19/12/2017 Breakfast

Hello.

This is Breakfast,

with Naga Munchetty and Dan Walker.

A leak in Britain's new £3

billion aircraft carrier.

The Royal Navy confirms it

will carry our repairs on HMS

Queen Elizabeth, amid claims

the ship is taking on hundreds

of litres of seawater every hour.

Good morning.

It's Tuesday, the 19th of December.

Also this morning:

Parents, teachers, and young people

are being asked to have their say

on how children should be taught

about sex and relationships

in schools in England.

At least three people are known

to have died after passenger train

crashed off a bridge

onto a busy motorway in the US

State of Washington.

Good morning.

Have your Christmas

deliveries arrived on time?

Lots of people are making a plan

to ensure they get them.

But what are your rights

if there's a problem?

I'll be finding out later.

Athletics anti-doping officials have

launched an investigation

into what IAAF president Lord Coe

called "serious allegations"

about world champion sprinter

Justin Gatlin's coach and an agent.

We've looked at benefits

of singing together.

Hopefully louder than that.

Now there's a chance to join in.

This morning, we're linking

up choirs for a live

UK-wide sing along.

Keep watching for details of how

you can get involved.

And Matt has the weather.

You need to know that! Details of

fog around. Frost as well. Mostly a

dry day. A day of massive

temperature contrast.

Good morning.

First, our main story.

The Royal Navy's new £3

billion Aircraft carrier,

HMS Queen Elizabeth, is leaking.

The Navy's future flagship,

which was commissioned by the Queen

earlier this month, has a problem

with one of its propeller shafts.

Our defence correspondent,

Jonathan Beale, reports.

Earlier this month, amid much

fanfare, the Royal Navy's largest,

most expensive warship

was being commissioned into service

by the Queen.

I name this ship Queen Elizabeth.

the white ensign.

But what the Navy did not say at

the time was that she was leaking.

According to the Sun newspaper,

a fault with a seal around one

of the propeller shafts has

left her taking on up to 200 litres

of water every hour.

The problem was first identified

during her sea trials

earlier this year.

A Royal Navy spokesman insisted

the fault was now scheduled

for repair and that it would not

prevent the 65,000-ton warship

from sailing again

early in the New Year.

It's not clear how easy or how much

the repair will cost,

but it's believed to be one

of a number of snags that

will have

to be rectified by the contractors.

The first F35

international delivery.

Meanwhile, MPs have issued a warning

about the cost of the new aircraft

that will eventually fly off her.

The Commons Defence Select Committee

says there has been an unacceptable

lack of transparency over the F35

jets, with one estimate that each

plane will cost more

than £150 million.

The MoD insists the multibillion

pound programme is on track,

on time and within budget.

Jonathan Beale, BBC News.

The Health Regulator is warning

that the NHS workforce is at "crunch

point" and it's calling

on the government to act.

In its annual report,

the General Medical Council says

the supply of new doctors is failing

to keep pace with demand,

and warns the service could suffer

increasing pressure over

the next 20 years.

Our health correspondent,

Adina Campbell, reports.

Another stark warning

about the state of our NHS.

This time, the GMC says it's

concerned about the pressures

and unease on doctors

as they grapple with their growing

workloads.

In its latest report,

it found that the supply

of new doctors into the UK has not

kept up with demand.

With then dependence

on non-UK qualified doctors

in

some specialist areas.

There was also a risk that some

overseas doctors were being put off

working in the UK.

And an ongoing strain

on doctors training.

At the moment, we see our doctors

day in, day out, doing a fantastic

job, but we shouldn't

take that for granted,

and that's why things

like the training environment

for junior doctors is

particularly important.

And that's why we should be really

clear about what we need to do

to look after the attractiveness

of the UK for overseas

doctors as well.

The Department of Health in England

says the NHS currently has a record

number of doctors, nearly

15,000 more since 2010,

and is expanding the number

of training places by 25%.

Labour, though, has accused

the government of mismanaging

the NHS, and says the

workforce is in crisis.

To meet the future needs

of patients, the GMC now wants

to reduce the burden on doctors,

with improvements to their work-life

balance through better training

and flexible working conditions.

Adina Campbell, BBC News.

At least three people are confirmed

to have died when a passenger train

derailed and fell from a bridge

onto a busy motorway in the US

State of Washington.

Officials say 72 people were taken

to hospitals after most

of the train's carriages

left the track.

Emergency services say it's been

difficult to get access to parts

of the wreckage.

Our North America correspondent,

James Cook, reports.

Amtrak 501, emergency, emergency.

We are on the ground.

The conductor calling for help

from Amtrak 501 has just survived

a deadly high-speed crash.

Is everybody OK?

I'm still figuring that out.

We got cars everywhere,

and down on the highway.

Passengers say the train rocked

and creaked as it took a curve

at speed, and turmoil followed.

I just grabbed onto the chair

in front of me for dear life.

My laptop went flying,

phone went flying.

It was all the way at the other end.

People were screaming, it was crazy.

The new express was taking a faster

route from Seattle to Portland

for the first time.

Investigators will consider

whether the train was speeding

when it left the track.

Some experts say the rail industry

should have embraced technology

to prevent such accidents years ago.

It's really ridiculous,

the amount of automation capability

that we have and the fact they have

not implemented it yet,

for somebody like me who's

an engineer, it's just pathetic.

This is the latest in a series

of deadly rail accidents in the US.

President Trump says it

vindicates his call to improve

the nation's infrastructure

but it's too early to say

whether that would have

made a difference.

James Cook, BBC News, Los Angeles.

The government will outline measures

to tackle "race bias"

in the criminal justice system

in England and Wales later today.

It follows a report

from the Labour MP David Lammy

which found the system

discriminated against people

from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Justice Secretary David

Lidington says there'll be work done

on each of Mr Lammy's 35

recommendations, but it's understood

a proposal aimed at boosting ethnic

diversity among the judiciary has

not been accepted.

Theresa May will meet the entire

cabinet for the first time

since the European Council summit

today to plan how they see the UK's

relationship with the EU

after transition.

It follows a meeting

with senior Cabinet ministers

yesterday in which the Prime

Minister told them the government

is well on the way to delivering

a "smooth and orderly" Brexit.

It will be the last time that

cabinet ministers meet in 2017,

before the break for Christmas.

Parents, teachers, and young people

are being asked to help create

a new relationship and sex education

curriculum which could include

lessons on sexting and

on line pornography.

Earlier this year,

the Education Secretary Justine

Greening said the subject

would be made compulsory

in all schools in England.

Our correspondent,

Richard Galpin, reports.

What is different, and what is the

same?

The guidelines for teaching

schoolchildren about relationships

and sex has not changed since the

turn of the century. And the lessons

like this to be made compulsory in

all England's schools, and update is

urgently needed, especially given

how much time many children now

spend on line. Here, there are new

risks, like sexting. And their risk

cyber bullying, and the availability

on line of hard-core pornography.

Often, young people do not

necessarily know what is

inappropriate in off behaviour and

materials. They are confronted by a

light on the Internet. They do not

even know what is illegal and what

is legal in terms of what they are.

It really is time we update

guidance.

Teachers and parents are

to suggest how it could be updated

to make it more relevant. There will

be a vigorous debate.

I am a mother

of two. I want a talk about healthy

relationships, friendships, your

first boyfriend at the end of

primary school, when people are

starting to say I am going out with

him, I want them to understand what

makes a good relationship between

people.

At the end of this process,

the government says its goal is to

make sure young people learn the

importance of healthy and stable

relationships. Richard Galpin, BBC

News.

Researchers have found a way

of improving the accuracy of summer

weather predictions in the UK.

Scientists found a connection

between sea surface

temperatures in the North Atlantic

in March and April,

and the subsequent

summer's rain or shine.

They say the new method

could benefit agriculture,

tourism and construction.

Can you hear that noise?

There is a

bit of beeping. We will figure it

out.

Definitely, I can hear it. It

is high pitched. It is sending me

wild.

Don't adjust your sets.

A snail-eating turtle discovered

in a Thai food market

and a horseshoe bat are just

two of 115 new species

discovered by scientists.

They already face an uncertain

future due to threats

to their habitat in

the Greater Meekong region

of south-east Asia.

The creatures have been documented

by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

What a shnoz! Perhaps he is making

the noise! That's a mole, isn't it?

And some sort of fog. Do you know

the difference between a frog and a

toad? One is a frog and one is a

toad. This board. Justin Gatlin. We

have to be careful about how we talk

about it.

Anti-doping and athletics

authorities are investigating

allegations that members

of Justin Gatlin's entourage offered

to supply

performance-enhancing drugs.

Legal representatives of the world

100m champion have reacted

to the Telegraph's report

by releasing the last five years

of his tests, showing

the sprinter to be drug free.

They say that Gatlin wasn't present

at the time banned substances

were allegedly discussed

and that his coach Dennis Mitchell

has been sacked.

Everton make it four wins from five

games under Sam Allardyce.

Two penalties and then this stunning

strike from Gylfi Sigurdsson against

his old club were enough to win 3-1.

Swansea remain bottom of the table

with just 12 points.

West Ham could be without midfielder

Manuel Lanzini for tonight's

Carabao Cup quarter-final

with Arsenal after being charged

with diving in Saturday's

game against Stoke.

Lanzini, who could be

banned for two games,

is expected to appeal.

Mo Marley is currently interim boss

but England are struggling to find

female candidates to be the next

permanent women's team manager,

according to the FA's head

of women's football Baroness Sue

Campbell.

No permanent successor

to Mark Sampson is expected to be

named until next year.

They start them young in the horse

racing world and we might just

have a couple of racing dynasties

in the making as the daughter

of former champion jockey

Jim Crowley won this

Shetland Pony Grand National race

at the Olympia Horse Show.

Frankie Dettori's son,

won a similar race a few days ago.

Don't you love them? I love the hug

at the end. That's a horse for Mike!

We should give him one.

No, he has

equine issues. Beautiful horses,

though.

Is it horse riding weather?

I do not even know if that link even

worked...

Here's Matt with a look

at this morning's weather.

It is dry across many parts of the

UK.

It is dry across many parts of the

UK. For the morning could be it, for

some of you, patches of dense fog. A

few issues at Heathrow Airport with

the fog. Also icy in places. I found

that out this morning. Temperature

contrasts. Look at the difference!

They will exist in the south-east

and north-west today. The south of

the UK. This is where you will have

dense fog, especially towards East

Anglia and the south-east corner.

Some sunshine for some. Frosty on

roads and pavements. It will

drastically reduce as you go down

some of the faster routes this

morning. Not much fog towards the

south-west. Patchy rain and drizzle

possible in Anglesey. Fog in the

Vale of York. The greatest skies

towards the Pennines. -- greyest. A

cloudy start for Scotland and

Northern Ireland. Fog patches to

start the day. Fairly cloudy through

the day. Cloud in Scotland and

Northern Ireland and Wales in the

Midlands. Misty in the hills.

Temperature contrasts. Look at that.

There will be some sunshine across

the south-east compared to other

parts of the country. Tonight, a

fairly cloudy picture quite widely.

Wet before clouds disappear in

Northern Ireland and northern

Scotland. Most should be frost-free

tonight. The odd pocket in eastern

areas. Misty in the hills this

morning. A dry day for England and

Wales. A weather front pushing

through northern England. Sunshine

out. A pleasant afternoon in much of

Scotland and Northern Ireland. Grey

and murky but more mild in southern

parts of England and Wales. The

weather front is still with us

across central parts of the UK on

Thursday. Not much rain. Mild but

grey. A little bit more chilly

further north. Scotland, Northern

Ireland, the far north of England,

sunshine. Cold air in place gets

moved out of the way on Friday. For

the start of the weekend as well.

After the festive more cool weather

for the past few weeks, things look

more mild and murky as we go into

the start of the weekend in the

run-up to Christmas. The chance of

something more chilly pushing in

northern areas.

We have been joined by Sally and

shown to look at this morning's

papers. Do you want to start with

the front pages? -- Sean. The Daily

Mail taking a look at the end of the

plastic recycling shambles. New

rules to end the postcode lottery on

recycling. There is a four point

plan put forward by the Environment

Secretary, who wants to tie councils

to common gardens, -- common

guidelines, which will make

recycling less complicated for all

of us. It will avoid issues with

what can be recycled. When you have

patch packaging with plastic and

cardboard, what are you supposed to

do?

Separate.

The front page of the

Times has a picture from this train

crash in Washington, where three

people died. We will be bringing

more detail on that a little later

on, speaking to somebody who was on

the train at the time. Police took

bribes from an organised crime gang

is on the front of the Times,

allegations against the biggest

force, an investigation collapsing.

So you spend £3 billion building a

ship and you find out it has a leak.

The Navy's new aircraft carrier. Up

ship Creek is the headline. It has a

faulty seal around one of the

propeller shafts. The front page of

the Guardian, Barnier tells Theresa

May you will not get a special

Brexit deal for the city. They have

done the best TV shows for 2017, the

Guardian, 50 best TV shows and it

caused quite a bit of debate

yesterday on social media with some

people saying there are only three

non- scripted TV shows in that top

50, which isn't really a fair

reflection of the actual TV you

watch. It is all highly scripted

drama rather than things like I am A

Celebrity. You are always off-piste,

Sean. Naga said to me, don't touch

the mirror, it is Sean's!

Toys'R'Us

on the brink, and there is a

deadline on Thursday to come to some

deal to save most of the business.

Already they have said 26 stores

will close and 800 jobs at risk

anyway but if they don't come to a

deal to get that done by Thursday,

settling things with creditors and

stuff like that, those jobs could be

in question.

So anyone who is

concerned and has ordered stuff from

Toys'R'Us for Christmas,

obviously... Every store is open for

business. You can go in and buy

something and it is absolutely fine.

Kim Jong-un's plan is to get to a

deal done on Thursday. So the main

question is about pensions for their

workers -- Toys'R'Us's plan. The too

often consider when there are

question marks about the company is

gift vouchers. If you give a gift

voucher for Christmas and two weeks

later it has not been spent on the

go into administration, all of a

sudden you are one of the creditors

and pretty far down the list.

I

don't know whether Dan is going to

do the same paper I am going to do.

Shall we show you the front page of

the Daily Telegraph? This is the

entire front page of today's Daily

Telegraph, about the 100m runner

Justin Gatlin. Do you remember he

was booed at the world athletics

championships were previously

serving doping ban? The Daily

Telegraph have been investigating

him and his entourage, and his

agent, according to them, has

footage that they have off offers to

supply illicit substances to

journalists. He has subsequently

sacked his coach who claimed drug

use in American athletics was

widespread. Justin Gatlin, of

course, denies all the allegations

but the Daily Telegraph

investigation into makes

fascinating, slightly disheartening

reading.

By the way, later on today,

you know we did our BBC Sing?

Today's the day we have getting

involved, six choirs around the UK

singing Oh Come All Ye Faithful. We

would love you to get involved as

well, so we need you to record

yourself singing alive Oh Come All

Ye Faithful, and we will give you

the details later on. All the

details are on our Facebook page,

and next week, on Christmas Eve, we

will throw it all together.

Brilliant!

And we are all in the

same key?

It doesn't matter, we will

harmonise. I will get you one of

those tuning forks.

President Trump has outlined his

new national security strategy,

focussing on economic stability,

and identified China and Russia

as the primary threats to America's

influence and wealth.

He also attacked the "failures"

of past foreign policy,

and criticised North

Korea and Pakistan.

Joining us now from our Washington

bureau is Mark Cancian,

from the Centre for Strategic

and International Studies.

We also face rival powers, Russia

and China, that seek to challenge

American influence, values and

wealth. We will attempt to build a

great partnership with those and

other countries, but in a manner

that always protects our national

interest.

We are used to seeing these sorts of

strategies being released without

much fanfare. What do you make of

the way that Donald Trump has

presented this?

Well, this strategy

is a little unusual, as you say.

Most of them don't get a lot of

attention, they are very high level,

they are very vague, they are full

of platitudes. But because Trump had

raised so many issues about the US

role in the world, this one has been

getting a lot of attention.

What did

you make of the actual policy that

was discussed in there?

I think you

can divide the policies into three

groups. The first group are those

that are consistent with previous

administrations, the Obama

administration, for example, and

where the document cites Russia,

China, North Korea, Iran and Isis as

threats, that sort of thing is very

consistent. There is another group

of discussions that a -- that are

mainstream Republican, missile

defence, climate change. And then

there is a group that our signature

Trump issues. This is border

security, a wall and trade policy.

I

wonder as well, listening to what he

was saying, it sounded a lot like a

campaign speech. The same sort of

rhetoric around America first. Can

you say that he is returning to many

of the promises that he made when he

was trying to be elected President?

You do see that through the

document, which is about America

first strategy, it picks up many of

those themes. There is a very large

economic section that reflects the

President's policies. Deregulation,

cutting government spending, that

sort of thing. So yes, you do see a

lot of that in the document. But as

I said, you also see continuity with

previous administrations and with

mainstream Republican thinking on

national security issues.

You

mentioned more broadly republican

policy. He named the US withdrawal

from the Paris climate accord as a

success. I wonder if that would be a

view which is shared across the

Republican Party?

Well, there is a

lot of scepticism about what to do

about climate change in the

Republican Party. Some of that is

about climate change in general. A

lot of it is about what you should

do about it and whether an agreement

like the Paris agreement would be

helpful. I think he is well within

the Republican mainstream.

Really

good to talk to you this morning,

thank you very much.

It is the big finale

of our Sing series today,

so we are doing

something a bit special.

We want to get the whole of the UK

singing along together.

So, wherever you are,

please join in.

Jayne is in Birmingham,

where they already sound

in excellent voice.

I don't know if you could hear it,

there was a high-pitched sound

earlier, and it has stopped!

Apparently, John, they are already

in fine voice in Bristol.

They

certainly are, and hopefully you can

hear them in fine voice. We are at

aerospace still, a newly opened

aviation museum outside the city,

beneath the distinctive delta wings

of Concord which was built in this

city just alongside the runway. We

have representatives from three

workplace choirs this morning. You

can see them from the Royal Mail, we

have singers from a bus, it was

their forebears who built Concorde

-- Airbus. All being conducted by

David Ogden, and they are doing a

wonderful job. What this does is it

compels a body to join in, and that

is hopefully what everybody will be

doing later on this morning.

What a marvellous place to do it.

You will be singing a little bit

later.

Stop link up!

That is what we

do, we support each other. We don't

knock each other when somebody tries

to sing -- stock building it up. It

is the same choir we were singing

with last week.

It is going to sound

great, especially when Dan

going to see too much sunshine. Lots

of cloud but temperatures most week

in double figures.

Vanessa Feltz has her Breakfast

radio show starting at seven a.m.. I

will be back in half an hour.

Hello.

This is Breakfast with

Naga Munchetty and Dan

Walker.

We'll bring you all the latest news

and sport in a moment.

Loads happening on the show this

morning.

Dame Judi Dench will be talking

about her passion for trees

from the secret woodland

at the bottom of her garden.

We'll be asking whether it's time

for sex education to include

lessons on "sexting"

and on line pornography.

Is that... Is that another TARDIS?

She's set to return

as Dr Who's companion Bill

on Christmas Day, but this morning

Pearl Mackie will be right here,

and she's bringing us a sneak

preview of the Christmas special.

Good morning.

Here's a summary of this morning's

main stories from BBC News.

The Royal Navy's new three billion

pound Aircraft carrier,

HMS Queen Elizabeth, is leaking.

The Navy's future flagship,

which was commissioned by the Queen

less than two weeks ago,

has a problem with one

of its propeller shafts.

The fault was first

identified during sea trials.

A spokesman said the aircraft

carrier was scheduled for repair

and would be sailing again

early in the new year.

Parents, teachers, and young people

are being asked to have their say

on how children should be taught

about sex and relationships

in schools in England.

The current guidelines

have not been updated

since the year 2000.

Ministers say this is "unacceptable"

and want new guidance

for autumn 2019.

Earlier this year the Education

Secretary Justine Greening said

the subject would be made compulsory

in all schools in England.

At least three people are confirmed

to have died when a passenger train

derailed and fell onto a busy

motorway in the US State of

Washington.

Officials say 72 people were taken

to hospitals after most

of the train's carriages

left the track.

The high-speed train was making

the first passenger journey

on a new, shorter route.

Emergency services say it's been

difficult to get access to parts

of the wreckage.

The government will outline measures

to tackle "race bias"

in the criminal justice system

in England and Wales later today.

It follows a report

from the Labour MP David Lammy

which found the system

discriminated against people

from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Justice Secretary David

Lidington says there'll be work done

on each of Mr Lammy's 35

recommendations, but it's understood

a proposal aimed at boosting ethnic

diversity among the judiciary has

not been accepted.

Theresa May will meet the entire

cabinet for the first time

since the European Council summit

today, to plan how they see the UK's

relationship with the EU

after transition.

It follows a meeting with senior

Cabinet ministers yesterday

in which the Prime Minister told

them the government is well

on the way to delivering a "smooth

and orderly" Brexit.

It will be the last time that

cabinet ministers meet in 2017,

before the break for Christmas.

The Health Regulator is warning

that the NHS workforce is at "crunch

point" and it's calling

on the government to act.

In its annual report,

the General Medical Council says

the supply of new doctors is failing

to keep pace with demand,

and warns the service could suffer

increasing pressure over

the next 20 years.

At the moment we see doctors doing a

great job day in and day out. We

should not take that for granted. We

need to be clear about everything

should not take that for granted. We

need to be clear about everything we

need to do to look after the

attractiveness of the UK for

overseas doctors as well.

Researchers have found a way

of improving the accuracy of summer

weather predictions in the UK.

Scientists found a connection

between sea surface

temperatures in the North Atlantic

in March and April,

and the subsequent

summer's rain or shine.

They say the new method

could benefit agriculture,

tourism and construction.

It is time to talk about the sport.

Disappointing news on the front

pages.

Yes, disappointing for fans

of athletics. The Daily Telegraph

has carried out a significant

investigation in the past few

months.

Anti-doping officials

are investigating allegations

against two men linked

to the world champion sprinter,

Justin Gatlin.

The Daily Telegraph says

the athlete's agent,

Robert Wagner, offered to supply

performance-enhancing drugs

to undercover reporters.

Gatlin's coach, Dennis Mitchell,

allegedly said doping was possible

because the drugs used

couldn't be detected.

Both men deny the accusations.

Everton made it four wins from five

games under Sam Allardyce,

after beating Swansea City 3-1.

This stunning strike

from Gylfi Sigurdsson

against his old club

put the hosts 2-1 up,

and Wayne Rooney got a second half

penalty for his 10th of the season.

The former England captain had

missed one in the first half

which Dominic Calvert

Lewin followed up.

Everton are now ninth.

To turn around so quickly is great

credit to everybody. Not just me for

coming in now, but everyone working

so hard behind the scenes, and the

players on the pitch, and turning

quite a desperate situation into a

pretty comfortable one now.

We had some good chances, played

some good football. Yeah, the mood

in the dressing room was very, very

flat. We have 12 points. We have to

focus on getting to 15 at the

halfway point. We will figure out

what we will do for the second half

of the season.

West Ham host Arsenal tonight

in the quarter finals

of the Carabao Cup and could be

without midfielder Manuel Lanzini

after he was charged by the FA

for diving during Saturday's

game against Stoke.

Lanzini has until six o'clock this

evening to respond to the charge

but is expected to appeal.

It was a brilliant performance.

There was nothing to say to him at

all. Let me be clear. Eye in the

first one who says get rid of

dieting, make sure it is not in the

game. --I am. -- diving. But he did

not do that.

Burnley's James Tarkowski has been

charged with violent conduct

following an incident

with Brighton's Glenn Murray

during Saturday's goalless draw.

It wasn't seen by any

of the match officials,

but was caught on video.

He also has until six

o'clock to respond.

Crystal Palace's Jason Puncheon has

been charged with carrying a weapon

after a fight in a nightclub.

The midfielder was arrested

on Sunday morning in Reigate

and later charged with possession

of an offensive weapon,

common assault, and a

public order offence.

He's been released on bail

and is training as normal.

England are struggling to find

female candidates to be

the next women's team manager,

according to the FA's head

of women's football

Baroness Sue Campbell.

Under-19s coach, Mo Marley,

is the current interim manager,

with no permanent successor

to Mark Sampson expected to be named

until next year.

This time yesterday,

England's Ashes hopes were slipping

away as they went 3-0 down

in the five match series,

captain Joe Root says he has backed

senior players to continue

in the team next year.

Head coach Trevor Bayliss's role

is also is under scrutiny but does

he still think he's

the man to be in charge?

I think I am. You may not. But I

think our performances were done

pretty well over the last two years.

So, umm, yes. That is for people

above my pay grade to make that

decision. So, I am just going to

leave it up to them.

And finally, jockeys are usually

on the small side but look (Oat

these ones at the Shetland

Pony Grand National.

They are children though!

And the race was won

by Alice Crowley, daughter of former

champion jockey Jim Crowley.

A similar race on Friday was won

by Frankie Dettori's son Rocco.

It looks like a couple of racing

dynasties are in the making.

How cute! I love the hug! I want a

go!

I think you might be too tall.

No one has ever said that before to

me.

Thank you! That has made my day.

See you later.

We know trees can help in the fight

against climate change,

but did you know it's also important

to plant them in the right places

to see the greatest benefit?

The BBC's Helen Briggs has been

to London's Kew Gardens to find

out about their role in urban

areas in particular.

She spoke to Dame Judi Dench

about her passion for trees,

and how she's learnt that even those

in her garden are playing a part

in helping the planet.

Trees in their winter glory. But

they are more than just beautiful.

As being Judi Dench learned in a new

documentary, they are an ally in the

fight against climate change.

I am

told all of those leaves are helping

the tree to breathe in more carbon

dioxide which it will then use to

grow more branches.

It is not just

about planting more trees, it is

about the right trees in the right

places.

These giant trees are very

important for drawing down

atmospheric carbon dioxide. In

cities, the high density of trees is

important for removing the high

amount in the air. You will have

less respiratory problems if you do

that.

This NASA map shows how

growing trees soak up carbon dioxide

in the Northern Hemisphere summer.

Every year, the trees here at Kew

take up tons of carbon dioxide from

the air. But they are not just

carbon dioxide capturing machines,

they are living research. We are

learning more about them every day.

Every now and then it will blip.

Like a popping sound?

Yes.

That

little popping sound is the sound of

the water travelling up from the

roots all the way through the

thousands of tiny little tubes

called xylem tubes.

Kew has

thousands of rare and exotic trees.

The man who looks after them says

there is no end to their uses.

Trees

give them everything that we use

today. They give us the oxygen we

breathe, they use our carbon dioxide

to produce that. They are good for

reducing the amount of run-off and

protecting from erosion, the best

air conditions, they cleaned

pollutants out of the atmosphere,

they look after our well-being, and

they are aesthetically beautiful.

And, you know, that is so important

today. It is becoming more and more

relevant.

Scientists say trees have

a big role to play in pollution

control, but we will only get the

benefits of replant the right trees

in right places. Helen Briggs, BBC

News. -- we plant.

"Judi Dench: My Passion For Trees"

is on BBC One tomorrow night at 8PM.

A lot of people are waiting

in for those crucial Christmas

deliveries week, but just

what are your rights

if there's a problem?

Sean has the answers.

It is a bugbear of all of us. How do

you get it delivered? Is it put on

the doorstep, do they leave it with

a neighbour?

Do they pretend they

have been and have not?

Surely not!

It is a big, big market!

More and more of us

are ordering things on line.

In fact, this season £2 in every £5

will be spent on line.

But that puts a greater

stress on the system,

causing delays and difficulties.

According to one consumer group over

the past six months complaints

about package deliveries

have gone up over 40%.

So, what are your rights

if things go wrong?

Martyn James is an independent

comsumer expert.

Good morning.

Good morning.

First,

if you are expecting something

before Christmas and the next few

days and it does not arrive and you

know it will not arrive before

Christmas, what are your rights?

You

have to be pragmatic about it. At

the end of the day, you want the

kids and family to have something to

open. Most deliveries have a

specified delivery date by which

point you should have received your

package to be if you do not, you

have every right to cancel the order

and get a full refund along with the

delivery charges. I appreciate

sometimes it is close to the bone to

get something out. You are entitled

to a refund, and you can specify you

do not want the delivery to go

ahead.

And you can track a lot of

these packages beforehand. It feels

like everyone is becoming an expert

in tracking. You have the website,

you put in the data... If you have a

feeling it will not arrive, it has

not been dispatched, do you have

rights by that point?

Absolutely.

When you agree to buy something from

a retailer, you have a contract with

who you buy from. Whoever their

contracts to get goods to you on

time in good condition and

everything else, that is their

problem. The obligation is to meet

the contract they have with you. Any

problems that arise as a result of

that, you can take it as a

complaint.

What about how it is

delivered? We are desperate to get

them. Perhaps at this time of year

we are not bothered if they are left

on the doorstep as long as it gets

there. But you hear stories, people

get in touch with us every year,

about it being chucked over the

fence, left in a recycling bin, left

in a general waste in... Is all of

that OK? I would love to say the

waste bin example is a 1-off, but it

isn't.

I have heard of loads of

examples, and then it is bin day and

that is the end of that. One of the

strangest ones we have sought was

that a woman's Postle -- a woman's

parcel was left out of her reach,

she had to use a broom stick it

down. The important thing for many

people is you can specify where you

want items to be left. Increasingly,

and I know it has happened to me,

you live in a block of flats and get

home and find your front door mat is

looking quite lumpy because there is

loads of stuff underneath it and

there have been reports of thieves

pinching things.

Briefly, Toys'R'Us

is in difficulty before Christmas.

What should consumers be thinking

about the companies they are buying

from?

If you have vouchers, bear in

mind that if the company goes bust

you will probably lose the vouchers

as well. So you might want to think

about using those to buy a gift

before the bankruptcy, if it

happens, kicks in. It is a slow

process, but nevertheless, we don't

know what will happen. They might

keep the company running for a short

period of time, but nevertheless it

is worth using vouchers quickly.

Click and collect is another thing

you can do.

I have resorted to that

now.

Thank you very much.

Here is Matt with a look

at this morning's weather.

It was foggy yesterday,

It was foggy yesterday, and it looks

foggy today.

A different sort of

area this morning. A very good

morning to you. We have a few fog

problems around this morning,

especially across parts of eastern

and southern England as well as

Northern Ireland. The fog patches

pretty dense in places so if you are

driving along faster routes you

could be going from very good

visibility to very poor visibility

in a very short space of time, and

that in itself can be quite

dangerous. Add on to that icy

conditions in roads and pavements in

England in particular and it is not

the best of morning commutes. If I

show you what is happening

overnight, as far as the

temperatures are concerned it is a

massive contrast. Temperatures

dropping as low as -4 in

Bournemouth, and in Scotland

temperatures topsy-turvy, around 15

degrees overnight. Those temperature

contrast will continue to exist in

one way, shape or form throughout

the day. Much of the Midlands, East

Anglia and southern England are dry

and bright but frosty start, but

there are those dense patches of fog

causing a few issues at Heathrow

Airport. Some of that will lift and

shift at times through the morning.

Not too many fog problems towards

the south-west or Wales, a bit of

fog throughout Wales, the odd spot

of rain to Anglesey. A dry start in

northern England and some dense

patches of fog in and around the

Vale of York. Murky over the hills,

especially Northern Ireland and the

higher ground of Scotland. Some

patchy rain and drizzle here and

there. Pushing into Cumbria through

the morning. The weather still be

the Hebrides as the wind picks up

and the rain turns more persistent

later on. A lot of cloud compared

with yesterday. Even if we don't

shift some of the fog across the

south-east, many will see the

sunshine breakthrough. Temperatures

only in mid- single figures compared

with what we could see, 14 or 15

around the Murray first thanks to

south-westerly winds and a bit of

brightness throughout the second

half of the day. The wind will pick

up across Scotland and Northern

Ireland, turning wet of the many for

a time overnight. The odd spot of

light rain and drizzle across

England and Wales. It is likely to

be misty over the hills, but the odd

one could be around into the

morning. Any cloud breaks in eastern

areas could lead to a touch of frost

around. Generally Wednesday a grey

start the England and Wales.

Southern Scotland and Northern

Ireland, early rises could see some

rain but the weather front pushing

into northern England and Wales

through the day bringing the

occasional rain and drizzle. Very

murky around that. Scotland and

Northern Ireland a brighter day

tomorrow. Under the grey day for

many in England and Wales. But it

will be a milder one. In the

Thursday, that weather front still

with us through Wales, the Midlands,

East Anglia, roughly that area.

Nothing too substantial as far as

rain is concerned. To the south of

it, murky but not too bad. Feeling a

little bit cooler once again. It

will start Thursday with a bit of

frost once again. The cooler air is

shoved other way as we go from

Friday into Saturday, and not quite

the whether you want in the build-up

up to Christmas. We lose a bit of

that festive feel as a bit of cloudy

weather moves in. Temperatures in

double figures. Will using the

weather for us next time?

Sing it?

Yes.

I can do if you want me to. I

haven't got the voice for that.

It is one of our most

ambitious challenges yet -

It is one of our most

ambitious challenges yet -

can we get the nations

singing in unison?

We have been telling you all week

about the health benefits of it,

and today is the day our

Breakfast Sings series

reaches its crescendo.

We have got six choirs across the UK

getting ready to sing en masse

at the end of the programme.

We are going to be hearing

from Bristol and Birmingham

in a moment.

First, Dan is with the team

outside our studios here in Salford.

Good morning, hello everyone at

home. Welcome once again to

Manchester Inspirational Voices.

These as you mentioned are one of

our choirs. We have six singing all

over the country as part of BBC

Sings. We are going to get involved

in a version of O Come, All Ye

Faithful, which we are singing at

905 this morning. We have Bristol

and Cardiff in various places around

the UK. You can join in and we will

give you details later. The lyrics

are on our Facebook and Twitter site

and you can send us your video and

on Christmas Eve we will put all of

those together and make a beautiful

carol. One thing we have been

mentioning throughout, and rain

Ellington led our presenters at the

Bridgewater Hall last weekend, is

the importance of singing, and that

is something that you see, those of

psychological and physical benefits

and mental benefits, all the time --

Wayne Ellington.

Absolutely, all the

time. Every time someone is willing

to give singing ago, you know, it

makes you smile, doesn't it?

And you

make me smile. And Yvonne used to be

in the choir and rejoined. You have

been on quite a journey with it,

haven't you?

I have, yes. I joined

in 2013 and left because of family

problems, and I lost my husband, and

came back last November. And I love

singing, just love it, and I just

love the choir so much.

And I think

they love you as well. And you are

going to give us a burst. Wayne, who

is always encouraging us to sing,

says that I will sing alone, and you

will respond. So I go # come, let us

adore him.

# Christ, the Lord.

And

if I can do it, you can do it. And

John Maguire is in Bristol. Can any

single one of us on the programme

seemed? We are not making a good

account of ourselves. We are beneath

the wings of a Concorde. Three

workplace choirs joining in,

conducted by David Ogden.

At this

time of the morning are beautiful,

and they are ready Frau performance

later.

Let's go and have a chat to

them. We have representatives from

Airbus, whose forebears built

Concorde. Do you guys sing at work

when you are building aeroplanes?

Well, it takes a lot of us to put

the aircraft together and

manufacture the wings in the UK, so

takes a lot of us to come together

and sing in the choir. There is lots

of singing in the workplace and

humming around the business.

Quite a

musical place to work them. And

let's bring in Jo. You are an old

hand at this, because you were on

the TV show with Gareth Malone a few

years ago. Tell us about singing at

work with you guys at the Royal

Mail.

It is great fun, always

singing in the van while collecting

from customers and from delivery

offices. It is great fun.

What a

busy time for you.

Very, very busy.

Let's bring Alistair 4-wood. I

suppose you are more of an office

based situation -- forward. Does

everyone in your office to sing all

the time?

Know, about 16 out of

about 50, which is pretty good.

Does

it help the business?

There is that

sense of bonding, it must do. It is

tangible, isn't it? It makes us all

very happy, and it must be good, for

everybody.

Lots more from us later

on. We will do O Come, All Ye

Faithful, of course. We urge you to

join in. I will hand you the Jain in

Birmingham. Good morning, and how

are you standing up there?

-- Jane.

Good morning from Birmingham. I told

you they were giddy. We are in the

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and we

have decided that our job will be to

help warm up the nation, games, take

it away. We have three choirs here

at the QE hospital -- James.

Everyone can join in at home.

And

Phoenix singers. SINGS ARPEGGIO.

And

the Midlands hospital choir.

SINGS

ARPEGGIO.

And all together.

SINGS

ARPEGGIO.

And just when you thought

you were almost warmed up, you are

not, because you have to do... What

is it?

It is the scrunch and

stretch. And scrunch. And stretch!

And scrunch, and stretch!

Well, I do

hope you were joining in at home.

Everybody looks absolutely

magnificent. Bravo for giving up so

early. Doesn't she look fantastic.

Let's see those flashing lights.

Here is Mark, who made this jumper.

He made it himself! With glue and

bits. And James. I bet you are going

to be jealous. Let's see your hat.

We are so ready for this moment. See

you later.

I need that hat.

That is

a slightly concerning hat. So when

you were singing earlier, lovely to

have you back on the sofa. Scrunch

and stretch is how you warmer.

I

didn't have a warmup, I just went

for it.

I'm back with the latest

from the BBC London newsroom

in half an hour.

Hello.

This is Breakfast,

with Naga Munchetty and Dan Walker.

A leak in Britain's new £3

billion aircraft carrier.

The Royal Navy confirms it

will carry out repairs on HMS

Queen Elizabeth, amid claims

the ship is taking on hundreds

of litres of seawater every hour.

Good morning.

It's Tuesday, the 19th of December.

Also this morning:

Parents, teachers, and young people

are being asked to have their say

on how children should be taught

about sex and relationships

in schools in England.

Good morning.

What are the options on pensions to

save thousands of jobs before

Christmas?

Athletics anti-doping officials have

launched an investigation

into what IAAF president Lord Coe

called "serious allegations"

about world champion sprinter

Justin Gatlin's coach and an agent.

Choirs around the UK are gearing up

for our live UK-wide sing along.

This is the scene in Salford.

We want you to get involved too,

keep watching for details.

And Matt has the weather.

Thank you. Good morning. Dense

patches of fog. A dry Tuesday for

most of us. Big contrast, as I will

show you in 15 minutes. Thank you.

Good morning.

First, our main story.

The Royal Navy's new £3

billion Aircraft carrier,

HMS Queen Elizabeth, is leaking.

The Navy's future flagship,

which was commissioned by the Queen

earlier this month, has a problem

with one of its propeller shafts.

Our defence correspondent,

Jonathan Beale, reports.

Earlier this month, amid much

fanfare, the Royal Navy's largest,

most expensive warship

was being commissioned into service

by the Queen.

I name this ship Queen Elizabeth.

Hailed as the most powerful capable

warship ever to raise

the white ensign.

But what the Navy did not say at

the time was that she was leaking.

According to the Sun newspaper,

a fault with a seal around one

of the propeller shafts has

left her taking on up to 200 litres

of water every hour.

The problem was first identified

during her sea trials

earlier this year.

A Royal Navy spokesman insisted

the fault was now scheduled

for repair and that it would not

prevent the 65,000-ton warship

from sailing again

early in the New Year.

It's not clear how easy or how much

the repair will cost,

but it's believed to be one

of a number of snags that

will have

to be rectified by the contractors.

The first F35

international delivery.

Meanwhile, MPs have issued a warning

about the cost of the new aircraft

that will eventually fly off her.

The Commons Defence Select Committee

says there has been an unacceptable

lack of transparency over the F35

jets, with one estimate that each

plane will cost more

than £150 million.

The MoD insists the multibillion

pound programme is on track,

on time and within budget.

Jonathan Beale, BBC News.

Parents, teachers, and young people

are being asked to help create

a new relationship and sex education

curriculum which could include

lessons on sexting and

on line pornography.

Earlier this year, the Education

Secretary Justine Greening said

the subject would be made compulsory

in all schools in England.

Our correspondent,

Richard Galpin, reports.

What's different,

and what's the same?

The guidelines for teaching

schoolchildren about relationships

and sex have not changed

since the turn of the century.

And with lessons like this to be

made compulsory in all England's

schools, an update is urgently

needed, especially given how much

time many

children now spend on line.

Here, there are new risks,

like sexting, when images

of children are posted on apps.

And there is cyber bullying,

and the availability on line

of hard-core pornography.

Often, young people

do not necessarily know

what is inappropriate in off

behaviour and materials

versus what is appropriate.

They are confronted

by a lot on the Internet.

But they often don't even know

what is illegal and what is legal

in terms of what they are.

It really is time

we update guidance.

The government wants teachers

and parents to suggest how it

could be updated to

make it more relevant.

There will be a vigorous debate.

I'm a mother of two and I have been

looking for sex education to be more

about healthy relationships,

friendships, your first boyfriend

at the end of primary school,

when people are starting to say I am

going out with him, I want them

to understand what makes a good

relationship between people.

At the end of this process,

the government says its goal

is to make sure young people learn

the importance of healthy

and stable relationships.

Richard Galpin, BBC News.

At least three people are confirmed

to have died when a passenger train

derailed and fell from a bridge

onto a busy motorway in the US

State of Washington.

Officials say 72 people were taken

to hospitals after most

of the train's carriages

left the track.

Emergency services say it's been

difficult to get access to parts

of the wreckage.

Our North America correspondent,

James Cook, reports.

Amtrak 501, emergency, emergency.

We are on the ground.

The conductor calling for help

from Amtrak 501 has just survived

a deadly high-speed crash.

Is everybody OK?

I'm still figuring that out.

We have cars everywhere,

and down on the highway.

Passengers say the train rocked

and creaked as it took a curve

at speed, and turmoil followed.

I just grabbed onto the train

in front of me for dear life.

My laptop went flying,

phone went flying.

It was all the way at the other end.

People were screaming, it was crazy.

The new express was taking a faster

route from Seattle to Portland

for the first time.

Investigators will consider

whether the train was speeding

when it left the track.

Some experts say the rail industry

should have embraced technology

to prevent such accidents years ago.

It is really ridiculous the amount

of automation capability

that we have and the fact they have

not implemented it yet,

for someone like me who is

an engineer it is just pathetic.

This is the latest in a series

of deadly rail accidents in the US.

President Trump says it

vindicates his call to improve

the nation's infrastructure

but it is too early to say

whether that would have

made a difference.

The government will outline measures

to tackle "race bias"

in the criminal justice system

in England and Wales later today.

It follows a report from the Labour

MP David Lammy which found

the system discriminated

against people from ethnic minority

backgrounds.

The Justice Secretary David

Lidington says there'll be work done

on each of Mr Lammy's 35

recommendations, but it's understood

a proposal aimed at boosting ethnic

diversity among the judiciary has

not been accepted.

The Health Regulator is warning

that the NHS workforce is at "crunch

point" and it's calling

on the government to act.

In its annual report,

the General Medical Council says

the supply of new doctors is failing

to keep pace with demand,

and warns the service could suffer

increasing pressure over

the next 20 years.

At the moment we see doctors doing

a great job day in and day out.

We should not take that for granted.

We need to be clear

about everything we

need to do to look after

the attractiveness of the UK

for overseas doctors as well.

Theresa May will meet the entire

cabinet for the first time

since the European Council summit

today, to plan how they see the UK's

relationship with the EU

after transition.

It follows a meeting with senior

Cabinet ministers yesterday

in which the Prime Minister told

them the government is well

on the way to delivering a "smooth

and orderly" Brexit.

Does the Prime Minister have the

full backing of the cabinet?

When

you speak to MPs at the moment, the

overwhelming feeling is a sense of

relief Theresa May got to this

point. After a divisive year, people

seem to be rallying behind her at

the moment, saying we have come so

far. That is because the first stage

of rigs talks have all but been

completed. -- Brexit. Now the future

turns to what the future will look

like. Things like defence and

security. Absolutely crucial will be

the future trading relationship with

the EU. That will be difficult, the

EU already warned that. Another

warning from Michel Barnier, saying

the UK will not get everything it

wants. Today Theresa May will start

to talk to her cabinet to get their

views. We know they have differing

opinions. They want the UK to stay

as close as possible to the EU, or

as far away from it as possible. It

will all depend on the negotiations

still to come. But it is the

beginning of an important

conversation, one that will not

always the easy.

Thank you very

much, Alex Forsyth.

Retailer Toys R Us is under

pressure this week.

It has only two days left to come up

with a deal to save the business

right before Christmas.

They have said 36 stores will close

and 800 jobs are at risk. One of the

creditors, part of the vote on

Thursday to agree a deal would be

done, is the pension protection

fund. What they do is when companies

are struggling, they take on the

pension scheme of the company and

make sure all the people who worked

for them in the past and do at the

moment will get the pension they are

entitled to, or a vast majority of

it. They will want something in

return, the creditors, they will

want cash. That is what the

negotiations are talking about. They

have not decided if they will back

the deal on Thursday yet. That is

why there is still pressure on Toys

R Us to come up with a deal.

We will

definitely hear it on Thursday.

That

will be the deadline for the vote.

Is three quarters of creditors need

to back the deal, landlords, the

pension protection fund, all of that

involved, three quarters need to

back it for Toys R Us to go forward

with the plans to go ahead.

That is

so concerning. It is never nice.

You

may have a few questions, but

fundamentally, I could do is open

for business. This is more about

what the future will look like. --

Toys R Us.

It's been a year in which violent

threats and abuse have flooded

political debate, particulary

when it comes to Brexit.

But yesterday, after it

emerged some MPs had

received dozens of abusive

e-mails and messages,

the Prime Minister and the Speaker

of the House of Commons said

enough was enough.

Making death threats or other

threats of violence against people

on grounds of their views is,

whether the authors know it or not,

a kind of fascism. There can never

be a place for the threats of

violence and intimidation against

some members that we have seen in

recent days. Our politics must be

better than that.

One of the MP's who has been

targeted since she voted

against the government last

week is Conservative MP

Antoinette Sandbach -

she joins us from Westminster.

Thank you very much for joining us

on Breakfast this morning.

Good

morning.

It is an interesting thing

to be highlighted. We are very aware

in this day of social media of

trolls and the abuse that is given

on line and the efforts being made

to tackle this. But this is now

specific. You are for example, have

been targeted for your views and

actions as an MP.

Yes. And it is not

just Conservative MPs, many get

targeted regularly. I regularly get

abuse.

Can you tell us some of what

you have experienced?

Well, I

have... It has been suggested that I

should be hung for being a traitor.

There have been a number of threats,

all of which I have reported to the

police.

What is the process when you

are threatened, when you receive

something as vicious as saying I

want to kill you?

We're lucky that we have very good

security in Parliament and we have a

very special police Parliamentary

team. So whenever I receive threats,

and I have received threats before

the vote, they get passed on to that

police team that can see whether or

not that is an individual which is

targeting one MP or many MPs, and

the number of people have been

prosecuted or sent to prison for the

threats they have issued against

members of Parliament.

What do you

think needs to be done to make this

less acceptable? To make it more of

a threat, that if you do this, that

you will be at risk of going to jail

or you will be punished?

I don't

actually think it is a problem that

is only faced by MPs. I think there

are a number of people in public

life who also have this problem. And

we saw that just this week with one

of the nominees for the BBC Sports

Personality of the Year, and it is

about the police and other

authorities following up on those

great. It is the same law whether it

is set online or face-to-face, and

it really is an issue of the police

following it up. And the Home

Secretary made it very clear, there

is a new national hub being set up

to deal with this kind of online

cyber bullying and abuse. They will

be a new code of practice for social

media companies, and it is that kind

of specialisation and transparency

which I think will make a

difference.

There is an argument,

isn't there, that if you are in the

public eye, you put yourself out

there, as an MP or a journalist on

national television, you have to

accept that people are going to have

a view, and they are not going to

agree with what you say, and this is

just part and parcel of the job?

I

accept that people are going to have

a different view from me, and that

they are going to disagree with what

I say. What I don't accept is that

they are entitled to break the law

and do it in a way which is a

criminal offence, and that I should

put up with that. I think that is

the same whether you are a

journalist or a teacher, or a nurse.

We saw doctors being abused recently

in the case of Saint Auburn Street

hospital. I don't think it makes any

difference which part of society you

come from. If it is a criminal

offence, it should be acted on and