09/01/2018 BBC News at One

Theresa May's ministerial reshuffle

continues, as she tries

to recharge her government.

The new Cabinet, said

Downing Street, was the right team

to tackle the challenges

the country faces.

Labour called the

changes lacklustre.

The journalist, Toby Young,

resigns as a member

of the new universities watchdog,

over controversial

comments on social media.

We'll have the latest

on all the comings and

goings at Westminster.

Also this lunchtime...

North Korea agrees to take

part in next month's

Winter Olympics in South Korea,

in the first talks between the two

sides for over two years.

Patients waiting more

than four hours in Scotland's

accident-and-emergency departments

reach record levels.

When will the lesson be learnt?

And Gary Oldman is among

the nominations for this year's

Bafta Awards for his portrayal

of Winston Churchill.

And coming up in the

sport on BBC News...

Great Britain are aiming

for their most successful

Winter Olympics in history after UK

Sport set a target of at least five

medals from next month's

Games in Pyeongchang.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

Theresa May has held her first

meeting with her new Cabinet,

as she finalises her ministerial

reshuffle.

This morning, the International

Trade Minister, Mark Garnier,

who was cleared of misconduct claims

last year, announced

he had lost his job.

Separately, the journalist,

Toby Young, resigned as a member

of the new universities watchdog,

the Office for Students,

after criticism of derogatory

comments he'd made in the past

about about women, gay people

and disabled people.

Our political correspondent,

Alex Forsyth, reports.

The new-look top team,

gathered at the Cabinet table

for the first time today.

Theresa May's reshuffle

was meant to be something

of a reset for the Government,

but it was far from

a dramatic transformation.

Plenty of old faces showed up

in Downing Street this morning,

including the Health Secretary

who kept his job after persuading

the Prime Minister not to move him.

Are you more powerful

than the Prime Minister, Mr Hunt?

There were a few new faces too.

There will be two more

women around the table,

but not in senior roles.

And one will be notably missing.

Justine Greening quit

as Education Secretary.

I did what I thought

the right thing to do was.

She refused a move to another

department and left

the Government instead.

Even so, claims the reshuffle had

gone wrong were rejected.

I think it is very clear

the Prime Minister is

refreshing the Cabinet.

Every reshuffle means

there is always going to be change,

movements around the Cabinet,

sometimes people

leaving the Cabinet.

It's always sad to see

colleagues go, but as I say,

the nice problem we have

in the Conservative Party is having

such a wide pool of talent.

This morning, the moves continued

among middle-ranking ministers,

designed to prove the Tory Party's

diversity, to embrace

a new generation of MPs

and better reflect society.

It was hoped this reshuffle

would rejuvenate the Tory Party,

renew its appeal to voters and allow

Theresa May to assert her

authority after the troubles

of the past 12 months.

But with some ministers refusing

to move where she wanted

and some critics claiming

the shake-up wasn't radical enough,

it didn't quite go to plan.

And that wasn't the only reason this

political New Year got off

to a bit of a bumpy start.

This morning, Toby Young

resigned from the board

of a new university regulator.

Well-known in the field

of education, with some

high-profile supporters,

he had only just been appointed

but faced a backlash for offensive

comments he had made in the past.

Another unwelcome distraction

for a government wanting to show

it can run smoothly.

These things do not help,

but if you imagine government

is a bit like a ship going from one

destination, always buffeted

by storms from day-to-day and this

is one of those storms.

But I think he has done the right

thing in stepping down.

It had to happen because he had just

crossed too many boundaries.

Here it was hoped the Prime

Minister's new team would help cut

-- get the New Year off

to a fresh start but it

seems like she can't get

shake off scrutiny of her

judgment and authority.

Alex Forsyth, BBC News, Westminster.

Our assistant political editor,

Norman Smith, is in Downing Street.

Is today's reshuffle

going any better for

the Prime Minister than yesterday's?

I think what we are seeing is a sort

of trail of two reshuffles.

Yesterday was Much Ado About

Nothing. Today we are seeing a much

more extensive shake-up of the

middle ranks of government as

Theresa May tries to present a more

dynamic, diverse, younger, fresher

image of the Tory party. We have

seen a cull of older ministers, they

have been got rid of. Younger male

ministers have been reshuffled

around, must do better, but we have

also seen a steady stream of young

female ministers and MPs going into

Downing Street, a whole load of them

inside at the moment, and I would

expect them to be promoted. The

problem for Mrs May is, will anyone

notice? The answer is, probably not.

All anyone takes from a reshuffle,

is anything, is what happens to the

big beasts. Yesterday no movement of

the main players. It is a bit like

when your club's second, third 11

get a notable victory on a Wednesday

evening, but what you really want to

know is what is happening with the

first-team and yesterday's shake-up

of the first team proved to be a bit

of a nonevent.

Norman, thank you.

North Korea has offered to send

a team to the Winter Olympics

in South Korea, after the two

countries held their first talks

for more than two years.

South Korea has also proposed more

contact between the two countries,

including talks over the North's

nuclear programme, in what appears

to be a significant move to lower

tension in the region.

Richard Galpin reports.

In the demilitarised zone between

North and South Korea, that

atmosphere traditionally suspicious

and hostile. But today something

very different is afoot. A senior

delegation of North Korean officials

heading to the South Korean side for

their first formal talks in two

years. The apparently warm greetings

here are radical departures from the

recent talk of war breaking out

because of the North's rapid

development of nuclear weapons. The

leader of the North Korean

delegation said he had come in the

hope that talks would be held in a

sincere and faithful atmosphere. The

Korean people, he said, had high

expectations. It is the Winter

Olympics opening next month here in

South Korea which have provided the

opportunity to reduce tensions in

the region. And today North Korea

has confirmed the talks that it will

send a team to the Games. There is

also a suggestion its athletes could

enter the opening ceremony together

with their South Korean

counterparts. In a further step to

improve relations on the divided

peninsula, the South Korean Foreign

Ministry has said sanctions on North

Korea could be lifted temporarily to

ensure the North Korean team can

come to the Winter Olympics. Until

now, South Korea and the US have

been piling the pressure on

Pyongyang with intense joint

military exercises like this, a

clear threat to the North Korean

regime. And that may be why now the

North is keen to talk. Although

these meetings could easily go

wrong, so far, that atmosphere seems

quite positive, with some believing

they could ultimately lead to

negotiations between North Korea and

the US. Richard Galpin, BBC News.

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes is in

the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Could it really lead to talks about

North Korea's nuclear programme?

It is possible. That has happened in

the past. There have been on

numerous occasions over the last 20

years when those sorts of talks have

begun and it has fallen apart. There

is optimism and hope here today in

large part because it has been such

a frightening previous year here

where it has, as Richard said, it

has at times felt like we have been

teetering very close to the edge of

the war. There is relief they are

talking and relief at the very

optimistic and friendly attitude, a

real turnaround, the atmosphere at

the talks was extremely friendly.

However, whether we can get from

here to talking about the

denuclearisation of the Korean

peninsular is a completely different

question and a very long road and I

have to say there are people in the

South Korean capital I have talked

to who said ultimately North Korean

nuclear weapons can be up on the

table, at the negotiation, North

Korea does want peace with the South

and the US, but there is a great

deal of scepticism here as well.

There is a feeling Kim Jong-un has

looked into the abyss of conflict

with the US and stepped back and is

looking for a way to de-escalate, a

ladder to climb down, using the

Winter Olympics as a cover to do

that.

Rupert, thank you.

The prosecution is opening its case

against the former football

coach, Barry Bennell,

who, it claims, carried out

systematic and persistent

sexual abuse against boys.

The former Crewe Alexandra coach,

now known as Richard Jones,

is charged with 55 offences

which are alleged to have happened

between 1979 and 1991.

Our sports editor, Dan Roan,

is at Liverpool Crown Court.

What happened in court?

This is

effectively the opening day of the

trial and in his opening remarks,

the prosecution barrister, Nick

Johnson QC, told the jury Mr Richard

Jones, previously known as Barry

Purnell, appearing at Liverpool

Crown Court by video link because of

ill-health, pleaded guilty to seven

charges, contesting 48 others, he

had engaged in what he called the

course of conduct over many years

involving the systematic and

persistent sexual abuse of boys. He

tended to repeat the way he behaved.

Unfettered access pretty much as a

football coach previously to large

numbers of young lads, he said, who

dreamt of a life in professional

football. He said he was a skilled

and professional coach but had a

much darker side, a predatory and

determined paedophile, his

particular predeliction being boys.

He went on, it among other

locations, it had occurred at the

grounds of Crewe Alexandra football

club where he had worked as a coach.

The jury was told they would need to

decide as Jones had has it you were

listening to a group of men making

up stories, or as the prosecution

insists details of serious sexual

offending against vulnerable boys.

The trial is expected to last for

the next eight weeks.

Thank you.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested

on suspicion of murder,

and two others are being sought

by police, after a shop worker

was attacked in an argument

about cigarette papers.

The three teenage boys were refused

cigarette papers when they couldn't

prove their age at a shop

in Mill Hill, in North London.

One of the boys hit 49-year-old shop

worker Vijay Patel and he later

died from his injuries.

Eight people have been arrested

during a series of raids

investigating human trafficking

and sexual abuse.

Around 150 officers took

part in joint operations

in Stockton-on Tees

and in Sheffield this morning.

Immigration teams

were also involved.

It was after a young woman told

police she had been trafficked

around the country and subjected

to serious sexual offences.

Proposals to ban parents and carers

in Wales from smacking

their children have been published.

Ministers say smacking is no longer

acceptable and want to follow

Scotland in outlawing the physical

punishment of children.

But campaigners against

a change fear it could

criminalise ordinary parents.

Sian Lloyd has the details.

It's the turn of the people of Wales

to say where they stand on smacking.

The Government here

wants to see it banned.

Its plans would see the defence

of reasonable punishment

removed from the offences

of assault and battery.

Similar proposals have already been

announced in Scotland.

The Welsh Government says it wants

to bring in the move as part

of a wider package of measures

to support young people.

Many more parents now will say

the approach to positive parenting,

not using physical punishment,

is what they do as

a matter of course.

But I think that will make

that the norm across society to show

that physical punishment of children

is not only not necessary

but shouldn't be allowed.

There will now be a 12-week

consultation, allowing the Welsh

public to contribute to the debate.

No, I don't think it's

appropriate to smack children,

because I don't think

it is productive, really.

I don't think that stops them

from behaving a certain way.

A little tap like that

on the hand I don't think

is terrible, but, no, not,

you know, a big whack.

If you are teaching them not to be

violent or hit people,

you shouldn't hit them.

It's hypocritical.

The Welsh Government's plans

are already being supported

by the Children's Commissioner

for Wales and some children's

charities, including the NSPCC.

But others are critical,

claiming most parents know

where to draw the line

between chastisement and abuse,

and that their judgment

should be trusted.

Sian Lloyd, BBC News, Cardiff Bay.

The number of people waiting more

than four hours in Scotland's

accident and emergency departments

reached record levels

in the last week of 2017.

The latest weekly figures show that

just 78% of patients across Scotland

were seen within the target time -

well below the Government's 95%

target and the lowest since figures

began nearly three years ago.

Our Scotland correspondent,

Lorna Gordon, is in Glasgow.

How unexpected are these figures?

We knew the number of people

suffering from flu has doubled

compared to the same period last

year, but what the figures released

this morning show is there is a real

increase in waiting times for some

of those people who have been

attending A&E with just over a fifth

of those attending A&E in Scotland

not admitted discharged or

transferred within four hours, which

is the Government target. Now,

health board here in Scotland have

been taking measures to try and cope

with the challenge, we are seeing

some GPs opening on Saturdays in

some area, others are increasing

shifts, other airsia cancelled

non-urgent surgery. The Health

Secretary here has apologised, so

too as the First Minister, she says

NHS Scotland is facing exceptional

pressures but insisted that the

Health Service is coping, opposition

parties here are being very critical

of these figure, and the

Conservatives say they are nothing

short of a disgrace.

Thank you Lorna.

Our top story this lunchtime.

Theresa May's ministerial

reshuffle continues,

as she refreshes her government.

Downing Street says the right team

is in place to tackle

the country's challenges.

And coming up - going for gold.

Great Britain's athletes aim

for a record medal haul

at the Winter Olympics.

Coming up in sport...

Trevor Bayliss will step down

as England cricket coach

when his contract expires at the end

of the 2019 Ashes.

A taste of the future will be

on major display from today,

with the biggest event in the tech

calendar starting in Las Vegas.

The Consumer Electronics

Show is a collection

of the latest developments -

including smartphones, driverless

cars and artificial intelligence.

This year, the event is expected

to draw more than 170,000 people.

Our technology correspondent,

Rory Cellan-Jones,

reports from Las Vegas.

In a robotics lab at

the University of Las Vegas,

I have come to meet Sofia,

who looks pretty human

and is just learning to walk.

Hey Sofia, can we shake hands?

Oh, really good to meet you.

You're quite warm actually.

How sophisticated do

you think you are as a robot?

I want people to perceive

me at the robot I am.

However, I wouldn't want to trick

people into thinking I'm human.

I just want to communicate

with humans in the best possible

ways, which includes

looking like one.

Sofia, who has had advanced

notice of my questions,

has few practical uses right now,

but her creators, an American firm

employing Chinese scientists,

believe she represents a big step

on the road to artificial

intelligence.

Our aspiration is to bring

the machines to life,

to create living intelligent

systems, and there you'll see

the greatest revolution

in artificial intelligence.

We are aspiring towards this.

Do we know for sure

that it can be done?

We think it can.

And among the thousands

of new gadgets on show

in Las Vegas this week,

artificial intelligence

is a constant theme.

There is a seeing suitcase that can

follow its owner around the airport.

This friendly robot wanders

round your home, filming short

bursts of video to send

to your phone.

And Vincent, developed in Cambridge,

is a drawing programme that learns

to turn simple sketches

into works of art.

We all own a million things

already, a lot of different

electronic products.

AI represents a whole new wave

of ways to make those products

a lot more interesting.

What that means for the consumer

electronics industry is a whole

new wave of products that they can

sell to us.

They're a lot more useful

and helpful, or so the belief goes.

And here is the most

obvious example of AI -

the race to transform cities

with driverless cars.

This autonomous cab from Uber's

rival Lift still has someone who can

take over the wheel,

but within a couple of years this

company believes we will hop

into a cab which will take us

across town all on its own.

Rory Cellan-Jones,

BBC News, Las Vegas.

The first same-sex weddings have

taken place in Australia,

after the law was changed

of last year.

after the law was changed last year.

A waiting period has meant it was 30

days before the first

legally-sanctioned gay

marriages could happen.

Hywel Griffiths reports from Sydney.

In a race to be the first to say

"I do", Craig and Luke

exchanged their vows

just after midnight.

Both are athletes hoping to compete

in this year's Commonwealth Games,

but they already feel the Australian

public is right behind them.

My Instagram direct messages have

blown up, with people who,

like, I've never met,

I don't know, who are just sending

love and congratulations,

so it's really touching.

It's really heartfelt.

It's another way to show your love

and your appreciation

and to acknowledge your partner

in front of the people that

have been in your life.

Last year's landmark public vote

in support of legalising same-sex

marriage followed years

of divisive debate.

When the new law was approved

in December, it triggered a 30

day wait for couples

to give official notice.

...to be my lawfully wedded wife.

A few were given special waivers

to marry before today.

But for most couples,

like Kylie and Lisa,

this was the first opportunity

to become legally wed.

They wanted to do it

for their daughter Isla.

I think it sends a really

important message to her.

We want her to grow up knowing

we have people with open hearts

and open minds in this country.

We want her to know that her peers

at school, their parents might now

accept us as the family unit we are.

Not everyone accepts

the new definition of marriage.

More than a third of voters

oppose the change in law,

and some faith groups claim it

will lead to changes in how

gender and sex education

are taught in schools.

A

But for the couples who have waited

years to be considered equal

day finally arriving.

Hwyel Griffiths, BBC News, Sydney.

From today, UK manufacturers

are banned from adding

microbeads to toiletries,

such as body scrubs and toothpastes.

The move is aimed at protecting

the sea from pollution,

as the microbeads can be swallowed

by fish and other marine life.

A ban on selling products containing

the tiny pieces of plastic comes

into force later this year.

As Karen Bradley takes over

as Northern Ireland Secretary,

she faces an immediate challenge

to try to reinstate

the devolved government.

It's a year since Sinn Fein's

Martin McGuinness resigned

as Deputy First Minister,

bringing down the power sharing

executive at Stormont.

The Sinn Fein politician

died two months later,

and there's been no progress

in attempts to restore

power sharing.

Here's our Northern Ireland

political editor Mark Devenport.

this report contains flashing

images.

this report contains

flashing images.

Hospitals across the UK

are struggling to cope

with the pressures of winter,

but patients in Northern Ireland

face some of the longest waits

for emergency treatment.

Meanwhile, without government

ministers, a blueprint

for reorganising the local

Health Service can't

be put into practise.

There's no doubt that the NHS

across the UK is challenged,

but I think what makes

Northern Ireland different

and what nurses say is different

is that they feel they have been let

down by the leadership

in the system, and secondly

by the fact there is no political

leadership in the country.

The stalemate at Stormont

goes back a year, to

when Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness

quit as Deputy First Minister.

That triggered the collapse

of the power-sharing

Government at Stormont.

Relations between Sinn Fein

and their Democratic Unionist

coalition partners soured over

the DUP's handling of

a scandal concerning

a renewable heating scheme.

But the row soon widened,

with unionists resisting Sinn Fein's

demand for better legal protection

for the Irish language.

This characterisation of we should

have given something to Sinn Fein,

to keep them appeased is not the way

I do business.

If you feed a crocodile

they will keep coming back

and looking for more.

After Martin McGuinness's death

in March, Arlene Foster shook

hands with his successor,

Michelle O'Neill, but the two

leaders haven't proved able

to overcome their difference.

The Democratic Unionists now hold

the balance of power on the green

benches at Westminster,

but back at Stormont the blue

benches of the Northern Ireland

Assembly remain empty,

with civil servants

running the administration

on a day-to-day basis.

There is a real imperative

to get back to business,

but we don't know what shape or form

that will take, as neither Sinn Fein

nor the DUP see any sign

of softening their positions,

and the Secretary of State has

made no further moves

towards impositioning direct rule.

During Stormont's year

in the doldrums, the politicians

who are meant to meet here have

continued to get paid.

Recently, an official report

recommended that those salaries

should be cut by a third.

However, what impact that might have

on this assembly that never sits

remains far from certain.

Mark Devenport, BBC News, Stormont.

England's head cricket coach

Trevor Bayliss says he plans to step

down after the 2019 Ashes Series.

The 55-year-old, who was appointed

in 2015, told the England

and Wales Cricket Board

about his decision a year ago.

He's just seen his side beaten 4-0

in the Ashes Series in Australia.

Great Britain is aiming for its most

successful Winter Olympics to date,

after UK Sport set a target

of at least five medals from

February's Games in South Korea.

The current record is a four-medal

haul, set by the team in 1924,

and at the 2014 Games in Sochi.

Our sports correspondent

Joe Wilson reports.

Korean cultural centre e Central

London, for everything the winter

games means to the host nation it

means more than ever to British

sport. An audience gathered to hear

the targets. Lizzy Arnold's goad we

one of four won in 2014, five at

least are expected this time. Can we

really be winning more medals, at

more sports with more investment?th

has to stop somewhere?

It a good

question. Every time it seems to be

this will be the best ever this

time. You think, is it possible to

keep going? The great thing with the

winter Olympics an Paralympics it is

a games that is developing in Great

Britain, we have had some really

impressive results over the past few

Olympic Games and Paralympic Games,

it is an area we can grow.

This

skater could win two medals on her

own as for the winner -- winter

Paralympics the medal target is at

least seven. There is more to be

played for. You make connections

where you see them what we do see is

the profound sense people get, that

it is high class sport but with a

hiring purpose, it tells you

something about your self and what

is possible. I hope will challenge

perceptions of disability in

society.

The UK's investment in Pyeongchang's

winner sport is 32 million of

lottery money. As ever that is only

fun if it pays off.

Joe Wilson, BBC News, Central

London.

The nominations for this year's

British Academy Film Awards

have been announced.

The fantasy romance "The Shape

of Water" leads the field,

with 12 nominations.

It's also been announced that

Joanna Lumley will host

the awards ceremony,

replacing Stephen Fry,

who's stepping down from the role.

Here's our entertainment

correspondent, Lizo Mzimba.

The Shape of Water, a tender science

fiction fantasy with Britain's Sally

Hawkins playing a mute cleaner who

falls in love with a water creature.

A Best Actress nomination for

Hawkin, one of 12 for the movie,

including best film.

You have wanted this your entire

adult life.

No.

Just behind two

films have nine nomination, wartime

drama Darkest Hour where Gary Oldman

and Kristin Scott Thomas are

recognised for Best Actor and Best

Supporting Actress.

Why did you put

up the billboards.

And dark drama

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,

Missouri, like The Shape of Water,

its strongly female led with Frances

mechanic door nand nominated for

Best Actress, this is a year where

unusually, two of the three most

nominated films feature strong women

at the centre, with the men only

supporting roles and this year

female led doesn't just apply to

many of the nominated movie, the

awards ceremony will be presented by

a woman, for the first time in over

15 years. Another significant piece

of film industry symbolism for

women.

We are levelling up very very

quickly to the same level. We have

still got to fight, stand up, but

brave, be bold, be resolute, and

say, we are going to make things

even. We will make them equal from

now on. That is good. That is

exciting.

The theme of to an extent

focussing on women is continued with

Bafta announcing that it will soon

be publishing a set of cross

industry workplace guidelines,

following the sexual harassment

revelations of the past few months.

Think we have a very powerful role

to play, we are a small

organisation, but with a powerful

global presence, so it is incredibly

important that we are not only part

of the change, but we are driving

those changes through too.

This is also the week when Oscar

voters are decided their nomination,

it is likely much attention will be

paid this year more than ever, as to

whether they will be championing

female led stories and female

storytellers.

Now, life on the road can be

challenging for a reporter...

I am at one of the -- ow!

I am at one of the -- ow!

Spare a thought for BBC

Look East's Alex Dunlop,

who found himself mobbed by lemurs

while on assignment.

He was at Banham Zoo

in Norfolk to cover the annual

stock take of animals.

Unsurprisingly,

the clip's gone viral.

Here is west.

Here is west. Weather-wise we have

seen a very big snow storm just hit

the Alps over the last couple of

days, now it has brought enormous

falls of snow, cutting off some ski

resorts entirely. 13 thousand people

are stranded? Zer mat at the moment.

Power supplies have been affect and

the avalanche risk is very high.

This is how much snow we have seen

over the last 48-hour, 160

centimetre, that is about there on

me. It would be my head poking out

from that snow fall! Here in the UK,

after a sunny day yesterday in the

northern half of the UK, the weather

has changed. The sheet of cloud is

pushed northward and for the vast

imagine I the the skies look

something like this. Grey. Misty and

foggy, we have drizzle round as

Will. There are a few hole, Cumbria

is sitting in a hole and western

Scotland. You will see a bit of

sunshine here. Little overall change

in the weather, little prospects for

most of us seeing much sunshine at

all. Cold in the North East, sill

that wind blowing. But, we are going

to see a change in the weather this

evening. This Atlantic weather front

is coming our way. It will push in

as we go through the first part of

the evening with the rain heavy,

before spreading on to Scotland. The

rain perhaps not so heavy in England

and Wales but it will be a damp kind

of night. Temperature-wise, we are

looking at lows between 3 and 6

Celsius. Tomorrow, this weather

front will continue to push

eastwards, however, one complication

is we are likely to see an area of

low pressure on the front, that will

put the brakes on the weather front.

It will move and stall somewhere

across the eastern side, so there

could be rain round, even into the

afternoon, further west, we will see

some sunshine and lit start to feel

milder in the south, with

temperatures for some into double

figure, looking on into Wednesday

night, things could turn murky as

rain clear, we will be left with

some clear skies. Mist and fog could

become an issue. There will be

pockets of frost round so it could

be slippy first thing. A quiet end

to the week, but Thursday, yes, some

patches could linger. Aside that we

could see sunshine. A cool day.

Temperatures between four and six

and Friday the end of the week,

again a lot of dry weather but a lot

of cloud as well, particularly in

England, further west the breeze

picks up, bringing in milder air, we

will see rain working in late on in

the day. That is the latest weather.

A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime.

Theresa May's ministerial

reshuffle continues,

as she refreshes her government.

Downing Street says the right team

is in place to tackle

the country's challenges.

That's all from the BBC News at,

so it's goodbye from me -

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.