Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Nine 20240713

Found on an Industrial Estate in essex. Investigators say mechanical and design problems caused last years lion air plane crash in indonesia, which killed 189 people. England are preparing for one of their biggest rugby games in over a decade tomorrow, as the side take on new zealand in the world cup semifinal. Coming up later this hour climbing uluru for the last time. Tourists queue to make the ascent before a ban comes into effect. Good morning and welcome to the bbc news at 9. Borisjohnson will spend the next three days trying to persuade mps to back his plans for a general election on the 12th of december. Meanwhile, eu ambassadors will meet this morning to discuss how much longer they should give the uk to achieve brexit, but theyre expected to delay making a final decision until they know if the election is going ahead. Meanwhile, the chancellor sajid javid has said this morning that the government now has to accept the uk wont be able to leave by the 31st october. Well shortly be getting the view from brussels with our correspondent there, adam fleming, but first lets head to westminster and nick eardley. How painfulfor the how painful for the government is the admission that next weeks brexit do or die moment will not happen . It is a big moment, although it has been implicit in a lot of what has been said over the last few days, particularly the Prime Ministers words yesterday, cast your mind back to the conservative leadership campaign, where Boris Johnsons main selling point, really, to the tory membership was, no ifs or buts, 31st of october, we leave. Turns out there was a but and it is a pretty big one, have a listen to the chancellor. It cant be met because parliament has asked foran be met because parliament has asked for an extension and the eu, although it has not formally responded, i think everyone expects an extension from them and when that happens, we wont be able to leave on the 315t and that is exactly why we have turned around to Jeremy Corbyn and said, lets get brexit done. The first time explicitly a government minister has said that deadline next week definitely wont happen. It is worth putting in the context of the government will argue until it is due in are blue in the face that it is not their decision and they were forced into it by parliament but it is quite a big departure from what Boris Johnson was saying back in the election campaign. The big question now is can they make the brexit deal, can they get it through in the next few weeks . Perhaps even before the 12th of december general election, if it happens. The governments plan is to give more time for the legislation, then, that would allow the bill to pass, up until the 6th of november, and at that point, if they get their way, parliament is dissolved and we start an election campaign. But he needs two thirds of mps to do that, including the labour party, and the labour party at the moment is pretty split on theirs. There are some close to Jeremy Corbyn split on theirs. There are some close toJeremy Corbyn urging the labour leader to seize the moment and go fora labour leader to seize the moment and go for a general election but there are dozens of mps are saying absolutely not, the polls are not in their favour just now and absolutely not, the polls are not in their favourjust now and they absolutely not, the polls are not in their favour just now and they would much rather campaign on a second referendum first. This is what the shadow home secretary diane abbott said this morning. We just have to wait and see what the eu is saying, first and foremost. We just have to wait and see whether Boris Johnson is willing to say publicly and in terms, that no deal is of the table. The government says it has been forced to extend the Brexit Process and it seems possible that they are going to be false to drop the plan for the 12th of december election, too. We will come back to you later in the morning but for now, thank you. Now to brussels our correspondent adam fleming is there. We heard the chancellor saying that everybody expects the eu to give an extension. Is that the mood there this morning . 0h, extension. Is that the mood there this morning . Oh, yes, there will be an extension because the unions policies it should not be to blame for a no deal brexit if there is to be won, the uk leaving without any deal in place, that will be a british decision, not a european one, which means they will always say yes to a request for an extension because if they say no, that means the uk is potentially leaving without a deal. It is just a question of how long the extension is and what conditions are attached. Today, when will the decision be made. We thought that eu ambassadors from the Member States would make the decision this morning with donald tusk having consulted all of the member state leaders over the last couple of days. Hopes of a decision this morning, i have to say, are dwindling, though, and it 110w say, are dwindling, though, and it now looks like the decision may be postponed until next week, monday or tuesday, once there is more clarity about what is or is not happening at westminster with this potential may be possible election. Potential, maybe, possible, kind of douai said in degree, answers my next question which was, you mentioned the word clarity. If the eu is expecting clarity. If the eu is expecting clarity from westminster over the weekend, westminster is expecting clarity from the eu. There are so many people in the westminster situation who are saying they are going to wait to see what the eu is saying so everybody sang, your move. The words chicken and egg have been said to me quite a few times this morning by eu diplomats which is another layer of complexity on top of a decision which was already proving quite ready for the eu because even before we had the extra uncertainty of if there would be an election, there was a division between the majority of eu countries on one side, including germany, who said, lets sign up to the 31st of january, it was the date in the letter the Prime Minister was compelled to write by parliament and creates enough space if the uk wants to hold an election or ratify the deal whatever. But then you had france and emanuel macron on the other side in a quite isolated position, saying the only thing that works in brexit is a short, sharp shock to the british parliament, which means a short, sharp extension to perhaps only the 15th of november and that is the way you get the brexit deal through parliament, by focusing peoples minds with a very tight timetable. They were already trying to bridge that divide between those two slightly irreconcilable positions and now you have the added layer of complexity of it is not exactly clear what direction the uk is heading. I know you will be watching all of the chickens and eggs, keep us posted for now. Thank you forjoining us. In other news now. A spokeseperson for the Chinese Government says that the death of 39 people who died in a shipping containter bound for britain was tragic. But they could not confirm whether those who died were chinese nationals. Postmortem examinations are due to begin today. Police are moving the bodies from the port of tilbury to a nearby hospital as they continue to question a lorry driver arrested on suspicion of murder. Andy moore reports. Police activity continued late into the night at tilbury port, where the bodies are being removed from the lorry container and taken to hospital. Police said the dignity of the victims 31 men and eight women was the primary consideration. The lorry was moved to the port on wednesday, so that the lengthy task of removing and identifying the bodies can be carried out in a secure environment. Police are yet to say how the victims died. The Chinese Ambassador to the uk said he had sent a team to essex to help police verify their identity, though he said their nationality had not yet been confirmed. Most of us will stand in horror. At the home office in london last night, campaigners held a candlelit vigil to remember the victims whatever their nationality. These people who are dying, they are not the other to be blocked out of our daily lives they are people like you and me. This is believed to be the worst incident of its kind since 58 chinese migrants were found dead in the lorry container at dover in 2000. They died after the ventilation was blocked. They were smuggled into the country by a chinese snakehead gang. Andy moore, bbc news. Earlier, andy gave us the later latest on the situation. The latest on the situation. The latest on. The operation to remove the bodies from the container where they were found is going on at the port in tilbury nearby. Last night, the first 11 bodies were removed in private ambulances, escorted by Police Vehicles and taken to Broomfield Hospital in chelmsford, where those postmortem examinations will be carried out today. Police say their primary concern is for the dignity of the victims. The Chinese Ambassador has sent a team down here to help in that operation to identify them, although the ambassador said it was knott absolutely confirmed they were chinese nationals. Meanwhile, the lorry driver, a 25 year old from northern ireland, police have been given an extra 24 hour was to question him. He has been named locally as mo robinson from northern ireland. Lots more on that story coming up over the course of the morning. Britains biggest payday lender, quickquid, is closing, leaving thousands of complaints about its practices unresolved. Its american owners said it was exiting the uk market because of what it described as regulatory uncertainty. The company had received as many as 10,000 compensation claims from customers who claim they were given loans they could not afford to repay. If they are upheld, those affected may only receive a fraction of their compensation. The system for reminding parents in england when to vaccinate their children is inconsistent according to the National Audit office. It found there was a mixed picture when it came to how parents were contacted to book appointments in different parts of the country. Since 2012, there has been a fall in the uptake of nearly all vaccinations, including mmr, among pre school children. The government said it was carrying out a review to improve services. Phone operators have come to an agreement with the government to improve rural mobile coverage. They will build a network of masts they will all share. More than 90 of the country will get 4g coverage from all four mobile companies. With me now for more on this is our business presenter dharshini david. This seems like good news. Business presenter dharshini david. This seems like good newsm business presenter dharshini david. This seems like good news. It does, doesnt it . A third of the country has either nonexistent or really patchy mobile coverage at the moment. We know that is notjust annoying but it gets in the way of life and doing business as well. The government has been scratching its head for quite a while about how to tackle this and what is happening here is it has talked to the four big operators and said, you put up the money, build the masts, come together, get the network covering most of the country and we will put up most of the country and we will put up some money most of the country and we will put up some money as most of the country and we will put up some money as well. Between them, the big operators have put up £530 billion, and if that happens, the government will put up an extra £500 million so on the face of it, good news, as you say, nicky morgan, the digital secretary, saying shes aiming for 95 coverage by 2025. A reason to celebrate . It is not quite a done deal, as she set herself. First, youve got to get the Legal Paperwork done between the four big operators and Big Companies dont normally Work Together like this because they are in competition with each other. As well, this has to get past the regulator. Effectively, what we are talking about a state aid, £500 million worth so that will have to be signed off either by the eu, or if we have left by then, by the competition and markets authority, so a lot of ifs and buts but ultimately, Everyone Wants to get this done to get this done and fingers crossed it could become and fingers crossed it could become a reality. If it does, great news for the 95 , but what about those 596, for the 95 , but what about those 5 , who and where are they . Basically, they are in very rural areas indeed. If you look at the individual cases of each of the operators, what they tend to say is that they already have Network Coverage where there is a Business Case for it, like they are getting so they are getting a return or so they are getting a return or so they are getting a return or so they are getting a return on their resin. So far flung so they are getting a return on their resin. So farflung corners so they are getting a return on their resin. So far flung corners of their resin. So far flung corners of the country are not getting it, and is 19 out of 20 good enough . Probably not, especially with the big race to get 5g out across the country, faster downloads, more things available on our phones, etc, but do we really need that where a lot of people cant already get 4g at all so still much more to do but this is part of the Government Strategy and was in the quaints speech. Thank you forjoining us. The headlines on bbc news. Eu ambassadors are meeting in brussels to discuss another brexit delay, as borisjohnson calls for a general election on 12th december. Post mortem examinations are to begin on the 39 people who died in a shipping container found on an Industrial Estate in essex. Investigators say mechanical and design problems caused last years lion air plane crash in indonesia, which killed 189 people. And in sport. Jonathan davies has been named in wales starting team for their world cup semifinal against south africa but Liam Williams is out with an ankle injury. England play new zealand on saturday with eddie jones insisting all the pressure is off his side as they face the tournament favourites. Manchester united finally ended their run of 11 away matches without a win. Anthony martials penalty saw them scrape a 1 0 victory over partizan belgrade in the europa league. Arsenal, wolves and celtic also won. Ill be back with more on those stories after half past. Back now to our top story ambassadors from the rest of the eu will meet in brussels this morning to discuss a further delay to brexit. Officials have suggested a decision may not be made until the commons has voted again on whether to hold an early general election. Yesterday, borisjohnson offered to give mps more time to scrutinise his brexit bill, on the condition they agree to a National Poll before christmas. This morning, the chancellor sajid javid has admitted this morning that next weeks brexit deadline will now probably be missed. Weve done Everything Possible to leave on october the 31st. We got that deal that everyone said that we couldnt get. We have planned extremely carefully for a no deal outcome as well, just in case. But because of the actions of parliament, and especially ofJeremy Corbyn, we have had more deer there and delay and now we have to accept we wont able to leave on a table at 3ist we wont able to leave on a table at 31st because parliament has requested an extension and although we have not heard back from the eu yet, it is likely, i think we just have to assume that they will agree to parliaments have to assume that they will agree to pa rliaments request, have to assume that they will agree to parliaments request, not something that we wanted, but they will agree and probably offer a three month extension. Joining me in the studio is former downing Street National security adviser, former ambassador to france and a member of the house of Lords Eu Select Committee lord ricketts. Thank you forjoining us. Good morning. A person perfectly qualified with all of your experience to have an analysis for us experience to have an analysis for us of where we stand now. The eu have to take a decision on the extension, what are they going to decide . I dont envy them because we have got both Political Parties in the uk effectively saying, we cant agree what to do next so could you please tell us what it is going to be . | please tell us what it is going to be . I think certainly they want to avoid a disorderly brexit. They dont want to be seen to be interfering in british politics but equally, they want this to be over because they got other things to get on with. I think they were pretty much geared up to decide today on an extension, perhaps until the end of january. Possibly with a checkpoint on the way to see where things are somewhere in november. I think the fa ct somewhere in november. I think the fact the british political scene is now even more chaotic makes it more difficult for them and therefore probably they will take until monday to try to work out what sequence to be in. We are in a chicken and egg, pretty humiliating for the uk, frankly so i suspect we wont get a decision today. You know you say they have other things to get on with, of course, octoberthe they have other things to get on with, of course, october the 31st was the big deadline in everybody in the uks mind but if you are in europe, another big deadline is a huge changing of the guardian or the eu institutions, new teams coming in on the 1st of november, will that make a difference . In fact, the new tea m make a difference . In fact, the new team is not going to come in for another month because there has been another month because there has been a number of commissioner candidates rejected, including the french one soi rejected, including the french one so i think the new commission will come in closer to the beginning of december but yes, there is a changing of the guard, a new agenda, a new European Parliament and they wa nt to a new European Parliament and they want to get on with other things and the idea of constantly coming back for further extensions is the idea of constantly coming back forfurther extensions is not very attractive to them. That was the attraction of giving us one last three month extension to the end of january. But i think even that is in doubt now under french, as we have heard, are saying, but what is the time for . They are annoyingly logical, the french and they want to know if we are going to any extension time to use full advantage or not. It is quite hard to answer that question. You say that but are they not heartened by the fact that there was a vote earlier this week in favour of the deal they agreed with Boris Johnson in favour of the deal they agreed with borisjohnson last in favour of the deal they agreed with Boris Johnson last week . Yes, andi with Boris Johnson last week . Yes, and i think if we were clearly now on the track of Parliament Giving this proper consideration, doing the job that the brexiteers were campaigning for, taking back control in parliament and coming out with a decision one way or the other, there would be no problem about further delay. The fact that parliament cant get down to that because now the Prime Minister is putting this pressure on about agreeing an election first, that complicates things for the europeans. However, i think it is clear that they will wa nt to think it is clear that they will want to give us some more time because avoiding a disorderly crash out brexit is a high priority for them. I agree with your correspondence that it is now out of the question that we leave on the 3ist the question that we leave on the 31st of october and sum of all this that we are hearing from the Prime Minister is a smoke screen to disguise a withdrawal from that position that he had taken so hard. But for the europeans, that still leaves them with the problem of what kind of length of delay to give us. Imean, many kind of length of delay to give us. I mean, many of the politicians who have to go back to the electorate themselves will understand the difficult calculations in the minds of westminster politicians as they consider an election before or after christmas. They will but of course even an election is not clear yet because it needs a two thirds parliamentary majority which there is not for the moment. If we were clearly on the track of scrutinising the bill, or clearly on the track of an election, then it would be easy for them but the fact we are not quite in one position or the other makes things more complicated. But yes, they understand and they dont wa nt to yes, they understand and they dont want to be in a position of having the blame for pushing the british out of the eu, you know, prematurely. I think inevitably, we are going to be looking at a further delay, and it feels to me like it is going to be one of those decisions which says, you can have potentially until the 31st of january but we will come back in november to take a view as to where things are by then. Thank you forjoining us. About 2000 people in northern california, including the entire population of one town, has been ordered out of their homes to escape a fast moving wildfire in the states wine producing area. The fire began as a relatively small blaze on wednesday but quickly picked up speed, driven by gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour. David willis reports from la. This feels stupid, lets get out of here. A hair raising journey of a Television News crew caught in the midst of a blaze that has destroyed thousands of acres of land. The fire, in californias wine country, to the north of san francisco, brought down power lines and prompted the evacuation of more than 2000 people. The flames spread rapidly, fanned by seasonal so called santa ana winds. The rugged terrain a challenge for firefighters, who have since resorted to dumping water from aircraft overhead. Some here were already having to make do without electricity, after the local Power Company cut supply in the hope of preventing a repeat of fires caused by sparks from outdated equipment. Although, it has been reported that a fault with one of their transmission towers may have been to blame. Californias outdated energy grid is clearly an issue the states governor finds irritating. It is infuriating beyond words, to live in a state as innovative and extraordinarily entrepreneurial and capable as the state of california, to be living in an environment where we are seeing this kind of disruption and these kinds of blackouts. Other fires have broken out to the north of los angeles. 50,000 people have been evacuated, one of those blazes has already devoured more than 3000 acres. Winds are expected to pick up overnight and, for those in the path of the flame, the worst may be yet to come. David willis, bbc news, los angeles. In the last few minutes, officials in indonesia have been holding a news co nfe re nce in indonesia have been holding a News Conference highlighting their findings into the lion air crash last year. All 189 people on board we re last year. All 189 people on board were killed and less than five months later, an Ethiopian Airlines plane of the same boeing model crash, resulting in the grounding of the boeing 737 max and causing a major financial headache for the worlds biggest plane maker. Here to discuss the reports findings, the former British Airways pilot and an aviation consultant. Thank you for joining us. Good morning. We have just had a statement from boeing on this but before we turn to that, lets get your view on the outcome of the investigation. As in all accidents, there are multiple factors that have caused the accident but central to all of this is the mcs system, a system which presses the nose of the aircraft down in the event of the angle of attack, or the aircrafts position in the air relative to the airflow, increasing beyond a certain level, to prevent the aircraft from stalling. Unfortunately, this system was not mentioned in the training manuals and the pilots were not aware of it. In the lion air accident, as the indonesian report has shown, they failed to react correctly to dealing with this situation. However, because they did not know of the system being fitted, they were really up against it. The report has given multiple causes for why this happened, a faulty angle of attack indicator, which was serviced in florida and had not been properly tested, there were pages missing from the technical log from the flight from the technical log from the flight before, the pilots had that problem as well but did not properly reported to the airline so the aircraft was not grounded. It is actually a damning report when you read it, theres a number of errors that led to this accident and were quite significant. Who is it damning of and which organisations . Obviously, the point of the question being, who needs to take action now . Actually, all of the actors in this accident are found to be to blame in some aspect or another. The captain himself, he reported he had flu and had a cough during the flight and one should question whether or not he should have been flying. The first officer did not know how to find the correct quick reference handbook procedure to deal with this incident. He had had handling difficulties in his training. The previous captain of the aircraft had not grounded it, had not reported correctly what had happened during his flight, correctly what had happened during his flight, which was a similar sequence of events and could well have crashed. This aircraft should never have been flying. The other thing is, as i mentioned earlier, the angle of attack indicator, which actually caused this to Automated System to push the nose down, had not been properly calibrated. In fa ct, not been properly calibrated. In fact, it was 21 degrees out, which may not mean much to the viewers but 21 degrees angle of attack difference is significant. It was giving faulty readings to the Automated System are forcing the nose down. I mean, this accident. The other thing is, they are critical of the pilots in the sense that they did not react as test pilots would have reacted. It cant be expected of Airline Pilots to react in the same way as a test pilot might, a highly trained and very experienced individual. But when you read this report, you just think, my goodness, this was absolutely catastrophic. And i suppose some of this, when we get to the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which happened less than five months later, obviously, we cant say yet what caused that, but when you read the report into the lion air incident, do you think, gosh, those planes should have been grounded or looked at sooner . We dont yet have the report on the ethiopian accident but i would be very surprised if the two were not near identical and from what we know, it looks like it is the same thing. Boeing should really have grounded the aircraft earlier, and in fact, the faa and tsb should have acted faster when the problems with the lion air accident became clear. Whilst this report has been made public today, the information had been known to boeing far earlier. There are other issues with this. The federal Aviation Authority had allowed boeing to assess its own standards and equipment. You know, this was really a question of not having proper oversight. Before i let you go, lets talk about boeing because they put out a statement in the last few moments, and some of it says the obvious about how sorry they are, about the deaths involved, heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones who lost their lives in the accidents. They are going to talk about, since this accident, the lion air accident, an unprecedented level of regulatory oversight, testing and analysis. Mcas will now only turn on if both of the senses are great, we are updating the manuals and pilot training. I wont go on but what is important to you when you read their statement . They are addressing the issues to prevent this from happening again, and when they talk about two mcas senses, theyre talking about angle of attack, you have to have redundancy and it has to ta ke have to have redundancy and it has to take readings from both senses before doing something drastic like lowering the nose but this is a far more complex issue. The horizontal stabiliser, which is the part of the aircraft which moves to lower the nose in the event of a high angle of attack, that was actually redesigned to force the nose down at a far greater level than had initially been required under their own Design Principles and that meant the pilots, no matter how they pull back on the control column, could not counter it. It is a complex system and there are cutout switches as well. But if the pilots did not know the system was on board, they were really u p the system was on board, they were really up against it. And so, a quick answer on, when you read the statement from boeing, anything in it that surprises you or is it the predictable and is it the correct response in your view . It seems to be the correct response, they would be the correct response, they would be very foolish if they were to do anything less that the proper response. But this report is by the indonesian authorities, and rightly so because it was there aircraft. Boeing has said it is a thorough report and that they will take on board everything that is critical in it. I think that is right and proper that they do so. As for the 737 max, of which they had 5000 orders, it is difficult to know where they are going to take it because the aircraft was supposed to be back in service some time ago and now it does not look like it will be in service until next year and i might add, if at all. Thank you for joining us. That has really helped us joining us. That has really helped us through the story. It has been a fine start to the day but we have some heavy rain moving on courtesy of a weather system towards the atlantic. You can see the associated fronts pushing in from the south west. Low pressure in the finals will give some showers and strong winds in Northern Areas of scotland, but that weather fronts will be giving us contrasting temperatures today. For many southern areas, 15 to 17 degrees but towards northern parts, really quite chilly in the afternoon. The rain is the main talking point. It will be heavy for south west england, wales, the midlands into Northern England. Further north across scotland, some showers and gales. Dryer towards the south east. But with the rain persisting right through the night and into tomorrow, some high rainfall totals are expected into saturday morning as the rain spreads into the south east of england. But throughout today and into tomorrow, because of the heavy rain, there is a Flooding Risk and potential travel disruption. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines borisjohnson says mps can have more time to debate his brexit deal if they agree to an early general election as the chancellor admits next weeks brexit deadline will almost certainly be missed. Eu ambassadors are meeting in brussels this morning, as the bloc considers whether to grant another extension to the uks departure. Postmortem examinations are to begin on the 39 people who died in a shipping containerfound on an Industrial Estate in essex. Investigators say mechanical and design problems caused last years lion air plane crash in indonesia, which killed 189 people. Englands preparing for one of its biggest rugby games in over a decade tomorrow, as the side takes on new zealand in the world cup semi final. Time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. Lets start with brexit, as there continues to be lots of interest in all the latest developments after borisjohnson called for an early election on december 12th. Its currently one of the most read stories on the bbc news website. Its not yet clear whether mr johnson will manage to get an election or not. But if he does, how are the different parties likely to fare . Sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at strathclyde university, has been speaking to Martha Kearney on the bbcs radio 4 today programme. She asked him whether the Prime Ministers likely failure to deliver on his do or die pledge to leave the eu on october 31st could end up benefiting the brexit party. Inevitably, the answer to that question, martha, is perhaps. I can certainly find you polling out there. Indeed, some of it was released again yesterday, that asked people, if we havent left by the end of october, how will you vote . And the conservative vote as reported in those circumstances goes down and the Brexit Party Vote goes up. But of course, the way in which borisjohnson has been playing this has been very much in such a way as to try to avoid the blame for not leaving at the end of october. It of course starts with saying its all to do with parliament and the benn act. Its to do with the reluctance of parliament to actually pass the programme motion. Its the fact that he didnt sign the letter asking for the extension. And now he is saying, i am still willing to get the bill through, but by the way, i want an election once it has come through. All of this is designed to try to say to leave voters, it wasnt me thats responsible. And by the way, its the opposition that is responsible for the delay. Therefore, you have to vote for me to ensure that brexit goes through. That will be his argument. Nigel farage will point out that this is the third time in a row that the conservatives have failed to deliver and by the way, why dont we just leave without a deal . Thats what we should be doing. It will be the relative strength of those arguments that matter if we do end up in an election, because the conservatives prospects of winning do rest on their continued ability to squeeze the Brexit Party Vote, in which theyve had a fair degree of success over recent weeks and months. Coming up on bbc newsroom live well be answering your questions on the latest brexit developments, and a possible early election thats at 11. 30 with Maddy Thimont jack, a Senior Researcher on the institute for governments brexit team. Send us your questions via text on 611211, tweet us using the hashtag bbc ask this, or email us at askthis bbc. Co. Uk now onto another of our most read stories on the bbc news website this morning. Huge crowds have been scaling uluru, the giant australian monolith formerly known as ayers rock, before the climb is banned from tomorrow. The local Indigenous People waged a successful legal battle to have restrictions imposed because uluru has deep spiritual significance to them. Well, theres been plenty of discussion about this on social media this morning and the hashtags uluru and uluruclimb are trending. Twitter user bill knight says he climbed uluru a month ago. He describes the experience as awesome and he says he feels for everyone who didnt get to do it. A different view from another twitter user, leo dangelo fisher. He says people who scrambled to be among the last to climb uluru, knowing why future climbs have been banned, are the most disrespectful of all climbers. And Lorraine Williams says she and her husband travelled to uluru on her honeymoon. She says the best view is from the ground and that they never even thought about climbing the rock or going against the wishes of an entire nation. Now, do you know an asian hornet or an oak processionary moth caterpillar when you see one . If so, your country might just need you. According to mps, some 1. 3 million volunteers should be recruited to tackle invasive non native species, as the effects of Climate Change threaten the future of the uks natural landscape. A report by the Environmental Audit Committee Suggests that between 36 and 48 new such species will become established in the next 20 years. This story is currently the most read on the bbc news website, and a lot of todays newspapers have also picked up on this story. On its front page, the Financial Times reports that mps have called for the creation of a 1. 3 million strong Citizens Army to defend British Wildlife from foreign invaders. It says the voluntary soldiers would be urged to use a Government App to report sightings of Invasive Species, such as asian tiger mosquitoes and oak processionary caterpillars. Meanwhile, the guardian says the uk has one of the highest numbers of Invasive Species in the world because of an increase in travel and the transportation of goods. Well, the proposal has caught many peoples attention on social media today. Caroline lucas, the green party mp, asks if you can you spot the Invasive Species in the pictures shes tweeted out . If so, she says, youd be a good candidate for a biosecurity Citizens Army of volunteers to identify outbreaks of Invasive Species the Natural History society of northumbria tweeted that they are incredibly proud of the diligent volunteers who help them monitor and manage non native species at gosforth nature reserve. And ande dexter, who describes himself as a nature fan, simply asks where do isign up . A quick look at what else is the most watched on the website. That was our top story, almost read story, the Invasive Species. Brexit is obviously also up there. Uk payday lending giant quick quid to close. And survival sex, the question of the link of survival sex to the problems with universal benefit. That is also a much read story. Most watched as the trump impeachment story out of washington. And a huge amount of activity this week in the impeachment process, the republican protests, the former senior diplomat giving explosive testimony to the impeachment. That is one. And the lion air plane crash as well. There is a sad video about the family of one victim from the plane crash, with the father saying they had an early sight of the investigative report we were talking about a moment ago, and the families are still not happy. They still have many questions. That is a picture of his son, who was among the 189 People Killed in the lion air crash a year ago People Killed in the lion air crash a yearago in People Killed in the lion air crash a year ago in that boeing 737 max. Thats it for todays morning briefing. Sport now. And for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres sally nugent. Good morning. Overnight, wales have named their team sundays Rugby World Cup semifinal. Liam williams has been ruled out of the game against south africa with an ankle injury Leigh Halfpenny will replace him. Jonathan davies and hadleigh parks are in the team despite being injury doubts. He is undoubtedly a big loss from an attacking perspective and, you know, what he has achieved in the game in the last year or so. But bringing in the experience of somebody like Leigh Halfpenny is. I think it gives us a different element. I think he is probably defensively the best full back in the world. England take on tournament favourites new zealand in the first semi final tomorrow morning. England have been training today in very wet weather in yokohama. It is expected to clear up for saturday but it did mean that englands Training Session was delayed today. Head coach eddiejones has been spending the week putting the pressure on the all blacks saying they are expected to win but what is his plan to beat them . He has been speaking to our Sports Editor dan roan. We just want to attack them. To beat new zealand, you cant sit and be a spectator at the show. You have got to be on the stage. You have got to be making the script. Ourjob is to make the script on saturday. What has changed about this team . Only a few months ago in that game at twickenham at the end of the six nations, it was the latest example of your site getting a good start and then you talked about a mental block. How have you addressed that ina block. How have you addressed that in a short space of time . A lot of it is experience. You learn from experience. Sport is one of those things where some things, you cant teach, you have to learn from experience. The other thing is that the team has worked much harder off the team has worked much harder off the field to be a tidy unit and that helps them get through difficult situations. Our correspodent andy swiss has been catching up with a few fans in a very wet yokohama. Its a little bit wet, i will be honest, in yokohama. We have the edge of a typhoon at the moment. We have had torrential rain all day but im delighted to bejoined by a group of intrepid fans who have joined me. How confident are you about englands chances on saturday . The fact that new zealand are switching their team around, which they didnt do for the whole of the last world cup, they are on the back foot. I am confident. Last world cup, they are on the back foot. Iam confident. How last world cup, they are on the back foot. I am confident. How excited are you to be injapan for a world cup semifinal . I am trying to contain myself. I am about to explode. Cant believe we are here. Its awesome. Letsjust explode. Cant believe we are here. Its awesome. Lets just wait until tomorrow. Madame, let me ask you, how excited are you and how optimistic are you for england . think we will do this. Who is going to be the star . 0h, all of them and what are you making of the experience in japan . Its amazing. We have not stopped since we have got here. Everyone is so helpful. We dont want to go home. We dont want it to end. And in terms of englands chances, the all blacks are an incredible team. Have they got what it takes . Yeah. I expect it to happen. That confident . Very confident. Here comes steve, the one wales fa n confident. Here comes steve, the one wales fan up against these five lions. South africa on sunday, how confident do you feel . 10096 confident. We didnt have the best game against france. We have had the bad game, now lets put that behind us. We can go all the way. Bad news about Liam Williams being out today. It isa about Liam Williams being out today. It is a shame. Halfpenny can play. And what would it mean to wales to reach a first World Cup Final . The whole population would be absolutely delighted. Parties in the streets, i think. South africa are a physical team. Do you have any worries . No at all. We have got south africa to beat, and hopefully these lions after us. And a quick score prediction for wales . Wales 25, south africa 18. And the pride of lions, can i ask for a collective score prediction . 3022. Within seven or eight. And i wales england final . Definitely. Lets do this. Fantastic, thank you all forjoining us, particularly in this weather. So from a rather soggy yokohama, back to you, sally. He weather is apparently set to improve tomorrow, thank goodness. The build up to the semi finals dominate the back pages this morning with eddie jones at centre stage. The telegraph has him smiling as he aims to knock new zealand off their perch at the top of world rugby. The express says sup fo the cup. Eddie jones has been encouraging fans to bring the atmosphere tomorrow suggesting fans enjoy a few drinks beforehand. And the daily mail says the rfu are trying to getjones to stay in hisjob until the next world cup in 2023 he is currently contacted for the next two years. You can listen to Live Commentary of both games on 5live. They both start at 9am and you can keep across of all the build up and live text on the bbc sport website and app. Thats all the sport for now. Its less than a week to go until the heavily anticipated Public Inquiry report into the Grenfell Tower fire is released which happens to be just the day before britain is supposed to leave the eu. Its something that grenfell survivors have described as deeply frustrating. Our reporter ashley john ba ptiste has been to meet former Grenfell Residents one claims that survivors and the bereaved have lost trust with the inquiry. Lovely to meet you again. Antonio lived on the tenth floor of Grenfell Tower with his 29 year old son christopher. They escaped during Early Morning of the fire. He recently moved into this permanent flat provided by the royal borough of kensington and chelsea. As the first survivor to give evidence at the enquiry, he has concerns with the enquiry, he has concerns with the timing of the report. The timing is absolutely wrong. It coincides exactly with the timing and the date of brexit, the 31st of this month. It makes me feel upset. It makes me feel like we have been taken for a ride, like, are you serious . This cannot be. This is so important. What are you hearing from other survivors and berry . They do not trust this guy any more. According to the mp for kensington, which is the area of Grenfell Tower, many residents are frustrated. A lot of people think it is deliberate. We have been assured that it isnt deliberate but it feels like it, and whether or not it is deliberate, it isa whether or not it is deliberate, it is a very bad time for people who wa nt is a very bad time for people who want people to take this seriously and pay due attention. Responding to concerns, the grenfell enquiry told us this man has polio and relies on crutches. He lived in Grenfell Tower with his wife and daughter and is still traumatised from the fire. Do you still get flashbacks . Yes. If smoke a cigarette now, i am scared if anything will happen. When i am sleeping, i dream that something happened in my flat, so i go outside. I need fresh air in the flat. He is also concerned about the timing of the enquiry report. Disappointed about it. We are not happy to have the report in this time. Do you trust the Enquiry Panel . I dont trust them, to be honest, until i their report. For antonio and mahar, the fact that the enquiry continues makes it hard for them to find closure . Do you find any sense of closure . No. More on that next week. Huge crowds are hoping to climb one of australias best known landmarks today the giant rock, uluru before a permanent ban on scaling it takes effect tomorrow. Hundreds have been queuing up to make the ascent on the tourist hotspot formerly known as ayers rock but high winds have delayed the start for many. Phil mercer reports. All the way through the day, people have been making their way up slowly. It is an arduous climb from the base to the top of uluru and todayis the base to the top of uluru and today is a monumental day, the day that Aboriginal People have been asking forfor that Aboriginal People have been asking for for many years. Rising from the desert, uluru is breathtaking. Indigenous australians say it has a power and a spirituality like nowhere else. This is generally the most popular time of the day for people who want to get to the top of the rock to start their ascent. Its pretty cool, its quite windy as well. Today is obviously their last opportunity to do that. All the way through, local Indigenous People have urged people not to try to reach the top of uluru. For them, its a sacred place. Land is at the heart of Indigenous Culture and climbing the rock is deemed to be culturally insensitive. But these climbers are putting their ambitions first. Its a good feeling being up there. Its probably not going to be a real good feeling when they say you cant. I dont believe that all Aboriginal People think that and feel that. Some weve spoken to say they dont really care. I think its really disrespectful, but we climbed yesterday. Only because its been our dream. Once you got there, it was incredible. It was spiritual when you got to the top, and my boyfriend did propose, so i think it was a pretty good experience tribal elders say there will be an overwhelming sense of relief when the climb finally closes. The burden will be lifted as of today, as i am speaking. I can feel it. Now its time for the climb to have a good rest and heal up. While some are rushing for one last climb, most visitors keep their feet firmly on the red desert floor. Because its the fact that its a sacred place and i dont feel like being sacrilegious so, no, id ratherwalk round. Its not universally popular, but closing the climb will bring to an end years of distress for Aboriginal People. Phil mercer, bbc news, uluru. When you arrive by plane, you get an immediate sense of how colossal this rock is. Its almost like it is emerging from the red desert floor. So you get a sense of the size of it. The closer you get, the more in tune you become with the spiritual nature of the rock, and that is because all around, there are various signs and bits of information telling you that every nook and cranny, every cave, every ridge tells the story of indigenous creation. And that feeling of spirituality is only enhanced when you speak to Aboriginal People. They say that there is nowhere else like this in australia, nowhere else as spiritual and culturally significant for them. In a field near bristol, the closest thing to an ocean has been created. The aim . To bring the joys of the sea to a whole new wave of people and make surfing accessible to all. Heres our environment correspondent claire marshall. First light, and surfers are gathering. But this isnt hawaii or newquay. This is a field just outside bristol, because there are waves breaking in the middle of the countryside. Weve been given exclusive access to the final test phase of a revolutionary inland surf lake. Whoa Jayce Robinson has driven here from st ives, the very tip of cornwall. He is the first pro surfer to be allowed in the water. Look at it, its just so glassy, and its like the maldivian ocean. All this was nick houndsfields idea. Its taken almost a decade. Well done, so good, so good. Weve got a real opportunity of getting people, and particularly kids, off computers, getting them outdoors, getting them interacting with nature and improving Peoples Health and well being. Surf music. The amazing thing about this is the technology. The base of this lake is shaped exactly like the reefs in the ocean that produce these kinds of waves, the best in the world. This is green belt land. The lake needed to fit into the landscape. 16,000 trees are going to be planted around it. And it is truly open to everyone. Spike kane, a surfing legend, has worked with nick for years. So how does it make you feel to see it . Im like, emotionally, im a mess right now. Im just, like, look at this im at a complete loss for words, how incredible it is. You never know with these kind of projects, what ends up happening, and the result isjust pristine, perfect blue water and lovely waves, so, win win. Some say it will never match the open ocean, but now people have the choice where to paddle out. Claire marshall, bbc news, the wave, near bristol. If heights make you uneasy, then the latest sky high Observation Deck built in new york might not be for you. Located 1,000 feet above street level, on a brand new skyscraper, its one of the highest outdoor Observation Decks in the world. For real thrill seekers, theres a glass bottomed floor where you can see the streets below, and even angled glass, so you can lean out above the city. Now its time for a look at the weather with simon king. Iam not i am not sure about that we have an unpleasant 21 hours ahead of us with heavy rain moving in from the south west, all courtesy of this area of low pressure which is way out into the atlantic. But look at this wiggling front moving its way in across the uk. Low pressure towards the far north will give us some strong winds. There is a real temperature contrast. Two very Different Air masses across the uk. Mild airto the Different Air masses across the uk. Mild air to the south, colder air coming into the north. It is going to feel very different depending where you are today. For Northern Areas, temperatures are 809 celsius. Further south, really mild. Areas, temperatures are 809 celsius. Furthersouth, really mild. But areas, temperatures are 809 celsius. Further south, really mild. But it is also mainly about the rain today. It is moving across wales, the midlands and Northern Areas of england. Some spreading into southern scotland and northern ireland. But for the north of scotland, heavier showers here. A bit drier towards the south east of england, but it is south east england, but it is south east england and wales and into Northern England and wales and into Northern England where they could be a lot of rainfall as we go through tonight and into tomorrow. There could be some localised Flooding Issues with that and travel disruption. If you are travelling later this afternoon and tomorrow morning, lots of surface water spray on the roads and a Flooding Risk, mainly over higher ground. But on saturday morning, it will stay mild across southern areas. Really quite chilly across the north, temperatures close to freezing. Here is our rainfall during saturday. It is going to gradually move south and eastwards, so eventually, south east england sees that heavy rain. Then it will clear up. Quite chilly for many of us, but again, a real temperature contrast. We have mild air in the south east. Further north, seven or 8 degrees. On sunday, the cold front will push away the milder air, so all of us will see a chilly start on sunday morning, particularly for northern parts, where there will be fussed around. But it should be a glorious start on the day for many of us. Remember, the clocks go back on sunday morning, so you get an extra hour in bed. Most days will have a gyre day and it will again feel quite chilly. Most areas will have a drier day. If you have travel plans over the weekend, it is worth staying tuned to the forecast. This hello, its friday, its 10 oclock. Im joanna gosling. The postmortems start on the bodies of some of the 39 people found dead in a lorry in essex. They are believed to be chinese nationals. Ill be talking to the chief Police Investigator in the Morecambe Bay tragedy where 23 chinese cockle pickers drowned. Ill also be asking a human rights lawyer about her experiences working with victims of trafficking. After promising that wed leave the eu, do or die, on october 31st, the Prime Minister now admits we wont be and that he wants an election on december 12th. Will the opposition parties give him his wish . We have to accept we wont be able to leave on october the 31st because parliament has requested