31/03/2017 BBC News at One

Complex and confrontational: The EU warns Britain about the road

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk,

says any discussions on future trade deals must remain on hold

until the terms of the UK's departure are finalised.

The EU 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive approach.

Brexit in itself is already punitive enough.

Also this lunchtime: Longer waits for routine operations like hip

replacements as the NHS in England tries to improve A

The government denies reports of a ?10 billion hole in Britain's

defence budget but admits there will be

Warnings that Britain's restaurants and bars rely on 60,000 foreign

workers a year and it could take a decade to change that post Brexit.

Back on track: The Settle to Carlisle railway re-opens

after last year's landslip, with a visit from a world

And coming up in the sport on BBC News: Johanna Konta

She becomes the first British woman to make

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

The European Union has given its first formal response

to the UK's decision to trigger Article 50, and begin

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk,

warned the talks would be "complex and sometimes confrontational".

And he said negotiations on future trade relations would only start

after there had been what he called "sufficient progress"

on the separation settlement between the EU and the UK.

He was speaking at a meeting of EU leaders in Malta,

from where our Europe Correspondent, Chris Morris, sent this report.

Trying to get serious. Two days ago Donald Tusk expressed emotion at the

prospect of the UK leaving the EU. This morning it was down to

business. He has sent draft negotiating deadlines to the other

27 countries setting up tough tone for two years of talks. He says they

could be difficult, complex and sometimes confrontational. The EU

says four issues should be discussed first. The rights of citizens, legal

certainty for businesses, the size of the divorce bill and the border

between Northern Ireland and the republic. Only then is it prepared

to talk about a future trade relationship. Whilst and only whilst

we have achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal can we discuss the

framework for our future relationship. Darting parallel talks

on issues at the same time as suggested by some in the UK will not

happen. Donald Tusk suggested that the UK would have little say in the

matter. What does sufficient progress in men and who is it that

will define it? EU 27 decides if sufficient progress has been

achieved. Probably in the autumn. At least I hope so. There was also a

warning that the UK should not try to hold separate discussions with

individual member states. Divide and rule, the EU insists, will not be

allowed. Plenty for the government to chew on. At the Nato meeting in

Brussels the Foreign Secretary was keen to emphasise the positive. Both

sides genuinely want an ambitious partnership in the future. We really

are moving forward and there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of

willingness to achieve what the Prime Minister has said she wants to

achieve, which is an orderly transition and a deep and special

partnership between a strong EU and a strong UK. No one ever thought

this was going to be easy. This document from the EU shows how many

hurdles there are going to be along the road. And if there were to be a

transition phase between full membership and a totally new

relationship in the future it suggest that the UK would have to

accept that current laws and budget contributions would continue to

apply. Crucially he said that trade talks

could begin maybe later this year. Yes. That has always been the EU

position. Not ruling out the idea of parallel negotiations at any time

within the next two years but not starting with them. The separation

arrangements, the divorce bill, as to be sorted out first. The key

thing as it is going to be the other 27 countries who decide whether

enough progress has been made. If it has then potentially in the autumn

initial talks about a future trade relationship. The UK Government

would still like to complete negotiations on a free-trade

agreement with the rest of the EU in the two-year period. I have not

spoken to any other EU official who thinks that is possible so maybe

some general terms about how things could go forward but then towards

the end of the two year period the EU is suggesting we have to talk

about the transition from here to there and that will also be a

further complication. Do not forget, at the moment these are draft

guidelines. They will be debated by the 27 member states over the next

months and the 27 leaders will meet at the end of April for a summit to

approve them. You can see clearly the UK is not involved in the summit

or the debate about them. This is a process from the EU perspective won

it believes it is leading. Our political correspondent

Iain Watson is in Westminster. Their reaction? The government has

been trying to accentuate the positive. Downing Street made it

clear they believe both sides wanted to approach the talks

constructively. We heard from Boris Johnson saying there was a lot of

goodwill so no attempt to fan the flames with the remaining 27 members

of the EU but Theresa May's political opponents certainly trying

to turn up the heat. In a terrible pun, the Liberal Democrat suggested

the Prime Minister had been taken to tusk by Donald Tusk. The key demands

that the Prime Minister made on parallel negotiations and deals for

industry, none of that was likely to happen and she had been carless to

isolate herself from potential allies. Ukip did not attack the

government. But a tag EU leaders saying they are being inflexible.

And seeing that they are brittle. If the talks are phased in the way the

Donald Tusk suggest that there is a lot of emphasis on the divorce bill

first before seeing some of the potential benefits of leaving the EU

then some members of her party might start to say, if there's divorce

bill is too high, we should walk away, get out with no deal.

Waiting times will be longer for routine operations,

such as hip and knee replacements, as a "trade off" for improvements

in A performance, and better treatment in other areas.

That's according to the Head of NHS England, Simon Stevens,

who's unveiling a strategy for the NHS over the next two years.

He says increasing patient demand and the growth in new treatments

Our health correspondent Dominic Hughes reports.

At the age of 97, Iris need a little help,

especially after recovering from a recent illness.

So her GP called a local NHS service that provides

the right care in the right place and for Iris, that was home.

The treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful.

You need a walking frame, it was there straightaway.

Without help at home, Iris might have ended up

One of the big challenges facing busy emergency departments like this

one is how to reduce the sheer pressure in terms of numbers

of patients who are attending, particularly those frail,

older people who might be treated at home.

So today's announcement reflects a broader push to keep people out

NHS England leaders are taking stock of progress

since their five-year plan was published in 2014.

A new strategy also focuses on improved cancer survival rates,

increased access to mental health therapies and recruiting more GPs.

But NHS leaders are warning that faced with limited resources,

there will be a trade-off between these improvements

For example, people may have to wait longer for nonurgent operations.

There is a solution and that lies in encouraging different component

parts of the NHS to work much more closely together along with local

authorities and social services to help us get people

But medical unions say patients with conditions such as heart

disease or chronic pain will be affected.

These things are being de-prioritised at the moment

whereas I think that to an individual patient,

the important thing is to be able to treat every patient on time

And today, it's clearer than ever the money available to the health

service means tough decisions are being made.

There is only a fixed pot of money for the NHS and social

care and we can't meet all of the priorities that matter

to patients and the public without additional funding

so the onus is on politicians, NHS leaders to start

a discussion with the public about what the NHS can afford.

A crisis in A, the collapse of social care and financial

problems have all threatened to blow the NHS England five-year

Today, the health service is trying to refocus on what works

Let's talk to our health editor Hugh Pym.

Tell us more about what Simon Stevens had to say.

He was making a speech here at the Aldershot centre for health, one of

the bigger centres of its kind in the country which combines GP

practices, a pharmacy, dentist, mental health services, you can get

a scan here, the point is to keep people out of hospitals they can

come to the local health centre and get a broader range of treatments

and he would like to see more of this centre around England. He is

saying the NHS can only do so much and hospital treatment is expensive

and there can be improvements in cancer treatment, mental health,

more investment in GP services, but something has to give, and that is

these waiting lists for routine operations, conceding there will

have to get longer. I pushed him on that and he spelt out what he meant.

What we need to do is we need to fix the most urgent problems first

and I think most people can see that ensuring our A and our GP

services are able to properly look after people across the country.

Then, having done that, obviously in the period ahead,

we want to be able to also ensure we are meeting

the waiting times guarantees, that are, by some measure,

the fastest guarantee for patients that any Western country offers.

Simon Stephens. Doesn't boil down to money? Many would say it does and

when asked about the money Simon Stephens does not want to answer the

question. He said with the money I have got this is what we can do. We

can do a lot but things like waiting lists will have to expand. He got

into an argument with the government by suggesting he did not have the

money he asked for so he has consciously decided not to set to

play to ask for more funding but to say this is what I can do with the

money you offered and leave others to make the case for more funding

perhaps. In the last few minutes a letter has

been formally sent to Downing Street requesting an independence

referendum for Scotland. In it, she reiterates her call for

a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already

said it won't happen Our Scotland correspondent

James Shaw is in Edinburgh. Tell us more about this letter. In

her letter the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says there is no rational

reason why the Prime Minister should project our request for a second

independence referendum. If it is an issue of claiming she says the vote

could take place after Brexit negotiations have finished so that

people in Scotland have a choice between Brexit and independence. She

also hinted at what her reaction might be if our request is rejected.

My view, the will of the Scottish parliament must be respected.

It is a question not of if it is respected

If the Prime Minister chooses not to do that I will set

out to Parliament over the next few weeks what I intend to do to make

sure that the will of the parliament is respected and we make progress

towards giving the people of Scotland the choice.

What might that response be? Perhaps in the worst-case scenario it could

be the First Minister somehow disrupting or delaying the

legislative process which is intended to repatriate to bring back

powers from Europe to the United Kingdom and ministers here in

Edinburgh and London will be thinking about how disruptive that

could be. The time is very nearly quarter past one. Our top story this

lunchtime. Complex and confrontational: the EU

warns Britain about the road And still to come, I'll be reporting

on the reopening of us -- this, the settle to Carlisle line and the

arrival of arguably the most famous steam engine in the light -- world.

A shock defeat for defending champion Judd Trump who is out of

his title defence in China. It's one of the biggest wildlife

conservation projects ever seen in Britain -

and its aim is to save at least 20 species from extinction -

creatures like the black click beetle, the shrill carder bee

and the natterjack toad. The Back From The Brink campaign

is being launched today. It's an ?8 million scheme backed

by the Heritage Lottery Fund. And it's hoped thousands of people

will volunteer to help, They are the most striking,

the most elusive and the most But today, a project

begins to save them. When they reach the right

temperature they automatically Jenny Clark has been protecting bats

for 30 years and is joining today's If this one were to go

to extinction, what will that mean It would be an appalling

loss and a great tragedy We would be absolutely bereft

if we lost the grey long-eared. The natterjack toad is another

of the 20 species facing extinction. ?8 million of Heritage lottery

and other funds is being put in to create the Back From The Brink

project, but the organisers say it will only work

if the public join in. The ambition is to involve

1.3 million people, engage over 5000 volunteers actually going out

surveying, recording, So there will be lots

of opportunities for the public And here, at this nature reserve

in Dorset, some of the first of those 5000 volunteers have

just started work. The public is needed to help

identify the threatened species and record details

of their habitats. Back From The Brink's top 20

also includes adders and the shrill carder bee,

with 30 organisations coming together in this

unprecedented scheme. We depend on each and every one

of the species, even the ones that are perhaps less fashionable or more

obscure than some others. They all have their own

interesting story to tell. From woods, to back garden ponds,

this four-year project will seek out the 20 at-risk species and dozens

of others who can join them. Human activity may be

causing their problems, but now human action

will try to save them. The Defence Secretary,

Sir Michael Fallon, has denied a report in the Times newspaper that

a funding shortfall has left the armed forces trying to find

an extra billion pounds in savings The claim's based on an analysis

by the National Audit Office and conversations with seven serving

and former senior officers. The defence secretary says

he accepts the budget is tight but no cuts have been

signed off yet. The Armed Forces are in the midst of

a major upgrade. New aircraft carriers, planes and submarines on

order. But all this now reportedly leaving a ?10 billion hole in a

Defence Ministry's budget. The report has come just as the Defence

Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, holds talks here with his US counterpart,

James matters. The Americans want all Nato member states to have well

funded defence budgets and therefore effective military forces. And there

are now fears that the reported budget problem here could lead to

cuts to the Royal Marines. And my Mac has not ruled this out. The

Royal Navy is growing over all, growing by around 400, because the

Royal Navy is getting new ships, new submarines, and then it is up to the

first Sea Lord as to the number of sailors he has and Royal Marines he

has. The estimated price tag for the Royal Navy's dreadnought submarines

increased by ?620 million between 2015 and 2016. The project will take

several decades to complete. And the cost of the left 35 joint strike

Fighters, bought from the United States, has increased by ?843

million. It is still not known when the new aircraft carriers will be

commissioned. Some of our major potential opponents like Iran, China

and Russia are improving their capabilities day by day. We are not

matching those capabilities, nor are we providing the technologies that

are needed to suppress some of their systems. At a separate meeting today

in Brussels, Nato foreign ministers are holding talks with the US

Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. Britain is one of a minority of

member states which does meet its commitment of spending 2% of GDP on

defence. Right now, hundreds of British and other Nato troops are in

Estonia and other areas bordering Russia. Part of an operation to

counter Russia's current aggressive foreign policy. This is a time when

Nato needs to be particularly strong. Richard Galpin, BBC News at

Lancaster house. The driver of the bin lorry that

crashed in Glasgow killing six people has been banned from driving

for three years. Harry Clarke was also ordered

to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and will be tagged

for four months. The 60-year-old had already admitted

culpable and reckless driving nine months after the fatal

crash in 2014. Our Scotland correspondent

Lorna Gordon reports. Three days before Christmas

and in a Glasgow street packed with shoppers,

a bin lorry driven by Harry Clarke He'd lost consciousness and for 19

seconds the vehicle careered through the busy city centre

thoroughfare knocking Erin McQuade, her grandparents Jack

and Lorraine Sweeney, Jacqueline Mortan,

Stephanie Tait and Gillian Ewing. The fatal accident enquiry that

followed found the tragedy could have been avoided if Clarke

hadn't lied about his He had his licence revoked

on medical grounds. Nine months after the crash though,

Clarke was spotted by neighbours driving out of a car parked

near his home. He pleaded guilty to culpable

and reckless driving. In sendings him, Sheriff,

Martin Jones, said Clarke had been wholly irresponsible

and reprehensible his vehicle He said, in so doing,

the 60-year-old had placed Harry Clarke was never prosecuted

over the bin lorry crash and an attempt by some

of the families of those who died to bring a private

prosecution, failed. Clarke stated through his lawyer

today that nothing said in mitigation was intended

to diminish the losses suffered by so many people as a result

of that accident and said it was a gross error

of judgment to drive his car nine months later, knowing

he was unfit to drive. Lorna Gordon, BBC News

at the Sheriff Court in Glasgow. A man remains in a critical

but stable condition in hospital after being stabbed during an attack

at his home in the West Midlands - that left his wife

and teenage son dead. Detectives are continuing

to question a man in his 20's Yes, that man is still in custody,

he has been there for more than 24 hours now. At some stage scene, West

Midlands Police will have to decide whether to charge, release him or

apply for an extension. A stream of people have been laying flowers

outside their home this morning, including school friends of the

13-year-old boy who was killed in that stabbing incident yesterday

morning. We had a statement from the school in which they said that he

was a loyal, caring and conscientious people who will be

missed by all members of the school community. He always met everyone

with a smile and was a kind and thoughtful young man. It goes on to

talk about how passionate he was about West Bromwich and his pet

greyhound, Mandy. In fact, the headteacher came and laid some

flowers here not long ago. We know very little about the man in custody

other than that the family knew him. He may even have stayed with them at

some stage. The police have said it wasn't a burglary or a robbery and

they are still questioning him at the moment. The good news about the

father, Peter Wilkinson, is that he has stabilised. But yesterday

morning, obviously terrible news when the police arrived to find his

wife dead and his son dying. Hotels, restaurants and the tourism

sector are warning that they'll face a recruitment crisis if EU

immigration is heavily restricted The British Hospitality Association

says it relies on 60,000 EU workers a year -

and it will a decade to recruit enough British workers

to fill those posts. Our Industry Correspondent,

John Moylan reports. At Butlins in Bognor Regis,

they are gearing up Around 40% of the staff

here are from outside the UK and the boss says they would face

a recruitment crisis if Brexit causes that supply

of workers to be cut off. If the tap was just turned

off straightaway, that We are where we are at the moment,

we rely on a third of our workplace To be able to turn that straight off

and replace it straight off We are in the hospitality industry,

we are in the service industry, you actually have to employ people

who like to serve people. Tourism and hospitality accounts

for around 10% of the economy. Now a new report is warning that

restrictions on foreign labour could hit it harder

than any other sector. The UK's hospitality sector employs

around 3 million workers, but it's highly reliant

on overseas staff. 24% of the workforce

are EU migrants. They could face a shortfall of

60,000 workers a year if immigration The industry wants to reduce

its dependence on EU workers. Its new ten year strategy includes

recruiting more unemployed One thing we have to do

in the United Kingdom is to actually tackle the perception of careers

in our industry which isn't necessarily the same

as it is in France, Switzerland, Hospitality careers

there are actually seen The government says that while it

will end free movement as it is now, it will design a new immigration

system that is in The Flying Scotsman was back on one

of the UK's most scenic tracks this morning as it marked the re-opening

of the Settle-to-Carlisle rail line. The famous train took the scenic

route through the Yorkshire Dales and the Eden Valley,

a year after a major Sophie, one of the most charming

things about this railway line is that it looks like something from

yesteryear. You can see the water tower there ready for steam engines

to come through on excursions, an old fashioned signalling box as

well. Despite it looking like this, something from the last century,

there has been a real drive over the last year or so to get this line

open again. At lunchtime today, one of the most famous names in the

world of steam arrived at Appleby, a station on one of the most famous

rail lines in Britain. After being closed for 16 months, the settle to

Carlisle route is open again. Everyone has a personal reason for

being here. I think it's just childhood memories. The smoke, the

dirt, the crime, -- the grime, the coal dust. When you think what they

have accomplished lately, it's amazing what they have achieved.

It's an ever-changing scene. You come in the winter, comeback in the

summer and it's a completely different picture. There are so many

villages on the line to explore. The village we are coming into now is

lovely. This line is famous for its landscape. It runs through the high

Pennines and the National Park, over this by duct and into the beautiful

Eden Valley in Cumbria. But a landslip south of Carlisle left it

closed to through traffic until today. Network Rail say the ?23

million repair job is the most challenging project they have

undertaken in their 15 year history. A year ago, we had a landslide of

500,000 tonnes of dirt slipping into the Eden Gorge. We have done a

really complicated repair, drilling into the rock below, putting 16,000

tonnes of concrete on top and today we are open for business. Although

this wonderful locomotive is attracting all the headlines today,

the big issue for the remote villages along this line is that

they have got their main transport line back and that means the return

of business and visitors. Built in 1860s, threatened with closure in

the 1980s, this old-fashioned but much loved railway route is open

again, a new era celebrated style. And hundreds of people were on the

platform here to see the flying Scotsman pass-through about an hour

or so ago. It will be going south later today, back down the route,

with lots of people watching. It's perfect time for this line to

reopen, head of the Easter holidays and running into the summer, with

the hope that the number of passengers on this line will rise

sharply in the coming months. A Californian space company has made

history by launching a used SpaceX has developed a way

of landing its boosters - which are the most expensive part

of a rocket - safely The company said it was a huge

revolution in space flight after the rocket re-landed on a ship

in the Atlantic. Hi there. It's an improving picture

with the change of month tomorrow. Some sunshine in Cornwall right now

with showers to come later. A little louder up in Scotland. Slightly

different to yesterday, but we are seeing the improvement moving its

way northward. You can see the cloud breaking up. Already the showers are

chasing that drain into Northern Ireland and Cornwall. We will see

sunshine between the showers, but we will pick up one or two across

Devon, Cornwall and Pembrokeshire. Further east, temperatures are at 16

or 17, so it feels very warm. We just had that 22 yesterday, so

strengthening sunshine and feeling the effect of that. Some dry weather

for a time in Northern Ireland, but a scattering of showers. The same

story for southern and central Scotland, but for northern Scotland

still waiting to this evening. The rain moving away overnight, then

showers coming in from the West and clear skies, so not as warm as it

was last night, because it was very warm indeed. Temperatures holding at

about eight or nine Celsius. A little fresher as we start our

Saturday morning but as I mentioned, change of month, change of weather

and typically, it is April showers tomorrow. They will soon get going

in many areas, and possibly heavy with Hal and thunder and lightning

as well. Some may escape the showers, with coastlines seeing the

best of the sunshine and outside of the showers with light winds and

strengthening sunshine, it will fill very pleasant indeed. Overnight, a

wedge of low pressure comes in -- high pressure comes in, and that

would tend to ease those showers away, with drier weather on Sunday

morning. It will be chilly with some frost and Fog and the outside chance

of a shower in eastern England, but it is set fair. Maybe some fair

weather cloud, but feeling very pleasant in that April sunshine. It

looks set there if you are heading off to watch the boat race and

hopefully conditions won't be as choppy as last weekend because we

haven't got that strong easterly wind. The weekend is looking very

promising, as I mentioned. April showers temporarily on Saturday, as

it looks fine on Sunday, but chilly nights returning, so gardeners

beware. Otherwise, a pleasant day on Sunday. As ever, if you want

information further ahead of the Easter holidays further afield, it's

on the website. A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime. The president of the EU Council has

warned Britain that Brexit talks will be difficult, complex and

possibly confrontational. The EU 27 does not and will not pursue a

punitive approach. Brexit in itself is already punitive enough.

That's all from the BBC News at One - so it's goodbye from me -