Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC Newsroom Live 20171114 : compare

for the first time since 1958. good morning. if tuesday the 14th of november, welcome to bbc newsroom live. mps will today begin their line—by—line scrutiny of the eu withdrawal bill, the central piece of brexit legislation. hundreds of amendments have been put forward by mps who want changes to the bill before it becomes law. the aim of the eu withdrawal bill is to bring all existing eu law into domestic uk law, to ensure a smooth transition on the day after brexit. the brexit date — the 29th of march 2019 — will be enshrined in law as part of the bill, in a move announced by prime minister last week. and yesterday, brexit secretary david davis made a surprise concession, promising mps would be given a take—it—or leave—it vote on the final brexit deal. some tory rebels say that could mean a chaotic exit from the eu — if a deal was reached at the last minute — or if there was no deal. our political correspondent leila nathoo reports. the prime minister, teresa may. still in charge, theresa may last night at the glittering lord mayor of london's banquet in london, a break from brexit and potential trouble ahead. a key piece of the government's brexit legislation returns to the commons today and mps are trying to tinker with it. they are proposing hundreds of changes to try and influence ministers‘ approach and so yesterday an apparent concession to one of their key demands. i can now confirm that once we have reached an agreement, we will bring forward a specific piece of legislation to implement that agreement. parliament will be given time to debate, scrutinise and vote on the final agreement we strike with the eu. this agreement will only hold if parliament approves it. but with such a fragile majority, just a handful of backbench tory mps siding with the opposition would lead to a government defeat. those minded to rebel seem unsatisfied with the take it or leave vote the government has offered. i have to say a lot of us were insulted by this because it sounded so good on them and you dug into the detail you realise the so—called meaningful vote was completely meaningless. there will be more contentious votes here in the coming weeks as mps test the government's fragile working majority. let's cross to our assistant political editor, norman smith in westminster. mps being given the chance to vote on the final deal but many of them not really happy with that? we appear to be facing weeks of fraught knife edge parliamentary votes over this key brexit bill. with all the signs that the move by david davis yesterday to try and head off some of the criticism by announcing there would be an additional brexit bill to implement any final deal, far from it appeasing the critics, seems to have incensed many of them because it now transpires that whatever mps do to this legislation, if the amended or voted down, it will not make any difference because we will still leave the eu but without a deal is mps reject that legislation. that is a nightmare scenario for many tory mps. concern also that they may not get a vote on this new bill until after we have actually left the eu. the response from the government this morning suggests that some of their critics are seeking not to improve or amend the government approach to brexit but to derail it. here is the brexit minister. we will be engaging across the eight days of debate across the house of commons and we will be engaging with the whole range of amendments that have been put forward on the bill. we take the parliamentary process very seriously and it is something we will believe we will engage constructively in. we will not accept wrecking the members bill, or things that are aiming to stand in the way of our country having a smooth and orderly exit from the european union. i am looking forward to the debate, parliament has a very important role to play in this process but we need to ensure that as we leave the european union, following the decision of the referendum, we do so in the most effective and stable way. there is a second key area of confrontation, this centres on to may's decision last week to set a fixed date, a deadline, for departure from the eu of the 30th of march 2019. critics say that could compromise our ability to get a deal if the negotiations went down to the wire and we just tipped over that deadline then we would leave without any deal. i enjoyed by one of the leading critics, dominic greene. you are not convinced that is actually a deadline? no, i am not. iwas not aware until i checked the order paperand aware until i checked the order paper and hundreds of amendments is that in addition to that amendment, the government has tabled another amendment which actually makes quite clear in another clause of the bill that they could override that end date by the simple use of the statutory instruments so if the government which has created a great crisis, appears to have offered this asa crisis, appears to have offered this as a sop to those who would quite like us to leave the eu without any deal at all and are just a game on the government to do this. they actually have a provision be put into the build to negate it if that we re necessary. into the build to negate it if that were necessary. this highlighted to me that we are not behaving in a grown—up fashion here. there are important issues that need to be considered in this legislation. this playing around in a very complex piece of legislation is not helpful. you are in effect of accusing the government of deceit because just last week theresa may to chairs brexiteers said i guarantee we will leave on the 30th of march 2019, come what may. now you're saying she has gone back on that. i'm saying as at the same time that statement was being made, and legislation was being made, and legislation was being amendment which attracted attention from myself and others because we thought it was an extraordinary thing to do as it boxes the government in, in fact the government was providing for itself i get out clause later in the legislation by a small amendment which meant they could be sure they could alter it at will by statutory instruments at any time you like. could alter it at will by statutory instruments at any time you likem thatis instruments at any time you likem that is the case, not only will ministers have upset a lot of you but also risk alienating those committed brexit supporters? but also risk alienating those committed brexit supporter57m shows to me it is not the correct way to go forward. i realise the government has legitimate concerns. it doesn't have a majority and it is a difficult piece of legislation. the government has a duty to try and ta ke the government has a duty to try and take it through but it will take it too much better if it is honest with parliament about the issues, make sure we did beat them and recognises that parliament must retain control of this process. the government has an underlying fear that parliament cannot be trusted to support the government and yet the whole history brexit, people like myself who think that exit is a mistake, but we have been supporting the government. but equally we have an entitlement to here about the end result of this process. this end result could range from maintaining a close relationship with the eu from outside or to a relationship or in non—relationship which could be catastrophic to the interests of this country. the government has to recognise the legitimacy of those issues and also that mps are bound to listen to public opinion as this process unfolds. how do you respond to the likes of sir bill cash to this morning suggested that people like yourself who are prepared to vote against the government are collaborating with jeremy vote against the government are collaborating withjeremy corbyn and paving the way to potentially for a jeremy corbyn governments? the best chance for a mr corbyn whose views i do not share for getting into office and into power is if the government tries to avoid proper scrutiny of this legislation. it will not help its reputation and operating as it doesin its reputation and operating as it does ina its reputation and operating as it does in a difficult environment, it needs to take conservative mps along with it. it is quite clear if i interpret bill cash's article correctly that he is simply raising arguments, not focusing on what really matters in this legislation and that is not helpful to my mind. thank you very much. a long way to go for this saga but it is going to be difficult and protracted. it sta rts be difficult and protracted. it starts tonight with votes but —— potentially going on until close to midnight. many thanks indeed. the rising price of food has seen the uk's key measure of inflation remain at its highest level for five years. the office for national statistics confirmed the rate of consumer price index inflation was unchanged from september at 3% in october. let's get more reaction now — our business presenter ben thompson is here to tell us more... some people speculated it could have been higher and the bank of england government would make to —— would need to write a letter to the chancellor. coming in steady as you said that 3% which she suggests that that freeze on incomes is starting to ease a little bit. we are told their retail price index is going to go their retail price index is going to 9° up their retail price index is going to go up before it comes down. it is at its highest level for five years but we think maybe this is the top. that is what we see at the moment, the current rate of inflation. the reason it could be tapering off is because that is relative to what prices were doing last year. prices went up significantly because of the fallen the value of the pound as a result of the brexit wrote. that is note starting to drop of the figures. —— now starting. prices are starting to slow down, they are still going up but not as quickly. food prices, if you go to the supermarket, you can see your weekly shop still going up by 4.3% because we importa shop still going up by 4.3% because we import a lot of things from overseas. the price war in the supermarkets, they cannot afford that anymore so prices are going up. if you look at how much it costs business to produce things, that is this, 4.6 raw materials. that is down from 8% so prices still going up down from 8% so prices still going up but down from 8% so prices still going i 9 down from 8% so prices still going p down from 8% so prices still going up but going up less quickly. it might also to do with the interest—rate decision. that might cool down inflation as well but all of this is relative to our earnings. we're paying more out because of inflation and we have a look at earnings. wages are going up by 2.2% and prices going up by 3% so that is and prices going up by 3% so that is a gap but hopefully that gap will get smaller. you mentioned the recent interest—rate decision, what effect will this rate halved and future decisions? the bank is looking closely at the money and how quickly inflation is going up. as i said, prices will continue to rise. if they make it more expensive for us if they make it more expensive for us to buy —— to borrow money, we will pay more out on mortgages and credit cards so perhaps we will stop spending which will help bring down inflation but it is a hard balancing act. they want to keep the economy moving. they will keep a close eye on it, it is too close to see if the recent interest—rate rise will effect this number but over the next few months, we will see this changes. the bank says interest rates will continue to what slow and steady. we are not going to see a big rise, perhaps 1% by 2020. the costs of borrowing her starting to creep up and that can affect how much money we have in our pocket and the amount of disposable income we have two spend. inflation is steady at 3%. have two spend. inflation is steady at 396. thank you very much. let's look at some of today's other developing stories: a man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenager who has not been seen for nearly a week. nineteen year old gaia pope who has severe epilepsy was last seen on the 7th november. dorset police say a 19—year—old man and a 71—year—old woman were arrested after searches took place at two addresses in swanage . officers say they were both known to gaia. the television producer and writer, daisy goodwin — who created the itv drama, "victoria" — has claimed she was groped by a government official during a visit to number ten. she told the radio times the man put his hand on her breast after a meeting to discuss a proposed tv show when david cameron was prime minister. she said she wasn't traumatised, but was cross — adding she didn't report it at the time. downing street said they take all allegations very seriously and would look into any formal complaint, should one be made. head teachers representing more than 5,000 schools across england have sent a joint letter to the chancellor, philip hammond, warning of inadequate funding. they say they are increasingly having to ask parents for donations. the government has already promised to move 1.3 billion pounds of education funding into schools, but heads say they need another 1.7 billion pounds of new money. for a full summary of the news you can go to our website where you'll be able to get more details. let mejust let me just tell you that mo farah has been knighted by the queen at buckingham palace. there we are. for services to athletics. there we are, taking a bow before the queen, being knighted for services to athletics. 0ne knighted for services to athletics. one of the greatest british athletes of all time. sir mo farah, receiving his knighthood from the queen at buckingham palace in the last few minutes. congratulations to him. well deserved, i think everybody would agree. and an nice handshake from her majesty. well done. our latest headlines. mps begin debating the small print in the eu withdrawal bill, a key piece of brexit legislation. inflation remains that 396, legislation. inflation remains that 3%, food costs right to their highest level in four years but are offset by a fall in fuel prices. survivors of the earthquake in iran call for help after hundreds are left homeless in bitterly cold temperatures. and in sport, for the first time in 60 years, italy will not be at the world cup. they lost to sweden. a raft of experienced players have retired following the defeat. a welsh player will be ruled out of next year's six nations. his domestic season for scarlets may also be over. ingram cricket captain joe root says he knows he will be targeted by australia in the ashes and that is just part of the series. they start their warm up game in townsville shortly. join me in half an hour. thousands of people are spending a second night without shelter in near freezing conditions after an earthquake caused devastation in parts of iran and iraq. more than 450 people were killed and around 7,000 injured. sarah corker reports. this is the deadliest earthquake in the world this year. the border town of sarpol—e—zahab in western iran bore the brunt of it. homes were flattened in seconds, crushing everyone inside. the search for survivors has been frantic but only this morning iranian officials called off the rescue operation. at this local hospital, many of the injured had stories of narrow escapes. i fell through the balcony down, the earthquake was very strong. this mountainous area is prone to earthquakes, power cuts and landslides made it difficult for rescue teams to get in. the most severely hurt have been airlifted out, some taken to hospital in the iranian capital of teheran but overwhelmed by the sheer number of injured, the authorities are appealing for people to donate blood. this is the moment this 7.3 magnitude quake hit in neighbouring iraq. a man runs for his life from the control room of this dam, boulders were tossed around like pebbles. a picture of widespread devastation is emerging, hundreds dead, thousands injured and many missing. turkey has sent a convoy of aid trucks, medication tents and blankets. many have spent a second night outdoors, terrified by after—shocks. so far there have been more than 190 of them. we came here now from our correspondent who is in the town use the epicentre in iraq. it is a very different picture in iraq, the scale of death and destruction is must smaller. iraq has received some turkish assistance but we're talking mostly about assistance to those who we re mostly about assistance to those who were asked by the authorities to vacate their homes. the authorities believe a large number of homes have structural damage which makes them u nsafe structural damage which makes them unsafe but the number of buildings that have completely collapsed here, evenin that have completely collapsed here, even in the hardest hit area of iraq, is probably around only four or five so it is a different picture to the one coming out from iran just across the border. theresa may has launched her strongest attack on russia at the lord mayor's banquet. it is seeking to weaponise information, deploying its state—run media organisations to plant fake stories and photoshopped images in an attempt to sow discord in the west and undermine our institutions. so, i have a very simple message for russia: we know what you are doing, and you will not succeed. you under estimate our democracies and the commitments of western nations on the alliances which bind us. nations on the alliances which bind us. let us get reaction from our correspondent in moscow, has there been any action —— reaction from the kremlin from what was a strong attack on the kremlin from theresa may? the general reaction from moscow has been, we do not care what you think. we heard today from senior russian senators and the head of the foreign affairs committee who said these were groundless accusations and russia had no illusions about the undemocratic behaviour of the west in the international arena so russia is throwing back the accusations at the british government. another senator said the prime minister made a full of herself. strong words from the russian political world this morning. where does this leave diplomatic relations between britain and moscow which have been at a low ebb for quite a number of years. yes, they have, theresa may also said she wanted to engage moscow and improve relations but relations and in the deep freeze. part of her problem is she is perceived in here asa problem is she is perceived in here as a weak leader and the leader of a wea k as a weak leader and the leader of a weak government. compare that to the week margaret thatcher was viewed. a soviet journalist coined week margaret thatcher was viewed. a sovietjournalist coined the phrase iron lady to describe margaret thatcher. she won the respect of the soviet people and the soviet leadership but theresa may is perceived as a weak leader and does not take a great deal of notice of what she says. this attack by theresa may on russia which was very strong and detailed is quite in contrast with donald trump? he seemed rather less critical of russia? yes, very non-critical of russia, a total contrast. we heard donald trump a few days ago supporting vladimir putin that they had not meddled in the us election and taking his side over the intelligence services of america. in four months, russia goes to the polls to elect a new president. although vladimir putin has not yet said if you were stand again, there is virtually no doubt that he will. it is clear that the kremlin is trying to get vladimir putin re—elected by emphasising that russia is surrounded by external enemies, allegedly, whether the united states at the european union and nato. the kremlin is pushing the button in the state media here and emphasising that russia needs a strong and experienced leader to protect this country, the besieged fortress from outside enemies. so it is clear this will continue and any attempt to write now by theresa may in the west to engage russia, that is not going to work write now. good to talk to. thank you. let's get more on our main story — mps will resume debate today on a key piece of brexit legislation that will transfer eu rules into uk law. but labour and rebel tory mps are gearing up to inflict defeats on the government — more than 470 amendments have been tabled for changes they want to see before the eu withdrawal bill is passed. the leader of the liberal democrats vince cable joins me now from westminster. thank you for your time, will this be the beginning of a guerrilla campaign in the house of commons by people who do not want to see brexit go through? that is a great deal of unhappiness in parliament about this legislation on two levels. 0ne unhappiness in parliament about this legislation on two levels. one is about the process and a worry that the government is using this legislation to take over powers that she dressed in parliament and invest them governments, contrary to the spirit of brexit. the other is around issues of substance, there will be a lot of those arguing we should be seeking to keep through the legislation, the principle of remaining in the single market and the customs union and ensuring that the customs union and ensuring that the public have a vote on the final outcome. enshrining in law the date of withdrawal and even the time of withdrawal, is that a sensible thing the government are doing? withdrawal, is that a sensible thing the government are doing7m withdrawal, is that a sensible thing the government are doing? it is extremely foolish and dangerous and almost certainly counter—productive because it removes any freedom of manoeuvre the government itself might have. you can envisage circumstances in which towards the end of the negotiation process, march 2019, there may well be a lot of loose ends which have not been nailed down. the government at that point would probably be grateful for a few more weeks of time but they have created a wall and put their backs against it. i think this is to reassure the extreme brexiteers that's the going to fight each. but it is removing freedom of manoeuvre of which is dangerous. you say to reassure extreme brexiteers but millions of people who voted for brexit might want the same thing, to see a date when relief. a lot of people on the street say, we should be out already why is it taking so long? there will be some like that and a great many others who want to see what the outcome will be which is why my party will be arguing and trying to incorporate in the legislation, provision is directed to those people and say to them at the end, are you happy with what the government has produced? we think thatis government has produced? we think that is a very important part of the constitutional process. by the government came up constitutional process. by the government came up and said yesterday is a vote in parliament which is an absolute sham. it does not in anyway give parliament and effective see on the outcome. is saying, do you want to accept what the government is negotiating or shall wejust the government is negotiating or shall we just crash out? the the government is negotiating or shall wejust crash out? the idea of remaining... is something we have com pletely remaining... is something we have completely ruled out and make the com plete completely ruled out and make the complete nonsense of thing that parliament will have a say in this. regarding the economy, inflation figures 3%, higher than the authorities would like, what would you make of that? i think it is rather higher than foodstuffs which will affect most ordinary people. this may not be the end of it because if british politics continues as it is, with a weak government and growing worries about the ability to make a decision, the way this will be expressed in through a weakness single of the currency. ‘— through a weakness single of the currency. “ a through a weakness single of the currency. —— a weakening of the currency. —— a weakening of the currency. that will squeeze living standards for people. the public are already beginning to feel some of the pain, it may well get worse. thank you for your time. time for the weather. it is not quite as chilly as it was. good spells of sunshine in the north in scotland. feeding into northern ireland and north—east england through the day. potentially heavy showers in the far north foreshore at london and 0rkney, feeding into the far north of scotland as well. largely cloudy elsewhere. 0utbreaks of light rain and drizzle. some brighter intervals in places. temperatures in double figures. showers in the north should fizzle out overnight, holding on to clear spells for scotland, northern ireland and the far north of northern england. largely cloudy elsewhere with outbreaks of rain and drizzle. we will see some patches of quite dense fog forming that will ta ke quite dense fog forming that will take time to clear through tomorrow morning. particularly through southern wales, the midlands and east anglia. the best of the brightness in the north. cloud will increase from north and west scotland. largely cloudy day across southern and central england and will with outbreaks of light rain and drizzle. temperatures and again in the double figures. this is bbc news. our latest headlines... mps prepare to debate the shape of brexit, as they begin their scrutiny of the key legislation on the uk's exit from the eu. hundreds of amendments have been tabled already by labour and conservative rebels. inflation remains unchanged at 3% in october, defying the bank of england's expectation that it would rise. fuel prices have fallen, but food costs have risen to their highest level in four years. thousands of people are forced to spend a second night without shelter after widespread destruction caused by a power earthquake near the border of iraq and iran. the television producer and writer daisy goodwin claims she was groped by a government official during a visit to number 10 downing street. the largest diamond of its kind ever to be sold at auction goes under the hammer today. the 163 carat rock is expected to fetch the equivalent of about £22 million. and four—time 0lympic champion mo farah has been knighted for his services to athletics. he has described it as a dream come true. arise, sir mo. congratulations to mo farah. let's get the rest of the sports news now. good morning. we are talking about italy and the exit from the world cup. a tearful gianluigi buffon said he was "sorry for all of italian football", after they failed to reach the world cup for the first time since 1958. buffon led a wave of international retirements following their goalless draw with sweden in milan. 0ne italian newspaper described the result as "the apocalypse". another is suggesting candidates to replace manager giampiero ventura, who hasn't actually officially resigned yet. rugby union world wales centrejonathan davies will miss next year's six nations after being ruled out for around six months by a foot injury. davies was hurt during saturday's defeat by australia in cardiff. he needs surgery and that means his domestic season for scarlets may also be over. it's a real blow — davies was the lions player of the series against new zealand this year. harlequins centre jamie roberts has been added to the wales squad along with prop scott andrews. england forward sam burgess will return for england to face papua new guinea in their rugby league world cup quarterfinal. he's recovered from knee ligament damage, suffered in their opening defeat to australia. burgess comes in for chris heighington but coach wayne bennett has suggested he may not play in the middle, to keep him fit for a potential semifinal against tonga or lebanon. england captainjoe root says he knows he'll be targeted by australia in the ashes series and he's not at all bothered. england are in townsville for their final warm—up match, which starts tomorrow — and our sports correspondent andy swiss is there too. welcome to the river way stadium here. behind me, you can see the ticket australia 11 having a practice session. earlier, we had some heavy showers during england's training session. it did not interrupt them much. he had a pretty good work—out ahead of the four—day match which begins here tomorrow. there is nojimmy anderson at training this morning. that is because apparently he is not feeling 100%, although we are assured that has nothing to worry about. jake ball had a light work—out on the outfield as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury. earlier, we had from england captain joe root in the usual pre—ashes one of words. he is the manliest aliens —— the man that we are is targeting. i have heard that they are targeting me in particular but you will be targeting every single one of them. we wa nt targeting every single one of them. we want single anyone out. —— will not. to win the test match, you have to score more runs than them. that is the approach we have as a side. of course we have plans for each individual player. bring it on. you what that competitive element. individual player. bring it on. you what that competitive elementm individual player. bring it on. you what that competitive element. it is an important for days for england coming up. still some questions over the line—up for the first test match. craig 0verton, the fast bowler who impressed in adelaide, will hogue to stake his claim once again. —— hope. the batsmen, especially alastair cook, yet to score on this tour, will hogue to get some runs under their belt. the first test match begins in brisbane on november 23. commonwealth champion dan keatings says there is a very real "culture of fear" within british gymnastics, after some coaches claimed there was appalling leadership at the governing body. keatings says he experienced bullying and manipulation during his career as an athlete. british gymnastics have encouraged anyone with concerns to come forward. encouraged anyone with world number one rafael nadal has pulled out of the world tour finals in london with a knee injury, after losing in three sets to david goffin. he says his focus now is to be fit for the australian open injanuary. there he is in the end. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. more on our top story now. the rate of inflation remained unchanged at 3% in october — defying expectations of a rise among economists at the bank of england. according to the office for national statistics, the rate remains at a five—year high with rising food prices offset by a fall in the cost of fuel. joining us now is fraser mckevitt. he's head of consumer insight and retail for ka ntar world panel. food prices are on the rise. contributing to inflation, obviously. what are the main reasons. what food inflation rbc in? food inflation of around 4% according to the 0ns. that is around 3.5% ina according to the 0ns. that is around 3.5% in a widerfood basket. the average household spends £4000 a year on groceries. if you do the maths, that is £140 extra on household budgets. you might not notice much on an individual shopping trip but you will notice it at the end of the year. of course, it isa at the end of the year. of course, it is a non—discretionary spend. we can't choose whether we eat or drink, we have to absorb the price rises. what are the main reasons for prices going up? the same old story, really. we have been talking about it all morning. it is to do with brexit. when the value of sterling fell after the referendum must year, the cost of imported goods went up and enough a lot of food that we eat is imported, about 40%. those price rises have simply flown through. the good news is that was a one—off hit. as the move through the first quarter of 2018, we should see these price rises ease on household budgets, assuming there another shock to the system. given the price rises to food, how retailers gawping in terms of sales? what is mr lender sales ? in terms of sales? what is mr lender sales? sales rates are looking better than me have in the last two yea rs. better than me have in the last two years. prices were falling for two yea rs years. prices were falling for two years and there was a vicious price war going years and there was a vicious price wargoing on, years and there was a vicious price war going on, primarily led by aldi and lidl. the headlines are good for retailers but still quite sluggish growth. an awful lot of the growth is coming from aldi and lidl. the big retail players are growing but not by much. they are desperate to pass on price —— not to pass on price rises to shoppers. it is too competitive. fraser mckevitt, thank you. drivers who are told their eyesight isn't good enough for them to be behind the wheel are carrying on driving. they want compulsory eye tests to be introduced — a campaign backed by the family of natalie wade, who was killed by a partially sighted driver. 0ur reporter ali fortescue has more. if she walked into a room, as the saying goes, she lit it up. she enjoyed every moment and was so looking forward to getting married. 28—year—old natalie wade died on her way to buy a wedding dress. she was hit by a 78—year—old driver with poor eyesight. there's always an empty chair at christmas, birthdays, the day she would have been married, they are still very painful. the driver who killed natalie was blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other, but he died before being tried for dangerous driving. but natalie is just one of 70 people who are killed or seriously injured in similar incidents involving bad eyesight last year. the legal standard for eyesight involves being able to read a number plate from 20 metres, but that's something that's only tested when you first take your test. at the moment, everyone needs to fill out a form like this every ten years to renew their driving licence and that involves answering a question about their eyesight. and if you're over the age 70, you have to fill out a slightly more comprehensive form every three years, but it's still a question ofjust putting a tick in a box, there is no requirement to take an actual eye test. the mechanism of self reporting isn't always reliable. we know that vision can change gradually over time so drivers might not be aware of a deterioration to their vision. the association of optometrists don't have a legal requirement to do anything if they're concerned about a patient‘s driving, it's down to the driver. more than one in three of their optometrists surveyed have seen a driver in the last month who continues to drive despite being told their vision is below the legal standard. nine in ten of them believe the current tests are insufficient and they want to see a change in the law. what we're calling for is vision screening to be carried out for all drivers when they first apply for the driving licence and then the requirement to prove that they continue to meet that standard every ten years. but the concern is it's notjust eyesight that needs testing. this is an enormous worry. thank gosh we've got something we can point at and you can measure it and say yes, eye health is a big thing but there's all sorts of other medical issues, bundles of them, which are simply not being taken into account as to whether people are fit to drive and i think there should be. the department for transport say that all drivers are required by law to make sure their eyesight is good enough to drive. they also say that if a driver experiences any changes to their eyesight or has a condition that could affect their driving they must notify the dvla and speak to an optician. ali fortescue, bbc news. human rights watch says the burmese security forces have committed widespread abuses during what they call "a campaign of ethnic cleansing" against the rohingya muslim population. the organisation said government forces have committed mass killings, rape, arbitrary detention, and arson. more than half a million rohingya have fled a military offensive in the north of the country. a north korean soldier is in a critical condition in hospital after defecting to south korea via the heavily guarded demilitarised zone that separates the two countries. the soldier initially attempted to cross the border in a vehicle before being injured while making the dash on foot. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has more from seoul. more details are emerging about this defection by the north korean soldier as he dashed towards the military demarcation line in the so—called joint security area. that is the area of huts where north korean and south korean soldiers eye ball korean and south korean soldiers eyeball each other. it is the most guarded part of the world's most heavily fortified border between the two countries. he try to run across the border. a north korean soldier shot about $40 in his direction. he was hit several times and collapsed just south of the border. he was airlifted to hospital. he is in a critical state, having suffered severe injuries to the abdomen, shoulder and elbow as well. the north korean soldier shooting into the south korean side of the joint security area, that is the first time we have done that since the 19805. time we have done that since the 1980s. south korea and the united nations have said they are assessing whether or not that breaks the armistice that ended the korean war. south korea says if that is the case, they will take legal steps without elaborating further. clearly, imagining up of tension on the korean pannone shore up, which is already high, given north korea's continuing nuclear tests. it shows the determination of that soldier, that he chose to cross the joint security area. it is only the first such case of someone trying to cross in that part of the demilitarized zone since the end of the cold war. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc newsroom live. mps begin debating the smallprint of the eu withdrawal bill, the key piece of brexit legislation. inflation remains at 3%. food costs rise to their higher level in four years, but are offset by a fall in fuel prices. survivors of the earthquake in iran call for help after thousands after thousands were left homeless in bitterly cold temperatures. in the business news... the measure of how quickly prices are rising stayed steady at 3% last month, that's the highest level in five—and—a—half years. but it could signal a peak in inflation as last year's fall in the value of the pound drops out of the calculations. tesco "welcomes" a decision by the competition and markets authority to provisionally clear its £3.7 billion takeover of the uk's largest food wholesaler, booker. more than 30% of its sales are to the catering sector, which tesco does not currently supply. ikea sees total uk sales top £1.814 billion for the financial year ending 31 august 2017. that's 5.8% more than the previous year, and was its sixth consecutive year of uk growth. ikea's celebrating its 30th anniversary in the uk this year. as we've been hearing, uk inflation has held steady at a five—and—a—half year high of 3% in october. this follows a 0.25% interest rate rise to 0.5% this month — the first in a decade — and an attempt by the bank of england to stop inflation getting out of hand in coming months. joining us now is lucy 0'carroll, chief economist at aberdeen standard investments. shejoins us from she joins us from the unknown. nice to see you. —— there now. the bank said october would be the time that inflation peaks. said october would be the time that inflation pea ks. have said october would be the time that inflation peaks. have we hit that high? it could come next month. if it isa high? it could come next month. if it is a little bit higher next month, we see the governor of the bank of england writing a letter to the chancellor explaining what he needs to do to get inflation down again. ido needs to do to get inflation down again. i do not think that will trouble mark carney too much. after all, as you mentioned, this is the first interest rise in a decade. the bank feels it is already taking action. on that issue of interest rates, how quickly do we expect that to filter through to behaviour? clearly the bank is thinking, we need to tame rising prices. interest rates are away to that. when will we see the effect? a quarter point rise on what has been an historic low will probably not change people's behaviour very much but what it is isa behaviour very much but what it is is a signal, really a reminder, perhaps to some people approaching aduu perhaps to some people approaching adult to know who have never known an interest rate rise before. it is an interest rate rise before. it is a little reminder to them that interest rates can go up as well as down. some suggesting that this 396 staying steady has peaked and it could start to ease from here on. staying steady has peaked and it could start to ease from here onm could start to ease from here onm could start to ease from here on in because the inflation was principally down to the drop in the valley of the pound after the eu referendum. we do not expect the pounds to falter mattingly father, not at the same extent. —— the pound to fault dramatically further. lucy, thank you for your time. let's head to india, where uber‘s chief of policy for the country and south asia has quit. it's the latest high—level departure at the ride—hailing firm. it isa it is a market where the company has faced several regulatory and reputational hurdles. earlier, we spoke to yogita limaye is in mumbai with the details. we have had a confirmation from the company as well as an executive about the exit. neither have given a reason. eyebrows have been raised because she has only been in the job for about a year. our because she has only been in the job for about a year. 0urjob was mainly to liaise with the government, policymakers and regulators in india as well as south asia. this is the first exit this profile that we have seen first exit this profile that we have seenin first exit this profile that we have seen in india but of course it follows a slew of the brexit is around the world. the good impugn policy chief, the head london about as well. —— the foreign policy chief. india, is most important market after the us, uberfaces stiff competition from as domestic rival. it has been a mixed bag of the week for the company. it said it had agreed with the consortium about a potential investment in the company. we have had a statement from the company considering the investment but this a no deal has been reached so far. if the price is not good enough for them, they could pull out. basically, uber saying that they could, in coming months, have an investment coming in. now, if you still have any old £10 notes, make sure you spend them before 1st march next year. the bank of england has announced that the old paper notes, featuring naturalist charles darwin, will no longer be legal tender after that date. but they can be exchanged. for more on this story, head to our website — www. bbc. co. uk/news/business. in other business news... credit suisse has agreed to pay a settlement of £102.96 million after regulators in new york found its foreign exchange unit was involved in unlawful conduct. it's the latest settlement to emerge from a global investigation into foreign currency markets. credit suisse said it was pleased "to put this matter behind it". goldman sachs has written off the value of its stake in the weinstein company after claims from more than 50 women that ex—chairman harvey weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them. weinstein has denied the claims but the firm is seeking fresh funding after a number of investors severed links. shares in toymaker mattel — which owns barbie — jumped 20% after reports that rival hasbro could be considering a takeover. hasbro, the owner of play doh and my little pony, were also up. last month, shares in both companies fell on concerns that the bankruptcy of toys r us could hurt overall sales. let's have a look at the markets. the ftse 100 let's have a look at the markets. the ftse100 getting a little bit of a boost from the weaker pound. many of the bigger the nationalfirms report earnings in dollars and a fall in the value of the pound makes the result look better. across the continent in france and germany, not feeling quite so well. not a lot of movement in the markets. all eyes on the inflation figure. but steady at 396 in the inflation figure. but steady at 3% in the uk. inflation is still a concern for many european economists. you are up—to—date. a british doctor says he escaped a shark by punching it in the face while he was surfing in australia. charlie fry, who is 25, said the six—foot long animal "jumped out of the water and hit him in the right shoulder". he punched it while in the water — north of sydney — and then climbed back on his board. it felt like a hand grabbing me, like shaking me and it was just pure adrenalin. i genuinely thought i was going to die. you are about to be eaten alive by a shark. it just went from my shoulder, i got a big thud and then i turned to the right and i saw a shark's head come out of the water with its teeth and ijust punched it in the face. the mouth was in one bite doing that up to there. but in terms of the size, i would probably put it at, i don't know, five, six foot, maybe a bit less. some of the world's rarest gemstones are up for sale in geneva this week. to buy them, you'll need a few spare million pounds, but looking is free so we sent imogen foulkes for a sneak peak. there is more than a little sparkle in geneva this dull november. every year, the jewellery houses compete to show that one special stone, the rarest, the purist, the most vivid. but this year, there is one extraordinary show stopper. at 163 carats, this is the largest diamond ever to be put up for auction. now, to show it at its best, or maybe to make sure potential buyers don't mistake it for an ice cube, it has been set into a string of emeralds, 5949 of them. we are expecting in the region of $30 million for it, and it is the largest deflawless diamond ever to come to the market and it is the finest colour, finest clarity and extraordinary proportions. and there is always a temptation with a diamond crystal to cut the largest possible and end up with a stone that maybe is a little lopsided or lumpy or thick just to keep the weight. not here. this is perfection in every way. pink, yellow, necklace, ring or brooch, jewellery lovers are spoilt for choice. but while many will look, with these multi—million—dollar price tags, only a few will be able to buy. imogen foulkes, bbc news, geneva. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment, we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. first, we leave you with for a look at the weather. the weather assembly not as bright as that diamond. plenty of cloud in the forecast. slightly milder temperatures. there are some breaks in the cloud. particularly in the north—east in scotland. the south—east of scotland is quite bright. we have seen some bright intervals developing through this morning. the weather watchers have been out with their cameras. this photo was sent in this morning. it isa photo was sent in this morning. it is a bit cloudier in the south and not quite as bright year. this photo was sent in from kent. this afternoon, best of the brightness in the north was scotland seeing good spells of sunshine. the farmer for scotla nd spells of sunshine. the farmer for scotland —— farm. and seeing heavy showers and the odd rumble of thunder not out of the question. elsewhere, largely cloudy with some brea ks elsewhere, largely cloudy with some b rea ks eve n elsewhere, largely cloudy with some breaks even bear. possible sightings of light rain and drizzle. highs of 13 celsius. tonight, the showers in the north will buy it in the early hours. holding on to clear skies in the north but further south, outbreaks of rain and drizzle. temperatures will be milder. some patches of quite dense fog forming as we move through the night tonight. tomorrow, here we are rush hour. it is quite a cloudy start again in the south with outbreaks of rain and drizzle will be cloud is fit enough. their patchy fog will live through the morning. —— left. in east anglia, that will be a slow process tomorrow. a chance of fog in northern ireland. cleaner skies in novel england and scotland. quite a chilly start in easton 's column. some patches of fog in as well. —— eastern scotland. tomorrow, sunny spells in the north to begin with that will feed into northern wells. further south, largely cloudy with outbreaks of rain. coming cloudy for north and west scotland later with rain pushing into the north—west later. temperatures at a maximum of 13 celsius. we will see rain in north—west moving south—east as we move into thursday. it will continue to sink southend east. behind it, clear skies feeding in an temperatures in the south staying in double—figure is with a bit more cloud around. as we move into friday, something a bit brighter. sunny spells but quite breezy in the north with one or two showers. have a nice day. this is bbc news — and these are the top stories developing at midday. mps get their chance to determine the shape of brexit — as they begin scrutinising the key legislation on the uk's exit from the eu. inflation remains steady at 3% — fuel prices fall but food costs rise to their highest level in 4 years. 'we know what you are doing'. theresa may accuses moscow of meddling in elections and carrying out cyber espionage. the struggle to help survivors of the earthquake in iran — thousands are forced outdoors in bitterly cold temperatures also... the 22 million pound rock. the largest diamond of its kind — ever to be sold at auction — goes under the hammer today. and arise sir mo — the four—time olympic champion receives his knighthood from the queen at buckingham palace good afternoon. it's tuesday, 14 november. i'm ben brown. welcome to bbc newsroom live. mps will today begin their line—by—line scrutiny of the eu withdrawal bill, the central piece of brexit legislation. hundreds of amendments have been put forward by mps who want changes to the bill before it becomes law. the aim of the eu withdrawal bill is to bring all existing eu law into domestic uk law, to ensure a smooth transition on the day after brexit. the brexit date — the 29th of march 2019 — will be enshrined in law as part of the bill, in a move announced by the prime minister last week. and yesterday, brexit secretary david davis made a surprise concession, promising mps would be given a take—it—or leave—it vote on the final brexit deal. some tory rebels say that could mean a chaotic exit from the eu — if a deal was reached at the last minute — or if there was no deal. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo reports. the prime minister, teresa may. still in charge, theresa may last night at the glittering lord mayor of london's banquet in london, a break from brexit and potential trouble ahead. a key piece of the government's brexot legislation returns to the commons today and mps are trying to tinker with it. they are proposing hundreds of changes to try and influence ministers' approach and so yesterday an apparent concession to one of their key demands. i can now confirm that once we have reached an agreement, we will bring forward a specific piece of legislation to implement that agreement. parliament will be given time to debate, scrutinise and vote on the final agreement we striked with the eu. this agreement will only hold if parliament approves it. but with such a fragile majority, just a handful of backbench tory mps siding with the opposition would lead to a government defeat. those minded to rebel seem unsatisfied with the take it or leave vote the government has offered. i have to say a lot of us were insulted by this because it sounded so good and then you dug into the detail you realise the so—called meaningful vote was completely meaningless. there will be more contentious votes here in the coming weeks as mps test the government's fragile working majority. let's cross to our assistant political editor, norman smith in westminster. you are a marathon runner, this eu withdrawal bill is a marathon?” would struggle to deal with all this, late—night votes. the government attempt to head off the critics has not succeeded. david davies proposal yesterday for a fresh legislation does not seem to have met the concerns of critics because they argue they will not be able to amend the bill and it will bea able to amend the bill and it will be a take it or leave it measure. there has also been criticism of those tory rebels from within their own party. sir bill cash, writing in the times this morning accused them of collaborating with labour. i asked another sceptic what his message would be to fellow tories poised to vote against this measure. think again because you are only opening the door to a potential labour government. think again because what is this all about? the public voted to leave. the vast majority of are no talking about doing something different, voted at a single reading for this bill to go through so they should be careful about thinking about what they want. the second key area where that appears to be a big clash is the date of brexit. last week theresa may promised we would be leaving on the 30th of march 2019, come what may. this morning one of her leading tory critics, dominic greene, suggested this was not a binding commitment and the government have tabled a further amendment to give themselves the power to change that date if they wanted. so here is the government that has created a great crisis, appears to have offered this asa crisis, appears to have offered this as a sop to those people who would really quite like us to leave the eu without a deal at all and are just egging on the government to do that. actually they have a provision that they themselves are put into the bill to negate it if that were necessary. this highlights to me that we're not believing in a grown—up fashion. there are really important issues that need to be considered in this legislation. this playing around in a complex piece of legislation is not helpful.” playing around in a complex piece of legislation is not helpful. ijoined know by the labour mp frank field who backs brexit. you are tabling a vote tonight to have a fixed date for leaving the eu, what do you say to those who argue that creates the problem by the negotiators because it sets a deadline which is a mess means we can just fall it without a deal? the whole country knows that negotiations are going nowhere. the european side won these negotiations to drag on. those who secretly want us to drag on. those who secretly want us to get tired of the negotiations and just leave membership, the last thing they want is a date so that is a plan b which i put down today. clause one is we leave on the day the government has agreed to. clause two is we incorporate the laws and regulations and we're all agreed on that. close three, we do not want henry viii, the house of commons will review that. clause four is we need a safe haven afterwards to sort things out. you said the government has already agreed to the argument over henry viii, the government taking powers to itself basically to change eu regulations. have you received an assurance from the government they will operate further concession compromise on this? just as they did not agree to back my clause two leave in a certain date back him up the date on their own, they will produce another clause that it will not be a henry viii setup. bill b, we will have it ready so that when our lordships decides to ta ke so that when our lordships decides to take the top further, they will drop most of the bill and bill b will in fact become the government position. we also need to change are negotiating stance and realise we're not play cricket with these people. how do you assess the labour party official position? it is poised to try and defeat the government on a whole range of issues. many voters conclude from that they are trying to deal brexit. i do not know what the labour party is officially up for. they can account for that in the house of commons. all i am trying to reflect is within the clause as i am moving today that we leave in a certain date and also we realise these negotiations are going nowhere. michel barnier says we have to come up with the money in two weeks. i think we should come up with their outline proposals, minimum contribution in the in two weeks there will be no more budget contribution from this country. they are desperate for our money. the power in these negotiations needs to change from bain supplicants on our knees to one where the european union will have increasing revolt from other countries who will not be getting british taxpayers money to finance this that and the other. that is the key thing. in two weeks' time we put our minimum terms down and tell them, unless they start coming to the negotiations to negotiate, no more money. the whole thing about eu nationals could have been agreed in half an hour if they wanted. they do not want to agree, they want to drag the process out. we wa nt they want to drag the process out. we want people in this country to get upset and frightened and tired of old business. we know might be to speed it up with certainty and concentrate their minds that after two weeks, there will be no more contributions going to europe until they start making concessions to others. thank you very much for your time. a lot of arguments raging around the eu withdrawal bill. tonight it could go to midnight so this'll be a long protracted series of votes, probably going on for weeks up to christmas. thank you very much. the rising price of food has seen the uk's key measure of inflation remain at its highest level for five years. the office for national statistics confirmed the rate of consumer price index inflation was unchanged from september — at 3% in october. i asked ben thomson about the impact for a lower income households. coming in steady at 3% which suggests to me that the freeze on incomes is starting to ease a little bit. we have seen the measure of rising prices, we have been told that will go up before it comes down. at 3% at its highest level in three years but we think this is the top. this is the current rate of inflation. the reason it can be tapering off is because that is relative to what prices were doing last year. we know prices went up significantly because of the vault —— fallen the value of the pound as a result of brexit vote. that is no starting to drop down. compared to last year, prices are starting to stop slowing down. they are still going up but not as quickly. food prices, we know if you go to the supermarket, your weekly shop is still going up by 4.3%. that is because we bring in a lot of things from overseas and supermarkets and their price war to win our custom, they cannot afford that any more surprises me still keep going up. if you look at how much it cost business to produce things, 4.6% is the cost of raw materials, that is actually down from 8%. again, prices still going up but going up less quickly. why? it might be to do with the interest—rate decision we had recently, a rise in interest rates makes borrowing more expensive. all of this is relative to what we are earning. if we pay more through rising inflation, we have to look at wages and average incomes which are going up by 2.2%. prices are going up going up by 2.2%. prices are going up by going up by 2.2%. prices are going up by 3%, wages by 2.2% so there's a 93p- up by 3%, wages by 2.2% so there's a gap. we will feel worse off but slowly that gap will get smaller. you mentioned the recent interest rate decision, what effect will this have on future decisions? the bank is looking closely at the money in our pocket and on inflation going up. the prices will continue to rise. interest—rate is one of the tools we have to cool the market. if they make it more expensive to borrow money we will pay more out of mortgage and credit card is so perhaps we will stop spending as much which will bring down the rate of inflation. it is a fine balance. they want to keep people spending but they will keep a close eye on it. it is too early to say if that inflation effect will have a rise —— an affect on this number. the bank says interest rates may continue to go slow and steady, we may hit 1% by 2020 so we will not see a big rise but psychologically it's important that the costs of borrowing are starting to creep up and that could have an effect on the event of money we have in our pockets and the amount of disposable income we have to spend. inflation steady at 3% but earnings still at 2.2%. let's look at some of today's other developing stories: a 71—year—old woman — arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenager — has been released. nineteen year old gaia pope — who has severe epilepsy — was last seen on the 7th november. dorset police say a 19—year—old man who was arrested at the same time as the 71—year—old woman, is still helping police with their inquiries. officers say they were both known to gaia. the television producer and writer, daisy goodwin — who created the itv drama, "victoria" — has claimed she was groped by a government official during a visit to number ten. she told the radio times the man put his hand on her breast after a meeting to discuss a proposed tv show when david cameron was prime minister. she said she wasn't traumatised, but was cross — adding she didn't report it at the time. downing street said they take all allegations very seriously and would look into any formal complaint, should one be made. head teachers representing more than 5,000 schools across england have sent a joint letter to the chancellor, philip hammond, warning of inadequate funding. they say they are increasingly having to ask parents for donations. the government has already promised to move 1.3 billion pounds of education funding into schools, but heads say they need another 1.7 billion pounds of new money. for a full summary of the news you can go to our website where you'll be able to get more details on all of those stories. the iranian president has devastated the area devastated by the powerful earthquake on sunday. visiting the worst hit town near the border with iraq, the president said he wanted to assure survivors the government is doing everything it can. thousands of people who lost their homes spent a second night outside in freezing temperatures. this is where the earthquake did the most damage, hundreds of people living in this town lost their lives on sunday night. tens of thousands lost their home. many of these buildings were built by the government is cheap housing after the war with iraq in the 1980s. the question some here are asking is why did so many collapsed in an area so prone to earthquakes? iran's president pledged that anyone who had failed to fall building standards would be held accountable. now he's focusing on survivors. translation: we will provide tents for those who need them and give loans and grants to all those whose houses were damaged or unsafe. we will give money to everyone who needs temporary accommodation. an estimated 70,000 people need emergency shelter. helicopters are bringing them supplies were many roads are blocked by landslides. the challenge is to keep these survivors healthy as the winter temperatures continue to fall. this is another challenge for the authorities, the ten was my only hospital was so badly damaged it is unusable. more than 1000 of the injured are being treated at hospitals throughout the region, they are far from home and many will not have houses to return to. across the border in iraq, hundreds were injured but only a handful were killed. aid agencies on thursday the ready to assist iran is needed. killed. aid agencies on thursday the ready to assist iran is neededm ill union persons ask us, we will definitely provide support. —— if any iran e.0n persons ask us. definitely provide support. —— if any iran e.on persons ask us. this town had to be rebuilt after the war with iraq, now it will have to be rebuilt all over again. the headlines on bbc newsroom live mps will begin scrutinising dog two. eu withdrawal bill. inflation rises are eu withdrawal bill. inflation rises a re offset by eu withdrawal bill. inflation rises are offset by few places. thousands we re are offset by few places. thousands were left homeless in bitterly cold temperatures in iran. let us get all the sports news. we will have a world cup without a silly, almost unthinkable? indeed. the unthinkable has happened. a tearful gianluigi buffon said he was "sorry for all of italian football", after they failed to reach the world cup for the first time since 1958. buffon led a wave of international retirements following their goalless 0ne italian newspaper described the result as 'the apocalypse'. another is suggesting candidates to replace manager giampiero ventura, who hasn't actually officially resigned yet. so italy out of the world cup. england women's interim manager mo marley has given manchester city's keira walsh and arsenal's leah williamson their first senior call—ups. the two midfielders are joined by goalkeeper karen bardsley in a 26—player squad for the world cup qualifiers against bosnia & herzegovina and kazakhstan at the end of the month. bardsley returns for the first time since breaking her leg at this summer's european championship. wales centrejonathan davies will miss next year's six nations after being ruled out for around six months with a foot injury. davies was hurt during saturday's defeat by australia in cardiff. he needs surgery — and that means his domestic season for scarlets may also be over. it's a real blow. davies was the lions player of the series against new zealand this year. harlequins centre jamie roberts has been added to the wales squad along with prop scott andrews. england forward sam burgess will return for england to face papua new guinea in their rugby league world cup quarterfinal. he's recovered from knee ligament damage, suffered in their opening defeat to australia. burgess comes in for chris heighington but coach wayne bennett has suggested he may not play in the middle, to keep him fit for a potential semifinal against tonga or lebanon. england captainjoe root says he knows he'll be targeted by australia in the ashes series — and he's not at all bothered. england are in townsville for their final warm—up match, which starts tomorrow — and australia spinner nathan lyon has promised that all the home bowlers will be focusing their attention on root. but root says it's a regular feature of an ashes tour. i have heard a lot of chat about targeting me in particular but i know from our point of view, we will be targeting every single one of them. we will not be singling any quys them. we will not be singling any guys out. he had to take 20 wickets to wina guys out. he had to take 20 wickets to win a test match. that is a process we will have us aside. bring it on, it is what it is about, you wa nt it on, it is what it is about, you want that competitive element. there are in—house rivalries, if you like. it should be a great series, they have some great players in their squad, some good characters as well which will make for a lot of interest. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you. let us bring you some breaking news on the myanmar crisis, the us secretary of state rex tillerson is going to be meeting the head of the myanmar military to talk about the exodus of some 600,000 rohingya muslims who fled myanmar to bangladesh since that military credence operation. rex tillerson is going to focus on the need to fork —— to stop the violence and stabilise the state. we will bring you more on that. meanwhile let us talk about rush hour. —— russia. theresa may has launched her strongest attack on russia yet, accusing moscow of meddling in elections and carrying out cyber espionage. addressing leading business figures at the lord mayor's banquet in london, mrs may said vladimir putin's government was trying to "undermine free societies". the prime minster added that whilst the uk did not want "perpetual confrontation" with russia, it would protect its interests. it is seeking to weaponise information, deploying its state—run media organisations to plant fake stories and photoshopped images in an attempt to sow discord in the west and undermine our institutions. so, i have a very simple message for russia: we know what you are doing, and you will not succeed. joining me now is sir andrew wood, an expert on russia's domestic and foreign policies at chatham house and the british ambassador to russia from 1995 to 2000. thank you for being with us. a really strong attack from the prime minister and quite detailed, listing a lot of the things she says the russians are doing? yes, i think what she said was accurate and justified. the timing is interesting, it comes after the curious encounter between president trump and vladimir putin in which of course putin denied he did any such thing. as he wooed and as he must. it is also interesting in the european context, once again trying to show we are serious about defence and security. in terms of british relations with russia, they have been at a low ebb for quite a long time now, is the solos they have been, would you say? it is pretty low. they were very low during the kosovo bombardments. they recovered somewhat after that. i do not think it is the cause of enormous worry, good relations are about having constructive relations were not about smiling. if they are doing wrong in our eyes, which they are, then we should do so. where information is the way she put it, what are they actually trying to do, interviewed in elections and spread propaganda through all sorts of means? they are trying to disrupt individual countries. it is a contribution, not a basic cause of disruption. we're trying to separate the various powers of europe. what is the underlying strategy in that? what is putin's strategy? he has to justify to his own public what he's doing in ukraine and so on and he does it by putting forward the idea that russia is besieged fortress and the sorts of things they are doing now in other countries is therefore justified. so there is domestic pressure on him to do it. secondly, i think he genuinely believes that russia is threatened by the existence of liberal western democracies which is why in ukraine for example, that is to him an existential threat. if that is a success , existential threat. if that is a success, then why not in russia?m theresa may is right and this is a great threat from russia, what can we in the uk do about it? we have our intelligence agencies, but is this a difficult fight to wage with the russians? yes, information site is always difficult and they are gearing up to prevent some of our news agencies, especially americans, having a presence in russia because they wish to close off their information space from the rest of us. information space from the rest of us. i do not think it is something you can defeat but you should recognise that if britain lies to his own people, he will do the same to others. are we in a new cold war? it is obviously different but it feels like a kind of cold war.” don't think so. there are a number of things the russians have done which are very aggressive and we should support the nations they have attacked. i do not think in direct danger of confrontation. it is not like the current —— cold war used to be of two blocks. russia would like to have a blog about right know it hasn't got one. it feels a long way from the heady days of the collapse of communism and the advent of democracy in russia, now we have this regime vladimir putin, i do not what you will —— know which were to call it but it is not pure democracy? that is an admirable understatement. how would you characterise it? it has elements to it. the stress on military power, and might is right, and nationalist feeling, that is all reminiscent of such regimes. i would not characterise it as that entirely but he is good to have a further election, if he does not change his internal policies, that will deepen his commitment to the sort of approach to the world. fascinating to talk to you, thank you for being with us. the andrew wood, former ambassador to russia. let us update you on that iran earthquake. we are just hearing the death toll has risen to 530 with more than 8000 injuries, that is according to the state news agency. so the iran death toll rising to 530. we will bring you more on that as it comes in. let us you more on that as it comes in. let us get the latest weather forecast. thank you very much indeed. going back to that iran story minimum temperatures are affected. getting pretty close to freezing. it may even get colder as it moves through the week, we will keep you updated on a. closer to home the wearer is in no rush. where the fog breaks, we will see dense patches. underneath the clear skies, in the morning rush hour, you could have an issue. bbc radio will keep you up—to—date. towards lincolnshire and towards east anglia, northern ireland and southern scotland could see a foggy start to the day. it gradually im proves start to the day. it gradually improves and is a relatively mild day across the east. a bit of pressure in scotland and things will turn pressure through the north because this cold air moving in behind this front, single temperatures for most of us. the last of the cold air will be trapped in the south, highs of 13. i will see you later. the headlines... mps get their chance to determine the shape of brexit as they begin scrutinising the key legislation on the uk's exit from the eu. hundreds of amendments have already been tabled by labour and conservative rebels. inflation remains steady at 3% — fuel prices fall but food costs rise to their highest level in 4 years. theresa may accuses moscow of meddling in elections and carrying out cyber espionage. she told business leaders in london last night that the kremlin is using fa ke last night that the kremlin is using fake news to undermine free societies. a powerful earthquake kills more than 500 people in the border between iraq and iran. daisy goodwin claims she was groped by a ministerfrom number 10. business is resuming at the welsh assembly in cardiff with tributes to the former labour minister carl sargeant who died last week. he turned it into something that is now being talked about around the world. i first now being talked about around the world. ifirst met now being talked about around the world. i first met him now being talked about around the world. ifirst met him in 2001. i had gone to speak to the local labour party went on middle hirst was the assembly member. when he was elected in 2003, we became friends. his particular talent came to the fore when he was chief whip. when i saw with my own eyes that he was capable of gentle berating when necessary. 0n capable of gentle berating when necessary. on one occasion, he took a relu cta nt necessary. on one occasion, he took a reluctant am out to feed the ducks to persuade them to the right way. a man of many talents. in all the news that —— years that i knew him, we never had a crossword. we talked together about the challenges of being a dad and the pressures of politics. some things gossiping about cabinet colleagues. he was a lwa ys about cabinet colleagues. he was always full of advice. 0nly last year he told me that he was the only one allowed a greybeard in cabinet. i had to shave mine off, first minister or not. i had no choice but to listen. he was ever present in cabinet and with good reason. i appointed him because he was good at legislation, good with people and he brought the voice of insight to the heart of government. in 2003, he was a key pa rt heart of government. in 2003, he was a key part of my leadership campaign. his role was to organise things in the north. but things do not always go smoothly. he organised a curry evening with party members ina curry a curry evening with party members in a curry house in his constituency. as i was being driven their comedy phoned in a panic. —— he phoned. don't come, he said, it is being raided by the bother agency. 0r words to that effect. we would often meet up in the assembly at night. joining the leadership campaign, when he would be the last arrived. —— to arrive. he would make arrived. —— to arrive. he would make a great show of looking around him to pretend you had not been followed. he did that every time at those meetings. his voice was usually welcome, but not always. we went to london together to a plp christmas party some years ago and she had a room in a hotel in paddington. i have to admit that i left kelly and carl sold soldiered on. he phoned me up on a monitor say, what is the name of the hotel we are staying in? i was woken by the fire alarm at 7am. carl was a lover of karaoke. the christmas bash a lwa ys lover of karaoke. the christmas bash always had him as the karaoke king. he put many of us to shame at his 40th birthday party. he lost to remind us when he said, you people from south wales can sing. —— cannot. in my case, that was true. it is difficult to imagine what it will be like this year without him and in subsequent years. he was also, as members will remember, the best heckler in the chamber. never nasty. always witty. the conservative benches will know that whenever the leader of the 0pposition rose to speak, he would invariably coloured someone else's name. paul davies, angela miller, darren burns have all been called in to speak as leader of the 0pposition. that was the man that be called sarge. well liked and committed. jovial. but german. —— determined. he was firm but fun. he will be missed by his family and those in his chamber, and by the nation. well, the tribute to carl sergeant from the first minister, ca rwyn sergeant from the first minister, carwyn jones. as the welsh assembly resumes, having been suspended after news of his death was received. of course, the inquest into his death has opened. you're watching bbc news. it isjust has opened. you're watching bbc news. it is just approaching 20 minutes to one. drivers who are told their eyesight isn't good enough for them to be behind the wheel are carrying on driving — according to research by the association of optometrists. they want compulsory eye tests to be introduced — a campaign backed by the family of natalie wade, who was killed by a partially sighted driver. 0ur reporter ali fortescue has more. if she walked into a room, as the saying goes, she lit it up. she enjoyed every moment and was so looking forward to getting married. 28—year—old natalie wade died on her way to buy a wedding dress. she was hit by a 78—year—old driver with poor eyesight. there's always an empty chair, and christmas, birthdays, the day she would have been married, they are still very painful. the driver who killed natalie was blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other, but he died before being tried for dangerous driving. but natalie is just one of 70 people who are killed or seriously injured in similar incidents involving bad eyesight last year. the legal standard for eyesight involves being able to read a number plate from 20 metres, but that's something that's only tested when you first take your test. at the moment, everyone needs to fill out a form like this every ten years to renew their driving licence and that involves answering a question about their eyesight. and if you're over the age of 70, you have to fill out a slightly more comprehensive form every three years, but it's still a question ofjust putting a tick in a box, there's no requirement to take an actual eye test. the mechanism of self reporting isn't always reliable. we know that vision can change gradually over time, so drivers might not be aware of a deterioration to their vision. the association of optometrists don't have a legal requirement to do anything if they're concerned about a patient‘s driving — it's down to the driver. more than one in three of their optometrists surveyed have seen a driver in the last month who continues to drive despite being told their vision is below the legal standard. nine in ten of them believe the current sight tests are insufficient and they want to see a change in the law. what we're calling for is vision screening to be carried out for all drivers when they first apply for the driving licence and then the requirement to prove that they continue to meet that standard every ten years. but the concern is it's notjust eyesight that needs testing. this is an enormous worry. thank gosh we've got something we can point at and you can measure it and say yes, eye health is a big thing but there's all sorts of other medical issues, bundles of them, which are simply not being taken into account as to whether people are fit to drive and i think they should be. the department for transport say that all drivers are required by law to make sure their eyesight is good enough to drive. they also say that if a driver experiences any changes to their eyesight or has a condition that could affect their driving they must notify the dvla and speak to an optician. ali fortescue, bbc news. football fans in italy are taking stock of the fact that their national team will not play in the world cup finals for the first time since 1958. italian newspapers expressed shock at the team's failure to qualify for next year's tournament after a goal—less draw with sweden. we can speak to the italian football expert, tancredi palmeri, who was at the game last night. hejoins me from milan. you must be heartbroken. where you surprised italy have not gone through. personally, no. but only because it is me and i warned before the game that these players and italy were on the verge of falling. but all the media was so confident. italy, in spite of being an average team, was playing united. —— sweden. italy were committed but u nfortu nately italy were committed but unfortunately they had the worst possible managerial experience we have seen in italian football. i would see also in top level football at home and international football. the mistakes made by the manager in the last four months, that were tactical, psychological... yesterday, it was a disaster for italy. what the italians make of it today? italy lives and believes football. italy has been such a leading force in the world cup for decades, really. and itjust will not be the next year. it will be incredible to have a world cup without italy. what do italians think? this book on the world cup, the chapter that will be written of russia 2018, there will not be italy. you mentioned the last time they did not qualify was 1968. that was the only time italy did not qualify. but it was practically right after the second world war. the real disaster into the now that killed nine of the starting 11 of italy. it is a completely different situation. today, the country is waking up in shock. they really do not believe this could happen. if only they could have realised that being stronger, being more talented than the others is not enough to win you games. because, honestly, if we look at the quality, their second or third team would be better than sweden. but it is not enough if the tactics are wrong. it is not enough... there were idiotic choices that have nothing to do with professional football. all those details, even in football, can kill you hope. this is exactly what happened and italy did not realise the danger it was in. it is a good generation but not a generation with world —class generation but not a generation with world—class stars like del piero, baggio that consult problems will stop it is a good one, but not great. those mistakes can come up. thank you very much indeed. i get the impression you did not like the manager. thank you very much for being with us. he did not like himself, have to tell you! well, we will miss you at the world cup, but i given much indeed for being with us. one of the country's leading debt charities says it's deeply troubled by the increasing use of bailiffs by local authorities in england and wales to recover money they are owed. the money advice trust found the number of cases had risen by 14% over two years to 2.3 million. our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. it is upsetting, sometimes frightening. bailiffs have the power to seize certain possessions if you let them into your home, or if they find a way in. and who are the top users? not banks or credit card companies, but councils. up 10%, getting bailiffs to enforce council tax debts, 27% giving them parking fines to deal with, and bailiffs retrieving overpaid housing, that is up as well. you can imagine a knock on the door from the bailiff, especially if you have children, is distressing. we hear about sleepless nights. and it's adding to the cost of debts, because the bailiffs' fees are added on. we think councils should be trying more progressive ways of retrieving debt, as other lenders are doing. councils say elderly care has to be paid for, as well as fixing roads and collecting rubbish. they say they have a duty to collect the money where they can. the headlines... mps begin scrutinising the eu withdrawal bill, which will move eu laws onto the uk statute books. the rate of inflation remains unchanged at 3%. food costs rise to their higher level in four years, but are offset by a fall in fuel prices. survivors of the earthquake in iran call for help after thousands were left homeless in bitterly cold temperatures. sir mo farah has officially received his knighthood from the queen at buckingham palace today. the four—time olympic champion, who retired from track athletics earlier this year, was knighted in the new year's honours list. sir mo spoke to our sports correspondent richard conway about the occasion. it was an incredible day for me. i really enjoyed coming year. nerve—racking at the beginning but it isa nerve—racking at the beginning but it is a lovely day for my wife and family in particular. i never dreamt of getting the title and meeting the queen. it has been unreal. you have had a career of highs. medals at 0lympic had a career of highs. medals at olympic games and world championships. where does this rank in terms of your it is way up there. close to my 0lympics medals for sure. to come here that the age of eight in britain and not speak a word of english, achieved what i have achieved, there is no word to describe. thejonny have achieved, there is no word to describe. the jonny arr have have achieved, there is no word to describe. thejonny arr have had. it has been incredible. i have enjoyed every pa rt has been incredible. i have enjoyed every part of it. at the same time, it shows anything is possible in life if you work hard at it. i remember going to school with my wife at a younger age. we would never have dreamt of coming to buckingham palace. tell us what the queen said to you today. she knew that i was retired. i said i was going on to the roads. she said, thatis going on to the roads. she said, that is far too long. something like that. and i said, yes. she said, what would you like to do after running? i said i would like to help the next generation and younger kids get involved. at grassroots. just finally, you have had an interesting few weeks. coming back to london. you changed your coach. what is the next chapter hold for you? what is left to achieve and accomplish? for me, iwant left to achieve and accomplish? for me, i want to continue my career. i am going for the marathon. today's very special. i want to forget about running and celebrate this special occasion. not often that it will happen. sir mo farah talking to richard conway. congratulations to him. hugh bonneville and stephen fry are among the guests who have attended a memorial service to celebrate the life of michael bond creator of paddington bear. tributes were paid to michael and his most famous bear at a service in st paul's catherdral. throughout his life, the author penned more than 200 books before his death injune, aged 91, following a short illness. some of the world's rarest gemstones are up for sale in geneva this week. to buy them you'll need a few spare million — but looking is free so we sent imogen foulkes for a sneak peak. there is more than a little sparkle in geneva this dull november. every year the jewellery houses compete to show that one special stone, the rarest, the purist, the most vivid. but this year there is one extraordinary show stopper. at 163 carats, this is the largest diamond ever to be put up for auction. now, to show it at its best, or maybe to make sure potential buyers don't mistake it for an ice cube, it has been set into a string of emeralds, 5949 of them. we are expecting in the region of $30 million for it, and it is the largest deflawless diamond ever to come to the market and it is the finest colour, finest clarity and extraordinary proportions. and there is always a temptation with a diamond crystal to cut the largest possible and end up with a stone that maybe is a little lopsided or lumpy or thick just to keep the weight. not here. this is perfection in every way. pink, yellow, necklace, ring or brooch, jewellery lovers are spoilt for choice. but while many will look, with these multi—million—dollar price tags, only a few will be able to buy. imogen foulkes, bbc news, geneva. the first group of students from the uk's only degree course for deaf performers is taking to the stage with a new production that blends british sign language and english. it's hoped the adaptation of caryl churchill's play love and information will challenge perceptions and make sign language more visible. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon went to meet them. we will actually have that report a little bit later on. in the meantime... a large carolina corn snake was spotted at the plant in caernarfon — "the last thing i expected to see in the sewer" according to the man who found it. the snake, which was between three and four feet long, is thought to have been flushed down a toilet. an rspca inspector managed to retrieve it from a sewage intake, perched a few inches above the raw sewage flowing into the works. it was, happily, alert and unharmed but the rspca says it's a timely reminder of the challenges of caring for exotic animals. speaking of exotic animals letters or dangerous ones at least. a british doctor says he escaped a shark by punching it in the face, while he was surfing in australia. charlie fry, who is 25, said the six—foot long animal "jumped out of the water and hit him in the right shoulder". he punched it while in the water north of sydney and then climbed back on his board. it felt like a hand grabbing me, like shaking me and it was just pure adrenaline. i genuinely thought i was going to die. you are about to be eaten alive by a shark. it just went for my shoulder, i got a big thud and then i turned to the right and i saw a shark's head come out of the water with its teeth and ijust punched it in the face. the mouth was in one bite doing that up to there. but in terms of the size, i would probably put it at, i don't know, five, six foot, maybe a bit less. extraordinary story. in the moment, the news at one. first, the weather. if you work on the basis it is a pretty cloudy day, you will not go far wrong. some of you indeed have seen far wrong. some of you indeed have seen blue skies, as witnessed by weather watchers. it helps if you're nowhere near the weather front. weather watchers. it helps if you're nowhere near the weatherfront. here is the thickest of the cloud. that is the thickest of the cloud. that is likely to be the case through the course of the night. the odd bit of rain through the night. there will be some breaks of —— in the cloud. it will not be a frosty night because it is a relatively mild air mass. but it is also quite moist. where skies clear, it is dense fog forming. and it is patchy. the signal at the moment is for parts of east anglia, towards lincolnshire in the south wales. certainly there are parts of northern ireland and scotla nd parts of northern ireland and scotland as well that could see dense passages. as we start the day, again, rather cloudy. whether it is broken for any length of time in the north of scotland, it will be a bit cooler. 0n the whole, the northern half of the british isles gets to see some of the brightest weather. even further south, after a rather dank, foggy start for some, there will be some brightness coming through. not a cold day by any means at all. double figures quite widely for northern ireland, england and we are. a little bit fresher across the north. even here, we will see milder airas this warm north. even here, we will see milder air as this warm frontjust allows that pulse of warm air to get up into scotland. there is called dear not 1 into scotland. there is called dear not1 million miles away. we have to keep it in our minds. —— called air. we will see the first signs of a cooler air behind this cold front gradually tumbling in across the northern parts of the british isles. they will eventually be a brighter day for the north, yes, but breezy and quite surely eventually. the last of the mild air locked to the south of the weather front. behind it, things done fresher and that introduces a brighter, fresher, and for the northern half of britain, pisa day on friday with good supply of showers. the battles over brexit laws begin as mps prepare to scrutinise the key piece of legislation that will the way for the uk's departure. they will begin pouring over the detail of the eu withdrawal bill this afternoon — nearly 500 amendments have been put forward. with the potential for a with the potentialfor a rebellion against the government. deeply loyal backbenchers, many ex—ministers, people of real standing and credibility, are so cross about this that they may well vote against their party's whip. we'll be live in westminster. also this lunchtime: theresa may makes her strongest attack to date on russia — accusing it of using technology and fake news to sow discord in the west. the earthquake in iran — the death toll rises to 530 — more than 8,000 are injured. rescuers have given up hope of finding more survivors.

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