im talking to you. Shes already made appearances on shows like later Withjools Holland and now shes following in the footsteps of previous sound of winners, the likes of whom include ellie goulding, sam smith and adele. One of the most important things for me is that it will hopefully mean that more people hear my music and are aware that im making music. A confident live performer who played glastonburys introducing stage in 2019, 2020 will bring different pressures. Theres an element that like now theres a heightened expectation, potentially, that you really want to make sure you live up to it. But ultimately, like i said, it is encouraging, so, yeah, its cool. The new year will bring new music, which she hopes willjustify the industrys faith in her. Lizo mzimba, bbc news. From strangers to friends,
friends and lovers. Now its time for a look at the weather with Helen Willetts. Thank you, simon. Hello, a variety of weather across the uk today, it isa of weather across the uk today, it is a fast moving situation, one area of low pressure has moved into the north sea this morning, the next is moving its way into the south west. That is the set up for the next five or six days for many of us, rain it sightly featuring in the forecast and strong wind as well. They went will be lively around the area of low pressure in the south, where already, we have the rain coming in. Through the rush hour in south west england, south wales, the m4 corridor, it looks miserable with rain and gusty winds. Drier in the north, as we saw from the starting picture, there has been some sunshine around. It is cold in the north, temperature struggling to get above freezing. Mild where we have
the rain in the south. They went will push further eastwards into east anglia before clearing through the early early hours tomorrow morning. Some showers forecast in the north and west, but the main thing tonight will be the chill. Frost will be widespread, temperature is close to freezing, evenin temperature is close to freezing, even in the south later in the night, so ice where we have light showers, rain in the south are content with tomorrow. Tomorrow looks like a decent day, possibly the driest of the week. Rain it back into Northern Ireland through the latter pa rt into Northern Ireland through the latter part of the afternoon, the Western Isles of scotland as well, but late in the day feature. Most are dry. Not as mild in the south or are dry. Not as mild in the south or a cold in the north, why . We have the south westerly wind, mixing our airand bringing some the south westerly wind, mixing our air and bringing some rain. The south westerly wind, mixing our airand bringing some rain. They are coming in across the atlantic, picking up the warm and air carries more rain. So we are looking at quite a considerable amount of rain for parts of scotland in particular, north west england, Northern Ireland. We could have in excess excess of 100 millimetres of rain on
friday night, saturday and into saturday evening, before it finally sta rts saturday evening, before it finally starts to clear away. Wet and windy for many north and Western Areas on saturday. Windy and cloudy in the south, but mild, and hopefully largely dry, just some drizzle in the wind. They went will make its way southwards through saturday night. This is a little slower to clear on sunday than it was this time yesterday, which is a little nerve racking in terms of it might have a way of holding it back into the south, meaning it may not clear as quickly. At the moment, on balance, it should clear by late morning to give many areas are dry and cool day on sunday, but we will have showers in the north west. This is leeds earlier, we had some rain last night, 10 15 millimetres, but the ground is saturated, so it has nowhere to go. Concerns over more rainfall. Hello, youre watching afternoon live im simon mccoy. Today at 3pm. Where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. The rock and roll style royal has suddenly said, im not doing it, im walking away, im having my own life. That is a bombshell to drop on your family. Borisjohnson has a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end to hostilities. A e departments in england experience their worst month on record since targets for treating people within four hours were introduced. Coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. That is withjohn watson. Why temperament does not want to captain the Great Britain mike davis cup tea m the Great Britain mike Davis Cup Team despite leading them to the
quarterfinals of the inaugural atp cup. And we have the whether with Helen Willetts. Quite a storm in america. Some turbulent weather there. Not great for us as well. I will have more on that later. Also coming up this afternoon. Tipped for stardom the singer from brighton whos been named the bbcs sound of 2020. Hello, everyone, this is afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. What the queen makes of it all will be anybodys guess. But she will have similar questions to the rest of us about harry and meghans decision to step back from royal duties. In effect, they want to go it alone. Theyve certainly done that so far, not even telling her majesty or the prince of wales about their plans. But their decision raises many questions will they keep their royal titles . How will they pay for their new life . Where will they live . And who will be responsible for their security . Lots of questions, and, so far, no answers. 0ur royal correspondent, Sarah Campbell, is at Buckingham Palace. Sera. Yes, simon, the fact that prince harry and meghan were not happy was obvious. They gave those interviews if you remember in the run up to christmas was up what has been genuinely surprising i think about the developments last night when the statement was released was the way that they have gone about publicising their intentions. The fa ct publicising their intentions. The fact that they did not feel the need to inform the queen or the prince of wales or Prince William before publishing that statement, and that itself is said to have caused within the palace disappointing and heart. A disappointment and hurt. On tuesday, harry and meghan arrived at canada house. It was their first engagement after a much needed six week break spent with their son archie away from the media glare. At the time it was assumed this hailed their return to work as high profile members of the royal family. That assumption couldnt have been more wrong, as their statement, released yesterday evening, revealed. Its not yet clear what that progressive new role might mean for the couple and their position within the palace hierarchy. I see them now, to some extent, as setting up a kind of rival royal court or institution away from things, which frankly never really works because the main job of the royal family is to support the monarch, whoever that happens to be. Prince philip, princess anne, absolutely brilliant,
they were always there when they needed when they werent needed they quietly pursued their own endeavours, and i dont see why you cant work within the system. May 2018 the wedding which delighted millions around the world now seems a very long time ago. They represented inclusivity and in many peoples eyes they broadened the appeal and relevance of the royal family, but that harry and meghan were very unhappy was clear in interviews they gave during their tour of Southern Africa last year. My british friends said to me, im sure hes great but you shouldnt do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life. And i very naively im american, we dont have that there what are you talking about . Prince harry had accused the uk tabloid media of conducting a Ruthless Campaign against meghan. Many of their supporters believe at least some of the attacks on her are racist in nature and that their decision to take a step back from royal duties is completely understandable. The best way we can compare this is probably to diana when she left the royal family after the divorce, shortly before her death. She strived to set out on her own, her own charitable humanitarian works, her own foundation, her own funding in that way because of who she was and that is going to benefit the couple in terms of people are interested, invested in them in that way, want to support them and the great causes they have championed but the question is how they do that outside the official royal funding and outside the royal family while still supporting the queen . So what now . The couple plan to divide their time between the uk and north america, striving to become financially independent, and will soon launch their own charitable foundation. A brief Statement Released by Buckingham Palace after the couples intentions had been made public described the situation as complicated. Well, there has been no official comment from this from Buckingham Palace today, other than wishing the duchess of cambridge a happy 30th birthday, and i am sure that many hope that would have been the main royal headline of the day. Of course, it isnt. Things have moved on slightly. I talked about that tear a statement that was released by Buckingham Palace two hours after the duke and duchess of sussexs statement, which was quite brief and talked about how complex the situation would be. It has moved slightly on from that today. The bbc understands that they are now saying there is a willingness to make this work somehow. There is a recognition that that needs to happen for the good of the whole and entire royal family, notjust good of the whole and entire royal family, not just harry good of the whole and entire royal family, notjust harry and meghan, but it will be complex, the financial aspects are particular complicated. And this is a new role, pa rt complicated. And this is a new role, part royal, part private royal, its haddin true it hasnt really been tried before. I just
haddin true it hasnt really been tried before. Ijust wanted to check that you had an umbrella excellent. Thank you. This has been big news on the other side of the atlantic. Laura podesta is correspondent for cbs news in new york. She explained what meghans fellow americans make of the announcement. Simon, i must be honest, this story is big news, but it is not leading headlines given that we are dealing with tension in iran and the upcoming impeachment trial. But megxit is trending on twitter and it is a decision that americans are interested in. Many responses on social media are tongue in cheek, but americans are looking at this. Also in a more serious way, we know that prince harry has spoken about his struggles with mental health. We all saw what happened to his mother with the paparazzi. So there is a lot of understanding and sympathy for meghan and harry to want to leave the intense microscope of being a part of the British Royal family and trying to carve out another way of life. And a lot of speculation
about what that life would entail. Of course, she has acting to fall back on if she needs to, but what about prince harry . What are the suggestions for how they could make money over there . You mentioned meghan with acting. Well, a lot of americans are obsessed with the Netflix Series, the crown, and are wondering whether meghan could play herself in an upcoming episode. We also know that meghan used to have a lifestyle blog, the tig. She might want to get back into writing in order to further monetise that. Some are speculating that both could create a Production Company or create a production deal like the 0bamas recently did with netflix. Of course, prince harry has his own private inheritance from his mother, and meghan reportedly made 160,000 each year working as an actress before she got married. Both are in the position that they do not have to rush and find a job, and have the opportunity to pick and choose what they want to do for work. And, of course, take the time they need to establish their new charity which they talked
about in their instagram post. I was watching earlier, you suggested that prince harry could think about becoming an uber driver. There are lots of suggestions on twitter about what he could do open a restaurant, go to work like the rest of us, learn how to meal prep and do taxes, all the boring things that us commoners have to do when we heard that clip from meghan saying that the british press, nobody could prepare herfor it, there are elements of the press in the us which do just the same similar things. Yes, we do have tabloids but the difference here is that anytime someone wants to become a politician, or an actress, or a celebrity, it is by their own choosing, they are born into this sort of fame or scrutiny. She is probably of the mindset, where, if we want to step back, we should have the right and the freedom to do that, that is the american way of thinking, because we do not have a royal family. 0ur media editor, amol rajan, told me that the couples plan
to restrictjournalists access to them is something that has been tried before and could backfire. If you think back to the mid to late 90s when lady diana was probably the most famous person in the world, a lot of very negative headlines about her were written, not least when her marriage to Prince Charles broke down. It was the power of the tabloids. Thats the big difference. Princess diana felt that she needed broadcast media and the tabloids because they were the gatekeepers to the public. Something has fundamentally changed now, with social media and having an instagram account, millions of followers or your own website means you can communicate directly with the public. I think meghan and harry are of that generation and feel they do not need the tabloids to promote themselves. A website like the one they have now, that does not happen overnight, that must have been planned for a while. Yes. It is kind of a weird thing to do. This bullet pointed statement about how their relationship with the media will change. It is something they have obviously thought about for some time. I presume they would have had help writing it. One or two things thatjump out, firstly, there is quite a bit of nuance about it. They say at one point that their beef is not so much with royal correspondents who have been keen to say that they have the story correct, but editors who put their own spin on it. Sometimes a royal correspondent writes, telling you what is happening, then the editor puts an opinionated headline on it and their beef is with the headline more than a correspondent. They have said that they will not completely cut off access tojournalists, it isjust that they will not operate the royal rota system. Like the lobby in parliament,
Privileged Access is given to certain journalists. They will give access to younger journalists and people who are part of causes that they believe in. It is part of a new progressive identity. You can call me naive, and you have done in the past will that notjust open the door to the very people that many point the finger at over the death of Princess Diana . These are the people who make money out of photographs and if they are restricting access, those pictures will become ten times more valuable. That is exactly right, there is the profound danger that this could backfire. There are lots of people who will tell you that they have been hounded by the press, and i cannot imagine what it is like to have that level of intrusion, to believe in. You say that, they have been on holiday for six weeks, there was not one story or picture of them, they have not been hounded on holiday, that would not have happened 20 years ago. Yes, and i am sure that would have involved intense negotiations with journalists and editors. And it is worth saying there is a live legal case
where Meghan Markle is taking one newspaper to court over an invasion of privacy. One of the things about tabloid newspapers, which are weaker than they used to be, they are very much with us, some have a circulation of over 1 million, there is a strong tabloid culture in north america and they will see this as a declaration of war, and there will be some lining up to say, you know what, meghan and harry, we can play tough too and it could lead to a sharp deterioration in the headlines. Are they open to the criticism that they are having their cake and eating it, or at least attempting to . Very much so, i think the charge of hypocrisy, one that was levelled at them last year, whether it is accurate or not, that remains to be seen, but it hurt them a lot. The headlines that were damaging was harry talking about having two children and then saying he would not because he was worried about the environmental consequences. They then flew on elton johns jet toa they then flew on elton johns jet to a conference. That charge of hypocrisy is one that the British Public dont like. As we look for the next few years,
and look to north america, there will be this divergence between the conversations on social media, on their instagram posts, with little emoticons which are positive about causes they believe in, and the uk press, who i think can be pretty brutal, and will, as you say, be aggressive in invading privacy if they think it will help shift newspapers. Thank you very much. Joining me now is the Evening Standards royal editor robertjobson. I want to pick up on the treatment that they have received particularly in the hands of the tabloid press. It is nothing like what prince harrys mother was putting up with. It was a completely different world, thats right. She was being chased literally down the streets by the paparazzi. None of that has happened with harry and meghan, and nor should it. And that is not trying to justify the existence of the media, it is just saying that some of the comments being made about them being hounded are simply not true. |j
comments being made about them being hounded are simply not true. I am looking at your story on the standard today. This does not come asa standard today. This does not come as a surprise to you because you we re as a surprise to you because you were writing about this in december, because that is when they started to discuss this with his father. Yes, i went on the record in december, saying that Prince Andrews effective enforced retirement from royal duty sort of gave him an escape route out of this royal circus, that they would negotiate with the prince of wales. What has happened, well, it has happened a lot quicker than i thought, but the reality is that there have been negotiations, as we revealed in the Evening Standard today, between the prince of wales and prince harry, about their future, which would involve living abroad and the prince of wales quite rightly said, well, think through a plan and see if we can work it out. They came back, it was not formulated properly, and he said go back and think about this. It is very complicated. Financial, security implications. To which
prince harry took umbrage and demanded an audience with the queen. The queen said she would see her grandson but she would not have the discussions about this because he had to clarify it with the prince of wales first. He came back and the one thing she did say was that this must not go public, it must be kept within the family, while we resolve the issue. And harry decided to press the nuclear button. Why, why now . To me, i probably felt he was being put into a corner and probably thought, well, ill go for it. If i go for it, it is out in the open and there is not a lot anyone can do. They have to negotiate with me. It hasnt gone down too well. The fa ct hasnt gone down too well. The fact is that they pushed their old family into an impossible position, so now theyre all family and the queen will have to say, we will have to do something to resolve this and put the best look on it. And i think
thatis put the best look on it. And i think that is what is happening at the moment. You must remember, the prince of wales funds harry and meghan to about 95 from the duchy of cornwall. The security costs are huge. They talk on the website suggesting that they are International People that will be protected. That is not the case, it is entirely a matter for the protected. That is not the case, it is entirely a matterfor the home 0ffice is entirely a matterfor the home office and the chief commissioner of the police to make that decision. Who will have all these officers living six months abroad and flying backwards and forwards on their huge Carbon Footprint to protect them . I do not see how it has been practically thought out and the way that the story in the standard emerged was that it had not been thought out, it was still in the very early stages of negotiation. The issues of title, it sounds silly to most, but if you are an hrh, as they both are, and they go abroad and keep that title, they will be accused very obviously ofjust trading on that. I dont see how
harry or meghan will lose the hrh title. When edward viii abdicated he was still his Royal Highness the duke of windsor. I dont see how it will happen. The problem is that if you or i set up an organisation called simon royal and you started trading on the royal family, you would soon get a letter from the Lord Chamberlains Office telling you you cannot do that. This is going to be the problem for sussex royal or anything that they go to to try to generate the money, it must be based upon their brand of the royal family or who they are as personalities. Of course, she has been a successful actress and i am sure with her fame and celebrity now, that she could add another few zeros now, that she could add another few zeros on now, that she could add another few zeros on the end of any figures that she wanted from any film. But with a greater respect to prince harry, he is an army officer that has been working for the royal family. And for charity organisations. I dont really see where they are going to earn their money, unless they are trading on their name. Are you
worried about this couple . Yes, i think it is very sad that this has happened so quickly. I do not buy the talk that they are in any way hounded like the late princess of wales was handed. You know, i know, because i was there and the wait was experienced. It was awful what happens to the princess, and tragic, but there is no way that the press of 2020 is behaving in the same way as the press of 1990. The changes have happened dramatically, and the self policing is hugely changed. So, are they now opening the door to the sort of press intrusion that they are trying to avoid with this announcement . Because they are now taking the press head on, arent they . Yes, they are in legal cases, and that is a matter for them. And they feel they have taken the appropriate action. But the problem that they face is whilst you are pa rt
that they face is whilst you are part of the royal family, you are protected, in terms of, you know, negotiations that go on behind the scenes, the pressure that is put on by the palace. If you step outside of that and the paparazzi are any foreign country, it could be canada, or america, there will be armies of paparazzi alp they are taking photographs of them, and they will have. They will be no control of those. And who will be guarding them . Those. And who will be guarding them . Scotland those. And who will be guarding them . Scotland yard cant possibly justify spending £1 million protecting a couple that are only part time members of the royal family. Most of the non senior royals are family. Most of the non senior royals a re not family. Most of the non senior royals are not protected by Scotland Yard. So how can you justify it . I think theyre probably going to find, even though i am sure that the patterns are trying to accommodate this very popular couple, and trying to help them, because they are clearly going through sort of crisis, either in their marriage or their personal lives or the whole thing, to try to accommodate and
tell them, and i am sure that everybody wishes them well and wants that to happen, but you cannot expect the public purse to pay for it. £2. 5 million of public money was spent on their private property. Now, they are going to have to pay proper rent for that property now. Surely Scotland Yard cannot send, you know married officers, whatever, to spend six months away on a couple that are not performing public duties. And i think that this has not been fully thought out. Clearly, the prince of wales and her majesty the queen where wanting this to be kept under wraps, so that all of these things could try to be resolved and accommodation could be found for this couple. They have bent over backwards for them. But the reality is that you cannot possibly have the best of both worlds, and clearly, with what is happening with Prince Andrew. You know, he has effectively been forced to retire. I believe that it will be one thing or another, i dont think you can be a semi member of the royal family, and it will be one or
the other. Very good to see you, thank you very much. You are watching afternoon live from the bbc news. Borisjohnson has held a telephone call with the iranian president Hassan Rouhani in which he called for an end to hostilities between the United States and iran. The Prime Minister also urged tehran to comply with the International Agreement to curb its nuclear programme. President trump has already pulled out of the deal and is calling on britain and other allies to abandon it as well. Lets go to our washington correspondent, gary 0donoghue. What is the feeling of where we are now . Well, i think there is some unhappiness among certain republicans about the nature of the briefings that they have had subsequent to taking out slimani. Certainly if you republicans in the senate were unhappy about the lack
of information and compelling information. General slimani. That could make this resolution that passes the house today, they could make a vote in the senate a lot tighter. Having said that, even where this resolution to pass both houses, there is no sort of consequence for houses, there is no sort of consequence for it or precedent. In technical terms it doesnt mean that anything has to be done. But it will send a sniff can signal and so that is why there will be a lot of lobbying to stop it happening, certainly in the senate but it well pass the house later today, i am sure. Kyiv. Then what . Sure. Kyiv. Then what . Soleimani. The president has staked his position on the fact that iran will not respond any more. He has said that are standing down yesterday. He is in effect arguing, look, i did thejob, they is in effect arguing, look, i did the job, they retaliated is in effect arguing, look, i did thejob, they retaliated but is in effect arguing, look, i did the job, they retaliated but not in any kind of effective way. Here is us trying to de escalate and move
the agenda onto the question of the future for the nuclear agreement, for a bigger role for nato and the middle east, etc. But, and it is a huge but, there are a lot of people who still think that iran is not done yet, and certainly the potential for those groups inside iraq, those shia groups backed by iran, those are certainly not done yet and you saw a couple of rockets into the green zone in baghdad yesterday, not a completely uncommon occurrence but a sign that these groups do have the capability to launch strikes quite centrally in and around where those us forces are. Gary, thank you very much. Gary 0donoghue in washington. Iran says the ukrainian passenger plane that crashed with 176 people on board was trying to return to tehran airport when it came down, killing everyone on board. A senior ukrainian official says four theories as to the cause of the disaster are being examined engine failure, the plane being hit by a missile
or colliding with a drone, or a terrorist attack. Lets speak to jonah fisher whos in the ukrainian capital kyiv. Effectively at the moment this is still a mystery. Yes, we are really none the wiser. We have had these two are different expressions of where this investigation might be coming, from the iranian side and then from the ukrainians as well. As you mentioned, the iranians have provided some information in their preliminary investigation about what we know about the final movements of the plane. They have said that it was on fire as it went down yesterday morning, and as you said, that it had made some effort to turn. It is not clear whether that was a move that the pilots were actually trying to bring about whether its just happens to do that. We do know that there no distress call made by the plane. Put together, that all seems to broadly support what has been the iranian position from the start, that this
is most probably due to a catastrophic technical problem on board the plane. Ukraine is not really accepting that straight up. It has come as you said, put forward for mac different theories that it once examined. It has a team of investigators on the ground that are seeking to access the key sites, the key parts of the evidence to try and examine those four theories. You talk about the investigation, who is involved in that . Is there a separate procedure . What has happened so far is that the iranians have been doing it all, that is this initial investigation, it is just them effectively on the ground. Then there is another team of ukrainians who are there, a planeload of officials and experts were sent by the ukraine president overnight. 45 of them. They are now seeking to be pa rt of them. They are now seeking to be part of that Investigative Team and the early indications we are hearing is that that is being allowed to ta ke is that that is being allowed to
take place. Whether other International Partners will be allowed to come in and take part we will have to wait and see. 0ne allowed to come in and take part we will have to wait and see. One key question will be, what happens to the black box recorders, those are data recorders that were on board the plane. They can potentially provide key evidence as to what happened to the plane, why it came down. We know that the iranians have recovered them, the question is really, what do they do with them . 0rdo really, what do they do with them . Or do they allow them to go abroad to be analysed for the data to be extracted . To be analysed for the data to be extracted . Jonah, thank you very much. Jonah fisher. Patients in accident and Emergency Departments in england experienced the worst waiting times on record last month. One in five patients seeking Emergency Care was forced to wait more than four hours in december thats the poorest performance since the four hour target was introduced 16 years ago. Nearly 100,000 of the sickest patients faced hours stuck on trolleys, and waiting in corridors, while beds were found for them. Dominic hughes reports. Accident and Emergency Departments across england are busier than ever. During 2019, a million more patients attended than the previous year. An ea rlier than expected outbreak of flu hasnt helped, but doctors say staffing shortages combined with a growing and ageing population are putting the system under intense pressure. Its very, very busy. Patients are queueing up and hospitals are jam packed. This is as bad as its been over the last few years. I do remember it one year worse, that was when we had the flu epidemic about ten years ago, but since then its been a steady ramping up of pressure and its as bad now as its been in my recent memory. In december alone, more than 2 Million People attended a e departments in england, a rise of 6 on the previous year. Only four out of five people were seen within four hours, well below the 95 target. Ambulance Services Also saw their busiest month, managing an average of more than 25,000 incidents a day. But the whole system is struggling. Paul goddard has already been waiting months for a much delayed
hip replacement operation. My problem has been going on since 2018 and since i started on this road ive seen doctors and specialists, physiotherapy teams and i got to the point where, we think the operations going to be done on easter 2020, now theyre telling me it could well be christmas 2020. Growing patient demand and a shortage of qualified doctors and nurses is taking its toll, so hospitals are asking people to think carefully before visiting a e. We are opening more beds and to do that we need more nurses but its really important that the public stay healthy if they can, so theres still time to get your flu jab because flu is still around, and there are other services that can give you Health Advice such as our 111 call lines and local pharmacies. Experts say the entire health and social care service is facing its toughest winter in years. While solutions are available, things are unlikely
to improve any time soon. There is light at the end of the tunnel but the tunnel is very long. To really be able to improve the performance of the nhs we need to be able to recruit 100,000 staff. The government has committed to recruiting 50,000 nurses. That wont happen overnight. Nhs managers spent months planning for the pressures this winter would inevitably bring but todays figures show that soaring demand is placing immense strain on services. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Time for a look at the weather. These are remarkable images from where . America . Alaska. Temperatures fell to 27 degrees. Where . America . Alaska. Temperatures fell to 27 degrees. And that is not a rainbow . No, it is an ice bow. You get the refraction of the light going through, it all gets split up into beautiful separate colours and you get this wonderful atmospheric
ice both. Its basically an ice rainbow. Actually, you dont need the rain in there, because it is ice. This is below freezing, so hence the ice. There is a lot of ice around and the temperatures in america are doing some strange things. They are, huge contrasts. We have temperatures in some parts are about 10 degrees below freezing and other parts 10 degrees above freezing. In the pacific northwest, and you can see the High Pressure, similar conditions, ice and the atmosphere, but fine and dry. More snow to come for the rockies. This is drawing the attention of many, you have a real contrast, very cold aircoming down you have a real contrast, very cold air coming down from the canadian arctic, 10 degrees below where they should be, and this air coming up from the gulf of mexico, 10 degrees, temperatures in the south are 10 degrees above where that should be. It tip of your gradient will make the weather fronts more active. Temperature gradients will make the weather fronts more active,
temperature gradients will make the weatherfronts more active, that temperature gradients will make the weather fronts more active, that is a contrast of things being well below or above average. Which means we could see to it so for we should be . They could. We would normally expect tornadoes in february and into spring. But with the contrast, it will not bring the risk of tornadoes, but flooding rain, damaging winds, heavy snowfall, but this is the area they are concerned about, the american met service, across the midwest and into southern plains, as we go into friday and into saturday. It will slowly move eastwards, so likes of texas, arkansas, louisiana. Heavy snowfall for the plains, parts of midwest as well. There is a temperature contrast, it will clear through, well. There is a temperature contrast, it will clearthrough, but we are expecting some extreme weather. We have had some snow here as well, havent we . We have, part of the weather coming our way has been driven by the contrast in the usa, because we are getting a strong jet stream. That strong jet stream
is driving in areas of low pressure, one after the other, and it is very quick moving, so that is likely to continue for the next 6 10 days. Currently, it is pouring with rain across southern areas, my colleague has just across southern areas, my colleague hasjust come in across southern areas, my colleague has just come in absolutely drenched. This is a little bit quicker than yesterday, it makes quite a difference if you are Walking Around at lunchtime and beyond. That will make for a miserable rush hour, particularly for the m4 corridor, in the midlands and east anglia, heavy rain and gusty wind. It is all driven by the mild air in the south. At the moment, it is chilly in the north, struggling to get much above 2 3 in scotland. Here, temperatures will plummet, heading below freezing. Maintained a little bit by cloud and showers coming in, the rain will clear away in the early hours through the south and a more widespread cold night, with some of frost uncertainly, after the rain or showers today, some eyes as we go into tomorrow morning, of the windscreen. But otherwise, tomorrow
isa and windscreen. But otherwise, tomorrow is a and dry day. Into late on, the rain will get into the west, but myspace is not saying that until after dark. It will not be as cold in these areas, and not quite as mild further south. Picking up strong south westerly wind off the atlantic, the weather front will trail right back into the mid atlantic. Trail right back into the mid atla ntic. That will wiggle around across the uk for 36 48 hours. You guessed it, a lot of rain and gale force wind. But a coup for scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England on friday, saturday. It will then head southwards, further south and east, a more pleasant day, increasingly mild, but windy and cloudy, still usable weather for this time of year. The rain will then make its way southwards as we go through saturday night and into sunday. There is a little bit of uncertainty as to how quickly it will clear, but
fingers crossed it will clear through the first part of sunday to allow many areas drier, brighter weather with just some showers following behind. The brighter half of the weekend and the cheer half as well. We have some more Stormy Weather to come into next week. This is bbc news our latest headlines. Harry and meghan announce theyre stepping back from their royal roles but its not yet clear where theyll live, what theyll do, or how theyre going to manage their finances. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e
departments in england. Borisjohnson holds a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end to hostilities. Britains retailers say sales plunged last year john lewis may not pay their annual staff bonus. Sport now on afternoon live withjohn watson. Tennis, and a narrow defeat for Great Britain in the new format atp cup, where tim henman has emerged with plenty of credit. The first time he has led the team in this way, and relatively successful as well. Great britains atp cup captain tim henman says hes no plans to lead gb in the davis cup despite the success of leading them to the quarter finals of the inaugural atp equivalent in australia. Its the first time hes capatianed a gb team in this way, narrowly missing out on a spot in saturdays final after losing the decisive doubles match to australia earlier. He explains how the oportunity came about. This was something that came out of the blue. You know, andy murray asked me, as the number one player, who could decide the captain. When he mentioned it, it made me think, and i was delighted to accept. It was obviously disappointing, with his injuries, that he wasnt able to be here, but i have thoroughly enjoyed it. I think leon smith is doing a brilliant job at the davis cup, so i have no aspirations to do that either. Smith, the current davis cup captain, as tim henman is saying there. If ever that changes, you wonder whether or not tim henman would be a name in the frame after that success in australia. Still a lot of talk about the story be covered yesterday, the ongoing row with the gamblings and the fa cup. It hasnt sat easily and lead to affirmative criticism with the fa
cup. Its emerged that bet 365 arent the only betting company to have bought rights to show fa cup matches. A total of seven uk bookmakers have acquired rights for the next five seasons. The fa have been criticised, the deal could lead Vulnerable People those with gambling additions to be directed towards a gambling website, which ethically doesnt sit right. But those companies have said theyre happy for the matches theyve secured to be offered to platforms to be shown for free to avoid that from happening. Lets stay with football now. Nick cushing is to leave his position as manager of Manchester City women to take up the post of assistant manager with new york city fc in the United States. Cushings final match in charge will be at home to arsenal next month, with Current Assistant alan mahon then taking interim charge. Cushing, who won the superleague back in 2016, will assist the the former celtic manager ronny deila who was named as the mls sides manager on monday. Both clubs are part of the city football group. England wicketkeeperjos buttler has been fined 15 of his match fee for swearing at south africa bowler
vernon philander in the second test win in cape town. Now you might have seen, and heard, buttler being far from happy with philander standing his ground at the crease as a ball is thrown in from the outfield, with a host of expletives being picked up by the stump mic. Hes also been given one demerit point by the icc, but is free to play in the third test next week. Mo farah says he would have quit his relationship with former coach Alberto Salazar sooner had he known what was to come from usadas investigation. Salzzer was banned for four years for doping offences. Farah was speaking ahead of his plans to return to the track this year. I believe in clean sports, as an athlete. And i continue to enjoy my sport and do what i do, at the same time. Had i known the news, you know, what salazar was taking, had i known that sooner, i would have been the first one out. That is the annoying bit, i wish i had known quicker. Barry hearn, the man who runs the World Snooker tour, has been speaking to the bbc about his new 10 year plan for the sport. Hearn, who took over the commercial side of the game in 2009, wants to double the current prize fund of 17 Million Pounds and continue the sports Global Growth by staging new tournaments around the world. When i compare snooker with other major sports, and i particularly look at golf and tennis, for example, we still have a huge way to go. I would be disappointed if in the next ten years, we havent doubled the prize money that we currently have, but it depends on everybody doing theirjob properly, everyone pulling together, everyone having a common purpose, and most importantly, inspiring people around the world to say, this game is not just entertaining, it is also an interesting game to play, and people will be inspired to follow some of the great players we see currently on television. That was World Snooker tour chairman speaking to the bbc. Thats all the sport for now. What the queen makes of it all will be anybodys guess. But she will have similar questions to the rest of us about harry and meghans decision to step back from royal duties. In effect, they want to go it alone. Theyve certainly done that so far not even telling her majesty or the prince of wales about their plans. But their decision raises many questions will they keep their royal titles . How will they pay for their new life . Where will they live . And who will be responsible for their security . Lots of questions. And, so far, no answers. Joining me now is anna pasternak, broadcaster and author of the american duchess the real Wallis Simpson. That is exactly where we will start, because a lot of people are looking at the similarities of one royal couple forced out of royal life, and ending up, well, struggling. Is history repeating itself here . Ending up, well, struggling. Is history repeating itself here . |j think history repeating itself here . think there is definitely an echo of
the application story, a royal prince turning his back on his family and his duty for the woman he loves, also an american divorcee. However, for me, the crucial difference was that Wallis Simpson tried desperately hard to prevent the application, she did not want to marry edward viii and she didnt wa nt marry edward viii and she didnt want him to renounce the throne. Whereas you get the sense here that it is very much meghan that driving this narrative. I think she thought she would have a far greater platform and political voice as a member of the royal family. Platform and political voice as a member of the royalfamily. I dont think she likes the strictures of munnar, life and have decided they can form a Progressive Court on their own. It is all very well blaming meghan, but prince harry, a lifelong member of the royalfamily, he knows the deal. The one aspect of this that has shocked people is he didnt even mention it to the queen. I think that is appalling. Given that he knows full well how the royal court works and the importance of passing everything by the queen, it is shocking. It is very
distressing to her, because it makes her seem as if she hasnt quite got her seem as if she hasnt quite got her house in order. She is not the matriarch in control, she has these rebel royals kicking out and creating a seismic shock as the abdication in 1936, because this behaviour is unprecedented. The irony is, the couple said they were to ta ke irony is, the couple said they were to take control of things, who on the face of it, look completely out of control. They look completely out of control. They look completely out of control. They look completely out of control and they listen to very little advice. They are revving their own path, a path which i think they will come to bitterly regret, particularly harry. It is impossible to have one fit in a royal camp and one fit out of it. You have seen that personalising your royal connections does not work, Prince Andrew, sarah duchess of york previously. I think the court t0s will come down hard on them and it will come down hard on them and it will be made extremely clear that once you are out, you are out. It wasnt that long ago that windsor wasnt that long ago that windsor was packed, it was a beautiful sunny day, the country came out in massive
support of these two. Where has it gone wrong . I think there is show themselves to be millennial snowfla kes, themselves to be millennial snowflakes, the fact they cannot seem to cope with any press. Wallis simpson at the time of application side, every morning, my world goes to pieces on my breakfast tray because she received piles of hate mailand because she received piles of hate mail and Death Threats in the form of letters. We look at camilla, she had the most horrendous press in 20 yea rs had the most horrendous press in 20 years ago and yet, she has put her head down, behave like a true royal and come out as a National Treasure now. It all feels very hot headed, we dont like how we are being treated by the press, so we are leaving. Is there Something Else going on here . There is some concern being expressed about the state of prince harrys mind, we heard it from is owned by the recently. My personal feeling is that he is not ina good personal feeling is that he is not in a good mental state. We heard it from his own brother. The fact that he didnt tell his brother,
father, or grandmother, makes it very odd, the decision making. And yes, we can all go on holiday for six weeks and think, this would be nice if it was permanent. But it is not realistic. The other thing is that they say they have no privacy in this country, but all these aristocrats live in his massive estates, when the queen goes on holiday to bowral, nobody is there. I have been to frogmore, i put flowers down, i saw where they are living, it is so private, you have to go through two layers of security, nobody is photographing them in their garden. There is a lot of bleating and it is hugely disrespectful to the queen, and this isa disrespectful to the queen, and this is a very odd occurrence. Your book is a very odd occurrence. Your book is looking at Wallis Simpson, the other comparisons are being made with harrys mother, the princess of wales. Is that a fair comparison . Because what happened to her affected him very deeply, clearly, and isnt this just pushed back at that . I think that is right. His lack of sense of self and
instability that this rather petula nt instability that this rather petulant decision made shows that he hasnt worked through a lot of the issues that happened when his mother died and he is oversensitive to the press, because of what happened to his mother. However, in no way are meghan and harry being hounded in the way that Princess Diana was. You know it better than i do, if they act on this decision, it will alienate the press, they have seen nothing yet. Im not blaming the whole thing on meghan but i think she is influential, because if she feels if she can get to north america and have this global stage and platform that she wants, then all will be well. And im sure they will be feted by fawning celebrities in america, but i think the backlash here will be a phenomenal. The British Public do not like this kind of behaviour, and the like to see the royal family putting of behaviour, and the like to see the royalfamily putting duty of behaviour, and the like to see the royal family putting duty first. As we saw from edwards abdication, the British Public take a long time to forgive, let alone forget. Thank
you, anna. Authorities in australia are urging People Living in areas threatened by bushfires to leave their homes or risk becoming trapped. Hotter weather tomorrow is expected to increase the risk of the fires spreading. So far theyve killed 27 people. 0ur correspondentjonathan head reports now close to the town of tom erong in new south wales. In the fire bleached bush along australias south eastern coast, gary simpsons backyard has taken a beating. Some of his tallest trees, badly charred, have had to be felled and dragged a safe distance from his house. Hes been clearing up ever since a raging fire swept through last saturday, and preparing for more fires once the weather heats up again. When this happens, i mean, do you ever have second thoughts about living in a place like this, surrounded by bush . Er, sometimes you do, but its such a great place to live. Youre self sufficient, youve got plenty of space. It. It was fine, its fine, and we wont be going
anywhere, well stay. This was what was happening here last weekend. The whole forest around his house was ablaze. At one stage i said, this doesnt look good. This whole area was awash with flames. Its a pretty scary feeling. Yeah, it can be scary, yeah, most definitely. Weve been very lucky, we saved the houses. There were people down the coast, off the coast of new south wales, theyve been completely devastated. Theyve got only the clothes that they stand in. His voice breaks thats a horrible thing. It has been cooler this week, though the hazy skies and the smell of smoke are still there. Its given gary and his neighbours a very welcomed break, and theyre not letting the thought of what might happen this
weekend spoil theirfun. Jonathan head, bbc news, tomerong, new south wales. In a moment, victoria is going to bring us the latest business news. First, a look at the headlines on afternoon live where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson holds a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end to hostilities. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. The boss of the Department Store john lewis quits afterjust two years at the top, as the Company Warns of lower profits. Paula nickolds has worked at the partnership for 25 years. Meanwhile, Marks Spencer takes
a tumble after reporting another fall in Clothing Sales and shaky sales online. John lewis and m s are not alone. A retail lobby group says 2019 was the worst year on record for uk retail. The airline veteran willie walsh steps down as the chief of british airwayss Parent Company iag after 15 years. And the transport secretary grant shapps says he believes the Northern Rail franchise can only continue for a number of months. A final decision on whether to strip arriva of the franchise completely and bring it under public control will be taken later this month. Many of us trying to make ourselves financially independent, there are a young couple that you have been looking at in terms of how they might be able to make it in the real world. What a scary thought, the real world. Lots of questions around
how harry and megan might achieve their ambition of becoming financially independent. We can all speculate about what they might wish to do but quite apart from the considerable skill sets that they both have, as well as contacts book but lets think about something that is particularly unique. The very powerful global brand the british monarchy. Brand britain is incredibly important abroad in terms of soft power, diplomacy and the like. Things like brexit gave it a pretty big knock internationally, in terms of direct investment, direct foreign investment, that kind of thing. But the monarchy in particular brings a huge amount to the table here. Forbes thinks that it contributes nearly 2. 4bn dollars to the uk economy annually. Including 720 million in tourism. Think of the millions of visitors to Buckingham Palace each year. Every single day, in the rain,
changing of the guard. And Madame Tussauds, which is where a lot of people go to get their pictures taken with the waxworks. Is no there they are. That was before. Well, was it . Were not sure, we are not sure whether they are taking a big step forward or back there. The queen is smiling so i reckon this is before. Megan mag doesnt look too happy, does she . Madame tussauds not taken long to get on the bandwagon and say they will not be part of the royal set any more. There are some Big Questions from a marketing Strategic Point of view with regards to the financial independence. Could this royal couple step back and still be great ambassadors for Great Britain . Enhance the role monarchy brand, but also create a brand of their own, because the likes of harry and megan are registered trademarks already. Part of that was a defensive move to prevent other
people from copyright problems and that sort of thing. But now that they are looking at an independent future, could they be looking at a position where they are able to exploit that commercially . Lets talk about Madame Tussauds for a minute, we have a picture of them before. This is the picture of them before. This is the picture of them before the announcement. Its coming. That is them, there they are. The queen right hand. At the queens right hand. This is what Madame Tussauds have done now. They are waxworks, but here we go. That is subtle. They have gone. They didnt have time to rearrange the facial expressions of the other royals, did they . Ithink facial expressions of the other royals, did they . I think that takes a bit of time. But they are smiling. They are probably not smiling at sandringham. It does make you wonder, are they on their own . Metaphorically . Literally . 0r wonder, are they on their own . Metaphorically . Literally . Or do theyjoin the likes of big power couples, think of the 0bama family, they are a great big brands in their
own right, and very commercially successful, these brands. It will be interesting to see what happens next. It will. Financially, as well as from other points of view. Lets talk about another brand, john lewis . Before christmas, we spoke about this advert, thejohn lewis advert, edgar the dragon, about this advert, thejohn lewis advert, edgarthe dragon, it about this advert, thejohn lewis advert, edgar the dragon, it ignites the fire. Didnt exactly ignite sales over atjohn lewis. That was terrible, sorry. Glad i only do this once a week. Shall we speak to an expert, that may be a good idea. Catherine shuttleworth, ceo at savvyjoins me now. What is going on withjohn lewis . They are saying that staff there on the Partnership Might not get an annual bonus this year for the first time in 50 years. Tough times at john lewis, they have not had a great christmas, whilst people have
been buying things, they have been buying them on black friday on Department Stores where there have been massive Department Stores massive discounts. Black friday turned out to be the biggest sales week, not christmas week. They have been selling 5 more Beauty Products but at a huge discount, which means they will not hit their profit targets, and as a result, their partners are potentially going to get a bonus and it looks like their chief executive has left a business as well today, as part of this review of what has really gone quite badly wrong for them this year. 0k, so we have the likes of tesco struggling, sainsbury is saying things are not great, the argos division, for example, the bit that they own that sells video games, toys, things that should do well at christmas, thats not doing well either. Who is getting it right in uk retail . It is splitting in uk retail, some discount businesses are doing well, so you have seen in the food market, algae and little do
well, and avocado, an online only retailer. Aldi and lidl and 0cado. And in discount businesses, we have b and m, and high end luxury brands. We are seeing a real change in the way consumers are behaving. We talked all year about consumer softening, but i think Consumer Confidence is really changing now and changing what we spend our money on. We are rethinking where we buy things from, the ethics of things, do we need to buy more clothes or things, the food that we are buying . Greggs results yesterday were spectacular and they are giving a £300 bonus to every member of staff in their business. They have changed their operating model, so we are going through a massive period of change in the retail sector, driven by the way that us shoppers want to live our lives are. A fascinating time to be studying the retail industry. That is for the moment but i will be back with the markets in
one hour. Exciting, thank you. Now its time for a look at the weather. Hello, this is a picture from keswick taken earlier in the afternoon of a rainbow and some shower cloud, and we have seen some sunshine coming through today, but as we say goodbye to one band of rain and hill snow, the other has already arrived across the south west of the british isles. So, through the rush hour across the southern half of the uk, it looks fairly miserable. I think the best of the drier weather as we go through the evening will be further north. This could give us another five to ten millimetres of rain quite widely across southern parts of england, south wales, there could be some thunder activity as welljust to highlight how active it could be. So, the m4 corridor looking fairly wet. It is still relatively mild though around this band of rain in the south, but all day we have struggled with temperatures, just two or three degrees above freezing in the north. So, you can appreciate, as the sun goes down here, temperatures will fall away like a stone, and actually, with some showers around and a frost, there is an anticipation of some ice issues here. And given the rain clears late
in the night, we mayjust about escape a frost, but road temperatures may dip towards freezing by dawn. So, we will be keeping a close eye on the risk of ice in this part of the world as well. But otherwise, friday looks like a decent day. Yes, it will be cold to start with, we will be scraping the cars. But it looks as if the rain should hold off for most, except perhaps the far west of Northern Ireland until after dark and for the far west of scotland, mostly the Western Isles. It will be slightly less cloud in the north, not as mild in the south, and thats because we are changing the weather script now. We have this mild atlanta air coming in, a very strong south westerly wind, which has already been warned about as we go into saturday, and some appreciable rains as well, because you are picking up a lot of moisture with all of that warmth thats around in the atlantic at the moment. That means a lot of rainfall, possibly 100 millimetres or more, for some parts of highland scotland, across the cumbrian fells. Some very windy weather whipping up across north wales during the day. Eventually it will reach the south overnight, but it looks like a dryish day here, although increasingly windy and cloudy as well. Now, that weather front does
eventually push its way southwards, but as a much weaker affair. Not that much rain in southern areas compared with further north. Behind it weve got some showers following on behind for sunday. So, eventually becoming drier and brighter, but colder i think for the second part of the weekend, just because we get into that colder air with some wintry showers in the north. There are warnings out, they are on the website. Hello, youre watching afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. Today at four harry and meghan announce theyre stepping back from their royal roles but its not yet clear where theyll live, what theyll do, or how theyre going to manage their finances. The rock and roll style royal has suddenly said, im not doing it, im walking away, im having my own life. That is a bombshell to drop on your family. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson holds a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end to hostilities coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. Captain henman, will he do thejob again after success leading the Great Britain team . Thanks, and well bejoining you for a full update just after half past. Helen has all the weather. More rain and windy weather on the cards for the next few days. It looked unsettled and potentially storming into next week. More details in half an hour. Hello, everyone, this is afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. What the queen makes of it all will be anybodys guess. But she will have similar questions to the rest of us about harry and meghans decision to step back from royal duties. In effect, they want to go it alone. Theyve certainly done that so far not even telling her majesty or the prince of wales about their plans. But their decision raises many questions will they keep their royal titles . How will they pay for their new life . Where will they live . And who will be responsible for their security . Lots of questions
and, so far, no answers. 0ur royal correspondent, Sarah Campbell, is at Buckingham Palace. That statement continues to make headlines around the world. Im surrounded by International News crews and as well as the content of their intentions, its also the way their intentions, its also the way the statement was made, the fact that harry and meghan didnt feel they needed to inform the royal family before they released that statement yesterday evening and that, we understand, has caused disappointment and hurt within the palace. On tuesday, harry and meghan arrived at canada house. It was their first engagement after a much needed six week break spent with their son archie away from the media glare. At the time it was assumed this hailed their return to work as high profile members of the royal family. That assumption couldnt have been more wrong, as their statement, released yesterday evening, revealed. Its not yet clear what that progressive new role might mean for the couple and their position within the palace hierarchy. I see them now, to some extent, as setting up a kind of rival royal court or institution away from things, which frankly never really works because the main job of the royal family is to support the monarch, whoever that happens to be. Prince philip, princess anne, absolutely brilliant, they were always there when they needed when they werent needed they quietly pursued their own endeavours, and i dont see why you cant work within the system. May 2018 the wedding which delighted millions around the world now seems a very long time ago. They represented inclusivity and in many peoples eyes
they broadened the appeal and relevance of the royal family, but that harry and meghan were very unhappy it was clear in interviews they gave during their tour of Southern Africa last year. My british friends said to me, im sure hes great but you shouldnt do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life. And i very naively im american, we dont have that there what are you talking about . Prince harry had accused the uk tabloid media of conducting a Ruthless Campaign against meghan. Many of their supporters believe at least some of the attacks on her are racist in nature and that their decision to take a step back from royal duties is completely understandable. The best way we can compare this is probably to diana when she left the royal family after the divorce, shortly before her death. She strived to set out on her own, her own charitable humanitarian works, her own foundation, her own funding in that way because of who she was and that is going to benefit the couple in terms of people are interested,
invested in them in that way, want to support them and the great causes they have championed but the question is how they do that outside the official royal funding and outside the royal family while still supporting the queen . So what now . The couple plan to divide their time between the uk and north america, striving to become financially independent, and will soon launch their own charitable foundation. A brief Statement Released by Buckingham Palace after the couples intentions had been made public described the situation as complicated. There is no more official comment today from Buckingham Palace other than to wish katherine duchess of cambridge happy 38th birthday but there is a sense that things are already moving on from last night and the understanding is that within the parish there is a willingness to
make this work within the palace that there is a willingness to make this work notjust for harry and meghan but for the whole royal family. It will be complicated, especially the financial aspects because what has to be avoided is any suggestion of cashing in on the royal name which has affected other members of the royal family in previous years and it is no precedent for this, for such a high profile member of the royal family to step back to become part royal, part private, so there are still many things to be worked out and that will take time. This has been big news on the other side of the atlantic. Laura podesta is correspondent for cbs news in new york she explained what meghans fellow americans make of the announcement. Simon, i must be honest, this story is big news, but it is not leading headlines given that we are dealing with tension in iran and the upcoming impeachment trial. But megxit is trending on twitter and it is a decision that americans are interested in. Many responses on social media
are tongue in cheek, but americans are looking at this. Also in a more serious way, we know that prince harry has spoken about his struggles with mental health. We all saw what happened to his mother with the paparazzi. So there is a lot of understanding and sympathy for meghan and harry to want to leave the intense microscope of being a part of the British Royal family and trying to carve out another way of life. And a lot of speculation about what that life would entail. Of course, she has acting to fall back on if she needs to, but what about prince harry . What are the suggestions for how they could make money over there . You mentioned meghan with acting. Well, a lot of americans are obsessed with the Netflix Series, the crown, and are wondering whether meghan could play herself in an upcoming episode. We also know that meghan used to have a lifestyle blog, the tig. She might want to get back into writing in order to further monetise that. Some are speculating that both could create a Production Company
or create a production deal like the 0bamas recently did with netflix. Of course, prince harry has his own private inheritance from his mother, and meghan reportedly made 160,000 each year working as an actress before she got married. Both are in the position that they do not have to rush into finding a job, and have the opportunity to pick and choose what they want to do for work. And, of course, take the time they need to establish their new charity which they talked about in their instagram post. I was watching earlier, you suggested that prince harry could think about becoming an uber driver. There are lots of suggestions on twitter about what he could do open a restaurant, go to work like the rest of us, learn how to meal prep and do taxes, all the boring things that us commoners have to do when we heard that clip from meghan saying that the british press, nobody could prepare herfor it, there are elements of the press in the us which do very similar things. Yes, we do have tabloids
but the difference here is that anytime someone wants to become a politician, or an actress, or a celebrity, it is by their own choosing, they are born into this sort of fame and scrutiny. She is probably of the mindset, where, if we want to step back, we should have the right and the freedom to do that, thats the american way of thinking, because we do not have a royal family. Not yet anyway. 0ur media editor, amol rajan, told me that the couples plan to restrictjournalists access to them is something that has been tried before and could backfire. If we think back to the mid to late 90s, when lady diana was probably the most famous person in the world, a lot of very negative headlines about her were written, not least when her marriage to Prince Charles broke down. The big difference between now and then was the power of the tabloid newspapers. I think Princess Diana felt that she needed broadcast media and the tabloids because they were the gatekeepers to the public. Something has fundamentally changed now, where social media and having an instagram account, which has millions of followers,
or having your own website, means you can communicate directly with the public. And i think harry and meghan, the duke and duchess of sussex, are very much of that generation and feel they do not need the tabloids like their parents generation did. A website like the one they have now, that does not happen overnight, that must have been planned for a while. Yes, a while in the planning, and if you look at their statement. I mean, they put a lot of words about a relationship with the media. It is kind of a weird thing to do. Theres not many ceos you would see put this really long bullet pointed statement about how their relationship with the media will change. It is something they have obviously thought about for some time. I presume they would have had help writing it. One or two things that really jump out. Firstly, there is quite a bit of nuance about it. They say at one point that their beef is not so much with royal correspondents who have been very keen to say that they have got this story right but with editors who put their own spin on it. Sometimes a royal correspondent writes a story saying x or y is happening, then it gets sent from south africa to london, then the editor puts a very opinionated headline on it, and their beef is with the headline
more than the correspondents. They have said that they will not completely cut off access tojournalists, it isjust that they will not operate the royal rota system. Like the lobby in parliament, it provides Privileged Access for journalists from august institutions. They will give access to younger, up and coming journalists and people who are part of causes that they get onside with. It is part of their new progressive identity. You can call me naive. I wouldnt well, you have done in the past will that notjust open the door to the very people that many point the finger at over the death of Princess Diana . These are the people who make money out of photographs and if they are restricting access, those pictures will become ten times more valuable. I would say that is wise, rather than naive. That is exactly right, there is the profound danger that this could backfire. There are lots of people who will tell you that they have been hounded by the press, and i cannot imagine what it is like to have that level of intrusion, to have that. You know, to believe in privacy. You say that, they have been on holiday for six weeks, there was not one story or picture of them, they have not been hounded on holiday, that would not have happened 20 years ago. Sure, and that would have involved
intense negotiations with journalists and editors, im sure. But at other times. And it is worth saying there is a live legal case where Meghan Markle, the duchess, is taking the mail on sunday to court over what she says is an invasion of privacy. They believe that their privacy has been hounded. I dont think moving to canada is going to end that. You are absolutely spot on about that. One of the things about tabloid newspapers, which are weaker than they used to be, but they are still very much with us, some have a circulation of over £1 million in this country. There is a strong tabloid culture in north america. I think those tabloids will see this as a declaration of war, and there will be some journalists lining up to say, you know what, meghan and harry, we can play tough too, and it could lead to a sharp deterioration in the headlines. Are they open to the criticism that they are having their cake and eating it, or at least attempting to . Very much so, i think the charge of hypocrisy, one that was levelled at them last
year, whether it is accurate or not, that remains to be seen, but it hurt them a lot. The headlines that were damaging was harry talking about having two children and then saying he would not because he was worried about the environmental consequences. They then flew on elton johns jet to a conference. That charge of hypocrisy is one that the British Public dont like. As we look to the next few years and they move to north america, there will be this divergence between the conversations on social media, on their instagram posts, with little emoticons which are positive about causes they believe in, and the uk press, who i think can be pretty brutal, and will, as you say, be aggressive in invading privacy if they think it will help shift newspapers. Joining me now is the royal historian and commentator, dr anna whitelock. 0n on that argument of hypocrisy, the public are saying a lot about this
at the moment. Is that a charge that they are open to over this . at the moment. Is that a charge that they are open to over this . I think they are open to over this . I think they certainly are and i think the fa ct they certainly are and i think the fact they said in this statement they are going to move to try to be financially independent is trying to head off the criticism, not least havent we just refurbished your foot cottage your cottage on the taxpayers expense . There is that charge, certainly. The comment is quite interesting because i think we will see a generational split. Young people will say, good for you, harry and meghan, you want to do it your own way, show them what the modern world is, its all about instagram and engaging with people in the way that they are choosing to do. All the people i think will go, look what youve done to the queen, she is your loyal, devoted grandmother, she is boss of the firm, she has been absolutely wedded to the notion
of never complain, never explain, and now look what youve done, so i think there might be a split. We have complained very loudly indeed. What about the statement from Buckingham Palace which suggested there was hurt among senior members of the royal family . They dont do hurt. The royal family dont do feelings. Stiff upper lip. When they talk about her and disappointment, thats the queen. They are talking about the emotions being felt in the royal family and they are wearing their hearts on their sleeve in a way that they dont normally do. This is pretty much as revelatory and confessional as the royal family are going to be, they are devastated by this, they are shocked by it, they have been blindsided by it and they have been blindsided by it and they feel let down. Isnt there an argument that harry and meghan are just being pre emptive . It was quite clear that Prince Charles was thinking of streamlining the monarchy and concentrating on su ccesso rs monarchy and concentrating on successors which left harry effectively out in the cold and he
is being pre emptive. Effectively out in the cold and he is being preemptive. Exactly, just in that image that was released weeks ago, the queen had the next three kings, her immediate successors, charles, william and george and the problem for harry and other royals, not least Prince Andrew has had in the past, is that you are just andrew has had in the past, is that you arejust a andrew has had in the past, is that you are just a plus one and a you slide further down the line of succession and the future is never mapped out for those people so its a problem and i think that harry and meghan have a sense that they are going tojump meghan have a sense that they are going to jump first, they are going to say, we are trying to be progressive, we know that there is going to be a big debate in the future about the monarchy and whether people want it, whether it is financially sustainable, and they are trying to get ahead of a public criticism and show themselves to be responsive to it and progressive and ido responsive to it and progressive and i do think the line in that statement that they want to try and forge a progressive role within the institution is perhaps being overlooked. People are talking about them retiring and stepping down. Everybody is saying, you cant be your Royal Highness and use that to commercial gain, thats the discomfort. You are saying commercial gain, we are jumping commercial gain, we arejumping a few assumptions. There is the coming they are talking about becoming financially independent. Arguably they could say they are not going to have anything from the sovereign grant. At the moment it is £5 million share between harry and william. Beyond that, they are funded by the duchy of cornwall from Prince Charles is not directly the taxpayer. This could become very, very nasty and toxic for the royal family indeed if we start to see harry and meghan is the ultimate instagram influencers who are endorsing and supporting commercial products but i dont think we are there yet. We could be looking at a couple who are going to be engaging ina couple who are going to be engaging in a different way with the media, with younger audiences, living partly in north america, canada, the
caribbean countries themselves have the queen as head of state so it may not actually undermine the monarchy, but it depends. If they dont start realising that they have to work with, they talk about collaborating with, they talk about collaborating with the queen and other senior royals, they havent apparently done that at all so they are really going to have to realise that if they do wa nt to to have to realise that if they do want to forge a role, they are going to have to work in step with the royal family and i think the fact we have lodged this new brand, sussex royal, says everything, they are going to dine out on their royal brand and uncivil are going to jettison it. They are royals, they may not want the role of the ceremonial senior royal who stands upon the balcony and has to do all the media engagements, but they certainly dont want to lose their royal platform and its that fine line they are going to have to work. Which is opening it up to claims of having your cake and eating it. There is definitely a cake case to
be made here and its going to be interesting how that flies and whether it is something that is just among older people. If it is also something that younger people are going to level at them, equally, is this going to be something that is going to settle at meghans door . Is it going to be, meghan has turned dutiful harry who has spoken of his great affection for the queen, his grandmother and the boss of the firm, that has turned him against them . And has meghan never understood the royal family and taking her prince away from that family . Who knows, but i think that certainly is already beginning to gather steam, that narrative, on social media. Youre watching afternoon live, these are our headlines where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. Borisjohnson has a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end to hostilities. A e departments in england experience their worst month on record since the targets for treating people within four hours were introduced. After narrowly watching Great Britain lose to australia in the quarterfinals of the atp cup, tim henman says he has no plans to go on and lead the team in the davis cup. It has emerged bet just butler has been fined part of his match fee after swearing during the match aimed at south africas player. More of those stories that have passed. Patients in accident and Emergency Departments in england experienced the worst waiting times on record last month. One in five patients seeking Emergency Care was forced to wait
more than four hours in december thats the poorest performance since the four hour target was introduced 16 years ago. Nearly 100,000 of the sickest patients faced hours stuck on trolleys, and waiting in corridors, while beds were found for them. Dominic hughes reports. Accident and Emergency Departments across england are busier than ever. During 2019, a million more patients attended than the previous year. An ea rlier than expected outbreak of flu hasnt helped, but doctors say staffing shortages, combined with a growing and ageing population, are putting the system under intense pressure. Its very, very busy. Patients are queueing up and hospitals are jam packed. This is as bad as its been over the last few years. I do remember it one year worse, and that was when we had the flu epidemic about ten years ago, but since then, its been a steady ratcheting up of pressure and its as bad now as its been in my recent memory. In december alone, more than two Million People attended a e departments in england,
a rise of 6 on the previous year. Only four out of five people were seen within four hours, well below the 95 target. Ambulance Services Also saw their busiest month, managing an average of more than 25,000 incidents a day. But the whole system is struggling. Paul goddard has already been waiting months for a much delayed hip replacement operation. My problems been going on since 2018 and since i started on this road ive seen doctors and specialists, physiotherapy teams and, you know, now got to the point where, ah, we think the operations going to be done on easter 2020. Now theyre telling me it could well be christmas 2020. Growing patient demand and a shortage of qualified doctors and nurses is taking its toll, so hospitals are asking people to think carefully before visiting a e. Were opening more beds and to do that we need more nurses,
but its really important that the public stay healthy, if they can. So, theres still time to get your flu jab because flu is still around, and there are other services that can give you Health Advice, such as our 111 call lines and local pharmacies. Experts say the entire health and social care service is facing its toughest winter in years and whilst solutions are available, things are unlikely to improve any time soon. There is light at the end of the tunnel but the tunnel is very long. To really be able to improve performance of the nhs we need to be able to recruit 100,000 staff. The governments committed to recruiting 50,000 nurses that wont happen overnight. Nhs managers spent months planning for the pressures this winter would inevitably bring, but todays figures show that soaring demand is placing immense strain on services. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Downing street has called for a full and tra nsparent investigation into the plane crash that killed 176 people
including three british nationals. The ukrainian aircraft left tehran and tried to return to the airport when it came down, killing everyone on board. Number ten also said it was looking into very concerning reports about the tehran airliner crash following speculation that the jet might have been shot down by a missile. A senior ukrainian official says four theories as to the cause of the disaster are being examined engine failure, the plane being hit by a missile or colliding with a drone, or a terrorist attack. Earlier i spoke tojonah fisher, our correspondent in kyiv. We are none the wiser, we have had two expressions of this might be coming from, the iranian side and then the ukrainians as well. The iranians have provided some information on their preliminary investigation about what we know about the finer movements of the plane. They say it was on fire as it went down yesterday morning and that
it had made some effort to turn. Its not clear whether that was a move that the pilots were actually trying to bring about whether it just happened to do that. We do know that there was no distress call made by the plane. Put together, that all seem to broadly support what has been the iranian position from the start that this is most probably due to a catastrophic technical problem on board the plane. Ukraine was not really accepting that straight up. It put forward for different theories that it wants examined. It has a team of investigators on the ground who are seeking to access the key sites and parts of the evidence to try and examine those for theories. Who is actually involved in that, as there a set procedure to who is doing this . So far the iranians have
been doing it all, this initial investigation is just them, effectively, on the ground. There is now this team of ukrainians who are a plain load of officials sent overnight, 45 of them, they are now seeking to be part of that Investigative Team in the early indications we are hearing is that thatis indications we are hearing is that that is being allowed to take place. Whether other International Partners will be allowed to come in and take part, we willjust have to wait and see. A key question is going to be, what happens to the black box recorders, those data recorders that we re recorders, those data recorders that were on board the plane . They could potentially provide key evidence as to what happened to the plane, why it came down. We know the iranians have recovered them. The question is, what do they do with them . Do they allow them to go abroad to be analysed for the data to be extracted . Downing street is expressing its
concern for the fax to be established. Boris johnson concern for the fax to be established. Borisjohnson had a phone call with the ukrainian Prime Minister and offered his condolences for the loss of the plane and those on board. This is coming from a spokesman for the Prime Minister. The ukrainian Prime Minister updated the Prime Minister on ukrainian effo rts the Prime Minister on ukrainian efforts to establish the facts. The Prime Minister has offered uk support and says they will need to bea support and says they will need to be a full, credible and transparent investigation into what happened and the Prime Minister underlined the uks support for ukrainian sovereignty to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the uk and ukraine. Borisjohnson has held a telephone call with the iranian president Hassan Rouhani in which he called for an end to hostilities between the United States and iran. The Prime Minister also urged tehran to comply with the International Agreement to curb its nuclear programme. President trump has already pulled
out of the deal and is calling on britain and other allies to abandon it as well. Therell be a vote in the us Congress Today to try to prevent President Trump from waging war on iran. Lets speak to our washington correspondent, gary 0donoghue. This bill will pass the house of representatives, democrats have a big enough majority to make sure of that. They will get their way. The question is whether the senate votes on that same resolution. Things there are in the republicans favour in terms of the numbers although two republicans have voiced their opposition to the president in the senate on the way this iran thing has been handled so they have talked about voting with democrats and that makes it a lot tighter in the senate. However, even if it gets past both these houses, there is a good deal of doubt over whether it changes very much. The president
doesnt have to do anything as a result. The us has written to the un saying it is ready to make serious negotiations with iran if iran wants to. Yes, i dont know where that is going to go either. Bear in mind the us denied a visa to the Iranian Foreign minister to come and speak at the un today, in fact, so im not sure where that is going to go. The un has talked about trying to de escalate but it hasnt really played a central role in this in any kind of way so far. Now its time for a look at the weather with Helen Willetts. Hello. A very changeable weather pattern for the coming few days. We are saying goodbye to the rain and hill snow and we wake up to this next cloud here, more rain pushing into the southwest of the uk so the afternoon and evening rush hour looks miserable in southern areas
for the likes of the m4 corridor. Drier skies for the north but it is cold and as the sun goes down, temperatures will drop like a down and we are in for a frost. Rain to clear in the south and as it does we could have a late frost here, too, which means friday could dawn on a chilly note with some ice issues. Those should lift and fog many, friday looks like a dry day, the rain holding off until after dark although the rain will be strengthening. It would be quite as cold across scotland and Northern Ireland but not as mild further south and come saturday, all will have a spell of windy weather and fog many parts away from the southeast, it looks pretty wet as well. Bye bye. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines harry and meghan announce theyre stepping back from their royal roles but its not yet clear where theyll live, what theyll do, or how theyre going to manage their finances. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson holds a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end to hostilities. Britains retailers say sales plunged last year john lewis may not pay their annual staff bonus. Whirlpool begins its recall of dangerous washing machines. Hundreds of thousands of machines could be affected. Sport now on afternoon live withjohn watson. Tennis and a narrow defeat for Great Britain in the new format atp cup where tim henman has emerged with plenty of credit. Great britains atp cup captain tim henman says hes no plans to lead gb in the davis cup, the more traditional and Long Standing Team event which they won back in 2015. Henmans enjoyed relative success, having captained the team to the quarter finals of the first atp cup, losing to hosts australia, and explains how his involvement came about. This was something that came out of the blue. You know, andy murray asked me, as the number one player, who could decide the captain. When he mentioned it, it made me think, and i was delighted to accept. It was obviously disappointing, with his injuries, that he wasnt able to be here, but i have
thoroughly enjoyed it. I think leon smith is doing a brilliant job at the davis cup, so i have no aspirations to do that either. If leon smith was a step back you wonder whether or not tim henman might take up that position. Ongoing discomfort over Gambling Companies and their links with the fa cup. Its emerged that bet 365 arent the only betting company to have bought rights to show fa cup matches. A total of seven uk bookmakers have acquired rights for the next five seasons. The fa have been criticised the deal could lead Vulnerable People those with gambling additions to be directed towards a gambling website to watch matches. Those companies have said theyre happy for the rights to be offered to the fa or another body for free
to avoid that from happening. Nick cushing is to leave his position as manager of Manchester City women to take up the post of assistant manager with new york city fc in the United States. 0ur womens Sports Reporter jo curriejoins me now. Jo, how big a surprise is this . Not many people will have seen this coming. Both clubs have managed to keep it under wraps which is rare in football. It is testament to how successful he has been during six seasons with Manchester City. He has managed to deliver six major trophies including the 2016 wsl title which was the treble winning season. He delivered the fa cup at wembley as well as the league cup but along the way he has a Great International players like Steph Houghton and he has nurtured the careers of ink on the youngsters. He
has proved himself in almost every level. The only trophy that has eluded him as the champions league, getting to the semi finals twice and never the final. Some people might ask why he has driven one of the most high profile jobs in womens football . This is a fantastic opportunity for him to prove himself in the mens game and perhaps he feels he has taken Manchester City as far as he can for now. His final game will be on the 2nd of february at home to arsenal at which point his number two will take charge in the interim. It will be interesting to see what Manchester City do because they will be a lot of high profile people for mens and womens football they will be interested in becoming the next manager of Manchester City women. England wicketkeeper jos buttler has been fined 15 of his match fee for swearing at south Africas Vernon Philander in the second test win in cape town. The stump mic picked up buttler using a host of expletives towards philander
on the final day at newlands. Hes also been given one demerit point by the icc, but is free to play in the third test next week. And darts player beau greaves has had a 16th birthday to remember. Shes through to the semi finals of the womens bdo World Championships in london after beating aileen de graaf of the netherlands 2 1. As you can see, a sigh of relief as she took it all in her stride, and remains in with a chance of winning the title. Thats all the sport for now. Now on afternoon live, lets go nationwide and see whats happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. Chris page is in stormont and will bring us the latest as talks continuing there to attempt
to restore devolution in Northern Ireland. Annabel tiffin is in salford and can tell us more about the news that a man convicted of the murder of a young woman in merseyside in the late 19805 is set to be released. But first to chris. Its three years to the day since power sharing in Northern Ireland collapsed. Whats the latest . Yes, in many ways its an unwanted anniversary. Three years since Northern Ireland ceased to have a devolved government. Three years since martin again as the deputy first minister resigned his position. Since then there have been several rounds of negotiations to bring back the coalition and none have succeeded so here we are a few days away from another talks deadline. You get the sense here that things are intensifying. The dup are holding several Party Meetings we understand here this
afternoon. Some of their mps have been brought back ally from westminster. That suggests they could be discussing the merits of the potential draft deal but that doesnt mean necessarily that the announcement of any agreement to restore devolution is imminent. It is understood the two biggest parties have received a briefing on the text of a potential deal but the other three parties involved, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Alliance Party event, although the Alliance Party event, although the Alliance Party event, although the Alliance Party have been told to expect the briefing about 5pm. You get the impression that one way or another things are moving towards a conclusion. The legal deadline for these talks is midnight on monday and earlier one of the negotiators, mike nesbitt, made the point things are entering a very significant phase. There is a time to negotiate and there is a time to decide, and
this is the time to decide. We asked the ulster unionists have a problem about making a decision. We havent even have the briefing on the paper never mind sight of the proposed resolution to what is going on. What are the issues being talked about . Two big sticking points. The first being one that stormont hasnt been operating and that is the legal status of the irish language. It is a pretty complex issue. The nationalist parties want stand alone legislation in the unionist parties would prefer a broader piece of legislation that would incorporate some cultural elements which reflect british identity so it appears that has remained one of the biggest obstacle standing between the parties in the deal. The other one is more complex. The way the Stormont Assembly works. At the moment there is a mechanism which can be brought in for some
particularly contentious issues and when it is deployed it means the majority of unionists and nationalists in the assembly chamber, which is over there, basically the two biggest parties had a veto over contentious measures even when there wasnt a numerical majority. How that will operate as something negotiators have been able to get their teeth into. Thank you. Annabel, ian sends down my simms killed Helen Mccourt and has never revealed the whereabouts of her body. We have been doing their story throughout because of the issue that ian simms has never revealed where Helen Mccourts body as. She went missing in 1988 and ian simms was
arrested and convicted of her murder the following year. He has never admitted his guilt or admitted what he did with helens remains which means her family have he did with helens remains which means herfamily have not been he did with helens remains which means her family have not been able to see her rest in peace. He has served far longer than his original sentence and after numerous parole hearings in november it was recommended to 63 year old should be released. This is a picture of him on day release. Helens family asked the board to review the decision but that appeal was rejected. This is what her mother said in november. They will not reveal where they are victims bodies are on the evidence is overwhelming, then the only safe place for than is present. He knows he is putting us through torture. Dreadful, and this must be a bitter blow for the family. It really is, because she has been campaigning for something called helens law for a
long time. She is not available to do interviews at the moment but the family have told us they are disappointed and requesting an urgent judicial disappointed and requesting an urgentjudicial review of the parole boards decision to release ian simms. As for what happens to helen isa simms. As for what happens to helen is a law which means prisoners should not be released until the reveal where the bodies are, it is perhaps too late for marie and her family but it was included in the queens speech and then an ironic coincidence it was reintroduced to parliament yesterday. Reacting to the slaters knows thejustice secretary said that he hopes helens law will serve as a Lasting Legacy to helen and the bravery of marie and her family. Thank you. If you would like to access more of those stories you can see them on bbc iplayer. Lets return to the news that harry and meghan plan to step back as senior members of the royal family and work to become financially independent. Weve been getting reaction all day and take a look at this. This was the royal display at madame tussands the famous london attraction but as of today the statues of harry and meghan have been removed, leaving the queen, the duke of edinburgh and the duke of duchess of cambridge. 0ur reality check correspondent, chris morris, is here. So, where do harry and meghan get their money from at the moment, and how much they receive . Most of it comes from the prince of wales and that is money that comes
from income from the duchy of cornwall, financial investments, and they say 95 of the money comes from that. In 201819 the they say 95 of the money comes from that. In 2018 19 the money from the duchy of cornwall which was paid for the public costs of both harry and meghan was just over £5 million so you can perhaps assume that harry and meghan got half of that because that also included the duke and duchess of cambridge. Upkeep of palaces, performing royaljetties and so forth is another part of the money they get. They have quite a lot of personal wealth. Harry in the heritage money from his mother and his great grandmother. Millions of pounds of inheritance there, and
meghan and substantial amounts as an actor and lifestyle blogger. L couple say they want to be financially independent. Does that mean they will not be relying on taxpayers money . They say they will not take this 5 . They will not be receiving that funding any more. Elsewhere they say they would like to stay in the high speed 11 at the moment which is where you have been reporting. Taxpayers paid £2. 11 million to renovate that cottage last year. They want to stay there so if there is ongoing upkeep who pays for that . The big question is security. We dont exactly know how much we pay. There are estimates perhaps the entire security bill for the royal family may be £100 million or more, so harry and meghan would
bea or more, so harry and meghan would be a relatively small proportion of that that if they start flying regularly between the uk and north america who provides the additional cost in that . When we hear from the palace that may be all of this hasnt been entirely thought through those are some of the questions that will be raised. Are the royals allowed to make money . Senior royals, no, but there are more junior royals. People often give the exa m ples of junior royals. People often give the examples of princess beatrice and eugenie who do not carry out duties on behalf of the royal family so they have jobs in the real world and of course if harry and meghan chose to do that we know they would be pretty marketable. The most googled person in the uk last year was not
you, it was meghan. They are big business. The problem is the idea of being senior members of the royal family, even if you are saying you stepping away, and making money, do not sit well together. Lets return to the investigation into the passenger plane crash in iran. Downing street says it is urgently looking into reports that a Ukrainian Airlines flight may have been shot down. It follows speculation in the media that the plane may have been brought down by a missile. 176 people on board the flight were killed with the majority of passengers coming from iran and canada. The canadian broadcaster cbc news has spoken to a man whose wife and daughter were killed in the crash. He is living a nightmare. He was supposed to be picking up his wife and child and instead he is going to have to bury them. The first thing is you cannot believe it. I have to go back and share the grief. His wife and nine year old daughter had gone to iran to celebrate family engagement. Thinking about the very last moment, what they were thinking about, i cannot answer that question. I will miss them forever. I think there is a full than my heart. The couple came to canada in 2010. They opened a dental practice and happily settled into life in canada. They had one child. She was talented, she could speak three languages and she was very proud of
that. I had to force her to play piano every day. You have to play 30 minutes, no, dad, its 25 minutes. Things like that, its hard to recall those memories. He called his Daughters School this morning. told them that she will be absent forever. That was a hard moment for me. His grief is unthinkable, his grace remarkable. She was amazing andi grace remarkable. She was amazing and i have to talk about her, and my wife. We had a very good life. It was not fair what happened. Wife. We had a very good life. It was not fair what happenedm wife. We had a very good life. It was not fair what happened. It is also wrong, so agonising, and with a harrowing journey ahead. Cbs news are reporting that us officials are confident that that flight officials are confident that that flight was shot down by iran. Picking up signals of the radar being turned on and edged a of two missile launchers. Followed shortly by another blip of an explosion. That is currently being reported by cbs news and adds to the concern and worry about the cause of that fatal plane crash. In a moment the latest business news. First a look at the headlines on afternoon live. Where will they live . How will they pay for it . And what about their security . The dramatic announcement from harry and meghan which brings more questions than answers. A casualty crisis last month was the worst on record for waiting times at a e departments in england. Borisjohnson holds a phone call with the iranian president and calls for an end
to hostilities. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. The boss of the Department Store john lewis quits afterjust two years at the top as the Company Warns of lower profits. Paula nickolds has worked at the partnership for 25 years. Meanwhile, Marks Spencers takes a tumble after reporting another fall in Clothing Sales and shaky sales online. John lewis and m s are not alone. A retail lobby group says 2019 was the worst year on record for uk retail. The airline veteran willie walsh steps down as the chief of british airwayss Parent Company iag after 15 years. And the transport secretary grant shapps says he believes the Northern Rail franchise can only continue for a number of months. A final decision on whether to strip arriva of the franchise completely and bring it under public control
will be taken later this month. Loads going on today. Are you a fan of the skinny jean, simon . I wouldnt know if i saw one. Skinnyjeans did not go down with gentlemen of a certain age who might frequent the Mens Department at Marks Spencer. Catalogue of stocking errors at the retailer. Problems stacking up in food and fashion. They even got their mince pies wrong. Investors dumping the stock today. Marks spencer shares down 11 at
the moment. Sig shares down 25 . The bank of england are being gloomy about the Economy Today and that has taken a hit on the pound. Iag shares are rising. It is sort of the end of an era. Perhaps more clarity over the future of that company and what is going to happen because there are lots of issues around this industry,
what is going on with the oil price. Lets speak to shanti kelemen, investment director at the Private Banking firm brown shipley. Weve known for years that things are tough on the high street, that margins are squeezed so how are some of the most experienced, data rich retailers like m s and john lewis getting it wrong . It is something where every quarter we get a different set of excuses. This time it was skinnyjeans. The fa ct this time it was skinnyjeans. The fact is they havent fundamentally adjusted their Business Model enough and they are not able to keep up with the scale of investment they need to make and technology so retail has been very mixed this season. Next did well, tesco was ok, we have also seen people struggling to catch up and i think that trend will continue. Heads rolling atjohn lewis as the md leaves, seemingly a revolving door at m s over the last few years of Senior Management but there was another big piece of Corporate News after 15 years, willie walsh is stepping down as the boss of the company he founded the Parent Company of british airways. Shares rising. It shows continuity, they have a succession plan. There was a small rise in shares. That business is transformed into a Global Airline and is one of the airlines where they have lots of different price points. The industry is interesting because it is somewhere where there is lots of growing demand but the companies have struggled. That is because competition is very fierce and you have concerns about environmental impacts so somewhere that continues to be valuably but it does have a lot of potential in the long run because of rising demand. Definitely
some comparisons with retail. The pound falling today. Lost in the maelstrom of Corporate News we have had. Pretty downbeat assessment is coming from the bank of england. Do we have to worry . I dont think we have seen anything new. The bank of england cautioning that they will wait for some of the political process around brexit and the Global Economy to evolve before they take action. 0ur economy to evolve before they take action. Our view is we think rates will continue to stay low and we think the bank of england would step in if some of the plan is about trade deals do not work out that the economy slipped into recession. Sorry, i got very excited saying goodbye to go because i wanted to make the link with trade deals and some news that has come in. From bbcs some news that has come in. From
bbcs countryfile who have announced that chlorine was to check in and hormone treated beef will not be allowed into the uk amongst a trade deal with the United States. It is the first time the government has explicitly said that chlorinated chicken and hormone treated beef will not be allowed to enter the uk regardless of the trade deal. This is about concerns around food standards and standards of welfare for the animals. Thank you. The developing story is that plane crash in ukraine. Donald trump says somebody could have made a mistake. I am looking at newsweek who are quoting a Senior Intelligence source saying that the pentagon assessment is that the
incident was accidental. Irans aircraft were likely active in response to the us killing last week and they are reporting that the international Airlines Flight was brought down accidentally. The aircraft believed to have been struck by a russian built Missile System known as gauntlets. That is what seems to be coming out of Intelligence Services in washington. We will have plenty more when we have the news at 5pm. A very changeable weather pattern and we are saying goodbye to the rain and the health know. This is more rain pushing into the
south west of the uk so the afternoon and evening rush hour looks pretty measurable particularly for the m4. Drier skies further north but it is cold. Temperatures will drop like a stone for scotland and Northern Ireland and we are in for a frost. We could have a late frost. Friday could have a chilly note with ice issues. Those should left hand for many friday looks like a dry day. The rain holding off until after dark. It will not be quite so cold but it will not be as mild further south and come saturday all will have a bill of windy weather and for many parts it looks pretty wet as well. Today at five, the royal family is said to be hurt and disappointed as prince harry and his wife meghan step back from royal duties. There are questions about how the couple will live and fund themselves as they carve out what they call a progressive new role for themselves, Public Opinion seems divided. The royal family that we are left with now, is less diverse and quite frankly, its not the true reflection of what the current world is. I believe theyre going do what they want to do. Like i said, i wish them all the best in the choice they make in life. Inaudible here at Buckingham Palace there is disappointed that the queen nor other senior members of the royal family at work consulted ahead of the announcement
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