this is bbc news. the headlines at midday. theresa may's ministers are accused of being ‘vague and divided' over brexit. the capability that they offer is absolutely central to any coherent, strategic concept to be able to intervene, effectively, in any theatre of war. two people have been killed and dozens injured after a collision between two trains in south carolina. ice hockey players from a unified north and south korean team play together for the first time — ahead of the winter olympics. also this hour — england prepare to take on italy — in the six nations. england's george ford says he's feeling confident — ahead of their clash later at rome's stadio olimpico. and in half an hour — click meets the newest recruit to the dubai police force — robocop. a

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. a senior conservative mp has accused ministers of being "vague" and "divided" over brexit. bernard jenkin, who was on the board of the official leave campaign, said civil servants deserved an "unambiguous and united direction" from ministers, singling out the chancellor philip hammond for criticism. it comes as senior ministers prepare to meet over two days this week, to try to agree what sort of trade deal they'll seek with the eu. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent susan mendonca and i asked her why phillip hammond was facing so much criticism. philip hammond is somebody who the brexiteers within the backbenches of the tory party

have not liked very much, so criticism directed at him again and in particular that thing about the idea that the vague and divided leadership and that is meaning that civil servants are not being given the right direction. that's because we had a few days ago jacob rees mogg about the civil service putting out figures that painted brexit in the worst possible light and he talks about the treasury fiddling the figures. and i suppose bernard jenkin trying to move the criticism away from the civil service itself and perhaps onto philip hammond for, in his view, taking a different view to theresa may on the direction that brexit should take and in particular the issue of the customs union, that is something brexiteers want to to see, a complete break with the customs union and any connection between britain and europe on the customs union. so that is pretty much

what that's about. what we have had today is amber rudd, the home secretary, responding to these claims, and she told the andrew marr show that in terms of that criticism about the forecasting, well forecasting is done in order to inform decision—making but it doesn't decide decision—making. as far as the civil service is concerned, they're doing a good job and they have the support of the government. i can reassure you that we need to have those forecasts whenever we embark on big policy decisions. the treasury has them ahead of the budget. are they ever right? well they are what they are. wrong. well, sometimes wrong, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have them. the uk government has to have forecasts in order to make certain decisions. sometimes they're wrong, but sometimes wrong by degree. that was amber rudd, we have also heard from vince cable, the leader of the liberal democrats, today and he is turning his fire onjeremy corbyn, the leader of labour party, saying that there needs to be a second referendum on a final deal. we have heard from jeremy corbyn

time and again saying there will be no referendum as far as labour's concerned. what vince cable has said is as he sees itjeremy corbyn is in collusion with theresa may on the brexit deal and he doesn't think the deal will be good for britain and what may happen in his view is that the labour party leader will take a different approach once he faces pressure from his own party once we see what the result of that brexit deal maybe and he thinks that jeremy corbyn will change tack. jeremy corbyn is actually crucial to this. it is clear that the vast majority of his mps and of his party and his supporters are very concerned about the fact that he hasn't opposed brexit. he has effectively worked in collusion with theresa may and her government to enable brexit to happen. i think there is a simmering anger

about that and i think as we get through this year and come closer to the final decision and as it becomes clear that we are going to get a very bad deal from these negotiations, he will be under pressure to agree to support a referendum on the final deal. so that was vince cable. we have some important meetings on brexit this week. yes, we have michel barnier who is david davis, the brexit minister's opposite number in the eu, coming to britain and he will be meeting the prime minister and david davis and talking about the exit, the process of exit and what that is going to look like of course in march of 2019 and so it is the next stage of those negotiations. and as well as michel barnier in there will be key ministerial meetings behind the scenes, technical discussions with different departments about how that will work. the process moving forward. we don't know yet what the outcome will be and all of this noise

we are hearing over the weekend from brexiteers is about them trying to push their idea of that they want the brexit outcome to look like. the housing minister dominic raab spoke to sky news this morning, and was asked if the final brexit deal could include the membership of some kind of customs union i don't think we will be in any form, at least as conceived in international trade practice, of a customs union, because if we were we would have our hands tied in negotiating free trade deals with other parts of the world, whether it is brazil, whether it's china or india and the prime minister has been clear we want to be able to grasp those opportunities. but at the same time we want frictionless trade with the eu, so there will be important negotiations on the technical detail of making sure that actually goods and services can flow fleely across the border. a group of mps is warning that cuts to the royal marines would "rip the heart" out of one of britain's elite fighting forces. the government has reportedly been considering axing thousands

of marines and getting rid of two warships they use to launch beach landings. the defence select committee says the cuts would be "militarily illiterate". daniella relph reports. the training, known for being tough and arduous. 6500 royal marines go through it to make them amongst britain's elite fighting forces. known for their versatility and their ability to respond quickly to situations around the world. the royal marines also provide up to half the personnel for the uk special forces. the defence select committee report warns that further cuts to the marines would damage their ability to be a high readiness unit, quickly deployable, often in difficult circumstances. it also criticises plans to end the use of hms albion as a ship from which beach assaults are made. if there are new and intensified threats you would think we'd be adding to our capabilities, not deleting one of our world

beating star capabilities. the committee praises the defence secretary, gavin williamson, for taking control of the defence review but again warned that he won't be able to prevent harsh cuts without extra funding from the treasury. the ministry of defence says that protecting the uk is its priority and stress that the royal marines play a vital role in defending the play a vital role in defending the country. daniella relph, bbc news. joining me is former royal marine commando, ed hill. and throw in. and in iraq in 2003. if there were to be cuts to the royal marines why do you think that would be damaging for this country?

—— you were would be damaging for this country? —— you were a would be damaging for this country? —— you were a sniper in the royal marines. at the forefront of the military is the royal marines. the royal marines has always been at the spearhead of pretty much every operation since, well, certainly since the second world war. to reduce that capability by such a figure would certainly been to be detrimental to the uk's military ability. some people would say, yes, but there have to be financial cuts somewhere. we cannot have every bit of the military untouched by austerity. agreed. there has to be financial cuts somewhere. but the world now is, it's certainly not a safe place. there are problems all over the world, 0k? to cut the royal marines would have a significant impact on our defence. some people

might say that today's threats, arguably north korea, the nuclear threat from there, cyber attacks from russia, even china, and so on. but the royal marines, how would they fit into that? some people might say it's an old—fashioned type of warfare. we had this discussion prior to 1982 when the threat was from the former soviet union and the cold war. and nobody had the foresight then that the argentinians would invade the falklands. it was the royal marines who played a pivotal role in the retaking of the falklands. again, we never know what's around the corner. also, we we re what's around the corner. also, we were discussing this earlier on, often the royal marines go to elite regiments like the sas and so on. yes, yes. there is approximately 49% of uk special forces which comes from the royal marines. again, the royal marines training, it's

arguably the toughest training in the world. it's tough for a reason. and that training is a perfect breeding ground, if you like, for progression into special forces. in other words, if you want good special forces you need something like the royal marines. exactly. yes. the royal marines, the training does provide a good, solid springboard onto special forces. we don't yet know if there will be any cuts. this has just don't yet know if there will be any cuts. this hasjust been reported. would that have an effect, do you think, on recruitment of the royal marines? might it put off some recruits from joining up? marines? might it put off some recruits fromjoining up? possibly. i know from previous experience when the royal marines have been in the news in places like afghanistan and iraq, that that does have a positive impact on recruitment drives. any kind of negative publicity, anything

like that, could have that effect. your message to the government, just leave the royal marines alone? absolutely, leave them alone. you have made your point, thank you very much for being here. thank you for your time. sinn fein has confirmed that gerry kelly, its police spokesman and a northern ireland assembly member, removed a wheel clamp from his car in belfast. footage emerged on social media which appeared to show a pair of bolt cutters lying beside the vehicle. a sinn fein spokesman said mr kelly's solicitor was dealing with the matter. the prime minister is expected to announce plans to make it an offence under electoral law to intimidate parliamentary candidates and their campaigners. in a speech later this week, mrs may will say recent cases of politicians being abused — in the street and online — risked "toxifying" public debate. two people have died and 50 people

are thought to be injured after two trains collided in south carolina. the amtrak train 91 operating between new york and miami collided with a csx freight train at around 2:35am in cayce, south carolina. the lead engine derailed, as well as some passenger cars. there were 8 crew members and approximately 139 passengers on board. at this time all passengers are off the train. that's very important to put out there. unfortunately there we re put out there. unfortunately there were two fatalities as a result of this collision. we are working with the coroner ‘s office here, very closely with that. at this time we have transported about seven patients with various injuries to the local area hospitals. a joint north and south korea 0lympic ice hockey team has played its first and only practice match together as one team, ahead of the winter olympics.

the squad played sweden in an friendly international. outside the stadium, supporters of the joint team gathered, along with conservative south korean protesters opposed to to the unification. 0bjections have been raised from some south koreans who believe the new unified ice hockey team won't perform as well as their previous team. 0ur seoul correspondent, laura bicker, has the latest. this friendly match between the inter—korean hockey team and sweden is sold out. that gives you a level of interest in this game. it is a friendly, it is before the olympics, and here the crowd has arrived to cheer on this team. it has been controversial. when it was announced that 12 players from north korea would be coming to south korea to play with the hockey team there were a number of protests in seoul, south korea. critics believe that pyongyang is deploying its playbook and that the south korean government

is giving too much away and is using this women's hockey team like a political pawn. however, now the sport is under way it does seem to be that this controversy is lessening slightly. the team are playing well together. you can see them bonding and cheering one another on. once the sport is underway that controversy seems to move to the side. the unification ministry has been keen to point out that the team has been bonding. they have been sending out these pictures of the team celebrating its birthday, the team having a nice time together, it is smiling, sharing jokes, there's also been a language barrier. there are certain hockey manouvers where the language is different between north and south korea. this is good practice for them, ahead of the olympics week, and it's also for south korea and north korea, a chance for them to see how this looks to the public.

and how this is received by the public. before the opening ceremony of the olympic games. but it is worth remembering, north korea is still intent on having a military parade on the 8th of february, the day before the winter olympic opening ceremony. they've said no one has the right to criticise that choice. the international olympic committee president thomas bach has described the decision to overturn the lifetime bans of 28 russian athletes found guilty of doping as "extremely disappointing". on thursday, the court of arbitration for sport upheld the athletes' appeals, saying there was insufficient evidence they had benefited from a system of state—sponsored doping at the 2014 winter games, which were held in russia. speaking at a press conference, mr bach said the ioc will look to overturn the decision. we unfortunately only know about the reasons from the very few sentences in a press release.

it has so far the panel was not able to deliver a reason for the decision. which we are eagerly awaiting. we have asked to speed this procedure up. we have been told that this could be the end of february. which is extremely unsatisfactory situation. the headlines on bbc news: mps warn that cuts to the royal marines would leave britain's global interests ‘at serious risk‘. a senior brexiteer accuses ministers of being vague and divided in their plans for leaving the eu. on people have been killed and dozens injured

after a collision between two trains in south carolina. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. first of all the davis cup. we are fighting back against spain. these are live pictures from marbella. you can follow it live on bbc two. there is a possibility that kyle edmund, who has been struggling with a hip injury, could be called

upon for the final rubber against roberto bautista agut if norrie could push it to a decider. but he is struggling in that third set in this robber. he must win it to keep this robber. he must win it to keep this tie alive. liam broady is pencilled in to play. kyle edmund is waiting in the wings should he be needed. victories for ireland and wales yesterday in their opening rugby six nations matches. defending champions england should make a winning start this afternoon. they take on italy in rome. ben te'o has got the nod ahead ofjonathan joseph at in rome. ben te'o has got the nod ahead ofjonathanjoseph at outside centre. he's not played for england since last year's six nations, he scored against italy at twickenham when he made his first start. we are very happy with the team. it's a great opportunity for them on sunday. the preparation they have had has been first class. the

attitude and effort of the players has been outstanding. the leadership from the senior players has been good. we are ready to put on a pretty ruthless display on sunday. a couple of premier league matches this afternoon. spurs willjump above liverpool into third if they win at anfield. liverpool are the only side to have beaten the runaway leaders manchester city this season. that was a fantastic game. jurgen klopp thinks the spurs match could be just as klopp thinks the spurs match could bejust as good. totte n ha m bejust as good. tottenham has been thinking a lot about our strength and we have to think a lot about their strength. it can bea think a lot about their strength. it can be a game like it was against manchester city. after the manchester city. after the manchester city. after the manchester city game we said it was really rather if a game, everybody expects so much for it to be a fantastic football match. from my point of view, don't hesitate, do it again. crystal palace are two points above the relegation zone. they are only out of the bottom three, newcastle

united, on goal difference. the winner would climb to 11th, so there isa winner would climb to 11th, so there is a lot at stake in that match. adelaide strikers have won the big bash for the first time. they beat hobart hurricanes by 25 runs. 0pen and man of the match jake wetherall hit 115 of 70 deliveries. this was their first final. hit 115 of 70 deliveries. this was theirfirst final. playing hit 115 of 70 deliveries. this was their first final. playing at their home ground. 142 — two. that was a lwa ys home ground. 142 — two. that was always too much for the tasmanian side to chase down. they only reached 177. —— playing at their home ground they got up to 242—2—macro. syd ney 242—2—macro. sydney sixers beat the perth scorchers. perth scorchers were bowled out for 89. sydney sixers chased that down with five overs to spare. perry hit the winning runs. they won the title for the second

time. straight back to my beer. —— straight back to marbella. norrie is fighting back. he had a break point against the spaniard. he still has a break point. let's see if we can stay with this. live pictures on bbc two. this is the davis cup tie against spain. great britain 2—1 down. norrie won on his debut on friday. he must win this robber to keep the match alive. —— rubber. we will keep across it and bring you right up to date in the next hour. thanks very much. the hollywood actress, uma thurman, has claimed that the disgraced film producer, harvey weinstein, tried to sexually assault her in a london hotel. the star has made detailed accusations in a newspaper interview. mr weinstein‘s lawyer said his client was stunned and saddened by what he considered

false allegations. it comes as scotland yard confirms it's looking into two more allegations of sexual assault against the producer. our correspondent, simon jones, has more. she starred in several films produced by the disgraced movie mogul. it was after the success of pulp fiction that uma thurman says she was targeted by harvey weinstein. now she's the latest woman to speak out in an interview with the new york times. uma thurman claims harvey weinstein pushed her down when she met him in his suite here at the savoy hotel in london. she says he tried to expose himself, he did all kinds of unpleasant things. but she said she managed to wriggle away like a lizard. the next day, she says, a bunch of flowers arrived. a spokeswoman for harvey weinstein said in a statement: it comes as scotland yard say

they've received two further allegations of sexual assault, one from a woman who claims harvey weinstein assaulted her in westminster in 2011, and another from a woman who says she was targeted in the republic of ireland. that brings the total number of women who have reported the producer to british police to nine. officers in new york and los angeles have also begun investigations. he has denied all allegations of non—consensual sex. harvey weinstein was once one of the most powerful men in hollywood, credited with scores of oscar wins, but he has been thrown out of the organisation that runs the oscars and he's now in rehab, a huge fall from grace from which there is likely to be no return. simon jones, bbc news. the aviation watchdog is to investigate airlines' seating practices. it comes after accusations that flight operators are deliberately splitting up groups so they pay

extra to sit together. the civil aviation authority says passengers are paying as much as £400 million each year to be reallocated, and 1 in 10 didn't know they would incur an extra cost to sit with their group. police in florida have arrested a man they say made threats to kidnap the singer lana del rey. the man was carrying a knife when he was arrested near the amway center in orlando where the singer was due to perform. michael hunt, who is 43, is facing charges of aggravated stalking and attempted kidnapping. darkest hour, a film depicting winston churchill during the war, has been nominated for 9 baftas and 6 oscars. the make up team that transformed gary 0ldman into the prime minister are among those hoping to win an academy award. brennan nicholls has been to meet them. you cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!

gary 0ldman‘s performance in darkest hour has already earned him many accolades and critical acclaim. turning him, though, into britain's wartime prime minister has been hailed as a masterpiece of make—up. gary would come into the bus. we'd shave his head, apply the make—up, it takes just over three hours to apply the make—up and wig, plus getting him into his fat suit and costume, it is close to four hours for the entire thing. he'd then go to set for ten or 12 hours a day filming and we'd need to be there the whole time to maintain his make—up throughout that. he would then have his make—up removed which takes one—hour and then once he goes lucy and i stay for another hour or two. gary 0ldman convinced kazuhiro tsuji to come out of retirement to design the churchill make—up. having just been working with david on another movie, it was 0ldman that asked him to be on set applying it alongside colleague lucy sibbick.

and it's the three of them that have been nominated for the oscar. i'm extremely proud. it's the bestjob i've done so far to date and i'm just so pleased it's getting the recognition that it deserves, because the amount of effort that myself, kazu and lucy have put into it. you know, there's such a big team involved. we're here now getting the credit and our names are on the award, but the amount of people in the workshops who have been involved is amazing. we are to receive our award. the 39—year—old make—up artist has a cv full of blockbusters to his name, but this is his first ever oscar nomination. look at all this texture around here. the texture on gary's nose and the colouration and broken vein work and stuff like that. that's whyjust spending that bit more time prepping, that's why our days were so long. ijust wanted to make sure i painted all of those pieces perfectly so that they match everyday. david flies out to los angeles for the oscar nomination lunch this weekend and then it's back for the baftas, before heading back to la for the oscars themselves on march 4th

for what could be his finest hour. 0n the weather. gold but bright sums things up for the rest of the day. this sunny els the rest of the day. this sunny els the two weekend days. —— cold but bright. a mixture of rain, sleet and snow over higher ground in the north. it'll be very cold in the south—east. 0n the strength of the winds are you are looking at a feel factor of around freezing. though strong winds will continue overnight. what we will also see is an intensification of the wintry showers. mostly snow showers at this stage. a couple of centimetres could accumulate in the south—east. that will cause some traffic headaches. the rest, a cold start with fog patches. but this is potentially the most disruptive weather with snow

showers and ice, as well. some of those showers drift further west during the day. not a bad day. crisp conditions. blue skies overhead. plenty of sunshine. and a chilly feel between three to 6 degrees. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: ‘get behind theresa may‘ — the message to ministers from senior tory bernard jenkin, as he calls for a ‘clean‘ brexit. mps warn that cuts to the royal marines and their amphibious assault ships would significantly undermine britain's security — calling the move ‘militarily illiterate.‘ if there are new and intensified threats, you would think we would be adding to our capabilities, not deleting one of our world—beating star capabilities.