simonjack, bbc news, scunthorpe. the headlines on bbc news: nigel farage gives in to pressure from fellow brexiteers and says his brexit party will not stand in tory held seats a chinese firm confirms a rescue deal for british steel, safeguarding four thousand jobs in scunthorpe and teeside. more rain forecast in areas of england already been hit by flooding. five severe flood warnings — meaning a threat to life — are still in place. britain's economy has grown at the slowest annual rate in almost a decade according to official figures but has avoided going into recession. gdp which measures all goods and services produced increased by 0.3 per cent between july and september slightly below market expectations. 0ur economics editor faisal islam has the details. at this warehouse for a top tyre fitter in peterborough, business remains resilient, even as the impact of a world of economic uncertainty can be felt. like the economy generally, the consumer is holding up, but fears around supply disruption and price rise

simonjack, bbc news, scunthorpe. britain's economy has grown at the slowest annual rate in almost a decade, according to official figures, but has avoided going into recession. gdp, which measures all goods and services produced, increased by 0.3% between july and september, slightly below market expectations. our economics editor, faisal islam, has the details. at this warehouse for a top tyre fitter in peterborough, business remains resilient, even as the impact of a world of economic uncertainty can be felt. like the economy generally, the consumer is holding up, but fears around supply disruption and price rises linked to brexit have held back investment. a lot of the supply into our business comes from europe or further afield, so the strength of the pounds important to us in terms of how we can give a good—value price to the customers, and that's certainly something that's putting pressure on us at the moment. the last quarter's figures showing the economy shrinking by 0.2% between april and june brought fear

simonjack, bbc news, scunthorpe. well, joining me in the studio now isjo michell, who's an associate professor of economics at the university of the west of england. why british deal? the operation in the uk isn't the most economic. what is jingye trying the uk isn't the most economic. what isjingye trying to get out of this? they already have a steel industry. 0n the face of it, the reason for the purchase as the products made in scunthorpe are different than the ones made in china. they produce longer, reduced shipping. so on the face of it is about portfolio, but i also think it is about expansion into international markets, higher value added products and technology. soi value added products and technology. so i think there is a short run and long—run picture. so i think there is a short run and long-run picture. we have had concerns in the past of china dumping cheap steel on markets. with a chinese company now buying british deal, what does that mean in terms of competition? it shows that the chinese buyer th

simonjack, bbc news, scunthorpe. the british founder of an organisation that trained the syrian white helmets emergency response group has been found dead in istanbul. turkish authorities have launched an investigation afterjames le mesurier‘s body was discovered beneath his apartment‘s balcony. the white helmets are a volunteer group set up to rescue civilians caught up in the syrian civil war and are credited with saving thousands of lives. mr le mesurier — a former british army officer — received an 0be in 2016 for his work. more heavy rain is expected in parts of yorkshire and the midlands which are already flooded. the environment agency says 43 flood warnings are in place across the country, including five severe warnings on the river don in south yorkshire. doncaster council says it‘s concerned that some residents in the village of fishlake are refusing to leave their properties despite extensive flooding. 0ur correspondent dan johnson reports. 0n the low flat lands is to have doncaster, fishlake 0n

scunthorpe makes a third of the steel that the uk makes. it's massively significant, it's critical notjust to that area, as you say, but also actually to the whole of the manufacturing sector in the uk, i believe — and ultimately to the uk economy. so, the government could not let this go out of business. jingye is a powerful company with more than 23,000 employees and annual sales worth £10 billion. it says it'll now invest £1.2 billion in upgrading british steel's facilities, but people within the industry say more needs to be done to help the sector by cutting energy costs and business rates, for example. otherwise, they say, for british steel, this could end up being just another false dawn. theo leggett, bbc news. colletta smith is at the british steel plant in scu nthorpe. we heard from some workers but there must be a huge relief there, just before christmas, but it looks like theirjobs are going to be safeguarded. yes, after six months of free and uncertainty for the staff and of course their families and friends in this area, t

british steel — as a chinese manufacturer is set to buy the company — safeguarding jobs at plants in scunthorpe and teesside. more misery forecast, as rain is set to hit parts of yorkshire and the midlands already suffering from the effects of flooding. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — sarah.

colletta smith in scunthorpe, in scunthorpe. colletta smith in scu nthorpe, thank you in scunthorpe. colletta smith in scunthorpe, thank you very much. the uk economy recovered in the third quarter of the year, growing by 0.3% to reverse a contraction earlier in the year. but the growth was modest and the figures showed economy has slowed to its lowest rate in almost a decade. here's our economics correspondent andy verity. in peterborough, this is the biggest tyre distribution centre in the country. it is the sort of service business which does well when consumers are not ready to invest in a new car but are ready to buy new tires to keep the old motor going. in the third quarter of the year, that pattern was repeated across the economy. business in services picking up but weak investment not helped by brexit uncertainty. picking up but weak investment not helped by brexit uncertaintym makes it difficult to plan for the future in terms of our cost base and what selling price we need to make the money that the company needs to r

the business which employs more than 3,000 people in scunthorpe and around 800 on teesside, is on the brink of collapse, unless it receives emergency funding to weather what the company calls brexit—related issues. our business correspondent colleta smith sent this report. alan's got a day off from the blast furnaces today, but work is still the only thing on his mind. we were being told one minute people were losing theirjobs, then the next minute, it's not happening. it's just frustrating, obviously not knowing your future, and obviously if it happens here, what do you have to do? do you have to look to move elsewhere, to try and get a job elsewhere, or do you try and stay here and find a job and just struggle on and survive? i don't know. you've got kids, then, in schools here? yeah. that are settled. yeah, i've got a seven—year—old, she's got a six—year—old, and obviously we've got a nine—year—old as well. that's a big impact on the family and all of them, isn't it? it is, it's a massive upheaval for everybody. but then the other thing is, do you look at working away

coletta smith, bbc news, in scunthorpe. as well as the jobs in scunthorpe — there are another 800 that could be lost on teeside. danny savage is at the lackenby plant near middlesbrough. danny, what is the reaction there? we are 108 miles up the road from north lincolnshire. 800 people work at the site behind me and a neighbouring one. they will be paid this month but going forward after that there is great uncertainty and there is a feeling of here we go again. is this the final nail in the coffin of steel works on the side? 0nly coffin of steel works on the side? only three years or so down the road from when the last blast furnace in this area close down by the loss of 1700 jobs. people are used to this industry winding down but it will be at the forefront of many people's minds. we are focusing on middlesbrough and the surrounding area this week and many people will be wondering what will happen to the side's oldest industry. tributes have been paid to niki lauda — the veteran motor racing driver, who's died aged 70