17/02/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at ten: Tony Blair calls on people to rise up against Brexit. He

said it was important for people to have the chance to change their

minds about the EU. -- about leaving the EU.

The people voted without knowledge of the terms of Brexit.

As these terms become clear, it is their

We heard all these arguments last year.

And I think it really is insulting the

intelligence of the electorate to say that they got it wrong.

We'll be asking whether Mr Blair's call for a new cross-party political

movement is likely to have any impact on Brexit.

Britain's third-largest company Unilever targeted for takeover

The battle to liberate Iraq's second biggest city

from so-called Islamic State - Iraqi forces prepare for a major

While these men were in the East, they experienced 56 Islamic State

So the question they are asking is, what does the Islamic

And after more than 20 years at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger hints

that his days at the club may be numbered.

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News: Find out if Saracens are back

where they finished last season - top of the Premiership table.

A big win tonight against Gloucester would do it.

Tony Blair has urged people to rise up against Brexit and said

it was his mission to persuade voters to change their minds

The former Prime Minister has called for a cross-party movement

to avoid Brexit at any cost, which he said would damage

the economy and weaken Britain's influence.

He said people had voted without knowledge of the true

But the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, is accusing

Mr Blair of insulting the public's intelligence.

Here's our political correspondent, Carole Walker.

A rallying cry from the former Prime Minister.

Time, he said, to rise up and force a rethink on the decision

The people voted without knowledge of

As these terms become clear, it is their right to

Our mission is to persuade them to do so.

He said he had exposed the risks of the current

plans for Brexit - damage to the economy and jobs,

with the break-up of the UK back on the table.

He said controlling immigration had become

the Government's main consideration as it took the country towards not

just hard Brexit, but Brexit at any cost.

I would actually question whether the referendum really

provides a mandate for Brexit at any cost.

We'll withdraw from the single market, which is around half of our

We will also now leave the customs union,

covering trade with countries like Turkey.

This impacts everything from airline travel, to financial

services, to manufacturing industry, sector by sector.

The Prime Minister's been meeting her French

counterpart, Bernard Caseneuve, this afternoon as she prepares to begin

the formal Brexit negotiations within weeks.

She said she'll seek the greatest possible access to the

European single market through a new free trade agreement.

REPORTER: Prime Minister, will you take the

Ministers are scathing about Mr Blair's

We heard all these arguments last year.

And I think it really is insulting the intelligence of the

electorate to say that they got it wrong.

Tony Blair believes the Government's whole approach to Brexit

is being driven by ideologues passionate about the moves to take

Britain out of the European Union, and that the Labour Party is failing

to provide the opposition that's required, but some will doubt

whether he's the man to lead a popular

movement to overturn the

Tony Blair didn't say he wants a second referendum, so how

Do you really think that you're the one

with the popular appeal to get a different

This is a free country, so I've got a right to speak, and

you've got the freedom to listen or not.

Right, you don't want to listen to me, don't listen.

I know that there will be a volley of abuse that will

come my way for speaking, but I'm speaking because I believe in it and

And he does still have some supporters in

Whether you love him or loathe him, I think

he is somebody that we should listen to.

He's got huge experience of politics at the top level.

But as Theresa May embarks on the complex

and difficult negotiations with EU leaders, the warning from one of her

predecessors is unlikely to be her biggest concern.

Carroll is in Westminster now. What impact is this intervention likely

to have? He will be hoping to change the terms of the debate, to convince

us all that Brexit is not inevitable. He is not founding a new

party, but he does want to try to build a movement. He is going to

found an institute to further his cause, but of course, leading Brexit

campaigners have been lining up to try to stop him in his tracks,

accusing him of being out of touch, arrogant, undemocratic, treating the

British people as fools. He won't get much support from the Labour

leadership. Jeremy Corbyn is hardly a Jeremy Corbyn fan at the best of

times and has made it clear he believes that the Labour Party

should accept the vote in that referendum, access the will of the

people and support the Government in beginning there was Brexit

negotiations. Even some people who share Tony Blair's concerns about

Brexit and the whole approach of the Government are wary of Tony Blair's

involvement. The former Prime Minister, of course, was a

redoubtable campaigner in his day. The won three general elections, but

the legacy of the right war means he is a hugely divisive figure. For

that reason, it would be very difficult indeed for him to build

the sort of coalition he needs, and so, I think the overall impact on

the march to Brexit will probably be pretty limited. Thank you.

The American food giant Kraft Heinz has made a ?100 billion

takeover bid for Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch company that owns

But Kraft - which also owns household name brands

like Heinz Ketchup and Cadbury - may well continue

If it happens it would be one of the largest mergers

Our Business Editor Simon Jack reports.

Unilever - a name that may not be well-known in every household,

but every household will recognise what it makes: Brands like Marmite,

Another whopping company, Kraft Heinz, which makes ketchup,

obviously, but also brands like HP Sauce and Maxwell House,

wants to put all of these brands in one enormous basket.

Unilever say Kraft are trying to get the company on the cheap

With mega deals like this, the first offer is rarely the last,

and Kraft will have a plan to justify a higher one.

They do that by radically cutting costs within Unilever and pushing

up Unilever's profits beyond what Unilever have

been themselves prepared to offer to the market,

and Kraft will do that because they have a very different

perception of what a fair rate of profit is for an international

consumer goods business than we do here in Europe.

When it comes to takeovers, it doesn't get much bigger than this.

Kraft is offering ?115 billion, which would put this deal in the top

three mergers and acquisitions of all time.

The combined company at today's prices would be

It would wield enormous power, one of the reasons both companies'

shares rose on the prospect that despite Unilever's refusal,

Kraft has a track record of buying well-known UK bands,

After promising to keep Cadbury's Somerdale factory

near Bristol open, it quickly backtracked and said it

That led to changes to the takeover rules requiring companies to spell

out their plans for jobs and premises in more

detail, but many feel they don't go far enough.

At the moment, the legal powers don't allow the Government to block

takeovers of this kind, but there is of course

a wider competition issue, which the competition authorities

The sharp fall in the pound post-referendum has made UK

Tech giant Arm Holdings snapped up Sky, a target once again

That's the UK open for business, say some.

That's great businesses on special, say others.

Unilever says it's not just about price.

These two companies, like Marmite and ketchup,

Shareholders will have the last word.

One of the key drivers of the UK economy - retail sales -

fell unexpectedly last month, following on from a similar

The Office for National Statistics said

the slowdown was because of a rise in fuel and food costs

Iraqi security forces are set to begin a major new offensive

against the so-called Islamic State in Mosul.

Iraq's second-largest city was seized by the jihadist group

over two years ago - as they took control

Last month - after a 12 week offensive - government forces

recaptured the eastern half of Mosul - claiming to have

But around three quarters of a million civilians remain

inside the west of the city - which is still controlled

From Mosul's southern front, our middle east correspondent,

In towns and villages along the Tigris, and across the desert,

they are readying for the attack on West Mosul.

The so-called Islamic State lies just over this ridge.

As coalition warplanes circled overhead, a scouting party returns

These are the men of Iraq's emergency response division.

It took 100 days to take the city's East.

They've been rested and re-equipped, but the battle

They took heavy casualties, but as they fought IS across Iraq,

TRANSLATION: We have liberated many cities across Iraq.

We now have experience of IS tactics and we also had good

We're now just waiting for orders to start

The West of Mosul will be a different battle.

This mortar team is going through final weapons checks.

The city's dense neighbourhoods mean great care will be needed

Nearly three quarters of a million are still in the city.

They'll be in the middle of this firepower.

When these men were in the east, they experienced 56

So, the question they are asking is, what does

How much weaponry and how many men, and how fiercely will IS fight

Major-General Rupert Jones is on a last-minute inspection

They'll be supporting the Iraqi assault on Mosul.

In terms of how long it will take, well, look,

West Mosul could be every bit as tough, so, you know,

You don't retake towns and cities the size of Mosul,

But I'm very confident they'll prevail without our support.

-- But I'm very confident they'll prevail with our support.

On the parade ground, Kurdish forces.

And the Defence Secretary bringing a reminder of why

We're picking up information all the time now, information

about those foreign fighters, for example, who are in Mosul.

Information, two, about some of the attacks that have been

So this work is not simply freeing people in Mosul from having to live

This won't be Iraq's last fight against IS,

Thousands of Iraqis are once again on their way

Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, on Mosul's southern front.

The United States Senate has approved one of Donald Trump's most

controversial nominees for his new cabinet.

Scott Pruit will lead the Environment Protection Agency.

Critics says he's a climate change sceptic - who's a friend

It comes after a setback for Mr Trump when his

candidate for the key post of National Security Adviser

Robert Harward had been tipped to replace Michael Flynn

Let's get more from our Washington Correspondent,

A key job, and still vacant. We're hearing there may be job interviews

this weekend, but Robert Harward looks like a top pick. Former Navy

SEAL, former Rear Admiral, he decided to turn down the opportunity

to serve his country and stand-by President Trump. We hear from the

White House they are citing family reasons for him turning down the job

at US media reports he wanted his own team around him. What ever the

reason, another setback for Donald Trump and yet another hole in his

personnel files 29 days in. He has faced many days of fire in a White

House trench. He's decided to fight back. It started with that cathartic

press conference yesterday where he got everything off his chest. You

still doing that, he has treated within the last half-hour calling

the press not his enemy but the enemy of the people. And today he

visited the Boeing factory, where he faced the crowds and chanting

workers shouting "USA, USA!" He looks comfortable, he looked

animated. He talked about unleashing the power of the American spirit.

This was Donald Trump back in campaigning mode and it's just a

warm up. There is a rally in the swing state of Florida tomorrow.

You're hearing the right. It is a campaign rally. After four weeks in

office Donald Trump is making his bid for four more years. While he

may sap up the energy from the crowded world win him friends in

Washington. It's not going to help push his agenda through. He still

has to come back to work here on Monday.

A brief look at some of the day's other other news stories...And

the driver of a bin lorry that crashed in Glasgow in 2014,

killing six people, has admitted to a motoring offence that occurred

Harry Clarke - seen here on the right -

pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless driving

His licence had already been revoked after the crash

One of the ringleaders behind the Hatton Garden raid of 2015,

has admitted trying to steal ?1m of gems from a London

Daniel Jones is serving a prison sentence for his

role in the infamous ?25m jewellery heist.

He tried to break in to a Mayfair jewellers in 2010.

The leader of UKIP - Paul Nuttall - has used his first speech

at the party's spring conference to set out what he called a "fair

He said Brexit would allow VAT to be scrapped on many items -

including domestic fuel bills, women's sanitary products

Pakistan's security forces say they've killed dozens of suspected

militants following an attack on a shrine in the south

of the country, in which nearly 90 worshippers died.

So-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility

for yesterday's bombing, the latest in a spate of attacks.

Pakistan's Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, says his nation

is fighting a war for its very identity, as our

correspondent in Islamabad, Secundar Kermani, reports.

A place of worship becomes a place of anguish.

Mourners pour through the hall of the shrine attacked last night,

whilst outside they begin to bury the dead.

His uncle spoke of the family's grief.

TRANSLATION: He wanted to pay his respects at the shrine.

This video shows just how busy the shrine

Over 80 people are now believed to have been killed.

So-called Islamic State have claimed responsibility.

But it's just the latest in a number of deadly attacks

On Monday, 13 people were killed in a suicide

bombing in the country's second-largest city, Lahore.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed

In a propaganda video, they vowed to unleash a new bombing

campaign in Pakistan, working alongside other groups.

The Prime Minister today visited victims from the attack

on the shrine as reports came in from across the country

of raids on on militants by counter terrorism forces,

but some say even more needs to be done.

It's not just a question of, you know, raising the ante and then

forgetting about it or making it easy after a few days,

This has been the pattern in the past.

There has been a growing sense of confidence from the authorities

that the security situation in Pakistan is improving.

But yesterday's bombings, the worst in the past few years,

plus other attacks in the last week, have created unease among

There are real concerns that violence could be

Back in the shrine tonight, alongside the grief,

Worshippers chant the prayers that yesterday were silenced.

Should patients be forced to pay to see a GP or for a visit

to A to ease the financial pressure on the NHS?

It's a controversial subject but one that some feel should be considered.

The channel island of Guernsey has been doing just that for decades -

with islanders paying for many aspects of their care.

But critics say it can deter people from seeking help.

Our Health Editor Hugh Pym has been to Guernsey to find out more.

A card payment machine in a hospital - yes,

it does happen in one part of the British Isles,

You see the list of charges when you arrive.

?49.50 during the day, more at night, and extras

25% of the service's running costs come from patient fees,

This marine ambulance service mainly covers the smaller

Local people can either take out an annual subscription,

or might have to pay hundreds of pounds to be picked up

That subscription, less than ?1 a week, is like an insurance policy.

If you don't have it, the service says it won't demand

Payment is never mentioned as part of the clinical

They are sent an invoice within a couple of weeks

following the use of the ambulance service, and they normally then

settle by whatever means they will wish to settle.

For a GP visit, it's ?50, and this doctor thinks

I think there are enough safeguards to ensure that people go

I think, inevitably, payment for a service does make

you think as to whether you really should be going.

Some residents pay for medical insurance.

Anyone on benefits has their health costs covered by the state,

though pensioners and children are not automatically exempt.

I had an accident at Christmas and I had to go to A

There could be a reduction for pensioners, because it is a lot

We can get to see a doctor within one or two days of notice,

You do have to pay for a GP and A, but not ongoing hospital

Local politicians are now worried that people on low incomes might

I think that for those people who are just above that benefits

threshold, they might not go to the GP early enough,

and that might mean that when they do present,

things have got worse, and then they have to be treated

The real risk of charging is that we don't raise very

much money, we increase the administrative complexity,

and in fact, people with really important health care conditions

are deterred even further from going to see their medical

practitioner when they really need their help.

If anyone wants to see a charging model, it's here.

Politically, it's not even on the horizon for the NHS.

Any party advocating it might find its electoral

After more than 20 years in charge at Arsenal,

Arsene Wenger has hinted he may not be there for much longer.

Today he said he'd definitely be managing a team next season -

whether that's at Arsenal "or somewhere else".

This week his team were thrashed 5-1 by Bayern Munich

After the match some former players suggested it was time

Our Sports Correspondent David Ornstein reports.

For Arsenal, the feeling was all too familiar.

Badly beaten, all eyes on their boss.

For club and coach is the end finally in sight?

No matter what happens, I will manage next season,

is it here or someone else, you know.

You do not stay somewhere for 20 years and you walk out

of a defeat like that and you whistle, you know?

I have the strength and experience to respond to that.

In 1996 Wenger arrived to headlines of "Arsene who?"

But soon he silenced the critics by collecting trophies.

A pioneer on and off the pitch, he turned the likes of Thierry Henry

into superstars, and his team became invincibles, going an entire

league season unbeaten among his achievements,

three Premier League titles and six FA cups.

Well, Arsene Wenger hasn't only managed this club,

The team, their new stadium, even this state-of-the-art training

He's failed to conquer Europe and hasn't won

a league title since 2004, causing a split among the fans.

I've never seen Arsenal win the league.

He has done us proud, but I think he's overstayed now, hasn't he?

I'd like him to sort off and out he's going to step down now

The fans will unite, because that's the main problem.

Arsenal are a club that pride themselves on stability.

Do people have to be careful what they wish for?

You have to. I think what is important

is that the club makes the right decisions.

I did not work if 20 years not to care about this club.

Because I have many opportunities to go somewhere else during that

period, and it is very important that the club is

Arsenal are still in three competitions.

But the future of their greatest manager looks more

Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.