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And after wales comprehensive defeat of scotland yesterday england prepare to take on italy in the six nations. Good morning and welcome to bbc news. A group of mps is warning that cuts to the Royal Marines would rip the heart out of one of britains elite fighting forces. The government has reportedly been considering axing around two thousand marines and getting rid of two of the warships they use to launch beach landings. The Defence Select Committee says the cuts would be militarily illiterate. Daniella relph reports. The training, known for being tough and arduous. 6500 Royal Marines go through it to make them amongst britains at elite fighting forces. Known for their versatility and their ability to respond quickly to situations around the world. The Royal Marines also provide up to half the personnel for the uk special forces. The Defence Select Committee report warns that further cuts to the marines would damage their ability to be a High Readiness unit, quickly deployable, often in difficult circumstances. It also criticises plans to end the use of hms albion as a ship from which beach assaults are made. If there are new and intensified threats you would think wed be adding to our capabilities, not deleting one of our world beating star capabilities. The committee praises the defence secretary, gavin williamson, for taking control of the defence review but again warned that he wont be able to prevent harsh cuts without extra funding from the treasury. The ministry of defence says that protecting the uk is its priority and stress that the Royal Marines play a vital role in defending the play a vital role in defending the country. Daniella relph, bbc news. Im joined from westminster byjulian lewis, chair of the Defence Select Committee. Thank you for being with us. Why are you so worried about cuts to the marines . Because the capability they offer is absolutely central to any coherent strategic concept to be able to intervene effectively in any theatre of war that may be necessary , theatre of war that may be necessary, in any conflict that could arise in the future, because we wont know in advance where what it will be. This is the only way that you can land large numbers of troops, effectively, with heavy equipment from the sea at a point on an enemy coastline where, we are not talking about storming the d day beaches, where in fact they dont know you were coming ashore and the first thing they know about it is you arent sure and bear with heavy equipment. What do you see as the principal threats to this country, militarily . People talk about north korea and so on. Our marines much use in that sort of potential conflict . The answer, im afraid, is that this is to make the classic mistake of assuming that we have to configure our forces according to any particular present day snapshot of current threats. We have to provide a whole spectrum of capability, ranging from Deterrent Nuclear blackmail at one end, to cyber warfare at the other. The reality is that, as was projected 20 yea rs reality is that, as was projected 20 years ago, when the defence review promoted the idea of a movable seat ace to be able to exert force in any theatre, it have to have two elements. The ability to exert our power from the sea, hence the two aircraft carriers we now have, and the ability to exert less power from the ability to exert less power from the sea, and that is ready albion and stability are absolutely indispensable. Isnt the real reality that we are living in tough economic times, we have a lot of competing demands for government expenditure, for example, a National Health service that many people say is in crisis. We cant afford everything. It would be nice to have lots of Royal Marines but we may become to ford as many as we have right now. You have got to the horrors of the issue. You have to ask yourself if defences sufficiently high up in our scale of competing national priorities. The heart of the issue. The last time we face an assertive russia, the 1980s, coupled with a major terrorist threat in Northern Ireland, we risk ending not barely 296 ireland, we risk ending not barely 2 of gdp on defence as we do now, at between 11. 5 and 5 of gdp on defence, a similar amounts to education and health. We now spends 2. 5 times on education what we spend on defence, and we spent four times on defence, and we spent four times on health what we spend on defence. Even after the end of the cold war, and we took the peace dividend cuts, by the mid 19 90s, long after the cold war finished, we were not spending barely 2 , we were spending fully 3 of gdp on defence. That still a lot less than we are spending on health, education and welfare. We have to wait to get back to that sort of level of priority. Welfare. We have to wait to get back to that sort of level of prioritylj know you were talking to us with your hats, if i may say so, we love your hats, if i may say so, we love your hats. Not through my hat flags and your regimental tie as well. This is the maritime regiment at marchwood in my constituency that applies heavy equipment for far off theatre engagements. Im glad you clarify that for us. Which has uzzy conservative mps, can i ask you about brexit and the continuing pressure on europe minister . She does have my loyal support provided that she remains true to two things that she remains true to two things that she remains true to two things that she was the first person to say, at least that i had said. The first is that brexit means brexit, which is not a tautology, it is a recognition that there will be attem pts recognition that there will be atte m pts to recognition that there will be attempts to neuter its, dissolve it, they lose it till it is brexit in name only. If she sticks to that, then she has my support. Secondly, equally importantly, if she sticks to the position that no deal is better than a bad deal. To bring it back to defence, when you were in arms control negotiations, sometimes you have to be prepared to walk away from the table, and then you get people coming back at negotiating seriously. In this case, rather than accept a bad dealfrom the eu, we should walk away from it or we should walk away from it or we should trade with the eu like we do with other countries. Within a year 01 with other countries. Within a year or two, they would be back at the table and we would be getting the best possible deal. Great to talk to you. Thank you. Talking to us with both your hats a senior conservative mp has accused ministers of being vague and divided over brexit. Bernard jenkin, who was on the board of the official leave campaign, said Civil Servants deserved an unambiguous and united direction from ministers, singling out the chancellor Philip Hammond for criticism. It comes ahead of key ministerial meetings this week on the uk eu relationship. Im joined by our political correspondent, susana mendonca. The chancellor has become a bit of a hate figure for some of the brexiteer s. Hate figure for some of the brexiteer s. Yes, many blame him for it not singing from the same hymn sheet as they see the Prime Ministers singing from. The Prime Minister has talked about their being no Customs Union after brexit, and they want that to be the case. What theyre saying about Philip Hammond, certainly in Bernard Jenkinss criticism, theyre saying the Prime Minister talks about one policy and Philip Hammond another. He is basically saying that mr hammond needs to stick to collective ministerial responsibility on this issue. He has very much become this figure they say, of course Philip Hammond was a remainer, so they see him as perhaps not pushing in the same direction as they would like to see brexit go. There has been a lot of criticism about the treasury this week, not just from of criticism about the treasury this week, notjust from Bernard Jenkins but also Jacob Rees Mogg just a couple of days ago talking about how he sees the treasury full service acting against the direction he would like to see brexit going. Basically suggesting that the Civil Service was painting brexit to be a worse outcome than it needs to be. He used the phrase fiddling the figures yesterday. That has been criticised, a lot of backlash from the union that represents Civil Servants, saying that those are just unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. It isa unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. It is a sense ofjust that kind of tense atmosphere within the conservative party at the moment, certainly on those backbenchers, or you have a lot of brexiteer s who wa nt to you have a lot of brexiteer s who want to see the direction of travel change. We have talked about it time and again, that they are concerned that brexit may be in name only. That is certainly, i suppose Bernard Jenkinss comments are feeding into that sense we are getting on the backbenches. Where we with various meetings and talks on brexit . People get confused as to where we are. We have key meetings this week. We have michel barnier, david daviss opposite number in the eu, coming to britain to meet with the Prime Minister and david davis. Thats a key moments because its about moving those discussions on to the next stage in the relationship between britain and europe. Talking about the transition period and the next step. In addition, there will be key ministerial meetings through the week, behind the scenes, looking at the technical details. Its about taking brexit on. All of this briefing in the National Newspapers over the weekend is in part i header back to add pressure on to the Prime Minister. She had pressure when she was in china a few days ago. People wa nt to was in china a few days ago. People want to be clear about where she stands. She says she has been clear, that britain is leading the eu, they wa nt to that britain is leading the eu, they want to know what direction we are going in. For the moment, thank you. The Prime Minister is expected to announce plans to make it an offence under electoral law to intimidate parliamentary candidates and their campaigners. In a speech later this week, mrs may will say recent cases of politicians being abused in the street and online risk toxifying public debate. Sinn fein has confirmed that gerry kelly, one of its Northern Ireland assembly members, removed a clamp from the front wheel of his car, in belfast. Footage which has emerged on social media appears to show a pair of bolt cutters lying beside the wheel. A sinn fein spokesman said mr kellys solicitor was dealing with the matter. An olympic Ice Hockey Team with players from both north and south korea will compete for the first time today. The all womens team will take on sweden in a friendly match before the start of the Winter Olympics next week. North koreas participation is being seen as a show of reconciliation with the south. Heres our seoul correspondent laura bicker with more. This is the first time the public will get a chance to see the south korean inter Korean Hockey Team play. Its caused a lot of controversy here in south korea. There was a feeling certainly among a lot of young people that the south korean government had jeopardised this womens hockey teams chances at its own 0lympics and they were using these players as a political pawn to try to encourage north korea to take part in talks to reduce its Nuclear Weapons programme. So there was certainly a feeling that the south korean government had not consulted on this, had not spoken to the womens hockey players before deciding onajoint team. Were told that the team would work on a roster, that everyone would get their shot. There are 12 members from north korea and the Unification Ministry has issued pictures of the two sides, north and south, getting to know one another and even celebrating a birthday in a bid to calm the controversy. I think many eyes will be on the game today to see how the two sides have managed to match up and play together over the last week. Meanwhile, other athletes, ten athletes from north korea, arrived in them athletes village in pyeongchang. The north korean flag is now flying in south korea, which is a very rare sight indeed, and indeed hoisting the north korean flag in south korea is usually a crime but an exception is being made in this case. Meanwhile, north korea is continuing with its plans to hold a large military parade on the day before the Opening Ceremony of the olympics. Theyre saying certainly from pyongyang that no one has a right to interfere in its plans. We only know about the reasons from the very few sentences in a press release, it has so far they were not able to deliver a reason for the decision. Which we are eagerly awaiting for, and we have asked them to speech this procedure up. We have been told that this could be the end of february. Which is extremely u nsatisfa ctory of february. Which is extremely unsatisfactory situation. Our latest headlines mps warned that cuts to the Royal Marines would leave britains global interests are at serious risk. South china sea brexiteer accuses ministers of being vague and divided in their plans for a leaving the european union. A joint north and south korea Ice Hockey Team played together for the first time ahead of the winter 0lympics. The aviation watchdog is to investigate Airlines Seating practices. It comes after accusations that flight operators are deliberately splitting up groups so they pay extra to sit together. The Civil Aviation authority says passengers are paying as much as £400 million each year to be reallocated, and 1 in 10 didnt know they would incur an extra cost to sit with their group. Police in florida have arrested a man they say made threats to kidnap the singer lana del rey. The man was carrying a knife when he was arrested near the amway center in orlando where the singer had been due to perform. Michael hunt, who is 43, faces charges of aggravated stalking and attempted kidnapping with a weapon. The hollywood actress, uma thurman, has claimed that the disgraced film producer, Harvey Weinstein, tried to sexually assault her at a hotel in london. The star has made detailed accusations in a newspaper interview after commenting last october that she didnt want to say anything in anger. Mr weinsteins lawyer said his client was stunned and saddened by what he considered false allegations. It comes as Scotland Yard confirms its looking into two more allegations of Sexual Assault against the producer. Our correspondent, simon jones has more. She starred in several films produced by the disgraced movie mogul. It was after the success of pulp fiction that uma thurman says she was targeted by Harvey Weinstein. Now shes the latest woman to speak out in an interview with the new york times. Uma thurman claims Harvey Weinstein pushed her down when she met him in his suite here at the savoy hotel in london. She says he tried to expose himself, he did all kinds of unpleasant things. But she said she managed to wriggle away like a lizard. The next day, she says, a bunch of flowers arrived. A spokeswoman for Harvey Weinstein said in a statement. It comes as Scotland Yard say they have received two further allegations of Sexual Assault, one from a woman who claims Harvey Weinstein assaulted her in westminster in 2011, and another from a woman who says she was targeted in the republic of ireland. That brings the total number of women who have reported the producer to British Police to nine. Officers in new york and los angeles have also begun investigations. He has denied all allegations of non consensual sex. Harvey weinstein was once one of the most powerful men in hollywood, credited with scores of oscar wins, but he has been thrown out of the organisation that runs the oscars and hes now in rehab, a huge fall from grace from which there is likely to be no return. Simon jones, bbc news. Research suggests regular churchgoers are more likely to support immigration, than people who regard themselves as christian but dont attend services. The study of data from the British Social Attitudes survey has been carried out by Bristol University for bbc local radio. Graham satchell reports. Sausages, bacon and a warm welcome. This is the Anglican Church of the martyrs in leicester. It is open to everyone. Families, students, homeless people, migrants. Jane has been helping out here for more than a decade. For me, it is part of my faith to serve and encourage people to help people. Some people leave their own country not out of choice but because they have to. As a christian, its about being welcoming, welcoming to the stranger. Evernice is just one migrant whos been warmly welcomed, coming to britain from zimbabwe 16 years ago. I felt the same christian principles of loving your neighbour as yourself. Its what they hold dear. So it was easy for them to welcome me because of their christian faith. So surprising then that the vast majority of people who describe themselves as church of england are opposed to immigration. University of bristol researchers analysed a series of British Social Attitude surveys. They found 87 of anglicans think the number of immigrants coming to britain should be reduced. It compares to 77 of people who say the same thing with no religion. Church leaders say they have work to do. We dont have a great history in this country and the church of england of having welcomed immigrants, way back since the 50s and 60s, and we still have a long way to go in order to enable, to help, to educate congregations to be able to express a more fuller welcome to those who both enter our churches and also come to our country. The study also found a difference between those who go to church every week and those who call themselves christian but dont go to church. 66 who regularly go to church say migrant numbers should be reduced whereas its 86 for who say theyre christian but rarely attend. The church of england, you go to some of them and it feels like a Branch Meeting of momentum in some cases. David kurten is a ukip member of the london assembly. Hes still a committed christian but stopped going to church after the eu referendum. I was shocked at one point because the vicar of the church was actually against brexit and he started using the pulpit to preach against brexit and for people like me who think, well, its not so much that ive left the church but perhaps the church has left that me. But arent christians meant to love your neighbour as yourself . Well, absolutely, but that doesnt mean you support rapid mass immigration. Back in leicester, breakfast is still going strong. So is it possible to be a christian and be opposed to immigration . Richard worsfold is the vicar here. Intellectually, im sure its possible for people to make an argument for that. Whether i would accept that argument is another matter. There are complex arguments here about cultural attitudes, christian teaching, politics, the difference between economic migrants and refugees. But if the surveys are right, there remains a huge disconnect between the hierarchy in the church and the majority of its congregation. Graham satchell, bbc news. Lets get more reaction now to our top story the warning from mps that proposed cuts to the Royal Marines are militarily illiterate. Lord west, former head of the royal navy, and former security minister under labour is with me now. Thank you for being with us. Do you think there is a real threat to the Royal Marines . I think there is. Quite clearly there is insufficient money in the defence budget. Each service will have been told to look at measures to be taken. The bracket within the navy that is being looked at to make those savings would involve paying off the landing ship docks which are crucial to Amphibious Landing, and a reduction. If you dont have the debeers shaping capability, there is no point in having a margarine force. Amphibious. You cantjust remove it. It is strategically illiterate, as the defence commitee said. Arguably the biggest military threats at the moment maybe north korea. With the Royal Marines be much use in that sort of conflict . In the north korean one, although the korean war, Amphibious Landing was one of the key things during that war because it was on a peninsula, in the initial stages clearly it wouldnt. The source of fighting would be pretty catastrophic. Thatll be war doesnt start there. But no one looks at the globe, there are lots and lots of diverse threats. Anything we do from oui diverse threats. Anything we do from our country is almost by addition by definition expeditionary. The amphibious capability with a Carrier Striking ability and our Nuclear Attack summit, means we have a force which can allow us to join allies and deployed globally and thats important because we rely on global trade. We saw what happened in the falklands. We run Global Shipping from london. That was quite a long time ago, the falklands. Each war is a lwa ys time ago, the falklands. Each war is always a one off. We dont know what will happen tomorrow. The activity of capability for an island nation is very important. Some people will say its nice to have a large Royal Marines fighting force, but you cant have everything. These are difficult times economically. There area difficult times economically. There are a lot of demands on government expenditure. The nhs, for example. We just cant afford to do everything. I found from my time in government that governments can afford to do the things they believe are important. Government after government keeps saying the most important duty of any government is the defence and security of our nation. As the british people globally. Im afraid successive governments have cut and cut and cut. This hasnt happened to other forces. Since 2010, our military capability has been reduced by one third. If they take measures like the amphibious shipping and others theyre talking about, our capability will have been cut by half. Can you imagine if sent by d10 we cut our hospitals, we have half the number of hospitals . It would be mind boggling. I dont think the british people realise what cuts to the military we have had. For the safety a nd the military we have had. For the safety and security of our nation, we need military forces. How much of ourgdp we need military forces. How much of our gdp should we be spending on defence . Some people say it should be more like 3 . Others say it should be less than 2 . Thats a difficult debates because how long isa difficult debates because how long is a piece of string . My feeling is we need to spend more, than what you should spend for the force we assess is capable will stop at the moment a lot of people are suggesting that around 2. 5to lot of people are suggesting that around 2. 5 to 3 . That may be right, but certainly its more than is being spent at the moment. Your message to the Prime Minister, the rest of the cabinets . Dont mess with the marines . Absolutely. It would be a huge loss to britains military capability. Im sure at some stage we would rarely regret it. You cant build these things up again suddenly. They are really difficult to build. 0ur Royal Marines provide half of our special forces people. An important aspect of our military capability. Thank you. Darkest hour, a film depicting Winston Churchills war time efforts, could be set for a bumper month after being nominated for 9 baftas and 6 oscars. The team that transformed gary 0ldman into the wartime leader are hoping to to win an Academy Award with the make up artists behind his transformation preparing for their own close up on the red carpet. Brennan nicholls reports. You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth gary 0ldmans performance in darkest hour has already earned him many accolades and critical acclaim. Turning him, though, into britains wartime Prime Minister has been hailed as a masterpiece of make up. Gary would come into the bus. Wed shave his head, apply the make up, it takes just over three hours to apply the make up and wig, plus getting him into his fat suit and costume, it was close to four hours for the entire thing. Hes then go to set for ten or 12 hours a day filming and wed need to be there the whole time to maintain his make up throughout that. He would then we have his make up removed which takes one hour and then once he goes lucy and i stay for another hour or two. Gary 0ldman convinced Kazuhiro Tsuji to come out of retirement to design the churchill make up. Having just been working with david on another movie, it was 0ldman that asked him to be on set applying it alongside colleague lucy sibbick. And its the three of them that have been nominated for the oscar. Im extremely proud. Its the bestjob ive done so far to date and im just so pleased its getting the recognition that it deserves, because the amount of effort that myself, kazu and lucy have put into it you know, theres such a big team involved. Were here now getting the credit and our names are on the award, but the amount of people in the workshops who have been involved is amazing. We are to receive our award. The 39 year old make up artist has a cv full of blockbusters to his name, but this is his first ever oscar nomination. Look at all this texture around here. The texture on garys nose and the colouration and broken vein work and stuff like that. Thats whyjust spending that bit more time prepping, thats why our days were so long. Ijust wanted to make sure i painted all of those pieces perfectly so that they match everyday. David flies out to los angeles for the oscar nomination lunch this weekend and then its back for the baftas, before heading back to la for the oscars themselves on march 11th for what could be his finest hour. And you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, a look at the weather now. Cold but bright sums it up for most of us. The sunnier of the two weekend days are many. Some extra cloud blowing into eastern areas with wintry showers, rain and sleet. Snow over higher ground. When it the south east which will make it feel cold. Five to 7 degrees at best. 0vernight we will see an intensification of wintry showers. It could create travel headaches tomorrow. Elsewhere, very cold. This is potentially the most disruptive weather with show some hours snow showers in east anglia and the south east. Not a bad day with chris

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