:00:11. > :00:15.There are concerns tonight over the future of the Vauxhall car
:00:16. > :00:19.The French firm which owns Peugeot is in advanced talks to buy Vauxhall
:00:20. > :00:29.from General Motors and experts believe that
:00:30. > :00:31.could put the factory's 2,000 jobs at risk.
:00:32. > :00:36.Here's our Merseyside reporter Andy Gill.
:00:37. > :00:39.They make Astras at Ellesmere Port, it's part of General Motors.
:00:40. > :00:43.And it's in talk with the group that owns Peugeot and Citroen, a group
:00:44. > :00:46.One possibility is Peugeot buying Vauxhall, but union officials here
:00:47. > :00:49.told me today that the British government mustn't sit on the fence,
:00:50. > :00:52.and must get involved to protect British jobs.
:00:53. > :00:55.A call backed by the union nationally.
:00:56. > :00:57.Anybody that's buying us needs to commit
:00:58. > :00:59.themselves, and give guarantees for our member's
:01:00. > :01:15.Most of the Astras made here are four exporter.
:01:16. > :01:17.Made with components imported from Europe.
:01:18. > :01:19.Raising questions about what a takeover could mean after Brexit.
:01:20. > :01:22.One industry expert we spoke to today believes Ellesmere Port
:01:23. > :01:23.could be vulnerable because of its
:01:24. > :01:24.geographical isolation, compared to the rest
:01:25. > :01:27.of mainland Europe, and
:01:28. > :01:29.because if the takeover did go ahead Peugeot would have enough capacity
:01:30. > :01:33.on mainland Europe to produce the number of low-cost cars it would
:01:34. > :01:44.I want to make it very clear to Peugeot, if they do
:01:45. > :01:48.become the owners of the Vauxhall and GM brands in Europe, that we
:01:49. > :01:51.have a great operation here, we've got a very big car market,
:01:52. > :01:54.and they would be foolish to forget about
:01:55. > :01:57.that when the looking at their future plans.
:01:58. > :01:59.In Ellesmere Port tonight some concern about the
:02:00. > :02:02.I think it will just move abroad, maybe.
:02:03. > :02:15.Peugeot and General Motors say a sale is not assured.
:02:16. > :02:17.Andy Gill, BBC North West Tonight, Ellesmere Port.
:02:18. > :02:21.Earlier I spoke to the motor industry expert
:02:22. > :02:28.I asked him how serious the threat is to Ellesmere Port.
:02:29. > :02:34.If it does happen then I have real fears
:02:35. > :02:37.about the future of the plants in the UK.
:02:38. > :02:39.Peugeot, Citroen, will look to cut costs.
:02:40. > :02:50.It will be inevitable, I think, that they will be planned
:02:51. > :02:51.the fact that plants in
:02:52. > :02:53.the UK, including Ellesmere Port an efficient, it's easy
:02:54. > :03:00.There is huge uncertainty over our trading relationship with Brexit.
:03:01. > :03:02.I have real fears about the future in
:03:03. > :03:05.Let's explore those two points you just made.
:03:06. > :03:07.Why is it easier to fire workers in the UK
:03:08. > :03:11.If a car company is looking to close plants, it's
:03:12. > :03:14.easier to fire workers in the UK than elsewhere because we have very
:03:15. > :03:16.flexible labour markets, which is good in creating jobs,
:03:17. > :03:18.but also very efficient in destroying them as
:03:19. > :03:23.That's something we are learning to live with at the moment.
:03:24. > :03:26.I think one of the effects of Brexit is that
:03:27. > :03:29.there is huge uncertainty over our future trading relationship with
:03:30. > :03:33.Europe, whether we be in the single market or even in the customs union.
:03:34. > :03:37.In those circumstances, if Peugeot was takeover General Motors,
:03:38. > :03:38.that uncertainty would count against
:03:39. > :03:42.plants in the UK, as to whether to keep production here.
:03:43. > :03:45.One of the reasons that people said they wanted
:03:46. > :03:49.Brexit in the first place was to take back control.
:03:50. > :03:54.Could Ellesmere Port, as a site, as a skilled
:03:55. > :03:57.workforce, not help to drive a renaissance in the British car
:03:58. > :04:00.We've already seen a renaissance in the British car
:04:01. > :04:03.industry in terms of assembly in recent years.
:04:04. > :04:10.Since 2010, output has been up by something like 70%,
:04:11. > :04:12.there's been a wave of investment in the industry.
:04:13. > :04:15.In terms of actual production, and we've seen more
:04:16. > :04:18.Going forward, what do we want to see to
:04:19. > :04:21.And in addition I think we need a big effort
:04:22. > :04:24.terms of industrial strategy to encourage more sourcing of
:04:25. > :04:26.components from the UK to rebuild supply chains here.
:04:27. > :04:28.Professor David Bailey, thank you very much indeed.
:04:29. > :04:31.A Lancashire woman who's become the first
:04:32. > :04:33.from Britain to go and fight against the so-called Islamic State
:04:34. > :04:35.says she's not worried about the possibility
:04:36. > :04:37.of being arrested when she returns home.
:04:38. > :04:39.Kimberley Taylor, who's story we brought you on last week,
:04:40. > :04:42.says her parents cried when she told them she was going to Syria.
:04:43. > :04:45.Kimberly Taylor says she doesn't want to die,
:04:46. > :05:15.What we see here is the greatest fascism of our time.
:05:16. > :05:17.I feel like it's my responsibility to stand up to this.
:05:18. > :05:20.On the front line in the fight against the so-called Islamic State,
:05:21. > :05:22.she joined the Kurdish women's protection units, known
:05:23. > :05:26.Having grown up in Darwin, and studied maths in Liverpool,
:05:27. > :05:28.here she has learned how to use weapons.
:05:29. > :05:30.She says her parents are scared for her, but also proud.
:05:31. > :05:33.When I joined, and I told them that I'd joined, they cried.
:05:34. > :05:36.And then I explained what is the YPJ.
:05:37. > :05:38.What is our ideology and why we need to fight.
:05:39. > :05:41.Why do I need to join and they understood.
:05:42. > :05:44.And they said that if this is something I believe in,
:05:45. > :05:48.Thought to be the first woman from the UK to reach Syria to join
:05:49. > :05:51.the fight against IS the British government warns anyone who travels
:05:52. > :05:53.to Iraq or Syria to fight for either side risks prosecution
:05:54. > :05:56.I don't accept the government's opinion on this.
:05:57. > :05:59.To be honest, I don't accept very much from the government at all.
:06:00. > :06:01.Nobody believes in the government anymore.
:06:02. > :06:04.Nobody believes in the political system of Britain anymore.
:06:05. > :06:13.So, when the British government wants to tell me
:06:14. > :06:15.that I'm a terrorist, or I shouldn't come
:06:16. > :06:31.For now Kimberly Taylor says she has no plans to come home.
:06:32. > :06:33.The Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has called on Ukip
:06:34. > :06:39.It follows his claim to have lost close friends
:06:40. > :06:45.in the Hillsborough disaster, which he has now corrected.
:06:46. > :06:48.His press officer offered to resign saying it had been her error,
:06:49. > :06:54.An experienced TT-racer was killed after his front tyre burst
:06:55. > :06:57.during practice for one of the races last June.
:06:58. > :06:59.An Inquest heard Paul Shoesmith from Cheshire died
:07:00. > :07:11.He lost control of his motorbike at more than 160mph.
:07:12. > :07:12.The Coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure.
:07:13. > :07:15.Figures out today show there's a record number of women
:07:16. > :07:17.An extra 60,000 women joined the workforce
:07:18. > :07:20.in the past year, taking the total to
:07:21. > :07:24.Unemployment in the region went down by seven thousand in the last
:07:25. > :07:26.quarter to 180,000, that's 5% of the region's workforce.
:07:27. > :07:28.A million pounds from the National Lottery is being used
:07:29. > :07:32.Chat Moss, which formed after the last Ice Age,
:07:33. > :07:34.has lost much of its peat, damaging wildlife and plants.
:07:35. > :07:46.It's one of Salford's biggest brown field sites,
:07:47. > :07:48.and that's the way it's going to stay.
:07:49. > :07:51.We actually have carnivorous plants that grow and live on this site.
:07:52. > :07:55.Peat was cut here at Little Woolden Moss,
:07:56. > :07:57.part of Chat Moss for decades, millions of tonnes
:07:58. > :08:05.What's left is being restored as a haven for wildlife including
:08:06. > :08:07.a butterfly that took its name from the moss.
:08:08. > :08:10.The Manchester Argos, it was first discovered here in this area.
:08:11. > :08:14.We want to bring it back onto sites like this and get the habitat back.
:08:15. > :08:22.It's been in the ownership of the wildlife trust since 2012.
:08:23. > :08:25.They say peat bogs trap billions of tonnes of carbon which helps
:08:26. > :08:29.It's a different kind of nature reserve.
:08:30. > :08:42.It's the first time they've seen the horizon and blue skies.
:08:43. > :08:44.The million-pound cheque's from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
:08:45. > :08:46.Today, the Government dispatched the Environment Minister to see
:08:47. > :08:50.This is a sand and gravel from back in the ice age.
:08:51. > :09:07.You can see it's in amongst the buttresses from the tree.
:09:08. > :09:10.One of the things I'm interested to find out is
:09:11. > :09:20.Perhaps we can learn lessons and use that in other parts of the country.
:09:21. > :09:22.Considering it took 10,000 years to evolve, restoring
:09:23. > :09:25.Little Woolden Moss to its former glory will not be a quick job.
:09:26. > :09:26.Mark Edwardson, BBC North West Tonight, Irlam.
:09:27. > :09:29.Football, Manchester City Women have signed the World Player
:09:30. > :09:32.The United States midfielder is joining the English Champions
:09:33. > :09:36.A World Cup winner, Lloyd has scored 96 goals
:09:37. > :09:39.From the facilities, coaching staff, players,
:09:40. > :09:48.It is a unique opportunity and I'm just
:09:49. > :09:50.kind of closed up and worked everything out.
:09:51. > :09:52.And I'm just super excited to get going with this
:09:53. > :09:55.Let's have a look at the weather with Dianne.
:09:56. > :10:02.good evening. World temperatures. Nine, 10 degrees. Couple of spells
:10:03. > :10:05.of sunshine every now and again. This kind of picture will be
:10:06. > :10:09.replicated over the next couple of days. The mild areas are courtesy of
:10:10. > :10:13.the wind direction. South-westerly and then Westley. And it was the Wii
:10:14. > :10:20.game. It is not going to feel cold at all. That is true tonight.
:10:21. > :10:24.Because we have got that milder air around, temperatures are generally
:10:25. > :10:30.in the towns and cities at six or 7 degrees. Not feeling too bad. A
:10:31. > :10:33.mixed bag tomorrow, up early you may see a glimpse of sunshine. Any cloud
:10:34. > :10:37.Will Rowlands. The cloud will bring one or two like showers in. They
:10:38. > :10:44.will die away. Looking at the map, you will see more. Not wall-to-wall
:10:45. > :10:49.sunshine. Not an amazing picture. A glimpse of sunshine will be very
:10:50. > :10:53.welcome. The next little area of rain will work its way in. Wherever
:10:54. > :10:56.you are, the numbers are good. Between eight and 10 degrees. I will
:10:57. > :10:58.leave you with the outcome over the next few days. The numbers are good.
:10:59. > :11:03.Lots of cloud cover. the weekend. Wouldn't promise you
:11:04. > :11:05.two dry days but you never know, here is Nick with the national
:11:06. > :11:10.picture. Hello. We put that cold weekend well
:11:11. > :11:13.behind us now. Temperatures edging upwards and our weather watchers are
:11:14. > :11:17.seeing plenty of signs of spring. Spending more time looking down than
:11:18. > :11:21.looking up at the skies, we see these early blooms. They are set to
:11:22. > :11:24.continue as we are set to stay mild for several more days to come.
:11:25. > :11:28.Average daytime temperature this time of year around eight, but
:11:29. > :11:34.getting into double figures all the way through the weekend. The start
:11:35. > :11:38.of next week into the mid-teens potentially, very mild indeed. It
:11:39. > :11:42.was 14 in Lincolnshire today. A lot of heavy rain to end the day. That
:11:43. > :11:47.clearing from Yorkshire to the North Sea. A few showers in the west and
:11:48. > :11:48.the odd one may continue into the night. Many becoming dry, just