Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Five 20180214

There is no prospect of a return to power in Northern Ireland according to the dup leader Arlene Foster. Despite intensive negotiations this week which included the Prime Minister and the taoiseach, mrs foster has said theres no sign of an end to the 13 month political stalemate at stormont. She said it was that the duty of the westminster government to set a budget and start to make important policy decisions about schools and hospitals and infrastructure. So a lot to talk about on this by Arlene Foster and also reaction on the implications. Keith doyle is in belfast. Just go through what Arlene Foster said in a bit more detail. On monday we had the Prime Minister and the taoiseach here as we thought a deal was in the air. As time went on we realised it would not happen, there was some talk of it perhaps happening this week but clearly now that is not going to happen with this statement from Arlene Foster. The big issues the Irish Language, the dup are absolutely insistent there will be no stand alone Irish Language bill giving the Irish Language official status in Northern Ireland. Sinn fein said they will not rejoin the power sharing executive unless there is exactly that so clearly is pass are finding it difficult to read. And the statement from Arlene Foster said that in our view there is no current prospect of these discussions leading to an executive ping pong. It is now incumbent on her majesty s government to set a budget and start to make policy decisions about our schools, hospitals and infrastructure. For the past 13 months there has been no government here in Northern Ireland. The decisions have been made by Civil Servants and those important spending decisions have not been taken. So spending decisions have not been ta ken. So really spending decisions have not been taken. So really there has been no effective government here in Northern Ireland. What statement, reading between the lines the is that statement, reading between the lines the is that they want rule again from this directfiteazam ffiiffi lfinfifiilhis somegge that i directfiteazam ffiiffi lfinfifiilhis 59mg; that was said by e final 7,373,772, final of ; stage e fina an executive g ; stage e fina an executive it mm; fi w fi incumben to ste in, incumben to ste in, to government to step in, to come forward with a budget and start to ta ke forward with a budget and start to take some key decisions about health, education, infrastructure and taking those decisions on matters that really matter to the people of Northern Ireland. I think it is unfortunate we have not been able to reach a successful conclusion to the talks at this time. It is by far our preference that Northern Ireland be governed by a locally elected and locally accountable ministers. That remains oui accountable ministers. That remains ouraim and we accountable ministers. That remains our aim and we continued to work for that. That was somewhat simon hamilton. Viewers early in the week will have heard sinn fein saying that these differences are not insurmountable. They will have heard theresa may think that she thought there could be an agreement very 0011 there could be an agreement very soon so there could be an agreement very soon so what has happened in the past few days . The big problem has been Arlene Foster has not been able to sell any compromise to grassroots dup members. There is a worry here amongst the dup about that official status for the Irish Language for the Arlene Foster gave an interview yesterday saying they will not be irish road signs or people forced to learn irish to have Civil Service jobs. And that is some concerns that the Unionist Community have been having. The Irish Language is a very polarising issue here, something that maybe is not appreciated in other parts of the uk. So this really is an issue that has caused this impasse. And now the question is what happens next. The British Government really does not want to have direct rule from westminster and neither does the irish government. So the prospects include more elections here for the assembly, or indeed that direct rule. Weve had some reaction coming in as you say, this statement has just been released in the past hour but the sdlp, so the nationalist party, they are saying that this cannot be direct rule with the dup having the whip hand. But it looks to us today that these negotiations are about to deliver this. This must be resisted at all costs. So clearly a lot of fallout from this statement from the dup. The fact that any prospect of a deal is now on the rocks and really what happens next, there are some tough decisions to be made here. And all this happening of course as the Brexit Process is unfolding. And one of the biggest issuesis unfolding. And one of the biggest issues is to do with the status of the border between Northern Ireland and the republic. That is something surely that local politicians will wa nt to surely that local politicians will want to have a maximum stay on. Absolutely, the people of Northern Ireland, the irish and British Government, they are perplexed that there is no government in Northern Ireland to discuss this vital issue. When the irish taoiseach was here on monday when everyone spoke about the deal only wanted to do was talk about brexit and the border. There is an agreement that there will be no hard order. Hard border. The eu has agreed to that and theresa may has agreed to that. But that is just an agreement, nothing is hard and fast on that and that is the big concern for the irish republic, for people here in Northern Ireland, that there would be some kind of ha rd that there would be some kind of hard border. So brexit is a key issue hanging over all of these negotiations and clearly is going to bea negotiations and clearly is going to be a key factor here. People really what some resolution on it. Many thanks. The latest there from belfast. A builder has beenjailed for life imprisonment with a minimum term of a0 years after being found guilty at the old bailey of kidnapping, raping and murdering his niece and the attempted murder of a second woman. The court had heard that mujahid arshid, of kingston in south west london, had developed an obsession with this 20 year old niece Celine Dookhran and the surviving victim who cannot be identified. Injuly last year, he attacked them at a house he was renovating. His co accused Vincent Tappu was cleared of kidnapping charges. Jon donnison is that the old baby. Just bring us up to date with events. Well there were cheers from the public gallery, friends and family of Celine Dookhran as the guilty verdicts were read out for mujahid arshid. Guilty on all counts. Two counts of rape, two cou nts counts. Two counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of murder and one of attempted murder as well as two counts of historic sexual abuse on the surviving victim. In sentencing mujahid arshid toa minimum victim. In sentencing mujahid arshid to a minimum of a0 years the judge said he had been truly terrifying and stands at the very highest level of seriousness in terms of the crimes committed. My colleaguejune kelly has the background to the case. Celine dookhran was 20 years old. She worked in a bank and had a boyfriend. She also had a jealous uncle who was a barbaric sexual predator. He kidnapped celine and then raped and murdered her. Mujahid arshid also tried to kill a second young woman in what he intended to be a double rape and murder. As a rape survivor, his second victim cannot be named. He decided if he could not have both women, no one else would. His blue pick up truck was caught on cctv. He was transporting a freezer and the freezer was part of his murder plot. Two days later mujahid arshid was captured again in his pick up truck. With the help of an accomplice, the kidnapping part of his plan was underway. He bundled two victims, bound and gagged, into the open boot and covered them in a tarpaulin. He checked it before he set off. And this is how mujahid arshid moved two terrified young women through the Early Morning streets. Arshid was a builder. And he brought his captives to a then empty house he was working on in kingston in south west london. Once inside, one after another, he forced the women upstairs and raped them. He killed his niece Celine Dookhran by cutting her throat with a knife and stuffing her mouth with a sock. He then locked her body in the freezer he had installed two days earlier. When it came to the second victim, he slashed her throat and wrists and told her, you have got ten minutes to live. Astonishingly, she survived. Then desperate to try to find a way out, she convinced arshid that from here, they could run away together. Mujahid arshid later went on the run and headed for the ferry port of folkestone. He checked into a hotel and this is where he arrested. During his trial he and the rest of the court saw the interview his surviving victim gave to the police from her hospital bed. This was part of her evidence against him. It has emerged that down the years opportunities were missed to stop mujahid arshids sexual offending. In 2008 he abused the victim who testified against him, this went on for a year. In 2011 she finally told some of her family but her story was not accepted. In 2013 mujahid arshid was caught in an online sting inviting an Undercover Police officer to drug and rape. The following year he was interviewed by detectives. Prosecutors decided they could not bring a case because the police have not found key evidence. A former senior officer is questioning the rigour of the investigation. The bottom line is we have an Undercover Police officer who engages with a paedophile who talks about doing the most horrific things to a young person. And then we have a three month delay before Police Officers go to the address and even at that time there is nothing to suggest that the victim was spoken to, there are concerns about not seizing the computer, searching the house. Mujahid arshid has now finally been stopped. Arrogant to the end, he refused to accept his guilt. He targeted young women and his niece, Celine Dookhran, paid with her life for the obsessive behaviour of a man described in court as utterly wicked. June kelly, bbc news. In the lead up to sentencing we heard the victim impact statement from the surviving victim in this case. She said she had suffered co nsta nt case. She said she had suffered constant flashbacks and nightmares since the attack and she said her life had been torn apart. After the trial had finished with also heard from the metropolitan police, pci sound price. She read out a statement from the family of Celine Dookhran. Celine dookhran was a beautiful, caring, funny and intelligent daughter. No words will ever describe the devastation and heartache that we feel about what has happened to her on the day she was so has happened to her on the day she was so cruelly taken away from all those who loved and cared for her. I hope mujahid arshid in the years to come when hes in his prison cell will reflect on his actions were top of the arrogance he has displayed to date means i do not hold out much hope of that happening. We are pleased with the verdict and the sentence. But we would like our final words to be about our wonderful Celine Dookhran. We love you, we miss you and we thank you for being an amazing, brilliant, funny, intelligent and caring daughter, sister and cousin and friend. Well as for mujahid arshid he had to be restrained by security in the dock as the verdicts were read out. He was shouting abuse at the family of Celine Dookhran as well as towards the surviving victim who was in court. He now faces a minimum of a0 years in prison. Borisjohnson has urged his fellow brexiteers not to gloat about the uks departure from the eu and hes appealed for people to unite behind the vision of an outward looking, confident uk outside the European Union. Mrjohnson also insisted the referendum result could not be reversed and he questioned the economic benefits of staying in the Single Market and Customs Union, which the government plans to leave. His speech was the first of a series of speeches by ministers ahead of key talks with eu negotiators next month, as our Political Correspondent leila nathoo reports. A not so friendly Welcome Party to greet borisjohnson as he arrived to deliver a speech this morning. The very people he wants to reach out to, those still against britains departure from the eu. His message brexit cant be stopped. I understand your worries, but there is nothing to fear. Brexit need not be nationalist, but can be internationalist. Its not an economic threat, but a considerable opportunity. Not un british, but a manifestation of this countrys Historic National genius. And i can see obviously that im running the risk in making this case of simply causing further irritation. But i must run that risk. Boris johnson returned to familiar themes of the leave side of the Referendum Campaign taking back control of laws and embracing the world beyond europe. Brexit is about re engaging this country with its global identity, and all the energy that can flow from that. And i absolutely refuse to accept the suggestion that is an un british spasm of bad manners. Its not some great v sign from the cliffs of dover it is the expression of a legitimate and natural desire for Self Government of the people, by the people, for the people. The foreign secretarys is the first in a series of speeches in the coming weeks in which senior ministers will set out what downing street is calling a road map to brexit. Theresa may will address security, while other cabinet members will cover the devolution of powers reclaimed from brussels, International Trade and workers rights. The governments been under pressure to settle on a position and offer more detail about what britain wants its relationship with the eu to look like after brexit. Borisjohnsons speech today was heavy on rhetoric, but didnt go far enough for his critics. This was a big exercise in hypocrisy, frankly, from the foreign secretary. First of all, he made an argument about taking back control, of course, to parliament on behalf of the people. But every step of the way during these brexit negotiations, he and his government have sought to withheld information from parliament and the people on the impact of brexit. We now have to accept the fact weve had the referendum, were not having a second one, were not being part of the Single Market or the Customs Union. Were taking back control, and thats what the speech was all about emphasising what that referendum was about. The brexit argument is still raging. The government hopes to heal divides and look to the future. But ministers are fast approaching the point when they must collectively declare what that looks like. Leila nathoo, bbc news, westminster. In a moment well get reaction from adam fleming in brussels, but first to our Political Correspondent ben wright , whos in westminster. Can we have a sense of how this has gone down today, this exercise in reaching out . It was the speech as if the referendum had not yet happened, more like a campaigning speech from Boris Johnson. Happened, more like a campaigning speech from borisjohnson. He was clearly trying to paint an optimistic picture of life outside the eu. All kinds of talk of stag do is to your continuing, people retiring to spain, familiar Boris Johnsonjokes about retiring to spain, familiar Boris Johnson jokes about still been able to buy german wine and italian cars. It felt like a stump speech really from the campaign. I think there was an acknowledgement from Boris Johnson that the government has done not done much to bridge the divide that was created by the referendum and clearly still exists today. So and clearly still exists today. So an attempt to put an arm around angry women voters who think leaving the eu will be a disaster and say i understand why youre angry but it can be all right. And the best kind of british tradition, in a common cause, lets get on board together. That is what he was trying to say that as he himself acknowledged, the difficult messengerfor that as he himself acknowledged, the difficult messenger for that. Seeing that he was the absolute flag bearer for the leave campaign and i think he had imitated as many people with his speech as he made one over. Well to what extent do the back this up with details, practical, measurable policy proposals . They did not feature at all. He said the anxieties people who wanted to remain had to be listened to but it was not clear what he was offering people who are anxious about the economic costs of leaving the eu. All he did was say that they need to be in the end clear, clean break the eu so that the uk could use its sovereignty. Although he did say perhaps in some areas regulatory alignment could continue. It was very thin on new facts, on any sense of how the government plans to revise its ambitions for a deep and lasting special new trade deal with eu after brexit. But of course these the discussion the discussions going on right now within a very divided cabinet. And this was the contribution of borisjohnson to that debate. Adam fleming is in brussels. We also heard today from some key figures in brussels. So by one of those amazing coincidences of the Brexit Process, while borisjohnson was speaking in london the president of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker was doing a of the European Commission jean claudejuncker was doing a News Conference in brussels at exactly the same time. He was quite jolly and funny, cracking jokes about the tea and coffee borders that the eu leaders make when they have a summit. But then in the question and a nswer summit. But then in the question and answer session afterwards a british journalist asked if he was aware that the British Foreign secretary had effectively said that president Jean Claude Juncker was part of had effectively said that president jean claudejuncker was part of a plot to create a meet eu superstate. At that point the mood changed dramatically. As you can see in the clip. Some in the british Political Society are pretending im a stupid, stubborn federalist in favour of a european superstate. Im strictly against a european superstate. We are not the United States of america, we are the European Union which is a rich body because we have these 27, 28 nations. The which is a rich body because we have these 27,28 nations. The eu which is a rich body because we have these 27, 28 nations. The eu cannot be built against the european nations. So this is total nonsense. The irony is the reasonJean Claude Juncker was doing a press conference was to unveil his plans for a potentially bigger eu budget and to talk about his dream of eventually having a directly elected president of the European Union. But some people can say is a few steps on the road to an eu superstate and actually he was making the point for borisjohnson. People actually he was making the point for Boris Johnson. People around actually he was making the point for borisjohnson. People around here we re borisjohnson. People around here were listening to the speech by borisjohnson were listening to the speech by Boris Johnson and borisjohnson and adjusting at this afternoon and they find it interesting as an insight into the discussions going on in the British Government at the moment but what they really are waiting for is a speech or document from the Prime Minister laying out of formal proposals for what the u can expect from the uk when it comes to the future relationship. Well we go straight to stormont and sinn fein. We have been for the past few weeks, we have stretched ourselves, we have been involved in detailed and meaningful conversations in terms of trying to move things forward. We did and had an accommodation with the dup in terms of all the issues which are to you all. The dup failed to close on that deal and on the accommodation which we had found. So the dup leadership had failed to come forward and close on the issues where we did find an accommodation. So these issues are not going to go away, myself and Mary Lou Mcdonald are engaged with both governments and will continue to do that and tomorrow we will set out to more fulsome response in relation to where we go from here. Do you think the unionists were spooked by the arrival of the British Foreign minister on monday . arrival of the British Foreign minister on monday . I can only speculate as to that but i am clear that we had an accommodation with the dup on the issues and the dup leadership failed to close, accommodation. Do you believe you had a stand alone Irish Language act the issues are well rehearsed, we need to see a stand alone Irish Language act, all the issues. What were asking for is reasonable, rights for all citizens, good government, equality and respect, integrity and government. That is what we set out to achieve and what we believed we had an accommodation on and the dup leadership has failed to close accommodation. Yesterday it was said there would be no freestanding Irish Language act. Did you think it had already been signed off on . Well the dup, if they chose to call it something else, what we had was an accommodation on all the issues which are well known to everyone. Myself and Mary Lou Mcdonald are speaking with both governments, we have to resolve theseissues governments, we have to resolve these issues to restore the institution. People want the executive to work but it has to work for everyone. So we have to have that conversation about where we go from here and that is a conversation that im happy to talk about tomorrow. Exactly what those next steps look like. We want these institutions and believe in this executive, that it serves the people well but it has to serve all the people. I have said these issues are not going to go away. Whether it is today, tomorrow, six months down the line, we must resolve these issues if were going to restore these institutions. So the conversation now has to be had with both governments in terms of where go from here. It seems at the moment there was an understanding on the Irish Language act according to you but the dup said the opposite. Im going to engage with both governments in terms of where we go from here. Im Crystal Clear that we had an accommodation with the dup across all the range of issues. We had a way forward on all the issues. I think quite rightly so there was a lot of expectation of the last couple of days were people were briefed or were discussing the fact that potentially there was a deal on the table. I say confidently we had an accommodation with the dup and the dup leadership have failed to close, accommodation. The response of sinn fein led to the collapse of the negotiations in Northern Ireland. Sinn fein squarely blaming the dup for the collapse of the negotiations which means there is no prospect according to the dup of any resolution or any return to devolved government in Northern Ireland for the time being. But sinn fein clearly very angry. They say theyre not making unreasonable requests and people can come back tomorrow with their own proposals to try to move things forward. So that was Michelle Oneill things forward. So that was michelle 0neill on behalf of sinn fein. President zuma of south africa says efforts by the countrys governing anc to eject him from power are unfair. The party has threatened mr zuma with a parliamentary motion of no confidence tomorrow if he refuses to step down today, following persistent allegations of corruption. Earlier police raided properties belonging to the wealthy gupta family who are close to mr zuma and three people were arrested. Lets get more from our correspondent Pumza Fihlani whos in pretoria. What is the latest on the position ofjacob what is the latest on the position of jacob zuma and what is the latest on the position ofjacob zuma and how do you what is the latest on the position of jacob zuma and how do you assess the next 2a hours . Of jacob zuma and how do you assess the next 24 hours . It has been the most awkward few hours here in south africa. We have a front row seat in that very public fight. But it is more serious because what happens within the anc has a direct impact on the stability of this country. We understand preggers president jacob zuma is to address the nation at any moment. We do not know if that comes with a resignation. Certainly the anc want to but they are taking no chances. Should he not resign their prepared to drag him to parliament and remove him from power there. In terms of the dynamics of this talk through the colour balance between the anc and the demands they have been making and jacob zuma himself, how do you assess the balance . At the moment jacob zuma still enjoys some support within the anc and some support within some quarters in south africa but it seems especially in the last few days there has been a drastic shift in what people want to see happening. Theyve just run out of patience and they want an end to the jacob zuma chapter. But it seems he is prepared to take his chances and he really wants to take it down to the wire. It is now a matter of will be anc take it as far as the vote of no confidence tomorrow. 0pposition parties on the sidelines of that are raring to go and ready to vote with the anc. And the anc seems to believe they have the numbers to ta ke believe they have the numbers to take out tomorrow so by friday all things being equal south africa would have a new president. In your assessment, and were waiting for this statement from jacob zuma come to think we will reach a position where at least is prepared to lay out some kind of timetable . where at least is prepared to lay out some kind of timetable . I feel time has run out, the anc have been talking in the last few hours saying they have theyre done negotiating and much to the surprise the president , he seemed not to understand what the rush is about and that is why the anc want to table the motion tomorrow in parliament. But that is not the only chance, if he resigns tonight the drummer woodend and they bring in a newly elected president on friday who then presents the state of the nation address to south africa as he steps into the new role. If not then the motion of no confidence will happen tomorrow but either way it looks as if this is the end of the road for president jacob zuma. He needs to either bile out tonight or be pushed out tomorrow. If there is any development there we will bring it to you straightaway. Lets now get the weather. The day started in quite a nice note but it all went downhill with a weather front moving in. But it all went downhill with a weatherfront moving in. That brought in outbreaks of rain and hill snow. Showers moving into the north west of the country, snow on the highest ground. What as cold as last night, just pockets of frost in the countryside. But thursday, quite a bit of cloud across southern parts of england to start the day but it isa of england to start the day but it is a day of contrasts weather wise. There is no pressure to the north, High Pressure building in further south, cold air across much of the country but milder air working into southern counties. There will be big temperature contrasts across the country because of this. So, blustery showers across Northern Ireland and scotland. Not too many showers for england than we. It will start cloudy in the south, with backlight dimming away with sunny spells coming through. Temperature is mild in the south, reaching 11 degrees, cold in the north, temperatures about 5 degrees. This is bbc news. The headlines no prospect of a return to devolved government in Northern Ireland after a 13 month stalemate. Following the kidnap, rape and murder of a 20 year old woman, her uncle is sent prison for at least a0 years. Borisjohnson says brexit isnt something to fear and he appeals for people to come together behind his vision of britains future. Thousands of direct debits to oxfam are cancelled as the fallout from the charitys sex abuse scandal continues. Lets catch up with all the sports news. Lets catch up with all the sports news. The surprisingly mesmeric sport of curling is back and it represents one of great britains better chances of a medal. Team gb won a silver and a bronze in sochi. The round robin matches started earlier today. The men had a tight win over switzerland in their first game before returning to the ice to face the defending champions, canada. It was close throughout, but kyle smiths team were always up against it and lost 6 a to the favourites. The women, still led by skipper eve muirhead, now at her third 0lympics. They had a pretty easy start in their opening round robin game beating the olympic athletes of russia 10 3. The game ended early such was great britains dominance. Next up is usa thats atjust after midnight our time. American shaun white has become the first snowboarder to win three 0lympic titles. He sensationally snatched halfpipe gold with a superb final run to just pip japanese teenager ayumu hirano. Hirano overtook white on his second run with a score of 95. 25, but the american replied with an amazing 97. 75 to win. His victory also secured a 100th winter olympic gold for the United States. The beginning in the sport it wasnt cool to really want to win and ucd skies now, they wanted, they are hungry and motivated. Even the qualifying was a vinyl so i am really proud to come out on top today and bagful of those guys, honestly, because they pushed me to this point to be able to do these kind of runs. This point to be able to do these kind of runs. Meanwhile, the weather has been causing more problems in pyeongchang. The biathlon and womens slalom had to be cancelled organisers closed the olympic park and advised spectators to stay away because of more strong winds. The jamaican womens bobsleigh coach Sandra Kiriasis has dramatically quit her role and has threatened to take the teams sled with her. The Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation is disputing she owns the sled. German kiriasis resigned after refusing to change roles from driving coach to track performance analyst, which would have given her no access to the athletes. Thejbf has denied it will have to withdraw its team, which were due to be making their first appearance at a winter olympics. Chris froome has defended his decision to return to racing for the First Time Since his adverse drugs test. The four time Tour De France champion begins his 2018 season at the ruta del sol in spain today, despite an ongoing doping tribunal prompted by the test at last years vuelta a espana. Froome insists he has a right to continue competing. This is a process that a lot of athletes have gone through, a lot of other riders have gone through as well and they dont see why i should have different treatment to them. They were all racing in the meantime until they got to the edge of their processes. Until they got to the edge of their processes. There is a process there that allows me to demonstrate that there has been no wrongdoing and thatis there has been no wrongdoing and that is obviously what i intend to do and we are in the middle of that process now and i am not able to speak about that publicly. Liverpool are hoping to follow the lead of Manchester City and spurs in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie tonight. So far, the premier league sides have been impressive. Liverpool play porto in portugal, but despite being favourites to go through, jurgen klopp is refusing to think further ahead, just like their Champions League winning side of 2005. I dont think that the 2005 side thought about this before the last 16, the round of the last 16. If they did really surprise me. I could rafael benitez, pretty sure they didnt so it makes no sense. If we get to the final we can say we will try to win it for sure, but it is such a long way, i hate to talk about the round after the actual round. I dont come only because i am offended person i am to the question and the rim public. Usually if somebody asked me about the next round they leave the room immediately round they leave the room immediately thats all the sport for now. You can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. Thats bbc. Co. Uk sport. You can here full commentary of that liverpool match on the radio. Well have more for you in sportsday at 6. 30pm. More reaction is coming in from that decision by Arlene Foster is saying there is no basis for a return to a devolved government at stormont at the time being, this is after the intensive talks this week. There was talk about a deal in the offing, theresa may saying there would be a deal very soon, the dup centre is no prospect of the deal. The crucial issue of the Irish Language because in Northern Ireland, that is one of the main issues being debated. Sinn fein very angry indeed and accusing the dup of the collapse of the stocks. We have not heard until now from the secretary of state for Northern Ireland. She emerged in the last couple of minutes to give her statement on the state of the talks. 0ver statement on the state of the talks. Over the past few weeks both parties have conducted discussion seriously and in good faith. Well substantive progress towards an an agreement has been made if appears that this phase of talks has reached a conclusion. I would urge everyone to reflect on the circumstances that have led to this and their positions both now and in the future. The position of the uk government remains the same, devolved government is in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland and is best for the union. I believe the basis for accommodation still exists. As the Prime Minister said during her visit on monday, we are ready to bring forward legislation to enable an executive to be formed. We will continue to work with everyone to make sure we do deliver this. We now need to consider practical steps. In the continued absence of an executive, other challenging decisions will have to be taken by the uk government and i will update parliament when the house returns from recess next week. Thank you. Dan rather pointed statement there by Karen Bradley, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland. She will be talking about practical steps and there will be a statement that westminster. We must think about those words in terms of the dups demands today for the westminster government to set the budget and start taking decisions on spending on schools, hospitals and infrastructure in Northern Ireland. It isa infrastructure in Northern Ireland. It is a high stakes situation we are talking about here and right now no prospect of a return to devolved government after 13 months of stalemate. It was interesting that Karen Bradley said that there is the basis for an accommodation there she thinks between the dup and sinn fein, despite the fact that the dup today said there was no prospect of that at all. Interesting. Karen bradley saying that there would be a statement that westminster on the way ahead. If there is any more reaction to that situation we will bring it to you straightaway. Lets get more now on Boris Johnsons speech this morning in which he has tried to reassure voters who opposed leaving the European Union, saying that its a cause for hope, not fear. Many of those who opposed brexit will have been listening with interest. Im joined now by the former conservative minister nicky morgan, who voted to remain in the European Union and also voted against theresa mays eu withdrawal bill. Thank you forjoining us. Did he reach out to you in a way that convinced you . Well, i think it was a good idea to give a speech in which we try to bring the different sides together and i think that was very welcome from Boris Johnson sides together and i think that was very welcome from borisjohnson this morning. I think boris is a natural optimist and he is trying to tell us all that there is a very optimistic outlook for a post brexit britain. What would reassure people like me and my constituents, that although our site did not win, we now have got a road map going forwards and thatis got a road map going forwards and that is what we need to hear from the government of the detail. It is just over 1a months until we are going to leave the European Union and that is what people are looking for. Were you surprised that this speech was more about reaching out and there was not much detail in that . It wouldve been much better, and one of the big mistakes made after the referendum, was there was not more done in the summer and autumn of 2016 to reach out to the a8 who did not support leaving the European Union. There are some people who are not reconciled to the vote, but most of us accept that we are going to leave the European Union. We want to know that the views of those who did not support that will be listened to. This is very welcome, this reaching out, but it does seem rather late in the day. Boris is very good at broad strokes, but it is the detail that is now needed. That is what many of us were hoping forfrom the needed. That is what many of us were hoping for from the cabinet meetings last week. We may get those details. This is the first in a series of speeches that will be made by cabinet ministers. Perhaps we can fullyjudge until we cabinet ministers. Perhaps we can fully judge until we hear the cabinet ministers. Perhaps we can fullyjudge until we hear the rest of the speeches. How confident are you by the end of the last speech you by the end of the last speech you will have a much more detailed picture of the Government Strategy . It is very difficult to tell until we have heard all of the speeches. A lot of people have been calling for detailfor lot of people have been calling for detail for a lot of people have been calling for detailfor a long time. Concerning thing is that the cabinet, there is such a difference of opinion in cabinet, and i think that is reflected in divisions in the country. That is why it is so important that the cabinet does get together to agree exactly what they wa nt to together to agree exactly what they want to achieve. Businesses in my constituency are asking which legislation is will they be working towards after march 2019 . Will happen about eu citizens . That is a perfectly legitimate question. If the eu can set their negotiating guidelines ahead of the march negotiations starting, then that is what we need to hear from the uk government. I know there is a lot of work going on to get there, but it is only that detail, those guidelines that will reassure people who did not support brexit over the boat. Do you think the government is wise to stick to leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union, a decision that is causing business anxiety . There were early decisions taken by the Prime Minister in the lancaster house speech. A lot of stop those decisions were taken very early. I do understand that those who voted to leave, staying in the Single Market does mean that it does not honour the boat that was taken, and they understand that the Customs Union, there is a desire among many people to negotiate free trade agreements. The difficulty is, particularly with the irish situation, that many people believe the irish border issue can only be solved by the uk remaining at least inaform solved by the uk remaining at least in a form of Customs Union, if not the Customs Union. The government will have to balance those two very difficult competing demands, but i cannot believe that anyone in government wants to put the good friday agreement Peace Process at risk, so i think that is why. And there is a majority in parliament who want to look at a Customs Union of kind. 0ne who want to look at a Customs Union of kind. One of the things boris was talking about today was a clean, ha rd talking about today was a clean, hard brexit and he will know and the Prime Minister will know there is not a majority in parliament for that but parliament gets that people have voted to leave and that vote has to be honoured. 0xfams regional director in asia has told the bbc she is aware of past abuse cases involving the charitys workers in the philippines, bangladesh and nepal. The admission came as senior 0xfam officials prepared to meet the Charity Commission, which is investigating the organisations handling of Sexual Misconduct claims made against its staff in haiti in 2011. The actor Minnie Driver has resigned as an ambassador for 0xfam, saying shes horrified by the sex scandal allegations at the charity. 0ur correspondent matt cole reports. What happened in haiti . That is the focus of the Charity Commission enquiry which holds its first meeting with 0xfam today. But now a senior figure in the charity says there have been largely unreported cases in other countries as well. There were cases in the philippines. There were also cases in bangladesh. There were whitle blowers coming forward in bangladesh, as far as i know. It was after the 2013 super typhoon yolande in the philippines that some of these cases took place, but then and now, there are questions about such perpetrators being flagged to other agencies. Not yet, but that is a practice that we need to start because the funny thing about cases like this is, we always see them as Reputational Risks. But the way to manage Reputational Risk is not to keep silent. No organisation is too big, or our work with them too complex, for me to hesitate to remove funding from them if we cannot trust them to put the beneficiaries of aid first. 0n the specific case of oxfam, some supporters have already reacted. From friday to monday, 1,270 people cancelled their direct debits, four times the normal daily cancellation rate. However on monday, 78 one off donations were made, a record high this year. And aa new direct debits were set up, the most in a day since march last year. However, one celebrity supporter, the actress Minnie Driver, has ended her ambassadors role, tweeting. 0xfams Major Corporate partners are taking a different approach. Waterstones has given a statement of support, saying the charitys work is of great value. Others like marks spencers, co op bank and Heathrow Airport say they are taking the matter seriously but for now will be monitoring the situation. Medicine san franjr has said that complaints were made against some of their staff last year, 19 of whom we re their staff last year, 19 of whom were sacked. The organisation believes that these kind of cases continues to go unreported. An ex british soldier has appeared in court charged with attending a place used for terrorist training. James matthews, who is from dalston in east london, is alleged to have attended one or a number of Training Camps in iraq and syria run by Kurdish Militia in february 2016. This is bbc news at five. The headlines no prospect of a return to devolved government in Northern Ireland after a 13 month stalemate. Following the kidnap, rape and murder of a 20 year old woman her uncle is sent prison for at least a0 years. Borisjohnson says brexit isnt something to fear and he appeals for people to come together behind his vision of britains future. An update on the market numbers for you. Heres how londons and frankfurt ended the day. There is a pervasive lack of trust among people with disabilities in relation to how their welfare claims are assessed according to the commons work and pensions committee, which says reports by private contractors are riddled with errors. It also says claimants dont trust assessors to record evidence of their conditions accurately. The government insists the system works well for the majority of claimants, as our disability correspondent nikki fox report. Anastasia is having a good day. But its not always like this. Most days she is constant pain. The 2a year old has multiple sclerosis. She used to work full time, but now she struggles to leave the house. 0n the days she can get out, anastasia totally relies on her car. She applied for a disability benefit and was assessed at home by a healthcare professional from a private company. Anastasia told her assessor she could only walk 20 metres, but when the report came back, it said she could walk further. She didnt give me a physical assessment. I was sat down the entire time. I was very, very cross about that. As a result, anastasia lost her higher rate disability benefit, which meant she lost her car. Although she successfully appealed that decision, her experience is far from a one off. Todays report identifies a culture of mistrust around the whole process. It says the governments low bar for what it is what is considered acceptable leaves room for assessment reports to be riddled with obvious errors and omissions. It also says assessors risk being viewed as a best lacking in confidence and at worst, actively deceitful. Nurses are expected to assess four or five clients a day. But this former nurse, who worked as an assessor for a few weeks before quitting, has today anonymously told the bbc she was disgusted with the system. I had a lady come to my service, dropped off. In my mind, in my experience over 20 years working with people with learning disabilities, this lady had learning disabilities. When i made my report on my observations, it was sent back and the auditor made me change it and said there was no evidence that she had learning disabilities at all. We have asked the government to record all these key assessments, interviews. The government said it is going to put this idea out to consultation. We pointed out to the minister when she was before the committee that literally everybody has agreed except the government that they shouldnt do this. So this consultation clearly is going to be the government talking to itself. The government says it is exploring options to promote Greater Transparency and trust and that assessments work well for the majority of claimants who said they were happy with their overall experience. But with current contract is up for review and targets being consistently missed, it is uncertain who will carry out these assessments in the future. Nikki fox, bbc news. The prescription tranquiliser xa nax is being sold illegally to children by dealers using social media sites. Several young people have been left needing hospital treatment after taking the drug. The home office says its taking action and has called on social media sites to crack down on the practice. 0ur correspondent lauren moss reports. When wed buy acid, itd be like £10 a tab, and then hed sell us xanax on the side. Its a dangerous lifestyle that is growing in popularity. Chef started using drugs when he was 1a. Some substances were easy to find online. Weed, mdma, cocaine, xanax. Are dealers using social media as a platform to sell drugs . Certain dealers are like online, on like social media. Sometimes you can, it is possible now to like go on instagram and find a drug dealer. Behind websites usually used for sharing photos and contacting family and friends lurks a criminal underworld where drug dealers are hiding behind a screen. They invite users to message them through an anonymous app. Its possible to make an order, pay and arrange delivery all in a matter of minutes. One of the dealers i found on instagram sent me this package in the post. Inside is a free sample of his product, which he claims is xanax and diazepam tranquillisers usually used to treat anxiety. And you can see, he sent me nine tablets. The dealer hopes that if im satisfied with this, ill then place a larger order. And it is all virtually untraceable. Theres some school of thought, essentially, that which thinks because these are prescription drugs in some countries, that its ok and that they are going to be safe. That is absolutely not the case. So when things are bought online, it is really easy for dealers to make counterfeits, for example. We are not sure of the dosage. I think there does have to be some responsibility put on these social media giants, essentially, to tackle it. I notified facebook and instagram about the accounts and asked for an interview. No one was available, but they sent separate statements saying, buying or selling drugs of any sort is not allowed on either platform, and the accounts i showed them have been removed for breaking community guidelines. Both sites are asking anyone who sees this content to report it, and say their teams will work quickly to take it down. But it only takes seconds to set up new accounts, and with the trend among teenagers apparently only worsening, its a war that will not be easy to win. Lauren moss, bbc news. A British Airways engineer has died following a collision between two airport vehicles on a taxiway at heathrow. A second man suffered a suspected broken shoulder in the accident, which happened just after 6 oclock this morning. The police and the health and safety executive are investigating. At least 20 flights were delayed by the incident. A 500kg german bomb that was dug out of the thames near London City Airport has been detonated off the essex coast. It forced the cancellation of all flights from the airport on monday. The planned detonation yesterday had to be cancelled due to bad weather. Simonjones reports. Finally, the world war ii bomb that caused so much chaos is history. Getting it two miles off the essex coast with the help of the two kilograms explosive device. It had been quite a journey to get to this point. The bomb was transported down the thames at night after its discovery at the dock during work at London City Airport. It forced all flights to be cancelled on monday and the evacuation of nearby homes after an exclusion zone was put in place. The bomb had to be duck dog out the bed of silk 50 metres underwater. Has been very, very testing for the entire team. It has been very hard work underwater, long days, not a lot of sleep. The bomb finally arrived at the royal navy the ascension shri ness. The disposal had to be postponed because of high winds are busy swell. It is the fourth 500 kilograms bomb that the fourth 500 kilograms bomb that the mod has had to deal with in the last 15 months, one day, local residents and airport passengers will be glad to see the back of. Stand by for the bbc news at six. At night, the weather. Clearing out of the way overnight, it will be a chilly night tonight. We had temperatures down to about minus seven. A little bit of frost in the countryside so some icy stretches to watch out for. Thursday will be a day of temperature contrasts. An area of low pressure to the north of the uk bringing us some chilly air and showers. High pressure building in the southern parts of the british isles, and that is dragging in some less cold air. So there will be big temperature contrasts between the north and south as the day goes by. Wintry showers will move into scotland and Northern Ireland. Further south across england and wales it will be mostly dry. It will start off cloudy in the south that it will break and sunshine will come through in the afternoon. Some contrast in the temperatures, though. 11 degrees in the south, 5 degrees in the north with some accumulation of snow on the higher ground. Next week the weather will turn increasingly mild. Sentenced to life in prison, the man who kidnapped, raped and murdered his niece, putting her body in a deep freezer. Celine dookhran was 20. She was found dead in an empty house in london. Herfamily, in a statement, said she fell victim to pure evil. Celine was our beautiful, caring, funny and intelligent daughter. No words will never be able to describe the devastation and heartache we feel about what has happened to her. Her killer, her uncle, mujahid arshid, was also convicted of attempting to murder a second woman. His surviving victim told the court that the flashbacks and nightmares prevented her from that the flashbacks and nightmares prevented herfrom moving on. Also tonight the foreign secretary says brexit is a cause for hope not fear, but supporters have to get the positive agenda across