:00:08. > :00:11.The White House promises not to repeat an allegation that British
:00:12. > :00:17.The assurance comes after GCHQ took the unprecedented step of calling
:00:18. > :00:19.the claims "nonsense" and "utterly ridiculous".
:00:20. > :00:21.We'll have the latest with our security
:00:22. > :00:30.The SNP insist there will be a second referendum
:00:31. > :00:32.on Scotland's independence and that no UK Prime Minister should
:00:33. > :00:43.The former Chancellor George Osborne has been appointed editor
:00:44. > :00:47.of the London Evening Standard but says he'll remain an MP.
:00:48. > :00:50.There's a warning of a funding shortage for schools,
:00:51. > :00:56.despite record spending by the government.
:00:57. > :00:58.And Leicester will face Atletico Madrid in the quarter
:00:59. > :01:04.Coming up in sports at half past on BBC News, it's
:01:05. > :01:08.Colin Tizzard's Cue Card is one of the favourites on the final
:01:09. > :01:40.It's rare for Britain's intelligence community to make a public
:01:41. > :01:45.So the fact that GCHQ felt it had to rebut allegations that it
:01:46. > :01:48.spied on Donald Trump shows how seriously they took
:01:49. > :01:51.the comments made by the White House press secretary,
:01:52. > :01:57.GCHQ said the claims were "nonsense, utterly ridiculous,
:01:58. > :02:02.And in the last couple of hours, Downing Street says it's been
:02:03. > :02:04.promised by the White House that the allegations
:02:05. > :02:18.It is an extraordinary claim, that Donald Trump was bugged by GCHQ on
:02:19. > :02:23.the orders of Barack Obama, a claim that has led to strenuous denials
:02:24. > :02:26.from London. It was first tweeted by President Trump who said his phone
:02:27. > :02:34.had been tapped before his inauguration. He said President
:02:35. > :02:41.Obama was a bad or sick guy. The intelligence committee said there
:02:42. > :02:46.was no evidence. The evidence remains the same, we do not have any
:02:47. > :02:51.evidence that took place. We have cleared that up, we have seen no
:02:52. > :02:55.evidence of that. Where is the president getting the information
:02:56. > :03:00.about being bugged by GCHQ? Apparently from Fox knows. Sources
:03:01. > :03:08.have told Fox news that President Obama could have done probably dead
:03:09. > :03:19.used any foreign intelligence service to get this information. --
:03:20. > :03:24.probably did. These are merely pointing out that I think there is
:03:25. > :03:31.widespread reporting that throughout the election there was surveillance
:03:32. > :03:35.than on a variety of people. If the White House reporters were sceptical
:03:36. > :03:36.GCHQ was even less impressed. The agency rarely comment on anything
:03:37. > :03:59.but today said... Do you believe the GCHQ spokesman or
:04:00. > :04:05.the President Trump spokesman? Which one you choose to believe bullet --
:04:06. > :04:10.depends on your political views on what is going on in the United
:04:11. > :04:16.States. Downing Street said it had told the Americans that the GCHQ
:04:17. > :04:17.claim was ridiculous and said the White House had given assurances the
:04:18. > :04:21.claim would not be repeated. Our security correspondent,
:04:22. > :04:32.Frank Gardner, is with me. Is this damaging? Yes. Number 10 and
:04:33. > :04:37.the White House will be making efforts to put a gloss over it and
:04:38. > :04:41.draw a line of it and see it is finished but it is a pretty poor
:04:42. > :04:46.state of affairs when Britain has to publicly contradict and strongly
:04:47. > :04:51.contradict its closest ally to say that there is no credence in the
:04:52. > :04:56.senior White House spokesman statement. That is not a good state
:04:57. > :05:01.of affairs at all. This comes on the back of a very frosty relationship
:05:02. > :05:05.between President Trump's administration and his intelligence
:05:06. > :05:10.community. Britain is part of the intelligence sharing community of
:05:11. > :05:17.Britain, the US, Canada and New Zealand. They are not allowed to spy
:05:18. > :05:22.on each other. US intelligence bugged Angela Merkel's phone and
:05:23. > :05:26.almost out the other leaders as well be considered to be friendly. I can
:05:27. > :05:31.understand how these conspiracy theories arise but in this case
:05:32. > :05:37.there was no evidence and it is very rare for DCH it and see something
:05:38. > :05:43.like this publicly. A meeting was held in Downing Street earlier this
:05:44. > :05:46.week about how to respond and when Sean Spicer continued to repeat his
:05:47. > :05:48.allegations on Thursday there very strongly worded statement came out
:05:49. > :05:53.last night. The deputy leader of
:05:54. > :05:55.the Scottish National Party has insisted there will be
:05:56. > :05:56.a second referendum Opening the party's spring
:05:57. > :06:00.conference in Aberdeen, Angus Robertson said
:06:01. > :06:03.the Prime Minister was "panicking" when she tried
:06:04. > :06:05.to draw a line under the SNP's proposed timetable
:06:06. > :06:10.for another referendum. Theresa May has been
:06:11. > :06:13.speaking in the last hour at the Conservative Spring Conference
:06:14. > :06:15.in Cardiff and reiterated that independence would be "bad
:06:16. > :06:17.for Scotland, bad for the UK Our political correspondent
:06:18. > :06:30.Iain Watson has the latest. At the SNP Conference it is hardly
:06:31. > :06:36.surprising the focus is on a second referendum on Scottish independence.
:06:37. > :06:40.Legally it is Westminster that take the decision. Here it feels like the
:06:41. > :06:46.campaign is already under way. Members are delighted at the call
:06:47. > :06:51.for another vote within two years but pro-union campaigners do not
:06:52. > :06:55.want it to happen at all. The SNP deputy leader had a message for them
:06:56. > :07:05.and the Prime Minister. People of this country will have their choice.
:07:06. > :07:12.They will not be denied their say. The stirrings of a standing ovation
:07:13. > :07:18.spurred him on. No UK Prime Minister should dare to stand in the way of
:07:19. > :07:23.Scotland's democracy. The SNP spring Conference in Aberdeen was supposed
:07:24. > :07:27.to be discussing a range of issues. Health service, education, skills
:07:28. > :07:31.and training, these will still be debated but there is only one item
:07:32. > :07:38.on this agenda and that of the arguments in favour of a second
:07:39. > :07:40.Scottish independence referendum. Next week Nicola Sturgeon will get
:07:41. > :07:44.the backing of the Scottish Parliament for a referendum and she
:07:45. > :07:48.will invite rodders abroad by arguing she is standing up not just
:07:49. > :07:52.for Scotland but would conceive. The Prime Minister has not put herself
:07:53. > :07:57.in opposition to me or independence, she is within her rights to argue
:07:58. > :08:01.against independence, she is putting herself in opposition to the
:08:02. > :08:04.democratic will of the Scottish parliament. That is not a
:08:05. > :08:09.sustainable position. Judy and card of the Prime Minister made the case
:08:10. > :08:18.for the UK remaining United, Enon too subtle reference to the
:08:19. > :08:22.referendum campaign when it comes. It is clear that using Brexit as the
:08:23. > :08:27.pretext to engineer a second independence referendum has been the
:08:28. > :08:32.SNP's sole objective ever since last June. It would be bad for Scotland,
:08:33. > :08:39.bad for the United Kingdom and bad for us all. The coming negotiations
:08:40. > :08:44.with the EU will be vital for everyone in the United Kingdom. So
:08:45. > :08:48.far the arguments have not been so much about independence, more about
:08:49. > :08:52.the timing of an independence referendum but it is not a trivial
:08:53. > :08:54.dispute. In politics as in comedy timing can often be crucial to
:08:55. > :08:56.success. In a moment, we'll be speaking
:08:57. > :08:58.to our correspondent in Westminster, but first let's speak to Iain who's
:08:59. > :09:07.in Aberdeen. Very strong language from Angus
:09:08. > :09:13.Robertson. This is the SNP not wanting to back down. No. Very
:09:14. > :09:18.uncompromising language from the SNP's deputy leader. Next week the
:09:19. > :09:22.Scottish parliament will vote back in favour of an independence
:09:23. > :09:26.referendum. Labour, the Lib Dems at the Conservatives will oppose it but
:09:27. > :09:34.with the help of the Scottish Greens Nicola Sturgeon will win that fog.
:09:35. > :09:41.The SNP is thinking if the timing is before Brexit then the government at
:09:42. > :09:47.Westminster will be too tied up in negotiations to run what they see
:09:48. > :09:54.other projects they are campaign. Secondly they think of it happens
:09:55. > :09:58.before Brexit then around 200,000 EU nationals who live in Scotland are
:09:59. > :10:04.more likely to back independence than last time in 2014. For those
:10:05. > :10:07.reasons and others to reason me is determined not to back down so
:10:08. > :10:11.although the SNP sounded uncompromising she made it clear
:10:12. > :10:16.that a referendum before Brexit would be bad for Britain. Some
:10:17. > :10:21.questions over whether she would allow it to happen before the next
:10:22. > :10:26.general election in 2020. The SNP failed by keeping the focus on the
:10:27. > :10:30.independence referendum at the conference they cannot really lose
:10:31. > :10:38.because they can see Westminster has been in transit and if they refuse
:10:39. > :10:42.our timescale and the whole -- the will be heard as if the back
:10:43. > :10:46.independence this time. Important local elections happening in
:10:47. > :10:50.Scotland. A message on a second independence referendum fires up the
:10:51. > :10:57.activists. Opening of the do well in those elections that will put
:10:58. > :11:09.further pressure onto these are me -- teddies are me. The Prime
:11:10. > :11:14.Minister not going to back down. The key question for the Prime Minister
:11:15. > :11:20.is if she is not keen to old it now then when? Nicola Sturgeon tried to
:11:21. > :11:25.put the ball back in her court asking her to set the times but the
:11:26. > :11:34.Prime Minister did not shine any new light on it and added to the battle
:11:35. > :11:41.lines the Prime Minister attacking the SNP for using Brexit as a
:11:42. > :11:44.pretext to get a second referendum in Scotland and the SNP saying they
:11:45. > :11:50.are not having any compromises forthcoming from the government.
:11:51. > :11:56.Theresa May will decide if and when I referendum is held. The question
:11:57. > :12:01.will be whether Scottish voters are deciding on what any Brexit deal is
:12:02. > :12:05.at the time or whether they will be influenced by how the process as to
:12:06. > :12:10.whether to give them this referendum has been handled.
:12:11. > :12:13.The former Chancellor George Osborne has been appointed editor
:12:14. > :12:16.of the London Evening Standard newspaper.
:12:17. > :12:20.He's due to edit the paper four days a week from May and says he intends
:12:21. > :12:22.to continue as the MP for Tatton in Cheshire.
:12:23. > :12:28.The newspaper's owner said George Osborne had been chosen
:12:29. > :12:30.because his "socially liberal and economically pragmatic" views
:12:31. > :12:36.Here's our political correspondent, Ben Wright.
:12:37. > :12:43.He is used to being featured on the front pages, no George Osborne will
:12:44. > :12:46.decide what is on one, becoming editor of a major newspaper less
:12:47. > :12:51.than a year after being sacked from the cabinet following the EU
:12:52. > :12:54.referendum. I will speak for London and Londoners through this paper as
:12:55. > :12:58.its editor and we will judge whatever the government does,
:12:59. > :13:03.whatever the mayor does, I guess whether it is good for London or not
:13:04. > :13:07.and if it is not then we will seize all and we will not be afraid to do
:13:08. > :13:12.that. If it is good for London we will back it. He has spent his
:13:13. > :13:16.entire life in politics, six years running the Treasury after building
:13:17. > :13:20.his career within the Tory party as an MP and adviser to previous
:13:21. > :13:25.leaders but before politics he wanted to be journalist. He did not
:13:26. > :13:30.get a break or a job and will jump straight into the editor's hair of
:13:31. > :13:38.the Evening Standard. The deeper's owner said he was pleased with the
:13:39. > :13:42.appointment. We hope the fact we have a trade deficit under very
:13:43. > :13:48.important financial centre will count in our favour. The government
:13:49. > :13:53.has chosen not to make the economy the priority in this negotiation.
:13:54. > :13:56.His new job will give him a platform to trumpet London's interests and
:13:57. > :14:04.the city as the government begins Brexit. I was shocked. I thought it
:14:05. > :14:08.was fake news. Why is he doing it? Not for the money. I can only
:14:09. > :14:13.conclude he wants to build the Evening Standard into an alternative
:14:14. > :14:16.power base to Theresa May and in the event of Brexit going pear shaped he
:14:17. > :14:24.will use this power base to launch the attack. The mayor of London
:14:25. > :14:27.treated his congratulations. Two powerful voices shaping the
:14:28. > :14:38.capital's future. George Osborne has been busy in rising -- advising a
:14:39. > :14:43.major investment firm. A juggling of jobs perhaps without precedent in
:14:44. > :14:45.Parliament. He may have left parliament but this appointment puts
:14:46. > :14:49.him back on the front line of politics.
:14:50. > :14:51.Our Media Editor, Amol Rajan, is outside the Standard's
:14:52. > :15:05.It is hard to overstate what a surprise this was. Yes. One of the
:15:06. > :15:10.most shocking appointments of an editor in Fleet Street's living
:15:11. > :15:16.memory. The question is what George Osborne is in it for. He is someone
:15:17. > :15:19.of limited journalistic experience although he has immense political
:15:20. > :15:22.ambition and it will be interesting to see what his relationship with
:15:23. > :15:29.the Tory government is like. Last year he was unceremoniously
:15:30. > :15:32.dismissed by Theresa May. I think he wants to be grenade back at the
:15:33. > :15:36.government and make sure he is still a political force in the land. The
:15:37. > :15:40.question is how he reconciles this with his job as an MP. I was an
:15:41. > :15:46.editor in that building for three years and it is a full-time job. I
:15:47. > :15:51.spent 100 hours a week working very hard. It is managing a team,
:15:52. > :15:57.commercial obligations as well. How to reconcile that with his work for
:15:58. > :16:02.the world's against asset manager, four days a month, and his job as an
:16:03. > :16:06.MP, remains to be seen. If I worked a bit, I would think he would be
:16:07. > :16:11.editor of the Evening Standard long after he is MP for Tatton.
:16:12. > :16:13.Some schools in England may be receiving more Government money,
:16:14. > :16:16.but research out today suggests it will be all but cancelled out
:16:17. > :16:19.by increases in the cost of pay, pensions and national insurance
:16:20. > :16:21.The Government says funding for all schools
:16:22. > :16:26.But according to the Education Policy Institute, budget pressures
:16:27. > :16:29.will hit every school and particularly those
:16:30. > :16:42.Here's our education correspondent, Gillian Hargreaves.
:16:43. > :16:49.This primary School in Southwark in south London has been well funded
:16:50. > :16:53.compared to other schools, something the Government is determined to
:16:54. > :16:59.change to make the system fairer. It faces a shortfall of 14% in its
:17:00. > :17:03.budget between now and 2020. It is the additional stuff we have in
:17:04. > :17:07.school, the additional Apogee and at ease for children, sports coaches,
:17:08. > :17:12.the services we bring in to support learning such as speech therapists,
:17:13. > :17:23.art therapists, sports coaches, we would have to look at cutting those
:17:24. > :17:25.things in the first instance. Ultimately we are looking at job
:17:26. > :17:27.cuts, however. The Government says it is spending ?40 billion on
:17:28. > :17:30.schools in England this year, according to the Education Policy
:17:31. > :17:33.Institute, even with a fairer funding formula all schools will buy
:17:34. > :17:41.better have less money. The real terms loss will be on average
:17:42. > :17:45.?74,000, rising to ?291,000 for secondary schools, equating to two
:17:46. > :17:50.teachers for every primary school and six for secondary schools.
:17:51. > :17:54.It is a very tricky time for the Government because they are
:17:55. > :17:59.introducing this long-awaited reform, yet it comes against a
:18:00. > :18:06.backdrop of much wider funding pressures for schools. A very
:18:07. > :18:08.simplistic but perhaps not realistic solution would be to put more money
:18:09. > :18:11.in the pot. The Government says it recognises
:18:12. > :18:15.the pressure schools face and will help them make savings that should
:18:16. > :18:16.not impact on the quality of teaching. Gillian Hargreaves, BBC
:18:17. > :18:19.News. Claims that British intelligence
:18:20. > :18:22.spied on Donald Trump The White House says it
:18:23. > :18:38.won't repeat the allegation. Coming up, I am at Cheltenham where
:18:39. > :18:40.it is one of the highlights of the racing calendar, the Gold Cup.
:18:41. > :18:43.Coming up in the sport later in the hour on BBC News,
:18:44. > :18:45.the last British side in the Champions League,
:18:46. > :18:48.Leicester City, has been drawn to face Atletico Madrid in the
:18:49. > :19:00.Human rights groups have described two refugee camps being built
:19:01. > :19:05.in Hungary as a flagrant violation of international law.
:19:06. > :19:07.The camps are made out of converted shipping containers,
:19:08. > :19:10.and anyone entering Hungary will be kept there - without a time
:19:11. > :19:14.limit, and with severe restrictions on their movement.
:19:15. > :19:17.Hungary's Prime Minister say the country is under siege.
:19:18. > :19:20.Hundreds of thousands of refugees have entered in the last two years,
:19:21. > :19:24.but only a few hundred have been giving permission to stay.
:19:25. > :19:31.Our correspondent James Reynolds sent us this report.
:19:32. > :19:34.When Hungary says it is taking tough action to stop migration,
:19:35. > :19:39.It is holding these migrants at a detention centre
:19:40. > :19:44.We are allowed to speak to them from the street.
:19:45. > :19:46.We are not terrorists, we are not criminals.
:19:47. > :20:02.But Hungary sees no reason to back down.
:20:03. > :20:09.This month, the Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, took charge of a new
:20:10. > :20:14.A new law now gives the government even more power
:20:15. > :20:21.Hungary plans to hold them all in these containers
:20:22. > :20:27.it is setting up next to the border with Serbia.
:20:28. > :20:30."These are civilised places to live in," the contractor says.
:20:31. > :20:35."European workers certainly find them acceptable."
:20:36. > :20:38.Hungary says that the migrants to be held in these containers would be
:20:39. > :20:41.free to leave at any time, so long as they head in just
:20:42. > :20:49.They will be free to walk just a few metres down
:20:50. > :20:53.here and they would cross back into Serbia, away from the EU,
:20:54. > :21:03.These young migrants are stuck on the Serbian side.
:21:04. > :21:06.The rest of the European Union may publicly criticise
:21:07. > :21:08.the actions of Hungary but, quietly, Europe may put
:21:09. > :21:14.up with anything that keeps migrants back.
:21:15. > :21:19.James Reynolds, BBC News, on the Hungary/Serbia border.
:21:20. > :21:22.A court in Nottingham has been told that a breast surgeon allegedly
:21:23. > :21:27.carried out unnecessary surgery on nine women and a man.
:21:28. > :21:31.Ian Paterson is charged with 20 counts of wounding with intent.
:21:32. > :21:33.This morning the jury heard from a woman who said she'd been
:21:34. > :21:37.told she was at high risk of cancer, when actually she was at no more
:21:38. > :21:40.Our health correspondent, Dominic Hughes, is outside
:21:41. > :21:58.What was the court told today? This morning the court heard from
:21:59. > :22:03.France's perks, who was referred to breast cancer surgeon Ian Paterson
:22:04. > :22:07.in the 1990s, she had a history of breast cancer in her family, her
:22:08. > :22:12.mother and sister both died from the disease. Over a decade she underwent
:22:13. > :22:17.a number of procedures under the care of Ian Paterson, but after a
:22:18. > :22:22.lump was found in her breast between 2007 in 2008 she underwent two
:22:23. > :22:26.further procedures and a mastectomy. She told the court it was not
:22:27. > :22:30.something she wanted, she was very scared and frightened but the way it
:22:31. > :22:34.was discussed, she said, she did not want to end up with full-blown
:22:35. > :22:37.breast cancer. Under cross-examination she told the court
:22:38. > :22:41.she had considered a double mastectomy but changed her mind, but
:22:42. > :22:44.it turns out she was only at moderate risk of breast cancer
:22:45. > :22:53.despite her family history. I was conned that I was high risk by Mr
:22:54. > :22:58.Paterson and my family was conned, she told the court. Another patient,
:22:59. > :23:02.John Ingram, underwent a double mistake to after being told he was
:23:03. > :23:06.on the road to cancer by Ian Paterson. It left him with intense
:23:07. > :23:11.pain that he likened to having a cigarette placed over his skin. It
:23:12. > :23:14.is the prosecution case that Ian Paterson misrepresented pathology
:23:15. > :23:18.lab reports to his patients and exaggerated the risk of cancer to
:23:19. > :23:22.his patients, carrying out operations that were simply not
:23:23. > :23:28.necessary. Ian Paterson denies 20 courts of wood touch 20 counts of
:23:29. > :23:29.wounding with intent and the case continues. Thank you.
:23:30. > :23:32.Now, I wonder whether you've been able to lip read what I've been
:23:33. > :23:39.But, researchers in Oxford have developed a machine for people
:23:40. > :23:41.who are hard of hearing that can lip-read more accurately
:23:42. > :23:44.And they've developed the technology by watching news
:23:45. > :23:47.presenters here at the BBC - as our technology correspondent Rory
:23:48. > :23:55.At the Action for Hearing Loss charity, Edward is trying
:23:56. > :23:58.to have a conversation with a colleague.
:23:59. > :24:00.With lots of noise coming into the office from the street,
:24:01. > :24:02.his lip-reading skills come in useful.
:24:03. > :24:08.It can be very hard as well because sometimes some words can
:24:09. > :24:11.sound the same or could be lip-read the same, and so it's
:24:12. > :24:14.all about getting into context and seeing what people actually talk
:24:15. > :24:19.But in Oxford, research is under way to teach computers
:24:20. > :24:26.It's involved training an artificial intelligence system using thousands
:24:27. > :24:37.So the box around the lips is the region that the AI system is seeing.
:24:38. > :24:39.Joon Son Chung, whose project this is, shares Edward's view
:24:40. > :24:44.So lip-reading is a very difficult problem because there are visual
:24:45. > :24:52.For example pat, bat and mat are visually identical.
:24:53. > :24:54.By endlessly watching clips of Breakfast, Newsnight and other
:24:55. > :24:56.BBC News programmes, the computer teaches
:24:57. > :25:04.What the system does is learn things that occur together.
:25:05. > :25:08.So in this case they're the mouth shapes and the characters,
:25:09. > :25:10.and what the likely upcoming characters are given
:25:11. > :25:15.Let's try it with some words it already understands.
:25:16. > :25:19.The Prime Minister is at a European Union summit.
:25:20. > :25:21.Now, the system has heard those words in that context before
:25:22. > :25:27.But to get better, it will have to chew through a lot more data.
:25:28. > :25:30.There's a long way to go but the hearing loss charity
:25:31. > :25:34.This would help people with when they're watching
:25:35. > :25:36.subtitles on television, this will help people when they're
:25:37. > :25:39.out and about in very noisy environments and it's by no means
:25:40. > :25:42.technology that will replace a professional lip-reader.
:25:43. > :25:44.It's something that would very much support professional lip-readers
:25:45. > :25:49.to improve the accuracy of the work that they do.
:25:50. > :25:52.Right now the technology only works on full sentences in recorded clips.
:25:53. > :25:56.The next stage is to make it work live.
:25:57. > :25:58.But first the computer is going to be watching
:25:59. > :26:08.So, Leicester will take on the might of Atletico Madrid in the quarter
:26:09. > :26:16.Let's speak to our sports correspondent, Joe Wilson.
:26:17. > :26:22.Is this who they would want to face? A fuel-air stuff fans would have
:26:23. > :26:28.loved to have Barcelona and real Madrid for the glamour, but Atletico
:26:29. > :26:31.are at the recent runners up twice in the Champions League so they are
:26:32. > :26:36.pretty glamorous -- a few Leicester fans would have loved to have. All
:26:37. > :26:42.you wanted to talk about with Leicester, the Uefa official, your
:26:43. > :26:45.beautiful story. Remember last year the way that Leicester shook up the
:26:46. > :26:49.orthodoxy in the Premier League, I think they have done a similar thing
:26:50. > :26:53.with European football and Uefa realise it is important, it is
:26:54. > :27:00.always the same teams in the latter stages but gets boring as the
:27:01. > :27:04.sceptical -- as a spec -- as a spectacle. Can they win? Even if
:27:05. > :27:08.they lose the first leg they can get it back at home. Leicester do not
:27:09. > :27:13.play like we are Madrid or Barcelona, they had to bring energy
:27:14. > :27:16.and intensity that teams like Atletico will not experiences.
:27:17. > :27:20.Crucially in the last few weeks, the Leicester players have remained,
:27:21. > :27:21.that is what they need to do with they will win. Thank you, Joel
:27:22. > :27:22.Wilson. The England rugby team is due
:27:23. > :27:25.to arrive in Dublin this afternoon for its crucial
:27:26. > :27:26.match against Ireland. Even though England has already
:27:27. > :27:29.won the Six Nations, a win against Ireland would mean
:27:30. > :27:32.historic back-to-back grand slams, and 19 consecutive
:27:33. > :27:34.international victories - About 60,000 people are expected
:27:35. > :27:43.to be there to watch jump racing's showpiece event -
:27:44. > :27:46.14 horses racing three and a quarter And as befits St Patrick's Day,
:27:47. > :27:54.the Irish will be strong contenders. Our sports correspondent, Andy
:27:55. > :28:09.Swiss, is at Cheltenham racecourse. It is a chilli day in Cheltenham.
:28:10. > :28:15.The atmosphere is warming up nicely. Just a couple of hours to go until
:28:16. > :28:19.the big race. Last week it was won by Don Cossack, who has since
:28:20. > :28:21.retired. One thing is certain, we will have a new name on the Gold
:28:22. > :28:31.Cup. History is carved into Cheltenham.
:28:32. > :28:36.For the fans, this is the day when riders and horses can become
:28:37. > :28:41.legends. Who will be next to join the Golden greats? Among the early
:28:42. > :28:44.arrivals today, the sentimental favourite, Cue Card, at the grand
:28:45. > :28:50.old age of 11, trying to become the oldest winner since 1969. Trained in
:28:51. > :28:54.Dorset by former dairy farmer Colin Tizzard, the horse fell last year
:28:55. > :28:59.but has picked itself the band is ready for redemption. He's a happy
:29:00. > :29:05.horse, he is not ready for anything else yet, here's a racehorse and he
:29:06. > :29:10.loves it, I really believe he has as good a chance as he will ever have.
:29:11. > :29:13.This is a race full of possibilities. Lizzie Kelly becomes
:29:14. > :29:20.the first woman to ride in the World Cup for 33 years, she rides on
:29:21. > :29:23.outsider Tea For Two. In a still male dominated profession she knows
:29:24. > :29:28.the significance. I think more than any other girl
:29:29. > :29:32.reference I have really... I really get this one. Writing in the Gold
:29:33. > :29:38.Cup is massive because it is such an elite race. It is reserved for the
:29:39. > :29:44.best horses, best trainers and best jockeys. On Saint Patrick's Day,
:29:45. > :29:48.there could be another excuse for Irish celebrations. Many will be
:29:49. > :29:55.cheering on Ruby Walsh, yesterday the jockey won four races with
:29:56. > :29:58.trainer Willie Mullins. Once again, Walsh and Molins! Walsh writes
:29:59. > :30:04.Djakadam, twice runner-up, it might be third time lucky.
:30:05. > :30:10.Djakadam currently marginal favourite with the bookies, followed
:30:11. > :30:13.by Cue Card in a festival dominated by Irish horses. Could we have
:30:14. > :30:14.another Irish winner? We will find out at 3:30pm. Thank you, Andy
:30:15. > :30:20.Smith at Cheltenham. Dramatic pictures have emerged
:30:21. > :30:22.of the moment a woman managed You can just see her -
:30:23. > :30:27.covered in mud, in the middle of the picture - dragging
:30:28. > :30:29.herself to safety. Heavy rains triggered
:30:30. > :30:47.the slides, which have killed Let's cut -- let's catch up with the
:30:48. > :30:51.weather prospects here. Torrential rain over there, Darren?
:30:52. > :30:55.It only happens once every ten or 15 years. We have nothing like as bad
:30:56. > :30:59.as that but it is certainly changing. Earlier in the week we had
:31:00. > :31:03.much quieter, warmer weather but we are looking to the Atlantic and the
:31:04. > :31:06.cloud is billowing our way, signalling a change, looking more
:31:07. > :31:12.threatening and bringing rain to western parts of the UK. As we have
:31:13. > :31:15.seen in Glasgow already. Further south in Hampshire, Basingstoke, the
:31:16. > :31:19.cloud has been thinner so we have had brighter skies and sunshine but
:31:20. > :31:22.it will become more milky through the afternoon. Further north in
:31:23. > :31:27.Glasgow, a colourful picture from our Weather Watcher but a wet scene.
:31:28. > :31:31.We will continue to get rain. That is the bigger picture across the UK.
:31:32. > :31:37.Into Scotland, not just rain but snow over the mountains in the north
:31:38. > :31:41.where we are putting into much colder air. It will feel quite
:31:42. > :31:43.chilly under the rain in the West of Scotland. Great for Northern
:31:44. > :31:47.Ireland, especially in the north. Wet in the north-west of England,
:31:48. > :31:50.largely dry on the other side of the Pennines, but gusty winds
:31:51. > :31:54.developing. West Wales is turning wetter and wetter, especially in the
:31:55. > :31:58.hills. Much of southern and eastern England and the Midlands is likely
:31:59. > :32:02.to be dry but increasing clouds, temperatures 12 or 13 at best.
:32:03. > :32:07.We may get rain towards the south-east this evening but it is
:32:08. > :32:12.mainly over the western hills. The little turn dry in Scotland later in
:32:13. > :32:16.the night. Here in the north of Scotland, cold for each -- cold
:32:17. > :32:20.enough for a touch of frost but otherwise mild.
:32:21. > :32:23.For the weekend, westerly winds continue, strengthening in
:32:24. > :32:29.particular on Sunday. Some rain at times across the west of the UK, dry
:32:30. > :32:32.and brighter in the east. On Saturday we might have early
:32:33. > :32:36.sunshine in the east of England and eastern Scotland, the westerly winds
:32:37. > :32:40.are not as strong, blowing rain into the south-west for time. Turning
:32:41. > :32:45.wetter in Northern Ireland, rain moving across the Irish Sea to
:32:46. > :32:51.western England and Scotland. Still quite mild towards the south-east,
:32:52. > :32:56.14 or 15 degrees. For the rugby, a big day on Saturday and pretty much
:32:57. > :33:00.in the same boat, cloudy skies, breezy, dry, strongest winds later
:33:01. > :33:05.in the day down the way in Dublin. The winds continue to strengthen
:33:06. > :33:07.overnight and it will be windy on Sunday, rain in Scotland and
:33:08. > :33:11.Northern Ireland sinking into northern part of England and Wales.
:33:12. > :33:19.The south-east and East Anglia are still dry and quite mild as well.
:33:20. > :33:22.The milder air does not last into next week, it is pushed away and we
:33:23. > :33:25.get cooler, showery weather moving from the north-west.
:33:26. > :33:29.A reminder of our main story this lunchtime...
:33:30. > :33:35.Claims that British intelligence by Don Donald Trump have been described
:33:36. > :33:36.by GCHQ is nonsense. The White House says it will not repeat the
:33:37. > :33:38.says it will not repeat the allegation.
:33:39. > :33:41.That's all from the BBC News at One - so it's goodbye from me,
:33:42. > :33:43.and on BBC one we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.