27/03/2017 BBC News at One

Theresa May meets Nicola Sturgeon, for the first time since the SNP

announced their proposals for a second

The Prime Minister says Brexit is an opportunity to strengthen

the ties between nations in the United Kingdom.

When this great union of Nations, England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland, sets its mind on something and works together with

determination, we are an unstoppable force.

We'll be getting the latest from our Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon.

The family of the American tourist killed in the Westminster terror

attack say he wouldn't have borne any ill will towards the attacker.

He was an amazing individual who loved everyone, and tried

A record fine for BT - for delays in fitting

They'll have to pay millions in compensation too.

The deadline to form a new power-sharing executive

in Northern Ireland is about to expire -

The new ?1 coin is released tomorrow - but are these everyday

And coming up in the sport on BBC News, Gordon Strachan hopes to win

back the fans after Scotland beat Slovenia to keep their slim

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

Theresa May will meet Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland later,

for the first time since the SNP announced their proposals for

At the beginning of a week that will see Article 50

triggered on Wednesday, the Prime Minister will say

she wants to "build a more united nation".

Tomorrow, the Scottish Parliament is expected to pass a vote in favour

of seeking a new Scottish independence referendum -

which Ms Sturgeon wants to hold in autumn 2018 or spring 2019.

Theresa May, though, has said "now is not the time" for it.

Our Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon is in Glasgow.

Number 10 says the relationship between Theresa May and Nicola

Sturgeon that, every political relationship has its own dimension.

Certainly the public stance between them over the past two weeks has

pointed to a relationship which has its challenges, particularly when it

comes to the issue of the timing of any possible second independence

referendum. It is a week in which two unions

will dominate the Prime Minister's agenda. One, the EU that the country

is leaving, the beat the UK, a union Theresa May wants to keep together.

The precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland. Her first visit after taking office was to Scotland.

Now, in a week that she triggers Article 50, she's back again.

Meeting Scottish police officers to discuss counterterrorism after last

week's attack at Westminster, security is one likely area of

consensus when the Prime Minister and First Minister meet later.

Agreement in other areas may prove more challenging. My position isn't

going to change, which is that now was at the time to be talking about

a second independence referendum, because it wouldn't be fair on the

Scottish people to ask them to make that decision when the facts aren't

clear, and also because now is the time when we need to pull together

to make sure we get the best possible deal for the UK, including

the people of Scotland. A majority of voters in Scotland opted to

remain. I believe it would be wrong for Scotland to be taken down a path

that it has no control over... Nicola Sturgeon says her government

has met a brick wall of intransigence in the negotiations to

protect Scotland's place in Europe. If Theresa May didn't want the union

to become looser she isn't going good way about it. She needs to

treat Scotland as a partnership of equals. She needs not to disregard

the will of the people of Scotland when it becomes to a future

relationship with Europe. The Scottish Government sought

compromise with the UK Government, it is now up to them to respond to

that compromise. Tomorrow at the Scottish Parliament the SNP and the

Greens are expected to vote in favour of the right to call a second

referendum. Both sides in this debate on Scotland's future appears

as far apart as ever. Little sign yet on how this constitutional

disagreement will be resolved. STUDIO: Let's go live to Lorna in

Glasgow. In terms of this meeting between them, how cordial bore the

talks be? Number 10 say they hope the talks will be constructive but

it's hard to see where the consensus will be. A spokesperson from the

Scottish Government this morning was talking about Article 50 and we are

just two days away from the start of the triggering of that process of

the UK leaving the EU. He said, as of just now, the Scottish Government

isn't aware of its role, there will be no discussion about its role in

the start of the process, no discussion about how Scotland's

interests will be represented, no discussion about what role the

Scottish Government will play in those negotiations. They are unhappy

about the process surrounding Article 50. They are unhappy about

the position Theresa May has taken over the timing of any possible

second independence referendum. She is saying now isn't the time.

Downing Street are saying they will engage on the issues surrounding

Article 50 but they will not, this afternoon, be discussing the

possibility of a second independence referendum. I think the Prime

Minister will really be pressed on this issue by the First Minister

Nicola Sturgeon. And it's really at this point quite hard to see where

the compromised position will be. Lorna, thank you.

Labour's Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer says the party won't support

any Brexit deal negotiated by the government unless it

Let's speak to our assistant political editor Norman Smith.

The six tests are? Most of them are really not that controversial or own

arrests. You might even say they are slightly motherhood and apple pie.

They are bing is like ensuring the final deal protects national

security, delivers the every part of the UK. It ensures we still have

strong constructive relations with Europe. But there is one condition

which is viewed as a killer condition. That is the deal Mrs May

gets must ensure we get exactly the same benefits outside the EU as we

get inside the EU. Many people are saying how is this possible? If you

leave a club you can't expect to have all the benefits of remaining

in the club. What is going on? The view of many people in Westminster

is Labour is looking to toughen its stance on Brexit, after facing

accusations it had just gone along with Mrs May and is now seeking to

position itself so it can vote against any final deal reached by

Mrs May. As part of that, tough words from the shadow Brexit

Secretary Sir Keir Starmer telling Mrs May to stand up to the hardline

Brexiteers in her party. Once a small minority

in the Conservative Party, the Brexiteers are now in office

and in power. This ideologically driven

approach to Brexit would be And it would stand as a roadblock

to continued cooperation in the important fields

of technology research, medicine, The Prime Minister needs to face

down these Brexiteers. Is there any risk this could

actually derail Brexit in the long run? Simon, I think politicians from

all parties will be very wary of the derailing Brexit. I think we are now

entering the hard yards of Brexit. The past six months have almost been

the easy part. Yes, we've had rows and revolts and showdowns with the

House of Lords. We've had clashes with judges. That was just get to

the starting to trigger Article 50, to begin the whole process. Now we

get into the deal-making, shaping our relations with Europe.

Determining what Brexit Britain looks like. This is the really

difficult part. If you think we've had plenty of confrontation and rows

and revolt so far, I suspect there's going to be an awful lot more from

here on in. Thank you. There will be special edition

of Question Time tonight, Live this evening from 8:30pm

til 10:00pm on BBC One. The family of Kurt Cochran -

the American tourist who was killed in last week's attack in Westminster

- have said he would not have borne He and his wife Melissa

were on holiday in London to celebrate their 25th wedding

anniversary when they were struck on Westminster Bridge by a car

driven by Khalid Masood. Our correspondent

Richard Lister reports. It was the last afternoon of their

wedding anniversary tour of Europe. Kurt and Melissa Cochrane were due

to fly home the next day but in an instant he was killed and she was

badly injured. Today their families were in London, paying tribute to

the man they lost. He was an amazing individual who loved everyone, and

tried to make the world a better place. He left a legacy of

generosity and service, that continues to inspire us. We are

deeply saddened to lose him but grateful that the world is coming to

know him, and be inspired by him. When Khalid Masood began his

murderous drive across Westminster Bridge, the two Americans were his

first victims. Kurt was thrown over the bridge rail. The family said

they were determined not to hate his killer. Last night we were speaking

as a family about this. It was a unanimous that none of us harbour

any ill will or harsh feelings towards this. We love our brother,

we love what he brought to the world, and we feel like the

situation is going to bring many good things to the world. A lot of

inspiration, a lot of love. That remarkable sentiment was echoed

today by another of Khalid Masood's victims. I don't want to blame

anyone. I want us to make sure we are thankful for what we have, for

the people that are still alive and the people currently recovering. And

we should try and unified through that, through love and compassion,

rather than through our hatred and anger about what happened. As the

investigation progresses, this chilling image has emerged of Khalid

Masood's profile, showing hit sent a message just minutes before he set

off across the bridge. The debate over the issue of secure messaging

continues but for those talking about the attack today, the focus is

on remembering those recovering and those who are lost. Richard List,

BBC News. The oil state of Qatar is to invest

?5 million in the UK because it is optimistic about the economy -- ?5

billion. Just looking at the timing of this, just before Article 50 is

triggered. I'm sure this will be welcomed by Number 10 and number 11.

The Qatari government is in the country and has been for a few days.

It's made the big announcement of ?5 billion of investment. People will

know the Qataris investing, they own Harrods, they have invested in

Canary Wharf, also in gas power stations around the country. They

are one of the biggest investors in the UK. I've just interviewed the

finance minister and he made it clear that the Brexit issues,

Britain leaving the EU had really no effect on decisions to invest in the

UK. Sterling has fallen in value which makes UK assets more

attractive for foreign investors. But just as you say, this will be

seen as an important signal, that outside investors are still looking

to the UK in a favourable light. Also, I think that as Theresa May

looks to trigger Article 50, there is still confidence in the UK

economy. Which is going to be an important part of her message, this

isn't all about Europe, it's about other countries around the world.

Whether it's the Middle East, China, America. What will they fund? They

said railways, roads, gas power plants, digital technology. It's a

bit of a shot in the arm as we approach Article 50. Thank you.

BT has been ordered to pay a record ?42 million fine -

for delays in installing high-speed broadband lines.

Ofcom found BT's Openreach division had committed a "serious

Its failure for to install high-speed lines for businesses fast

enough is likely to cost the company a further ?300 million

There's been a rapid increase in demand for data links

BT is the main company which can install the wires and it's being

fined for not paying compensation when it is to blame for delays.

It relates to a very important part of the UK economy,

so it's basically the backbone of our digital network.

And BT was found to have breached this contract

with some of its customers, other telecoms providers such

One provider said BT engineers turned up without six kilometres

On another occasion they didn't have the emergency traffic

Once, an engineer had forgotten his boots,

BT is being fined ?42 million for not paying compensation

for unjustifiable delays over 30 days.

?300,000 for not giving the regulator all the information it

And ?300 million in backdated compensation to the telecoms firms

What we're talking about our optical fibre cables which we need to carry

huge amounts of information from officers to the exchange,

from one office to another office, even from mobile phone masts

And what BT is being accused of is not installing them for up

to a year and then trying to wriggle out of responsibility

Vodafone led the complaints against BT and there

are hundreds of other firms which provide phone and data

links for customers but depend on BT to link them swiftly

Businesses expect us to deliver on time and fix things on time.

If we're not able to do that because the provider we use

is unable to deliver on the agreed timescales that they would promise

us that they would deliver on, then of course we let our customers down.

It means our brand is affected and those customers

There's an explosion in data and communication needs.

BT is being blamed for holding UK business up and not making amends.

The deadline to form a new devolved government in Northern Ireland looks

likely to pass today without an agreement.

Sinn Fein said the talks had run their course.

Let's speak to our Ireland Correspondent Chris Buckler.

Chris, four o'clock, this deadline, then what? Yeah, well, Simon, the

assembly was meant to meet at midday today, that didn't happen. It is at

four o'clock as you rightly say the Deputy First Minister are supposed

to be elected by the politicians. It seems clear that not going to

happen. The whole talks process that was supposed to deal with the

problems of power-sharing, frankly it's been described as one

politician today as a shambles. What happens next? It's up to the

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire but

really he has a limited number of options. The first is to call

another election and that would be the third vote in just over a year.

That's something the government don't want. They could play for time

because he is only supposed to call back within a reasonable time

period, so ultimately they could have talks while that takes place

and they bluff that time for a while. The other option is to go to

direct rule where Westminster would effectively take over the running of

Northern Ireland, that's something they don't want either. Ultimately

at the moment that leaves us in a kind of limbo and that has practical

circumstances. Budgets have not been set for public spending, so as far

as health, public spending, all sorts of public services are

concerts earned, that becomes a worry. Getting out of that limbo

will not be easy because politicians here are simply pointing at each

other, blaming each other for the fact that these negotiations have

not been successful, and the gap between them on all of the big

issues that they are disagreeing about, it does not seem to have been

closed in anyway whatsoever. EDU P and Sinn Fein need to come together

if there is to be another executive here at Stormont. Thank you.

Theresa May meets Nicola Sturgeon for the first time since the SNP

announced proposals for a second independence referendum. Coming up,

new quid on the block. The new 12 sided pound rolls out tomorrow.

Coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on BBC News, Andy

Murray's elbow injury will keep him out for

Murray's elbow injury will keep him out for longer than anticipated,

and that's bad news for Great

Iraqi forces are continuing their offensive to drive

Islamic State fighters out of western Mosul -

as concern grows over the number of civilian deaths.

It's now clear that at least 100 people were killed in an air

strike 10 days ago - although the Iraqis

The US-led coalition is investigating whether one

Our correspondent Yalda Hakim sent this report.

They arrived with what little they could carry.

These are the tired, desperate and hungry

They've managed to flee not just Isis snipers, but also coalition

This is the entrance to the Hammam al Alil refugee camp.

These buses bring people to the actual camp.

As soon as people start to arrive, the men and the women are separated,

because they want to screen some of the men to make sure they aren't

Near a makeshift school, I meet 12-year-old Mohammed.

Mohammed tells me first Isis snipers killed his father,

and then his mother, as they tried to get away.

Hammam al Alil is overflowing, and people are being asked to either

go to one of the other camps or to East Mosul.

We travelled to the east, where in January, after a battle

that lasted 100 days, the jihadis were driven out.

On the side of the road in the east, Omar, his wife, and two daughters

of waiting for a relative to pick them up.

In the dead of night, they left their homes

Do you want Isis gone from your city?

TRANSLATION: God will have revenge on Isis, and those who helped

This is one of the bridges that leads to West Mosul.

Here in the east, life is starting to go back to normal.

The traffic is flowing, people are coming out of their homes.

It's hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago,

Isis was beheading people in the streets.

The battle to retake West Mosul is complicated.

The front line is now in the old city, and the area

I first came to Mosul four and a half years ago.

With curfews and complaints from the local Sunni population

that they were being mistreated by the Shia-led military.

This battle is now in its final stages.

Iraqi forces may be fighting to free the people of Mosul from the tyranny

of the so-called Islamic State and their caliphate, but an even

And we can speak to Yalda who's at the Hammam al Alil camp

And the sheer scale of this refugee issue is clear behind you. Indeed,

Simon. As we've been reporting, as the battle rages on to retake West

owes all, the humanitarian situation deteriorates. Just behind me in that

for Quorn is where the front-liners. Just below that other buses bringing

people from the West to this camp for the internally displaced. This

is a place where it has now become home for tens of thousands of people

who were fleeing the intensity of this battle. We are currently

standing here on a former Isis headquarters. This is one of the

first places that was liberated and there was heavy bombardment here in

the area. And if we just pan round we can see some of the children who

are now sitting amongst this destruction, this rubble. And it

really has become a playground for them. They just sit here for hours

on end. It's difficult for them to know when this operation will end,

when the fighting will end. The outcome of this battle is not in

dispute. Iraqi forces are determined to take back West Mosul but they are

up against an enemy willing to fight to the very end. What now needs to

be looked at is what happens next, what happens to Mosul after it falls

back into the hands of the Iraqi government? This is an incredibly

divided city and country, and it's about bringing these people back

together again. Thank you. Two technicians in Hong Kong have

been arrested for perverting the course of justice after at least 18

shoppers were injured when an escalator in a shopping centre

suddenly change direction and sped up.

Videos of the incident show dozens of people

losing their balance - and piling up at the foot

Two people are in hospital and in a stable condition.

The city government has ordered immediate tests on all escalators

The two men were suspected of tampering with the escalator

Business leaders in Lancashire are calling for 'tough action'

against protestors who target companies supplying

A protest group is planning two weeks of direct

action against businesses in the industry supply chain.

Our correspondent Danny Savage reports.

A protest outside the company which supplies cement to the fracking

industry, and it's about to get ugly. Hey, get out of your car! Get

out! The man at the wheel of the four by four was last week fined for

his driving. The aim of the protest was to persuade the business to stop

selling to a fracking company. Were going to be visiting every business

that has out to do with fracking or facilitating it and we're going to

do exactly the same things everywhere we go. This is where the

demonstration took place. Protesters say as a result the number of

companies have now agreed to stop supplying the fracking industry here

in Lancashire. None of those companies would comment to us when

we approached them. But the local Chamber of Commerce say what's

happened amounts to a campaign of intimidation and harassment. I think

the real concern is that it could escalate very easily. So we could go

from intimidation and harassment, and we could see confrontation and

aggression escalate towards, you know, physical violence. And he

fracking protests are regular appearances. This was outside the

main site near Blackpool last week. Get out my way, stop it. A group

called reclaim the power is planning direct action against companies in

the fracking supply chain. Direct action is a campaign tactic, it is

normally to stop or disrupt things and cause economic destruction. It's

usually the last resort. If somebody turns up with their face covered and

hood up, they look like an anarchist, that's quite

intimidating. I agree, but it we have a strict policy of not

intimidating. We are here to concentrate on saying, if you remove

the supply ten, fracking cannot go ahead. Pro fracking people living

near a site in Ryedale are watching events in manga should closely. I

didn't like it when over in Lancashire the companies were

backing down and capitulating to the bullies and the anarchists. Over in

Yorkshire I hope we have more grit, more determination, and that we will

not back down to these bullies. And he fracking people say they've spent

years following protocol and protest is the only option left. They claim

public opinion is overwhelmingly against fracking. It's hard to see

anything but a growing sense of conflict over the issue. Danny

Savage, BBC News. The new 12-sided pound coin will be

in circulation from tomorrow. One and half billion of these coins

have already been minted and distributed to secret locations

ready for the launch. The Treasury says the coins will be

much harder to forge. Our correspondent Tim Muffett

has been finding out if all the parking meters,

vending machines and lockers Since 1983 the pound coin has flowed

through our economy. Down high streets into shops,

vending machines, shopping But the days of the round

pound are numbered. From October 15 these will no

longer be legal tender and from tomorrow these,

the new 12-sided coins, I can see the double tone on it.

It's nice. It reminds me of the

old threepenny bit. Feels like Monopoly

money, it's funny. The new coin's shape

and structure make it harder It is thought that 3%

of the old pound coins were fake but it's thought the total

cost of switching over All that expense of changing every

vending machine, shopping trolley, everywhere you put a pound coin

in will need to be changed The industry did not know

until we saw it on the news. Paul runs on of the UK's largest

suppliers of vending machines. He says that upgrades

to 4,000 of them have We have been quite

blatantly told thank you, We have been quite blatantly told

thank you, new coin and it is your We have not been given a relevant

time frame to do this, it will not be completed

until the end of the year. In a statement it said they worked

with business every step of the way to help them prepare

for the new pound coin which it says it will be the most secure

of its kind in the world. At the Royal Mint in South Wales,

3 million of them are We had some issues

with the old pound coin. The technology was

about 30 years old. It is made from two different

coloured metal, a white coloured metal inner and a brass

coloured outer. In addition there

is a semi-hologram. When you look in one direction

you will see the number one and in the other direction

you will see the ?. I think it is important

that the public can feel confident, that they know that when they hand

this from me to you it is worth The Beeches leisure

centre in Birmingham Done nearly 4000 now

across the country. There is still a lot of work

and a lot of lockers out there that As of tomorrow there will probably

be a wave of leisure centres waking up to the fact

that the coin-operated lockers The Treasury admits this is a major

transition but says it's confident most businesses are ready the

change. benefits of the new pound coin

are worth the short term cost. Where is that field? What field?

Very good afternoon. We will move on swiftly. At least a little bit down

the road a farmer could see which direction to point his tractor, and

there were no issues further to the west, it's been a glorious spell

across the western side of Cornwall. Widely across Scotland, Northern

Ireland, Southern counties of England, glorious. Temperatures

beginning to respond to sunshine as well. If you are trapped underneath

the layer of low cloud with an onshore breeze as well then the

temperatures really are struggling. It was that way at the weekend. When

you have the sunshine it was fairly chill around eastern shores. Nine,

ten, 11, 12. Well on into the mid-teens, possibly a 19 somewhere

but time will tell. Through the evening and overnight the low cloud

becomes quite extensive yet again. And there will be some fog. Word to

the wise, you may not necessarily find that in the same place as was

the case last night. Not just as cold for some reason, four to eight

will cover it for many. Off and running into Tuesday and a heads up,

doesn't look like much but this is the first signs of change that will

really come into play as we get on into the middle part of the week. A

lot of dry weather around. Watch out. First up. Showery burst in

Wales and part of the south-west in the first part of the day. Elsewhere

they dry start. Not overly warm but five, six, seven, England and

Scotland. Enough clout across the north-east of the mainland 's. The

odd bit of drizzle but nothing to write home about here. As we get

onto the day, the chance of something a little bit wetter than

you've been used to over the past few days falling from the skies just

increases. Gradually pushing out of the south-west and Wales up through

Northern Ireland. Some sharp showers come the afternoon with some heat

coming through, this band of whether getting into the borders. Many into

double figures. Only the north-eastern corner of Scotland

still has that sort of cool something out of the east about it

with breeze. That's the first signs of this predominance of the low

pressure easing away the weekend's hi. Coming a long way from the

south. If you get a wee bit of sunshine, temperatures still popping

away. Got a dry start but it will not stay that way but if you do get

some sunshine even into the second half of the week, temperatures could

be soaring. A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime. Theresa May meets Nicola Sturgeon

for the first time since the SNP announced their proposals for a

second independence referendum. That's all from the BBC News at one,

goodbye from me on BBC One we now join the new schemes where