01/04/2017 BBC Weekend News

The government has said that Britain will defend the interests

of Gibraltar in the Brexit negotiations, following warnings

that Spain is attempting to use the process to pursue its claim

The EU has suggested that a Brexit deal won't cover Gibraltar

without a separate agreement between London and Madrid.

Labour say it's vital the people of Gibraltar aren't

used as a "bargaining chip" in negotiations.

Could this rock, looming from the Mediterranean, threaten Britain's

future relationship with EU? Gibraltar's been in British hands

for more than 300 years but it voted almost unanimously to remain in the

EU, giving Spain of taking the territory back. Just this week,

Theresa May said that wouldn't happen. We are absolutely steadfast

in our support of Gibraltar and its people and its economy. Our position

has not changed. But the European Council's position has changed and

in its draft negotiating guidelines, it says, after the UK leads the

union, no agreement between the Unite -- between EU and the UK may

apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the

kingdom of Spain and the UK. And giving Spain veto rights could mean

choppy waters ahead. Spain hasn't been shy of confronting Britain in

the past, here over fishing rights of the Gibraltar Coast. Now its

demands on the territory could be part of any future EU- UK trade

deal. These are draft guidelines but already we see Spain making the

moves that people expect she might have made at five minutes to

midnight with an agreement ready, she is doing now, and frankly, I

think it is singling out Gibraltan fairly. But Middridge dove has --

does have a list of grievances like Djibril Sow's low tax economy,

enabling the smuggling of cheap cigarettes into Spain. Brexit may

just have given the Spanish more leverage on that and the big

question of sovereignty. Spain must have tried something like 12 times

to conquer or takeover Gibraltar. This is something that many people

in Spain want. It is a matter of national pride to have Gibraltar

back. The letter triggering Article 50 in the Brexit process made no

mention of Gibraltar. Some say it should have. It was not just it did

not mention Gibraltar. It was that it only talked about one land border

where the negotiations cover tee land borders. It also made reference

to government in terms that did not include the fact there are, you

know, Gibraltar has a government as well. The overwhelming majority of

people in Gibraltar want to stay British and I think on that basis,

we will respect the sovereignty of the people of Gibraltar, respect

their decision and respect the negotiating process. A process which

Spain wants Gibraltar to be a part of. Richard Lister, BBC News.

Our political correspondent Iain Watson is in Westminster.

Why wasn't Gibraltar mentioned in Theresa May's letter? I have to tell

you, you are not the only person asking that question. Certainly

British members of the European Parliament I have spoken to are

raising it and a House of Lords committee suggested Gibraltar might

have been a bit of an afterthought and even Spanish politicians, who

are both surprised and delighted it was not mentioned in the Prime

Minister's letter. The answer is straightforward that the government

said they never, ever believed that the sovereignty of Gibraltar would

be part of the negotiations with the EU and tonight, are stressing, to

coin a phrase, their rock-solid support for Gibraltar but I

understand the issue will be raised on Wednesday in the European

Parliament. Nonetheless, the Prime Minister's critics say this shows

she was not prepared enough for the complexity of the negotiations that

lie ahead. Thank you for joining us. The Help To Buy scheme was meant

to support lower-wage earners But it's emerged thousands

of families on high incomes have also benefited,

as Joe Lynam now reports. But for the government's Help To Buy

scheme, Lena Hannon and her husband would have needed an additional five

to ten years before they could She does worry, though,

that some high earners are also It does bother me a bit that some

people that don't really need But to be fair, I think

that the fact that the scheme was able to help people like me,

and I know that a lot of people benefited from this scheme,

it makes me feel happy. Introduced four years ago

to encourage house-building and help mostly first-time buyers get

on the ladder, 250,000 people have bought property

using the Help To Buy schemes. But research suggests that existing

homeowners from wealthy households Using official data,

research found that around 4000 households in England earning more

than ?100,000 used to the Helped To Buy equity loan

scheme, and 20,000 households used it even though they weren't

even first-time buyers. This scheme, in place,

playing a valuable part in helping people get into the housing market

for the first time, should only be there for first-time buyers,

and really shouldn't be there for people who are earning

over ?100,000 per year. The Help To Buy equity loan scheme

offers buyers up to a fifth of the cost of a new-build home

so they only need to The government says almost 400,000

people have been helped and ?8.6 billion has been promised

for it in England until 2021. The fact that the Help To Buy

scheme has helped existing and sometimes wealthy households

will worry some economists. They have long seen concerns

about consumer indebtedness, rising house prices and savings

at an all-time record low. If the cost of living

continues to rise as it has in recent weeks and months,

that will make the BBC News has learned that only 5%

of prison staff in England and Wales will be entitled to new pay

allowances of up to ?5,000. The payments were announced by the

Ministry of Justice two months ago. They were aimed at tackling claims

that low pay and morale had led The Prison Officers' Association has

described the situation A mudslide in southern Colombia has

killed more than 100 people Swollen rivers and heavy rains sent

mud onto homes and roads Whole neighbourhoods are feared to

have been swept away. Nottinghamshire Police

are appealing for help finding a woman who's suspected

of abducting her two young sons. It comes after a family court warned

that Samantha Baldwin, who's 42, This is Samantha Baldwin,

not seen since Monday. She is believed to have

abducted her two sons in the hours after a court ordered they be

removed from her care. The police say nine-year-old Louis

and six-year-old Dylan are at risk of harm from her and they are asking

the public to help find them. Samantha went missing, having left

court shortly after 11am. We are working on the notion

that they remain together. We are concerned that Samantha poses

a risk to the boys and we have a 100-strong team of dedicated

officers working around the clock to trace her and return

the children safely. The two boys have been

made wards of court. Samantha Baldwin was last

seen here in Nottingham The police are not ruling out

the possibility that somebody else might be involved

and could be harbouring her. Two women arrested on suspicion

of assisting an offender have now In the Premier League, Liverpool

have won today's Merseyside derby. The victory over Everton moves them

up to third place in the table, Difficult to imagine,

now, but this corner They were Anfield's original

occupants in the 19th century. In the 21st, they have become

overly obliging guests. No one in blue interrupted

Sadio Mane until he Liverpool's problems

lie at the other end. The red guard left their posts

and there was young Matthew Pennington from Warrington

for Everton, his first for the club. But Anfield groans would,

within minutes, turn to gasps. Philippe Coutinho has

tailored his reputation with moments of such

silk, masterfully measured. Despite such style, the Reds

often flirt with danger. Then Mane, their top

scorer, went off injured. But there is a reason

James Bond is a Liverpool fan. For all the risks and mishaps,

they specialise in thrilling Daring Divock Origi this time,

goal 009 of the season. Liverpool briefly shaken,

then stirred, and are now in third. Now, you may remember the story

of the brightly-coloured car that's causing consternation in certain

quarters for spoiling the view in the picturesque

Cotswold village of Bidbury. Its elderly owner Peter Maddox

was criticised for parking Today, a 100-strong convoy

of fellow yellow car owners from around Britain have driven

through the village in a very bright We are back with the

late news at 10:15pm. Now on BBC1, it's time

for the news where you are.