04/12/2017 BBC News at One

On the verge of a Brexit

breakthrough in Brussels.

The Prime Minister is said

to be close to reaching

a deal with the EU.

After many rounds of talks,

sufficient progress appears to have

been made on the major sticking

points - the divorce

bill, EU citizens' rights

and the Northern Ireland border.

We've put seven months of work,

both sides, into getting to this

point and we're hoping that

Mr Juncker, today, will give us

sufficient progress so we can

move on to trade talks.

The Northern Irish border -

Now the UK is said to be close

to accepting a concession

that there will be no hard border.

We'll be live in Brussels,

Westminster and Dublin

with the latest.

Also this lunchtime.

Nearly 750,000 pensioners

and children in the UK have fallen

into relative poverty over the past

four years, says a charity.

If you go out, you don't have

to have your heating on, do you?

Trouble is, once it's dark

in the evenings now, and cold,

you have to put your heating

on, don't you?

Allegations about the

Prime Minister's deputy

Damian Green made public.

The head of the Metropolitan Police

says two former officers

should not

have made the claims.

10p for a tin.

How Co-op is becoming the first

major retailer to sell food

beyond it best before date

to try to reduce food waste.

And I'm in Adelaide as England's

cricketers face an uphill battle

against Australia in the second

Ashes Test.

And coming up in the

sport on BBC News.

His job is safe, whatever

happens in Russia -

the FA say Gareth Southgate

will lead England for

the next few tournaments.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

Britain and the European Union

appear close to reaching

a breakthrough in the Brexit talks,

which will clear the way

for the second phase of Brexit

negotiations to begin on trade.

Theresa May is in Brussels

this lunchtime, meeting

with the President of the European

Commission.

Reports indicate the two sides have

reached a broad agreement

on the rights of EU citizens

and on the so-called "divorce bill".

It now appears sufficient progress

has also been made on the difficult

issue of how to avoid a hard border

with Northern Ireland.

Adam Fleming has this

report from Brussels.

There's no such thing as a free

lunch. The Prime Minister is here to

shake on a set of promises made by

the UK, designed to get Brexit talks

of the past and on to the future.

Everybody understands that the

decision to move on to trade talks

is vital to everybody, of huge value

to the 27 members and ourselves.

It

sounds like there has been some

progress on the rights of EU

nationals living in the UK after

Brexit and Brits abroad. Talks about

how much money the UK owes seem to

have been unblocked by a more

detailed offer from the UK. But the

big stumbling block is what to do

about the Irish border. The Irish

government does not want to wait for

a future trade deal. They want

written guarantees now. Before the

Prime Minister's arrival, members of

the European Parliament were ushered

in for a preview because they will

get a vote on the final deal.

I'm

optimistic it is possible, 50-50,

that is something but we have to be

sure that an citizens rights,

everything is OK.

Is there ready on

the money?

It seems.

It seems there

is a deal on the money? You are with

that?

I'm cautiously optimistic but

of course, we have to see the final

outcome.

Can Mrs May fix all of this

today?

I think that is possible.

With goodwill, I think we can have a

good agreement today.

One claimed

the British had pledged that

Northern Ireland would stick closely

to the EU's rules on customs.

It is

a meeting again with reality. It is

a recognition of reality and what

they have created is a reality and

we have to accept that and that

reality is full of contradictions

and they have to acknowledge that.

Now they acknowledge it. Good.

If

you look at all this activity, you

would think a final Brexit deal was

just around the corner. It isn't.

This is all about the EU feeling

that enough progress has been made

in the first phase of Brexit talks

about divorce issues to trigger the

start of the second phase which is

all about trade, the transition deal

and the future relationship. That

decision won't be made here today.

It will be for EU leaders at a

summit in ten days' time but be in

no doubt, this is a big day in the

history of Brexit.

Adam Fleming, there.

The last key sticking

point has been what to do

about the Irish border.

The government in Dublin wants

a written commitment

that there will be no new border

controls, something

the Irish Cabinet has been meeting

this morning to discuss.

Ireland's Prime Minister Leo

Varadkar says he will make a

statement later today.

Our Ireland correspondent

Chris Buckler reports.

On the way to a Brexit deal. The UK

and the EU will have to find a way

through the many problems posed by

these border roads. The Irish

government are insisting that there

should be no change along the 310

miles that connect Northern Ireland

and the Republic, that this should

remain an invisible border. Once it

marks the start and end of the

European Union. It is clear the

Irish Prime Minister regards this as

a crucial day in the negotiations.

Leo Varadkar called a special

meeting of his Cabinet and the

Taoiseach arrived ready for action,

dressed in his gym gear. The Irish

Foreign Minister, Simon Kovinic,

says there has been progress, but

there remain some potential doubling

blocks.

We believe we have a

responsibility to the island of

Ireland as a whole to make sure we

work with the British government to

get a wording that can settle nerves

on this issue so that as we move

into phase two, people know that the

result, even if it is an unintended

consequence, is not going to be a

hard border.

Once there were customs

posts on these border roads and

there is a fear they could return

unless there's a deal ensures rules

and regulations will not be the same

between Northern Ireland and the EU.

That would include industries like

agriculture and food manufacturing.

But what worries Unionists if that

could mean over time differences

would emerge between Northern

Ireland and the rest of the UK and

potentially new checks for ships

travelling across the Irish Sea,

something they have described as

politically unacceptable.

You can't

have two separate regimes in terms

of regulation. You've got to have a

choice there. What we want to have

is as much regulatory compliance

with the biggest market we are in so

that no barriers put up to create

sales, export and all the rest of

it, within the United Kingdom single

market.

A danger of the Conservative

government getting caught between

the DUP, whose support they need at

Westminster, the Irish government,

who have to give the OK to allow

talks to head on to trade. This

border always has the potential to

cause division. Chris Buckler is in

Dublin now and this agreement or

deal looks close but what would it

mean in practice?

It would mean the

Irish catchment have got their way

in practice because they have been

pushing for regulatory convergence

on the island of Ireland.

Effectively it would mean that rules

and regulations for trading would

remain the same in the north as well

as the Republic and therefore,

Northern Ireland would stick very

closely to EU rules. They had been

calling for Northern Ireland to

remain inside the single market and

inside the customs union. This

wording that is coming out, it does

not seem that is the case but it is

as close as can be and will allow

the border to remain completely open

as it is now. However, you heard

Nigel Dodds, there, and that

interview was taken from before this

concession was talked about.

Nonetheless, it gives you the sense

that the DUP are not happy about

this idea, that the island of

Ireland would remain the same but

potentially there could be

divergences, different regulations

and rules in other parts of the UK.

They have already been talking about

that, saying that is not something

they would accept. They want to keep

Northern Ireland in line with the

rest of the UK because they say that

is Northern Ireland's biggest

market. So potentially you do have

political problems there and given

the Conservatives are relying on the

DUP for support at Westminster, that

could be a significant one.

Chris

Buckler, thank you, from Dublin.

Adam Fleming is in Brussels. We

heard in your earlier report that

this is potentially a big moment in

Brussels. Does this mean that going

forward, it unlocks the door and

trade talks will begin?

It certainly

feels like that today in Brussels

but the EU does not run on feelings.

It runs on documents with lots of

words in them. We will have to wait

and see this joint document which

will be published at some point

after lunch by both sides which will

show all the commitments they have

made in the first phase of Brexit

talks, for example, what wording

have they actually agreed to solve,

for now, the Irish border issue? The

wording will really matter. We

understand that in something like

paragraph 45, what is in the

preceding 44 paragraphs that could

go down well or badly back home in

Westminster for the buy minister.

Quickly, the action will move from

the European Commission, where

Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel

Barnier work, the 27 remaining EU

member states because they are the

ones that will really be in driving

seat for this process as they make

the big decisions. There will be a

meeting of officials from member

states in about an hour. On

Wednesday, ambassadors from member

states will meet and start working

out what they are going to do at

this summit, when all of the leaders

will meet next Friday, the 15th of

December, to decide if sufficient

progress has been made on the

divorce related part of the talks to

move the trade related part of the

talks. That summit will be chaired

by Donald Tusk, the president of the

European Council. Earlier today, we

heard he had cancelled a planned

trip to the Middle East this week

because he wanted to handle Brexit.

People were saying that is surely a

bad sign. He's actually just tweeted

that he's really encouraged by

progress so far so actually, a good

sign that things are really picking

up and as I said in my piece, this

is a big day in history Brexit.

Adam

Fleming Brussels, thank you.

Norman Smith is in Westminster now.

Lots of positive noises coming out

of Brussels this lunchtime, we don't

know the detail but the Prime

Minister will have to sell this to

her party and the DUP.

And on the

face of it, you would think that

will be a difficult task, certainly

when it comes to the Brexiteers,

when you are having to talk about

maybe handing over 40, 50 billion

euros as part of the divorce Bill,

you would think they were going to

go, no. But the story of Brexit so

far is that the Brexiteers by and

large have gone along with all the

compromises Mrs May has had to make,

not just on money but on the

European Court, on the transitional

deal and maybe, too, on the Northern

Ireland border. The reason for that,

I think, is because they view Mrs

May as their best bet for getting

Brexit because if they were to

attack her and destabilise her, the

fear is that could jeopardise Brexit

under renewed Tory leader or maybe

even under a Jeremy Corbyn

government. -- a new Tory leader.

The difficulty for Mrs May is not

the 300 or so Tory MPs, it is the

ten DUP MPs because they have pretty

much got Mrs May by her political

windpipe. Her government depends on

them and if they don't like the sort

of deal that she is putting

together, then they have the power

not just to scupper that deal but

potentially even to bring down the

government. So over the next few

weeks and months, I think you can

expect oodles of metaphorical

affection and love and custard

creams and lots of other things to

be heaped on those ten DUP MPs.

Norman Smith in Westminster, thank

you.

Nearly 750,000 children

and pensioners in the UK have fallen

into relative poverty over the past

four years, according to a report

from a social policy charity.

The left-leaning Joseph Rowntree

Foundation says it's the first

sustained rise affecting these age

groups for two decades.

The government says the number

of people living in absolute

poverty has fallen by more

than 500,000 since 2010.

Our social affairs correspondent

Michael Buchanan has the details.

For always Singleton on this drop-in

centre has many benefits. She can

meet friends, have a laugh, grab a

bite to eat and by being here, the

84-year-old does not have to spend

money heating her own home.

If you go out, you don't have

to have your heating on, do you?

Trouble is, once it's dark

in the evenings now, and cold,

you have to put your heating

on, don't you?

So you go on the bus

just to keep warm?

Yeah.

Well, you know...

LAUGHTER.

Yeah, it's lovely

and warm on the bus!

And then you sort of try and extend

it as long as you can.

Even though you've

got to nowhere to go?

Yeah.

It's mad, isn't it?

LAUGHTER.

Today's report said that successful

efforts to tackle poverty over the

past 20 years are in danger of

unravelling. It says that since

2013, an extra 300,000 pensioners

and an additional 400,000 children

are now living in poverty. In total,

14 million people in the UK are in

poverty.

What our report is now

showing is that we are at a

significant turning point. Two years

of sustained increases in the number

of children and pensioners in

poverty is a real red flag to

government that they really have to

do something now.

Absolute poverty,

not having enough food or water to

live on, as fallen by 500,000 since

2010. Today's figures refer to

relative poverty, having a lot less

than most other people and many

researchers believe that is going to

get worse. Experts say the number of

people living in poverty is likely

to rise markedly in the coming

years, particularly among children.

Wages, they say, will not keep pace

with prices. Benefits will remain

frozen and housing costs are likely

to increase. The Joseph Rowntree

Foundation say ending the freeze on

benefits would make the biggest

difference to reducing poverty.

Ministers say they are already

spending tens of billions of pounds

each year helping those in need.

Caught in the middle, the poor

themselves.

That fellow keeps hassling me

from the water company,

because I have not paid them.

So I'm going to have to...

Dig into the funeral account.

Michael Buchanan, BBC News.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner

Cressida Dick has criticised two

former senior officers

for disclosing information

about an investigation

into the First Secretary of State,

Damian Green.

Bob Quick and Neil Lewis claimed

that pornography was found

on a computer seized from the MP's

Parliamentary office nine years ago.

Mr Green denies watching

or downloading pornography

on the machine.

Our home affairs correspondent

Danny Shaw is here.

How significant is this? I think

this statement by Cressida Dick is

really what you would expect the

commission of the Metropolitan

Police to say. She can't be seen in

anyway to condone former officers

going around doing unofficial

briefings of confidential

information that they have acquired

during an investigation. The two

officers, Bob Quick, confirmed the

details of a story about to be

printed in the Sunday Times last

month, and Neil Lewis did an

interview with the BBC, giving

further details about allegations.

Pornography was an Damian Green's

work computers. And Cressida Dick

said it was possible both men could

be prosecuted but the final decision

would be with the Crown Prosecution

Service service.

This is a case from

nine years ago. All police officers

know very well that they have a duty

of confidential allergy, duty to

protect personal information. That

duty in my view clearly enjoys after

you leave the service. It is my view

that what they have done based on my

understanding of what they are

saying, what they have done is

wrong. And I condemn it.

The most

likely charges they could face would

be under the Data Protection Act,

but there is a defence for someone

who discloses information if that is

a public interest defence, and Neil

Lewis would argue that his

information was in the public

interest. The Cabinet inquiry into

Damian Green's conduct had been made

aware of Neil Lewis and the possible

evidence that he could give and he

was not contacted, which fuelled his

concerns that there could be some

kind of cover-up or certainly that

the full facts would not be you.

Our top story this lunchtime:

On the verge of a Brexit

breakthrough in Brussels. The Prime

Minister is on the verge of signing

a deal.

And coming up:

A parliamentary proposal.

The moment an Australian MP goes

off-script during a speech

to ask his partner to marry him.

Coming up in sport:

A long way to go but there's

a glimmer of hope,

as England take four quick wickets

on day three of the

second Ashes Test.

A foreign aid project for civilian

police in Syria has been

suspended by the government

after an investigation by the BBC's

Panorama programme found that some

of the money had been

diverted to extremists.

Britain is one of six countries

which have been funding

the Free Syrian Police.

It was set up to bring law and order

to parts of the country controlled

by opposition forces.

The Foreign Office says it's looking

into the allegations.

Jane Corbin reports.

Britain is one of six countries that

funds the Free Syrian Police,

set up to bring security

to opposition-held areas.

For eight months in 2016,

British aid money meant to pay

salaries for the police was handed

over by them to an extremist group,

Nour al-Din al-Zenki.

Zenki used to get a percentage

from the salaries

of the Free Police members.

It was just about taking

a percentage in return

for the services and to create

a sort of equilibrium

between the police and the fighters.

The police we fund also

provide support for Zenki's

barbaric justice system,

which stands accused of torture

and summary killings.

The company which runs the aid

project, Adam Smith International

or ASI, told us the government

was aware of cash going to Zenki

and ASI has strict guidelines

in place to ensure detainees

are being treated

fairly and humanely.

Panorama also discovered that

in 2014, officers from the British

funded police were present

at the stoning of two

women in northern Syria.

Someone who worked for ASI in Syria

agreed to speak to me about it,

although he didn't want

to be identified.

ASI said the stoning was only five

weeks after the company took over

the project and the men were not

formally officers and have

since been removed permanently.

The Free Syrian Police also

cooperate with the so-called

justice system of Al-Nusra,

the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

So how did a British aid

project ever get involved

with extremist courts?

People being sentenced

to death for homosexuality.

Clearly that is completely

and utterly unacceptable

by any standard.

The idea that British taxpayers'

money was associated with that

would of course be wholly abhorrent.

The Foreign Office has suspended

funding while it investigates

but says the work in Syria

is important to protect our national

interest and it robustly

monitors all aid programmes.

Jane Corbyn, BBC News.

And you can watch the full

programme Panorama:

Jihadis You Pay For tonight at 7.30

on BBC One.

Authorities in Malta have arrested

10 people in connection

with the murder in October

of a prominent

investigative journalist.

53-year-old Daphne Caruana Galizia,

who wrote about alleged

corruption among politicians,

was killed when her car was blown

up close to her home.

The Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat,

said all the suspects

were Maltese nationals

and were already known to police.

Facebook says it's creating 800

new jobs in the UK next year,

as it opens a new office in central

London.

It will become the social media

company's biggest engineering hub

outside of the United States.

It will also house developers,

marketing workers and sales teams.

More than 2000 people are expected

to be employed by Facebook in the UK

by the end of next year.

The retailer Toys "R" Us has put

forward plans to close at least

26 of its UK stores,

putting up to 800 jobs at risk.

The closures would form part

of a deal to renegotiate debts owed

by the company to its landlords.

The company said there would be no

disruption to customers

throughout the Christmas

and New Year shopping period.

Would you consider buying food

that's past its best before date?

The East of England Co-op

is to become the first major

retailer to stock items

beyond their best before date

on their shelves.

125 stores in East Anglia

will sell dried foods

and tinned products for just 10p

following a three-month trial

in 14 of its stores.

Our business correspondent

Simon Gompertz reports.

This supermarket where they are

busting the best before dates. In

125 East of England Co-ops will tell

items beyond their dates for just

10p each, saying waste not, want

not.

We tried giving it away. Nobody

wants you to give them anything.

They expect you to pay for it.

Customers are suspicious when it is

free but when you charge them 10p,

people feel there is a transaction

taking place and they pay something.

We thought the product would last

quite a while in the special display

beans we have set up, but it lasted

a couple of hours. Nothing lasts

more

than a day now and it will probably

just sell through and the customers

are really pleased about it.

The aim

is to do more to cut the quantity of

food that is chucked out. The UK

throws away over 7 million tonnes of

it every year, and around £30

billion worth is edible. East of

England Co-op thinks it can save

50,000 items a year. This is what

you are likely to see an supermarket

food. If it is perishable, there

will be a use by l abel. Here it is

the 10th of December, and after

which it is not safe to knock-down

prices. The director of the

anti-food Sainsbury donated to local

good causes. Waitrose does that and

sells some to staff at knock-down

prices. The director of the

anti-food waste group welcomes the

Co-op's approach. This is a really

good step forward. Let's see how the

public response and see what

imprecations this could have for a

wider roll-out. At the moment, the

10p food past its best before date

is only for Co-op customers in East

Anglia, but if the idea works, there

is likely to be pressure on others

welcomes the Co-op's approach. This

is a really good step forward. Let's

see how the public response and see

what imprecations this could have

for a wider roll-out. At the moment,

the 10p food past its best before

date is only for Co-op customers in

East Anglia, but if the idea works,

there is likely to be pressure on

It wasn't perhaps the most

romantic of settings

for a marriage proposal

but it was certainly a memorable one

and it made history.

An Australian MP, Tim Wilson,

has used a parliamentary debate

on same-sex marriage to propose

to his boyfriend.

Australia's Parliament

is debating the legislation,

after last month's nationwide vote

to legalise same-sex marriage.

Mr Wilson's partner

of nine years, Ryan Bolger,

was listening in the public gallery,

when he got something

of a surprise.

Our Sydney correspondent

Hywel Griffith reports.

For most people, a 20-hour debate

on legislative amendments probably

sounds like a bit of a turn-off.

But for Australian MP Tim Wilson,

it provided the perfect opportunity

for a little romance.

This debate has been the soundtrack

to our relationship.

As his 30 minute speech

reached its conclusion,

he knew his chance had come.

His voice started to falter

as he turned to the public gallery.

So there's only one

thing left to do.

Ryan Patrick Bolger,

will you marry me?

Chuck that in the memoirs

on the Hansard.

I should let Hansard note to record

that was a yes, a resounding yes.

Congratulations.

Last month, a public vote in favour

was celebrated with gusto after 62%

of people supported the change.

Australia may have said I do,

but there is still plenty

of detail to be worked out.

In Parliament, the focus has been

on religious freedom and the right

of some people to opt out of working

at a same-sex wedding,

but the Prime Minister

is still confident the bill

will pass soon.

Few issues have divided Australian

politics in recent years as much

as introducing same-sex marriage.

Today at least the debate managed

to bring one couple closer together.

Hywel Griffith, BBC News.

It's not all happiness

down under though.

Well, not for the

England cricket team.

They collapsed on day

three of the second

Ashes test in Adelaide.

Australia bowled them out for 227,

giving them a lead of 215.

to do the same. Simon Gompertz, BBC

four in

Our sports correspondent Andy Swiss

has been watching the action.

Australia have the upper hand

heading into day four in. The home

of the great, the fans when it comes

to batting, Adelaide have seen the

best. The home of the great, the

threw away their wickets, their

hopes and perhaps the descending on

the Oval were about to see how not

to do it. As England threw away

their wickets, their hopes and

perhaps the Ashes, and the captain

went tamely. England were staring at

humiliation. If they were brittle,

Australia were brilliant. And the

captain went tamely. England were

staring at humiliation. If they were

brittle, Australia were brilliant.

Nathan Lyon's dazzling caught an

even better one. Mitchell Starc

showing the reflexes of a juggler as

Australia tightened their grip. By

the time the final wicket fell,

England was still a massive 215

behind. Game surely over. But then a

twist. Australia could have made the

visitors bat again but decided not

to. Bad choice. Under the

floodlights, England's bowlers

sparkle. Two early wickets were

Jimmy Anderson and two for Chris

Woakes including the big one,

captain Steve Smith. Australia

53-4 at the close. Followed by an

even better one. Mitchell Starc

showing the reflexes of a juggler as

Australia tightened their grip. By

the time the final wicket fell,

England was still a massive 215

behind. Game surely over. But then a

twist. Australia could have made the

visitors bat again but decided not

to. Bad choice. Under the

floodlights, England's bowlers

sparkle. Two early wickets were

Jimmy Anderson and two for Chris

Woakes including the big one,

captain Steve Smith. Australia 53-4

at the close. It may be fate, but

England finally have a sliver of

hope. Australia's fans will be

heading home pretty happy with their

team's position but England's

bowlers have at least given them

heart after that

There was a treat for stargazers

in our skies last night -

the appearance of what's

called a super moon.

The moon was at one

of its closest points

to Earth and was full,

looking bigger and

brighter than usual.

It's the first super moon

since November last year.

That photograph was taken by our own

Frank Gardner.

But if you missed it, don't worry.

There will be two more

before the end of January.

Time for the weather with Ben Roach.

I try to look at the

Time for the weather with Ben Roach.

I try to look at the moon last night

but it was quite cloudy. To cloudy

for some of us but some part in the

East or the moon which has

translated into sunny skies for some

areas today, eastern Scotland doing

pretty well. That was Carnoustie

earlier but there is more clout

further west in some places as

Sophie was talking about last night,

that is what it looks like in

Cornwall during this morning, the

cloud producing the odd spot of rain

but essentially it is a quiet start

to the week. It will not stay that

way. Things turn wet and windy for

the middle of the week and then

dramatically colder at the end of

the week and some of us will see

some snow. This is the satellite

picture, confirmation of quite a lot

of cloud around, the best breaks and

sunshine further east but through

the afternoon, large areas of cloud

will continue to drift through. It

will be breezy in the finals,

generally light winds and

temperatures not bad for the time of

year, seven or eight, up to 11

degrees. This evening and overnight,

a pretty cloudy story with large

areas of cloud, some spots of patchy

rain in the West and some more

persistent rain developing across

the northern isles later. If skies

clear where you are, there could be

the default patch and temperatures

might drop close to freezing but

most places will stay several

degrees above and tomorrow is

another fairly quiet day. Lots of

cloud around the best chance of any

breaks across parts of south and

east. The wind picking up through

the day across the Northwest with

some rain into northern Scotland and

again, temperatures about where they

should be at 8-10d. This is where

things stepped up a gear on

Wednesday, wind picking up further

in western areas, likely to be gales

at times, some rain pushing in from

the west, you will notice a very

mild day on Wednesday but that is

not going to last. This is the big

change. This area of low pressure, a

deep low that could bring some very

wet and windy weather on Wednesday

night and on the back of that, we

start to draw in cold air, in fact

really opening the floodgates,

Arctic air plunging right across the

country. Thursday will start off

fairly mild, wet in the south-east

as well but as we go through the

day, skies will brighten with some

sunshine and also some wintry

showers in areas exposed to the

strong north-westerly wind.

Temperatures will drop away as the

day goes on. By the afternoon, 4-10

but let me show you Friday, these

North north-westerly winds whistling

across the country, a fair amount of

sunshine dummy Eskimo by just about

anywhere, you could see some snow

showers, most likely for Western and

eastern coasts and northern

Scotland. Your form on the tour will

read 3-6 but when you add the

strength of the wind, it will feel

subzero across many parts of the

country. It may be a fairly quiet

start to the week but something much

more dramatic is on the way.