Victims are being let down and suspects left untracked by some Police Forces in england and wales according to a report out today. Her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary found a third of forces needed improvement. It said a small number were putting the public at unacceptable risk by rationing services as they struggle with cutbacks. Heres our home affairs correspondent, dominic casciani. The cornerstone of british policing the bobby on the beat. But are these Vital Community posts being eroded as forces juggle their priorities . Thats one of the warnings in a stark report from her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary. After five years of budget cuts, some forces arent making the right tough calls over how to use their resources. Its raised what it calls a red warning flag to those struggling forces. Some have been downgrading 999 calls if theyre short on officers. That means they dont have to respond as quickly. The hmic also says Domestic Violence calls to some forces have been downgraded because of a lack of specialist officers. 0therforces have ignored leads on organised crime because it would stretch their resources. 0nly durham is delivering outstanding policing. Neighbourhood policing, that proactive, preventative presence of Police Officers in communities is eroding even further, so that means theyre not stopping crime from happening in the first place and thats what the public want to see. This isnt in all forces many forces still have a really Great Service in that area but some forces are beginning to take officers out of Neighbourhood Policing to focus on other areas, and were saying absolutely that erosion of Neighbourhood Policing cant be allowed to happen. The hmic says overall most forces are doing well, but a third may be placing the public at unacceptable risk by rationing their resources. Some Chief Constables believe the inspectors have got it wrong, but their National Council says each force is facing difficult decisions over what matters most. Dominic casciani, bbc news. In a statement, the Home Office Said that a number of forces still have more work to do. President trumps newly appointed Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions is under mounting pressure over two undisclosed encounters with the Russian Ambassador to the us late last year. Mr sessions denied having met any russian officials to discuss issues of the president ial campaign. But the House Democratic leader nancy pelosi Accused Him Of Lying Under Oath. As Attorney General, he is in charge of the fbi, which is currently investigating that alleged russian interference. During his Confirmation Hearing injanuary, mr sessions was asked directly about contacts with russia by the minnesota senator al franken. If there is any evidence that any one affiliated with the Trump Campaign communicated with the russian government, in the course of this campaign, what will you do . Im not aware at all venues those activities, i have been called a circuit in that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians and im unable to comment oii russians and im unable to comment on it. Some senior democrats have now called on mr sessions to resign, as our correspondent greg dawson reports. 0nce once again, questions are being asked about one of Donald Trumps key appointments, once again its all to do with russia. The man at the centre of the row, the new us Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions. It is claimed he had to undisclosed conversations with the Russian Ambassador during the Election Campaign, when he was still a senator, but its a conversation he didnt mention in his Confirmation Hearing when asked whether anyone affiliated with that Election Campaign had contact with the russians. Now senior democrats, including house leader nancy pelosi, say he should resign, accusing him of Lying Under Oath. In a statement, mr sessions said it comesjust it comes just weeks after former National Security adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign after he misled the white house about conversations, again with the Russian Ambassador to the us, allegedly regarding sanctions against moscow. In a further twist, us lawmakers in the House Of Representatives have announced they will investigate possible contact between moscow and resident Trumps Campaign after claims the kremlin worked to help him defeat Hillary Clinton. We do need scrutiny, and we need to if there are americans talking to the russians, and anybody connected to the russian government oi connected to the russian government or russian agents. Ever since his election donald trump has repeatedly denied close ties with russia but this development is likely to increase that scrutiny even further. Jeremy shapiro specialises in us politics and was also at the State Department under Hillary Clinton where he worked from 2009 until 2013, hejoins us now. Did you think mr sessions should resign . 2013, hejoins us now. Did you think mr sessions should resign . I dont think that he will resign, i think from Donald Trumps perspective, he needs him in that position too much. Thats a position where he really needs a loyalist and he doesnt have too many other sufficient stature to fill it if he were to leave. They think he might be forced to, though . I dont think so, given the current revelations, if there are more revelations, if there are more revelations, which the pattern is that there always could be, maybe that there always could be, maybe that will happen. But as of now were talking about are two fairly incidental contact with the Russian Ambassador and the question of whether his words under oath and contingent lying. I dont think that donald trump will be too exercised by the idea hit Attorney General may have laid. You almost appeared to be downplaying this incident, why are democrats getting so exercised about it and calling for his resignation . I think this incident isnt such a big deal in isolation but there is a massive scandal going on In Washington, arguably the biggest since watergate, about russian contacts with the Trump Campaign and whether that influenced the election. The reason people are so exercised about what would ordinarily be a small event is it seems to be blossoming, mushrooming everywhere, and spreading through the Administration Like a fungus. Its refusing to go right for the president , what are your thoughts, how much do you think he knew about russian activities during the election . I really couldnt speak later about how much donald trump no, ithink later about how much donald trump no, i think its fairly obvious that there have been a lot of contacts at this point, it has been so many reports of contact between the Trump Administration and campaign and the russian officials, that i think it requires at this point, a serious investigation, probably a Special Prosecutor, to let the American People know and to let. To reveal the people what actually happened so people can go comfortable about what their government, what their relationship with russia is. How likely do you think that is to happen . I think it became more likely today, we have seen from the congressmen mentioned in your report and from senator lindsey graham, from south carolina, that there was increasing calls for an independent investigation, even for a Special Prosecutor and forJeff Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation, that has the hope of creating an investigation which can be independent enough to give us a good sense of what happened stop this comes after the National Security adviser mike flynn had to go because of his dealings with the russians. Whatever else happens, this issue isnt going away. |j russians. Whatever else happens, this issue isnt going away. I think thats right, it really cant go away until there is the type of full scale investigation which will ta ke full scale investigation which will take months under any circumstances, that will tell us exactly what happened and it can make People Co Mforta Ble happened and it can make people comfortable because otherwise, every bit of instigation that leaks out about a meeting between the Russian Ambassador and some official will reignite the scandal and reignite the questions about what these contacts were and what they meant for the election. Got to talk to. Thanks for your time. Some news coming in from france, that is that the European Parliament has voted to lift the French Far Right leader marine le pens Immunity From Prosecution. A bit of background to that, they have overwhelmingly voted to lift this immunity. That was for Tweaking Pictures of isis and violence. Marine le pen is a member of the European Parliament and is under investigation in france for posting images of isis executions on twitter. What more can you tell us . There is a special status attaching to European Parliamentarians which protects them up to a point from police investigation, it means she wouldnt have the answer summons by police, if she invoked that immunity. That immunity has now been removed, it refers as you say to these tweets that she made quite a long time ago, 18 months ago, which we re very long time ago, 18 months ago, which were very graphic features of so called ies byland, which later open to prescription of tweeting violent images. Isis violence. The persecution right on to this particular charge, there is a much larger charge which concern payments to her staff using European Parliamentary funds, that is an investigation that is ongoing, but so investigation that is ongoing, but so far she has been able to invoke her European Parliamentary immunity to resist questioning on that. As for its overall effect, i think itll be minimal, all her supporters will find that this is perfectly typical of europe involving itself in french affairs, they would not regard what she did as heinous. But if you are minded to be against marine le pen, its a sign of how she herself has had problems with the Justice System and seemed to try and truck them off. You mention the wider social election, one of the other contenders is speaking now, as we speak. I think we may be able to show you pictures of him. He is currently speaking in french but i think, do you have any sense of what he has had to say . Absolutely, the big criticism of macron has been that he hasnt spelt out his programme, it that its all image and internet and people in primary colours jumpers waving banners, and internet and people in primary coloursjumpers waving banners, at rallies, and we dont know what he stands for. Now he has spelt out a long list of proposals, his idea is to appeal the moderates of left and right, very pro european, there are measures here which are quite concrete, for example he wants to reform the pensions system, to bring the public Pension System in line with the private system, a very controversial issue in france, which the last 20 years has been called for by the right never happened, in 1995 there were big demonstrations which blocked it. That is a big reform which will please moderates on the right, he will say its just common sense. 0n the left there are measures, including more teachers, there is a measure to make more universal view and implement benefit system, these are ideas which are appealing the moderates of the left. There is no substance to his Programme Andi there is no substance to his programme and i think he has pulled it off well and has been very lucky, because of the timing of all this, comes right after the collapse in the polls of his main rival, fillon, opening this boulevard for macron to walk down, showing the country his policies. At a time when fillon can only talk about his judicial problems. Thank you. The headlines her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary, which oversees Policing Standards, has warned of the Potentially Perilous state of the service in england and wales. Democrats call on us Attorney Generaljess sessions to step down after he failed to disclose meetings with russias ambassador. The government says it will seek to overturn a demand by The House Of Lords that eu citizens living in the uk should be allowed to stay in the country after brexit. And in Sport Tributes have been paid to celtics lisbon lion tommy gemmell, who has died aged 73 following a long illness. Gemmell scored in 1967 when celtic became the first british club to win the european cup. British cycling will react today to the Damning Indictment of their medical practices delivered by ukad chair nicole sa pstead yesterday. She said she found the lack of documentation and Record Keeping around Prescription Medicines used by bc and team sky odd. And Billy Vunipolas hopes of playing in the six nations have been given a huge boost. Hes set to return to action for his Club Saracens this weekend. Vunipolas been out of action since november with a knee injury. Ill be back with more on those stories. Please defeated the government last night over the issue. But theresa may says the rights of eu citizens in the uk will be negotiated after article 50 is triggered. The bill will return to the commons later this month. The key Question Is Whether Mps will have been emboldened by last nights crushing defeat over this issue of eu nationals and decide to do the same in the commons. We had one labour peer suggesting that up to 33 mps could rebel, which of course would overturn the majority. That is probably emotional thinking than anything, because most people suspect there are a billion would be smaller probably more wishful thinking. But they must taken by the scale and ferocity of last nights defeat, in part fuelled by the fact that many peoples view this not as a political issue but almost as a moral issue, they think it is morally wrong to leave these people in limbo land, given that they have come here, settled here, work here and now find that thrown up in the airand are not and now find that thrown up in the air and are not clear about their future. They must also be that tactically it would be better for theresa may to make a unilateral gesture because that would crank up the pressure on the eu to grant the same rights to british nationals living elsewhere in the eu, but it was a passionate, ferociously argued debate. I ask your lordship to take the high moral ground and give reassurance to the millions who have made their home here in the expectation that they can continue to live and work here. These people need to know now, not in two years time or even 12 months time, they simply cant put their lives on hold. They need them to stay as much, if not more, than they wish to do so. So at Negotiating Position amounts to saying, do as we wish we will shoot our own foot. Now i completely repudiate the idea that i should treat any fellow human being as Bargaining Counter or of the kind. Why is everybody here today so excited about an amendment which looks after the foreigners and not the british . The best way of helping them is to pass this legislation as quickly as possible, to activate article 50 and then to negotiate to give these people the rights they deserve to stay our country. Ministers are saying that they will seek to overturn that defeat back in the commons, and a really critical issue is, are there enough conservative rebels to support mrs may . 0ne Leading Brexit Rebel is neil carmichael, i asked may . 0ne Leading Brexit Rebel is neil carmichael, iasked him may . 0ne Leading Brexit Rebel is neil carmichael, i asked him a short time ago whether he thought they would be a significant tory revolt. I dont think so, because in fairness to the government, article 50 is about the process, about lamenting a negotiation. And of course all of us think that eu nationals should have the appropriate rights so there is no arguing about that and its a question of when and now would be a good time. But article 50 is about the process and i think we have got to make sure that the House Of Commons and The House Of Lords have the opportunities to vote when the time comes. Whats interesting about that answer is that Mr Carmichael is adjusting the real difficulties for mrs may in the commons may not come with this issue of eu nationals but with this issue of eu nationals but with the issue of giving parliament a meaningful boat before she agrees it brexit deal. Appeals will vote on that next week given the sort of momentum they have built up following last night s vote, the expectation is they could deliver another crushing defeat on that issue and that could be much more problematic for mrs may in the commons. Nearly two thirds of englands hospitals have been rated as inadequate or needing improvement in a major new study by health inspectors. The report, by the care quality commission, also found that four out of five trusts need to improve patient safety. But more than 90 percent were judged to be good or outstanding for the caring attitude of staff. Heres our Health Editor hugh pym. Its the first wide ranging snapshot of the state of englands Major Hospitals. The regulator, the care quality commission, spent nearly three years carrying out inspections following the Mid Staffordshire patient care scandal. This is the first annual report on all of them. One of the key findings is the wide variation in the quality of services. Across the Major Hospital trusts in england, 68 have been rated as inadequate or requiring improvement. 81 of trusts are said to need to improve safety. But 93 were rated as good or outstanding for the caring attitude of staff. There is variation between trusts, theres variation within trusts. You can get a very good Service Within a trust thats struggling or you can get an individual service thats not doing so well in an otherwise good trust. Praise is given to some trusts which have made significant improvements, including University Hospitals bristol the first to go from requiring improvement direct to outstanding between two inspections. I think the findings of the report are very positive for us. I think in the report it acknowledges a lot of the hard work that this department does and the very positive culture for providing patient care that we have here. The Department Of Health said the comprehensive inspections formed a key part of a plan to make the nhs the safest and most Transparent Health care system in the world. With me is our Health Correspondent nick triggle. The Chief Inspector of hospitals in england has given a warning that the nhs stands on a burning platform, but does that mean . He is saying hospitals are facing unprecedented pressures , hospitals are facing unprecedented pressures, and if they get, hes concerned about the stability of the hospital sector. In effect hes not blame hospitals to some of the problems highlighted because he says they are under great problems, this isa they are under great problems, this is a milestone for the hospital sector, over the last three years they have had tougher Inspection Regimes and this is the first time we have a full picture of all the trusts in england. Lets talk about safety. 0ur trusts in england. Lets talk about safety. Our patients at risk . They say safety is the biggest concern they have identified in their inspections and they do say patients are at risk, they highlight a number of specific problems, they said there are not enough nurses onwards, not enough actors in a e units or midwives in maternity units, they are identifying safety isnt good enoughin are identifying safety isnt good enough in proactive by the hospitals and point out equipment isnt always being maintained and medicines are properly kept, there are examples of out of date medicines in cabinets. 0n the other hand, 90 of hospitals are rated good or outstanding for the caring attitude of their staff, how his duty of care different from duty of safety, whats the difference . They were looking at the attitude of staff and they are full of prose for the people who work in the health care service, say they are keeping afloat, with that they are keeping afloat, with that they are looking at how are they treating patients with care and compassion come on safety, they are looking at other elements, are there enough staff, is there too much overcrowding onward . Thank you. Thats crossed the Central London where the chancellorjohn John Mcdonnell has been giving a speech badlys economic plans ahead of the budget next wednesday. Make sure we Work Together to secure the best we can put the country on brexit and then lead into the next general election, we have important elections coming up, they will be fighting those as a united party. That is Holding Hands from my wing of the party, with momentum, holding out hand to progress and yes, Peter Mandelson, and having a constructive russian ship for the future, you heard it here first constructive relationship. On the substance of your speech, yesterday the Shadow Health secretary said that labour would have to find the money for the nhs and social care but personally didnt know where it was coming from, could you give us the detail about the Cash Injection it would be helpful but also, like the queue up right when you were suggesting updated tax . Secondly on labour, irene jones, suggesting a deal that Jeremy Corbyn should stand down in favour of a younger left wing candidates going on the leadership of it, is that a deal you would find attractive or is there evidence that there really is a soft coup after all . On the first issue, what we are saying today is that this budget next week has two trusty emergency within the nhs and social care. Has two address the emergency. The government is arguing that the economy is growing, they have increased tax receipts, we are saying that money needs to go to the nhs and social care now, there is a real emergency there. I did a film last week in my constituency where a young woman looking after her father who has had seven strokes, a mother who has had seven strokes, a mother who has had seven strokes, a mother who has got dementia, trying to hold down a job at the same time, its typical example of what is going on across the country, and it is falling on the women because of the nature of our culture, we need an Emergency Injection of cash otherwise were seeing people suffering, waiting long hours, surgeries, operations being cancelled and people in desperate plight. We are asking the government now, its got to apply a scale of resource. We will be coming forward with our own proposals in a matter of weeks in detail, be inviting the government also to look at a bipartisan approach to the future because we need Stable Funding of the nhs but wherever the resources are drawn from, what youre saying is we need a hypothetical level of resources go into the nhs independently supervised. We cant keep going through this crisis to Crisis Situation in the nhs and social care, there needs to be funding going into that. The independent role of the 0br Type Bodyis independent role of the 0br Type Body is important for us, jon as hworth body is important for us, jon ashworth mentioned that a couple books ago, i think the 0br probably could do it with an extended remit, will be inviting government to change legislation to restore confidence in the overall funding. Cani confidence in the overall funding. Can i also say one thing, this issue about Tax Avoidance, the problem we have got is the government is failing to collect the taxes we need, on the one hand, and when it does collect taxes, it was about the rich of the rich and the corporations. 70 billion. Under Philip Hammonds plan fast developing as a tax haven, that would go up to one inch and 20 billion to stop the cant have a situation where other exhibitors are supposed to be properly funded, taxes are not being collected because they are not doing the work they have two on avoidance and evasion and will lead to collect money, theyre giving it away to the rich in Capital Gains tax, and the corporations, the argument was that the corporations will then invest in our economy, all the latest figures are staying the corporations are sitting on an earned income of 70 billion and not investing. We need a fair Taxation System and we were becoming bored with proposals in the course. I gave on becoming bored with proposals in the course. I gave on endurance becoming bored with proposals in the course. I gave on endurance is first job after university, and what he said was that there are range of things we should be doing, but a number of options up, one of which was get out there, develop a real narrative, develop radical policies that excite people and lets get out and convinced them, thats exactly what we are doing today. So thank you for your advice, we are following part of it. I have invited a rain to come in and advise us but he wants to maintain its independence as a journalist and i respect that, but in the spirit we now have of unity, we will listen to everybody, we will listen to everybody, we will listen to everybody because we have got to unite. In that way, think we will surprise people in the coming months. You and Peter Mandelson our old colleagues, why dont you invite him to advise you . If you did, he would say that what you have just said is just hopelessly unrealistic. It would remind him of a5, 7a, 64, just hopelessly unrealistic. It would remind him of 45, 74, 64, even elements of the blair government, tax, tax, slammed the brakes on and it isa tax, tax, slammed the brakes on and it is a Labour Government who ends up it is a Labour Government who ends up cutting public expenditure. He would most likely say Michael Crick never listens. There is no reference to any Tax Increases in this apart from on the rich, making sure they pay their taxes. Were asking them to publish their tax reports. I publish mine. I invite phil hammond to publishers as well. I invite them to publishers as well. I invite them to publishers as well. I invite them to publish theorists. I hope they will do so in the future, ijust wa nt will do so in the future, ijust want transparency and unlike a weekend tackle tax evasion. With openness and transparency provides a basis. I think paying your tax is a civic duty and people should be proud of that. I pay this tax and it provides support and care for the elderly, nhs, education, except. I wa nt to elderly, nhs, education, except. I want to provide a culture where people are proud of the tax they pgy people are proud of the tax they pay. The Shadow Chancellor has been giving a speech about labours economic plans ahead of the budget. Inevitably being asked about the future direction of the labour party as well. Let us catch up with the weather news now. A bad weather story for you, a lot of joy with sunshine a bad weather story for you, a lot ofjoy with sunshine to come. We had quite a lot of cloud in some areas. This was middlesbrough, what a beautiful end to the morning. Plenty of sunshine across the north east, the south in scotland. Even sunshine in Northern Ireland but more Cloud Coming Infor in Northern Ireland but more cloud coming in for the afternoon. Elsewhere our showers will fade away, except for north and west parts of scotland. It will not feel as cold as you today because the winds are easing. 0vernight and this evening, this band of rain over parts of belfast and central scotland, rain coming in towards the morning. Quite soggy across the south of the country in the morning. It will be the north of scotland we re it will be the north of scotland were some of the best sunshine will be. For many, a lot more cloud tomorrow and not a lot milder. This is bbc newsroom live. The headlines at 1130. The Police Watchdog says the public at an unacceptable risk because of recent cutbacks in forces across england and wales. A report by her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary, warns services are in a Potentially Perilous state. The us Attorney General is under pressure to resign after it emerged he had undisclosed meetings with the Russian Ambassador during the president ial campaign. Jeff sessions oversees the fbi, which is currently investigating alleged russian interference in the election. The government will seek to overturn the defeat inflicted on its brexit bill by The House Of Lords after peers defied ministers by voting to guarantee the rights of eu nationals living in the uk after brexit. The European Parliament has removed French Far Right leader marine le pens Immunity From Prosecution after she tweeted pictures of is violence. Nearly two thirds of englands hospitals have been rated as inadequate or needing improvement in a major new study by health inspectors. Almost 4,000 motorists a day are fined for driving in bus lanes in england, with the most lucrative camera making £6,000 every 24 hours. The bbc has found that the cameras earned local authorities around £31m last year. And a quick nap why Wild African Elephants sleep for the shortest time of any mammal just two hours. Let us catch up with the sports news now. Celtic have paid tribute to lisbon lion tommy gemmell, who has died aged 73 following a long illness. The former defender scored in the 2 1victory against inter milan in 1967 when celtic became the first british club to win the european cup. He also scored in the 1970 final which celtic lost to feyenoord. The club called him a true celtic legend. the club are now 27 points clear at the top of the scottish premiership. Scott sinclair and two Moussa Dembele goals helped them to a four nil win over bottom side inverness. There were also wins for rangers, ross county and partick thistle. Manchester city are through to the last eight of the fa cup after a comfortable win in their replay against huddersfield town. Thats despite going behind early on to this goal from harry bunn. City though were soon back in control, Sergio Aguero with two goals. 5 1 is how it ended. Theyll visit middlesbrough in the next round. Big news in spain last night, as luis enrique the barcelona manager announced hed be leaving the club at the end of the season, blaming the stress of the job. The former club captain has won eight trophies in his three seasons in charge and it could be more. They lead the title race by a point after real madrids draw with las palmas last night. Wales international gareth bale Saw Red For Real his first sending off for the club. Although he insisted he didnt deserve it. Arsene wenger insists that his focus is totally on arsenal despite that vacancy opening up at barcelona and his own future at the emirates being up in the air. The frenchman is set to make a decision on whether he signs a new contract at the emirates either this month or next. Iam not i am not looking forjobs in other clu bs. I am not looking forjobs in other clubs. Ijust i am not looking forjobs in other clubs. I just focus i am not looking forjobs in other clubs. Ijust focus on me getting to the next level and trying to improve because i think as well, competent managers is to always try to improve and always try to say what you can do better and reinvent yourself and thatis do better and reinvent yourself and that is what i try to do. Thats basically it. Thats basically it. British cycling will react today to the Damning Indictment of their medical practices delivered by uk anti doping chair nicole sa pstead yesterday. Today sir Bradley Wiggins refused to answer questions from reporters outside his home. Sapstead said uk anti doping been investigating allegations of wrongdoing in British Cycling since september. It received information about a package delivered to Team Sky Doctor Richard Freeman intended for wiggins at the end of the Criterium Du Dauphine race injune 2011. Theres a big boost for englands six nations hopes today with news number 8 Billy Vunipola will make a Surprise Return for his club this weekend. Hes been out of action since november with a knee injury but his recovery has gone better than expected, and could appear for saracens in the premiership match against newcastle. England next play scotland on the 11th Of March, or ireland a week later. The final day of the first formula one Preseason Test is underway in barcelona. The track has been drenched in water to simulate wet weather. Lewis hamilton has described driving the new cars as like riding a rollercoaster. There wont be any thrills and spills for the Williams Team though. Theyre sitting out todays sessions after their Rookie Driver Lance Stroll crashed yesterday. Williams say theyll be ready for the second test next week. Thats all sport for now. Thank you. The us Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions has been accused of Lying Under Oath as it has been disclosed he had undeclared meetings with the Russian Ambassador. Thank you for coming in to talk to us. Should he go . Not at all, there is nothing to this. There is nothing to say, it is a journalist with time on their hands. There is nothing illegal about meeting with Russian Ambassador is as a senator. Why did he not disclose it . This man is a lawyer, the transcript most people have seen from the democrats and what i am looking at here is more complete. He was asked in what capacity. If he was a member of the campaign, yes, there would have been a story but he was not a member of the campaign. He was meeting the russians as the head of the Armed Services committee. Why did he not say he had met him . He did not have to. You can say looks bad. You talking about lawyers and they a nswered talking about lawyers and they answered a question. So he was asked the wrong question . Whatever question he was asked, it he gave the honest and serve. He was asked about being in the campaign. He said, iwas about being in the campaign. He said, i was cold as surrogates and i did not have communication with the russians. I am unable to call to comment on it. He was not a member of the campaign. The difficulty is this is the man who is overseeing the fbi investigation into russian intervention in the us election, it does not look good. This is a highly respected man on the hill. People we re respected man on the hill. People were see through this quickly. Remember the state the democrats are in. President trump gave a great speech last night. The democrats we re speech last night. The democrats were sitting on their hands, even when he was talking about things they promote. The democrats slides of the widow of that soldier who got a two minute ovation for his service. They are doing anything to cause trouble. Would you agree that the best thing now maybe for an independent investigation into all of this . I do not say it. From what i read here, it is explained. He a nswered i read here, it is explained. He answered the question truthfully and thatis answered the question truthfully and that is the important thing. He was asked, as a member of the campaign, did he meet this person . And he did not make the meeting as a member of the campaign. Would it be better if he did not oversee the investigation into possible russian involvement in the us election . I think it is early days. I would want to know more before i comment on that. I personally do not say that but i would want to say no more before i make would want to say no more before imakea would want to say no more before i make a decision. Does this raise questions again about the links between the Trump Administration and the russians . Not at all. There is no way the russians were going to sway the us election. I am sure they would love to but there is no way they could tamper with the materials. It is just not possible to be done. I say this more as a distraction is at this point. Yes, we should have an investigation into how our Voting System works and whether this problem is, the democrats do not seem interested in people voting more than once. That isa people voting more than once. That is a shame. That is more important. This seems like a distraction. He wa nts to this seems like a distraction. He wants to govern and get on the job with the people as he said. He wants to stay the democrats and republicans coming together to serve the people. Everything is about the perception of the people, let us say what they do, c if they sit down at the table and do theirjob. Would you seek say it as unhelpful after the sacking of the National Security adviser because of his dealings with the russians . He was fired. I believe he resigned. It was not because of anything illegal, the president had high praise for the man but there were issues about trust between him and the vice president. I do not know what the situation is betweenJeff Sessions and president , i know the president respects him highly and considers an important member of the team. I do not seeing him getting fired at this point. Good to talk to you. Thank you. The North Korean Foreign Ministry has questioned the malaysian governments account of the death of kimjong nam, the half brother of north koreas leader, who was killed at Kuala Lumpur Airport two weeks ago. In a statement, it described malaysias account, that said he had been poisoned with vx nerve agent, as the height of absurdity. The north korean official said that there was a strong indication that the cause of his death was a heart attack. There were belongings with their medicines related to the disease of diabetes. And other diseases and high blood pressure. They came to conclude he is not in a position to have. Without medicines. This is a strong indication that the cause of the death is a heart attack. With more from hollywood on this story, he is james cook. The president of the academy of Motion Picture arts and sciences, cheryl boone isaacs, is effectively blaming the two accountants employed by the oscars to check the integrity of the results, Brian Cullinan and martha ruiz. Although it seems like it was really mr cullinan who was at fault. Hes been accused of tweeting a picture moments before he should have been checking the best picture award. Emma stone had just come off stage, having received her 0scar for la la land, and supposedly, mr cullinan was taking a photograph of her rather than attending to his work. The result was he handed over the wrong envelope to presenters Warren Beatty and faye dunaway. And Bonnie And Clyde went on stage, and of course, we all know what happened next. The academy says it is reviewing its relationship with Accountancy Firm pricewaterhousecoopers, its a relationship that goes all the way back to 1934 in terms of counting and checking results of the oscars. Its been reported here that the two partners of pricewaterhousecoopers in question, they are Senior Partners with the firm, they are not going to lose theirjobs with that company. But you have to think that in an industry which is entirely built in its reputational terms on being precise and on being accurate and on being reliable, you have to wonder whether these two people will ever live this down. That was james cook. This is bbc newsroom live. The headlines at 1130. The Police Watchdog says the public at an unacceptable risk because of recent cutbacks in forces across england and wales. The us Attorney General is under pressure to resign after it emerged he had undisclosed meetings with the Russian Ambassador during the president ial campaign. The government will seek to overturn the defeat inflicted on its brexit bill by The House Of Lords after peers defied ministers by voting to guarantee the rights of eu nationals living in the uk after brexit. Typical Household Incomes in the uk will not grow for the next two years due to the long shadow of the financial crisis. The institute of fiscal studies predicts in five years time, Median Income will be just 4 higher than it is now. The recession and tepid recovery mean that from the start of the crisis to 2021, households will suffer the worst Income Squeeze for 60 years. People seeking compensation over mis sold Payment Protection Insurance will have to make their claims before 29 august 2019. The final deadline has been set by the Financial Conduct Authority in an effort to draw a line under one of the banking industrys biggest scandals. It is believed that many more are yet to come forward. And Today Is The Day for the most anticipated Tech Market Floatation since twitter snap the owner of Photo Messaging app snapchat its shares will begin trading on wall street later at £13 a share valuing the company at £19 billion. Household income will not grow at all for the next two years according to the institute of fiscal studies. Its report shows that Household Income will be just 4 higher in five years time than it is now, while low income households with children are likely to fare worst. They will be £5,000 a year worse off than they might have expected. Households will suffer the worst Income Squeeze for 60 years due to the recession. Planned cuts to working age benefits also increased inequality. For more on this, we can speak to the economist andrew hood. Hello. Can you explain why were seeing this double whammy of benefit cuts and sally squeezes . The government has chosen as part of its plan to reduce the deficit, it was in the conservative manifesto, to reduce the generosity of most working age benefits. Because the benefits tend to go to low income households with children, those are the households that will lose out from that change. At the same time, you have a relatively weak Earnings Growth curve over the next few years partly because inflation will be quite high over the next two years because the pound has fallen in value since the vote to leave the European Union. So we have the Income Squeeze at the same time. Inflation is on the up and that will make it even more difficult for households . Yes, the cost of food and other basic items are likely to increase faster over the next couple of years. It has been low inflation over the past couple of years which has helped Living Standards rise. Cash earnings have not been growing quickly. That slow growth in earnings has been the defining feature right back to 2007. Big earnings fell during the recession and the rise has been historically weak since then. From september, many households will get 30 hours Free Childcare week which will free up the Earning Potential for many families, how do you factor that in . We did not account for the potential responds to more Generalist Childcare Provision but Thatis Generalist Childcare Provision but that is a small part of the population which will benefit. Here we are looking at what happens in average across the whole british population. Many thanks. Theme park operator Merlin Entertainments boosted its Visitor Numbers last year, despite struggling at alton towers after an accident in 2015. The company, which also owns the london eye and legoland and other theme parks around the world saw revenues up 11. 7 in 2016. Capita, the outsourcing company that operates the london congestion charge, has said its Chief Executive is stepping down after it reported a big fall in profits which dropped 33 to £74. 8m. Travis perkins has posted a 67 profit fall. Despite sales climbing 4. 6 in 2016, its plumbing and Heating Division struggled due to a flat market. Operating profit jumped Atjimmy Choo Last year in part because of Strong Demand for its menswear lines. The firm said shoes accounted for most of its sales, with mens remaining theirfastest growing Category Accounting for 9 of revenue. Financial markets now. Markets are taking a bit of a breather this morning after scaling record heights yesterday. The ftse 100 this morning was down marginally but yesterday it soared to a record all time closing high driven up by the weaker pound despite that boost to Visitor Numbers i told you about shares in International Theme park operator Merlin Entertainment have fallen back this morning investors have been Digging Deeper into the numbers and found that the increase in reported profits is due to falling sterling. So if you strip out that effect operating profits are actually down by more than 6 percent and the company has also been talking about headwinds like the effect of International Terrorism on its business. Thats all the business news. Many thanks. Mps have called for the government to publish a long delayed plan for improving nature in england. The government promised to restore damaged Wildlife Habitats. Mps want to say how they propose to do it. To the west of manchester, a landscape devastated by Digging For Peat to make garden compost. So Many Wildlife sites degraded in england and the governments pledged to improve them. Here is one way how row on row of tiny Sphagnum Moss Plants being nurtured in a polytunnel. Planted out, they are helping to recreate a peat bog that Stores Carbon and attracts wildlife. And what about this . Meadows used to be a common delight, now more than 90 of them are lost. The government has promised to safeguard them but its Nature Protection Policy is long delayed. People of this country love their natural environment. Whether its the green spaces in our cities, the seaside, the rivers, the forests, and they are, unfortunately, in decline and we need to see ambitious Government Action to reverse that. Patience is running out. Wildlife around the seas should be enhanced by the nature strategy. Mps Have Nowjoined The Chorus demanding for it be published for all to see. Roger harrabin, bbc news. A new study of female African Elephants In The Wild has revealed they sleep on average for just two hours a night thats shortest amount time of any mammal on earth. Researchers say it could be down to the threat from predators and poachers, as helen briggs reports. For five weeks, scientists tracked two elephants roaming across botswana to find out more about their sleeping habits. They discovered on average the elephants were Sleeping Forjust two hours a day, mainly at night, the shortest known sleep time for any land mammal. And sometimes they didnt sleep at all. One of the more unexpected findings we had was that on five of the 70 nights we recorded sleep from two elephants they didnt sleep at all. Interestingly, during those nights they appeared to have been disturbed around 7 30pm, 8pm at night and they would walk for about 30 or 40 kilometres away. These nights without sleep appeared to correlate to potential nights where there was Predation Events where lions might have been trying to attack the herd, or maybe a Bull Elephant was chasing the female herd, or again there might have been poachers. Even when they did get chance to rest and theyd often sleep standing up, only lying down every few nights. Sleep, of course, plays an Essential Role in memory, so researchers say its a mystery why elephants, who are known for their incredible memory powers, survive on so little sleep. Helen briggs, bbc news. The bbc news channel has won the Royal Television society tv Journalism Award for news channel of the year. The jury recognised the news channel for its coverage of stories including the eu referendum, Donald Trumps election, the nice terror attack, jo coxs murder and the inquests into the hillsborough disaster. The headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. In a moment we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two first we leave you with for a look at the weather. Hello, helen. Hello there. Nota bad weather day today and it is improving all the time for some parts of the uk. There are some areas where we have seen shower after she, like staffordshire. Areas where we have seen shower aftershe, like staffordshire. Even in the Peak District it is gradually brightening up. You can say on the satellite picture, a great deal of sunshine but in belfast we have this kind coming in from the atlantic so there will be more rain this evening. Lots of sunshine elsewhere. This. The winds easing down, so you should have a decent afternoon across you should have a decent Afternoon A Cross M Ost you should have a decent afternoon across most parts. A few showers in the Central Lowlands and Northern Scotla nd the Central Lowlands and Northern Scotland but the Eastern Grampian is not too bad at all. Lighter winds and more sunshine. Will it last . Unlikely. Through the evening and overnight, some hill snow and later in the night we have milder air coming in from the south and more rainfor coming in from the south and more rain for southern regions. It will be chilly again with the risk of ice in the north. Further south, it will bea in the north. Further south, it will be a soggy start to our friday morning. Not only rain but low cloud so marquee across the welsh mountains and the chilterns. Rain heading towards Northern Ireland in Southern Scotland. We will watch out for Snow First Bank and ace is a concern. Through the day, gradually the rain heads northwards. The rain will clear for Northern Ireland. The rain heads northwards. The rain will clearfor Northern Ireland. The far north of scotland may have some sunshine, fewer showers. Further south we have a fair amount of snow expected across the Alpine Regions this weekend which heightens the risk of avalanche but is good news for those heading off to ski. What a different day for scotland on saturday, eastern winds, heavy rain. Heavy showers and longer spells of rain. It does look a fairly u nsettled rain. It does look a fairly unsettled weekend and another band of rain coming back into the south on sunday. At least it dries up a little better across scotland by that stage. Darren will have more this afternoon. Darren will have more this afternoon. Police cuts in england and wales are putting the public at risk by rationing crime responses, a watchdog warns. Pressure on the new us Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, to resign over his undeclared meetings with russian officials. Downing street defiant the government says it expects the brexit bill to go through Parliament Unamended despite last nights lords defeat. A leading expert claims safety at four in five Hospital Trusts in england is not good enough. Also coming up the bus lane cameras snapping up £31 million a year across england. The bbc discovers around 4,000 thousand motorists a day are fined for driving in the restricted lanes. And a quick nap why Wild African Elephants sleep for the shortest time of any mammal just two hours. Theres a warning this lunchtime that the Police Service in england and wales is in a Potentially Perilous state because of recent cutbacks. Her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary says a third of forces Need Improvement and some are putting the public at unacceptable risk by rationing services. Heres our home affairs correspondent, dominic casciani. The cornerstone of british policing the bobby on the beat. But are these Vital Community posts being eroded as forces juggle their priorities . Thats one of the warnings in a stark report from her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary. After five years of budget cuts, some forces arent making the right tough calls over how to use their resources. Its raised what it calls a red warning flag to those struggling forces. Some have been downgrading 999 calls if theyre short on officers. That means they dont have to respond as quickly. The hmic also says Domestic Violence calls to some forces have been downgraded because of a lack of specialist officers. 0therforces have ignored leads on organised crime because it would stretch their resources. 0nly durham is delivering outstanding policing. Neighbourhood policing, that proactive, preventative presence of Police Officers in communities is eroding even further, so that means theyre not stopping crime from happening in the first place and thats what the public want to see. This isnt in all forces many forces still have a really Great Service in that area but some forces are beginning to take officers out of Neighbourhood Policing to focus on other areas, and were saying absolutely that erosion of Neighbourhood Policing cant be allowed to happen. The hmic says overall most forces are doing well, but a third may be placing the public at unacceptable risk by rationing their resources. Some Chief Constables believe the inspectors have got it wrong, but their National Council says each force is facing difficult decisions over what matters most. Well former metropolitan Police Commander lord Paddickjoins Us from westminster now. This report does make for sobering reading, do you agree with it . To be honest with you, when you look at all honest with you, when you look at a ll forces honest with you, when you look at all forces across all areas, in 41 areas, performance is worse, in 38 areas, performance is worse, in 38 areas, its better. So its a fairly balanced scorecard, when you read the narrative, its worrying. That is the impact of six years now of real terms cuts in police budgets, which means about 22 reduction in the amount of money the police get. That means police are dealing with historic child abuse cases, there is a big enquiry into undercover policing coming up, so effectively they are trying to deal with 120 of current demand with only less than 80 of the resources they had. Her majesty S Inspectorate of Co Nsta Bula Ry majesty S Inspectorate of constabulary have explicitly said that this is not about money, and its not completely clear the extent to which cuts in funding are to blame all the culture. Is leadership also part of the problem . Clearly forces that need to improve me to look at forces like durham, which are rated as outstanding, to see if there are lessons to learn. But hm iac say they are worried about the erosion of Neighbourhood Policing but say there is a crisis because there arent enough detectives around, that some forces on doing enough to protect Vulnerable People. Said hmic cant say that there are problems in all different aspects of policing, they need to be more resources without Additional Resources without Additional Resources being provided. The Policing Minister says that Police Spending has been protected and there is no excuse for forces not to be able to fulfil obligations. Lets be able to fulfil obligations. Lets be honest about this, it has been protected in cash terms since 2015, but over the last six years, in real terms there has been 22 reduction. The government to say that this budgets have been protected is being disingenuous. Its notjust inflation, increases in the painful but because of brexit, 20 reduction in the value of the pound means computer equipment Police Forces are flying are now 20 more expensive than they used to be. There is nothing in the report about these issues. Good to talk to you, thanks bielefeld. Your thoughts. Issues. Good to talk to you, thanks bielefeld. Yourthoughts. Im joined by the Chief Executive of the couege joined by the Chief Executive of the college of policing. How much do you think this is a wake up call for the police . I dont think they needed waking up to the idea that the types of crime they are dealing with are in many ways more serious and more complex than they used to be if we ta ke complex than they used to be if we take the areas mentioned already, a ra nt take the areas mentioned already, a rant investigating child abuse, if we look at the approach in our country to tackling terrorism, and the rider issues of Vulnerable People being picked on and attacked and abused, the police have stepped up, they need to put the resources in the support that extra effort and i want to pay credit to the people at the front end of policing, working incredibly hard to give service to the public across all those areas and it was good to see today that two thirds of forces were graded as good. One third are not, though, why do you think they are not performing as well . |j though, why do you think they are not performing as well . I think they are all making difficult choices about where they put their resources , about where they put their resources, that was made clear in the report, some forces have invested more in technology, some in developing their workforce and i know there is some money available over the next couple of years to make new investments in policing and as well as investing in those important new areas of Digital Technology and online aspect, i want to see an investment in the current workforce and letting them bring their skills up. Do you agree with brian patrick, saying this isjust down to a question of resources, not about Police Culture . down to a question of resources, not about Police Culture . I think the leaders in policing deserve credit for the way they have dealt with the large cuts of recent years and making some difficult choices about where to put the resources. In policing we need to have good leadership, at all levels, we need to make sure we are a modern organisation that isntjust about hierarchy and command and control but about investing in the people at the front end to give them the right skills, for the much more convex crimes that occur now than when we joined years ago. There are serious failings in this report, ignoring organised crime, dealing with Domestic Abuse cases, whats the excuse for that . I think the Domestic Abuse one is an interesting one to look at, the Police Response to Domestic Abuse has improved massively in recent years, and it needed to, and you are seeing victims of that terrible crime much more willing to come forward. I want to see people trying new approaches in policing i do want to see developing the research and the Evidence Base to see which things will stop Domestic Abuse and most effectively with the perpetrators. I wouldnt criticise the fourth try new approaches but i will say because in every case there are the victim of crime likely to be vulnerable in this situation and we must make sure we protect them. For Police Leaders, its interesting to look at the nhs comparison, we have got used to hearing that the a e has been closed because the hospital is full and they are busy, many Police Force Custody suites are often closed, they dont announce that publicly for obvious reasons, that bad people might do bad things, and Police Leaders make those choices every day about where they put those resources and the right place to protect the public. I wouldnt cross as the leadership, but i would praise the people at the front edge of dealt with this increase in complicity and are doing a good job. I understand what you would not want to criticise colleagues but what would you say to people who are feeling let down and the other suspects are left on track to . As i said earlier, he has someone whos vulnerable and has been abused or crimes committed against them, the role of the police to protect a person and if there a perpetrator,. Person and if there a perpetrator,. Were person and if there a perpetrator,. Were being told isnt being done in all cases. In any case where someone isnt being done in all cases. In any case where someone isnt protected or the perpetrator is not caught, that is not good, we need to address those issues. The efforts the police have put into improving in this area are huge, were seeing a big increase in the reporting of Domestic Abuse and child abuse and output that likely down to an increased confidence in the police. But without pretending its all perfect, improvements are needed. Alex marshall, good to talk to you, thank you for coming in. The Shadow Chancellor has been sitting at labours economic plans, he said the chancellor Philip Hammond must address the growing crisis in the nhs and social care for stop our Political Correspondent was listening to the speech in Central London. What else do they have to say . He said labour want to see a longer term and there are accessed but he was coming for an immediate Cash Injection into social ca re immediate Cash Injection into social care and wants to see the chancellor properly fund the services. Thats what you were outlining, perhaps use it less about how youre going to pay for it, you suggested social ca re pay for it, you suggested social care was cut by 0lmert £5 billion in recent yea rs, care was cut by 0lmert £5 billion in recent years, if the chancellor is to restore that or if you have a chancellor, how would you pay for it . The government has told us that the economy is growing but they have had increased tax receipts in january in particular, that could enable them to have an Emergency Injection of funds, so we are appealing in the short term, put this money in the nhs and social ca re this money in the nhs and social care because people are suffering at the moment. We saw the reports this month i had never heard this before, when independent bodies of the nhs is on when independent bodies of the nhs isona when independent bodies of the nhs is on a burning platform, we are all experiencing patients being treated on trolleys but social care is in crisis as well, a million elderly people are not getting the care they need. The tax receipts you have just received, put into social care and the nhs as an emergency measure. In the nhs as an emergency measure. In the longer term, start collecting the longer term, start collecting the taxes, tackle Tax Abatement Avoidance and evasion, they have given away 70 billion, that Cannot Be Fairwhen our given away 70 billion, that cannot be fair when our Public Services are in crisis. Is this simply a question of collecting taxes from the better off or increasing tax rates can be called faith to the tax rate before. We want to make sure everyone pays the proper tax, making sure the rich to pay more but also the corporations pay what is needed and stop giving away the money in Top Corporation tax cuts because is not resulting in the investment the government said it would. He also said that people who are worth more than £1 million a year should be forced to publish their tax receipts that may encourage us some of them to pay more but equally may drive people away the tax regimes where they can keep the affairs confidential, isnt that capped a productive . This happens, over a hundred years in some of the nordic countries, it hasnt resulted in a flight countries, it hasnt resulted in a flight of people from those countries, but more openness and transparency so that we can tackle Tax Avoidance and evasion commits a change of culture as well. But in some countries are proud of the taxes they pay because they can point to the Public Services they taxes fund. We can tackle that but also it is changing the culture around taxation. To use the jargon, even spoken about hypothecated resources for the nhs, you want to see an deliberate grey consensus, isnt that taking down the road of calling for a specific tax, a penny for the nhs . What were saying is, where we are tackling tax evasion and Tax Avoidance, making sure the rich and corporations are paying theirfairamount, we want rich and corporations are paying their fair amount, we want to make sure that money goes where its needed, that means basically saying that money will go to the nhs and social care but it will be independently monitored, is it properly going there . People have lost faith in government decision making. This is a way of restoring faith in that, raised the money in a fair system, have independently assessed and then independently assessed and then independently monitored that its going to where its needed. Thank you. The headlines the Police Standards watchdog has warned of the Potentially Perilous state of the service in england and wales. Democrats call on us Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions to step down after he failed to disclose meetings with russias ambassador. The government will seek to overturn a demand by The House Of Lords that the rights of eu nationals living in the uk will be guaranteed after brexit. Time for the sport. Celtic have paid tribute to the magennis has died at the age of 73. He scored in their 21 the age of 73. He scored in their 2 1 victory in the 67 against inter milan when celtic become the first british club to win the european cup. The club called a true celtic legend. Arsene wenger insists his papers are totally on arsenal despite a new vacancy opening up at barcelona and his own future at the emirates being up in the air. He set to make a decision on a new contract either this month or next. Im not looking forjobs in other clubs all four other people, i just looking forjobs in other clubs all four other people, ijust focus on me getting to the next level and trying to improve because i think as well, competent managers need to a lwa ys well, competent managers need to always improve and try to see what you can do better. And to reinvent yourself, thats what i try to do and thats basically it. A big boost for englands six nations hopes with the newt that believe in polar is set to make a Surprise Return for his club, he has been out of action with a knee injury but his recovery has gone better than expected and could appearfor has gone better than expected and could appear for saracens on saturday. England based cottoned on the 11th Of March with ireland a week later. England play scotland. The chair of British Cycling say the body is still looking for clear answers following an independent review, seeking to modify the culture of their world class modify the culture of their World Class Programme which has also been hit by allegations of sexism and bullying. The recurrence of issues in terms of behaviours, harassment, bullying, that is acceptable. The report has highlighted some issues that we as an organisation need to address, in the same way as we need to address processes , the same way as we need to address processes, structures, we need to address behaviours. Thats the sport. President trumps newly appointed Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, is under mounting pressure to stand down over two undisclosed encounters with the Russian Ambassador to the us last year. Mr sessions denied having met any russian officials to discuss issues of the president ial campaign. But the House Democratic leader nancy pelosi Accused Him Of Lying Under Oath. As Attorney General, he is in charge of the fbi, which is currently investigating that alleged russian interference. During his Confirmation Hearing injanuary, mr sessions was asked directly about contacts with russia by the minnesota senator al franken. If there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump Campaign communicated with the russian government, in the course of this campaign, what will you do . Im not aware at all any of those activities, i have been called as surrogate in that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians and im unable to comment on it. Some senior democrats have now called on mr sessions to resign, as our correspondent greg dawson reports. Once again, questions are being asked about one of Donald Trumps key appointments, once again its all to do with russia. The man at the centre of the row, the new us Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions. It is claimed he had two undisclosed conversations with the Russian Ambassador during the Election Campaign, when he was still a senator, but its a conversation he didnt mention in his Confirmation Hearing when asked whether anyone affiliated with that Election Campaign had contact with the russians. Now senior democrats, including house leader nancy pelosi, say he should resign, accusing him of Lying Under Oath. In a statement, mr sessions said it comes just weeks after former National Security adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign after he misled the white house about conversations, again with the Russian Ambassador to the us, allegedly regarding sanctions against moscow. In a further twist, us lawmakers in the House Of Representatives have announced they will investigate possible contact between moscow and president Trumps Campaign after claims the kremlin worked to help him defeat Hillary Clinton. We do need some scrutiny, and we need to know if there are americans talking to the russians, and anybody connected to the russian government or russian agents. Ever since his election donald trump has repeatedly denied close ties with russia but this development is likely to increase that scrutiny even further. 0ur correspondentjane 0brien is In Washington. KenJeff Sessions ken Jeff Sessions survived . ken Jeff Sessions survived . I think the moment, there is no evidence he has actually done anything wrong, he is claiming a very nuanced defence over his answers to that Confirmation Hearing. Nuance is something that doesnt go over well In Washington at the moment but what hes saying is he was specifically asked about his connections with russia as surrogates, or as somebody who was part of donald trump is macro campaign. Not as a senator in the very influential on services committee. He saying that as a senator he would be expected to have contact with a vast array of foreign formats and thats what he was talking about. Thats not washing because under this current environment, where a lot of suspicion is swirling over the extent of russian involvement in the us election, thats not going over well and thats why we are hearing nancy pelosi, the senior democrat, saying that he should resign, he lied under oath. He is saying he didntand lied under oath. He is saying he didnt and the answer is more nuanced. Yet again this raises questions between links between the trump illustration and the russians, do you think they will be further investigations . I dont see how they deliberate affair cant be, there are deliberate affair cant be, there a re calls deliberate affair cant be, there are calls from oil, the issue is whether or notJeff Sessions, as the nations top loria, the man who will decide whether or not any prosecutions should follow, should Criminal Activity be uncovered, is he in Criminal Activity be uncovered, is heina Criminal Activity be uncovered, is he in a position to make that decision . Even some Senior Republicans are saying if that situation arises, he should recuse himself, no republican is calling for him to resign at the moment. But the atmosphere here In Washington over russias alleged involvement with the campaign and whether or not that involvement influenced the outcome of the election, is pretty toxic. That question is refusing to go away for resident trump, how distracting is it from the other things hes trying to do . M distracting is it from the other things hes trying to do . If you think that only 48 hours ago he made his firstjoint address to congress in which he was trained to reset relations and give a vision of his grand plan, now he is embroiled yet again today and from last night, in these further allegations, its tremendously distracting and an issue that is not going away. And people care about it because this was a brutally divisive campaign, and election, and there are millions of americans who believe that Hillary Clinton should have won and are very Hillary Clinton should have won and are very keen to prove that russias involvement and any connections with the Trump Campaign may have swayed that outcome. Interesting that our moscow correspondence is reporting comments from the kremlin who say, of course we wouldnt want to get involved in this emotionally charged atmosphere in the us, we repeat, russia never interfered and has never interferes in the Internal Affairs of other states. Theresa mays spokesman said she was disappointed by the defeat and it was her intention that the legislation should be passed on amended. Legislation should be passed on amended. And norman smith, our assistant Political Editor joins me from westminster. Will she get her way . The hope of appears was that ministers might just the one about the best way to safeguard the rights of british citizens living elsewhere in the eu would be to make this unilateral gesture to guarantee the rights of eu nationals they are, the thinking is this would make it almost impossible for the eu not to do the same for brits living abroad. And yet it seems Downing Street have barely paused for breath before insisting that they want this bill passed on amended, they will seek to, and this was the response of the leader in the house a short time ago. The government remains of the view that the bill is straightforward, does no more than confer authority on the prime ministers required by the courts to initiate negotiations by triggering article 50 of the treaty and we will therefore seek to resist changes that would make that Negotiating Task more difficult. The only real way mrs may could get into difficulty here is if they were a significant number of conservative mps ready to defy her and thwart her effo rts mps ready to defy her and thwart her efforts to overturn last night s defeat. 0ne Labour Peer suggested there could be up to 30 tory mps ready to do that, i have to say most people think that is pretty wide of the mark. Because many tories seem to a cce pt the mark. Because many tories seem to accept mrs mays argument on this, that she will make it a priority, and the only reason she has been unable to go to the rights of eu nationals is because other eu countries are not willing to consider that for the bigger stations begin. This morning i asked for the leading tory brexit rebels, neil carmichael, how likely he thought a report would be. In fairness to the government, article 50 is about the process, its about in preventing a negotiation, and all of us think eu nationals should have the appropriate rights. So there is no arguing about that, and its a question of when, and now would be a good time. But article 50 is about the process, and i think we have got to make sure that the House Of Commons and The House Of Lords have opportunities to vote when the time comes. However, one consequence of the vote last night is to have given many peers a sense of consequence, almost a gung ho element, they seem poised to inflict further defeats on mrs may next week, in particular on the idea of ensuring parliament is given a meaningful vote for the signs on the dotted line Herfinal Brexit Deal and on that issue, it seems tory mps may be poised to cause her a lot more difficulties than over the issue of eu nationals. Many thanks. The head of the oscar says the accountants responsible for muddling up the Award Envelopes will never work on the show again. They we re never work on the show again. They were responsible for handing out the envelopes and one of them was a p pa re ntly envelopes and one of them was apparently distracted by twitter before the dramatic turn of events. It has been described as the biggest mistake in 89 years of Academy Awards history. Time for the weather. It feels a little more like spring up it feels a little more like spring up there, for many of us today, the winds are easing down, and most of us enjoying a good deal of sunshine. We had a fuchsia rapped out on the scene, there is more cloud coming into Northern Ireland, they will eventually give us some rain, Blustery Winds in Northern Scotland but the most of england and wales, very few showers, lots of sunshine and. Somewhat winced at anything overnight, particularly for Northern Ireland, that will push its way towards Southern Scotland, overnight tonight, some rain across the continent into southern parts of england and wales, this could be pretty heavy. Quite cold in scotland, and A Touch Of Frost here. Perhaps sunshine on the way on friday. We have Rain Moving Northwards through the day and rain setting in through the day across Northern Ireland. This is bbc newsroom live. The headlines at 12. 30. The Police Watchdog says the public are at an unacceptable risk because of recent cutbacks in forces across england and wales. A report by her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary, warns services are in a Potentially Perilous state. The us Attorney General is under pressure to resign after it emerged he had undisclosed meetings with the Russian Ambassador during the president ial campaign. Jeff sessions oversees the fbi, which is currently investigating alleged russian interference in the election. The government will seek to overturn the defeat inflicted on its brexit bill by The House Of Lords after peers defied ministers by voting to guarantee the rights of eu nationals living in the uk after brexit. The french president ial candidate, marine le pen, could now face prosecution, for Tweeting Pictures of is violence, after the European Parliament voted to remove her Immunity From Prosecution. Nearly two thirds of englands hospitals have been rated as inadequate or needing improvement in a major new study by health inspectors. A bbc investigation has discovered that almost 4,000 motorists a day in england are fined for driving in bus lanes. The most lucrative camera makes 6,000 pounds every day. As weve been hearing the organisation that oversees Policing Standards has said its Raising The Red Flag over the Potentially Perilous state of the service in england and wales. Her majestyS Inspectorate of constabulary warns that a third of forces require improvement and some are putting the public at unacceptable risk by rationing services as they struggle to manage cuts. The countrys biggest force the Metropolitan Police in london has a shortage of 700 detectives. A former met detective Dan Clark Neal has been investigating the issue. Just a warning that this film contains flashing images from the very start. Its not good for me, its not good for my health, its so pressurised now. There just isnt enough of us. The metropolitan Police Service is the Largest Force in the country, with over 31,000 officers, and i myself used to be one of those officers, working as a detective for over eight years. London is currently divided into 32 boroughs and each one has a dedicated cid, or criminal investigation department, and the met Police Federation says the Detective Shortage is having an impact on staff. They are carrying far too much of a workload and also, they are short of colleagues. Bearing in mind, we are 700 short, 700 cid officers short, in the Metropolitan Police. Someones got to absorb that work. That is my colleagues you are talking about who are carrying 50, 60 crimes at a time, which puts them under huge stress and it all attributes to where we are. You never saw officers saying, im coming out of cid and going back into uniform. Itjust wasnt heard of. Once you went to cid, that was it. But its happening now. But officers like rachel made that decision. She was a detective for 15 years, investigating everything from fraud and burglary, to robbery and child abuse. But recently, the pressures became too much and she decided to move back to uniformed policing. She has asked us to hide her identity. She is still serving in the met. There are 700 Detective Vacancies in the met and i can completely understand why. Why on earth would you put yourself through all of that aggravation for the same pay when you can go back into uniform or stay in uniform . Work a great shift pattern, turn up, whizz around in a car, then answer 999 calls, someone needs arresting, you do that, book them in, hand them over to a detective, and then, the next day, you just come back in and the slates wiped clean. This is all against a backdrop of a rise in crime. In 2016, the met recorded nearly 762,000 offences, 3. 5 up on 2015, so, of course, with an increased workload and a lack of staff comes heightened pressure. It is just relentless, the stress. And a little bit of stress is good, you can strive on it, but when it is so high all the time, its just not sustainable, you cant keep working like that. Made me feel a bit of a failure, to be honest, that i couldnt stick it. Rachel had a similar experience working in cid. I dont want to be so exhausted or so under pressure that i miss something, that either one of my victims gets killed or gets hurt, a case gets thrown out of court because of something i missed because i was so stressed and exhausted. In a statement, the met says. From the people we have spoken to, it seems morale among the met detectives is at a concerning low and with worries that continued budget cuts will hit Officer Numbers in 2017, the question is, where does this leave the world famous met cid . So how will victims of crime be affected . Lucy hastings is from the Charity Victim support. Thank you for coming in. How do you think todays report will affect those who are either victims or even potential victims . The report does show that some Police Forces have improved in the way they protect and support victims but we also know some Police Forces are failing victims. We want to know is what the police are going to do about this, to protect the most vulnerable. What do you mean by failing victims . The report shows that Police Forces are not necessarily identifying victims who are vulnerable when they come forward to report a crime. Then they will not get the support they need. What do you want to see Police Forces doing . We want them to identify the victims that are vulnerable and then make sure that partner organisations such as Victim Support are there to support the victims. You must appreciate that the demands on police are increasing, resources are stretched, do you understand that sometimes they have difficult decisions to make and they have to choose their priorities which may not always be the top priority of this . It should a lwa ys the top priority of this . It should always be the top priority of all our Public Sector to support the most vulnerable in the in our society. Why are some Police Forces doing well and others not . They should be asking themselves that and asking why they are not supporting the most vulnerable and what can you do about it . And reach out to local organisations such as Victim Support to enable them and others to support the most vulnerable. Have you come across people who have been treated more badly by the police than they we re more badly by the police than they were one year go, ten years ago . We do know that is more confidence in the Criminal Justice do know that is more confidence in the criminalJustice System and that is so important for victims to know, even today as a result of this report, they should report crime and get the support they deserve. So things have got better . They have got better and some Police Forces but every police force has a legal obligation to support victims through the victims called, the victims have a right to that. Thank you very much. British Cycling Bosses will make changes in order to be more appealing to riders after accusations of bullying and sexism at the top level of the support. An investigation into the culture of British Cycling was launched last year. Our correspondent is that the National Cycling centre in manchester. What have they been seeing today . We received a 39 point action plan from British Cycling in conjunction with uk sport, the funding body for all 0lympic sports. It sought to address fundamental problems which have occurred. British cyclings new chairman, jonathan browning, admitted these feelings had ta ken jonathan browning, admitted these feelings had taken place. He said there had been a close focus on participation and performance which has been vastly successful but not enough attention on the people involved. He outlined four key areas that he feels Need Improvement. They are, our fleet that he feels Need Improvement. They are, ourfleet development, culture and behaviours, or overall governance and operations. So a real cu re of governance and operations. So a real cure of duty issue going on year at the most successful and funded british olympic support. The technical director resigned in april, having been suspended pending an investigation, how much is this all to do with him . This stems back to that, those were allegations made bya to that, those were allegations made by a sprint cyclist about shane sutton, allegations of discrimination, sexism and bullying, all of which shane sutton denied but he resigned. That led to former cyclist coming out in support of jess varnish. 0thers Cyclist coming out in support of jess varnish. Others said they had not experienced problems. But when she made those complaints, British Cycling set up this inquiry. The inquiry was read by anna marie phelps, the chairman of british rowing and it is ongoing so we are yet to seize the report. This was an update, an action plan which is being taken in the meantime to address the serious issues which raise the question about the importance of winning medals against the importance of athletes and staffs welfare. We should learn more in the spring, the report will be published and so British Cycling and uk sport think if the action plan is put into force and the recommendations followed, British Cycling and other sports can go on to even greater success. This is not a good time for British Cycling, with the ongoing questions about what was in that package . Can you still hear me . Yes, in parliament yesterday, the Culture Committee heard from the person who was responsible for courier ring that jiffy bag to a french ski resort via london and geneva. They also heard from the uk anti doping Chief Executive. British cycling and team sky, whom Bradley Wiggins was cycling for at the time in the race in france, was that checks are not being made or were not being made at the time in 2011 on medicines being taken in and out of British Cycling. That is going to rumble on because Bradley Wiggins still will face further questions and also dr richard freeman, a Doctor Working Year British Cycling who has been signed off illness, which is why he did not appear in front of the committee yesterday, he has not a nswered committee yesterday, he has not answered any questions on this yet. There are no allegations of wrongdoing, sorry, no suspicion of wrongdoing, sorry, no suspicion of wrongdoing against Bradley Wiggins or team sky or dr freeman but questions need to be answered. Good to talk to you, many thanks. Good to talk to you, many thanks. Nearly two thirds of englands hospitals have been rated as inadequate or needing improvement in a major new study by health inspectors. The report, by the care quality commission, also found that four out of five trusts need to improve patient safety. But more than 90 percent were judged to be good or outstanding for the caring attitude of staff. Heres our Health Editor hugh pym. Its the first wide ranging snapshot of the state of englands Major Hospitals. The regulator, the care quality commission, spent nearly three years carrying out inspections following the Mid Staffordshire patient care scandal. This is the first annual report on all of them. One of the key findings is the wide variation in the quality of services. Across the Major Hospital trusts in england, 68 have been rated as inadequate or requiring improvement. 81 of trusts are said to need to improve safety. But 93 were rated as good or outstanding for the caring attitude of staff. There is variation between trusts, theres variation within trusts. You can get a very good Service Within a trust thats struggling or you can get an individual service thats not doing so well in an otherwise good trust. Praise is given to some trusts which have made significant improvements, including University Hospitals bristol the first to go from requiring improvement direct to outstanding between two inspections. I think the findings of the report are very positive for us. I think in the report it acknowledges a lot of the hard work that this department does and the very positive culture for providing patient care that we have here. The Department Of Health said the comprehensive inspections formed a key part of a plan to make the nhs the safest and most Transparent Health care system in the world. Hugh pym, bbc news. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news this afternoon. There are claims that the average Household Income in the uk wont grow at all over the next two years. The institute for fiscal studies, estimates that by 2022, families will be £5,000 a year poorer than expected, because of the slow recovery from the 2008 financial crash. Voting is underway in the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections for the second time in ten months. The election was triggered after the Power Sharing Government at stormont collapsed last month. Ninety members will be elected 18 fewer than previously. Polling closes at ten oclock tonight. A painting by austrian artist gustav klimt has fetched just under £48 million at auction making it the third most expensive artwork ever sold in europe. Baurngarten or Flower Garden is an oil on canvas painting which shows a dazzling landscape of poppies, daisies and roses. It was sold at sothebys in london to an anonymous buyer. The french president ial candidate marine le pen, has lost her European Union Immunity From Prosecution for tweeting graphic images of atrocities carried out by the Islamic State group. The European Parliament voted to lift the National Front leaders immunity in the case, which was opened by french prosecutors in 2015. Until now, ms le pens position as an mep had meant she couldnt be prosecuted. Publishing violent images is an offence in france which can carry a penalty of up to three years in prison. Staying with french politics and one of the leading candidates in frances president ial election, Emmanuel Macron, has unveiled his manifesto. 0pinion polls suggest hes likely to reach the second round of the vote in may, and is expected to face marine le pen. 0ur correspondent hugh schoffield is in paris where he gave us an update on mr macrons chances. The big criticism of Emmanuel Macron is that he has not spelt out his programme and it is all image and internet and people in coloured jumpers waving banners behind him at rallies and we do not know what he stands for. Now he has bowled out along with his proposals. He has appealed to moderates of the left and right. There are measures in here which are quite concrete, for example he wants to reform the Pension System to bring the Public Sector Pension System in line with the private Pension System. A very controversial issue in france which for the last 20 years has been called for by the right but never happens. There were big demonstrations back in 1995 about this. Thats a big reform which will please moderates on the right. 0n the left, there are measures to recruit more teachers, there is a major to make more universal the unemployment benefit system. These are ideas appealing to moderates of the left so that is no substance to his programme. I think he has pulled it off well and been very lucky because of the timing, coming right after the collapse in the polls of his main rival, opening up this boulevard for Emmanuel Macron to walk down and show the country his policies at a time when fuel and can only talk about his traditional format. Our correspondent in paris. The Police Standard watchdog has watched. Has warned of the potentially parlous state of the Police Service in england and is. The united states, Jeff Sessions failed to declare messages meetings with russia. Now with an update on the market numbers. Heres how the ftse is treading and how the German Market and the us market are doing. Trading at the moment. Trading at the moment. Almost 4,000 motorists a day are fined for driving in bus lanes in england, with the most lucrative camera making £6,000 every 24 hours. Bbc Research Revealed that, in total, the cameras earned local authorities around £31m last year. 0ur correspondent phil mackie is in birmingham for us this particular bus lane at saint martins, queensway in birmingham is one of the top five in the country for fines one of the top five in the country forfines being one of the top five in the country for fines being handed one of the top five in the country forfines being handed out to motorists. Let me show you. Just as those buses, that is the last point you get is a car to motorists. Let me show you. Just as those buses, thatis me show you. Just as those buses, that is the last point you get is carted turnaround, beyond that you will get a £60 penalty notice. There isa sign will get a £60 penalty notice. There is a sign just hear warning you will get a £60 penalty notice. There is a signjust hear warning you of that. It gives you the option to turn round and if you miss that you are in trouble. Further down hear, pass the bullring shopping centre, there is a chance they are, cars are supposed to do a u turn and go back down the but as you can say it is really busy and really confusing. If you do not know the area well, if you do not know the area well, if you have an old sat now or you are lost, you might drive down the unwittingly. I have seen cars doing just that. More than 40 a day, 2500 a day come through year and get fined £60 or £30 if they appeared enough. The rac has said these bustling cameras across the country have become cash bonanza is. The most lucrative has been described by them, it is in newcastle, £6,000 is raised every day for one particular camera. He it is £31 million a year. Motorists do not like them of course but they are clearly signed and they are there to help public transport get them more quickly. I have a statement from Birmingham City council about the speed cameras. They said, they do not want anybody to be caught on these bustling cameras at all. They do not like the description of them as being lucrative because that suggest they are designed to bring in money which is not the case. That is what local authorities across the country are saying. Motorists like to think that every time they go through one, a little light goes off in an office and Council Staff run around high fiving each other. The idea for a reason. If that is an issue in terms of signage, a lot of people successfully appeal against those finds so you can appeal but the safest message is Pay Attention where you are going and make sure you know your route. A new study of female African Elephants In The Wild has revealed they sleep on average for just two hours a night thats shortest amount time of any mammal on earth. Researchers say it could be down to the threat from predators and poachers, as helen briggs reports. For five weeks, scientists tracked two elephants roaming across botswana to find out more about their sleeping habits. They discovered on average the elephants were Sleeping Forjust two hours a day, mainly at night, the shortest known sleep time for any land mammal. And sometimes they didnt sleep at all. One of the more unexpected findings we had was that on five of the 70 nights we recorded sleep from two elephants they didnt sleep at all. Interestingly, during those nights they appeared to have been disturbed around 7 30pm, 8pm at night and they would walk for about 30 or 40 kilometres away. These nights without sleep appeared to correlate to potential nights where there was Predation Events where lions might have been trying to attack the herd, or maybe a Bull Elephant was chasing the female herd, or again there might have been poachers. Even when they did get chance to rest and theyd often sleep standing up, only lying down every few nights. Sleep, of course, plays an Essential Role in memory, so researchers say its a mystery why elephants, who are known for their incredible memory powers, survive on so little sleep. Helen briggs, bbc news. Mps have called for the government to publish a long delayed plan for improving nature in england. The government promised in its manifesto that it would restore damaged Wildlife Habitats and leave them in a better state than before but mps want to see how they propose to do it. 0ur environment analyst Roger Harrabin reports. To the west of manchester, a landscape devastated by Digging For Peat to make garden compost. So Many Wildlife sites degraded in england and the governments pledged to improve them. Here is one way how row on row of tiny Sphagnum Moss Plants being nurtured in a polytunnel. Planted out, they are helping to recreate a peat bog that Stores Carbon and attracts wildlife. And what about this . Meadows used to be a common delight, now more than 90 of them are lost. The government has promised to safeguard them but its Nature Protection Policy is long delayed. People of this country love their natural environment. Whether its the green spaces in our cities, the seaside, the rivers, the forests, and they are, unfortunately, in decline and we need to see ambitious Government Action to reverse that. Patience is running out. Wildlife around the seas should be enhanced by the nature strategy. Mps Have Nowjoined The Chorus demanding for it be published for all to see. Roger harrabin, bbc news. The bbc news channel has won the Royal Television society tv Journalism Award for news channel of the year. The jury recognised the news channel for its coverage of stories including the eu referendum, Donald Trumps election, the nice terror attack, jo coxs murder and the inquests into the hillsborough disaster. In a moment the news at one with sophie raworth. First the weather. Hello there, it should feel more like spring at the moment. Most of us should enjoy some sunshine. We have had a few shower clouds and thatis have had a few shower clouds and that is more clouds coming into Northern Ireland. We can enjoy the sunshine across england and is, late in the afternoon there may be a sniff of a shower in the south west and south wales but for most of england and we that will stay dry and sunny. 12 degrees in the south of england. We should say the end of the showers then north west england. Thickening cloud and eventually reign in Northern Ireland. Some sunshine in scotland. Wintry showers over the hills. The winds will slowly ease down. A fine mixture of rain and snow into ireland and Southern Scotland overnight. A spell of rain in the south coming across the channel, the strain could be quite heavy. In scotland will be a chilly night, especially in Northern Scotla nd chilly night, especially in Northern Scotland with A Touch Of Frost. Sunshine on the way for friday. Sunshine on the way for friday. Sunshine reluctant to appeared elsewhere in the rest of the uk, not bad in north east england and south east scotland. Becoming a drier and brighter in the south east but rain setting in across Northern Ireland which will depressed temperatures. Into the weekends, very mixed weather, brighter and drier spells but rain is neverfar away. Well see you rain in the uk and also right across the west of europe, not just and also right across the west of europe, notjust rain by heavy snow, coming into the alps this weekend, as much as a metre of rain. It is very slow start to the ski season but it has all changed now. Pressure dominating dominating our weather on saturday. We can say heavy rain across eastern scotland, snow over the mountains. This rain will be relu cta nt to the mountains. This rain will be reluctant to clear from Northern Ireland. Dry spells for england and we re ireland. Dry spells for england and were up england and wales, die spells in the south west. Another belt of rain in from the south west across england and wales on sunday, drierfor scotland. And across england and wales on sunday, drier for scotland. And for Northern Ireland. Also this lunchtime calls for one of Donald Trumps closest advisers to resign after hes accused of Lying Under Oath over contacts with russia. Englands nhs is standing on a burning platform warns the Chief Inspector of hospitals and is unable to meet the needs of todays population. British Cycling Bosses promise to make changes after accusations of bullying and sexism at the top level of the sport. And how research that began after gordon and sarah brown lost their premature baby, jennifer, has helped save the live of another labour leaders grandchild. And coming up in sport on bbc news a true celtic legend. Tributes are paid the lisbon lion tommy gemmell,
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