0:00:23 > 0:00:25Good afternoon.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28A local council has taken the rare step of imposing emergency spending
0:00:28 > 0:00:30controls because of what it describes as severe
0:00:30 > 0:00:32financial challenges.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35No new expenditure will be allowed at the Conservative-led
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Northamptonshire County Council - except for work protecting
0:00:37 > 0:00:39vulnerable people.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said austerity was causing chaos
0:00:42 > 0:00:44in local government.
0:00:44 > 0:00:52Jane-Frances Kelly reports.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Northamptonshire County Council, its new headquarters cost £53 million
0:00:57 > 0:01:01and was opened just last year but the building could be up for sale
0:01:01 > 0:01:06soon to help the authority balance its books. It is now banning all new
0:01:06 > 0:01:10expenditure although services safeguarding vulnerable people will
0:01:10 > 0:01:13be protected. Staff pay will be unaffected. The leader of the
0:01:13 > 0:01:19council blamed cuts handed down to it from central government.We have
0:01:19 > 0:01:23been in a perfect storm of huge increases in demand for services and
0:01:23 > 0:01:27at the same time significant reductions in funding from central
0:01:27 > 0:01:32government. We have said to government since 2013 that we could
0:01:32 > 0:01:37not sustain or worse services with the level of reduction in funding.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41The council said that rising demand for adult social care services had
0:01:41 > 0:01:46driven much of the £10 million overspend on the budget this year.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51Cuts under consideration include bus subsidies and library services. At
0:01:51 > 0:01:57the Labour local government conference the party leader
0:01:57 > 0:02:02condemned government austerity.What more evidence do we need, austerity
0:02:02 > 0:02:06is unleashing chaos across our country. Squeezing our local
0:02:06 > 0:02:12authorities and putting jobs and the vital services they deliver at risk.
0:02:12 > 0:02:18Experts say Northamptonshire, its position is due to a number of
0:02:18 > 0:02:23factors some particular to the county but it could indicate a wider
0:02:23 > 0:02:28problem.Ministers and civil servants were worried that
0:02:28 > 0:02:29Northamptonshire is a leading indicator of something that could
0:02:29 > 0:02:34happen more generally. We have had eight years of cuts to council
0:02:34 > 0:02:38budgets, a far greater impact on them then save the NHS or welfare
0:02:38 > 0:02:42budgets and the question is how far you can go with that policy before
0:02:42 > 0:02:50it begins to produce results like this.The implications for
0:02:50 > 0:02:51communities in Northamptonshire are due to be discussed at the council
0:02:51 > 0:02:54meeting later in the month. Government inspectors have been
0:02:54 > 0:02:57appointed to investigate whether the authority is managing its finances
0:02:57 > 0:02:59correctly.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02A prominent Conservative MP has stepped up his criticism of civil
0:03:02 > 0:03:04servants at the treasury over Brexit forecasts - accusing them
0:03:04 > 0:03:08of "fiddling the figures" - in order to make the case for the UK
0:03:08 > 0:03:11remaining in the EU's customs union.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Jacob Rees Mogg - who was caught up in a scuffle when protesters
0:03:14 > 0:03:17disrupted a speech at a university campus in Bristol last night -
0:03:17 > 0:03:19told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Treasury forecasts
0:03:19 > 0:03:26on the impact of Brexit were "clearly politically influenced".
0:03:26 > 0:03:29With the referendum and with the EU, the Treasury has gone back to making
0:03:29 > 0:03:31forecasts.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33It was politically advantageous for them in the past.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It is the same now.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38So yes, I do think they're fiddling the figures.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Our political correspondent Matt Cole is here.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Matt - that phrase "fiddling the figures" seems to
0:03:43 > 0:03:49imply it's deliberate?
0:03:49 > 0:03:55Indeed. And not least it is the second time in the week he has made
0:03:55 > 0:03:58a serious accusation questioning the impartiality of civil servants and
0:03:58 > 0:04:02trying to undermine their warnings about Brexit. The Treasury says that
0:04:02 > 0:04:06the excavations are false but this is more than just a row about a
0:04:06 > 0:04:12backbench MP challenging Treasury figures for the Jacob Rees-Mogg
0:04:12 > 0:04:16leads an important section of Conservative MPs on whom Theresa
0:04:16 > 0:04:21May, her future
0:04:22 > 0:04:27May, her future as Prime Minister might depend. The European Tory
0:04:27 > 0:04:30research group are opposed to any form of staying in a customs union
0:04:30 > 0:04:32with the EU after Brexit and that subject will be discussed in key
0:04:32 > 0:04:34ministerial meetings this week. We know Theresa May has ruled out
0:04:34 > 0:04:39staying in the customs union but is said to be open to other
0:04:39 > 0:04:41arrangements. So this intervention could be seen as upping the ante and
0:04:41 > 0:04:44putting pressure on Theresa May ahead of a crucial week in which we
0:04:44 > 0:04:48could find out more about our future relations with the European Union.
0:04:48 > 0:04:55But also if Jacob Rees-Mogg, if its people do not like what they hear,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57about her future as Prime Minister.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59The government has announced a package of financial support
0:04:59 > 0:05:02for small companies affected by the collapse of the construction
0:05:02 > 0:05:03company, Carillion.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05The state-backed British Business Bank will allocate one
0:05:05 > 0:05:07hundred million pounds in loans - and customers worried about repaying
0:05:07 > 0:05:09mortgages will be offered help.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Thousands of suppliers were left unpaid, after the firm went
0:05:11 > 0:05:15into liquidation in last month.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The head of the FBI has defended its work after a classified
0:05:17 > 0:05:20memo was released accusing it of bias against President Trump,
0:05:20 > 0:05:21and abuse of power.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25The memo was written by Republican members of Congress.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28It says the FBI got permission to wiretap one of Mr Trump's
0:05:28 > 0:05:30advisers in 2016 - by using unsubstantiated
0:05:30 > 0:05:34evidence which had been paid for by his political opponents.
0:05:34 > 0:05:41Daniela Relph has this report.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46The mammal is out. A controversial GOP document on the Russian
0:05:46 > 0:05:50investigation is released.They are the headlines that tell of a vicious
0:05:50 > 0:05:53fight at the heart of the United States Government. For President
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Trump his decision to release the memo accusing the FBI of working
0:05:57 > 0:06:01against him is totally justified.I think it is a disgrace what is
0:06:01 > 0:06:05happening in our country.Before his opponents this is a president and
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Republican party who have engineered a political stunt. Under attack the
0:06:09 > 0:06:14head of the FBI is defined. Addressing his staff Christopher
0:06:14 > 0:06:19Wray said, talk is cheap. The work that you do is what women draw. We
0:06:19 > 0:06:22will keep doing that work because we know who and what we are. Because we
0:06:22 > 0:06:29know our mission comes first. The American people come first. The memo
0:06:29 > 0:06:33written by Republicans describes a politically biased Justice
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Department and FBI. Who are determined to ensure Donald Trump
0:06:36 > 0:06:42lost the election.They have a warrant from someone in the Trump
0:06:42 > 0:06:48campaign using opposition research paid for by the Democratic party and
0:06:48 > 0:06:51the Hillary Clinton campaign.This began as an investigation into the
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Trump campaign and its alleged links with Russia. It is now but the
0:06:54 > 0:06:59relationship between the White House and the FBI at a new low. With
0:06:59 > 0:07:06senior Democrats warning of a constitutional crisis.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Dennis Edwards, the former lead singer of The Tempations,
0:07:08 > 0:07:09has died at the age of 74.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Dennis Edwards sang on the MoTown's group's most memorable hits,
0:07:12 > 0:07:13including Papa Was a Rolling' Stone.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17# Papa was a Rolling Stone.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20# Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22# When he died...
0:07:22 > 0:07:30# All he left us was alone.
0:07:31 > 0:07:39# Papa was a Rolling Stone.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Now with the big build up to the Six Nations rugby -
0:07:43 > 0:07:45and the rest of the sport - here's Mike Bushell
0:07:45 > 0:07:46at the BBC Sport Centre.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Good afternoon.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53The Wales and Scotland teams will be arriving into the tunnel
0:07:53 > 0:07:56at the Principalility stadium around now, greeted by the Welsh hymns.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59But that will be nothing compared to the noise when they kick off
0:07:59 > 0:08:02this year's Six Nations, in less than an hour's time.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Our Sports correspondent Joe Wilson, is already there,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and Joe, it's injury ravaged Wales, trying to bring down
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Scotland in buoyant mood - where will this one be
0:08:09 > 0:08:17lost and won?
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Here I am with the trophy at the centre of things. The cauldron just
0:08:23 > 0:08:30beginning to bubble here. On the stadium wall it says this is not a
0:08:30 > 0:08:36sport but what we live for. Not just 18 minutes, this is a lifetime
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Bo-Dog it gives you a sense of the importance of rugby and this match.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44I think that the Welsh team might need every decibel of encouragement
0:08:44 > 0:08:51because as you say it is racked by injury. That will be a recurring
0:08:51 > 0:08:56theme during the course of the Six Nations. Scotland come with that
0:08:56 > 0:09:00optimism having beaten Australia and competed with New Zealand in the
0:09:00 > 0:09:08autumn. And Scotland they have as their coach player playing for
0:09:08 > 0:09:11unpredictability. They have attacking players, flair in the
0:09:11 > 0:09:16back. The tactic from Wales might be to try to keep the ball away from
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Stuart Hogg in particular. We will see how long that Scottish optimism
0:09:20 > 0:09:24last. Elsewhere of course Ireland are in Paris, traditionally you
0:09:24 > 0:09:29might go to France some fear but I'm not sure if that applies. In England
0:09:29 > 0:09:34are in Italy on Sunday. It may come down to England versus Ireland in
0:09:34 > 0:09:39the final weekend. Whoever ends up winning the match will start off the
0:09:39 > 0:09:45tournament and looking upwards. Thank you and what a noise before
0:09:45 > 0:09:51kick-off. Both of those matches on BBC One this afternoon.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Manchester City can go 18 ppoints clear at the top
0:09:53 > 0:09:56of the premier league, if they can win at Burnley.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58And the champions in waiting are indeed in front.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00It took them just 21 minutes to find an opening,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04carved beautifully by Danilo, the Brazilian defender.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06It's approaching half time in the early game
0:10:06 > 0:10:07in the Scottish Premiership.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09It's goalless so far between Kilmarnock and Celtic,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12but the league leaders suffered an early blow losing defender
0:10:12 > 0:10:18Dedryck Boyata to injury.
0:10:18 > 0:10:25A win would see them go 14 points clear at the top of the table.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29There's a spring in the step of the British David Cup team,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31ahead of today's doubles rubber, in Spain against Spain.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, play with the tie at 1-all.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It followed the heroics of debutant Cameron Norrie, who produced
0:10:37 > 0:10:40the performance of his life to beat Roberto Bautista Agut,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43who is 91 places higher in the world rankings.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45He only turned professional last June
0:10:45 > 0:10:50and this was his first ever professional match on red clay.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Andy Murray tweeted this was one of best results ever.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56I just looked at my forehand the whole match and thought
0:10:56 > 0:10:59I was tougher than the guy through the whole match.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Physically had some problems in the end but I was really pumped
0:11:02 > 0:11:05with my efforts, it's given me lots of confidence.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09My first match on clay so I'm just stoked.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot play in the doubles rubber later today
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and it's live on BBC Two and the BBC Sport website from one
0:11:16 > 0:11:17o'clock this afternoon.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19That's all the sport for now.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24I'll have more for you in the next hour.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26The next news on BBC One is at the later-than-usual
0:11:26 > 0:11:30time of seven o'clock - bye for now.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33time of seven o'clock - bye for now.