after a trip to singapore says he's fully recovered and thanks nhs staff. last minute protests fail to stop a home office plane taking off as a group ofjamaican—born offenders are deported from the uk. and a rare royalfoursome — a show of force as prince charles, camilla, william and kate all visit a military rehab centre in leicestershire. and in sportsday at 6:30pm, more on manchester united's plans to trial safe standing at old trafford. they've applied to put rail seating in for a small section of fans. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the hs2 high speed rail line linking london to birmingham, leeds and manchester — will go ahead despite already being behind schedule and over budget. the first phase of the line connecting london to birmingham — with an additonal part up to crewe — was due to open at the end of 2026 but the first trains may not run on the route until some time between 2028 and 2031. the next stage of the project — up to manchester and leeds — is not due for completion until some time between 2035 and 2040. the high speed rail line was supposed to cost under £56 billion — that was the estimate five years ago. but a recent review said it could now cost more than £100 billion. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge is in birmingham for us this evening. the prime minister today promised a transport revolution, billions more for buses and improving cycling routes in england. we are told there will be more announcements in the coming weeks but improving our ageing and overcrowded railways won't be easy and it won't be possible, borisjohnson believes, without a new high—speed railway, which could cost as much as £100 billion. countryside cut up. buildings demolished. after months of uncertainty, it's on. so, today, mr speaker, the cabinet has given high speed rail the green signal. we are going to get this done. for those living along the route, the fight is over. sandra's family was forced to sell nearly half of their farm. customers at their stables driven away. it's been in the family for about 90 years. it's turned their way of life upside down. what it's doing to your health, the worry of it all, the worry on my side and my health, my family, i've got children, it would be nice to think that they could come into the business, but obviously, we don't know that now whether... what future it holds. but the new railway has already transformed the skyline in birmingham. transport links attract investment. hs2 will connect london euston to west london. the station here will interchange with crossrail, another late and over budget new railway. then the high—speed route moves north, through buckinghamshire and up through warwickshire. there'll be a tunnel here and at several other sites along the route. at solihull, there'll be an interchange station with links to birmingham airport. the railway then divides at birmingham and onto crewe. the latter phases of the project, linking crewe to manchester and birmingham to leeds, via towns like mexborough, will be reviewed. the route could change to save money and to link it up more with other railways. he hasn't said where the money's going to come from. that's a big concern i have because hs2 was well over budget and it could waste all the money that could go to the regions. this is what birmingham's main station will look like. hs2 will reduce journey times to london by half an hour. and to leeds from birmingham by an hour. these apprentices already working on the project happy it's going ahead. we need more infrastructure to match the growing countries like germany, china. to be able to say on my cv that i worked on hsz is kind of going to set me up for life, really. hs2 was a real dilemma for his government, because the price tag ballooned. his pledge to cut the cost won't be easy, but he believes a transport revolution in britain will only be possible with a new high—speed railway. tom burridge, bbc news, in birmingham. and it's notjust trains. the government has also pledged to boost spending over the next five years to improve bus and cycling services across england. borisjohnson said an extra £5 billion would provide more frequent services and more affordable fares. labour says the measures won't be enough to reverse years of conservative cuts, which caused thousands of routes to be axed. 0ur north of england correspondent danny savage reports. darlington at lunchtime today. an abundance of bus services covering the town and many places beyond. where we live, there's a bus about every ten minutes into town, and then a way of coming back, yes. it's excellent. so, frequent and reasonably priced? i would say so. smashing, no problems. i'll go and catch this one. head out of darlington to barnard castle, and again, there's a decent, regular service linking this rural community to its bigger neighbour. but getting elsewhere is problematic. so if i wanted to get a bus over to kirkby stephen, which isn't too far away, there's one at three o'clock, that's all right, but there is a c next to it, which is... ah, wednesdays only. we headed over the snowy tops into the neighbouring county. welcome to cumbria, where rural bus services in some parts of the county are virtually nonexistent. many services have been axed over the last few years, as the county council withdrew funding due to budget cuts. this bus from kirkby stephen to penrith and back is tuesdays only. the operator says it's a private company providing a public service. we don't make money off the bus services. we make our money from our private hire. the bus services, it covers the cost for a bus and it covers the cost for an employee. it doesn't make a profit. we do it as a community service. they also do it to tackle isolation. teenagers here are jealous of their peers in big towns and cities. they're very lucky to live somewhere where they can do stuff and they can get to places a lot easier. they can go shopping, you know. just do what they want, really. you can rely on your mum and dad to a certain point, but then there's other people who can't. .. ..who don't have that same reliability with the parents. a report last year into bus services in england tells the wider story. bus funding is almost £400 million a year lower than it was ten years ago. more than 3,000 local authority supported services have been lost or reduced, and 2113 have gone in the past year. the government is pledging money for hundreds of miles of new cycle lanes, too. a decade ago, cumbria county council spent nearly £2 million a year on subsidising buses. now they spend nothing. will today's announcement mean that such cutbacks will be at least partially reversed? danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. 0ur economics editor faisal islam is in birmingham. faisal, you've been speaking to the chancellor today, the government is pouring money into infrastructure, rail, buses, it's quite a change of direction for the government? yes, controversial says the prime minister, this decision, controversial because of the value for money and environmental considerations but i think they were a lwa ys considerations but i think they were always going to give this green signal because it isn'tjust a very fast train line. for the government, it's a means of changing the economic geography of the nation. it's something that all our major competitive advanced nations have, fast lines between major cities. for major city leaders, it's also a calling card for international investors to help fund their regeneration is on these sorts of lines. i think it was always going to get the green signal eventually. these announcements come against the backdrop of a fairly sluggish economy. yes, growth coming into the 20205 economy. yes, growth coming into the 2020s wasn't roaring, it was whimpering, flat, zero growth in the last three months of 2019. if it wasn't for public spending, it would have been negative. why? particularly manufacturing and production sector has been hit by political uncertainty, hit by those brexit shutdowns in the car industry, by stockpiling. it has been volatile. some signs that might have turned in december, some survey data particularly in the housing market but in this precise moment, the government acknowledging, the chancellor in an interview to me, too, saying those full border checks will be imposed in a year's time on the manufacturing industry. the frictionless era over. that may be a problem for them. our economics editor, thank you. the british businessman who's thought to have infected 11 people with the coronavirus say he has fully recovered and that his thoughts are with those he infected. 53—year—old steve walsh from hove in east sussex remains in hospital. in china, where the outbreak started, the number of deaths has now passed the 1,000 mark. the world health organization says the virus will now be called covid—19, and warned it could be 18 months before the first vaccine becomes available. catherine burns reports from brighton. steve walsh is still in hospital, but says it's just a precaution now. but brighton is dealing with the after—effects of his infection, with two gp surgeries being closed to patients. today, mr walsh has been named and has explained that he did everything by the book. but in the roughly two weeks between being infected and diagnosed, it was life as normal, including a trip to the pub. it's still open. five staff have gone into isolation. but the pub says it's worked with public health england, and that there's a minimal ongoing risk of infection. the disease now has an official name, covid—19. the government rates the risk level for the public as moderate. the situation will get worse before it gets better. we will be guided by the science. be in no doubt — we will do everything that is effective to tackle this virus and keep people safe. mr walsh picked up the coronavirus at a conference in singapore. on his way back to the uk, he stopped off for several days at a ski chalet in france, where he passed the virus on to 11 other people. five of those infected remain in france, and one man returned to majorca. mr walsh and the other five british people came back to the uk. two of them are gps, and two surgeries have been temporarily closed. mr walsh's neighbours are baffled by all the attention. his wife's told me on the phone that really he's not that ill. um, she thinks it's a complete, basically a load of rubbish, and that it's no worse than flu, probably not as bad. but health experts are taking this seriously. this gp surgery has been closed for two days now for what they're calling extensive cleaning. down the road, another surgery‘s been closed, too. we know that one of the infected gps, katrina greenwood, used to work here, and there are other precautions in this town, like the nursing home that's closed its doors to visitors. it's just five days now since steve walsh was officially diagnosed, and he says he's well recovered. that is generally true for this virus. most people tend to only get mild symptoms. catherine burns, bbc news. in brighton. police investigating the murder of the journalist, lyra mckee, in londonderry have arrested four men. the 29—year—old was shot dead while observing rioting in the city last april. the new ira has admitted carrying out her murder. the first same—sex couple to get married in northern ireland, after a landmark change in the law, have described the experience as surreal. there's some flash photography in these pictures of the couple sharni edwards and robyn peoples, who tied the knot in county antrim today. they have been together for six years. a home office flight deporting convicted offenders to jamaica has left the uk, despite a last—minute legal challenge. 17 people were deported but 25 others were stopped by a court ruling, amid concerns that some detainees hadn't had access to legal advice. the government said all those being deported were jamaican nationals who'd been convicted of criminal offences and given prison sentences of 12 months or more. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell reports. brook house near gatwick airport, where some criminals were held before today's planned deportation flights. the government hasn't named them or said where they flew from. among the 25 granted a last—minute reprieve is this woman's husband, who was convicted of drug offences in 2012 and spent two years in prison. they have three young children together. she was on the phone to him as he was moved, late last night. all i heard was banging. bang, bang, bang, lots of rustling around, screaming, shouting, and that's it, silence. the phone went dead. the stress and the strain that is put on people with immigration and home office matters isjust unbearable. you don't know whether you're coming or going, you can't plan in your life, you can't plan in your future, you don't plan in your life, you can't plan in yourfuture, you don't know plan in your life, you can't plan in your future, you don't know whether you're going to become a single mother overnight, it'sjust you're going to become a single mother overnight, it's just awful. and there were also final our protests outside downing street last night. where campaigners, families, and lawyers were determined to put more pressure on the government, as a last—minute legal challenges were under way. the court case from last night shows that there are also many individuals who have a claim to remain in the uk, particularly people who came as young children, who... where the offending has been pa rt of who... where the offending has been part of forced criminality. more than 5000 offenders were removed from the uk in total according to the latest figures. of those, over 1600 were from countries outside the eu and around 3600 were eu nationals, that's two thirds of the total. but there is a crucial difference between the two groups. for eu nationals, the home secretary has to comply with eu law about a person's conduct and the level of threat they pose. so, it's effectively topper for the government to remove eu nationals. —— effectively tougher. but the timing of this flight has raised even more concerns. less than two yea rs even more concerns. less than two years since the windrush scandal came to light. but the government has defended its action. these people on this flight, they are all foreign national offenders, not a single one of them are british, not a single one of them are members of the windrush generation, and it is absolutely right, if someone has committed a serious offence in our country and they are a foreign national, that when they complete their sentence, that we deport them. it's still unclear where today's flight it's still unclear where today's flight has landed injamaica, causing more distress for the families they've left behind. adina campbell, bbc news. the time is 6:17pm. our top story this evening. the hs2 high—speed rail link has been given the go—ahead, despite concerns over spiralling costs and delays. and coming up, the cuban dancer carlos acosta talks about his new role with birmingham's royal ballet. coming up on sportsday in 15 minutes, we'll run you through the england test squad to tour sri lanka next month. there's no place though for leading wicket takerjames anderson. trade talks with the eu get underway next month, and there's not a lot of time to sort out the crucial deals. the transition period runs out at the end of december. agriculture and farming will be high on the agenda. negotiatiors will be looking to make sure that what's imported into the uk remains at a high standard. they'll also want to ensure that what we export isn't hit by unfair restrictions. if a deal‘s not reached, farmers could be facing huge tariffs on what they produce. 0ur rural affairs correspondent, claire marshall, reports. lamb bleats this lamb is only half a day old. born in the early hours of the morning, michael weaver was here in the lambing shed to make sure it survived. eh, what's up with you? the rules that govern its life will soon be debated at the highest levels. a large proportion of uk lamb is sold to europe. if trade negotiations with the eu fail, he could face a 40% drop in the price he gets. i would certainly have to reconsider my sheep enterprise. it's as simple as that. like i say, lambing at the moment, i've been lambing a month, doing 20 hour days. quite honestly, i wouldn't see the point in getting up through the night to check lamb and ewes if necessary. there is also the crucial issue of post brexit border checks, which the government has now said is inevitable. they could create real problems for producers. well, they absolutely fundamentally need a free and frictionless trading relationship with europe. it will only add costs to farmers here and costs to consumers, if we don't have that free and frictionless trade. many farming businesses are looking for a larger slice of the international markets. this is single gloucester being crafted in the heart of gloucestershire. the team of cheesemakers is being led by daniela. originally from bulgaria, she started working here 17 years ago. i believe people will make more effort now to sell our cheese and to go abroad, look for new... ..places to sell it. so, for me, this is only positive. for the last four decades, rules made in brussels have shaped this landscape. now, that ground is shifting. and the decisions farmers take will change, and this countryside will start to look different. that's it. the trade deal haggling officially starts in less than a month. the hope is that a deal will help the british farming industry to thrive. claire marshall, bbc news, gloucestershire. the authorities in sudan have agreed that the ousted president, 0mar al—bashir, should appear at the international criminal court. the announcement paves the way for mr al—bashir to be sent to the hague to face charges there. he's been accused of genocide and war crimes committed during a conflict in 2003, which killed 300,000 people in the western region of darfur. the prince of wales and duchess of cornwall have carried out a rare joint engagement with the duke and duchess of cambridge. the four royals all went on a visit to a military rehabilitation centre in leicestershire. it came on the day it was announced that the queen's grandson peter phillips and his wife, autumn, are to divorce. 0ur royal correspondent daniela relph reports. it was a show of family unity, on a rare joint public engagement. the prince of wales and duchess of cornwall and the duke and duchess of cambridge. with no meghan and no harry, this foursome is now the public, working face of the royal family alongside the queen. together, they toured the defence medical rehabilitation centre just outside loughborough. for william, the wheelchair basketball was a challenge. luckily, today, dad was on hand to help improve his game. although the expert view was harsh. he clearly hasn't played basketball for a while, and it's a bit nerve—racking in front of everyone but dad gave him moral support and he managed to get it in on the second attempt after a little push. there is no question these have been turbulent months for the royalfamily, but today's event here with two future kings front and centre shows the important the family places on stability and continuity. and there was no greater example of that than the queen, who came back to london this afternoon by train after her winter break at sandringham. but she returned to confirmation of the news that her grandson peter phillips and his canadian wife, autumn, are to divorce after 12 years of marriage. their spokesperson said the decision was sad but amicable. and responding to reports that autumn phillips wanted to return to canada he said, both autumn and peter will remain in gloucestershire to bring up their two children where they have been settled for a number of years. every family has its own share of dramas to navigate. today's joint public appearance was a reminder that this is a royal family trying to work together and move forward after some very public difficulties. daniela relph, bbc news, loughborough. he was born into poverty in cuba, and went on to become one of the world's greatest ballet dancers. carlos acosta describes his own story as a tale of rags to riches. he performed with the royal ballet for 17 years. now he's taking on a new role as director of birmingham royal ballet. here's our arts editor, will gompertz. carlos acosta performing a pas de deux from the ballet don quixote. that was in 2013 when he was a principal dancer in the london royal ballet. lots of time... seven years later, the cuban superstar has swapped covent garden for birmingham city centre. and, up! and a newjob as the director of birmingham royal ballet. what's the vision? so, i am up for collaborations, to come up with stories that could be represented in ballet that speaks about birmingham as a city, while keeping whatever we do, which is keeping tradition at the highest level. so you talk about the support and you talk about you supporting the city of birmingham, but the city of birmingham needs to support you. yeah. and that means money. that means money, and i will say into the camera, that means money. no, definitely, because these are the big ideas. i've got big ideas. but this is a council which has cut arts funding quite dramatically. yeah, a big problem at the moment with that. carlos acosta grew up in a poor neighbourhood of havana. he'd meet up with friends to go break dancing at which, as you can see, he was pretty good. it's a city that loves dance of all types, an everyday passion he'd like to bring to his new home. i really am keen to go within the community of birmingham, just as simple as having talks and engaging people and engaging parents to come and really understand what ballet is about. it has this stigma which is very hard to break, that it is elitist and so on. i don't want a company that is so far up that it's unreachable. and that means more diversity, both in terms of his company and its audience, but there is a caveat. one thing is clear, the most important thing should be talent and always. i think that should not be compromised. here to here, extend it! carlos acosta brings ambition and vision and a sprinkle of stardust. but he also brings a determination to take ballet to areas other companies have failed to reach. will gompertz, bbc news, birmingham. time for a look at the weather. here's nick miller. a new storm on the horizon, storm dennis and we will look at that in a moment, but problems out there in the form of snow in places and this is the rain and snow radar from the afternoon, the blue is the rain, the white is where we see hail, sleet or snow and a lot of that is showing up as white and heavy snow showers over the hills of northern britain and there is concern this evening where we have a met office amber warning across this part of southern scotla nd across this part of southern scotland with may be up to ten centimetres of snow falling quickly in the hilly areas. the m 711 runs through this area, so difficult travelling conditions but it's not just here it's elsewhere in scotland into the hills where there are heavy snow showers in parts of northern england, the pennines and higher areas of northern ireland. and get showers overnight as temperatures dip away, he could turn icy in the morning with a few degrees either side of reason. things look less busy for a time tomorrow although there will still be snow showers into the hills of scotland and wet weather pushing into the northern isles as well with one or two wintry showers for northern england and northern ireland but if you are showers compared with the past few days and more in the way of sunshine and the winds will ease a little and it doesn't feel as chilly and there is certainly sun sign in the afternoon but cloud increases and in the midlands and wales showers break out and that's ahead of another speu out and that's ahead of another spell of wet weather sweeping north tomorrow night with the wind picking up tomorrow night with the wind picking up again. it's notjust rain, but some snow in the pennines and parts of scotla nd some snow in the pennines and parts of scotland and to relatively low levels for a time and it could be tricky for the thursday morning rush hour, then another rain bearing weather front moves in on friday but this deep area of low pressure for the weekend is storm dennis with more disruptive wind and rain on the way and surly the rain for areas that don't need any more, that is coming at the weekend and we will update you on that in the forecast over the next couple of days. there are plenty of weather warnings out there, and more details online. a reminder of our top story the hsz the hs2 railing has been given the hope —— go ahead despite concerns over spiralling costs. we can now join the bbc news teams where you are. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the prime minister has confirmed the whole of the high speed rail plan, hs2, will go ahead despite concerns over its environmental impact and spiralling costs. this is a fantastic project for the country. it will deliver massive increased capacity for rail and north and south and south and north and allows us to go forward and develop northern powerhouse rail. health experts have renamed the coronaviru. it's now covid—19, and they say there's a realistic chance of containing it, but a vaccine could take 18 months to develop. the british businessman linked to 11 coronavirus cases says he's now fully recovered but still in quarantine as ministers say all precautions are being taken. last minute protests failed to stop a plane taking