:00:00. > :00:08.Business leaders in Northamptonshire say they're working together
:00:09. > :00:12.Next Wednesday, the Prime Minister will trigger Article 50,
:00:13. > :00:16.officially starting Britain's exit from the European Union.
:00:17. > :00:19.And bosses in the county have been meeting tonight
:00:20. > :00:24.capitalise on that historic moment, to grow existing industries,
:00:25. > :00:30.attract external investment and create more jobs.
:00:31. > :00:35.Sam Read has been hearing how they'll do it.
:00:36. > :00:36.Logistics, moving things around is one
:00:37. > :00:43.of the driving forces of the
:00:44. > :00:45.Northamptonshire economy, and so key to future jobs.
:00:46. > :00:49.Iain Rogers in Northampton employs more than 100
:00:50. > :00:51.people, its lorries end up across Europe.
:00:52. > :00:54.We came here last year and the director told the East she was
:00:55. > :01:06.She stands by that but says one of her concerns may
:01:07. > :01:10.administration as our vehicles cross borders, there might be a lot more
:01:11. > :01:14.So it might mean we have to take on extra people to manage
:01:15. > :01:18.So that means extra costs so that is a conversation we will have
:01:19. > :01:25.On the other side of town, at this domestic
:01:26. > :01:28.logistics firm, the boss told us last year she was voting Leave.
:01:29. > :01:30.Now she is keen to get things moving.
:01:31. > :01:33.Can we please just get on and get on with the negotiations?
:01:34. > :01:35.I think what we need to do is give the Government
:01:36. > :01:39.a chance to go away and negotiate with Europe a good deal for Britain,
:01:40. > :01:41.and I am confident that is what will happen.
:01:42. > :01:45.Tonight, businesses from across Northamptonshire will meet here.
:01:46. > :01:48.The purpose is to put previous differences of opinion aside and
:01:49. > :01:50.look at what needs to be done to create jobs
:01:51. > :01:57.Politics drives economics and economics drives business so
:01:58. > :02:06.Lecturers here at the University of Northampton are
:02:07. > :02:07.amongst the organisers for tonight's event.
:02:08. > :02:10.They say businesses will be wary going into talks with the EU
:02:11. > :02:13.In terms of negotiations, the quicker and sooner
:02:14. > :02:18.we have clarity and certainty, I would say the fundamental issue
:02:19. > :02:20.really is control of immigration against market access, but certainly
:02:21. > :02:23.those people currently working in the UK that are from the EU, that
:02:24. > :02:34.Students are here from around the world, many are about to become
:02:35. > :02:39.My family have asked me if I am scared that I will be thrown
:02:40. > :02:43.I was laughing, I said, this is not America!
:02:44. > :02:47.It is affecting me but not as much as
:02:48. > :02:49.other people who came to the country recently.
:02:50. > :02:56.I do not think there will be any major changes immediately.
:02:57. > :02:58.But going on a few years into the future, there
:02:59. > :03:00.will be definitely changes to business confidence.
:03:01. > :03:02.The economy has done better than many predicted since
:03:03. > :03:06.The message from tonight's events is businesses need
:03:07. > :03:14.They need to concentrate on what the business is good
:03:15. > :03:19.at to try to make their products better, look at
:03:20. > :03:22.innovation, to reduce costs, to look at their skills base to make sure
:03:23. > :03:26.they have the skills for the future, and also just look at what
:03:27. > :03:27.opportunities may be around the corner.
:03:28. > :03:30.We do not yet know the destination of talks with the EU so
:03:31. > :03:33.for now, businesses have to find their own weight to local economic
:03:34. > :03:40.Sam Read, BBC Look East, Northampton.
:03:41. > :03:43.But while voters in Northamptonshire were about 60 to 40 for Brexit,
:03:44. > :03:44.those in Cambridge were overwhelmingly pro-Remain.
:03:45. > :03:46.The leader of the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats paid
:03:47. > :03:51.I asked Tim Farron what his message for the local
:03:52. > :04:01.Businesses should feel like they've got the ability to change
:04:02. > :04:03.the direction of this country, as should everybody,
:04:04. > :04:06.We know that the British people voted marginally, narrowly,
:04:07. > :04:09.to leave the European Union, but that was not a mandate
:04:10. > :04:11.for the Prime Minister to give us the hardest possible Brexit,
:04:12. > :04:14.to damage education, farming and business in the process.
:04:15. > :04:16.But you don't know what the deal's going to look like yet,
:04:17. > :04:19.so in a sense, aren't you fear-mongering, rather than helping
:04:20. > :04:26.So, we don't know what the deal's going to look like, so it's right
:04:27. > :04:29.So, outside the Single Market, that means that, for example,
:04:30. > :04:31.agricultural producers in Cambridgeshire will be facing
:04:32. > :04:36.Given that 75% of their exports are to the Single Market,
:04:37. > :04:44.that is a crackers thing for a government that wants to take
:04:45. > :04:48.care of its own people to choose to deal, and this deal will end up
:04:49. > :04:51.being done at some point in the next two years,
:04:52. > :04:52.then it will be imposed on the British people.
:04:53. > :04:55.Someone is going to sign this deal off at the end,
:04:56. > :04:58.either it is going to be the politicians, or it will be
:04:59. > :05:00.the people, in a referendum on that deal that as yet,
:05:01. > :05:03.But businesses don't like uncertainty, do they?
:05:04. > :05:06.So, if you are saying you want another referendum in
:05:07. > :05:08.two years' time, that's two years of more uncertainty.
:05:09. > :05:10.That can't be popular in the business community.
:05:11. > :05:12.It is increasingly popular that the Liberal Democrats
:05:13. > :05:14.are the only party giving the people, including businesses,
:05:15. > :05:17.the chance to say yes or no to the eventual deal the Government
:05:18. > :05:22.If they feel they may actually have to face the people in a referendum
:05:23. > :05:24.at the end of all this, there is much more incentive for
:05:25. > :05:29.So, why have you come to Cambridge with that message,
:05:30. > :05:31.Why aren't you spreading the message amongst the pro-Leavers?
:05:32. > :05:34.How we approach these things is all about attitude and tone.
:05:35. > :05:37.I was talking to a big employer up in my patch,
:05:38. > :05:40.up in Cumbria, just two weeks ago, and he said to me,
:05:41. > :05:42."Brexit is a disaster, but we are positive
:05:43. > :05:45.He said, "We're a Victorian company, we've lived through three fires,
:05:46. > :05:48.umpteen floods, two world wars, we'll get through Brexit and we'll
:05:49. > :05:52.Now, I think that is the right attitude.
:05:53. > :05:54.It doesn't change the fact that Brexit is a disaster.
:05:55. > :05:57.Detectives investigating the death of a woman in Milton Keynes say
:05:58. > :05:59.coverage on the BBC's Crimewatch programme last night has led
:06:00. > :06:04.Hang Yin Leung was attacked at her home
:06:05. > :06:07.during a burglary and died 11 days later in hospital.
:06:08. > :06:10.Police say they've had several calls about newly released CCTV
:06:11. > :06:15.Six men broke into the house in Bolbeck Park in January
:06:16. > :06:17.and stole several items, including a rolex watch
:06:18. > :06:24.Technology experts have been gathering in Cambridge tonight
:06:25. > :06:26.to discuss high tech solutions to the city's congestion problems.
:06:27. > :06:29.A number of schemes are being planned,
:06:30. > :06:32.including smart bus apps and closer tracking
:06:33. > :06:42.Cities where driverless pods ferry you from place to place.
:06:43. > :06:46.Where you will know how clean or not your air is.
:06:47. > :06:48.Be shown where you can find the perfect place to park.
:06:49. > :06:54.At Microsoft tonight, business and politicians working together to
:06:55. > :07:02.Cambridge has always been a place of innovation and it's been a place
:07:03. > :07:10.where the best brains of the planet have come together
:07:11. > :07:12.so we think we really are best, well-placed to take advantage
:07:13. > :07:17.to use it and harness it to solve some of the problems that all
:07:18. > :07:20.Sensors across Cambridge collecting data.
:07:21. > :07:22.Numbers of vehicles, where the bottlenecks are.
:07:23. > :07:24.Every bike that passes here is counted up here, 1876 today,
:07:25. > :07:26.that's valuable data to help cut congestion
:07:27. > :07:38.And arriving this summer, a new travel
:07:39. > :07:45.app telling you to the second when your bus will be at your stop.
:07:46. > :07:48.You can check exactly where on the map
:07:49. > :07:51.is your bus, so you can see where your bus is before you can
:07:52. > :08:01.The idea is to use the best brains of Cambridge, all the data,
:08:02. > :08:05.to help people travel around this area
:08:06. > :08:08.better and that will help them work, they will help jobs, it will get
:08:09. > :08:11.them to and from their homes or their schools.
:08:12. > :08:12.A city trying to become smarter, greener,
:08:13. > :08:14.less congested and easier to get around.
:08:15. > :08:20.Mike Cartwright, BBC Look East, Cambridge.
:08:21. > :08:22.Peterborough's Olympic and Paralympic heroes have been
:08:23. > :08:25.honoured with the Freedom of the City this evening.
:08:26. > :08:30.27-year-old gymnast Louis Smith has won four Olympic medals
:08:31. > :08:33.in London and Rio and found wider fame when he won
:08:34. > :08:37.24-year-old rower James Fox has three World Championship titles
:08:38. > :08:41.as well as the Paralympic gold he won in Rio 2016.
:08:42. > :08:44.Ahead of the ceremony at Peterborough Town Hall, the pair
:08:45. > :08:49.Well, Peterborough is home, this is where
:08:50. > :08:52.it all began, this is where it all started, this is where all
:08:53. > :08:54.my friends are, all of my family are.
:08:55. > :08:56.I've had incredible support from Peterborough and to be given
:08:57. > :09:02.this award just means an incredible, a lot to me.
:09:03. > :09:06.The Freedom of the City is a massive thing, it's an honour
:09:07. > :09:08.for anybody and for us, we do sport for a living,
:09:09. > :09:12.we do what we enjoy and it's just amazing to be recognised.
:09:13. > :09:14.My life's changed and I'm sure Louis' has since we went
:09:15. > :09:25.to the Olympics and Paralympics and to come back to this is incredible.
:09:26. > :09:29.Football finally and Luton Town travelled to Newport
:09:30. > :09:34.meaning they stay at fifth in the table,
:09:35. > :09:37.That's the late news and sport from Look East.
:09:38. > :09:41.I'll leave you with the weather from Alex.
:09:42. > :09:46.Most of the showers from earlier have now faded but
:09:47. > :09:48.there just could be the odd isolated one
:09:49. > :09:51.generally fading to a dry night with some long clear spells.
:09:52. > :09:54.So it is going to be a cold night for tonight.
:09:55. > :09:55.Quite widely, temperatures
:09:56. > :09:59.Locally, they could be lower so the risk of a touch of frost.
:10:00. > :10:02.So, we start the day tomorrow with low pressure on the scene.
:10:03. > :10:05.That's going to mean a windy day and some
:10:06. > :10:08.Having said that, we may well get off to a dry start
:10:09. > :10:11.with some bright weather first thing but it will quickly
:10:12. > :10:14.with rain spreading across all areas by the afternoon.
:10:15. > :10:16.And with that wind, it's not going to be
:10:17. > :10:19.Some showers will follow with some brighter spells
:10:20. > :10:21.but there could be some hail mixed in.
:10:22. > :10:23.So it's going to feel quite cold through tomorrow,
:10:24. > :10:27.But gradually those showers fading and the winds easing.
:10:28. > :10:28.The national weather is coming up but
:10:29. > :10:32.And things calm down by the end of the week,
:10:33. > :10:34.high pressure building in, so some fine weather by Friday.
:10:35. > :10:36.Before then, a rather cloudy day on Thursday with
:10:37. > :10:53.Heavy rain, snow and ice are all in the forecast once again. It was
:10:54. > :10:57.quite a wintry scene today, especially in Scotland. Some very
:10:58. > :11:01.cold looking winter skies here, and we had some snow falling at times in
:11:02. > :11:04.West Lothian. For a while earlier today, there were quite a few
:11:05. > :11:09.showers running through central Scotland, all in that cold air.
:11:10. > :11:14.Right now, we have two areas of cloud, one in northern Scotland and
:11:15. > :11:15.this