03/12/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at ten.

On the eve of crucial talks

in Brussels, Theresa May comes

under renewed pressure,

to get tough over Brexit.

Ahead of a meeting with the EU

President, Tory Brexiteers

draw their red lines.

But there's a warning

for backbenchers.

The choice we face now is not

between this Brexit or that Brexit.

If we don't back Theresa May

we will have no Brexit.

A deal on the future status

of the Irish border has

still to be reached.

We'll have the latest from Brussels.

Also tonight.

The White House says

North Korea's nuclear ambitions,

pose "the greatest threat

to the United States,

and to the world".

New hope for young people,

who say they have to wait too long

to get mental health

support in England.

And, in the race to become UK

City of Culture 2021,

we look at Coventry's chances

in the first of our profiles.

Good evening.

Theresa May is coming

under increasing pressure

to adopt a tougher line

during Brexit negotiations

as she prepares to travel

to Brussels tomorrow,

for talks with the President

of the European Commission.

She is hoping Jean-Claude Juncker

will signal that sufficient progress

has been made to allow negotiations

to begin on trade and the UK's

future relationship with the EU. Yet

some leading Brexiteers have written

an open letter to Mrs May setting

out their demands.

Here's our Political

Correspondent, Alex Forsyth.

When these two meet tomorrow it will

take more than polite greetings.

His verdict will be

crucial in deciding

if they have edged close enough

together on key issues for EU

leaders to agree to start talking

trade when they meet later this

month.

Meanwhile, a handful of

Brexit-backing Conservative MPs have

increased the pressure

on the Prime Minister,

signing a letter setting

out their demands including a

promise that the European Court

of Justice will cease to have any

jurisdiction over the UK.

For some this goes to

the heart of the Brexit

debate.

The European Court of Justice

is there to rule on all

matters to do with

the European Union.

We will have left the European Union

and therefore the

simple point is that we should not

therefore have to look to the

by them bound directly

back into the UK.

When it comes to this

Court Theresa May has signalled

that it will have a role during any

transition, a possible two-year

period to prepare for new systems.

But some Brexiteers fear there could

be compromised beyond that,

as the EU wants it to keep

overseeing citizens' rights.

Today one Cabinet minister said

there would have to be

co-operation between legal systems

but European law wouldn't hold sway

over a British law and he had

a warning for some MPs.

The Supreme Court will

decide what the law of

the country is in this country,

as voted on by Parliament.

That is the big thing

that Theresa May has

achieved.

I think there's an even

bigger point here.

The choice we face now

is not between this

Brexit or that Brexit.

If we do not back Theresa

May we will have no

Brexit.

But there are competing views

of several aspects of these

talks.

The island of Ireland will be

where the UK meets the EU.

All agree there should

be no hard border but

today the Irish government

still was not convinced as to how

that can be achieved.

The Irish government is not

being unreasonable here.

We are simply asking

questions that need

more credible answers

before we can allow

more credible answers before

we can allow this process

to move on to phase two.

Here the government said they had

made headway on the Irish

border as well as citizens' rights

and the financial settlement but say

nothing is agreed until

everything is agreed.

Tonight there are still outstanding

issues in these key

areas in which the EU had wanted

progress before agreeing to talk

trade.

Tomorrow's meeting is a crucial step

in deciding whether or

not enough has been done.

The outcome is vital

but it is still far

from certain.

Alex Forsyth, BBC News, Westminster.

Our Europe Editor Katya Adler

is in Brussels tonight.

What are the chances of Mrs May

being told watcher wants to go

tomorrow, that there has been

significant progress in the talks?

significant progress in the talks?

What I can tell you is that tonight

on this rainy night Brussels is

upbeat, after months of the EU and

the member states complaining of

what they saw was dragging feet by

the British government on the main

exit, tonight I am hearing the words

movement, traction and an absence of

negativity on both sides. Diplomats

have worked throughout the weekend

to finalise an agreement on money

and on citizens rights. Ireland

remains an outstanding issue. The

Irish government want written

assurances from the British

government that the Good Friday

Agreement will be protected and

there won't be a reintroduction of

the border between the Irish

Republic and Northern Ireland. I'm

told that as we speak wedding

acceptable to all sides is being set

out and there's cautious optimism

tonight, remember what we are

looking at is not a final deal but

for the EU to say that enough

progress has been made to widen the

talks to include trade and

transition. Tomorrow is hugely

important. That's when the Prime

Minister comes to have lunch at the

commission with the European

Commission. She will be expected to

give personal assurances to any

agreement and to iron out any

wrinkles. If we get that far this

joint report being written by the EU

and the UK to lock in any written

agreement. Even then they be those

in the UK who feel that the

government has caved in to much to

EU demands and in the EU countries

who are more concerned than others

about forging ahead to the future.

Thank you Katya Adler, in Brussels.

The head of the Social

Mobility Commission

says he's resigning,

amid claims the government's

focus on Brexit means

it cannot concentrate

on tackling social inequality.

The departure of the former

Labour Cabinet Minister,

Alan Milburn, comes days

after the Commission's annual

report warned of alienation in many

communities outside London.

But the government has defended

its record on social mobility,

saying it was already planning

to replace Mr Milburn,

as Jonathan Blake reports.

Your chances of getting a job,

finding a good school for your

children and being able to afford

somewhere decent to live.

Issues at the heart

of social mobility.

And from day one in power, tackling

inequality was a personal priority

for Theresa May.

The mission to make Britain

a country that works for

everyone means more

than fighting these injustices.

If you are from an ordinary

working class family, life

is much harder than many people

in Westminster realise.

But for the former Labour

Cabinet minister Alan

Milburn, who was until now in charge

of monitoring the government's

progress on social mobility,

not enough is being done.

What is lacking here

is meaningful political

action to translate very

good words into deeds.

In the end what counts in politics

is not what you talk

about, it is what you do.

And I'm afraid the

divisions in Britain are

becoming wider.

They are becoming wider

economically, socially, and

geographically.

Mr Milburn's deputy,

a former Conservative Education

Secretary and the Commission's two

other board members have also

resigned.

Downing Street said it had already

told Mr Milburn and planned

to appoint a new chair as his term

in office had ended.

He suggested at least one

Cabinet minister wanted

him to stay.

Alan Milburn and I both care deeply

about social mobility

and equality of opportunity.

He said that and he said

you wanted to keep

him on, is that true?

I'm not going to get

into discussions we have in

government, he's done a fantastic

job but his term has come to an end.

And I think it was about

getting some fresh blood

into the commission.

The Education Secretary went on to

defend the government's record.

We're seeing standards

in our schools rise

and critically we are seeing

the

attainment gap narrow,

this is the difference in outcomes

between disadvantaged children

and their

better off peers.

The social mobility commission's

most recent report

described Britain as

a deeply divided nation.

Two-thirds of the areas

where young people face their

brightest prospects are in London

while many coastal, rural and from

industrial areas are being

left further behind.

It singled out the Midlands

as the worst performing

area in England.

Deprived areas registered

some of the highest

support for leaving

the European Union.

The government is now facing

criticism that it is so focused on

the process of Brexit

that it is ignoring

some of the reasons

that

led people to vote for it.

Jonathan Blake, BBC News.

President Trump's National

Security Advisor says

North Korea's nuclear ambitions pose

"the greatest threat

to the United States,

and to the world".

The comments from H R McMaster come

on the eve of the largest ever

joint military exercise

in the region, between US

and South Korean forces.

Pyongyang has called the drill

an "all out provocation".

From Washington,

Laura Bicker reports.

Weapons experts have described the

latest North Korean missile is a

beast, capable of striking the US

mainland. There were celebrations in

Pyongyang, staged event to declare

that North Korea is becoming a

nuclear nation. This is something

the Trump administration has said it

will not accept.

The greatest

immediate threat to the United

States...

Speaking at defence forum

the US National Security adviser had

this morning.

China has tremendous

coercive economic power over North

Korea. You cannot shoot a missile

without fuel. There are ways to

address this problem, short of armed

conflict. But it is a race because

he is getting closer and closer. And

there is not much time left.

The US

is keeping a show of force in the

Korean peninsula and stealth

fighters have been deployed to the

region as part of the largest air

exercise ever held with South Korea.

They have been dubbed as war games.

But in North Korean television

broadcast described drills as

provocation. The US has made it

clear it doesn't want war with North

Korea but Kim Jong-un has continued

to build missiles and sanctions have

not stopped. The into International

committee is running out of

diplodocus options.

I'm going to

urge the Pentagon not to send any

more dependence to South Korea. It

should be an unaccompanied tour.

It's crazy to send spouses and

children to South Korea, given the

provocation of North Korea.

Military

experts have warned that a war on

the peninsula would have devastating

consequences and North Korea would

be utterly destroyed. The hope must

be that the threat of action

alongside stringent sanctions will

force the young Korean leader to

change course.

The warnings coming from the USA are

not only aimed at North Korea but

and China. The US wants paging to

stop exporting crude oil to its

neighbour, something they have

appeared not willing to do and that

is one reason why the from top

message generals of the White House

is now so clear. If Kim Jong-un

continues on this path and sanctions

don't work, America will act. Laura,

thank you. Laura Bicker, live in

Washington.

A lorry driver who crashed

into stationary traffic on the M6

after apparently falling asleep

at the wheel has been

jailed for 16 months

at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Police have released

footage of the incident.

This was the moment Mariusz Wlazlo

smashed his HGV into two cars at 43

miles per hour in March this year.

He admitted causing serious injury

by dangerous driving.

A woman in her 50s was in hospital

for weeks receiving treatment for

broken ribs and fractured vertebrae.

Children are to get access to mental

health support in schools

and colleges in England.

£300 million of funding

will be made available over three

years, in a joint initiative

between the Departments

of Health and Education.

A waiting time of four weeks

for those who need specialist

support will be

tested in some areas.

Labour says the plans

don't go far enough.

Here's our Health Editor Hugh Pym.

Young fashion designer George

discovered the harsh reality

of young people's mental health

services.

Very long waits in many areas.

He struggled with anxiety and OCD,

but was told he would have to

wait nine months for NHS care.

That really hit me hard.

I thought, "Oh my God,

I'm in this situation and I now

have to wait 40 weeks

to get help that I need."

What can happen in that time?

It's quite scary.

I didn't know what I'd do

to myself during that time.

How do we encourage people to speak

out about it?

That's what the Health Secretary,

Jeremy Hunt, says is the

aim of a new government plan.

If your child has a mental health

issue, we want to make

sure you get the help much, much

earlier than happens at the moment.

And, if possible, we want to work

within the school system to prevent

that condition deteriorating.

But Labour argues that children's

mental health services have been

underfunded for too long.

Services are really overstretched

and children are waiting

years for the vital

support that they need.

So, this is a drop

in the ocean compared

to the cuts unfortunately that many

services have faced.

I didn't have any therapy...

This is one teenager

who had to be sent

hundreds of miles from home for

treatment for an eating disorder.

I felt I had never been properly

treated for the mental side, they

just sort of put me in hospital and

my physical side is bad and they

don't treat anything else and they

keep wondering why it's happening,

why I keep going back to hospital.

Her mother, Rachel, is angry

they were failed by local services.

She says the stress

on the whole family

has been devastating.

You keep going and you keep

going to do all you can

to aid their recovery.

You travel to where

you've got to travel.

It's difficult for them and it's

excruciating for the family

really left behind.

At the Department of Health vicar

working closely with colleagues in

education to try to ensure that

schools and the NHS have a more

joined up approach. It has been

welcomed by mental health charities

but they say it's just a start.

There are still big questions over

whether enough funding has been

committed to allow for the training

of thousands of new support staff

and the delivery of a four-week

treatment target for those who most

need it. George could afford to go

private because his family could

afford it but he knows others are

not so lucky and he is campaigning

to his fashion brand for effective

treatment on the NHS.

Hugh Pym, BBC News.

Now the sport with Olly Foster.

It's been another difficult day

for England's cricketers.

Already one down in the Ashes

series, they may struggle

to save the Second Test.

They'll resume on 29-1

on the third day,

over 400 runs behind Australia's

first innings total.

Our sports correspondent

Andy Swiss is in Adelaide.

For England, a demoralising day.

For the Ashes,

a potentially defining one.

And yet, the visitors

began it so brightly.

Third ball, Peter

Handscomb, leg before.

Stuart Broad quite enjoyed that.

But England didn't

enjoy what followed.

Tim Payne and Shaun Marsh both given

out, both reprieved by the video

umpire with match-changing results.

Payne went on to 50,

Marsh an outstanding hundred.

He had seemed a strange

selection to many people,

not any more.

When he did finally offer up

a chance, this moment pretty

much summed up England's day.

Alastair Cook and James Vince's

calamitous collision

a symbol of their struggles.

And Marsh simply

piled on the misery.

Australia declaring on 442-8.

England, remember, had

put them in to bat.

Now they had a mountain

to climb under floodlights

and the fiercest pressure,

their batsmen soon faltered.

Mark Stoneman trapped

for just 18, Australia were

closing in.

But so was the weather.

The rain rescuing England,

only for now though.

Tomorrow they'll have to produce

something very special.

It's not impossible to score runs.

There's a long time

left in the game.

So, it will be up to one or two

of our guys to go out and

make a big score, and not

just add 40 or 50.

For England then, a frustrating

and deflating day.

They now need to bat

at their very best

if they're to save this

match and realistically

save their Ashes hopes.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, Adelaide.

Highlights of today's football

in England and Scotland are coming

up later on BBC1 depending

where you are watching.

If you keep watching

now...you'll get the results.

Rangers are now second

in the Scottish Premiership

after beating Aberdeen 2-1

and Manchester City

are 8 points clear in

the Premier League again

after beating West Ham

by the same scoreline.

They came from behind to equal

the top-division record

for consecutive league wins

in a row, it's now 13.

Elsewhere Bournemouth

against Southampton finished 1-1.

Teenager Alfie Hewett has become

the first British singles champion

at the season ending

Wheelchair Tennis Masters.

He beat compatriot Gordon Reid

in the Loughborough final.

Hewett, who is 19, also

won his first Grand Slam title this

year at the French Open.

Fellow Briton Andy Lapthorne

lost in his quad final.

There was just the one game

in the Rugby Union Premiership.

It was a good one for Harlequins

as they came from behind

to beat Saracens 20-19 -

the winning points coming

from Tim Visser's try in the last 90

seconds of the match at the Stoop.

Don't forget, there's much more

on all those stories

on the BBC sport website,

you'll also find the goals

from today's FA Cup 2nd round ties.

That's all your sport.

Coventry, Paisley, Stoke,

Sunderland and Swansea,

are all competing for the title

of UK City of Culture 2021.

The winner will be

announced this week.

The year-long celebration of arts,

music and culture has

boosted local economies,

proving a huge success

for the current holder, Hull.

Tonight in the first of five

profiles of the contenders,

we'll be taking a look

at all the cities in contention,

and first tonight it's Coventry,

from where Colleen Harris reports.

MUSIC: Ghost Town by

The Specials

This is a city that has

embraced its reputation

for peace and reconciliation.

Transformed by post-war immigration,

Coventry's culture has been

shaped by its history.

The cathedral symbolises

its resilience.

What stands today in my

home city are the ruins

from a campaign of bombings

during the Blitz.

The martyred city of Coventry.

It was also the heart

of the British car industry.

Its decline turned it

into a ghost town.

Yeah, most of the songs written down

here are off the first album.

The song Ghost Town became

an anthem for a generation,

written by The Specials.

The Coventry band captured racial

tensions of the early 80s

through their music.

Walking around in Coventry

at the time, it was horrendous.

And you couldn't walk down

the street without being

attacked by National Front.

So, when The Specials got together,

that was to get black

and whites united.

Coventry is hoping to breathe

new life into its rich multicultural

and industrial past.

And its bid to win the City

of Culture 2021 puts young people

at the heart of its focus.

There are so many exciting things

to see and do, but people just

don't know for the need to do a lot

of work as part of the city

of culture bid as to

what our city has two offer.

Helping to move the city forward

is Louis Lewinson, a choreographer,

taking his work from Coventry

to young people around the world.

He represents a new

generation looking for hope

in a city trying to shake

off its post-war image.

It is more than important,

it is crucial that it wins.

This is like the biggest thing that

has ever happened in Coventry.

It's bringing a lot of hope

and excitement to the city.

This is the one time

for the underdog to come up and rise

and show what we really have.

Winning the City of Culture can help

transform a city's fortunes.

The people of Coventry hope

the city's rich heritage

can secure its future.

Colleen Harris, BBC News, Coventry.

If you gazed at the sky depending on

where you live, you may have seen a

supermoon. That is where the moon

appears bigger and brighter than

usual and it only happens when it

reaches its closest point to earth.

These are some of the images viewers

have been sent in from North

Yorkshire to Derbyshire. Astronomers

say skywatchers will get the most

spectacular views tonight and

tomorrow morning.

You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel.

Didn't stay with us.