:00:00. > :00:08.Two children, believed to be a brother and sister,
:00:09. > :00:12.have been knocked down and critically injured in County Antrim.
:00:13. > :00:15.The incident happened late this afternoon, near Randalstown.
:00:16. > :00:19.Our reporter, Catherine Morrison, has been to the scene.
:00:20. > :00:21.It's understood the children had just been dropped
:00:22. > :00:23.off by their school bus when they were knocked down
:00:24. > :00:26.by a car, at around 4:40pm this afternoon.
:00:27. > :00:29.It happened at the junction of the Staffordshire Road
:00:30. > :00:37.and Greenan Road, outside Randalstown.
:00:38. > :00:44.The car involved, a white Audi A3 remained at the scene and the police
:00:45. > :00:48.say no arrests have been made. The two children, a boy and a girl, were
:00:49. > :00:53.taken to the hospital where they are said to be any critical condition.
:00:54. > :00:58.This is every parent's worst nightmare. You said your children to
:00:59. > :01:01.school in the morning, and you have thoughts about them during the day
:01:02. > :01:06.but you assume they will return home safe to you in the afternoon. But
:01:07. > :01:07.this is an exceptional day and tragic circumstances. The thoughts
:01:08. > :01:09.and prayers are with the family. Roads in the area near the accident
:01:10. > :01:11.site remain closed tonight, The police have appealed
:01:12. > :01:15.to anyone who saw what Catherine Morrison,
:01:16. > :01:19.BBC Newsline, Randlastown. There's uncertainty if Brexit
:01:20. > :01:22.will mean the return of customs In her Brexit statement today,
:01:23. > :01:26.the Prime Minister said the UK would be exiting
:01:27. > :01:29.the European Customs Union, which allows tariff-free
:01:30. > :01:32.trade north and south. Although Mrs May also said
:01:33. > :01:34.she will try to negotiate Here's our economics and business
:01:35. > :01:51.editor, John Campbell. This is free flowing, S. Thousands
:01:52. > :01:57.of the Eccles cross our border every day, without any customs checks.
:01:58. > :02:00.That's because the UK and Ireland are members of the European customs
:02:01. > :02:07.union. But could we soon be moving to an arrangement like this? Here,
:02:08. > :02:10.on the border between Sweden and Norway, lorry drivers must cross at
:02:11. > :02:17.designated places. They have to hand in paperwork. They can also have
:02:18. > :02:23.their cargoes checked. There are terrorists to be paid on some goods,
:02:24. > :02:28.effectively a tax on trade. That is because Sweden is in the customs
:02:29. > :02:33.union but Norway is not. Think of the customs union like a club, set
:02:34. > :02:37.up to make trade easier. All the members of the club have agreed they
:02:38. > :02:41.won't charge customs duties on each other's goods. Members also agreed
:02:42. > :02:45.to take a joint approach to the rest of the world. Imports from outside
:02:46. > :02:49.the union must attract the same tariffs in a matter which member
:02:50. > :02:55.state they are going to. In their jargon, that is known as a common
:02:56. > :02:59.external tariff. But the joint approach means members of the club
:03:00. > :03:05.can't do their own trade deals. Deals the trap Prime Minister wants
:03:06. > :03:08.to do. I do not want us to be bound by the common external tariff. These
:03:09. > :03:12.are the elements of the customs union that prevent us from striking
:03:13. > :03:17.our own comprehensive trade agreements with other countries. But
:03:18. > :03:21.I do want us to have a customs agreement with the EU. The Prime
:03:22. > :03:25.Minister hopes that whatever deal is done with the EU we will retain the
:03:26. > :03:30.good parts of the customs union and also make lots of new trade deals.
:03:31. > :03:33.But in the meantime there is uncertainty for businesses,
:03:34. > :03:39.particularly those in border areas. We have a very complex supply chain
:03:40. > :03:42.here. We produce, for example, food and drink on both sides of the
:03:43. > :03:46.border. What does that mean for us if we are looking at customs,
:03:47. > :03:56.looking at tariffs? Sinn Fein was not a pretty impressed by the
:03:57. > :04:02.speech. Theresa May 's insistence on leaving the customs union is a hard
:04:03. > :04:08.Brexit. A hard border. The Government suggest a hard border
:04:09. > :04:13.will be avoided. I think away can be found to deal with the issue of the
:04:14. > :04:15.border we exit the customs union. Theresa May has again promised there
:04:16. > :04:22.will be no return to the borders of the past. But Brexit means change is
:04:23. > :04:25.coming. It's just not clear how much impact that change will have.
:04:26. > :04:28.Earlier I asked the Secretary of State how the UK could leave
:04:29. > :04:34.the Customs Union and not have border customs checks.
:04:35. > :04:41.In relation to the customs union as well I think the Prime Minister
:04:42. > :04:47.underlined that she wants to see the maximum ability for UK firms to be
:04:48. > :04:49.able to trade a cross borders without terrorists, without
:04:50. > :04:52.restrictions, and indeed underpinning that concept of what
:04:53. > :04:56.you might describe as a frictionless border. That friction is border that
:04:57. > :05:00.we see today. So it is that objective that she has in those
:05:01. > :05:05.negotiations, and I think it was key to see that in her speech earlier
:05:06. > :05:09.on. People do need real clarity. Can you guarantee that the physical
:05:10. > :05:13.border will remain the same? We've been very clear on not wanting to
:05:14. > :05:18.see a return to the borders of the past. Those restrictions that apply
:05:19. > :05:24.because of that really significant impact in Northern Ireland. So it is
:05:25. > :05:28.with that intent, that will, and that shared well in terms of the
:05:29. > :05:33.Irish Government, that we don't see a return to those old borders. And
:05:34. > :05:37.why we have set out that objective today and how that really underpins
:05:38. > :05:41.the approach we take a head. That's turned the assembly election, and
:05:42. > :05:45.you have asked for civility in the campaign. From what we've heard from
:05:46. > :05:50.the parties, it seems that will be a very tall order. How can you avoid
:05:51. > :05:55.not having a brutal campaign, as one party put it? I know that in any
:05:56. > :06:00.election campaign the issues need to be debated. It needs to be a robust
:06:01. > :06:04.campaign as these things always are. But I do focus on this issue of how
:06:05. > :06:08.we bring people back together afterwards. That it is not become so
:06:09. > :06:12.divisive that people do think carefully about what is at stake. In
:06:13. > :06:18.regard to those talks post election, how long will you give them before
:06:19. > :06:19.you implement direct rule? The law is very clear that we have the
:06:20. > :06:43.period of the election campaign and then there is giving the greatest
:06:44. > :06:45.focus, the greatest ability, to get devolved Government continuing, and
:06:46. > :06:46.that responsibility we'll have in the weeks ahead.
:06:47. > :06:49.The Press Association is tonight reporting that the father-in-law
:06:50. > :06:52.of the former DUP Director of Communications, John Robinson, runs
:06:53. > :06:56.two green energy boilers under the controversial
:06:57. > :07:01.Yesterday Mr Robinson, who's now the special adviser to
:07:02. > :07:04.the Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, denied any family
:07:05. > :07:10.Tonight, in a statement, Mr Robinson said his father-in-law applied
:07:11. > :07:14.to the scheme in August 2015, and that was before he got married,
:07:15. > :07:22.Mr Robinson said, "At no time did we discuss any aspect of the Scheme
:07:23. > :07:25.nor was I aware of his application to the Scheme.
:07:26. > :07:30.Neither my wife nor I have ever had any role in the business nor have
:07:31. > :07:32.we received any benefit, financial or otherwise,
:07:33. > :07:39.A former defence minister has used parliamentary privilege to allege
:07:40. > :07:44.that Barra McGrory is what he called a "Sinn Fein supporting Director
:07:45. > :07:50.The Conservative MP for Aldershot, Sir Gerald Howarth,
:07:51. > :08:00.Make a make a really firm plea to him that he should protect the
:08:01. > :08:05.interests of former British soldiers, currently being charged by
:08:06. > :08:09.the Saint Payne supporting Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern
:08:10. > :08:10.Ireland with murder, for events that took place over 40 years ago?
:08:11. > :08:12.In response, a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service
:08:13. > :08:14.said it was wholly independent of all political parties
:08:15. > :08:19.As such it would never seek to influence political debate
:08:20. > :08:27.It said the PPS only applies the law as it currently stands
:08:28. > :08:30.in Northern Ireland and does so without fear,
:08:31. > :08:36.Earlier, I asked the Secretary of State what he thought
:08:37. > :08:41.of that allegation, made by his Tory colleague.
:08:42. > :08:52.I think we need to be very careful about what is said, reflecting on
:08:53. > :08:57.issues of the past. I am very clear on the DPP. On the independence of
:08:58. > :09:00.that office. Indeed the integrity of that office, the way in which
:09:01. > :09:03.prosecutions have been brought against a whole range of
:09:04. > :09:08.individuals. And therefore I think we need to be very careful in the
:09:09. > :09:09.language that we use and how I see the independence of the
:09:10. > :09:11.prosecutorial process. Geoff Maskell has
:09:12. > :09:23.the weather forecast. It is a bit of a quiet week on the
:09:24. > :09:27.weather desk this week. We have high pressure in charge and high cloud
:09:28. > :09:31.sitting over is. Tonight is a very mild note with temperatures down to
:09:32. > :09:34.six or 7 degrees. We keep that cloudy feel to our weather as we go
:09:35. > :09:38.through tomorrow and next few days. Temperature is still very mild for
:09:39. > :09:43.the time of year. We'd expect 7 degrees to be the normal daytime
:09:44. > :09:46.temperature. Tomorrow we'll see highs of nine maybe 10 degrees. A
:09:47. > :09:53.good bit warmer than what we would normally see at this time of year.
:09:54. > :09:56.If we take the wider view you can see there is a bit of range in terms
:09:57. > :09:58.of temperatures. An area of high pressure is sitting over western
:09:59. > :10:01.Europe and feeding in much cooler air from the continent across the
:10:02. > :10:05.south-east of England. Generally very dry at the moment matters
:10:06. > :10:08.because the high is sitting there, protecting us from the Atlantic
:10:09. > :10:13.weather systems will stop it looks like it will be there right through
:10:14. > :10:16.this week. Overnight as we go into Thursday, another mild night.
:10:17. > :10:20.Temperatures dropping off as we go through this week. Thursday is
:10:21. > :10:24.looking like the brightest day, we trade of some cooler air, getting
:10:25. > :10:28.cooler again on Friday. Really, for this time of year, with those light
:10:29. > :10:30.winds, it is actually feeling pretty good and staying dry witty much all
:10:31. > :10:32.the way through this week.