08/12/2017 BBC News at One

A breakthrough over Brexit -

Britain and the EU reach a last

minute deal to move talks

on to the next phase.

After a night of intense

negotiations, Theresa May flew

to Brussels early this morning

to finalise the agreement.

Getting to this point has required

give and take on both sides. And I

believe that the joint report, being

published, is in the best interests

of the whole of the UK.

The president of the European

Commission said enough progress had

been made to move discussions

onto trade.

I believe we have now the break

through we need. To this result

today, it is of course, a

compromise.

compromise.

There'll be no hard

border with Ireland -

and it's thought Britain's

divorce bill will be

between £35 and £40 billion.

We'll have the latest on the details

of the deal and what happens next,

live from Brussels -

and assess political

reaction back here.

Also this lunchtime.

Nearly 200,000 people

are moved out of their homes

in southern California -

as wildfires continue to rage.

Clashes in Jerusalem

between Palestinian protestors

and Israeli security forces.

In sport on BBC News:

All the reports, results and

features from the BBC Sport centre.

Hello, good afternoon.

There's been an overnight

breakthrough in the Brexit talks,

which should enable discussions

to get underway about trade.

After a long night of telephone

diplomacy, the Prime Minister flew

to Brussels early this morning -

where the EU's chief negotiator

Michel Barnier said he believed

sufficient progress had

now been made.

The other EU members

will consider his recommendation

that talks move to the second phase,

at a summit next week.

It's believed Britain's divorce bill

will be in the region

of £35 to £40 million,

and there will be no hard

border with Ireland.

We'll hear about political reaction

at home in just a moment -

but we begin with the latest

from Brussels, and our

Europe Correspondent Adam Fleming.

Frankly, the last 24 hours here have

been quite astonishing. Tweets,

round-up your, early morning phone

calls, the last six months of Brexit

drama has boiled down to this - a

document full of pledges,

commitments and compromises, that

was signed sealed and delivered by

the Prime Minister here in Brussels,

when she made a last-minute,

unplanned, unexpected visit before

dawn.

Back to Brussels to give it another

go, the Prime Minister's

early-morning mission to steer

Brexit talks off divorce issues

and on to the future.

Theresa May and her team would not

have taken a flight in the middle

of the night to arrive

here in the dark if they feared

a repeat of Monday when they came

to Brussels thinking a deal was done

and it wasn't.

Over juice and pastries,

the two sides agreed a 15

page list of promises.

David Davis's face proves that it

had taken an exhausting series

of talks to get the EU

To say this...

of talks to get

the EU to say this...

The commission has just formally

decided to recommend

to the European Council that

sufficient progress has now

been made on the strict

terms of the diverse.

What is the biggest compromise

the other side has made to get

you to this point today?

This was a question, actually,

of coming together and working

together for a report and agreements

that were in the best

interests of all sides.

Here is what those negotiators

eventually negotiated.

To guarantee the rights of EU

citizens staying in the UK, the

European Court of Justice will still

have a role for eight years after

Brexit.

The UK has finalised

an agreement in principle

about its financial obligations,

that could end up being between £35

and £39 billion,

according to officials.

Both sides restated

a commitment to know hard

border on the island

of

Ireland.

Northern Irish politicians will get

a say on any proposals that

could affect more Northern Ireland's

relationship with the rest of the

could affect Northern Ireland's

relationship with the rest of the

UK.

Then the Prime Minister dashed off

to see the man who will chair next

week's summit of EU

leaders, his message

to them, progress, yes

but

not time to start celebrating.

Let us remember that the most

difficult challenge is still ahead.

We all know that

breaking up is hard...

but breaking up and building

a new relation is much harder.

In other words, the EU's

chief negotiator now

has to haggle over

a

transition period and

a possible trade deal.

Are you going to be

celebrating, Mr Barnier?

No.

No.

Cracking open the champagne?

We are still workng.

No.

Still more work to do.

OK.

No champagne?

All of this will be approved by the

27EU countries here in Brussels a

week today. In the New Year to start

the transition, that will last a

couple of years and in the spring to

talk about the potential future

relationship between the EU and the

UK could look like when it comes to

trade, security, defence, foreign

policy, climate change, you name it.

In the meantime, the EU's really

keen for the UK to decide what it

wants that relationship to look

like, to agree big principles and it

could lead to pretty big political

arguments back home in the UK.

Theresa May heralded

the deal as 'hard won'

and in the interests of everyone.

It's also being seen

as politically crucial

for her and her negotiating team.

The senior cabinet Brexiteer Michael

Gove described it as a significant

personal political achievement

for the Prime Minister.

The Shadow Brexit Secretary,

Labour's Keir Starmer,

welcomed the fact that talks can now

move on - but says this point should

have been reached weeks ago.

Chris Mason reports now

on the political reaction

to today's agreement.

Striding towards an agreement but,

any negotiating about anything

involves compromise, and this is no

different. So while both of them

were wearing smiles and exchanging

hand-shakes this morning, at about

the time many of us were crawling

out of bed, what were the big

political hitters over here making

of it?

This agreement is a

significant political achievement

from the Prime Minister. It helps to

guarantee the rights of EU citizens

in the UK. It will be UK courts that

safeguard those rights. Of course,

thereby regard for EU law and in a

limited number of cases for a

limited period of time, they can if

they wish to, if there is a point of

law ambiguous, go to the European

courts of justice for help to

resolve the issue. But this is a

time limited and specific exception,

it is UK courts in the driving seat.

I am pleased to see this deal. The

Prime Minister has put a great deal

of personal effort into it,

including staying up all night to

finalise it. It is clear that it is

also broadly welcomed by our EU

partners, even if many of them

remain profoundly upset that we are

leaving the EU.

So they saw the sides of the

Conservative divide rowing in behind

the Prime Minister. That is

something if you tilt your ear, you

can hear the huge sighs of relief

coming from Downing Street. But

remember, this is just the beginning

of the negotiating process, what is

to come, the discussion about the

future relationship with the EU will

be more complicate, in all

likelihood. That is why opposition

parties are keeping up the pressure

on the Prime Minister.

This is the point we had hoped to

get to two months ago. What the

Prime Minister needs to do is to

focus on transitional measures

immediately. That should have

started in October. It now needs to

start straightaway.

A few Conservative MPs are grumbling

about the deal. They see it as a

compromise too far. This man agrees

with them.

Amazing, the British Prime Minister

flying through the middle of the

night, to meet unelect the bureau

crats to pat her on the head, and

say you have met all of our demands,

we can move on to the next stage. It

is a Howell illation.

For the Prime Minister, the progress

she hoped for has been made. But it

merely marks the end of a beginning

of a negotiation far, far from done.

Chris Mason, BBC News at

Westminster.

Chris Mason, BBC

News at Westminster.

During hours of discussions

and phone calls, Theresa May secured

agreement on the issue of the Irish

border, from both the Irish prime

minister and the Democratic

Unionists, whose earlier objections

had prevented a deal being struck.

Our Ireland correspondent

Chris Buckler reports now

on the impact of the border question

in these talks.

Negotiating the way through this

first phase of Brexit talks has been

difficult. And Ireland's border

roads have at times looked like the

issue where people could get stuck.

Today, a way forward has been found.

And the changes in the document

recognise the DUP's concerns, about

what Dublin wanted, that Northern

Ireland would be tied to the EU's

trading rules, eve finance the rest

of the UK was not. But it is worth

noting that the unionists are

warning of a little caution.

There are still matters there that

we would have liked to have seen

clarified. We ran out of time,

essentially, we think we needed to

go back and talk about the matters

but the Prime Minister decided to go

to Brussels in relation to this text

and she says she has done that in

the national interest.

The DUP were worried that if

Northern Ireland and Great Britain

ended up having different rules and

regulations... It could lead to

barriers to trade within the UK.

Today's agreement rules that out.

And it says that businesses here

will have unfetered access to the

United Kingdom's own internal

markets, effectively dismissing the

idea of a border in the Irish Sea.

And the Irish Government says it is

satisfied that there will be no

customs posts at the land border.

There is no question of us

exploiting Brexit as a means to

moving towards a united Ireland

without consent. We don't want to

see a border in the Irish Sea,

anymore than a border between Neury

and Dundalk, and others. We want to

build bridges, not borders.

The words of the deal are being

studied closely. They are open to

interpretation. There was enough in

them to satisfy both the DUP and the

Irish Government but there is still

the potential for disagreements

about what the text actually means

and certainly this document does not

solve all of the problems posed by

this island's border. Removing the

final blockage to trade talks is a

significant moment. But the Irish

border always has the potential to

cause division.

Chris Buckler, BBC News, Belfast.

Theresa May says that the deal

struck with the EU

means Brexit talks can

now move onto the crucial

subject of trade.

Our business editor

Simon Jack is with me.

Jack, what are they saying this

morning?

They welcome this. But more

in a sense of relief. Rather than

punching the air with euphoria. They

welcome the fact that there is

relief, a better message to EU

workers to say something to them.

That they can turn a corner and

start talking about the things that

matter to them. Like future trade

and a transition period to get to

that. But they deal in much, with a

much finer brush than the diplomats

to do. So you have vague

constructions that everyone agrees

on. What business need is detail.

For many of them it is too late.

They have triggered contingency

plans, lots have not but as I say,

the idea that they will take the

contingency plans and put them in

the bottom drawer is a long way off.

They think, yes, they welcome it but

there is so much hard work to do and

the idea that they will relax now

and everything is OK, is a long way

from the truth.

Thank you very much.

Simon Jack, our Business Editor.

Thank you.

Let's return to the political

importance of this deal now,

and our chief political

correspondent Vicki

Young at Westminster.

Simon talking about the relief in

the business community, is relief

one of the emotions at Westminster?

I think it is amongst Theresa May

and her team. If you think back a

few days to Monday, the humiliation

at the hands of the Democratic

Unionist Party having to come back

to London without a deal. How

different it is now. From the point

of view of Theresa May's personal

position, it was looking incredibly

precarious, now, though, even though

the DUP are not entirely happy, she

has looked them in the eye and said

that we have to move on, a certain

authority over them for now. Now the

sceptics, they were talking about

mot handing a penny over to the

European Union, it looks like there

will be a bill of maybe £35 billion.

That is very different to the sums

banning around of £175 billion

Euros, so the UK Government see that

as a win. And areas of contention,

the European courts of justice. But

we have heard people saying we can

live with this. And on the remain

side of the argument if in her party

and across Parliament, they are

happy that it looks like no deal is

not on the table for the moment. But

it is important to keep this in

perspective. This is just the first

stage. When we talk about the end

state, what this Government wants

for our future relationship with the

European Union, that has not yet

been resolved. It will not be

resolved for some time. The

questions still must be answered. We

have gotten through the qualifying

stages, if you like. The main

challenges of the tournament are

definitely still to come.

Thank you.

There's more up to the minute

coverage and analysis

of the Brexit negotiations

on our website: bbc.co.uk/news.

Our top story this lunchtime:

Britain and the EU reach a last

minute deal to move Brexit talks

on to the next phase.

Theresa May flew to Brussels

early this morning to

finalise the agreement.

And coming up:

A blanket of Arctic weather

and an early white Christmas

for much of the north

of the United Kingdom.

Coming up in sport:

Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan

thinks he's lucky to be in the last

eight of the UK

Snooker Championship.

He's back at the table,

taking on Martin Gould

in the quarter-finals in York.

Ferocious wildfires

in southern California

are stretching emergency services

to the limit.

Thousands of firefighters have been

working round the clock,

as towns to the north of Los Angeles

are in danger of becoming engulfed.

So far about 200,000

people have been forced

to flee their homes.

Overnight, new wildfires broke out

in San Diego County.

Our correspondent James Cook

reports from California.

For California, an epic

battle continues.

They've been fighting this blaze

in the mountains north

of Los Angeles all week,

and still it devours forest

and brush, and has destroyed

more than 430 buildings.

Yet again tonight, this blaze

is burning with an intense ferocity,

and that means a battle,

because there is property down here,

very close to the fire,

and these firefighters have been

working very, very hard

for the past few days.

They are exhausted,

but they are back here again now

to try and stop this fire

from burning these properties.

The fire is now churning

towards the Pacific Ocean,

where communities as far north

as Santa Barbara are

preparing for evacuations.

To the south, a new blaze exploded

fast in San Diego County,

blowing up gas tanks under homes

and forcing pupils to flee

from their schools.

For those who have not been

currently impacted by the fire,

they need to prepare

as if they are going to be

impacted by the fire.

Where are they going to go?

What are their escape routes?

What is their communication

with their family?

What are they going

to do with their pets?

Do they have their

vehicles loaded to go?

Often, we don't ask people to think

about these things continuously,

but tonight is one of those nights,

today is one of these fires that

people need to be ready.

In the exclusive Los Angeles

suburb of Bel-Air,

the situation has improved.

A handful of homes were destroyed,

but many more were saved.

The musician Lionel Ritchie

and the socialite Paris Hilton

were among those forced

to flee their mansions.

Every firefighting aircraft

in the United States has been

summoned to California,

and they are making

a big difference.

With resources stretched

to the limit, firefighters

from neighbouring states have

arrived in California to help.

They'll be needed.

The extreme weather is forecast

to continue into the weekend.

James Cook, BBC News, California.

There were clashes this morning

between Palestinian protestors

and Israeli security forces,

following Friday prayers.

Security had been stepped up

after the militant group Hamas

called for a day of rage,

in response to President Trump's

decision to recognise Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel.

Our correspondent

Jon Donnison reports.

It's been billed by

Palestinians as a day of rage.

In the West Bank city of Bethlehem,

clashes have already erupted.

Israeli soldiers firing tear gas

at Palestinian youths hurling rocks.

So far, the violence has been

on a relatively small-scale.

The question is whether

it will escalate.

Around Jerusalem's old city,

Israeli security has been ramped up.

Palestinians gathered

for Friday prayers,

but there are fears once

they are over there

could be more clashes.

Extra units, border police,

special patrol units and undercover

units will respond on the outskirts

of the old city to any major

incidents or illegal protests.

How heavily Israel responds

could determine whether these

protests gather momentum.

But, for Palestinians,

in declaring Jerusalem

as Israel's capital,

Donald Trump has crossed a red line.

TRANSLATION:

When the American

president makes this kind

of decision, he reveals all other

leaders and regimes

who are cooperating with him.

He is also pushing

the region towards violence.

TRANSLATION:

Jerusalem

belongs to all Muslims.

Jerusalem is in our hearts

and in the hearts of all Muslims

all over the world.

It does not belong to Trump,

and not to the Jews.

But that wasn't the message

the President was giving

at the White House last night.

Well, I know for a fact

there are a lot of happy

people in this room.

CHEERING.

As he celebrated the Jewish holiday

of Hannukah a week early,

this year he knows that,

with his intervention on Jerusalem,

he has come bearing gifts.

We wish you a very happy Hannukah.

And I think this one will go down

as especially special.

But if violence in and around

Jerusalem escalates further,

a decision the President's

supporters regard as bold will be

seen by many as reckless.

John Donnison, BBC News.

Our Middle East correspondent Tom

Bateman is in Jerusalem this

lunchtime. What is the situation and

the atmosphere there now?

The old

city of Jerusalem is often a flash

point when it comes to these

controversies, to these very

contested issues. We watched as noon

prayers took place, and many people

walked out from one of the holy

sites fear through the gates, where

there are often protests, and they

simply walked away. One of the other

gates, there were hundreds of people

chanting and flags were held and

there was minor confrontation with

police, but things were on a much

smaller scale in Jerusalem than we

have seen in previous crises. In the

occupied West Bank, in the cities of

Bethlehem and Ramada and Hebron,

there were clashes, as there were in

Gaza, and the Palestinian red

crescent is reporting that almost

100 people have been injured, but

most of the injuries are set to be

not serious. All of this as a

potential diplomatic crisis

continues between the Palestinian

leadership and the United States,

with only ten days now until the

vice president of the US, Mike

Pence, is due to visit the region.

A review has found that a teenager

who had a history of anorexia

and died weeks after leaving

for university was failed

by every NHS organisation that

should have cared for her.

The Parliamentary and Health Service

Ombudsman says the death of

18-year-old Averil Hart could,

and should, have been prevented.

This report by our health

correspondent, Catherine Burns.

Averil Hart was 19. Her family say

she was beautiful, witty and

intelligent. But she also had

anorexia, and she spent 11 months in

hospital in Cambridge before being

discharged to start university in

Norwich. She didn't survive her

first term.

It is inconceivable that

somebody who is healthy can go to a

freshers do and enjoy all the things

in week one and be dead ten weeks

later, literally starving to

at

university, Averil was seen by four

different NHS organisations and all

of them failed her in some way. She

was put under the care of a newly

qualified psychologist who had no

experience with anorexia. Her GP

didn't monitor her properly. Even

when she was critically ill, two

acute trusts didn't give her the

care she needed. Next week will be

the fifth anniversary of her death.

Her dad hasn't stopped pushing for

answers, and now the ombudsman

report highlights a long series of

missed opportunities to save her

life. It says her death was

avoidable and her story isn't

unique.

The key is recognising that

something has gone wrong, being open

and honest about it, investigating

and learning so we don't keep

recycling the same mistakes. I'm

afraid we are still at an early

stage of doing that in the NHS.

Innit the report says there needs to

be urgent national attention on

treatment for eating disorders.

It

has made a list of recommendations,

including training for junior

doctors, improved communication

between organisations and more

honest investigations.

Until I can

physically see those changes and I

can ensure they are happening, I'm

sorry, but I don't have faith in the

service changing itself.

The

Department of Health says that cases

like Averil's have changed the way

that the NHS treat eating disorders

and it is investing £150 million so

nobody has to go through the same

ordeal. Nick Park says he isn't

angry but he can't feel optimistic

either. Five years on, you can start

grieving for his daughter. -- Nick

Hart.

Sports Direct and Primark are among

the latest companies to be named

and shamed by the Government for not

paying the minimum wage.

260 companies have been ordered

to reimburse 16,000 workers,

who are owed £1.7

million in back-pay.

With the details, here's

our Personal Finance

Correspondent, Simon Gompertz.

Two of the country's best-known

retailers named and shamed for

flouting rules on paying the minimum

wage. In Primark's case, it was over

not paying enough to staff so they

could buy the clothes they were

supposed to wear and still be

getting the minimum. They'll have to

pay more than 9700 of them £232,000,

working out at £24 each.

Is good

news for those employees who will

get some back pay. It might not

sound like a lot, but for people on

the bread line that is the

difference between being able to pay

for your heating and having to go to

a food bank, having to take another

job just so you can make ends meet.

Primark was telling its staff to

wear black and the tax authority

HMRC, which polices the minimum

wage, says that that amounted to a

uniform and once you took the cost

of the clothes off their pay, they

were getting less than the memo and

wage. Primark has said sorry, it's

changed its policy and isn't so

strict about what they wear, and

it's giving staff T-shirts to wear.

The national minimum wage is now

£7.05, if you are between 21 and 24,

but less if you are younger. Since

last year, there has been the

national living wage of £7 50 per

hour for the over 25s. Sports Direct

and its chief executive Mike Ashley

were widely criticised for paying

less than the minimum over 2015 and

2016. Workers at its shy Brooke

warehouse near Mansfield had to

queue up for security checks on the

way out and the time taken wasn't

included in their hours. 4000 either

directly in Clwyd they're all

working at the warehouse for

agencies had to be reimbursed nearly

£1 million. -- either directly

employed. Sports Direct has repeated

it is sorry and it now pays above

the minimum.

Declined our customers

and people can make decisions about

whether they want to use or trade

with these companies, buy from these

organisations or not.

Several

football clubs are also named as

having underpaid some staff,

including Motherwell, Wolves and

Bristol Rovers.

Let's return now to that

breakthrough in the

Brexit negotiations.

Chris Morris from the BBC's

Reality Check team has been

scrutinising key parts

of the small-print that

all sides now agree on,

and hopefully, Chris,

you can answer - what happens next?

The agreement that has been reached

today is certainly a big moment

in the Brexit negotiations -

a breakthrough which allows

the process to move forward,

as long as the other 27 member

states also approve it

at next week's summit.

But it is worth emphasising

that this is only an agreement that

sufficient progress has been made

on issues relating to withdrawal -

citizens' rights, the future

of the Irish border

and a financial settlement.

It locks in the progress made so far

but at the same time it emphasises

that "nothing is agreed

until everything is agreed".

What are the more controversial

elements within it?

On the Irish border,

the hope is expressed that a future

free trade deal will make

many of the current

concerns melt away.

If that doesn't happen,

the agreement says the UK

will maintain "full alignment"

with EU single market and customs

rules which govern trade

across the Irish border.

How exactly that would be done isn't

clear, and it is likely

to prove controversial.

One thing that isn't on offer

is partial membership of the single

market and the customs union.

The deal protecting the rights of EU

citizens in the UK and UK citizens

elsewhere in Europe will apply

to anyone who takes up

residency before the day

the UK leaves the EU -

in other words, people

arriving over the next year

and more will still qualify.

There will also be a role

for the European Court of Justice

for at least eight years

after Brexit, a compromise that

will upset some Brexiteers.

And on the financial settlement,

the method of working out

the bill has been agreed -

it will be paid in euros,

but some of the detail,

including the schedule for payments,

still has to be negotiated.

Estimates of the total still range,

depending on who you talk to,

from 40 to 55 billion euros.

But this is only phase one.

Talks about the nature of a future

relationship between the UK

and the EU haven't yet started,

and the next priority will be

to agree upon the terms

of a transition period after Brexit

that buys everyone

a little more time.

The EU insists that the transition

itself take place under all existing

EU rules and regulations,

which won't please

everyone at Westminster.

Thank you, Chris Morris.

Wintry weather and snow has brought

disruption across many

parts of the country.

The Met Office has put

yellow "be aware" warnings

in place for snow and ice.

Schools have also been closed

in Northern Ireland and Scotland,

where homes remain without power.

The Met Office has put

yellow "be aware" warnings

in place for snow and ice.

This is the scene in Flint

in north-east Wales,

where schools have been closed.

Schools have also been closed

in Northern Ireland and Scotland,

where homes remain without power.

The snowy weather comes

after Storm Caroline brought winds

gusting more than 90 miles

per hour on Thursday.

But, of course, for some, it's been

an opportunity for wintry frolics,

with people making the most

of the early white Christmas.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Louise Lear.

More snow to come on Sunday. Before

that, we have had a real east-west

divide and some beautiful pictures

of heavy snow showers across the

north and west, and they have been

piling in through the night and all

morning and they will continue all

afternoon. Scotland, Northern

Ireland, down through the Irish Sea

to the north Midlands and Wales.

We've already seen as much as 11

centimetres of snow across parts of

Northern Ireland, and we will add to

these totals through the day but,

further east, you will be wondering

what the fuss is about. It's cold

but there is a beautiful blue sky

and sunshine. That's how it will

stay this afternoon. What you've got

at the moment is what you keep. The

dryer, sunny weather to the east and

the snow showers in the west with

blustery north-west winds, and

feeling quite cold across the

country, weather you've got snow or

sunshine. Through the evening, we'll

continue to see some snow showers

through the Midlands and Wales and

the north-west of England so the

rush hour could be tricky on the

roads for your journey home. Similar

in Northern Ireland and on top of

that lying snow we don't need any

more snow showers, and there will be

further snow showers across northern

and western Scotland, blustery

conditions with the strongest winds.

The wind will start to fall light

through the night, and the snow

showers start to ease back towards

west facing coasts. Some rain

showers as well and it's going to be

cold and frosty. First thing in the

morning, there could be some ice

where we've got showers. A cold and

frosty start but lovely spells of

sunshine to look out for. Lighter

winds, but it's not going to be of

any warmer. A disappointing feel out

there. To the north, we're going to

see zero to 2 degrees. Further

south, four or five. We are stuck

under an Arctic blow at the moment,

but if we look out towards the

south-west into the Atlantic,

something milder and moist are

trying to come in, and this weather

front is the dividing line between

that mild air and the cold air. As

it pushes its way into that cold

air, we could see the potential for

some significant,