Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC Newsroom Live 20200213

Disease without symptoms. We dont yet have a test to tell how many people are infected and just have nothing at all. Meanwhile 254 people die from coronavirus in china on the deadliest day of the outbreak so far. And more than a0 more cases are confirmed on the diamond princess cruise ship currently moored off japan. The city watchdog investigates past links between the boss of Barclays Bank and the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. Criminal gangs are blamed for a big increase in fly tipping across england. Good morning. Welcome to bbc newsroom live. The Northern Ireland secretary, julian smith, is one of a number of high profile names to lose ministerial jobs, in Boris Johnsons reshuffle of his cabinet. Mrjohnson returned to downing street earlier, having spent the morning in his offce in the house of commons, where he was releasing colleagues of their ministerial duties. Julian smith was the first confirmed casualty. His departure comes just weeks after he helped broker the deal which restored powersharing to the Northern Irish assembly, after a three year stalemate. The business secretary and prominent brexiteer, Andrea Leadsom, has also been sacked. She said it had been a real privilege to spend six years in government. Esther mcvey, who also campaigned for britain to leave the eu, has been relieved of her duties as housing minister. Mrjohnson will be looking to appoint a new environment secretary after removing Theresa Villiers from the post. And in the past half hour, the attorney general geoffrey cox was the last to confirm that he had lost hisjob. Live to downing street and our Political Correspondent leila nathoo. I guess the Prime Minister is now getting on to perhaps the easier pa rt getting on to perhaps the easier part of the day, where he is offering jobs to people. Take us through the sackings first of all, and assess for us the significance . There have been a couple of names already in the mix that we had expected. Some movement, Andrea Leadsom and esther mcvey, geoffrey cox had all been in the mix as possible candidates for losing their jobs. Julian smith, he was a bit of a surprise this morning. There had been rumours overnight that he was in line to lose hisjob but he had a lot of support across the board about the power sharing deal he had secured. He has expressed regret about that. One of the bigger names to have lost his job, about that. One of the bigger names to have lost hisjob, and about that. One of the bigger names to have lost his job, and that will be an interesting position to watch, it see who will get thatjob. The big job of getting the stormont power sharing deal has done but that will be an important position for borisjohnson to will be an important position for Boris Johnson to fill. Will be an important position for borisjohnson to fill. We have seen esther mcvey, Andrea Leadsom, Theresa Villiers, three women, lose theirjobs from the cabinet. We are assured by downing street, or we we re assured by downing street, or we were assured last night that the gender make up of the cabinet would not change, and downing street were keen to emphasise they would be a number of women promoted in more junior ministerial roles. They single out some names for promotion already. The Cabinet Office minister, ann marie trevelyan. They we re minister, ann marie trevelyan. They were in line for promotion. Perhaps one of them could get that cabinet position that has been vacated. Interesting names to have lost their jobs and a couple morejunior ministers, including george freeman. Here in downing street, Boris Johnson has returned, and a number of senior ministers have already arrived. They have been in downing street for a good bit of time now, so we street for a good bit of time now, so we have seen the top ministers arrive. Javid, dominic robert, patel, michael gove have all gone into downing street already this morning. They havent come out again. We didnt expect there to be Much Movement in those top big jobs that we dont know yet. It has been an awful lot of time they have been in there, so whether they are getting much message or not. This is the justice getting much message or not. This is thejustice secretaryjust arriving behind me, as you can see. Going into downing street now. Whether these senior ministers are being confirmed in the posts or not, we will have to see. When it comes to reshuffles, there are always questions about whether people havent had long enough to really make a difference in their posts, movement for the sake of movement. What is the big idea behind this reshuffle for Boris Johnson, do you think . You remember when Boris Johnson johnson, do you think . You remember when borisjohnson came into power, he had a new make up of government straightaway, to fulfil the brexit duty, as he saw it. Now brexit is done, in his view, the first stage and britain has come out of the European Union so there is a chance to shape the government in a new image. I think there will be a bigger vision here bit behind the reshuffle. This is a game of moving parts so people have gone, people will be reshuffled. Borisjohnson will be reshuffled. Borisjohnson will have had time here to think about who he wants there. There is a reshuffle in the context of a crisis and you remember theresa may was reshuffling people, not of her choosing. This has been a planned reshuffle for a long time and we can see people refusing jobs and some obstacles and hurdles, but i think this will be a chance for Boris Johnson to put people he wants in key roles to carry out the kind of policies he wants to pursue as Prime Minister, so it will be very interesting to see the characters that he promotes or moves into certain positions. Keen to emphasise they want to bring forward a new generation with a new intake in 2017 to 2019 as well, so lots more mps will get morejunior to 2019 as well, so lots more mps will get more junior ministerial wells to prepare them for cabinet roles further down the line. It will be interesting to see these top jobs, whether any of those top positions will be reshuffled. We hadnt expected Much Movement but a number of the top ministers have beenin number of the top ministers have been in downing street for a long time and none have come out so far. I know you will keep an eye on the comings and goings for us. The fts whitehall correspondent Sebastian Payne is at westminster. Good morning to you. Take us through your thoughts on what we know for sure so your thoughts on what we know for sure so far, those sackings, and how did they might shape up in terms of borisjohnson did they might shape up in terms of Boris Johnson wanting to did they might shape up in terms of borisjohnson wanting to deliver on brexit . The day began quite early at 9am with Boris Johnson doing the day began quite early at 9am with borisjohnson doing those sackings behind closed doors in his Office Inside the house of parliament. There were no tv cameras but now we can see all of those ministers going into downing street for promotion, there is going upwards. We see the good side but not the bad side of it. In terms of this decision so far, it roughly follows the kinds of things that had been expected and briefed from downing street. We knew the attorney general, Theresa Villiers, the environment secretary and all the people who were likely to get pushed out. Julian smith at a Northern Ireland secretary is a bit more of a surprise because you had been discussing, he had been widely praised by politicians on all sides of the spectrum, forgetting stormont up of the spectrum, forgetting stormont up and running for the first time in three years. There has been bad blood between downing street and mr smith, particularly over some of the assurances in the power sharing agreement to do with crimes committed during the troubles. May the Prime Ministerfelt committed during the troubles. May the Prime Minister felt blindsided by decisions made by mr smith. Mr smith would deny that was the case. It seems to be a reshuffle of long grudges. You look at people who dont necessarily get on too well with the Prime Minister. People have said that geoffrey cox, for example, has been quite vocal in cabinet meetings and the per minister has tired of his attitude. I mentioned the reasons forjulian smith before. Then Andrea Leadsom and Theresa Villiers, who either perhaps feel might not have been performing in this cabinet. Even though downing street might say this is moderate in its scope because those big jobs at the top are changing but these are quite big positions changing and whoever is environment secretary and Northern Ireland secretary, these are significant positions. We are hearing this will be wrapped up today, with plenty of changes at the junior ministerial level to come later on. Plenty to look out for today. Picking up on what you were saying, to what extent do you think reshuffles a re to what extent do you think reshuffles are about personalities and relationships rather than who a Prime Minister necessarily thinks will be the best person for the job . Julian smith being a case in point, when the rumour started that he might lose hisjob when the rumour started that he might lose his job as when the rumour started that he might lose hisjob as Northern Ireland secretary there was pretty much an across the boa rd ireland secretary there was pretty much an across the board outcry from people in Northern Ireland, saying, here is someone who actually understands whats going on here. It would be crazy for him to be pushed out at this stage. I think it is always the policy and personal together. In the case of mr smith, it was very much a policy thing, the sense we are getting. No official comment yet on why he has left government from downing street so far. Boris johnson left government from downing street so far. Borisjohnson won the big victory in the general election in december. His Political Capital of authority is the greatest its ever going to be and he won that election on his own mandate. There was nobody else really involved in that campaign, so he feels he has the power to get rid of those he doesnt feel he wants or needs his cabinet, andi feel he wants or needs his cabinet, and i think one thing we should be aware in this reshuffle, its really aware in this reshuffle, its really a change in two parts. The biggest changes are going to come at the junior level. We heard that chris skidmore, the universities minister, the transport ministers, theyve gone. We are expecting bigger changes at the ministerial level is when we get to the next reshuffle, which could be later this year or possibly next year. You can see the top of the cabinet will look very different. One of the things about borisjohnson is different. One of the things about Boris Johnson is he different. One of the things about borisjohnson is he never had a particular group of people, comrades, around him on the conservative benches. He is very keen to bring up talent from the new intake. When we get further down the ra nks intake. When we get further down the ra n ks of intake. When we get further down the ranks of government to the parliamentary under secretary and the pps level, you will see lots of newer, freshfaced mps there because he wants to give this government a different feel. Those changes at the top are important but what happens in the more junior top are important but what happens in the morejunior ranks top are important but what happens in the more junior ranks will be just as crucial. There has been an awful lot of change in westminster in a short amount of time. If we look at the role of housing minister, esther mcvey sacked. The tenth housing minister in as many years. Looking at this from the perspective of interested parties, whether it is to do with the environment, housing, Community Affairs and so on, how do you think people will greet what might be described as a short termism in many cases . Not giving individuals long enough in any particular role to really get stuck into it . I think Northern Ireland secretary and housing minister are very key exa m ples of and housing minister are very key examples of that. The people you have to feel sorry for are the civil serva nts have to feel sorry for are the Civil Servants because they have had a revolving door of people going in and out of these departments over the last couple of years, and it is ha rd to the last couple of years, and it is hard to make progress because new ministers have to bed into their portfolios and understand, particularly in the matter of housing, a very compact department to work in with lots of issues that have to get unravelled. I think its very frustrating for Civil Servants who get ministers in, they get used to their briefs and how departments work and how to actually do things and then they get moved along. I think one of the lessons that Prime Ministers have always said is they wished they had people in the portfolios for longer. In this early stage, borisjohnson portfolios for longer. In this early stage, Boris Johnson has portfolios for longer. In this early stage, borisjohnson has the political power to move people around and in those key portfolios where he really has to deliver to keep those northern voters who voted conservative for the first time on side so be it housing, transport i think he will look to keep people in there for longer than they have beenin in there for longer than they have been in the past. They can then deliver on those things. If he keeps moving people around all the time, he wont have much of a record when he wont have much of a record when he goes back to the electorate in five years time. They will say, you said there is a housing crisis have you actually delivered on that . That will be down to the ministers. He wa nt will be down to the ministers. He want somebody who can do the job but has the trust of the Prime Minister. Good to get your thoughts on that story this morning. Thank you, sebastien. Lots more news still to emerge from downing street as the reshuffle continues. We will be discussing the sacking ofjulian smith without Northern Ireland editor later in the hour. Labour is calling on the Prime Minister to clarify who paid for his holiday on the caribbean island of mustique over the new year. According to the register of mps interests, the cost of the accommodation used by borisjohnson and his partner carrie symonds, was covered by the businessman and conservative party donor, david ross. But a spokesman for mr ross has told the daily mail that he did not pay for the stay, although he had helped to arrange it. Downing street says all transparency requirements were followed. A 52 year old man is appearing in court charged with the murder of lyra mckee, the journalist shot dead during rioting in londonderry last april. As well as the murder charge, he is accused of possessing a firearm and membership of an illegal organisation. At the time, a dissident republican group, the new ira, claimed responsibility for the killing of the 29 year old in derry. The headlines on bbc news. Boris johnson sacks five ministers from his cabinet as he begins his first reshuffle since the general election. Labour calls for answers from borisjohnson about the funding of his caribbean holiday over the new year. The first group of people quarantined in a hospital on the wirral are preparing to leave, after being given the all clear from coronavirus. And in sport. The World Rugby Sevens Series is the latest event to be affected by the coronaVirus Outbreak. The prestigious hong kong and also singapore leg will be moved from april to october. Organisers say the fans and Players Health is their priority. Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has questioned the mentality of his players following their 2 1 defeat at kilmarnock. He says he was wrong to think they had the mindset to challenge for the title. Theyre ten points behind leaders celtic. And former champion ding junhui is in action at the welsh open. He leads englands Jimmy Robertson 2 1 in cardiff. Ill be back with more on those stories after half past. China has sacked two of the most Senior Communist Party officials in Hubei Province amid accusations the extent of the coronavirus epidemic has been suppressed. The pair were fired after authorities revealed yesterday was the deadliest day of the outbreak with 254 people dying from coronavirus in china. There was also a big increase in the number of new cases, although doctors have changed the way they diagnose people. Here, the number of people whove officially contracted the virus has now reached nine. But the group of britons quarantined at a hospital on the wirral will leave today after an all clear from doctors. They arrived back on january 31st, before being moved to accommodation at Arrowe Park Hospital on the wirral. Since then there have been nine confirmed cases in the uk the latest was a woman returning from china to heathrow. The virus has spread to 25 countries but the vast majority of the 1,300 deaths and 60,000 cases have been in china. Meanwhile the International Red cross is asking for some sanctions to be lifted on north korea in order to allow the nation to prevent an outbreak of the virus there. Meanwhile at a conference in geneva last night, the World Health Organisation said that its too early to predict an end to the outbreak. Jon donnison reports. Chinas Health System is at full stretch, with these figures suggesting it was the coronavirus deadliest day. 2112 deaths is almost the previous highest daily total. The sudden increase can partly be explained by a change in the criteria doctors in china are using to confirm infections. But such a rise challenges the assertion made in geneva just yesterday by the World Health Organization that infection rates may have peaked. The number of newly confirmed cases reported from china has stabilised over the past week. But that must be interpreted with extreme caution. This outbreak could still go in any direction. Meanwhile, overnight, doctors at Saint Thomas Hospital in london continued to treat the latest coronavirus case here in the uk, a woman who is thought to have flown into heathrow from china in the last few days but had only developed symptoms after she arrived. Officials are now trying to trace everyone she may have been in contact with. Elsewhere, two weeks after they were put into quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital on the wirral, more than 80 british patients evacuated from china will be released today. Im very, very pleased to announce that each and every one of us the 83 people that were on that first evacuation flight from wuhan have tested negative for coronavirus. So, were coming home but 150 people remain in quarantine at a Conference Centre in Milton Keynes after being flown back from china at the weekend. Jon donnison, bbc news. Well, earlier i spoke to our china correspondent steve mcdonnel who updated us on the situation in china. Really, if we were to use the old counting technique, the numbers today probably show a similar pattern, that it hasnt the numbers today probably show a similar pattern, that it hasnt been growing to the same extent. But as i say, its a very hard thing to try and judge now. It also left people wondering, imagine how many more people have actually died from this virus if you change the way you measure who definitely has the virus and who doesnt have it. Either way, the axe is starting to fall here. Somebody had to be punished because the general public are so angry at the early days of this outbreak, when crucial information was held back from them. So we have seen the top two figures in Hubei Province, Party Secretary for the province and the Party Secretary for the city of wuhan, have both been dismissed, and i think there could be others who are still with their heads on the chopping block. Elsewhere there has been a signifant rise in the number of passengers infected with the coronavirus on a cruise ship off the coast ofjapan. Our correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes sent this update from yoka hama. The number of infections on the diamond princess me in yokohama has again jumped today. 44 new cases confirmed today, that followed 39 cases yesterday. That brings the total number of infections from the ship to 218, and that means, as we know now, that this is now the single biggest outbreak of the covid 19 virus anywhere outside mainland china. The japanese government has made a small concession to the criticism that has been building of the way that its handling this outbreak. They say that very elderly people over the age of 80 will be allowed to disembark if they have Underlying Health conditions or if they are in one of those inside cabins that dont have any outside windows or balconies. Expect to see that start happening maybe tonight or on friday. But there are many questions that remain. First of all, obviously, is are infections taking place . Is the virus still circulating around the ship . No one really knows. The other big question is why, still, has the japanese government not managed to test all of the passengers and crew on board . Well, earlier today the chief medical officer for england chris witty spoke to the bbc to discuss the governments plan for a mass outbreak of coronavirus. The fourth strand of what were doing, which is the mitigation, comes in. Because the thing with this epidemic, were it to happen, is obviously we dont know how big the peak would be and absolutely critically, we dont know what proportion of people would have the disease without symptoms. We dont yet have a test to tell how many people are infected and just have nothing at all. Until we do that, we really are. Only have a best estimate. Our best estimate at the top end of the range of the number of people dying is around 2 . In my view, it could be considerably less than that but we should plan for the worst. Its emerged the city watchdog is investigating the chief executive of barclays, jes staley, and his links with the disgraced financier, jeffrey epstein. Mr staley had previously told the banks board he had business connections with epstein, who was convicted of sex offences and died in prison in new york last summer. Our business presenter domic oconnell updated us on the latest. We knew that mr staley, who is the chief executive of barclays, did have a business relationship withjeffrey epstein, which dated back a long time. It goes back to when he ran the private Wealth Division of jpmorgan in new york, he took thatjob in 1999. The private wealth bit of the bank is all about managing wealthy individuals money, and that, of course, wasjeffrey epsteins main business. The New York Times has reported quite a lot on this, about how mr epstein referred several of his clients tojpmorgan to mr staleys business. The bank said this morning that mr staley had talked to the board about this, provided them with information about the nature of the relationship, the extent of the relationship and the bank had answered questions from the financial conduct authority, the financial watchdog, about the relationship. But the extra thing they said this morning is that the investigation is ongoing and they are looking at how mr staley characterised that relationship which, to me, is, did he say everything about it . And also, exactly what the bank told the watchdog when it did ask questions. So, the probe is ongoing and its about whether mr staley said everything that there was to say about that relationship with mr epstein. New figures show that waiting times for routine hospital operations in england are at their longest since the current target was introduced eight years ago. More than 4. 4 Million People were waiting to be treated at the end of december. Treatment is supposed to start within 18 weeks, but about one in six patients had to wait longer than that. Well, for more details were joined now in the studio by Health Correspondent nick triggle. Take us through a little bit more of the detail of these figures emerging today . There are three core targets for the nhs. The routine operations youve just mentioned, the knee and hip operations, and they show a growing number of patients waiting over 18 weeks, the target time for treatment. Weve also got the accident and emergency figures for january. Weve had a really bad set of figures the last couple of months. The department is under a lot of pressure but the figures for january show a slight improvement. 81. 7 of patients were seen in four hours. That is historically still a very low level, their worst january since the time it was introduced in 2004. A slight improvement on december. Weve been talking about the reshuffle today. Any changes in the department of health expected . I dont think we will see any. Matt hancock has been in the postjust over a year with a big job on his hands. Also, the threat of a corona Virus Outbreak in the uk has put the nhs on alert and planning has gone into preparing for that. Thank you very much for that detail, nick. Some breaking newsjust coming into us. Nhs england were told that the east Kent Hospital trust is to hold an independent enquiry into Maternity Services. That has just been announced in the house of commons. This in relation to baby deaths at the hospital. We are told that the scale of baby deaths at east kent is not clear thats according to the boss of the nhs trust at the centre of the investigation into those deaths at east kent, but the nhs is to hold an independent enquiry into Maternity Services there, it has just been announced in the commons. Well get more detail on that as we get it, and bring that to of course. Fly tipping is a blight on the countryside, and now, new research by the bbc shows the number of large scale incidents, where thousands of tonnes of rubbish are dumped at a time, has more than doubled. Organised criminal gangs are being blamed for the continued rise, as our environment correspondent David Gregory kumar has been investigating. Just north of birmingham, an example of large scale fly tipping. Lorry loads of waste dumped on parkland by a housing estate. Disgusted. We have to pay a Management Fee to live on this estate. And yet theyve sent us another bill this morning, but they still havent even cleared it. So why should we pay money to live here if nobody can look after the estate . Experts say that this is the new narcotics trade for criminals, because the penalties are small, but the profits can quickly run into millions of pounds. But, believe it or not, large scale fly tipping like this can also happen pretty much out of sight. A short trip up the m6 fly tipping on a scale youve never seen before. Wow. That is a lot of rubbish. Each black bale weighs about a ton and there are thousands of tonnes of rubbish thats been illegally dumped by a criminal gang that the owners thought was a legitimate business. The landowners obviously rented this warehouse out to the people that dumped this waste here under false pretences, so the people that came in, told the landowners they would be doing something completely different, and what has ended up here is an operation where they have dumped 5,500 tonnes of waste. Well, this site is an active investigation at the moment, so we cant tell you exactly where this warehouse is, but it is in staffordshire. And there was another staffordshire warehouse where something similar happened. That cost £400,000 to clear up and there was half as much waste. The bbc has looked at large scale fly tipping since 2012 and its more than doubled in england. And while it accounts forjust over 3 of the number of incidents, it makes up more than 20 of clean up costs, with Council Spending almost £60 million. But our analysis also showed large scale fly tipping decreasing in wales. Data for scotland and Northern Ireland are not held publicly. The Environment Agency has seized and even destroyed tipper trucks involved in this crime, but the sheer scale of the issue is leading to a totally new approach. It is involving career criminals and its becoming very complex. We are working with our partners, so other Law Enforcement agencies like the police, hmic, the National Crimes agency, were sharing all our intelligence. And weve literallyjust started up a joint unit for waste crime. Our Research Shows this is a growing problem, a problem that can blight the lives of communities and cost landowners hundreds of thousands of pounds. David gregory kumar, bbc news, birmingham. We can discuss this further with councillor darren rodwell, environment spokesman at the local Government Association and the labour leader of Barking And Dagenham council. He joins us from south london. Thank you for your time. We could see in that report the scale of fly tipping, massive amounts of rubbish being dumped perhaps in a single load. Why are the criminal gangs getting involved in this . Because its easy money now. Obviously, the police are very much on their tail when it comes to drugs and other issues like that, but this is so poorly managed by all authorities in the respect of the national authorities. Local government doesnt have the funding it needs to actually do Proper Research and develop a programme that allows us to investigate these sites. The entire cost of the clearing up lies with local councils, is that right . Yes, it costs us £58 million a year, and that would take away from much needed other services that we run, and every authority knows that one crime is a problem, and its about getting government to understand how big a problem it is for local government to deal with. We need society to understand that the laws are not on our side, so we need to make sure we have the right legislation. When its on private land, it takes a lot longer for local government to deal with this, because we have to give landowners time to deal with it themselves, but everybody says, oh, the council isnt doing itsjob. In everybody says, oh, the council isnt doing its job. In the last six yea rs, isnt doing its job. In the last six years, only two people have been given the full fine of £50,000, and actually only 5 of any fines given have been over £1000, so we need the courts to take it seriously, and we spend a lot of money investigating. We need communities to understand that they need to help us tell government we need the right powers to deliver on what they see as a massive blight on their streets. Looking into the story, wales has seen large scale looking into the story, wales has seen la rge scale light looking into the story, wales has seen large scale light tipping decrease in the last few years. What are they doing differently . Large scale fly tipping. Are they doing differently . Large scale fly tippinglj are they doing differently . Largescale flytipping. I can talk about my local authority, barking at dagenham, and we have done a wall of shame, naming and shaming people at a local level, whilst spending more time and effort in getting the bigger white van issues. But you cant do that if you are a massive county. So we booked a look at what works where, but truthfully we need the power is to be able to do it a lot more, and we need the funding to make sure we can investigate and really bring these people to justice because, at the moment, the fines being handed out dont even cover the costs of local spending and investigating. Darren rodwell from the local Government Association, thank you. Now its time for a look at the weather. Ive got some breaking news for you, and well come to that in a second. First of all, lets try and get you through the rest of today, which is dominated by an area of low pressure, which has thrown and weather front across england and wales over night, you probably heard it, and its still lingering across southern portions of scotland, the far south eastern quarter and north east england. Brighter further north and west, improving in Northern Ireland, and the shower is nowhere near as extensive in england and wales as was the case earlier. But pretty miserable underneath that cloud. Stay is miserably cold, three to 5 degrees, temperatures where they should be with a bit of sunshine for the cell. This is storm dennis. For saturday and sunday, we now have amber warnings, given the intensity of the rainfall, but it will not be quite as windy as last weekend, but certainly very wet, and we will keep a close eye on it. Hello, this is bbc newsroom live. The headlines the Northern Ireland secretary, julian smith, and the business secretary, Andrea Leadsom, are among five ministers sacked by the Prime Minister, as he begins his first Cabinet Reshuffle since the general election. Labour calls for answers from borisjohnson about the funding of his caribbean holiday over the new year. The first group of people quarantined in a hospital on the wirral are preparing to leave after being given the all clear from coronavirus. The city watchdog investigates past links between the boss of Barclays Bank and the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. Sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. Good morning. The World Rugby Sevens Series is the latest sports event to be hit by the coronaVirus Outbreak. The hong kong and singapore legs have been moved from april to october. World rugby say the health and safety of the players, fans and everyone working on the event is their highest priority. Yesterday, formula one bosses postponed the chinese grand prix in shanghai, which was also due to be staged in april. Manchester uniteds new loan signing, odion ighalo, is still training by himself following his arrival from Chinese Super league Club Shanghai shenhua. United have kept the striker away from the rest of the squad as a precautionary measure because of the small risk posed by the coronavirus. Ighalo also missed uniteds Training Camp in spain. They were worried that he might have difficulty getting back into the uk because of tighter border controls for those who have recently been in china. He should be available to play against chelsea next monday night. Rangers manager Steven Gerrard really laid into his players last night after their 2 1 defeat at kilmarnock in the scottish premiership. He questioned their mentality, saying he was wrong to think they had the mindset to challenge for the title. They dropped points for the third time in five league games, as they conceded two late goals in the 2 1 defeat. The loss means rangers are now ten points behind leaders celtic but do have a game in hand and two old firm matches to play. Fallon sherrock will make more history tonight when she becomes the first woman to compete in the darts premier league. She reached the third round at the World Championship in december, becoming the first woman to beat a man in that tournament. Shell face glen durant in nottingham this evening as one of nine challengers in the first phase of this seasons competiton. She wont collect League Points but can earn prize money based on her result. But can earn prize money its but can earn prize money definitely been different what its definitely been different from what i am normally used to. Ive had a lot of exhibition work, a lot of interviews. Its been, very, very busy and i get recognised in the street a lot more now. Ive been watching it on tv the last couple of yea rs, watching it on tv the last couple of years, and its like, wow, im a challenger. Its amazing. I am hoping i am helping women in sport because, in darts, we play the men, soiam because, in darts, we play the men, so i am quite happy that i have broken the barrier and that ive helped women in sport more generally to prove we can compete against men. Its day three at the welsh open snooker, and two time finalist ding junhui is in action right now. Hes facing englandsJimmy Robertson, and has just hit a century to take a 3 1 lead in cardiff and remain on course for a place in the next round. The first to four frames makes it through. Englands Jodi Ewart Shadoff is top of the leaderboard after a brilliant opening round at the womens australian open. The 32 year old shot a bogey free round of seven under par at adelaide royal. Ewart shadoff led at the same stage last year but eventually finished eighth. Shes one shot clear of the south korean pair inbee park and Jeong Eun Lee park with this incredible shot for an eagle on the first hole. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in the next hour. Borisjohnson is carrying out his post election government reshuffle. Several senior ministers have been sacked from the cabinet, including the Northern Ireland secretary, julian smith. Our chief Political Correspondent, vicki young, is in downing street. Lots and lots of praise coming in for lots and lots of praise coming in foer lots and lots of praise coming in for mr smith. Yes, and i think that is the biggest name, really, partly because, with stormont back up and running off a very long time, julian smith credited with getting those talks going, and getting praise from all sides, praise from Arlene Foster saying, we didnt always agree, but his dedication to the job was impressive, and this from leo varadkar, the irish Prime Minister, saying, in eight months as secretary of state, you helped restore power sharing, an agreement with us to avoid a hard border plus Marriage Equality for you are one of the finest politicians of our time, so thank you. Pretty incredible from leo varadkar, and i think lots of people in Northern Ireland really raising eyebrows at the departure of julian smith. You can only suspect its because of other things he said previously, making it clear he was not happy about the suspension of parliament. In autumn, when that happened, he also spoke about brexit and made it clear he was not happy about the idea of a hard border. Maybe for speaking out in public, thats why he has gone, but lots of people say it will show that, even though you might achieve something in office, it doesnt guarantee a place at the top table. Do you think the overall shape of the cabinet, the overall shape of the cabinet, the balance of the cabinet, if you like, will have altered much at the end of today . Its difficult to say. When we were here seven months ago and Boris Johnson became when we were here seven months ago and borisjohnson became Prime Minister, he cleared out almost all of theresa mays cabinet, and as they walked up the street i remember thinking, this is a brexit cabinet, these are people who would go along with a no deal scenario, and it seemed that was why he created that team. That moment has passed. Brexit isnt over, but we have left the eu and they are moving on to other things and a domestic agenda, so he does not need that any more. We are trying to see a pattern in those that might be promoted, and it seems to be people who will get on with thejob, to be people who will get on with the job, maybe not to be people who will get on with thejob, maybe not spent to be people who will get on with the job, maybe not spent too to be people who will get on with thejob, maybe not spent too much time talking to the media, but we will see by the end of the day what the pattern is, and just to say that she soon has just gone in, the pattern is, and just to say that she soon hasjust gone in, he is the latest. I havent seen anybody coming up, so im not sure who is coming up, so im not sure who is coming out. Richie sunak is tipped for promotion, seen as intelligent, so he might be put in charge of his own department. I am sure somebody will emerge from the door soon. Thank you. Germany is set to mark 75 years since the destruction of dresden during the second world war. Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather in the city to pay tribute to the victims of the allied bomb raids in february 1945. Nearly 4,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped in the assault, killing 25,000 people. With me is sinclair mckay, author of dresden the fire and the darkness. Thank you for coming along. We have eluded briefly in the introduction to what actually happened 75 years ago but, for those people not familiar with what went on interest and on that day, tell us more. Six yea rs into and on that day, tell us more. Six years into the war, very close to the end of the conflict, on the cold night of february the 13th 1945 the raf sent 796 lancaster bombers deep into eastern germany, into the darkness of eastern germany, to unleash fire upon the historic city of dresden a baroque jewel flashing in the valley, which had been noted for centuries for its exquisite beauty, and its true artists and musicians, the city was suffused with an artistic life, which lent the horror of the bombing, 25,000 people in the space of one night consumed in a firestorm that drew people high up into its whirling fire tornado. But horror was compounded by the sense that it had been one of the most civilised places in europe, this amazing cultural jewel, smashed places in europe, this amazing culturaljewel, smashed into the ground. Why did you want to tell this story . First of all because it is now slipping from living memory, and the anniversary is quite significant from that point of view, and second because preston has, since 45, wanted the english imagination. Its the part of the war which seems to many people to be the moral stain on the allies. There are many who would say that bombing of dresden was a war crime. I would hesitate about that myself, it complicates things, and there are strong reasons for not saying that, but nonetheless this extraordinary story, if you go into the dresden city archives now, there are hundreds of eyewitness accounts they have collected over the years, which make for the most extraordinary, harrowing, terrifying reading. This is also the story of how the city we generated and came back to life and found its old soul, so that the city we see now is inaccurately regenerated, miraculously regenerated. One particular line jumped out at me from your book, saying that the city stands now as a totem to the obscenity of total war, like hiroshima and nick satie, the name is associated with annihilation, and the fact it lay deepin annihilation, and the fact it lay deep in the heart of nazi germany and had been an enthusiastic adopter of the foulest National Socialist politics added lots of extraordinary moral difficulty. Why do you then say that, as we consider that moral question, that this wasnt a war crime . Its a point that has been debated a lot over the years. Crime . Its a point that has been debated a lot over the yearsm crime . Its a point that has been debated a lot over the years. If you look at the bombing of 25,000 civilians, many of them rural refugees fleeing from the onward march of the red army, how is it remotely possible to justify that . First of all, it is unquestionably an atrocity, there is no question. But the term war crime is a legal term, not a moral but the term war crime is a legal term, nota moral one, and but the term war crime is a legal term, not a moral one, and second of all there is a level of discomfort that comes with out in that sense, because you then have to look at the entire allied campaign and other bombed cities, hamburg, cologne, all bombed cities, hamburg, cologne, all bombed terribly as well, and all had fire rained down upon them. If dresden was a war crime, what about the other allied bombings . In that case, we start to draw an equivalence between the allies and the nazi regime and, if you start going down that road, you get into murkier waters, which is music to the ears of a lot of far right extremists. This event 75 years ago still has a great deal of currency among the far right, for many people, of course, but how are the far right in particular using it . The darkness of the far right is they are seeking to appropriate the history of the bombing of dresden by equating it with the holocaust, by basically saying that this was a holocaust of german civilians. If you start to use that term, you are into terribly dark, awful water stop these are completely different realms. It has to be said that the dresden authorities are doing a huge amount to counter these far right extremists, who have had their little demonstrations in the city of dresden, but they are always marked by counter demonstrations, dressed in coming out and saying, no, absolutely not. The whole point about the city and the commemorations today, but which will be the duke of kent, he will be part of the human chain they will be forming about the historical city to mark that night, the whole point now is reconciliation. Dresden in the 19505 is reconciliation. Dresden in the 1950s was twinned with coventry, which was bombed by the luftwaffe in 1940, again horrible firestorms. And the two cities recognise that symmetry. From the 50s onwards there has been a fantastic, very moving bond between them, and so there will bea number of bond between them, and so there will be a number of british people interest in today as well as all sorts of german dignitaries, and the point is also that, out of that extraordinary darkness, out of the horror of that night, what we see in the city now is notjust a restoration of architecture, the beautiful baroque cathedral is rebuilt, but also a restoration of spirit, a restoration of the soul it had before the shadow of nazism, this amazing, open, cosmopolitan city, which had been the florence of east germany, a jewel which drew so many talented people and will hopefully continue to do so in the future. Very interesting to talk to you on the anniversary of the dresden bombing. More now on the sacking ofjulian smith as Northern Ireland secretary. Mr smith was appointed injuly last year, and oversaw the talks that helped restore power sharing at stormont. Lets get the reaction from belfast. We can now speak to our Northern Ireland Political Editor, mark devenport. Good morning, mark. Fulsome praise from the irish Prime Minister, leo varadkar, saying from the irish Prime Minister, leo va radkar, saying that from the irish Prime Minister, leo varadkar, saying thatjulian smith is one of britains finest politicians of our time. The reaction when it became rumoured he might be sacked, pretty much across the board was one of concern, and thats a pretty hard thing to achieve as secretary of state for Northern Ireland, isnt it . Yes, and traditionally being sent to Northern Ireland would sometimes be seen as a punishment in british politics, but julian smith leaves office with the spectator magazine naming him minister of the year and the outgoing taoiseach saying he is one of the finest politicians the uk has produced, so he will be a hard act to follow. After a period during which his predecessors were seen as being largely inactive and just having sat there whilst the political crisis continued at stormont, he seized the opportunity and will be remembered for effectively putting it up to the local politicians to restore stormont and to buy into his new decade, new approach deal, and he will also be remembered in Northern Ireland for finally moving forward and getting some compensation for victims of historical institutional abuse here, and also pensions for victims of the troubles, both of which have been issues which have been long fingered for a great deal of time, even though those most affected by it had suffered a terrible fate during the course of the years and had been left to hang on without anybody seeming to want to do anything to meet they fairly just demands. There with me a moment while i bring a line of breaking news we are hearing from our Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg. We are hearing that the chancellor, sajid javid, has resigned. That is a pretty sharp piece of news. Certainly, it was expected he would be staying in news, that he was one of that group of ministers in the senior, most senior offices of state who would be staying in that position, but we are hearing now from our Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg, that he in fact has resigned. This is lauras tweets. I dont know if we can get it up on the screen, but she was saying, so javid has gone, reshuffle blown up. If this is a carefully worked out jigsaw people in particular positions, to lose someone as key as him from a key position clearly means that Boris Johnson him from a key position clearly means that borisjohnson to some extent will have to go back to the drawing board. There is lauras twitter feed on your screens. Drawing board. There is lauras twitterfeed on your screens. Laura says she hears that sajid javid was offered to stay on as chancellor on condition that he fired all of his advisers. He refused and turned down thejob. So it sounds advisers. He refused and turned down the job. So it sounds as though the chancellor was certainly railing against being told what to do with his personal advisers, and we cannot talk to laura, our Political Editor. Laura, this is quite an extraordinary piece of news, quite an extraordinary development. Extraordinary piece of news, quite an extraordinary developmentm really is. Reshuffle is so often end up really is. Reshuffle is so often end up blowing up and being unexpected and, in the last few minutes, ive heard that the chancellor, sajid javid, has decided that, rather than obey the orders of the Prime Minister to sack his advisory team, he has turned down the second most importantjob he has turned down the second most important job in government he has turned down the second most importantjob in government and decided to resign. I am just hearing that richie sunak, chief secretary to the treasury, is likely to be appointed chancellor in his place, but that job of appointed chancellor in his place, but thatjob of being Boris Johnsons next door neighbour at number 11 was meant to be in number tens design, a piece of continuity, and sajid javid was meant to stay on despite the fact there had been unhappiness between the two teams, as there often is in downing street, this is a really Major Development and a big difference to the government, because the chancellor is one of the key appointments, perhaps the most important appointment a Prime Minister makes, and only a couple of hours into the reshuffle it has already taken an unexpected turn. Dominic raab, what do you make of the chancellor having to resign . Dominic rob, foreign secretary, expected to stay in that job, but no doubt this will all be blown off course. What had been expected to be a reshuffle of relatively moderate scale, not too much drama going on, has already turned into something extremely different. Obviously an attempt to exert a huge degree of control, down to control over who individual ministers advisers would be. Where was that respect coming from . Obviously from the Prime Minister, but who was behind it, borisjohnson or anybody else behind that request to sajid javid defy all of his advisers . Its hard to tell without being in the room, but i think the thing i would point fairly directly at Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister s most senior adviser. I think that is an exception a lot of people will make. But, that said, there are a lot of people who work in downing street and ultimately it is ministers and Prime Ministers who make the decision. Advisers advise, Prime Ministers decide. But it is quite an extraordinary thing to happen at this stage of a relatively new government, not long after the election, but essentially the number two in terms of the top jobs, the man who was in charge of the economy, which meant he was meant to be delivering a budget in less than a month, in four be delivering a budget in less than a month, infourweeks, on march be delivering a budget in less than a month, in four weeks, on march the 11th, rather than staying in government has refused to stay in that hugely important job, government has refused to stay in that hugely importantjob, because he would not accept an attempt to exert more control on him by downing street, and ultimately there is with gossip and chat about advisers and how they behave, but ultimately Prime Ministers make the decisions. Borisjohnson Prime Ministers make the decisions. Boris johnson might have Prime Ministers make the decisions. Borisjohnson might have hoped sajid javid would just suck this up and stay on, but clearly hes decided that will not be the case, and so we have a big elevation for rishi sunak, considered in conservative circles somebody who is a rising star who had proven himself in the Election Campaign, but for somebody with a relatively low level of experience, very well respected in westminster, id say, but still aim new member of the government, a huge elevation for him, enormous pressure, and changing the chancellor is not a decision any government would take lightly, and losing the chancellor over this power struggle over who is on his payroll is a very, very big political call to make. Some people might remember in the early days, one of sajid javids second advisers was fired at that point by the new number ten operation. Sajid javid made no secret of the fact that he was deeply unhappy, and he has refused to let that happen again, instead deciding its time to move out. As far as number ten is concerned, the pace of the reshuffle continues . Absolutely. Forgive me checking my phone, because i dont wa nt to checking my phone, because i dont want to miss anything happening. As i understand it, this is a big turn in the reshuffle. We were expecting this to be relatively mid scale, relatively move along, not that much to see, yes, some well known names like Andrea Leadsom and esther mcvey departing the government but, in terms of the overall setup and direction, as i am saying, with a budget in four weeks, this was not meant to be how the date was meant to progress. But they have suddenly found themselves relatively early in the day with a huge drama unfolding. Of course, people will point at this and wonder if number ten really thought sajid javid would accept this attempt to exert a huge control over and his wider team, whether they believed he would actually end up they believed he would actually end up resigning because of that. As the hours and days unfold, we will try and find out exactly what went on, but no doubt a reshuffle that has already taken a very different turn from what we expected just ten minutes ago. My reaction to this, and im sure a lot of peoplesreaction, was what an extremely piece of news. This was a chancellor who didnt even get to deliver a budget. Well, look, this isa deliver a budget. Well, look, this is a relatively new government. Thats how they want to cast themselves, but sajid javid was meant to be part of that team. There have already been some big set piece announcements from him, and we know, for example, that he was very keen on getting that hs2 announcement over the line, and that happened last week, but its notjust a matter of the budget in a few weeks, the government has been embarking on the government has been embarking on the Spending Review round, where, line by line, every pound and penny spent by the government is meant to be put under the microscope. Chancellors are traditionally absolutely key to the shaping of any government and its priorities, it also very often the tension between those two buildings behind me, numbers ten and 11, is very often a defining characteristic of any government, and that had been rumbling around for a long time, tension is not necessarily between borisjohnson tension is not necessarily between Boris Johnson and sajid javid individually certainly between their teams. This turn of events, i think, will really be quite shocking to some people. One tory insider has just texted me a couple of moments ago saying, this is insane, sajid javid was stability in the government. We will only know in the weeks and months to come whether or not rishi sunak can step up to the plate. He is widely respected in westminster, but its a huge step up for him, and also, what kind of role will sajid javid play on the backbenches . Will he become, as people often do, a thorn in the Prime Ministers side . With a parliamentary majority the size that borisjohnson has, its not really the case that he is in any way under threat, but he could do without ardent critics, and we will have to wait and see what sajid javid does on the backbenches. Remember, he wa nted on the backbenches. Remember, he wanted to be Prime Minister, he ran for the leadership as well, so this is really setting the cat among the pigeons, and it might welcome be the start of something rather than the end of one mans political time in cabinet. Thank you, Laura Kuenssberg in downing street for us, saying that sajid javid has decided that, rather than obey the orders of the Prime Minister to sack his advisory team, has instead turned down what is regarded as the second most importantjob is regarded as the second most important job in government. Simon, im sure you are is as surprised as everyone elses about this. You have to go back a long time to find a chancellor who is resigned. Jeffrey howard might be the last one. I might be wrong. The point is that we are four weeks. Very early daysin that we are four weeks. Very early days in a government. This is the second most important job days in a government. This is the second most importantjob in government and perhaps from a business and economic point of view, we are four weeks away from a budget on march 11. In that there were big ideas being raised. Tax relief for higher earners, the idea for levelling up a mansion tax. All of which was considered pretty controversial ideas for a conservative government. If you cast your mind back a couple of months, borisjohnson said the one person who was safe in theirjob when it came toa who was safe in theirjob when it came to a Cabinet Reshuffle was actually sajid javid, which makes it doubly surprising. There is form on this. Dominic cummings had somebody escorted off the building, khan. Special adviser. When it comes to it sacking them, he has form. Perhaps sajid javid felt, having been told to get rid of them, was a humiliation too far. He will bea was a humiliation too far. He will be a pretty faithful lieutenant and foot soldier for Boris Johnson. Be a pretty faithful lieutenant and foot soldier for borisjohnson. This blows the entire reshuffle wide open. An extraordinary turn of attendance at a difficult time. It should be said, when it comes to putting budgets together, an awful lot of work is done by Civil Servants. The Big Decisions on where the money is coming from, which taxes are going up and spending, that resides at number 11, and now that resides at number 11, and now thatis that resides at number 11, and now that is all in disarray. The Political Editor of the times Francis Elliott is on twitter, quoting a source from sajid javid saying, they wanted to take control of the whole operation. There was going to be a whole new set up and they wanted to be in charge of it. Sajid javid didnt know what was coming and said no. This is explosive stuff. It speaks to the centralisation of power in three people which is Boris Johnson, obviously, as Prime Minister, youve got michael gove who is in this intersection between different Government Departments, and, of course, the supposedly all powerful Dominic Cummings. That isa all powerful Dominic Cummings. That is a three man show with michael gove as the chief exec of, if i can liken it to business, borisjohnson is the chairman and Dominic Cummings is the chairman and Dominic Cummings is the chairman and Dominic Cummings is the sort of henchmen, if you like. Traditionally it was clear it wasnt going to be these distinct but adult if you look back to Tony Blairand but adult if you look back to tony blair and gordon brown, number 11 had a lot of out. Alistair darling had a lot of out. Alistair darling had a lot of out. Alistair darling had a lot of power in his day at number11. Had a lot of power in his day at number 11. There was always the feeling that sajid javid was going to be forced to be a compliant chancellor and it looks like that is a humiliation too far perhaps. And this is about control. It is about loyalty. If, as this twitter message suggests, sajid javid knew nothing of this plan, that is quite extraordinary, isnt it . Even in political terms, it is quite extraordinary that such a Senior Member of government would be excluded from this and effectively this notion of sucking all of his advisers bounced on him . Yeah. I have to deal, in my dayjob, across a number of different departments. What has been increasingly clear is if you want to find out whats going to happen, you dont ask the department for business, energy and industrial strategy, you dont ask the Cabinet Office. Most decisions are being made with a number ten and with Boris Johnsons made with a number ten and with borisjohnsons reputation made with a number ten and with Boris Johnsons reputation for not being usually detail oriented, it is falling to people like michael gove and Dominic Cummings. Centralisation of power. Some people might say that number 11 was muted in the setup a nyway number 11 was muted in the setup anyway and, you know, an extra ordinary turn of events. Laura was saying the chief secretary for the treasury to replace sajid javid . He impressed during the Election Campaign, a savvy business background and he owes his elevation entirely to Boris Johnson. Background and he owes his elevation entirely to borisjohnson. He fits the bill and id be surprised if it wasnt him. 0k, wasnt him. Ok, simon. Thank you for that reaction to the news that sajid javid has resigned, rather than sack his team of advisers as part of that reshuffle. Our chief Political Correspondent vicki young is in downing street. What are you hearing about this idea that there is to be the centralising of power in number ten and sajid javid went into number ten this morning and aware of this plan that he was going to be asked to sack his advisers and so on . Four weeks there has been lots of rumours, speculation and people talking about the fact that there had been, really, a falling out and lots of tension between Dominic Cummings, the chief adviser for the Prime Minister, and also sajid javid. It was clear that Dominic Cummings wanted to make changes to whitehall. They were said to have gone away but he still wanted to make sure that number ten, really, was in control of what was going on at the treasury. They didnt really feel that was happening. Remember the history here. Sajid javid chancellor in name only. Incredibly rude about him. That caused a lot of tension. Sajid javid went in today all smiles and no one was predicting that he wasnt going to come out as chancellor, but that didnt happen. We are hearing that he was asked to change the way the office work, including getting rid of some of his own advisers, and he seems to have refused to have done that, and so has left the position. Yesterday when people were talking about possible cabinet casual takes, he was not on the list. Cabinet casualties. If you look at what has happened at the end of all this, given the briefings against sajid javid in the last few months, the fa ct javid in the last few months, the fact that he has gone may not be disappointing to some inside number ten, despite the headlines that there will be, the tensions that they will be, having such a senior figure on the backbenches, all of that causing this tension, this upset amongst people in the party. Thats going to be difficult but ultimately, they werent happy with sajid javid as chancellor and he has now gone. It is going to be difficult for another ten to paint this as business as usual. It is pretty incredible stuff so close to a budget. Rishi sunak it is tipped for thejob. Close to a budget. Rishi sunak it is tipped for the job. Remember the blairand tipped for the job. Remember the blair and brown years. It never got to this kind of state. Just seven months after becoming Prime Minister, does really suggest there is an awful lot of tension within number ten. Weve heard a lot about advisers and the influence that they have, you know, but it does seem that this has caused a problem here. Remember sajid javid didnt know in advance, months ago, when his adviser was sacked, marched out of here by an armed police officer. He didnt know in advance that she was being got rid of and he was extremely angry about that. He obviously wasnt prepared to see that happen again, alongside, probably, something even more serious try to take away potentially some of his powers, bring them into number ten. It is something that Prime Ministers often wa nt to something that Prime Ministers often want to do, to make sure that they have control of what is going on, rather than leaving it all to the treasury. And we have seen tensions over brexit with the treasury very much seen over the years as being against brexit happening, being on the remain the side of the argument, causing difficult problems between Philip Hammond and teresa mayne theresa may. Set to happen so soon isa theresa may. Set to happen so soon is a real problem for borisjohnson. Somebody said to me earlier Boris Johnson is as powerful now as he is ever going to be, so this is a Prime Minister exerting that power and control, whatever anyone else may think of that. In parliamentary terms he has a majority of 80, no problem getting stuff through parliament. You still got to think about the functioning of government, and this is always the question about the team that he brought in here. There is a difference between being campaigners going out on the road, coming up with slogans, winning votes and then governing. They are very different disciplines and you cant necessarily go in all guns blazing all the time. It will cause tension. Whether this results in rishi sunak asa whether this results in rishi sunak as a successful chancellor and things running smoothly, we dont know. Governments have to function ina way know. Governments have to function in a way that they are not just getting bad headlines all the time. They have to get things done and make changes to peoples lives, which is what borisjohnson wants to do. At the end of this he may feel that is perfectly possible that it has been bumpy along the way so far. Just a matter of weeks now from the planned budget, and youve been talking about rishi sunak, formerly chief secretary to the treasury. Likely to step in. This is still a huge task for someone to step in, they didnt think today that they we re they didnt think today that they were going to be the next chancellor. As chief secretary to the treasury, you are across all the detail which is why he has been admired. He is a relative newcomer that when you talk to Civil Servants, they really rate him and they feel that he is incredibly bright but actually able to explain things to people in a way that they understand. He was used in the general election out and about, doing the media rounds. There will be no problem with the detail of what has been going on. As chief secretary to the treasury, you talk to the departments when it comes to spending rounds, asking them to find the cuts that are needed. It is a huge leap to go from that position to chancellor, if that is what gets confirmed later today. Vicki, can you think of a surprise event like this in a reshuffle that you can record in recent memory . It seems pretty extraordinary, the fact that we were expecting sajid javid along with a couple of the other key ministers in government, the chief posts in cabinet, to be safe, and then the shock news emerging over a question of, i guess, control of his closest advisers. It is really quite something, isnt it . It is. They do happen. Actually the last two have been pretty seismic. I remember standing here when theresa may came in and we heard that George Osborne had been sacked. That was not massively surprising in some sense that people hadnt really predicted it. She did a pretty big clear out and brought in borisjohnson as secretary. Its not long since he cleared out her cabinet. A huge number of sackings almost overnight. In that sense, these things do happen but this has come as a bolt from the blue because most people thinking this is going to be actually, dare i say it, a relatively boring reshuffle and it has not turned out that way. Just briefly, are you hearing any other movements, confirmation of people staying at the moment . Just to get up staying at the moment . Just to get up to date. Im not, actually. Illjust try and look. I cant see any. Michael gove, i think we are hearing, is staying. That is not a surprise. No, ithink surprise. No, i think the question about michael gove is what role does he have . He has got this role in the Cabinet Office overseeing things across whitehall. There was a question of whether he would be given his own superministry. Questions about what to do about international trade, the business department. It sounds like thatis business department. It sounds like that is not happening but michael gove very much at the centre of things at the Cabinet Office, and trying to really make sure across Government Departments that the post brexit fallout goes according to plan. 0k, plan. Ok, thank you very much. Much more on these div elements coming up on newsroom live, but we have to say goodbye note to viewers on bbc two. Continuing our coverage here on bbc newsroom live this afternoon of these surprise developments in the Cabinet Reshuffle, certainly no surprises on this scale were expected. The news that sajid javid has resigned as chancellor. We are told that he decided that rather than obey the orders of the Prime Minister to sack his advisory team, he has instead turned down what is often considered to be the second most important job in often considered to be the second most importantjob in government as chancellor. Just a few weeks away from that expected budget on march the 11th. Lets get some business reaction to this news. Alice baxter is in the bbc business newsroom. Im just getting a check on how the stock market is responding to the news that sajid javid has resigned. The ftse 100 news that sajid javid has resigned. The ftse100 index is down, but only a little. More uk focused company is also slightly down, but to be honest they have been down all day, most of them dragged down by oil stocks and british gas has posted a big loss for the year. No great reaction on the stock markets. The British Government bond futures did for sharply, dropping by more than 20 text after the big announcement, but the ten year deal is broadly flat at 0. 61 . Not a the ten year deal is broadly flat at 0. 61 . Nota huge the ten year deal is broadly flat at 0. 61 . Not a huge reaction out there. But of course, this was a big surprise as we believe to sajid javid himself and his team. A source close to the former chancellor saying no self respecting chancellor would accept those terms. The suggestion being that he was asked to fire all of his special advisers and replace them with number ten special adviser to make it one team. This announcement coming just weeks after brexit and a month ahead of sajid javid you to present his budget to the house, due to talk about an infrastructure revolution, about an infrastructure revolution, a huge number of new houses to be builtand, of a huge number of new houses to be built and, of course, the room is now doing the rounds, that rishi sunak his deputy will replace him and he will deliver the budget but well have to wait and see. Right now no huge reaction on the stock markets but the Business Community will just be markets but the Business Community willjust be digesting this news, we all are. No one was expecting this Cabinet Reshuffle to be quite so dramatic, but it is proving to be quite an exciting morning. It is dramatic. Alice, thank you very much. We are joined it is dramatic. Alice, thank you very much. We arejoined by it is dramatic. Alice, thank you very much. We are joined by the Deputy Editor of the times. Stephen swinford. A story that none of us we re swinford. A story that none of us were expecting today. It seems it is all about a battle for control. And the first indication i think you got something other than the usual going on was the fact that sajid javid had beenin on was the fact that sajid javid had been in his meeting with the Prime Minister for a been in his meeting with the Prime Ministerfor a very long been in his meeting with the Prime Minister for a very long time. He had been in there for ages, so he went in and there are a succession of cabinet ministers due to visit the perimeter behind him who were not allowed in to see the perimeter. I heard rumours that something significant was going on and it was more significant than we realised. Sajid javid will be replaced by rishi sunak, that is confirmed. Rishi sunak, that is confirmed. Rishi sunak, that is confirmed. Rishi sunak with onlyjunior housing minister very recently. Boris johnson wants more control over the treasury and wants a joint team of downing street and treasury advisers, rather than the treasury having its own advisers and to mike couldnt accept that, saying no. And sajid javid couldnt accept that. He had already seen an adviser marched away from downing street with armed police and was very angry with armed police and was very angry with that. A former adviser of his sacked by Dominic Cummings. Lets talk about who is behind this attempt to control what is going on at the very heart of government. Call it a power grab, call it what you will. Over here there is often a temptation to say it is all Dominic Cummings taking control that this is actually the Prime Ministers decision. He may have taken advice from Dominic Cummings but he has decided that he needs more control over the treasury and the fissures that racked labour and the brown and blair years, there should not be a risk of those. This last week sajid javid seem to make it clear that he was supporting hs2 before a decision had been announced. Also clashes in the Election Campaign with sajid javid insisting on having tight fiscal rules which means the tories must balance the books, and that was rejected by apparently Dominic Cummings. This is borisjohnsons decision now, about as contentious as it gets and it is one of the most spectacular reshuffles in history, i would have thought. And confirmed by downing street, rishi sunak is the next chancellor. An extraordinary career trajectory. Seven months ago was a junior minister and now is chancellor of the exchequer. Bear with us, stephen. I want to bring in some reaction from John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor. Lets see if we can bring up that twitter message from John Mcdonnell who is saying, this is an historical record. A government in chaos within weeks of an election. Its clear Dominic Cummings has won the battle to take absolute control of the treasury and, he says, as installed his stooge as the chancellor. Stephen swi nford clearly stooge as the chancellor. Stephen swinford clearly thinks Dominic Cummings is behind this. Can i check something with you before we go on . You said sacked and sajid javid said he resigned. Are you hearing differently . The Prime Minister made it clear that this change the number ten and number 11 teams, that this change the number ten and number11 teams, and that this change the number ten and number 11 teams, and sajid javid wouldnt accept it. It is in the eye of the beholder whether he was sacked or resigned but sajid javid was refusing to do something the Prime Minister was demanding and the Prime Minister was demanding and the Prime Minister was demanding and the Prime Minister didnt shift his demands. It may be a semantic issue but it was made clear to him that he had to accept these changes and if he didnt, he was free to go. Sacked or resigned, there is a small margin. As you say, in the eye of the beholder. As a model for government, this centralising of control, can you recall anything like this before . I cant recall anything like it before, but one of the things, it may seem a very rash and sudden move and it will get a lot of headlines but you have to remember that Boris Johnson is notjust planning for five years in government, he is planning for a decade in power and he is keen at the very start of that decade to set out the parameters between the treasury and number ten, and to avoid the conflicts. It may be that in two years time, this is a thing of the past. Number ten sees the treasury as key on delivering for the Prime Ministers pledged to level up britain and make sure there is more growth in the regions, particularly in northern england, and he has to have a chancellor who is in lock step with him. And a treasury in lock step with him. For those of our viewers who arent terribly familiar with rishi sunak, who downing street has confirmed is the new chancellor of the exchequer, tell us more about him . Hes got a northern seat and a business background. And a brexiteer. He is also privately educated. Seen as very talented, going through all spending in Government Departments. An eye for detail. He critically does get on and worked very well with both Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson. There was a suggestion that he was the chancellor in waiting and sajid javid was chancellor in name only. We saw that as dramatically coming to light today and rishi sunak promoted to the role as chancellor. How will this sit with the rest of cabinet . Boris stating his authority. It is a huge power grab. I would not be surprised if there are similar moves in other departments. With an 80 strong majority, borisjohnson is moving to a more centralised seat of power. And theresa may, her relationship with Philip Hammond was terrible and they constantly fought over brexit and it was one of the most destabilising aspects of that regime. Boris very keen to nip this in the bud at an early stage and thatis in the bud at an early stage and that is what we are seeing here. Stephen, thank you very much for yourtime, stephen, thank you very much for your time, talking to us on this developing story. Lets return to alice baxter in the bbc newsroom. I dont know if any mark reaction has been coming in since we spoke a few minutes ago . Tell us more about rishi sunak and how are the markets and Business World are generally going to react to this . 27 days, i think, away from the budget. It is going to be a big shock to the Business Community as they continue to try to digest this news less than a month before sajid javid was due to present his budget to the house. He was going to announce this grand infrastructure revolution, building thousands of new homes across the uk. It is now, as you say, highly likely. It has been confirmed that his deputy rishi sunak will be delivering that in his stead. The ftse100 and the ftse 250 in the city both down but to be honest, they have been down all morning, mostly being dragged lower by oil stocks and news that british gas has posted a big loss for the year. The ftse100 in london downjust1. 5 . A shock to the markets and the community. We know that the British Government bond futures dropped by more than 30 ticks, but bond yields broadly flat at a 0. 61 . To tell you a little bit more about rishi sunak, what a trajectory his career is taking. Seven months ago he was a junior minister, now the new resident at number 11. On his own biography page he references the fa ct biography page he references the fact that he comes from a business background, he references the fact that due to his parents hard work, his dad was an nhs family gp, his mother ran a local chemist shop and they put a huge onus on education so he was fortunate enough to attend winchester college, Oxford University and stanford university. He said that he used his business background a co founder of a large investment firm, working with companies in Silicon Valley to bangalore he used that experience to help small and entrepreneurial British Companies grow. From working in my mums chemist shop to building large businesses. He writes, i have seen first hand how politicians said support Free Enterprise and innovation to ensure our future prosperity. He is pro business, founded in that background, so that will be welcomed by the Business Community. This was a big shock, coming asa community. This was a big shock, coming as a big surprise notjust to sajid javid but to do business and the financial community. An aide close to sajid javid has said that no self respecting chancellor could accept those terms, but we now know that it will be rishi sunak delivering the budget to the house in less than a months time. I wonder, alice, whether in a strange way, although this is a shock, a surprise, the Business Community will see Boris Johnson exerting decision making, authority, and think that, well, they obviously wa nt and think that, well, they obviously want certainty and they dont have all of that in relation to brexit but they are going to see a Prime Minister taking control and taking charge and thinking, in some way, that represents a good thing. What we know of Financial Markets and the Business Community, whether you are small or large, what they dislike more than anything is uncertainty. And that was born out of all the Financial Data we were getting in the lead up to that december snap general election, and the lead up to the final brexit vote. We sought wilful figures when it came to gdp, gross domestic profit, to retailfigures. We didnt see the bounce we normally see on the high street in the run up to christmas and a lot of that was due to falling business sentiment, consumers not feeling confident enoughin consumers not feeling confident enough in the state of the british economy to go out and spend. Since january we have seen that real uptick on any metric that you look at. People more confident about the state of the economy. We have seen a boost to the Housing Market as well. We seen a boost to Business Investment as well, although these are quite short term measures that we can see. Yes, there does seem to bea we can see. Yes, there does seem to be a sense that borisjohnson is capitalising on the huge mandate that he won in that general election in december and certainly consolidating power and, as you say, what businesses and Financial Markets are alike want certainty. Thank you, alice baxter. If you are just joining thank you, alice baxter. If you are justjoining us, let me bring you up to date with the breaking news today. The surprising news from the Cabinet Reshuffle that sajid javid has resigned as chancellor. It was thought he was one of a number of people in key positions who would be staying in their roles but we are told by our Political Editor that sajid javid has decided that rather than obey the orders of the Prime Minister to sack his advisory team, he has instead turned down the second most important job he has instead turned down the second most importantjob in government. It seems that fact was at the heart of what has happened here today. The Prime Minister had asked sajid javid to sack his advisers and he refused to do that. And so he has resigned. Some people say sacked. As one of our interviewees was saying, in the eye of the beholder on that point. That person i was talking to a little earlier, stephen swinford, saying the first indication that something was going on that wasnt expected to be going on was that sajid javid had beenin be going on was that sajid javid had been ina be going on was that sajid javid had been in a meeting with the Prime Minister for a been in a meeting with the Prime Ministerfor a very long been in a meeting with the Prime Minister for a very long time this morning. Other people were queueing outside the door, waiting to see the Prime Minister but were unable to go in. Now we know that this is what was happening behind that closed door. People calling it a power grab in some instances, others calling it a centralising of control. Number ten wanting to really be in charge of everything that was happening on the economic front as it delivers on brexit. That is breaking news coming to us today, certainly the most shocking news coming from this reshuffle so far. Lets go back to downing street and our chief Political Correspondent, vicki young. Earlier in the day, we were talking about the news thatjulian smith had been sacked as secretary of state for Northern Ireland, which was not welcomed by many people there. But then this news also equally shocking, if not more so. Yes, i think much more so. There had been top ofjulian smith may be losing hisjob, but yesterday downing street was saying, this is not going to be a valentines day massacre type of reshuffle, its going to be much more moderate and modest than that, so that would normally not include getting rid of your chancellor. Now, whether they put this to him and expected him to resign we wont know that, but a source close to sajid javid has told us that they said they wanted to get close of his advisers and really bring the two teams together, obviously more under the control of number ten, obviously more under the control of numberten, and he obviously more under the control of number ten, and he simply wasnt willing to accept that. So we have the promotion of rishi sunak, who has been tipped for promotion for a while, but i am pretty sure he didnt go in there today thinking he would come out as chancellor. It also explains why so many people have gone in there and hardly any have gone in there and hardly any have emerged. We were wondering whether they were in their having brunch or sitting around chatting, but it turns out that they were waiting impatiently in a queue while this was going on between the chancellor and Boris Johnson. This was going on between the chancellor and borisjohnson. There has been lots of rumours and talk about tension between a really, the advisers in number ten sajid javids advisers, briefings to newspapers calling sajid javid that chino chancellor, chancellor in name only, clearly not something that would go down well, so i think its notjust about his advisers potentially losing theirjobs but the idea that his powers would be diluted and taken away, and hed be much more under the control of number ten. So very, very surprising news today coming out, that sajid javid has resigned. We havent seen him come out of here. To patel has re emerged, she is being reappointed as home secretary priti patel strip sajid javid will probably go into number 11 to start packing, not something he was expecting to do this morning. And starting to pack without ever having delivered a budget, which is quite something, isnt it . Yes, i think its a long time since that happened. He did give a Financial Statement back in the summer, which didnt really amount to much, it was just after borisjohnson amount to much, it was just after Boris Johnson became prime amount to much, it was just after borisjohnson became Prime Minister, but we are four weeks away from the budget. Rishi sunak will be across the detail, and partly that is the job of the chief secretary to the, they are in all the meetings, they liaise with the other departments about what is coming, so i dont think anybody doubts that he is up to speed with what is going on, but its clearly highly unusual to be in a situation four weeks from a budget, and the first budget that Boris Johnsons budget, and the first budget that borisjohnsons government budget, and the first budget that Boris Johnsons government will have delivered. There are decades and decades of history of tensions between number ten and number 11, between number ten and number 11, between chancellors and Prime Ministers. I suppose the last comparable one is nigel lawson resigning, and people just comparable one is nigel lawson resigning, and peoplejust always feel that there is a bit of a power struggle between the two. Downing street obviously does want to know what is going on, and it was always rumoured that gordon brown got up and delivered a budget and tony blairdidnt and delivered a budget and tony blair didnt know what was in it. Thats probably a bit far fetched, but it does happen. Its obviously a difficult relationship, and its one that really needs to work well for the whole of government to function properly, so it might be that some in numberten properly, so it might be that some in number ten think that theyve got what they wanted, they have a different chancellor, it wasnt really working out with sajid javid, but i dont think they expected it to happen in this way, and i think there will be disquiet among some tory mps about the way this has happened. It will be very interesting to hear from sajid javid himself at some point. Whether he does that today, well have to wait and see, but we will keep the cameras here in case he wants to come and speak to us. Thank you, vicki young. We will continue to bring you reaction to that surprise, shocking news that sajid javid has resigned as chancellor, totally unexpected as we went into this reshuffle day, but lets get more now on the sacking ofjulian smith as Northern Ireland secretary. It had been rumoured and it was confirmed earlier today that that was the case. Mr smith was in appointed injuly last year, and oversaw the talks that helped restore power sharing at stormont, and was praised for his role in helping legislation to provide compensation to historical Abuse Victims pass through parliament. At stormont was in the deep freeze for three years. In our belfast newsroom is Margaret Mcguckin from the Group Survivors victims of institutional abuse. Thank you for your time today. I believe, on the night at stormont was restored, julian smith hosted a reception for victims of historical abuse. What did he do for you as a group . Immediately he came in to his post, the first day we met him, we knew he was a different person entirely. He had a caring and kind attitudes about him, he was personable. He smiled a lot with us, even when i said to him, you know, i hope you are not going to be like your predecessors. He kept repeating the same rhetoric about it being a devolved matter. He was a different kettle of fish, and i trusted him from that first day, and i said this man is different. It was his personable attitude, his kind demeanour. He was normal. He wasnt given to that officialdom that we got from other official figures. He stepped in and even where our own government in Northern Ireland refused to deliver for victims, who have waited a lifetime forjustice. The fall of stormont meant that we had to languish for another three yea rs, had to languish for another three years, and two of his predecessors refused to do anything. They hadnt got the material of the integrity to do something for Abuse Victims, the most valuable, but this man came along and he was like a Guardian Angel to us, and i dont say that lightly. He was a kind, caring gentleman, and for me to speak about that from somebody in authority, who we have always had our issues with and fears of, this man, he wasjust and fears of, this man, he wasjust a beautiful, gentle, caring man. I am not saying that lightly. It was a true gentleman, who to his word, and when we heard in read out in his speech. Sorry to interrupt you. Your description of him is notable, because not many people talk about politicians in the way you are talking about julian politicians in the way you are talking aboutjulian smith. Absolutely not. It is too good to be a politician, especially in the party its with now, i will go as far as saying. That man is needed elsewhere. He is sorely needed in Northern Ireland, where former government figures would do nothing because they were afraid to. That man stood up to government, he stood up man stood up to government, he stood up to his own party leader, and that isa up to his own party leader, and that is a mans man, and he will be sorely missed. The world needs a lot more like him. We had a great relationship. He invited us to a Buckingham Palace garden party, and i wouldnt go now anyway because i dont think he would either. He had a sense of humour. I called him mr darcy, i refer to myself as bridget jones, and he took that. A great relationship. He would phone us up at night time, and at weekends he worked hard. Ive never met a politician like him, an Authority Figure like him. Those people who abused us in all these years, even now, you know, a lot of people in stormont need to follow his example. He will be sorely missed, and id prefer he left the tory party altogether. It could take up another post where he would do a lot of good for the most vulnerable people. We dont know yet who is going to be replacing him as secretary of state but, given that it was only a few weeks ago that the Stormont Assembly was restored, just to broaden this out a little bit, how concerned are you that there is going to be a change of leadership in Northern Ireland, if you like, in terms of the ministerial position, at such a crucial time . For the government here getting back together, and people are looking forward, thinking weve got a brighter future. It will bring us back in time now, everything is going to fall. I know there are a lot of matters that were going to be brought through, and it will be back to square one. Who are we going to get . Who will step into his shoes . Nobody could ever step into his shoes of being the most personable person that he was. You know, its a very wrong decision, and mrjohnson will come to regret it, or will he . And mrjohnson will come to regret it, orwill he . Our and mrjohnson will come to regret it, or will he . Our people here will be suffering more, wondering what is going to happen next. We were looking forward, we thought the future was bright, and that was because of julian future was bright, and that was because ofjulian smith. So we are in no mans land once again, not knowing what the future will bring. Thank margaret, we appreciate you talking to us today. Thank you very much. Some more breaking news on the reshuffle, and alok sharma has been appointed business secretary, and also ministerfor the appointed business secretary, and also minister for the upcoming Climate Conference, co p26, also minister for the upcoming Climate Conference, cop26, downing street has just announced. That is the hugely important United Nations Climate Conference, which is being held in glasgow in november of this year, and you may know that claire perry, who was in charge of that, was sacked by downing street, and there were calls for someone with cloud to be appointed to take on the role, and that person will be alok sharma. A lot of people are saying that, actually, time is really short, the conference is in november, leaders from all over the world coming to glasgow to try and push for greater controls on Carbon Emissions so that Global Temperatures dont rise above that key figure of 1. 5 degrees. That is what that Climate Conference is all about, and alok sharma, as well as being appointed business secretary, he has been appointed ministerfor that Climate Conference, with some people saying it should have been one person concentrating on that role alone. Thats the latest from the reshuffle. Lets return to the shock news of sajid javids departure from the treasury, and the bbcs business editor, simonjack, explained a short while ago why his resignation is significant. This is the second most important job in government and perhaps from a business and economic point of view, we are four weeks away from a budget on march 11th. In that there are big ideas being raised. Tax relief for higher earners, the idea for levelling up, a mansion tax. All of which was considered pretty controversial ideas for a conservative government. If you cast your mind back a couple of months, borisjohnson said the one person who was safe in theirjob when it came to a Cabinet Reshuffle was actually sajid javid, which makes it doubly surprising. There is form on this. Dominic cummings had a sad escorted off the building, sonia khan. Special adviser. When it comes to it sacking them, he has form. Perhaps sajid javid felt, having been told to get rid of them, it was a humiliation too far. Hes been a pretty faithful lieutenant and foot soldier for Boris Johnson. This blows the entire reshuffle wide open. An extraordinary turn of events at a difficult time. It should be said, when it comes to putting budgets together, an awful lot of work is done by Civil Servants. The Big Decisions on where the money is coming from, which taxes are going up and spending, that resides at number 11, and now that is all in disarray. The Political Editor of the times, Francis Elliott, is on twitter, quoting a source from sajid javid saying, they wanted to take control of the whole operation. There was going to be a whole new setup and they wanted to be in charge of it. Sajid didnt know it was coming and said no. This is explosive stuff. It speaks to the centralisation of power in three people, which is Boris Johnson, obviously, as Prime Minister, youve got michael gove who is in this intersection between different Government Departments, and, of course, the supposedly all powerful Dominic Cummings. That is a three man show, with michael gove as the chief executive, if i can liken it to business, borisjohnson as the chairman and Dominic Cummings as the sort of henchman, if you like. Traditionally it was clear it wasnt going to be these distinct but if you look back to tony blair and gordon brown, number 11 had a lot of clout. Alistair darling had a lot of power in his day at number 11. There was always the feeling that sajid javid was going to be forced to be a compliant chancellor and it looks like that is a humiliation too far perhaps. And this is about control. It is about loyalty. If, as this twitter message suggests, sajid javid knew nothing of this plan, that is quite extraordinary, isnt it . Even in political terms, it is quite extraordinary that such a Senior Member of government would be excluded from this and effectively this notion of sacking all of his advisers bounced on him . Yeah. I have to deal, in my dayjob, across a number of different departments. What has been increasingly clear is, if you want to find out whats going to happen, you dont ask the department for business, energy and industrial strategy, you dont ask the Cabinet Office. Most decisions are being made with number 10, and with Boris Johnsons reputation for not being detail oriented, it is falling to people like michael gove and Dominic Cummings. Centralisation of power. Some people might say that number 11 was neutered in the setup anyway and, you know, an extraordinary turn of events. Lets return to downing street and our chief Political Correspondent, vicki young. What more are you hearing about the events of today, which led to sajid javid resigning . We arejust which led to sajid javid resigning . We are just waiting for rishi sunak to emerge from the door behind me the new chancellor, and its fair to say, when he walked in this morning, he wasnt expecting to emerge as chancellor of the exchequer. For months, there have been tensions, no doubt, briefings from both sides, from the treasury and from downing street, about the relationship really between the two, but i dont think anybody thought it would actually end up like this. We are told that sajid javid went in there this morning, he was told there was going to a new arrangement, if you like, but they would be a joint team of advisers between number ten and number11, and of advisers between number ten and number 11, and clearly that is a delusion of powerfor a number 11, and clearly that is a delusion of power for a chancellor, so, yes, it might be about loyalty to his own advisers. Hed already seen one of them fired without his prior knowledge by Dominic Cummings, the Prime Ministers chief adviser, and that adviser was marched out of here by an armed police officer, and the chancellor was extremely unhappy and angry about that, so he probably wasnt willing to sit by and let it happen again, but its notjust about that loyalty to people who worked for him, its also about power and being able to be a chancellor who can make decisions, be in control of your team, and that clearly wasnt the plan that number ten had in mind, so he wasnt willing to accept that, and there might be some at number ten think, it looks a bit messy, its not what people expect it, its causing some headlines and a bit of upset actually, in the end, they will end up actually, in the end, they will end up with what they wanted. They will have thisjoint up with what they wanted. They will have this joint team of people, and they will have a new chancellor, and im going to move out of the way in case thats him. No, its not. Everybody getting excited when the door opens, waiting to see the new chancellor emerge. Lots of ministers have gone in, and we were wondering why none of them had come out, and it seems to be because that meeting between the Prime Minister and the chancellor went on slightly longer and was expected, so i think there isa and was expected, so i think there is a bit ofa and was expected, so i think there is a bit of a queue outside the door. Priti patel has emerged, and dominic raab. They are staying in their positions as home secretary and foreign secretary foster alok sharma has been confirmed as the new business secretary, taking overfrom Andrea Leadsom, and julian smith has been fired as Northern Ireland secretary, but no doubt what the headlines will be, and that is the fa ct headlines will be, and that is the fact that sajid javid has resigned as chancellor stop he will leave the job having not even presented a budget. He gave a Financial Statement back in the summer, but he will be the first chancellor since 1970 not to have delivered a budget. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about this. He went into that meeting by all accounts with no idea that he was going to be asked to get rid of his advisers. Who ultimately do you think has been behind this move, this reorganisation, if you like, of what happens at number ten, this centralising power . John mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor. This is rishi sunak. Are you pleased with your newjob . Rishi sunak. Are you pleased with your new job . Was rishi sunak. Are you pleased with your newjob . Was it a surprise . Not saying much a swift walk across downing street, i think we can characterise it as. No doubt hell have something to say in due course, oran have something to say in due course, or an opportunity will present itself for him to be asked about this elevation to chancellor. I was just asking you aboutJohn Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, saying that sajid javid going, that that has the hand of Dominic Cummings all over it, but we dont know that, do we . No, and i think theissueis know that, do we . No, and i think the issue is that Dominic Cummings is coming as the Prime Ministers chief adviser, and he is obviously incredibly influential with a lot of ideas, and weve read all of that on the blogs, we know what he thinks about what and the way that it works, and of course there will be people pointing the finger at him, but ultimately borisjohnson is the Prime Minister. He knows what is going on here, and if he doesnt that would be a different story. He is going along with this. It might have been his idea. I dont know if we can think that Dominic Cummings has taken over the entire government and is doing what he wants. This has been sanctioned by the person at the top. Borisjohnson been sanctioned by the person at the top. Boris johnson is been sanctioned by the person at the top. Borisjohnson is in charge and this is clearly what he wants. Grech relations. Are you surprised chancellor has resigned . Relations. Are you surprised chancellor has resigned . Congratulations. That is robert buckland, the justice congratulations. That is robert buckland, thejustice secretary, retaining hisjob, buckland, thejustice secretary, retaining his job, and buckland, thejustice secretary, retaining hisjob, and i think with cabinet ministers hearing about what has been going on, they have been in there for a couple of hours, some of them, probably all talking about this, and the impact on government more widely. Its hard to see how that will pan out, but clearly its probably shocking the other people sitting around the cabinet table. Vicki young, thank you very much. Lets get more on the second of julian smith as Northern Ireland secretary. Mr smith was in appointed injuly last year, and oversaw the talks that helped restore power sharing at stormont. Lets speak to steve farry, the deputy leader of the alliance party, hes in our belfast studio now. Thank you forjoining us. Your thoughts on julian smith. Thank you forjoining us. Your thoughts onjulian smith. He managed to achieve what several previous secretaries of state havent. To achieve what several previous secretaries of state haventlj think its the second shortest tenure of any Northern Ireland secretary, but he achieved a huge amount in that brief time. Across the political spectrum, there is a lot of concern about his sacking today. He did make a real impact. It was a breath of fresh air in terms of how he conducted himself, getting out and about and meeting different stakeholders in the community, and also the way in which he interacted with the politicians. As you say, we now have this new deal which has seen the restoration of the assembly, but progress in Northern Ireland is never straightforward or linear. There are ambiguities to our difficulties and bumps on the road ahead, and we need some steady people guiding this over the next while, and i think there is concern now as to what this means for the stability of the process, given his removal. The leader of the sdlp, colum eastwood, said, ifjulian smith was sacked, if it happens, he said it sent another signal of indifference to Northern Ireland. Do you think downing street and Boris Johnson think that the job is done in Northern Ireland . Johnson think that the job is done in Northern Ireland . |j johnson think that the job is done in Northern Ireland . I dont think borisjohnson fully in Northern Ireland . I dont think Boris Johnson fully understands Northern Ireland. He has made a lot of very bold commitments in terms of keeping open borders down the irish sea in terms of brexit, which are at odds with virtually every independent analyst in terms of the impact of the brexit deal. There are major tensions coming down, in terms of legacy, while we have a long standing commitment in Northern Ireland through a previous agreement from 44 team about how that will be addressed, but that is at odds with the promises made about the protection of veterans against so called vexatious claims. Not that anyone has ever spelt out any exa m ples of anyone has ever spelt out any examples of a vexatious claim. So there are issues around brexit and about legacy, and there have been differences between howjulian smith. Sorry, we must leave it there. Thank you for your team. A bit earlier, i spoke to stephen swinford, deputy Political Editor of the times. He was in corridors outside when sajid javid was meeting the Prime Minister. He went in, and a succession of other cabinet ministers were behind him, and they were not allowed in to see the Prime Minister, so i heard rumours something very significant was going on, and obviously it was even more significant than we could have suggested. Sajid javid has been sacked, to be replaced by rishi sunak, that is confirmed and is going to happen. Its an extraordinary ascent for rishi sunak, who only seven months ago was a junior housing minister, but the issueis a junior housing minister, but the issue is one of control downing street basically wants to have more control over the treasury and have a joint team of downing street and treasury advisers, as opposed to the treasury advisers, as opposed to the treasury having its own advisers. Sajid javid couldnt accept that and he said no. He had already seen one of his former advisers frogmarched out of downing street by armed police after being sacked by Dominic Cummings so in the circumstances he felt he had no choice but to resign. A former adviser sacked by Dominic Cummings, and lets talk about who is behind this attempt to control what is going on at the very heart of government. Call it a power grab, call it what you will. Over here, there is often a tendency to suggest that Dominic Cummings is behind everything, its all Dominic Cummings taking control, but actually this is the Prime Ministers decision. He might have taken advice from Dominic Cummings, but he has decided he needs more control over the treasury, and the kind of fissures that wrecked labour under the brown blair years, there should not be a risk of those, and there were warning signs last week when sajid javid appeared to make it public he was supporting hs2 before a public decision announced, and there were clashes during the Election Campaign, with sajid javid insisting on having some very tight fiscal rules which meant the tories must balance the books, and that was a p pa re ntly must balance the books, and that was apparently objected to by Dominic Cummings. Make no mistake, ultimately this is borisjohnsons decision, its as contentious as it gets, and its one of the most spectacular reshuffles in history, i would have thought. Reeta chakra barti is Reeta Chakrabarti is next with the bbc news at one, but now i look at the weather. For the weekend, it looks like things will get worse, with another name to store on its way, which will bring a swathe of gales and heavy rain. This area of low pressure moving through overnight, bringing gales to the channel and some snow across northern parts of england and into southern scotland, but its slowly easing away towards the near continent and the north sea, taking most of the shows with it through the afternoon. There will still be quite a few in central and eastern areas. A chilly day to come across the north, slightly milder in the south, with some good spells of sunshine, but it stays very windy in the south west and into the channel. A ridge of High Pressure builds in on thursday night, and then we start to see wet and windy weather pushing into the west as we head through friday, but it means that ridge of High Pressure, the wind is falling light, it will be quite a cold one in central and northern so watch out for any ice first thing. But we should start the day dry with some sunshine before this band of rain sta rts sunshine before this band of rain starts to push across Northern Ireland and into parts of scotland, western england and wales. Tending to ease as it moves east. Behind it, turning very windy with a scattering of showers and also some sunny spells, and gales here as well, but further south east, although breezy, not quite as windy as it will be on saturday first storm dennis arrives of the atlantic, bringing a swathe of the atlantic, bringing a swathe of widespread gales on saturday. It will be very wet, with some parts of western scotland and Northern Ireland, into north west england and wales, southern england could see a lot of heavy rainfall and some surface water flooding likely. Lot of heavy rainfall and some surface waterflooding likely. A very windy day, with gusts of 40, 50 mph, 60 or70 nearsome very windy day, with gusts of 40, 50 mph, 60 or 70 near some coasts, and extremely windy in the north west corner of scotland. On the plus side, temperatures will be above the seasonal average, perhaps even close to the mid teens in the south, might not be lit because of the strength of the wind and the rain. The met office has issued and issued several warnings, including amber warnings for rain in southern and western parts, and they could be some flooding. Stay tuned to the forecast, and head online to see the latest weather warnings for storm dennis for the risk of heavy rain and flooding at the weekend, but also severe gales. The chancellor sajid javid resigns in a shock move during the Prime Ministers government reshuffle. Its understood mrjavid rejected an order to fire his team of advisers. He had been due to deliver his first budget in four weeks time. Out, too, are Theresa Villiers, Andrea Leadsom, esther mcveigh, and the Northern Ireland secretary julian smith, who oversaw the restoration of devolved government at stormont. Well bring you all the latest from our correspondents on a tumultuous morning in westminster. Also this lunchtime the Prime Minister and his new year holiday on mustique questions continue over who footed the bill for his accommodation. A steep rise in the number of deaths from coronavirus in china yesterday was the deadliest day of the outbreak so far. Ministers announce an independent inquiry into Maternity Services