19/03/2018 BBC News at One

A "decisive" step forward

on the road to Brexit as Britain

and Brussels reach a deal

on the transition period.

They agree on how much Britain owes

and the rights of EU citizens -

but how to avoid a hard border

in Ireland remains an issue.

TRANSLATION:

A decisive

step remains a step.

We are not at the end of the road

and there is a lot of work

still to be done on important

subjects including Ireland

and Northern Ireland.

We'll be looking at the agreement

in detail and asking how much

of a step forward it is.

Also this lunchtime...

International chemical weapons

experts arrive in UK to examine

the nerve agent used to poison

the former Russian

spy and his daughter.

A 26-year-old British

woman from Sussex has

been killed in Syria,

fighting alongside Kurdish forces.

Dozens of motorists stranded

overnight in Devon as the mini

Beast from the East

brings more disruption.

And teetering on the edge -

the homes in Norfolk evacuated over

the weekend amid high

winds and waves.

And coming up in the sport,

Rory McIlroy is favourite to win

golf's first major of the year,

The Masters, after his first

victory in 18 months,

at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

The Brexit Secretary,

David Davis, and the EU's chief

negotiator, Michel Barnier,

say it is a decisive step forward.

They announced this morning that

they've reached agreement on a large

part of the deal for Britain's

departure from the EU -

from the rights of EU citizens,

to the transition period and how

much the UK will pay.

But how to avoid a hard border

in Ireland is still an issue.

The announcement comes ahead

of an EU summit later this week

which the Prime Minister hopes

will pave the way

for talks on trade.

Our Europe Correspondent,

Damian Grammaticus, is in Brussels.

Today has been a busy day here in

Brussels, David Davis called it a

significant step, Mr Barnier called

it a decisive step. The outline

agreement for this transition period

that would come in in one year's

time when the UK leads the EU, the

link all the rules and trading

freely but there are crucial issues

remain an earlier today the Irish

Foreign Minister was here to make

sure the Irish border issue was not

overlooked.

First thing this morning and it was

the Irish Foreign Minister who was

in Brussels meeting Michel Barnier

before David Davis got there. His

aim was to see to it that Irish

concerns remained uppermost in the

Brexit negotiations. Simon Coveney

began the day tweeting that he was

on an early flight to ensure there

would be no backsliding on the Irish

border issue. After his meeting,

eight satisfied looking Mr Kirby

said that solidarity with the EU

partners remained strong. --

satisfied looking Simon Coveney. A

little later it was David Davis's

turn, hoping a transition deal could

be secured but to do so was urgent

with Brexit just a year away.

Are

you confident today?

you confident today?

We are

determined, Mr Barnier said. When

they re-emerged it was to say they

had agreed to a transition period

after Brexit where the UK will be

outside the EU but continued to

trade freely with it.

This not need

the late investment decisions based

on guesses about the future deal --

need not delay. Businesses have

certainty about the terms that will

a plight immediately after our

withdrawal which means they can

continue to operate with confidence

as the design of the future

partnership with the EU becomes

clear.

Mr Barnier displayed on the

screen is the full text of the

withdrawal treaty, yellow highlights

for the clauses that still needed

work. The EU is insisting on its

so-called backstop option where

Northern Ireland might stay fully

aligned with EU rules to avoid a new

border or so we agreed today that a

backstop solution must form part of

the legal text of the withdrawal

agreement.

The backstop will apply

unless and until another solution is

found.

The UK is still hoping a

border can be avoided if it does not

now present a better option than the

alignment of all parts of the island

of Ireland should be the solution.

There are still tricky issues to

address here, the UK gained some

things and it will be able to

negotiate and sign trade deals in

that condition is not implement them

and it has signed up to the shorter

transition the EU wanted and all

citizens rights should be guaranteed

through the transition period, for

EU citizens moving to the UK. All of

this will go to the EU leaders who

meet here at the end of the week for

them to give the green light for

talks to begin on the future

relationship.

Our Assistant Political Editor,

Norman Smith, is in Westminster.

A decisive step forward, how

significant is it?

I think any way

you slice it it is a significant

moment because we now have an end

date for the final departure from

all existing EU rules and

regulations, December 2020, and you

can probably hear the sighs of

relief echoing around large part of

Westminster and the business

community because it gives us a

buffer zone. For business, 21 months

in which to get used to life outside

a single bucket and for government

time to put in place new procedures

in terms of customs policy and trade

policy, immigration policy and to

try to solve some of the remaining

fundamental difficulties in

particularly the issue around the

Northern Ireland border. It is

another key plank in the road to

Brexit. We had the withdrawal

agreement in December and now

agreement on transition. The

difficulty is the price that has had

to be paid and for many Brexiteers,

they ponder whether it is too high.

They don't like the fact that during

this transition period we will still

be subject to the rulings of the

European court, we will have to

accept new EU rules, we will in

effect remain part of the single

market, freedom of movement will

largely continue as is. The question

is, do the Brexiteers go on the war

path and try to tear down this

agreement? The answer is no, I don't

think they will because however

uncomfortable they might be with

aspects of this deal, for then the

end goal of leaving the EU is so

important that they don't want to do

anything to jeopardise it by

potentially undermining this

transition deal.

Thank you.

And you can keep across the latest

developments following today's

agreement between Britain and the EU

on the BBC News website.

International chemical weapons

experts have arrived in Salisbury

to examine the nerve agent used

to poison the former Russian spy

Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The team, from the Organisation

for the Prohibition

of Chemical Weapons,

will also visit the military

research base at Porton

Down in Wiltshire.

It comes a day after

the Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, accused the Russian

government of stockpiling nerve

Our correspondent Duncan

Kennedy is in Salisbury.

I think the arrival of those weapons

inspectors at Porton Down, Distin

the road, will be crucial to

confirming that agent is Russian.

The Foreign Secretary, Boris

Johnson, said today in Brussels that

Russian accusations to the contrary

were, in his words come increasingly

absurd, but Moscow has repeated what

it believes to be the truth is the

exact opposite of what Britain is

saying, they are saying that

Britain's claims are groundless.

Porton Down is an isolated facility

on Salisbury Plain that has operated

since the First World War and it is

that expertise built up over a

century that is the foundation of

its world-class reputation for

testing chemical weapons. The team

from the Organisation for the

Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was

invited here by the government. They

are expected to spend up to a week

talking to scientists and others

involved in the investigation buzzed

up the process will be very

rigorous, they are the professional

body.

They are investigators from

the UN, very experienced operators

and they do this all over the place.

They have been to Syria many times

to investigate chemical weapons.

For

two weeks experts have been filmed

taking what looks like samples from

across Salisbury. It has not been

made public whether the nerve agent

in board was delivered at a powder,

liquid or other form. The team that

has arrived at Porton Down will be

crucial to confirming the nature of

the nerve agent. It inspectors will

discuss first how to transport

samples of the nerve agent from

Porton Down out of the country. The

samples will be sent for analysis to

one or more of around 20 approved

laboratories at their disposal. It

might take at least two weeks for

the results to come through.

Although that process will not be

quick, Britain is confident that the

inspectors will confirm the nerve

agent comes from Russia and today

the foreign ministers from the EU

gave what they called their

unqualified solidarity to Britain's

case. The Foreign Secretary, also in

Brussels, said Russian denials were

becoming increasingly absurd.

This

is a classic Russian strategy of

trying to conceal the needle of

truth in a haystack of lies and

obfuscation.

Moscow said again today

it had no involvement in the attack

on Sergei and Yulia Skripal on the

4th of March. Mr Skripal's BMW seems

to be a focus of the police

enquiries, with multiple requests to

the public asking them if they saw

it. It is one of nearly 800 pieces

of evidence gathered by officers in

what they have described as a

complex and challenging

investigation.

At the heart of the investigation is

the nerve agent but we will have to

be patient on this. As inspectors

have said time and again, it could

take two or more weeks before the

final independent results come

through. Duncan Kennedy, thank you.

Vladimir Putin is beginning another

six years in power after declaring

an overwhelming victory

in Russia's presidential election.

Mr Putin is said to have

received more than three

quarters of the votes.

The main opposition

leader, Alexei Navalny,

was barred from standing.

And there have been complaints

of an unfair election,

including counting irregularities

and forced voting,

as Richard Galpin reports.

Vladimir Putin emerging

triumphant, yet again,

in front of his supporters,

in Moscow last night.

This, following an election

from which any serious opposition

candidates had been excluded.

And today the Russian media,

most of which is controlled

by the Kremlin, also revelling

in his appointment as president

for another six years.

And yet, CCTV footage from polling

stations posted on social media

here tells a different story -

of blatant rigging.

These women stuffing ballot boxes.

There are reports of hundreds

of violations during the vote.

Officials, though, say

the violations this time were far

fewer than in the last election.

And Mr Putin is already

concentrating again on the big

issues of state, including

the crisis with Britain over

the poisoning of the Skripals.

He is adamant the Kremlin

was not behind the attack.

TRANSLATION:

It is rubbish, drivel,

nonsense, to think that Russia

would do something like that ahead

of a presidential election

and the World Cup.

And this respected academic told me

it would have made no sense

for the Russian state to have been

involved in the poisoning.

The last thing that Putin needs

right now is to have

another problem, not even

with the United Kingdom,

but with the West at large.

My assumption has always been that

after elections he would start

making cautious steps

in the direction of some kind

of limited reconciliation.

So if not the Kremlin itself,

some here believe it could be

connected to the murky world

of powerful factions swirling

around the president -

those determined to keep Russia

isolated from the West.

Richard Galpin, BBC News, Moscow.

A 26-year-old British woman has been

killed in northern Syria,

fighting alongside Kurdish forces.

It's understood that Anna Campbell,

who was from Lewes in East Sussex,

died in the town of Afrin,

which has been the target

of Turkish bombing.

Our Turkey Correspondent,

Mark Lowen, reports.

From the calm of East Sussex, Anna

Campbell felt a calling to fight in

Syria pulls up in guvnor 26-year-old

plumber and human rights campaigner,

she joined the Kurdish militia last

year, dyeing her blonde hair to

stand out less. She was killed

reportedly in an air strike by

Turkey in its offences against the

YPG Kurdish fighters. Her father

called her principled and brave.

She

was quite adamant about it. I said,

you could be killed. And she said, I

know, dad, there's nothing I can do

to reassure you about that but I

have to do this because it is the

most important thing for me.

Seven

other British nationals have died

fighting with the Kurds in Syria and

Iraq, Anna Campbell is the first

British woman killed. Turkey

declared victory over the weekend at

it seized the town of Afrin from the

YPG who it sees as terrorists are

links to Kurdish militants within

Turkey. The town bears the scars of

a two-month offensive, some 200,000

residents fleeing, the first now

returning, but as troops tore down a

Kurdish statue and looted shops,

there is a fear that justice is

becoming retribution. An outpouring

of nationalism in Turkey had

accompanied this funds, crushing

itch age-old Kurdish foes unite a

polarised country. This said

Turkey's victory Day, another says,

we wrote history in Afrin. Turkey

might move on to other areas also

held by the YPG, going against the

West which sees the Kurds as allies

in Syria. Anna Campbell died

fighting for those Western allies,

another life, another figure in the

half a million killed in Syria's

war.

Our top story this lunchtime.

The government says it's taken

a "decisive step" forward

in negotiations with the EU over

Britain's departure.

And still to come...

Paralympics GB are on their way home

after their most successful medal

haul at a Winter games since 1984.

Coming up in sport, former England

and Wigan winger Josh Charnley has

joined Warrington Wolves

with immediate effect.

He ends a 17-month stint

in rugby union with Sale.

It was dubbed the Mini

Beast from the East -

but it has still caused big problems

in parts of England and Wales.

Over 700 schools are closed again

today, after more than 20

centimetres of snow fell

in Wales and South West England.

About 80 motorists were forced

to stay overnight, at an emergency

centre set up in a college

near the A30 in Devon.

Among those stranded were a bride

and groom on their wedding night,

as Sean Dilley reports.

This rescue centre in Devon was not

were newlyweds Sarah and John

planned to spend their first night

as husband and wife. The couple were

among dozens of motorists offered

safe haven at Okehampton College.

We

were fortunate in that we could get

off the road at Okehampton, made the

decision there and then. Then we

came into town. There's nowhere to

stay. There a voluntary group run by

Devon City Council who came and

rescued us and brought us here to

Okehampton College.

The county

councils say they helped about 80

people seek refuge from the snow

after police closed a 64 mile

stretch of the a 30.

We certainly

had the majority of people

travelling on the a 30 caught out by

snowdrifts. People are on the minor

roads and got stuck and couldn't get

any further. They came to us for

someone and shelter for the night

before getting under way today.

More

than 20 centimetres of snow fall has

been recorded in central and

southern England, with hundreds of

schools across Devon, Cornwall on

Somerset shut. In Wales, more than

200 schools were either partially or

fully closed, and in Scotland

temperatures fell to minus five.

Police say anyone travelling should

be alert to local device.

-- advice.

The advice must be heeded. Keep a

close eye on social media, look at

the weather warnings and advice and

take heed of that advice. Don't

become complacent just because the

major route are looking OK. As soon

as you come of those main roads, a

lot of the minor routes are

treacherous.

The Met office has

issued a fresh weather warning for

England and Wales. They say ice is

likely to form, increasing the risk

of accidents. Sean Dilley, the BBC

News.

Sarah Ransome is in Okehampton.

Are things starting to improve? They

are. The situation is slowly

improving. The snowploughs have been

out overnight and they have been out

all morning to try and clear those

roads, particularly the A30 that was

shut for quite some period last

night. It only reopened about half

past eight, nine o'clock this

morning, when the emergency services

were clear that it was safe for

motorists to drive. I drove down

with myself and there were still

stranded car is slowly being

recovered by recovery vehicles and

taken away, so that the sides of the

road were clear and suitable for the

lanes to be opened up. As you can

tell, we had a lot of snow here

overnight. Freezing temperatures

caused some of those problems with

ice forming on the roads as well as

the amount of snow. That is

improving. Hundreds of schools are

still shut this lunchtime. It is not

clear yet when they will open. With

a yellow warning of ice overnight

tonight, Devon and Cornwall police

are advising drivers not to go out

after dark if they can possibly

avoid it. They don't want a repeat

of what happened last night.

Sera, thank you.

They've been described

as the "crack cocaine of gambling" -

fixed odds betting terminals

on which you can bet

£100 every 20 seconds.

Now the Gambling Commission -

the government's adviser on gambling

- has said no-one should

be allowed to bet more

than £30 on them at a time.

Betting shops say such cuts

will mean job losses

across the industry.

Now the government must

decide what to do,

as our personal finance

correspondent, Simon

Gompertz, reports.

Costly, addictive, a scourge

on vulnerable gamblers -

these machines, mainly in betting

shops, are blamed for ruining lives.

Terry White from Cardiff told

us he lost £250,000 on

fixed-odds betting terminals,

and 15,000 in one day.

It's a massive rollercoaster

because the health

implications, the emotions,

the loss obviously of

a large amount of money.

Although it was money that

I'd won, it still meant

I lost my house.

I've been fortunate enough

that the council have found

me accommodation, which I'm very

grateful for, because I was facing

being homeless.

What the Gambling Commission

is proposing is a limit

of £2 on stakes in slot machines,

but a maximum of up to £30 for the

more popular roulette terminals.

Also, more careful tracking of how

much individual gamblers are

spending, but not the £2 restriction

for all machines that many

had been called for.

The evidence we have showed

you need to come down to

at least £30 to have a significant

impact on the harms and the risk of

harms that people face.

What was clear was that there was no

individual figure that acted as a

magic bullet, which is why

we are suggesting £30 or less.

For the Gambling

Commission it is also an

argument about freedom.

Should they put very tight controls

on our freedom to gamble?

And if they do, will people

use their freedom of

choice just to gamble

online instead?

So there's a possibility for a £2

maximum, only on the slot machines,

which are a tiny minority

of the business.

Whereas the roulette games,

their maximum could

be much higher than they

feared, at up to £30.

That is causing campaigners to

complain that this is a sell-out to

the bookmaking industry.

It will be no help

whatsoever, because the

damage would still be irreparable.

£2 is the only sensible,

logical and moral -

and I use the word moral strongly -

it is the only moral outcome.

Not to be protectionist,

but to make sure

that we are doing the right

thing by society.

Betting shops have warned

that a £2 limit on all machines

would result in thousands

of outlets closing.

It is now up to ministers to decide

how tough the restrictions will be.

Simon Gompertz, BBC News.

TV presenter and McPartlin has been

released after being arrested on

suspicion of drunk driving.

He was detained yesterday afternoon

following a collision involving two

other cars in Mortlake in south-west

London.

Several people were treated for

minor injuries after the accident,

and a child was taken to hospital

as a precaution.

This year has been a tough one

for many British retailers,

with high profile problems at chains

such as Toys R Us and Maplin

making the headlines.

Earlier this month,

John Lewis cut its staff bonus

to its lowest level in decades.

But its new boss, Paula Nickolds,

says there's still plenty of life

left in the high street.

She's been speaking to our

correspondent, Emma Simpson,

as the firm opens a huge new store

in West London.

It's a new look for an old name. At

John Lewis' 50th store, things are

getting personal. There is a

concierge desk to plan your visit.

There is a room for workshops. On

how to do stuff around the house.

And partners have been trained by an

actor.

Hello Emma, and welcome to

John Lewis.

But why get ready to

open a new big expensive department

store when so much shopping is now

being done online?

We think that the

much discussed high Street dying

story is overstated. Customers still

want to have physical experiences.

They want personal interactions.

Looking around this shop and --

today, you can see it as a very

exciting things still to do.

It is

not the only retailer rethinking the

role of the department store. A few

doors down, Debenhams is opening

restaurants and gymnasiums. House of

Fraser is trying to reduce its

surplus space to save money. These

are tough times for department

stores.

The big challenge to make

the space profitable, because

they've got so much, they are

filling it with physical experiences

we can't get online and hoping we

will spend money on their products

at the same time. But of course the

challenge is to make all that space

profitable.

I asked the new John Lewis boss if

the UK had simply too much of it.

There is no doubt that consumer

behaviour is changing and that

currently consumer confidence is

low. That means all retailers have

to be at the very top of their game.

And it will mean that the strong,

evolve, adapt and survive, and

others may not.

She this one will be

a crowd pleaser. But as the lights

go on here, where else in our high

streets will they be going out?

Emma Simpson, BBC News, West London.

Britian's Paralympics

team are on their way

home from South Korea,

after the Winter Paralympics drew

to a close yesterday.

Paralympics GB are celebrating

their most successful medal haul

at a winter games since 1984.

Kate Grey sent us this

report from PyeongChang.

The past ten days have seen

the British team pushed

to the limits on the snow

and ice and Pyeongchang.

Disappointment for the curlers,

as they came up short, and the

snowboarders faltered.

But on the ski slopes

it was a different story -

Menna Fitzpatrick and her guide,

Jen Kehoe, winning four medals,

including gold on the final day,

to become Britain's most successful

Winter Paralympians.

It's been amazing.

It's been an incredible event.

Everyone has been really

helpful, really lovely.

It's really nice to have family

and friends supporting us.

The resilience that

the athletes have

shown, and certainly Menna and Jen

from a DNF in race one

to gold in race five.

And I think the preparation

and the ability for them

to deliver those kind of

performances is down to talent, but

also the support behind the scenes.

Great Britain had a target of six

to 12 medals in Pyeongchang, aiming

to equal and with the ambition

to improve on their performance from

four years ago, where they won six

medals and an historic gold.

And with British athletes competing

across more sports than ever before

at a Winter Games,

the target seemed achievable.

And it was, thanks to one sport,

one classification and a

small number of athletes

winning all seven medals.

But it does call into question

the breadth and depth of the

British team.

I'm proud of every single one

of the 17 athletes that

came here to Pyeongchang

to represent Paralympic GB.

Yes, the medals came

from snow, but every one

of those athletes did

give it their all.

The games drew to a fitting close

with Britain's golden girls

carrying the flag.

The International Paralympic

Committee could also

celebrate, with more nations taking

part than ever before, and a record

number of tickets sold.

They can now call these

games the greatest Winter

Paralympics to date.

Kate Grey, BBC News, Pyeongchang.

They are teetering

on the edge of a cliff -

more than 10 homes in the Norfolk

village of Hemsby were

evacuated at the weekend

amid high winds and waves.

Their owners have been told that

it's too dangerous to go back

and their properties are in danger

of falling into the sea.

Robbie West reports.

On the cliff edge, homes hung over

the sea this morning in Hemsby,

following another night of strong

winds and stormy seas.

People started to leave on Friday.

As the tide was drawing in, lifeboat

crews helped move people out.

Stephen Chadwick knew

he had to go after

seeing his garden

disappear overnight.

I bought it for sea views,

beautiful sea views.

And now the sea has taken it away.

Woke up this morning,

had a cup of coffee at half

past seven at the back door.

I felt - it was like

an earthquake, and the

cliff just went.

Just in total shock,

and watching people taking

most of the house apart.

I don't think I'll be here tomorrow.

Homeowners were evacuated following

a fortnight of high tides and

easterly winds that washed

the coast's natural defences away.

The next morning,

the damage could be seen.

The council say 13 homes remain

in a precarious position, and

are being inspected

after each high tide.

These properties probably

won't be lived in again.

The damage caused -

I was up there Friday, then

Saturday, and what was there,

that is actually gone.

Paul Ray joined the lifeboat crews

after seeing his home.

He believes it's unsafe for his wife

and dogs to return to the

house they have lived

in for the past eight years.

To look at it, I think

to myself, that's my home and

I've lost it.

But obviously I've got to look

on the positive side, that I

wasn't in there last night, nobody

lost their lives are anything.

And everybody got us out

and looked after us very well.

So I've got to move

forward, though I have

lost my home.

Five years ago here in Hemsby,

three homes were washed away

following a storm surge.

13 homes are in immediate

danger this time.

As owners return today, they hope

history won't repeat itself.

Robbie West, BBC News, Hemsby.

Time for the weather

with Darren Bett.

Time for the weather

with Darren Bett.

The Mini Beast from the East, Helu

banished it?

It is gone. All gone. It doesn't

feel quite as cold today across the

UK. Through the week ahead it is

slowly turning milder and milder. We

are more likely to get rain from

midweek than snow. We have banished

the cold easterly wind. We get winds

for a while. It changes

significantly. We get Atlantic air

which will bring some rain. A lot of

snow still. Particularly in the

south-west. Some areas, not much

snow at all. For most of us, we are

seeing the sunshine. That is a

welcome change. A chilly wind for

England and Wales causing the drifts

to blow around. Temperatures higher

than recent days. We have got

sunshine today and not much cloud

but there is cloud lurking in the

North Sea. With that northerly wind

it will push the cloud inland across

England and Wales. Probably drive

pretty much everywhere. It will

limit the amount of frost. Northern

Ireland and Scotland have clear

skies and light winds. Here we are

closer to the centre of this area of

high pressure. It is this which gets

rid of that snow falling. We have a

cold wind phrased in parts of

England. We still have a fair bit of

cloud through the day. Maybe some

drizzly showers. Otherwise it will

be fine. Sunshine at times east of

the meridian, western fringes of

England and Wales. The best of the

sunshine for Northern Ireland.

Temperatures will be higher than

today. Seven to 9 degrees. If we

look ahead to Wednesday, this is

where we start to see the Atlantic

air coming in. We are picking up

this south-westerly wind. That means

they could cloud in the South West.

-- north-west. Outbreaks of rain in

Western Scotland. Dry and bright in

England and Wales. Temperatures up

to 10 degrees in Northern Ireland

and Scotland. More active weather

fronts later in the week. The first

on Wednesday not amounting to much.

High pressure gets squeezed to the

south, allowing us to get into this

Atlantic air later in the week. If

the band of cloud and outbreaks of

rain coming into Northern Ireland

and Western Scotland. A large part

of the UK, Thursday will be a dry

day. Sunshine at times. Those

temperatures up to 1112 Celsius.

Normal for the of

temperatures up to 1112 Celsius.

Normal for the of the year.

Positively balmy.

A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime...

A decisive step forwards says

Britain and Brussels as they agree

much of the draft treaty which will

seal the UK's departure from the EU.

That's all from the BBC News at One,

so it's goodbye from me.