14/03/2018 Breakfast

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

Stephen Hawking, one

of the world's most acclaimed

physicists and authors,

has died aged 76.

He lived with a form of motor new

rain disease for much of his life

but became one of the most talked

about scientists since Einstein. --

motor neurone disease.

In a statement his children

said his brilliance and humour

inspired people across the world.

I don't have much positive to say

about motor neurone disease, but it

taught me not to pity myself and

instead get on with what I could do.

Good morning, it's

Wednesday 14th March.

Also this morning:

Russia fails

to meet the Prime Minister's

midnight deadline to explain how

a nerve agent was used to attack

a former spy in Salisbury.

Theresa May will tell parliament

what action she plans to take.

Good morning from this clothing

manufacturers in North London where

we're getting reaction to

yesterday's bring statement from the

Chancellor, he said the economy is

growing stronger, some are saying

it's not growing fast enough so I

will be looking at that.

In sport, a dismal night

for Manchester United

in the Champions League.

They exit at the last 16 stage

after a 2-1 home defeat to Sevilla.

Ans all change, plans to get rid

of one and two pence coins

are under discussion.

We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Matt has the weather.

Turning wet

and windy to the west today but for

a mild day of a chilly start, but

don't cast the warm jumpers aside. I

will tell you why in 15 minutes.

OK,

Matt, thanks very much.

Good morning.

First, our main story.

Britain's most famous scientist,

Professor Stephen Hawking,

has died at the age of 76.

Hawking's fame came largely

from his best-selling book,

A Brief History of Time,

which outlined his theories

about the universe.

He had a brilliant career

despite being diagnosed with motor

neurone disease in 1964

and being told he had just a few

years to live.

Earlier this morning, his children

released this statement.

A wonderful quote, isn't it, which

many people are sharing this

morning.

Nick Higham has been looking back

on the life of Stephen Hawking.

He was instantly recognisable

and utterly remarkable.

The visionary scientist,

helpless in his high-tech

wheelchair, who nonetheless

transformed our view

of the universe.

While a student, he developed

the first signs of motor neurone

disease.

Gradually his body shut down

until he could communicate only

using a computerised voice

synthesiser, controlled,

to start with, by hand.

It didn't hold him back.

I was never actually told that I had

only two years to live,

but I could see the doctors didn't

think my prospects were good.

His fame sprang from his book,

A Brief History of Time.

It sold 10 million copies.

But though many bought it,

rather fewer actually read it.

His theories about time,

space and black holes

were stupendously difficult

for non-specialists to grasp,

but he turned out to

have a genius for communication.

He gave lectures and interviews,

and became an unlikely celebrity.

He even appeared in The Simpsons.

His private life was complicated.

With his wife, Jane,

he had three children and she looked

after him until, in 1990,

he left her for his nurse,

Elaine.

They eventually married only

for claims to emerge that Hawking

had been physically abused.

Police investigated but the case

was dropped for lack of evidence.

The couple later divorced.

Too often we are told that these

are stupid questions to ask,

but this is said by grown-ups

who don't know the answers and don't

want to look silly by

admitting they don't know.

He never lost his sense of humour.

Though by the end, he could only

speak by twitching his cheek to move

an infrared beam.

I don't have much positive to say

about motor neurone disease,

but it taught me not

to pity myself and to get

on with what I still could do.

I'm happier now than before

I developed the condition.

In 2014, his life was dramatised

in The Theory of Everything,

with Eddie Redmayne playing Hawking.

..Right back to see happened

with the beginning of time itself.

Stephen, here you are.

At Cambridge, they unveiled a statue

of him, a rare honour

for someone still living.

But few did more to transform our

understanding of the universe

and to overcome personal challenges.

What an incredible man with an

incredible influence around the

globe.

Around the world, people have been

reacting to the news that scientist

Stephen Hawking has died.

Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the

world wide web, says:

Sunder Pichai are, the CEO of

Google, has said:

The American acts actress, Emily

Ross, said she is shattered by the

news of Stephen Hawking Stephen

Hawking's death. I have seen this

from Macauley Culkin, he is a genius

and my favourite Simpsons character.

We will miss you, Buddy, he says.

Get in touch with us about that

today and of course we will be

speaking about that later in the

programme.

Theresa May is expected to announce

sanctions against Russia

after the Kremlin failed

to explain their role in a chemical

attack in Salisbury.

Last night, the Russian

Embassy hinted

that the expulsion of its diplomats

from London would have an impact

on their British

counterparts in Moscow.

Jane-Frances Kelly reports.

It began as an attack on the streets

of Salisbury. The poisoning of a

former Russian intelligence officer

and his daughter. But there is now

diplomatic deadlock between Britain

and Moscow.

I'm standing outside the Russian

embassy here in London and the

midnight deadline has just passed.

The only reaction the British

government has got from the Russians

so far are angry denials and the

threat of Retallick reaction if they

take measures against Moscow.

They've also helpfully got a screen

outside here that shows their

Twitter feed and on it they say:

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey

Lavrov, has objected to only being

given 24 hours to respond to the

claim Russia used a chemical weapon.

Russia should get ten days, he said,

accusing Britain of flouncing the

chemical weapons Convention.

Meanwhile, in Salisbury, painstaking

work continues. Police are appealing

for witnesses that might have seen

Sergei Skripal and Yulia in their

red BMW car on the day they were

poisoned. Separately a number of

deaths are also being reinvestigated

by police and MI5 after claims of

Russian involvement. They include a

man in his 60s found dead in new

Maldon on Monday who is believed to

be Russian business Nikolai

Glushkov, a friend of Boris

Berezovsky, who was found hanged in

his home in 2013. This morning

Theresa May will be briefed by her

National Security Council before

going to Parliament, where she is

expected to announce a series of

measures against Russia.

Jane-Frances Kelly, BBC News.

We know the deadline has passed and

Jonathan Blake is in Westminster for

us this morning. Good morning to

you. I suppose the pressure now

ramps up, doesn't it?

It does,

there's been a lot of talk in the

last week since the attack in

Salisbury about the government

response. But that time for talking,

that midnight deadline having

passed, is now over and the time has

come for action and we will find out

exactly what later from the Prime

Minister. In terms of the options

available, as we have heard, they

could include expelling Russian

diplomats from the UK, putting

tighter visa restrictions on

Russians travelling to the UK,

making it harder for them to come

here, and also, as we've heard, the

possibility of dignitaries all

government ministers not going to

the World Cup later this year. None

of those are an easy option and none

of those on their own will go far

enough to satisfy those, many of

whom in parliament in Westminster

who have been calling for the

government to take swift and robust

action. Those are the kinds of

options we will hear primarily from

Theresa May today, then there are

options she can take in

collaboration with other European

Union countries and other allies

across the world, possibly those in

the Nato military alliance as well.

But all eyes will be on Theresa May

when she makes her statement to

Parliament today later after PMQs at

lunchtime.

Jonathan, thanks, John

that.

Plenty more on that for you on the

programme this morning.

The government is to spend £50

million on trying to ease racial

and religious tensions.

It is one of a number

of proposals in the government's

integrated communities strategy,

which is to be published more

than a year after an independent

review found the country had become

more divided as it

had become diverse.

Here's our home editor, Mark Easton.

17 years after race riots in

Bradford, an official report warned

of highly segregated communities

where people led parallel lives, the

city will now be named among five

places in England that must adopt an

integration plan. The others Waltham

Forest in London, Peterborough,

Walsall and backburn, all areas with

a history of racial and ethnic

tensions. 12 Years a Slave Blackburn

was highlighted as suffering from

deep segregation between white and

Asian communities. To reduce

tensions, teenagers were bussed in

from other schools to integrate.

Pupils from a 99% white secondary

school made to meet pupils from a

95% nonwhite secondary across town.

Today's strategy suggests more

schemes like this. It also proposes

some extra support for

English-language classes, state

provision has halved in the last few

years, new targeted alp to improve

economic opportunities for people in

segregated communities, particularly

women, and the promotion of

pluralistic British values by

teachers. The strategy is the latest

in a long line of government

initiatives to try and deal with one

of Britain's most sensitive and

injuring social challenges. Mark

Aiston, BBC News. -- enduring.

The creators of The Crown have

admitted Claire Foy who portrays

the Queen was paid less

than her male counterpart.

Matt Smith's portrayal

of a young Duke of Edinburgh

earned him more than

Foy's Golden Globe-winning

performance as Queen Elizabeth

in the Netflix drama.

The show's producers said Smith's

previous starring role

in Doctor Who meant he was paid

more than his co-star.

Well, talking money! Let's talk

about real money. Look at this.

The public are being asked

for their views on the future

of the 1p and 2p coins.

Ministers are carrying out a review

of cash transactions due

to a rise in customers

using non-cash payments such

as contactless and online spending.

The consultation will also look

at whether £50 notes

should be kept.

£50 notes... It seems like a lot of

money, £50 notes.

I haven't seen one

in a while.

Nor have I.

In the

interest of fairness I should have

one more penny so we are even! We

will sort it out.

We will share.

Good morning. Kat has the sport, are

we starting with a dismal night for

Manchester United?

We are. It was really sluggish,

negative, all the things Manchester

United fans have been complaining

about about their style of play over

this season. You were saying this

morning before we came on about

these post match press conference

comments, saying this was nothing

new, which will annoy the fans

before the match, considering their

illustrious European record, and now

they are out.

It was a great chance

and now it has gone.

Only one trophy

left for them to win.

It was a night to forget

for Manchester United

in the Champions League.

They bow out of the

competition in the last 16

after a dismal 2-1 defeat

to the Spanish side Sevilla

at Old Trafford.

The only silverware left for United

now this season is the FA Cup.

Buveur D'Air was the big race winner

on the first day of the Cheltenham

Festival.

The Nicky Henderson-trained horse

retained his title in the Champions

Hurdle.

He was the odds on favourite

but ended up being pushed

all the way by the seven

to one shot Melon.

Team Sky have secured

their first major victory

of the 2018 cycling season.

Michal Kwiatkowski took

the Tirreno-Adriatico title

after the final stage time trial.

Fellow Team Sky rider,

Britain's Geraint Thomas,

finished

third.

Adam Yates was fifth.

That's of course after all the

recent controversy at Team Sky.

And at the Winter Paralympics this

morning, Britain's Menna Fitzpatrick

and Jen Kehoe have won

Britain's fifth medal,

a silver in the women's visually

impared giant slalom to add

to the two silvers they've

already won these Games.

That is now five Paralympic Winter

medals.

Great news.

The tally is

ticking up.

Fantastic. Are you going

to hang around for the papers?

Of

course.

Have you got more money?

I

have.

You have a point from the Czech

Republic here, not legal tender in

this country, but we have 3p each

now -- a coin.

Do you still want

pennies or not?

There was a picture

in the paper the other day of a

family who have rejuvenated a house

and they have made the floor out of

2ppieces with resin and all that

kind of thing. You could still use

them in the shops but you don't tend

to have them in your pocket, do you?

I do. Tell us what you think, Matt,

how's the weather looking?

Not a bad day for many. Some rain in

windy conditions across the West but

overall, the mildest day of the week

even with that strengthening wind.

Temperatures at or below freezing.

Temperatures the West. Some rain

across these western fringes but

it's also set to drag up that

increasingly mild there and western

parts of France. Temperatures for

some in the mid-teens. Brightness

across central and eastern parts.

Further west, the cloud will

steadily thicken. Some splashes of

brain and drizzle coming and going.

Parts of Devon and Cornwall, where

gales will develop. As we go to the

end of the day, up to 25

millimetres. The far west of Wales.

The place is particularly wet later

today. Western Scotland, gales

developing. The mild air comes in.

Some spells of hazy sunshine. Maybe

up to around 15 and the north of

London. Pretty wet weather. Other

parts of southern England.

Temperatures are peering to tomorrow

morning. Across Scotland in some

parts of eastern England, another

cool start to tomorrow morning.

cool start to tomorrow morning. In

fragments a touch. As it gets

further and further north, some

slightly colder air.

slightly colder air. Brighter

weather developing.

weather developing. Temperatures

still holding of the many. Greater

chance of some snow in the eastern

Pennines. The Grampians has begun to

Friday. Sunny spells and some

slow-moving Bunbury showers. Still

double-figure temperatures here.

Towards the north of the country,

Aberdeen, three Celsius. High

pressure building across

Scandinavia. Keeping any snow

flurries to the south. Temperatures

drastically drop through Friday into

Saturday. For some, around 10

degrees. Some snow flurries as well.

He did give us a heads up. No

surprises now.

The world-famous physicist

Stephen Hawking, known

for his theories on space and time,

has died at the age of 76.

All the front pages are leading with

UK's relationship with Russia. This

man was found by family and friends

late on Monday night. News of his

death, there is still an

investigation into the cause of his

death. Trump swings the axe again.

Plunging US diplomacy into turn oil.

They've got a

They've got a quote here the death

of Nikolai Glushkov. There was no

proper engagement with regard to

that deadline. The Prime Minister

due to talk about it later in the

Commons. The Daily Mirror has a

story about pennies being dropped.

And also, the Cheltenham Festival.

Obviously

Obviously reflecting on that lost

the Manchester United. This is quite

nice. With Southampton rumoured to

be lining up, they got a lovely

illustration in the Telegraph about

the managerial merry-go-round. The

six men had been employed by ten

clubs. 24 jobs.

clubs. 24 jobs. The reason is,

things suffered by those people at

those clubs. It does seem a little

bit like they are on a central

contact at the moment. And just a

nice bit of news in the Daily

Express. Sergio Garcia has had a

baby girl.

baby girl.

Only a couple of weeks

away, aren't we?

Breaking news this morning. About

the renowned physicist and

bestselling author Stephen Hawking

who died at his home in Cambridge.

In 2013, Breakfast's Tim Muffett

was able to catch up with him ahead

of a documentary and his life.

Given how hard it is feared to

communicate any mention in the film,

when people are chatting, your

thoughts drift off into things like

how the universe began. Has your

disability made you better

scientist?

I must admit, I do tend

to drift off into thinking about

physics or black holes when I get

left behind in the conversation. In

fact, my disability has been a help

in the way. It has freed me from

teaching or sitting on boring

committees and given me more time to

think and do research. Theoretical

physics is one of the few fields in

which being disabled is no handicap.

It's all in your mind. I am very

proud and I have been able to

contribute to our understanding of

the universe.

We are joined by Nick Goldman, a

molecular biologist from the

University of Cambridge who was

there when Professor Hawking was.

And Sean Carroll from the United

States. Thank you for your time.

Nick, his contribution to what we

know about the world around us is

hard to fathom.

It literally is hard

to fathom. It's amazing what you

could teach us by using maths in

using his mind.

Obviously we only

learned this this morning but he had

a huge impact in so many different

things.

things. He was very influential.

When you talk about people who are

maths students, it is amazing and

infant -- inspirational to suit --

to see anyone do such far-reaching

work. At the age of 22, he was told

he best had a few years to live with

motor neurone disease. Is his death

a shock was something which I

suppose we are expecting strange

way?

It's both things. Everyone

expected him to not live so long.

Once you get over that hurdle of

thinking that, you think, it's a

shock that he doesn't live forever.

Sean, talk to us about how you knew

him and the influence he had.

My

kind of physics that I do for

research is similar to what Stephen

did. And he was the master. Everyone

knew him very well. The very first

time I met him was that of physics

conference where we went to a scotch

tasting, we tasted single mob

scotch. He is not going to say, oh

no, I have these medical conditions,

I can't participate with everyone

else. Its attitude towards life was

he was going to participate to the

fullest. He had an enormous impact

on what we do.

He talked a bit about

him there. He clearly had a very

good sense of humour.

Absolutely.

good sense of humour.

Absolutely. He

was the most stubborn person I have

ever met. That was a big part of his

personality. He wanted things his

own way. He led and it was an

amazing sense of humour. He was

always cracking jokes of one sort or

another. It took a long time just to

a sentence. You can tell how

important it was to him that some of

those sentences be wisecracks.

In

terms of his influence, there aren't

many theoretical physicists who are

household names. And well-known

around the world.

In the United

States, we regularly do these

surveys of Americans and say, named

a living scientist and Stephen

Hawking is the only person most

people in the United States can name

as a living scientist that shows how

much velocity is.

I want to pick up

that point with you because for U2,

clearly academics and enthralled by

the subjects, he brought that kind

of thing to a vast amount of people.

It's just extraordinary. I remember

a good piece of advice he gave to us

was to not put all the equations in

the book as a practising scientist,

I remember that. Do they want to see

the equations? There are a lot of

circumstances where they don't. We

would do well to remember that.

His

book, A Brief History of Time, many

people admit they have it but they

haven't read it. Even just by having

it on the shelf, you absorbed by

osmosis.

I kind of rent my copy.

I

turned every page. I did actually

read it. I pride myself on that in

some ways. We can't really

underestimate the impact, can we?

One of the amazing things is that

among science communicators, people

who become very well-known and

sharing the passion of science,

Stephen Hawking was a world-class

physicist. He has contribute --

contributed to our understanding of

gravity more than anyone since

Albert Einstein. His discovery of

black holes is one of the things

that physicists like ourselves think

about. We talked about Hawking

radiation and black holes just

recently.

You adhere to talk about

Stephen Hawking, I'm sorry to talk

about this, but we were going to

talk about DNA. -- you are not here.

Re- purpose in the chemical DNA to

store any digital information, not

just any cells, to be the hard disk

drive of life.

The shortest

explanation of something we could

talk about for hours on end.

Thank you both very much indeed. A

celebration of an extraordinary

life.

In so many people getting in

contact and many comments about

Professor Stephen Hawking. NASA

said, remembering him, a renowned

physicist and an ambassador of

science, his theories lost --

unlocked the universe and we and the

world are exploring it. May you keep

lying like Superman in microgravity

as you told us many times.

Let's

talk about something that happened

yesterday.

Philip Hammond declared himself

to be feeling "positively

Tigger-like"

as he delivered his Spring

Statement yesterday.

Steph is at a clothing factory

in north London for us

to see if workers there

have a bounce in their step just

like the Chancellor.

Good morning. I am here at a

clothing manufacturer in north

London. Here they make something

like 10,000 garments every single

week. Why this place is interesting,

our economy is still largely driven

by what we spend in the shops. It's

really interesting to hear about how

we spend our money. Tell me a bit

about how things have changed view.

There was a time where we would do

three, four, 5000 garments reach

different style now it's much more

often. Smaller quantities could

really good quality. People are very

discerning about quality. It's not

disposable like it used to be.

Not

at all. Jenny, I will chat to you

about the spring statement later.

in half an hour.

Plenty more on our website

at the usual address.

Hello, this is Breakfast

with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

We'll bring you the latest news

and sport in just a moment.

Coming up this morning:

Taking on Putin.

The reporter John Sweeney will be

here to tell us about being targeted

by the Russian state as part

of his Panorama investigation

into the power the country's

president wields.

Could DNA be the best

way to store data?

We'll meet the scientists

who believe the smart molecule

could one day become a realistic

permanent storage device

for all our digital files.

Singer Kim Wilde will

be here on the sofa.

She'll tell us why the recording

of her album was a family affair.

And all so she'll be telling us

about aliens.

Good morning,

here's a summary of today's main

stories from BBC News.

Britain's most famous scientist,

Professor Stephen Hawking,

has died at the age of 76.

Hawking's fame came largely

from his best-selling book,

A Brief History of Time,

which outlined his theories

about the universe.

He had a brilliant career

despite being diagnosed with motor

neurone disease in 1964

and being told he had just a few

years to live.

Earlier this morning, his children

released this statement.

We know that news only in the last

few hours or so, but already from

around the globe, it is clear how

influential he has been and how much

loved.

Nasa has reflected

to his life on Twitter.

They said:

We shall continue to reflect on that

throughout the morning for you. But

elsewhere...

Theresa May is expected to announce

sanctions against Russia

after the Kremlin failed

to explain their role in a chemical

attack in Salisbury.

Last night, the Russian Embassy

hinted that the expulsion

of its diplomats from London

would have an impact

on their British

counterparts in Moscow.

An accident and emergency consultant

says he's concerned by the rise

in knife crime after an surge

in admissions from attacks

involving the weapons.

Andreas Crede said

the injuries he treats

are getting more severe.

The number of victims sent

to hospital with knife-inflicted

wounds is at its highest

level for five years.

I think if we don't do something

about it, I think the trend that

we've seen in the last five years

may continue going upwards and I

think that is the big concern that

we all have, that this is an

escalating problem for us.

The creators of The Crown have

admitted Claire Foy who portrays

the Queen was paid less

than her male counterpart.

Matt Smith's portrayal of a young

Duke of Edinburgh earned him more

than Foy's Golden Globe-winning

performance as Queen Elizabeth

in the Netflix drama.

The show's producers said Smith's

previous starring role

in Doctor Who meant he was paid

more than his co-star.

This came out after a news

conference and they were asked, who

is paid more? Extraordinary given

the discussions we've been having

for the last year or so.

Magnificently awkward as well.

But

that's the reality.

Exactly.

The public are being asked

for their views on the future

of the 1p and 2p coins.

Ministers are carrying out a review

of cash transactions due to a rise

in customers using non-cash

payments such as contactless

and online spending.

The consultation will also look

at whether £50 notes should be kept.

I know I'm old-fashioned but I like

these pennies.

I can't remember the

last time I used one in a shop. I

put them in a jar. Kat was saying

one in 12 is thrown away?

Thrown in

the bin on the BBC website.

In the

bin?

50% are used once before they

are put into a jar.

But you have to

count your pennies!

After that one

in 12 is thrown into the bin, taken

out of their pockets with tissues

and old tee pegs and put into the

bin.

Genuine outrage! People throw

money in the bin, I can't believe

it!

Look after the pennies and the

pounds will look after themselves!

I

feel a campaign coming on!

We will

start at the Winter Olympics,

another medal for Britain at the

Winter Olympics.

Let's speak to our reporter

Kate Grey who's in Pyeongchang..

More success, bring us up to date on

the latest medal?

You will know the names well now,

Meena Fitzpatrick and her guide, Jen

Kehoe, have won their third medal of

the Games, adding to the silver and

bronze they won earlier in the week.

This time a silver in the giant

slalom. They get to attempt at the

course, and they help the silver

medal position throughout the day.

They must be over the moon because

this is their debut Games and

they've won three medals. A

brilliant Games for them so far.

Great Britain's Kelly Gallagher, who

got gold in Sochi, came fifth, still

hunting for that first medal at the

Games, though. To update you on the

curling, Great Britain beat Germany

this morning in the wheelchair

curling and they're currently up

against the USA but are behind at

the moment. We will keep you up to

date on that as that game

progresses.

Kate, thanks very much, hopefully we

will be talking to you later about

more success in Pyeongchang but for

now, keep warm. To the rest of the

sports news now...

Manchester United are out

of the Champions League

after a dismal home

defeat to Sevilla.

The tie was poised at 0-0

from the first leg,

but Sevilla took control by scoring

a crucial away goal with less

than 20 minutes left.

The Spanish side then put the tie

to bed with a second soon after.

And although Romelu Lukaku

pulled a late goal back,

it wasn't enough

for United, who exit the competition

in the last 16 and now just

have the FA Cup left as the only

trophy they can win this season.

I sit in this chair twice

in the Champions League and I have

knocked out Man United at home,

not at Old Trafford.

I sit in this chair

with Porto, Man United out.

I sit in this chair with Real Madrid

and Man United out.

I don't think it's something

new for them, for the club

and of course, being

Manchester United manager and losing

a Champions League tie, at home,

is a delusion, obviously.

You can see why it's angered the

fans, like its not his

responsibility, it just happens to

Manchester United!

Tonight the final last 16 ties take

place, with Chelsea aiming to become

the third English side

into the quarter-finals.

But they'll be well up against it

taking on the Spanish

league leaders Barcelona

in the Nou Camp.

It's poised at 1-1

from the first leg.

Every single player wants to play

this type of game at Barcelona at

the Nou Camp. You must be excited.

Some of my players have never played

in this stadium at the Nou Camp,

this is the first time and we want

to try to do our best.

The Cheltenham Festival is under

way, with Buveur D'Air the big

winner on day one.

The Nicky Henderson-trained horse

was the odds-on favourite

going into the Champion Hurdle,

but he was pushed all the way

by the 7-1 shot Melon,

winning by barely a neck

on the line.

The win means Buveaur D'Air

retains his title after winning

the same race last year.

More Cheltenham through the rest of

the week and the crowd looked

brilliant yesterday, fantastic

pictures from the stands of the

course, the enormous crowd with the

famous Cheltenham roar when the

festival opens up so looking good.

Very heavy underfoot, I'm told,

because of the beast from the east,

it is still very boggy.

Good for

some and not for others. A festival

of tweed as well. I feel the need,

the need for tweed!

A different look

to Aintree, you don't see much tweed

there!

In terms of surface area it's

the largest country on earth,

with well over double the population

of the UK and vast reserves

of oil and gas.

So how can Russia cowed

by the threat of sanctions?

Later today, the Prime Minister

will announce her plans to punish

Moscow

for its apparent role

in the poisoning of a former spy

and his daughter in Salisbury.

These are expected to involve

the expulsion of a substantial

number of the 58 Russian diplomats

currently in London,

significant financial sanctions

against wealthy Russians

with links to the Kremlin

and possible curbs on the Russian

funded TV station, RT.

Which of these options

might work best?

Let's speak to the economist,

Evghenia Sleptsova,

who is in our London newsroom.

We know the deadline ran out last

night and Theresa May is likely to

talk today about sanctions that

might be put in place, what evidence

is there that things work and what

kind of sanctions work?

Sanctions do need to be well

targeted and well thought through.

The evidence we have with Ukraine

related sanctions is that sanctions

that don't necessarily punish the

whole of the Russian economy but do

make life more difficult for people,

or for sectors close to Putin and

the Kremlin, those sanctions do tend

to work better. Then things like

expulsion of diplomats, that is the

mildest response, that's what was

done with Litvinenko, and that

doesn't do anything.

Very interesting what you say

because with the expulsion of

diplomats it becomes a sort of tit

for tat war in some ways?

Exactly.

And you just don't have dialogue any

more, so you don't have people to

talk to.

So dialogue is important.

You said things that affect people

on the streets is important, so how

would you do that, how would that be

implemented?

People on the street, I'm not sure

it's going to affect people on the

street because Russia is using

sanctions as an excuse essentially

for a weaker economy, and also to

portray the West as an external

enemy, so it's not necessarily going

to turn the public opinion.

Could

sanctions possibly have the reverse

effect in someway is? We do have

close ties with Russia in some ways

with regard to industry and all the

rest of it, could they have a

detrimental effect on the UK

economy?

It depends what sanctions are put in

place. Of course the most sensitive

area, and this is something that

differentiates the UK from the rest

of the EU, is the amount of shaded

capital from Russia. This is

something the UK has been prompted

to tackle for a long time, and

hasn't been. Tackling that, which

would send a signal to Russia, that,

OK, it's no longer business as

usual, and we are prepared to also

bear some costs to actually stop the

flow of...

Well, essentially money laundering.

Okays. What about targeted...

Targeting individuals, would that be

effective?

The question we have is there are

already quite tough sanctions

imposed on a lot of Russian

individuals against... Following the

Ukrainian crisis. Targeting a few

Russian oligarchs who haven't yet

been targeted by Ukraine sanctions

might have some effect. But it's

really hard to tell because what

happens is once you do, let's say,

asset freezes on those individuals,

the capital flows back to Russia, so

that is something that Putin wants

as well.

Very interesting talking to you.

Evghenia Sleptsova, thank you very

much indeed. We know the Prime

Minister during a meeting of the

National Security Council and she is

then expected to unveil possibly new

sanctions on Russia and we'll have

more on that through the programme.

We are also reflecting on the life

of Professor Stephen Hawking. Is

family released a statement saying

he died at the age of 76. Many

sending their reflections on the

influence it has had. Even people

from NASA, people saying they read

his book. He said a big influence on

the way they look at the world

around them. We will be talking

about him trapped the programme.

Let's have a quick look at whether

White now. Matt, he warned us about

snow. But it's not looking like that

right now.

There is some colder weather on the

way. Enjoy today. The mildest day of

the week the vast majority.

Temperatures in the mid-teens.

Increasingly windy. Later on, rein

in the West. The lid on the chilly

side. In the past hour, temperatures

below freezing. This area of low

pressure, out in the West, will

bring rain into western areas. Some

very mild air from western parts of

France. Skies are clear to some.

Hazy sunshine to take us through the

morning. It will still stay bright

without sunshine at times and

eastern areas. Great conditions

developing throughout. A few

splashes of rein to take us through

the day across western areas. Over

25 millimetres, and a bit of rein to

the vilest of Wales, the Isle of

Man. Much wetter later on. For

Scotland, rain comes and goes.

Across many western areas as you can

see, some Gaels the breeze picks up.

The breeze does boost the

temperatures. Maybe 15 degrees to

the north of London. We finish in

eastern areas on a high note. The

hazy sunshine around. Clear skies

and heavy rain towards the

south-west of England. Just inching

a little bit northwards.

Temperatures up in this part of the

country but across parts of eastern

Scotland, another cool night. For

tomorrow, slightly different. The

damp start in Northern Ireland and

the Midlands, towards the

south-east. It could turn little bit

wintry over the tops of the southern

Upland 's and eventually into the

Highlands. It brightens up. Devon

and Cornwall, a few thundery

showers. The wins will be lightest.

The cold, windy day across northern

England. On the eastern side of the

Grampians. And very northern edge of

the Pennines as well. 11 degrees in

the south. Is this high pressure

builds, at the moment, looking

limited to southern parts of the

country.

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond,

delivered his Spring Statement

yesterday.

Steph is at a clothing factory

in North London to see if workers

there have a spring in their step

about the state of the economy.

there have a spring in their step

about the state of the economy.

I

about the state of the economy.

I would

about the state of the economy.

I would love

about the state of the economy.

I would love a

about the state of the economy.

I would love a new

about the state of the economy.

I would love a new frock.

about the state of the economy.

I would love a new frock. It's

about the state of the economy.

I would love a new frock. It's a

about the state of the economy.

I would love a new frock. It's a

fascinating being here. Just seeing

how these guys work.

how these guys work. We are really

seeing the business change. Shoppers

have changed. It is to be mass

production. Not making as many of

them. There is a change in that

disposable fashion. How is business

for you? It changed quite a bit.

It's a fantastic time to be a

manufacturer. A lot of people assume

it would be in the Far East. There

has been a massive change. No one

can react as quickly as the UK so

instead of having thousands of

thousands of garments, it was 43,000

garments, we have lots more

different styles. But not as many as

the quantity.

And what has that

meant for price? We have seen prices

drop across the board in of

different areas.

We have got

excellent girls hears their machine

skills are passed. Making sure that

we get our productivity high.

I will

let you get on. It's about trying to

make sure the economy is going.

Sophie, this is a business which

reflects how we are changing.

reflects how we are changing.

It is

the UK, we are still based on how

much we spend.

much we spend. The target is 2%, as

Philip Hammond said. Consumers being

able to spend less.

What did you

make of what the Chancellor had to

say? He said he was being positively

"tiggerish" about it.

I'm not sure I

am the same without it. There are a

lot of headwinds. GDP growth is less

than a lot of the economies. The

Brexit referendum and how we

negotiate Brexit will have an

overarching effect on how well we

grow over the next few years, it

could be good in the future but it

could not be. That uncertainty is

wearing on the UK economy.

There

will be more from the little bit

later and I will show you more foxes

Biko but certainly girls here in the

guys are working very fast and

making stuff this morning.

It's impressive to watch, slightly

less than arising.

28 years ago the yacht 'Maiden' made

history when its female crew became

the first to sail the Whitbread

Round the World Race.

the first to sail the

Now the vessel

is being restored ahead of its next

adventure to promote

education for girls.

Breakfast's John Maguire

is in Hamble and can tell us more.

Good morning. You may remember we

brought you live pictures on

Breakfast just over a year ago of

Maiden coming back here on the river

Hamble where she was first refitted

more than 30 years ago and it has to

be said she was in a slightly sorry

state when she was reunited with her

famous Skip this Tracy Edwards and

she is undergoing some major surgery

the next chapter in her life and a

very different voyage.

OK, John, here we are inside the

tent and the Maiden is here in its

scaffolding. Almost 30 years since

she was first converted into a yacht

ready to race around the world's

oceans, Maiden is back. She is in

the same boat shed as the first

refitted and with the same man in

charge.

We didn't know what we were

letting ourselves in for until we

blasted all the paint and fell off

the boat inside and out and then we

can actually judge what it was and

there was a lot more. Once you get

into it, you find other jobs.

into it, you find other jobs.

In

1990, Tracy Edwards and her team

sales around the globe and into the

record books as the first all-female

clue of the Whitbread race. Last

year, Maiden was rescued from the

Seychelles and brought back to her

spiritual home. She made a sorry but

very welcome sight.

A bit emotional

really. I haven't seen the boat

since 1990 when the race finished.

Right. And then all of a sudden,

last summer, she reappeared again.

Duncan also worked back on the yacht

in the 80s and has a very personal

link with her.

One of the girls from

the first crew never actually did

the round the world trip because I

separated from the rest of them and

married her. She was the first of

the two doctors.

Maiden has been

restored to embark later this year

on another round the world

adventure, this time taking three

years as a crew promotes education

for girls. This refit will see her

transformed from the race yacht were

comfort was jettisoned and to save

weight to one where life on board

should be easier. With so much being

refurbished or replaced when she

returns to the water in the summer,

it will feel like her maiden voyage

but in many ways, omission will be

the same. To once again promote

challenge, at venture and

opportunity for women and the girls.

I am with Tracy Edwards. Good

morning to you. We are battling the

wind, the friends.

Initially when we

bought her and we got her home and

looked into it, the aluminium hull

had been eaten away.

It's

interesting she is not coming back

to race. Something very, very

different.

We were restoring her to

the former glory. With teamed up

with Her Royal Highness Princess

Hussain and another of her father,

King Hussein, we are going to do a

three-year world tour and raise

money for girls education. There are

going to do something towards

changing things.

And you will be

handing over the keys. Handing of

the keys to a new skipper.

Absolutely. It's been quite strange

choosing someone who skipper my

baby. We are very confident that her

and we are looking for a new crew

and it's fantastic. You are looking

for a new crew, recruitment survey.

We are working with the magenta

project. They are the all-female

team and we will be seeking women to

come from all around the world to

prove the Maiden.

Good luck. That is

it from us the minute. Join

in half an hour.

Plenty more on our website

at the usual address.

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

Stephen Hawking, one

of the world's most acclaimed

physicists and authors,

has died aged 76.

He lived with a form of motor

neurone disease for much of his life

but became one of the most talked

about scientists since Einstein.

In a statement, his children

said his brilliance and humour

inspired people across the world.

I don't have much positive to say

about motor neurone disease,

but it taught me not to pity

myself and instead get

on with what I could do.

Good morning, it's Wednesday

the 14th of March.

Also this morning:

Russia fails

to meet the Prime Minister's

midnight deadline to explain how

a nerve agent was used to attack

a former spy in Salisbury.

Theresa May will tell parliament

what action she plans to take.

Good morning from this clothing

manufacturers in North London,

where we're getting reaction

to yesterday's Spring Statement

from the Chancellor,

he said the economy is growing

but some are saying it's not

growing fast enough.

I will be looking at why.

In sport, a dismal night

for Manchester United

in the Champions League.

They exit at the last 16 stage

after a 2-1 home defeat to Sevilla.

Ans all change, plans to get rid

of one and two pence coins

are under discussion.

We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Matt has the weather.

Good morning. A lovely but rather

chilly start in Neasden areas so far

today but actually it will be one of

the mildest days of the week --

Eastern. Dry in the east, wind and

rain in the west. Your full forecast

in 15 minutes. See you then.

OK,

Matt, thanks very much.

Good morning.

First, our main story.

Britain's most famous scientist,

Professor Stephen Hawking,

has died at the age of 76.

Hawking's fame came largely

from his best-selling book,

A Brief History of Time,

which outlined his theories

about the universe.

He had a brilliant career

despite being diagnosed with motor

neurone disease in 1964

and being told he had just a few

years to live.

Earlier this morning, his children

released this statement.

Nick Higham has been looking back

on the life of Stephen Hawking.

He was instantly recognisable

and utterly remarkable.

The visionary scientist,

helpless in his high-tech

wheelchair, who nonetheless

transformed our view

of the universe.

While a student, he developed

the first signs of motor neurone

disease.

Gradually his body shut down

until he could communicate only

using a computerised voice

synthesiser, controlled,

to start with, by hand.

It didn't hold him back.

I was never actually told that I had

only two years to live,

but I could see the doctors didn't

think my prospects were good.

His fame sprang from his book,

A Brief History of Time.

It sold 10 million copies.

But though many bought it,

rather fewer actually read it.

His theories about time,

space and black holes

were stupendously difficult

for non-specialists to grasp,

but he turned out to

have a genius for communication.

He gave lectures and interviews,

and became an unlikely celebrity.

His private life was complicated.

With his wife, Jane,

he had three children and she looked

after him until, in 1990,

he left her for his nurse,

Elaine.

They eventually married only

for claims to emerge that Hawking

had been physically abused.

Police investigated but the case

was dropped for lack of evidence.

The couple later divorced.

Too often we are told that these

are stupid questions to ask,

but this is said by grown-ups

who don't know the answers...

He never lost his sense of humour.

Though by the end, he could only

speak by twitching his cheek to move

an infrared beam.

I don't have much positive to say

about motor neurone disease,

but it taught me not

to pity myself and to get

on with what I still could do.

I'm happier now than before

I developed the condition.

In 2014, his life was dramatised

in The Theory of Everything,

with Eddie Redmayne playing Hawking.

..To see happened with

the beginning of time itself.

Stephen, here you are.

At Cambridge, they unveiled a statue

of him, a rare honour

for someone still living.

But few did more to transform our

understanding of the universe

and to overcome personal challenges.

Around the world, people have been

reacting to the news that scientist

Stephen Hawking has died.

We will get through some of those in

a moment.

In the last hour we spoke

to Sean Carroll, a physicist

at the California Institute

of Technology, who reflected

on the type of person

Stephen Hawking was.

I'd like to say he was the most

stubborn person I've ever met. That

was a big part of his personality.

He wanted things his own way. He got

them more often than not. And he

leavened it with this amazing sense

of humour. You heard in the clip you

already played, you know, he was

always cracking jokes of one sort or

another and it took him a long time

just to make a sentence. So you

could tell how important it was to

him that some of those sentences be

wisecracks, not just serious

pronouncements from on high.

Around the world, people have been

reacting to the news.

Nasa have tweeted to say:

The creator of the world wide

web, Tim Berners-Lee,

has said:

And Cambridge University have

paid tribute with one

of Stephen Hawking's quotes:

All of our guests this morning have

spoken about his sense of humour and

I want to read this, which many

people are posting this morning,

John Oliver interviewed him and he

said he stated he believed that

there could be an incident number of

parallel universes, does that mean

there's a universe where I'm smarter

than you? Stephen Hawking said yes,

he said there is also one where

you're funny.

Delivered beautifully!

It's really clear, not only was he

hugely intelligent etc but really

very very amusing as well. We will

be paying tribute to him and

remembering him throughout the

programme this morning.

In other news today...

Theresa May is expected to announce

sanctions against Russia

after the Kremlin failed

to explain their role in a chemical

attack in Salisbury.

Last night, the Russian

Embassy hinted

that the expulsion of its diplomats

from London would have an impact

on their British

counterparts in Moscow.

Jane-Frances Kelly reports.

It began as an attack

on the streets of Salisbury.

The poisoning of a former Russian

intelligence officer

and his daughter.

But there is now diplomatic deadlock

between Britain and Moscow.

I'm standing outside the Russian

embassy here in London

and the midnight deadline

has just passed.

The only reaction the British

government has got from the Russians

so far are angry denials

and the threat of retaliatory

reaction if they take

measures against Moscow.

They've also helpfully

got a screen outside

here that

shows their Twitter feed,

and on it they say:

The Russian Foreign Minister,

Sergey Lavrov, has objected to only

being given 24 hours to respond

to the claim Russia used

a chemical weapon.

Russia should get ten days, he said,

accusing Britain of flouncing

the chemical weapons convention.

Meanwhile, in Salisbury,

painstaking work continues.

and Yulia Skripal in their red BMW

car on the day they were poisoned.

Separately a number of deaths

are also being reinvestigated

by police and MI5 after claims

of Russian involvement.

They include a man in his 60s found

dead in New Maldon on Monday,

who is believed to be Russian

businessman Nikolai Glushkov,

a friend of Boris Berezovsky,

who was found hanged

in his home in 2013.

This morning Theresa May will be

briefed by her national security

council before going to Parliament,

where she's expected to announce

a series of measures against Russia.

Jane-Frances Kelly, BBC News.

Jonathan Blake is in Westminster

for us this morning.

Jonathan, good morning. The deadline

has now passed, as Jane-Frances

Kelly pointed out, what happens now?

The Prime Minister will set out what

action the government will take in a

statement to the House of Commons

later. The immediate options she has

our, as we've heard in recent days,

expelling Russian diplomats from the

UK, possibly even the Russian

ambassador himself. Tightening

travel restrictions on Russians

coming into the UK, making it harder

for them to get a visa, and possible

use of laws to freeze the financial

assets of Russians fear in the UK,

or proposing new laws to take those

powers further. Those are the sort

of things I think we'll hear from

the Prime Minister today because

those things the UK can do on its

own. Any other action would need

cooperation from other countries

within the European Union and

further afield, and it could be

tricky to secure tough economic

sanctions against Russia across the

EU because some countries are

nervous about doing that. If you

look to the UN, Russia has a veto on

the Security Council. But the time

for talk, as we've heard a lot of it

in recent days about the

government's response against

Russia, that's now over with the

midnight deadline passed and the

time has come for action. Will find

out exactly what when the Prime

Minister addresses parliament later

on -- we'll find out.

Jonathan, good

to talk to you. Thanks very much.

The government is to spend £50

million on trying to ease racial

and religious tensions.

It is one of a number

of proposals in the government's

integrated communities strategy,

which is to be published more

than a year after an independent

review found the country had become

more divided as it

had become diverse.

The creators of The Crown have

admitted Claire Foy who portrays

the Queen was paid less

than her male counterpart.

Matt Smith's portrayal

of a young Duke of Edinburgh

earned him more than

Foy's Golden Globe-winning

performance as Queen Elizabeth

in the Netflix drama.

The show's producers said Smith's

previous starring role

in Doctor Who meant he was paid

more than his co-star.

It came out because they were doing

a press conference and the producers

were asked and they had to reveal

the Queen was paid less, fictitious

Queen obviously, than the Duke of

Edinburgh. Extraordinary.

You are

well aware of how the industry

works, for the body of work Matt

Smith had done until that point,

their argument was he was harder to

get hold of than Claire Foy at that

time and they had to pay more to get

him.

I think they can make their own

arguments!

I'm just putting it out

there!

Talking of money, we want

your views on these, have you got a

2p?

The public are being asked

for their views on the future

of the 1p and 2p coins.

Ministers are carrying out a review

of cash transactions due

to a rise in customers

using non-cash payments such

as contactless and online spending.

The consultation will also look

at whether £50 notes

should be kept.

I'm thinking it's a great shame if

they are lost, you don't use them

much?

5p is as low as I go. You

can't use them in parking machines

or anything so we need to find a use

for them other than putting them in

a big bottle.

You're watching Breakfast, good

morning, thanks for watching.

A long-awaited plan on integration

in England will be published

by the government today,

over a year after an independent

review found the country had become

more divided as it had

become more diverse.

So what are the proposals?

First, to allow five key areas,

Bradford, Waltham Forest in London,

Peterborough, Walsall and Blackburn,

to adopt their own integration plans

The introduction of

personalised skills training

to help women in isolated

communities find work

Ensure schools are teaching British

values and mixing pupils

from different ethnic

and religious backgrounds

And to promote the English language

across all communities

in England.

With us now is Maya

Ghazal, who moved

to Birmingham from Syria

in 2015, and Mike Omoniyi,

the CEO of the TCS Network.

Good morning to you both.

I came to the country and I learnt

English in school and stuff like

that pretty much everyone else

experienced the same thing. It might

issue with the comments is it puts

blame all responsibility on the

wrong people. 15 million seems like

a good amount of money to spend on

integration and one thing I welcome

in her report is integration is a

part of multiculturalism, which is

fine, but it seems to put them on

people like me who came all

refugees, to say they are not doing

enough and really, poverty is a much

bigger issue for learning English. I

didn't drop in the richest

households, there are difficulties

in learning English. Attaining, that

kind of stuff. This was Port seems

to have missed that element.

You

arrived here when you how walls?

Was

16.

At that point, you spoke little

English.

For me, my expectations and

imaginations, a basket of chocolate

at my door, it was quite difficult.

I applied for three schools and I

got rejected. They didn't quite get

my knowledge. I had my GCSE from

Syria. I said you can check me. It

was the biggest thing that made that

barrier, I really did not speak

confident English. I was talking

bits and pieces of what I heard.

You

speak beautiful English. How did you

learn? What was the most effective

way? And learning it quickly, which

was what you did.

It comes to the

person. And the person feeling very

determined to learn a language. You

want to blend in with your

community. I was 16 and I expected

to have friends and I wanted that to

happen. I really worked hard. I

stopped using Arabic, I read English

books, I translated everything in

the English-language. I wanted to

work hard on that because I wanted

to carry on with education. Because

education is like the future, and is

something very important to me.

We

will speak to the Communities

Secretary later on who talks about

his mother learning English at the

age of 15 and what difference that

made to her.

The Cabinet minister,

whose father was a bus driver. He

said he went through his childhood,

and being physically attacked for

being a different colour.

There is

money being put into teaching people

English. I wonder whether the next

generation of young Pakistani people

growing up world went through what

he did.

Hopefully not. This is one

issue where rhetoric matters. With

Brexit, we saw a rise in hate crime

after that. Some statements, people

learning English, it harbours the

sentiment and can exacerbate

xenophobia. People aren't encouraged

to learn English, they say you have

to learn it. I think what we have to

do is properly invest in education

and tackle poverty. Those other

things that people back. Also being

active contributors to society.

Joseph Rowntree saying, one in five

children are in poverty. 300,000

pensioners. That seems to be where

it should be. As much as I love the

government, and that is a good step

in the right direction. You can see

it is smoke and mirrors. The

Institute of Fiscal Studies said

there will be reduced spending on

students if the government doesn't

change course. We have to make sure

we are looking at the right places.

Also, education.

Thank you both are

joining us. Lovely to talk to you.

That is find out about the weather.

-- let us.

The breeze will pick up and later on

we will see some breeze in western

areas. A bit of sunshine, a bit of.

Was eastern England and parts of

southern Scotland. That will not

last too long. The area of low

pressure to the west of us, bringing

rain into western fringes. It will

scoop up some mild air from western

France. A bit of hazy sunshine

overhead. The temperatures will be

boosted. Not a bad day to much of

eastern Scotland. But in the West

where we will continue to see cloud

Picken at times. That will turn a

bit heavier into the afternoon. The

rain across Devon and Cornwall will

get heavier later. Gales developing.

But too much rain in western Wales.

Also into the Isle of Man and

Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Another area where will see more

heavy and persistent rain to take us

overnight. Many central and eastern

areas stay dry and bright overnight.

Around 12 degrees to the Clyde

Valley later. Into this evening,

it's fairly mild. Quite windy with

gales in the West. There will be

some further rain at times. Heavy

rain across south-west England will

spread into Wales and other parts of

southern England. Keeping

temperatures up tomorrow morning,

the east of Scotland and north-east

England, a bit on the chilly side.

Some morning sunshine to be enjoyed.

The area of rain, the start of

least, the edges through the morning

into northern England and southern

Scotland in East Anglia. As it hits

coal direct, into the Grampians, a

bit of snowfall. It will feel cold

across the north tomorrow as the

wind picks up. Further south, still

double-figure temperatures. A few

heavy showers into the south for

Friday with some sunshine in

between. Still windy. Across the

eastern side of the Grampians into

Friday, the eastern side of the

southern options. We could see some

snow. A precursor of what will

happen through Friday night into the

weekend. Huge amounts of snow but