Also in the programme two big australian firms stop buying cotton from china, over concerns about mass human rights abuses by chinese authorities. And squabbling staff and bickering bosses. Theyre bad for the business and team morale. We hearfrom one boss whose found an honest solution to keeping the workforce in top gear. And well be getting the inside track on a plumber turned purveyor of fine tipple. How a chance discovery of a century old illicit distillery led to a business making Award Winning gin. And today as hollywood celebrities admit they are hypocrites for backing extiction rebellion despite jetting round the world, we ask, does it matter . Is the Climate Crisis too big not to back. Tell us what you think just use the hashtag bbcworklife. Hello and welcome to worklife. A warm welcome to our new business show, and we start today with brexit. As in the last hour there are fresh doubts about an agreement and this has sent the pound tumbling. Britain and the eu are locked in discussions in brussels with the aim to agree a deal that will then be put before a summit of european leaders which begins in brussels in a few hours. Any agreement then needs the approval of parliament here in london. In case anyone needs reminding, the uk is due to leave the eu in less than two weeks, at 23 00 gmt on 31 october. Prime minister borisjohnson has repeatedly said this will happen, regardless of a deal or not. Under a law passed last month, he must ask the eu for an extension to that deadline if he does not get a new deal approved by parliament this saturday. The European Union is britains biggest trading partner. Last year 46 per cent of all uk exports went to the eu, and 5a per cent of all imports came from the eu. If britain leaves without a deal, disruption to business could be huge. The governments own efficiency watchdog the National Audit office says cross border shipments of goods could slump by more than hal on day one, and could take up to 12 months to return to normality. So events are being watched increasingly nervously. Adam fleming is in brussels what are we expecting today . What does this know from the dup, the british governments partners in parliament, what does it mean to what is happening there now . M throws into jeopardy the planned choreography for the summit because an ideal world Boris Johnson choreography for the summit because an ideal world borisjohnson will be coming to brussels in about five hours and would sit down with a 27 other leaders of the other eu countries and they would be approving the revised brexit deal they are negotiating and the teams have pretty much completed it. However the dup that has been a spanner however the dup that has been a spanner in the works by the dup saying they cannot support it so borisjohnson has a choice, does he confront them, signed a deal anyway or delay and keep negotiating with the dup in london and then the eu has a choice of whether theyjust proceed without him and perhaps finalise their side of the bargain and wait for the situation in the uk to stabilise or some people are saying that they have to come back again next week or the week after to tidy all this up. Adam fleming with the latest from brussels there. With us now isjosh hardie, Deputy Director general of the confederation of british industry. It seems there is a spanner in the works and we might not get something concrete for eu leaders to discuss today and tomorrow. There have been twists and turns along the way for the last three years but as time contracts those twists and turns get sharper and sharper. Business have been clear since day one what is needed, number one is avoid no deal because its a disaster and the second is security that reflects the way that the economy is intertwined so way that the economy is intertwined so close regulatory alignment and frictionless trade and also have a transition to get there smoothly, and those are still the objectives and those are still the objectives and while time is running out everybody has to compromise. You talk about time, but all the way along its having to wait and businesses do not have the luxury of being able to wait. Many of them are really struggling with this uncertainty. You see the cost of business right now and you see businesses spending millions. You get the disruption it would be too interesting to an plumbing and distilling is hit by no deal and the worst thing is the long term hit to the competitiveness. The number of ceos who say they cannot even ask for investment from overseas because the uk is losing its reputation for stability. Given what you have said, to be devils advocate, is it not a good thing that we have something happening on the 31st of october because if we are looking at extension and extension, itsjust kicking the can down the road and giving politicians more time to argue and not come up with a solution. If by that you mean no deal ends the uncertainty, no. No deal ends the uncertainty, no. No deal is superficially very tempting almost winking at you, saying i can end this processor and its brave step to take but in reality it is a swamp. The negotiations will start again and it brings to reality the things that business fear and its not an end to uncertainty. Extension cost money and is known way desirable but its better than the reality of no deal. Northern ireland has been the dominant matter throughout all of this. Do you have a perspective on how the Northern Ireland members are reflecting on going on what is going on . Ireland members are reflecting on going on what is going 0mm ireland members are reflecting on going on what is going on . It so important to understand how frightening things feeling Northern Ireland as it is an economy dominated by Small Businesses and a lot of them in agriculture who crisscrossed the border every day, dozens crisscrossed the border every day, d oze ns of crisscrossed the border every day, dozens of times a day. The economy is not in great shape and it need support and there isnt a functioning administration and no deal hits them harder than everyone else so its right to really bear their interest in mind. A regulatory system that might change every four yea rs really prevents system that might change every four years really prevents investment so they need to be borne in mind but their needs are not that different from the rest of the uk. Josh, thank you very much. Appreciate your time. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. Its reported five us drugmakers and distributors are offering a 50 billion deal to settle a massive opioid lawsuit according to reuters. The Drugs Industry is facing around 2,600 legal cases brought by state and local governments alleging the firms fuelled americas fatal opioid crisis. We all love to binge watch on netflix. Well, thats helped the firms fortunes, as it added more subscribers than expected in the three months to september. It now has 158 million paying customers around the world. But it faces serious competition from next month when disney and apple launch rival streaming services. Americas United Auto Workers union has announced a tentative deal with General Motors after one of the longest strikes in the companys history. The four year deal, covering almost 50,000 workers, could mean an end to the month long walkout which has cost the carmaker an some 90 Million Dollars a day. Retailers cotton on and target australia say theyve stopped sourcing cotton from Chinas Xinjiang province for their clothes. Thats due to concerns about alleged mass human rights abuses there by chinese authorities. Monica miller joins us from singapore. What is the detail . This was revealed in july and the Investigative Programme looks at it and in response both companies have decided to stop that supply chain. Target australia told the bbc that they identified one of their direct suppliers as using a small amount of cotton yarn from the mill owned by a supplier in that province and they we re supplier in that province and they were told to stop orders immediately until they get the situation clarified and the Chinese State has detained muslims under 2014 under the guise of cracking down on domestic terrorism but eyewitnesses report that many are held in camps 01 report that many are held in camps or forced into work in textile factories in cotton mills and these Australian Companies are not alone in this. The us crackdown on 28 Tech Companies earlier this month for similar reasons. Interesting story and want to highlight, definitely. Lets look at the markets in asia. A bit of a mixed picture and their focus on the us and china trade negotiations and how they are going as opposed to brexit, but lets look at europe now and how markets are faring. In london, the winners are unilever and rentokil, and the House Builders are all down. Its about those brexit negotiations and how they will go today in germany is up how they will go today in germany is upa bit how they will go today in germany is up a bit on the market is pretty flat but watching brussels closely. The pound is down. Sally, thank you very much. Now to the us, where Hollywood StarAshton Kutcher has a created a new Reality Tv Show that takes a hard look at the countrys student debt crisis. Vivienne nunis is following the story from new york. What does Hollywood StarAshton Kutcher know about student debt . Not much, you might think, but the actor and producer has created a new Reality Tv Show that launches today called going from broke. In it young, debt laden americans will, amongst other things, be shown by experts are to restructure student loa n experts are to restructure student loan payments. Graduates here are a staggering 1. 6 trillion in debt, a figure that has skyrocketed since the financial crisis. The debt cost the financial crisis. The debt cost the average millennial between two and 300 a month and a fifth are behind on their payments. While some commentators are warning against relying on a celebrity backed tv show for financial advice, others are welcoming the offer of financial help however it comes. Vivian eunice there with another interesting take ona there with another interesting take on a story in business in the us and we have simon jack on a story in business in the us and we have simonjack with us for the on the headlines. We have been focusing about what youve been writing about bbc online, talking to a former trade representative in the us and it seems that our special relationship doesnt count for much. What hes saying is it that when it comes to the brutal world of trade, its complicated, there are national interests, international interest, and domestic and Economic Issues and they all get tangled up and make it hard, so when you are looking at trade deals, dont expect a special relationship to cut the uk any slack and remember, the whole Brexit Process says they want people to have our own independent trade policy but as part of the eu we cannot do our own trade deals with the likes of the us and canada and the likes of the us and canada and the big holy grail is the trade deal with the us. Just tomorrow tariffs by the us coming into effect against the uk, germany and france, things like single malt Scotch Whisky will be hit because we have a trade war that has rolled off from a huge spat 15 years ago, so the point is its not straightforward getting these trade deals and remember back in the early days of brexit would be the easiest deal to do in the world, and it wasnt, and this wont be either. Sorry to interrupt, but why, for example single malt whiskey made in scotla nd example single malt whiskey made in scotland tomorrow will have fresh ta riffs scotland tomorrow will have fresh tariffs on their goods going to the states and whiskey made in ireland wont, despite the fact that we are all in the eu still. Why is that . The scots feel very heart done by. 2596 the scots feel very heart done by. 25 tariff to the us and scottish cashmere, 25 tariff, republic of ireland whiskey nun, italian cashmere, none. This is to do with the four big countries that the party to airbus and airbus and boeing have had a 15 year spat about government giving illegal subsidies on both sides and the World Trade Organisation gave the us the green light to put 7. 5 billion tariffs on goods and they have tailored those to the countries which are investors in airbus and therefore they have looked at the schedule and said that, that, that, that, french cheese for example, single malts, but the problem is that scottish cashmere makers compete against italian makers and they are 25 more expensive. Michael froman who was a representative under president obama andi representative under president obama and i remember before the referendum, president obama said dont count on any special relationship if you vote for brexit, so relationship if you vote for brexit, so how does that reflect on what you hear from donald trump over the course of his presidency . Thats the interesting thing. Barack obama, trying to be David Cameron a favour saying that if you are at the eu would be at the back of the queue for a trade deal and we are in the process of trying to do one, but donald trump making warmer noises about it. Dont forget the trump is the person who put tariffs on mexico and canada and they are in a free trade agreement, so the point is, ta riffs trade agreement, so the point is, tariffs are Donald Trumps weapon of choice and he does not care how well he knows you, that is what he will do to protect his interest at home, so do to protect his interest at home, so the special relationship is there but when it comes to the complicated business of trade and National Domestic interest, they will triumph, and it is complex. Thank you, simon, and donald trump looking to get elected next year which adds another layer. Lots more to come. Still to come from plumber to purveyor of fine tipple how a chance discovery of a 120 year old illicit distillery led to an Award Winning gin maker whose spirit is stocked londens finest stores. Buckingham palace itself as well. And downing street, i believe. Its everywhere. They are all drinking the stuff. Youre with worklife from bbc news. Vodafone uk has a new report about gender diversity in ftse 350 companies. It has interviewed companies with strong diversity records, including easyjet and legal general, and identifies common policies, behaviours and schemes which have proved successful. Joining us now is helen lamprell, general counsel and director of external affairs, at vodafone uk. This sounds encouraging, so what have you discovered . We discovered there was a high degree of commonality between Companies Achieving good levels of diversity in things they were doing, so there are certain things that really work, active sponsorship really works and mental ship works and some things that were more surprising where the fa ct that were more surprising where the fact that if there was a high level of board visibility to employees, that was really interesting. It is interesting that there is a high profile woman on the board, but that kind of makes sense and its about seeing diversity in the workplace and a very visible way. Yes, its not just workplace and a very visible way. Yes, its notjust seeing high profile women and its about the board in general, and a lot of it is about busting myths the bosses human being, so they would be more likely to aspire to that themselves. Tell us to aspire to that themselves. Tell us what more needs to be done and how much further is there to go. Companies like us are at 36 , which is great, and honestly thats not 50 , so we have more to do and weve raised our target to 40 and we are looking forward to achieving it. Thank you very much, helen. Extinction rebellion are active in london and they are at the dlr today, so they do cause a lot of disruption but they argue that it is an important cause and celebrity backers, the likes of benedict, backed have been called hypocrites because of their carbon footprint. On the front page of the sun newspaper, they are called ego warriors. Tell is your thoughts about that. Tell us your thoughts about that. Tell us your thoughts about that. Youre watching worklife. A reminder of our top story fresh doubts about a Brexit Agreement send the pound tumbling as warnings mount about the consequences of no deal for the business world. The pound a lot weaker today but earlier this week it was at a five month high on optimism. So it might be moving all over the place. Lets move on. You might want a brexit breather. We will talk something else. How do you get from plumbing to boutique gin making . Well, like many entrpreneurial success stories, it was down to chance. Plumber ian puddick ran a Leak Detection company when a building dispute forced him to research his firms building history, and he uncovered an illicit gin distiller. With just a vague recipe, hes now making his own Award Winning london gin stocked in harrods, fortnum and mason and selfridges. And i think Buckingham Palace like this particular gene. We have ian here with us, the founder of old la kra here with us, the founder of old lakra cap bakery gin, and we havent opened it or had any. You cant blame the gym. You tell us this story. You were a plumber and now you are making this Award Winning gin. I bought a year old bakery which was a complete wreck a year old bakery which was a complete wreck which is now an office and when we did the Building Works we removed the chimney because they we re