and coming up in the sport on bbc news: johanna konta continues to impress. she becomes the first british woman to make the final of the miami 0pen. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the european union has given its first formal response to the uk's decision to trigger article 50, and begin the process of leaving the eu. the president of the european council, donald tusk, warned the talks would be "complex and sometimes confrontational". and he said negotiations on future trade relations would only start after there had been what he called "sufficient progress" on the separation settlement between the eu and the uk. he was speaking at a meeting of eu leaders in malta, from where our europe correspondent, chris morris, sent this report. trying to get serious. two days ago donald tusk expressed emotion at the prospect of the uk leaving the eu. this morning it was down to business. he has sent draft negotiating deadlines to the other 27 countries setting up tough tone for two years of talks. he says they could be difficult, complex and sometimes confrontational. the eu says four issues should be discussed first. the rights of citizens, legal certainty for businesses, the size of the divorce bill and the border between northern ireland and the republic. 0nly between northern ireland and the republic. only then is it prepared to talk about a future trade relationship. whilst and only whilst we have achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal can we discuss the framework for our future relationship. darting parallel talks on issues at the same time as suggested by some in the uk will not happen. donald tusk suggested that the uk would have little say in the matter. what does sufficient progress in men and who is it that will define it? eu 27 decides if sufficient progress has been achieved. probably in the autumn.- least i hope so. there was also a warning that the uk should not try to hold separate discussions with individual member states. divide and rule, the eu insists, will not be allowed. plenty for the government to chew on. at the nato meeting in brussels the foreign secretary was keen to emphasise the positive. both sides genuinely want an ambitious partnership in the future. we really are moving forward and there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition and a deep and special partnership between a strong eu and a strong uk. no one ever thought this was going to be easy. this document from the eu shows how many hurdles there are going to be along the road. and if there were to be a transition phase between full membership and a totally new relationship in the future it suggest that the uk would have to accept that current laws and budget contributions would continue to apply. and chris is in malta. crucially he said that trade talks could begin maybe later this year. yes. that has always been the eu position. not ruling out the idea of parallel negotiations at any time within the next two years but not starting with them. the separation arrangements, the divorce bill, as to be sorted out first. the key thing as it is going to be the other 27 countries who decide whether enough progress has been made. if it has then potentially in the autumn initial talks about a future trade relationship. the uk government would still like to complete negotiations on a free—trade agreement with the rest of the eu in the two—year period. i have not spoken to any other eu official who thinks that is possible so maybe some general terms about how things could go forward but then towards the end of the two year period the eu is suggesting we have to talk about the transition from here to there and that will also be a further complication. do not forget, at the moment these are draft guidelines. they will be debated by the 27 member states over the next months and the 27 leaders will meet at the end of april for a summit to approve them. you can see clearly the uk is not involved in the summit oi’ the uk is not involved in the summit or the debate about them. this is a process from the eu perspective won it believes it is leading. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. their reaction? the government has been trying to accentuate the positive. downing street made it clear they believe both sides wanted to approach the talks constructively. we heard from boris johnson saying there was a lot of goodwill so no attempt to fan the fla mes goodwill so no attempt to fan the flames with the remaining 27 members of the eu but theresa may's political opponents certainly trying to turn up the heat. in a terrible pun, the liberal democrat suggested the prime minister had been taken to tusk by donald tusk. the key demands that the prime minister made on parallel negotiations and deals for industry, none of that was likely to happen and she had been carless to isolate herself from potential allies. ukip did not attack the government. but a tag eu leaders saying they are being inflexible. and seeing that they are brittle. if the talks are phased in the way the donald tusk suggest that there is a lot of emphasis on the divorce bill first before seeing some of the potential benefits of leaving the eu then some members of her party might start to say, if there's divorce bill is too high, we should walk away, get out with no deal. waiting times will be longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, as a "trade off" for improvements in a&e performance, and better treatment in other areas. that's according to the head of nhs england, simon stevens, who's unveiling a strategy for the nhs over the next two years. he says increasing patient demand and the growth in new treatments mean that "choices have to be made". our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. how have you been feeling? not too bad, thank you. at the age of 97, iris need a little help, especially after recovering from a recent illness. so her gp called a local nhs service that provides the right care in the right place and for iris, that was home. the treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful. they have said, you need a commode, it was there straightaway. you need a walking frame, it was there straightaway. without help at home, iris might have ended up here, in her local a&e. one of the big challenges facing busy emergency departments like this one is how to reduce the sheer pressure in terms of numbers of patients who are attending, particularly those frail, older people who might be treated at home. so today's announcement reflects a broader push to keep people out of hospital whenever possible. nhs england leaders are taking stock of progress since their five—year plan was published in 2014. a new strategy also focuses on improved cancer survival rates, increased access to mental health therapies and recruiting more gps. but nhs leaders are warning that faced with limited resources, there will be a trade—off between these improvements and other services. for example, people may have to wait longer for nonurgent operations. there is a solution and that lies in encouraging different component parts of the nhs to work much more closely together along with local authorities and social services to help us get people out of hospital. but medical unions say patients with conditions such as heart disease or chronic pain will be affected. these things are being de—prioritised at the moment whereas i think that to an individual patient, the important thing is to be able to treat every patient on time as to what they need. and today, it's clearer than ever the money available to the health service means tough decisions are being made. there is only a fixed pot of money for the nhs and social care and we can't meet all of the priorities that matter to patients and the public without additional funding so the onus is on politicians, nhs leaders to start a discussion with the public about what the nhs can afford. a crisis in a&e, the collapse of social care and financial problems have all threatened to blow the nhs england five—year plan off course. today, the health service is trying to refocus on what works for patients like iris. let's talk to our health editor hugh pym. tell us more about what simon stevens had to say. he was making a speech here at the aldershot centre for health, one of the bigger centres of its kind in the bigger centres of its kind in the country which combines gp practices, a pharmacy, dentist, mental health services, you can get a scan here, the point is to keep people out of hospitals they can come to the local health centre and get a broader range of treatments and he would like to see more of this centre around england. he is saying the nhs can only do so much and hospital treatment is expensive and hospital treatment is expensive and there can be improvements in cancer treatment, mental health, more investment in gp services, but something has to give, and that is these waiting lists for routine operations, conceding there will have to get longer. i pushed him on that and he spelt out what he meant. what we need to do is we need to fix the most urgent problems first and i think most people can see that ensuring our a&es and our gp services are able to properly look after people across the country. it's got to be the top priority. then, having done that, obviously in the period ahead, we want to be able to also ensure we are meeting the waiting times guarantees, that are, by some measure, the fastest guarantee for patients that any western country offers. simon stephens. doesn't boil down to money? many would say it does and when asked about the money simon stephens does not want to answer the question. he said with the money i have got this is what we can do. we can doa have got this is what we can do. we can do a lot but things like waiting lists will have to expand. he got into an argument with the government by suggesting he did not have the money he asked for so he has consciously decided not to set to play to ask for more funding but to say this is what i can do with the money you offered and leave others to make the case for more funding perhaps. in the last few minutes a letter has been formally sent to downing street requesting an independence referendum for scotland. in it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. the prime minister has already said it won't happen before brexit is complete. our scotland correspondent james shaw is in edinburgh. tell us more about this letter. in her letter the first minister nicola sturgeon says there is no rational reason why the prime minister should project our request for a second independence referendum. if it is an issue of claiming she says the vote could take place after brexit negotiations have finished so that people in scotland have a choice between brexit and independence. she also hinted at what her reaction might be if our request is rejected. my view, the will of the scottish parliament must be respected. it is a question not of if it is respected but how. if the prime minister chooses not to do that i will set out to parliament over the next few weeks what i intend to do to make sure that the will of the parliament is respected and we make progress towards giving the people of scotland the choice. what might that response be? perhaps in the worst—case scenario it could be the first minister somehow disrupting or delaying the legislative process which is intended to repatriate to bring back powers from europe to the united kingdom and ministers here in edinburgh and london will be thinking about how disruptive that could be. the time is very nearly quarter past one. our top story this lunchtime. complex and confrontational: the eu warns britain about the road to exiting the european union. and still to come, i'll be reporting on the reopening of us —— this, the settle to ca rlisle on the reopening of us —— this, the settle to carlisle line and the arrival of arguably the most famous stea m arrival of arguably the most famous steam engine in the light —— world. a shock defeat for defending champion judd trump who a shock defeat for defending championjudd trump who is out of his title defence in china. it's one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects ever seen in britain — and its aim is to save at least 20 species from extinction — creatures like the black click beetle, the shrill carder bee and the natterjack toad. the back from the brink campaign is being launched today. it's an £8 million scheme backed by the heritage lottery fund. and it's hoped thousands of people will volunteer to help, as duncan kennedy reports. they are the most striking, the most elusive and the most endangered species in britain. but today, a project begins to save them. when they reach the right temperature they automatically begin to use their sonar. jenny clark has been protecting bats for 30 years and is joining today's campaign called back from the brink. if this one were to go to extinction, what will that mean to somebody like you? it would be an appalling loss and a great tragedy and it mustn't happen. we would be absolutely bereft if we lost the grey long—eared. the natterjack toad is another of the 20 species facing extinction. so too, the ladybird spider. £8 million of heritage lottery and otherfunds is being put in to create the back from the brink project, but the organisers say it will only work if the publicjoin in. the ambition is to involve 1.3 million people, engage over 5000 volunteers actually going out surveying, recording, monitoring species. so there will be lots of opportunities for the public to really get involved. and here, at this nature reserve in dorset, some of the first of those 5000 volunteers have just started work. the public is needed to help identify the threatened species and record details of their habitats. back from the brink's top 20 also includes adders and the shrill carder bee, with 30 organisations coming together in this unprecedented scheme. we depend on each and every one of the species, even the ones that are perhaps less fashionable or more obscure than some others. they all have their own interesting story to tell. from woods, to back garden ponds, this four—year project will seek out the 20 at—risk species and dozens of others who can join them. human activity may be causing their problems, but now human action will try to save them. duncan kennedy, bbc news in dorset. the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, has denied a report in the times newspaper that a funding shortfall has left the armed forces trying to find an extra billion pounds in savings every year for the next ten years. the claim's based on an analysis by the national audit office and conversations with seven serving and former senior officers. the defence secretary says he accepts the budget is tight but no cuts have been signed off yet. richard galpin reports. the armed forces are in the midst of a major upgrade. new aircraft carriers, planes and submarines on order. but all this now reportedly leaving a £10 billion hole in a defence ministry's budget. the report has comejust defence ministry's budget. the report has come just as the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, holds talks here with his us counterpart, james matters. the americans want all nato member states to have well funded defence budgets and therefore effective military forces. and there are now fears that the reported budget problem here could lead to cuts to the royal marines. and my mac has not ruled this out. the royal navy is growing over all, growing by around 400, because the royal navy is getting new ships, new submarines, and then it is up to the first sea lord as to the number of sailors he has and royal marines he has. the estimated price tag for the royal navy's dreadnought submarines increased by £620 million between 2015 and 2016. the project will take several decades to complete. and the cost of the left 35 joint strike fighters, bought from the united states, has increased by £843 million. it is still not known when the new aircraft carriers will be commissioned. some of our major potential opponents like iran, china and russia are improving their capabilities day by day. we are not matching those capabilities, nor are we providing the technologies that are needed to suppress some of their systems. at a separate meeting today in brussels, nato foreign ministers are holding talks with the us secretary of state, rex tillerson. britain is one of a minority of member states which does meet its commitment of spending 2% of gdp on defence. right now, hundreds of british and other nato troops are in estonia and other areas bordering russia. part of an operation to counter russia's current aggressive foreign policy. this is a time when nato needs to be particularly strong. richard galpin, bbc news at lancaster house. the driver of the bin lorry that crashed in glasgow killing six people has been banned from driving for three years. harry clarke was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and will be tagged forfour months. the 60—year—old had already admitted culpable and reckless driving nine months after the fatal crash in 2014. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. three days before christmas and in a glasgow street packed with shoppers, a bin lorry driven by harry clarke ran out of control. he'd lost consciousness and for 19 seconds the vehicle careered through the busy city centre thoroughfare knocking down pedestrians. six people died. erin mcquade, her grandparents jack and lorraine sweeney, jacqueline mortan, stephanie tait and gillian ewing. the fatal accident enquiry that followed found the tragedy could have been avoided if clarke hadn't lied about his history of blackouts. he had his licence revoked on medical grounds. nine months after the crash though, clarke was spotted by neighbours driving out of a car parked near his home. he pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless driving. in sendings him, sheriff, martinjones, said clarke had been wholly irresponsible and reprehensible his vehicle while his licence was revoked. he said, in so doing, the 60—year—old had placed the public at risk. are you sorry, mr clarke? harry clarke was never prosecuted over the bin lorry crash and an attempt by some of the families of those who died to bring a private prosecution, failed. clarke stated through his lawyer today that nothing said in mitigation was intended to diminish the losses suffered by so many people as a result of that accident and said it was a gross error ofjudgment to drive his car nine months later, knowing he was unfit to drive. lorna gordon, bbc news at the sheriff court in glasgow. a man remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital after being stabbed during an attack at his home in the west midlands — that left his wife and teenage son dead. detectives are continuing to question a man in his 20's who was arrested nearby. phil mackie is in stourbridge. yes, that man is still in custody, he has been there for more than 24 hours now. at some stage scene, west midlands police will have to decide whether to charge, release him or apply for an extension. a stream of people have been laying flowers outside their home this morning, including school friends of the 13—year—old boy who was killed in that stabbing incident yesterday morning. we had a statement from the school in which they said that he was a loyal, caring and conscientious people who will be missed by all members of the school community. he always met everyone with a smile and was a kind and thoughtful young man. it goes on to talk about how passionate he was about west bromwich and his pet greyhound, mandy. infact, about west bromwich and his pet greyhound, mandy. in fact, the headteacher came and laid some flowers here not long ago. we know very little about the man in custody other than that the family knew him. he may even have stayed with them at some stage. the police have said it wasn't a burglary or a robbery and they are still questioning him at they are still questioning him at the moment. the good news about the father, peter wilkinson, the moment. the good news about the father, peterwilkinson, is that the moment. the good news about the father, peter wilkinson, is that he has stabilised. but yesterday morning, obviously terrible news when the police arrived to find his wife dead and his son dying. hotels, restaurants and the tourism sector are warning that they'll face a recruitment crisis if eu immigration is heavily restricted after britain leaves the eu. the british hospitality association says it relies on 60,000 eu workers a year — and it will a decade to recruit enough british workers to fill those posts. 0ur industry correspondent, john moylan reports. here we go... at butlins in bognor regis, they are gearing up for the summer season. around 40% of the staff here are from outside the uk and the boss says they would face a recruitment crisis if brexit causes that supply of workers to be cut off. if the tap was just turned off straightaway, that would be very difficult. we are where we are at the moment, we rely on a third of our workplace from european employees. to be able to turn that straight off and replace it straight off would be very difficult. we are in the hospitality industry, we are in the service industry, you actually have to employ people who like to serve people. tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10% of the economy. now a new report is warning that restrictions on foreign labour could hit it harder than any other sector. the uk's hospitality sector employs around 3 million workers, but it's highly reliant on overseas staff. 24% of the workforce are eu migrants. they could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is tightly controlled. the industry wants to reduce its dependence on eu workers. its new ten year strategy includes recruiting more unemployed and older workers in the uk. one thing we have to do in the united kingdom is to actually tackle the perception of careers in our industry which isn't necessarily the same as it is in france, switzerland, austria or germany. hospitality careers there are actually seen as a career of choice. the government says that while it will end free movement as it is now, it will design a new immigration system that is in the national interest. john moylan, bbc news. the flying scotsman was back on one of the uk's most scenic tracks this morning as it marked the re—opening of the settle—to—carlisle rail line. the famous train took the scenic route through the yorkshire dales and the eden valley, a year after a major landslip closed it. danny savage is in settle. sophie, one of the most charming things about this railway line is that it looks like something from yesteryear. you can see the water tower there ready for steam engines tower there ready for steam engines to come through on excursions, an old fashioned signalling box as well. despite it looking like this, something from the last century, there has been a real drive over the last year or so to get this line open again. at lunchtime today, one of the most famous names in the world of steam arrived at appleby, a station on one of the most famous rail lines in britain. after being closed for 16 months, the settle to carlisle route is open again. everyone has a personal reason for being here. i think it'sjust childhood memories. the smoke, the dirt, the crime, —— the grime, the coal dust. when you think what they have accomplished lately, it's amazing what they have achieved. it's an ever—changing scene. you come in the winter, comeback in the summer come in the winter, comeback in the summerand come in the winter, comeback in the summer and it's a completely different picture. there are so many villages on the line to explore. the villages on the line to explore. the village we are coming into now is lovely. this line is famous for its landscape. it runs through the high pennines and the national park, over this by duct and into the beautiful eden valley in cumbria. but a landslip south of carlisle left it closed to through traffic until today. network rail say the £23 million repairjob is the most challenging project they have undertaken in their 15 year history. a year undertaken in their 15 year history. ayearago, we undertaken in their 15 year history. a year ago, we had a landslide of 500,000 tonnes of dirt slipping into the eden gorge. we have done a really complicated repair, drilling into the rock below, putting 16,000 tonnes of concrete on top and today we are open for business. although this wonderful locomotive is attracting all the headlines today, the big issue for the remote villages along this line is that they have got their main transport line back and that means the return of business and visitors. built in 18605, of business and visitors. built in 1860s, threatened with closure in the 1980s, this old —fashioned 1860s, threatened with closure in the 1980s, this old—fashioned but much loved railway route is open again, a new era celebrated style. and hundreds of people were on the platform here to see the flying scotsman pass—through about an hour 01’ so ago. scotsman pass—through about an hour or so ago. it will be going south later today, back down the route, with lots of people watching. it's perfect time for this line to reopen, head of the easter holidays and running into the summer, with the hope that the number of passengers on this line will rise sharply in the coming months. a californian space company has made history by launching a used rocket back into space. spacex has developed a way of landing its boosters — which are the most expensive part of a rocket — safely on earth after a mission. the company said it was a huge revolution in space flight after the rocket re—landed on a ship in the atlantic. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willets. hi there. it's an improving picture with the change of month tomorrow. some sunshine in cornwall right now with showers to come later. a little louder up in scotland. slightly different to yesterday, but we are seeing the improvement moving its way northward. you can see the cloud breaking up. already the showers are chasing that drain into northern ireland and cornwall. we will see sunshine between the showers, but we will pick up one or two across devon, cornwall and pembrokeshire. further east, temperatures are at 16 or17, so it further east, temperatures are at 16 or 17, so it feels very warm. we just had that 22