of the wales national football team, gary speed, was one of four men, who took their own lives, after working with the coach barry bennell. he denies 48 counts of child sexual abuse. mps have approved a bill to sever ties with the eu, paving the way for the house of lords to have its say on the brexit bill. is it a charm offensive or a genuine push for peace? north and south korea pledge to compete under one flag good evening and welcome to bbc news. there's some relief tonight for thousands of people affected by the collapse of the construction and services giant carillion. the government's insolvency service says most private companies carrying out work for carillion — like catering and cleaning — will continue to pay their workers until new suppliers can be found. the company's collapse prompted angry exchanges in parliament. labour said it was unbelievable that ministers continued awarding contracts to the firm despite a series of profit warnings. the prime minister said it would have been wrong to use public money to bail out the business. our business editor simonjack reports. after shutting up shop yesterday, work at highfields park in nottingham resumed today. a government promise to keep paying for work on carillion‘s public sector contracts was good enough for one stonemasons company. we've held the project for a day, pulled off the project, but now we're actually back on the project. our main concern is making sure that those payments are made. because small contractors and other people's livelihoods are the biggest thing in all of this, they are going to suffer from the impact of this severe problem that has been caused by carillion. private sector customers like nationwide were given just 48 hours to decide if they wanted to keep paying for services carillion was providing. nationwide was among 90% of customers who said yes, for now. great news for thousands of workers. not according to union leaders. i'm encouraged that these clients want the work to continue, but i think it is just a stay of execution for the people that i represent. we are not looking for short—termism, we're not looking for protection today, we are looking for protection long—term. this is a stay of execution, that frankly is not good enough. the banking industry promised today that it would extend overdrafts, waive fees and give payment holidays to firms owed money by carillion to help limit the knock—on damage down the supply chain. tonight then, a reprieve for thousands of private sector service workers, and the banks are promising to help limit the fallout. but here at this carillion constructions site in kings cross, activity has come to a standstill. and i'm told workers are disgruntled because they cannot get on—site to get their tools so that they can get on with otherjobs. i'm also hearing tonight that talks are advanced on the creation of a task force across industry and government to help limit the damage done by this construction bust. the pressure on former transport secretary chris grayling did not let up today. why did carillion land big contracts after multiple profit warnings? when hs2 awarded the contract last summer, a lot of work was done to make sure that if carillion ran into problems, the contract was covered, and that is what's happened. over the years, many uk construction firms have had ups and downs and issued profit warnings, and they have come through those and continued to deliver excellent work. deep ideological differences on the role of private companies in the public sector frothed over at prime minister's questions. as the ruins of carillion lie around her, will the prime minister to act to end this costly racket of the relationship between government and some of these companies? theresa may reminded jeremy corbyn that one third of carillion‘s public contracts were awarded under labour, and that the model was still valid. we want to provide good quality public services and deliver the best value to the taxpayer. we are making sure in this case that public services continue to be provided, that the workers in these public services are supported, and taxpayers are protected. 0utrage was expressed that the owner of this chalet, the former carillion boss richard howson, was due to collect his £660,000 salary until october. all severance payments to former directors will now be stopped. that may not be enough to cool tempers back in the uk. simon jack, bbc news. who have sto- -ed subcontractors who have stopped work. some are owed money and have downed tools for now. next door at the hospital it is due to replace their risk frustration for staff who are waiting for the new building to be ready. until things are clear a hospital bosses know it'll be difficult to get the builders back to work. i would say please come on site, you'll get paid for the work you're doing now. we recognise there an issue with the money you are owed. there are guarantees about future payment and will work with the hospital company and the receivers to try and ensure there is some compensation for the work you've done. is their anger about this? we feel sorry for the staff and subcontractors of carillion. it's not anger, its empathy with the situation they are in, really. the old hospital was built in the 70s and is showing its age. crumbling concrete and rusting pipework. the new building was privately financed but it's progress was slow for various structural reasons and it was sited at the time of carillion‘s first profit warning. the new hospital should have been completed last march. carillion mist the deadline for every month it was delayed the company faced a bill of one and a half million pounds. despite the carillion chaos, the trust says it is confident work will restart soon, though it can't say exactly when the city will get its new hospital. judith moritz, bbc news, liverpool. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight arejessica elgot, political reporter at the guardian and henry zeffman, political reporter at the times. motorists in central and southern scotland are being advised to stay off the roads tonight as heavy snow and ice make driving conditions treacherous. more than 200 motorists were left stranded last night on the m71; — the motorway linking scotland to england. the met office has issued an amber — be prepared — severe weather warning for the affected areas. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. from the air, it is stunning — a white blanket of snow covering much of scotland, gritters cutting a path through the drifts. but for those travelling last night, it was a different story. traffic on the m71; grinding to a halt in the treacherous conditions, stranded drivers stuck for hours. terrible! just cars, lorries everywhere, five hours i've been stuck on the m74, then i eventually got here. a lot of idiots on the third lane, going too fast. steady, but it was getting worse, so i chose to stop here, now i'm going up to glasgow. these pictures show just how dangerous driving in the snow and ice can be — a runaway lorry smashing into a car and then a van, after the driver got out to help clear the road. no—one was injured. mountain—rescue teams turned from the hills to the roads, checking that those trapped in their vehicles were warm and had supplies. a lot of vehicles were basically struggling to get grip on the snow etc, so the issue was there was a lot of lorries jackknifing, which was obviously blocking the motorway behind, so we were called in by police scotland to basically go and check the welfare for the people that were in their vehicles. the difficult weather reached into parts of england too — in halifax in yorkshire, the public helping out after an ambulance responding to a 999 call got stuck. in northern ireland, some of those missing classes took to their sledges instead. nearly 300 schools there were shut. a similar number in scotland were also closed for the day. scotland's gritters, with affectionate nicknames such as sir andy flurry and sir salter scott, have been working round the clock, but with warnings of much more snow to come, drivers tonight are being urged to stay off the roads. lorna gordon, bbc news, abington. we'll be speaking to the scottish transport minister about how the disruption is being caused. one in ten nurses is leaving the nhs in england every year — according to the latest figures. and the gap between the number leaving and those joining has widened to 3000 — the highest for at least 5 years. the royal college of nursing says the nhs is haemorrhaging staff but the government says it has plans to boost recruitment. our health editor hugh pym reports. voices from the front line. nurses on the challenges of their jobs in the 70th year of the nhs. they do it because it's in their bones, they have this desire to care for the most vulnerable people. just having a lot of patience to look after... per one member of staff. patient—to—staff ratio, it's quite high. much of the work that nurses carry out today is the type of work doctors were carrying out when i initially trained. but for some, like mary, the pressures are so great they feel they have to quit. she qualified two years ago, but found the strain was affecting her health, so decided to leave. i was so excited at my graduation to finally become a nurse and really make a difference. there's just so much pressure, so much paperwork, so much bureaucracy. so many little things that all add up to take up so much time in our days. even those with decades of experience say the stress is almost too much. sally joined the nhs in the late 19705. she has enjoyed her career, although says the demands are much greater because the role has expanded. never when i started nursing did i imagine i would be doing anything like the role i'm doing. i don't think it was even heard of. the government says the number of nurses on the wards in england has gone up by nearly 12,000 since 2010. but when you look at all nurses, including community and mental health, the figure has barely increased over that time. last year, wales, like england, saw more nurses leaving than joining. in scotland and northern ireland, there were morejoining. filling vacancies is certainly a challenge, but for the nhs, what is just as important is retaining existing staff. at a time of concern about pressure on the service and what future pay deals might be, it's important for employers to do everything they can to persuade people to stick with their careers. anything i can help you with today? i'm 0k at the moment... there is a mentoring scheme at this hospital in romford. megan was encouraged to stay thanks to support from bev. in my other trust that i work in, you didn't have somebody like bev to turn to to make sure that you were in the right environment for you. she's been amazing. nhs england wants to see that approach adopted more widely. we want to work with front line staff to understand what matters to them and to listen and try and do something about that. clearly it's difficult at the moment. the government says there are more new nurse training places in the pipeline. but in the short term, the pressure is on. hugh pym, bbc news. a man who strangled a teenager in a violent sexual attack, before hiding her body in a wardrobe for almost three weeks, has been sentenced to life in prison wolverhampton crown court heard that ashley foster, who's 2a, had been released from prison only three days before he killed megan bills who was 17, at a hostel in brierley hill. he will serve a minimum of 26 years in prison. a court at the old bailey has heard that a man kidnapped two women and cut their throats, before leaving one of them dead in a freezer in a disused house. mujahid arshid, from kingston in south london, is facing multiple charges, including the rape and murder of 20 —year—old celine dookhran. he denies the charges. a man who was abused by the former football coach barry bennell has told a court that the former wales manager — gary speed — was one of four men who took their own lives. they'd all been coached by 64 —year—old barry bennell who is on trial at liverpool crown court. he denies 48 counts of sexual abuse against 11 boys between 1979 and 1990. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. we're now into the second week of this trial and today the jury heard from a victim who barry bennell had admitted abusing in 1998 when handed admitted abusing in 1998 when handed a nine—yearjail sentence. this man told the jury the former wales manager gary speed who hung himself in 2011 aged 42 was one of four former youth team players of barry bennell‘s who had gone on to commit suicide. the man told the court, whether they've taken their own lives due to barry soliai don't know, but all i know is how it had an impact on me and how it could impact on other people. the man went on to say that he knew other former youth team players who had become destitute or suffered alcohol problems and told the court he tried to get in touch with the family of gary speed when he read in the newspaper they had been unable to get closure because they couldn't understand the reasons for his death. earlier today a complainant in this case told the jury when he played for one of manchester city's junior teams he had been abused by barry bennell more than 100 times. he went on to say two officials at the club including a former player and chief scout ken barnes who died in 2010 had known about this abuse but done nothing. he said he wanted an apology from the club. barry bennell denies 48 counts of child sex abuse against 11 complainants. the trial continues. mps have approved a key piece of brexit legislation, paving the way for the lords to have its say. the ayes to the right, 324. the nos to the left, 295. the commons approved the eu withdrawal bill, which transfers all european union laws into uk legislation, with a majority of 29 votes. it will now face scrutiny from peers at the end of the month. the headlines. work has been paused on construction sites run by the failed company carillion. but most of the firm's private sector service contracts, such as catering and cleaning, are continuing. there are new warnings of heavy snow for many northern parts of the uk, after hundreds of drivers spent last night, stranded in their cars. more than one in ten nurses is leaving the nhs in england every year, and more people are now leaving the profession thanjoining it. president trump's former white house director of communications has told bbc heart talk the president uses twitter tojump bbc heart talk the president uses twitter to jump over mainstream media and reach the people who voted for him. referring to some of president trump's controversial tweets about north korea, antony scaramucci said mr trump was trying to convey wit and sarcasm. let me give you a news flash and let me put your viewers at ease and perhaps the global community at ease. and he's doing that, somebody like don junior or myself, ease. and he's doing that, somebody like donjunior or myself, we look at that, we laugh. we get the joke embedded inside of that. we get the sarcasm embedded inside of that. we get the sarcasm laced inside of it. we don't micro—analyse like liberal journalists do and strike a match to it. we look at it for what it is. when he says his button is bigger than the other guys but, it is a joke. it's part of his wit, part of his personality. you may not like it but his 71 years old and he believes he used twitter to jump over the mainstream media to direct message to people who vote for him. anthony scaramucci. if you want to see more of the interview, you can watch on the bbc news channel at half—past midnight tonight. it will also be available on iplayer. another sign of rapprochement between north and south korea. they will compete under the same flag at the winter olympics next month. it's a result of the first automatic talks between the neighbours for more than two years. north and south have agreed to form a unified women's ice hockey team for the games which will be held in south korea. 0ur seoul correspondent laura bicker spoke to the south korean foreign minister earlier today about the signs of friendliness and she emphasised the need for humanitarian assistance for the northern neighbours. i'm very clear, my government is very clear, that despite the difficulty of the situation for humanitarian assistance needs to take place. north korea is a chronic case of humanitarian need. un agencies do a very good job of making sure the assista nts very good job of making sure the assistants goes to those who need it. these are things. medication, nutritional supplements. and vaccines. un agencies are suffering because of lack of funds. there is fatigue in the international community about the situation in north korea. so my government is very clear that despite nuclear missile ; there but 2. there iii:— alw work. . 7 .. ., ah" work. the .. ,7,,,., cata la n catalan parliament has opened for the first time since the regional administration was dismissed in 0ctoberfor administration was dismissed in october for attempting to break away from spain. the three parties are trying to reform a coalition government following the elections december. there is controversy over restoring ca rles december. there is controversy over restoring carles puigdemont as president if he remains in self—imposed exile in brussels. gavin lee reports from barcelona. the catalan parliament, where the only official business for the last two months has been clearing the cobwebs. standing empty since being shut down by the spanish government, following the attempt of separatist regional leaders here to break away. and in the snap elections in december, no party gained a majority. today is the opening of parliament, and separatist parties are being given the formal mandate to try to form a coalition. and they're also expected to propose the ex—president, carles puigdemont, as their leader again. 0nly, he won't be sitting here as usual, because he's in self—imposed exile in belgium. but his party says he can lead, even if he's 800 miles away. it can work, as it works in any other country. i mean, the president of the united states does not lead from each and every city and every village of the united states. critics of carles puigdemont say that he's putting himself above the law. he's wanted, to face allegations of sedition and rebellion. wouldn't it be better for the party, for him, to come to spain, to catalonia, and face what he has to face? he already faced justice. he went to brussels as a free man, because when he went to belgium, or he travelled to belgium, no charges were made against him. and that's why they remain in belgium, because the spanish justice cannot grant them a fair trial. the catalan region is still being ruled by madrid, using emergency powers they enforced after the separatists‘ illegal declaration of independence. the spanish government says those measures will stay in place if carles puigdemont tries to rule from afar. the question is so serious that we cannot take that as a joke. but unfortunately, it looks like a joke. it looks like a hologram, a political hologram will take a place in politics. and this is affecting the life of people. so i think there is no possibility — out of normal and real politics — to have a virtual president of any institution at all. crowd chants. the catalan parliament has two weeks to propose the next leader. and in contrast to the sound and fury of the recent months of protest and political discontent, there's now a visible — if temporary — period of calm, as the next, more formal stage of the crisis plays out. almost a thousand years old and one of the great historical records of the middle ages. depicting the norman conquest of england. now the bayeux tapestry could be about to leave france for the first time. emmanuel macron is expected to announce tomorrow the ancient ta pestry announce tomorrow the ancient tapestry is being loaned to britain, as long as experts agree it is safe to move. here is lucy williamson. if anything puts current anglo—french relations in context, it's this — the bayeux tapestry, almost 1,000 years old, telling the story of the norman conquest of england and the victory of william the conqueror at the battle of hastings. now the french president has given approvalfor the 50 now the french president has given approval for the 50 metre now the french president has given approvalfor the 50 metre bayeux ta pestry to approvalfor the 50 metre bayeux tapestry to leave french territory for the first time but moving something this big and this old is no simple matter. it's difficult to imagine how to put it in their case and showcase it, put it in a train... no. we don't know. president macron's gesture highlights france's deep ties and long history with britain. cynics might say it also highlights a crucial french victory over its anglo—saxon neighbour. 0ur crucial french victory over its anglo—saxon neighbour. our experts say it's a benign telling of the tail with moments of comedy and artistic influences from both sides of the channel. there's a lot of excitement from british museums. the opportunity to get close to the bayeux tapestry and look at it is what is fascinating to all of us who have studied the bayeux tapestry. the location of the tapestry‘s famous battle has long been in dispute but in hastings today locals said the artwork should be displayed there. i think a lot of people in hastings are proud of hastings and if it is returning to hastings even better. it comes from hastings, you know, the battle of hastings and the re st of know, the battle of hastings and the rest of it. a good tourist attraction. the battle happened here and there's not enough displays of what happened in hastings. i think it should come here. britain has twice requested the tapestry on loan. the first time for the queen's coronation. it has always been refused. this initiative has the backing of president macron. part of the cultural exchanges he promised in his electoral campaign. deep ties with britain have often been tinged with britain have often been tinged with rivalry and one french official wasjoking with rivalry and one french official was joking today about whether britain would find anything of similar merit to send them in return. lucy williamson, bbc news, they've it is one of the most famous flying teams in british history, 75 yea rs flying teams in british history, 75 years after carrying out the daring dambusters raid, the raf 617 squadron is being reformed in the year that the royal air force turns 100. we've been to meet one of the last surviving veterans who played a major part in the dambusters raid. amazing aircraft. georgejohnnyjohnson, george johnnyjohnson, 96 years georgejohnnyjohnson, 96 years old, the last surviving british member of world war ii ‘s famous dambusters raid. hejoined the raf in 1940, one of many teenagers who signed up to fight for their country. he says it was the running. i felt i was actually doing something useful. and doing it well. it was 75 years ago this made at 617 squadron took off in their lancaster bombers on their mission immortalised in the dambusters film to attach dams in germany's industrial heartland using barnes wallis's bouncing bombs. the planes johnnyjohnson flew are barnes wallis's bouncing bombs. the planesjohnnyjohnson flew are a world away from the aircraft used by the raf nowadays, and he's fascinated, not just by the raf nowadays, and he's fascinated, notjust by the technology on board, but also by the pilots learning to fly them. technology on board, but also by the pilots learning to fly themlj technology on board, but also by the pilots learning to fly them. i can't understand any of it, i wouldn't know where to begin. it's a complete stranger. but it's not a lancaster. i've always wanted to do it since the age of four. stephanie searle is one of the raf‘s newest pilots, in awe of the stories from the past.|j hope i can measure up to it to be honest. i've been lucky enough to choose this role for myself, they we re choose this role for myself, they were thrust into it and took to it and did the best they could. johnny johnson was one of 133 men who took pa rt johnson was one of 133 men who took part in the dambusters raid. 53 of them never came home. he still remembers that night vividly. i shall neverforget that dambusters raid. the highlight of that trip for me was as we came home our route was over what had been the mohne dam and we knew by radio broadcast it had been breached. there was water everywhere. it was just like an inland sea. that, to me, was the sheer evidence there had been some success. radio: it's gone and we've done it. that raid remains to this day one of the most famous in the air force's history. so, as the raf celebrates its centenary, his advice to the next generation. whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. you'll find it makes you happy. had i had my time over again, i would do the same again and hope to get the same happiness and enjoyment out of it than i did for those 22 years i served. i have to say thank you to the royal air force for providing that life for me, a wonderful life, it really was. sophie raworth reporting. part of a flag believed to have flown from nelson's hms victory during the battle of trafalgar was sold for almost £300,000 at auction. the hand—woven fragments made up of eight red white and blue panels fetched three times sotheby‘s expert of between 80 and £100,000. lord nelson was killed when he led the british fleet against france and spain in1805 british fleet against france and spain in 1805 battle. sailors at his funeral reportedly tore scraps from the flag to keep as mementos. time for a look at the weather. here is nick miller. more snow for some of us nick miller. more snow for some of us overnight. also some very strong winds as well. more weather hazards on the horizon. possible disruption in the morning. already clearly some of us have quite a lot of snow on the ground. here is the latest weather system coming in on the southern flank. bills or severe gales on the northern flag running into cold air. the met office amber rudd be prepared warning in force for southern scotland and northern england into the southern uplands, northern pennines, 20 centimetres of fresh snow, low levels around 3—8 centimetres. this is where the wintry weather will hang around longest overnight. it's notjust the snow to the south. we've got some very strong winds, gales or severe gales for england and wales. 60 mph gusts, maybe up to 70 in some spots. risk of disruption going into the morning, whetherfrom snow, wind, icy conditions left behind across northern parts of the uk as we start the day. check the travel situation for you head out. the bulk of the overnight weather by this stage, 8am, will have cleared. it is the problem is left behind we need to be prepared for. whereof, two. scotland and northern ireland, further wintry showers coming in in places, icy conditions. as you come further south, going out into sunshine once the sun is up. a scattering of showers in south wales and south—west england. it is a windy start the day. it'll take a while for strong winds to ease down from eastern england. though it remains per week during the day, still a chilly

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