, not stop the boats. work. it will not stop the boats. that is my opinion, having read it in the last 12, 2a hours. the un chief says gaza may never recover from the current war, urging member states to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. i am anna foster live injerusalem. the israeli army say they are in intense battle with hamas fighters in southern gaza's main city, khan younis. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the home of hamas chief is now surrounded. do you regret the downing street parties, mrjohnson? a second day of questioning for borisjohnson at the covid inquiry, after he admitted his government made mistakes. hello, i'm luxmy gopal. rishi sunak is under growing pressure this hour as some

conservatives voice their opposition to his new plan to send asylum seekers to rwanda. it follows the resignation of immigration minister robertjenrick. he says the new law would still allow people arriving in small boats to challenge their deportation at the european court of human rights. our political correspondent damian grammaticus reports. it's nice to see you, have a good evening. why did you resign, sir? the answer is simple. nice to see you all, thanks very much. and it makes this a moment of perilfor rishi sunak. do you think the prime minister will be able to stop _ the boats, mr jenrick? as immigration minister, robertjenrick had vowed to see asylum seekers deported to rwanda — even after the supreme court ruled the plan unlawful. this was tuesday — on breakfast — praising the new rwanda treaty. that coupled with a strong piece of emergency legislation that we'll be bringing forward to parliament shortly, will, i hope, enable us to finally get the scheme up and running. at that moment, the home secretary

was in rwanda signing the deal. by the time he made it back to london, mrjenrick — who was supposed to present accompanying legislation to parliament — was nowhere to be seen. in his resignation letter to the prime minister, mrjenrick said mr sunak�*s approach was "a triumph of hope over experience", adding, "i refuse to be yet another politician who makes promises on immigration but doesn't keep them." the new legislation mr sunak wants declares rwanda a safe country, despite what the supreme court found. and it prevents uk courts from using some sections of human rights law to stop deportations. that's not far enough for mrjenrick and others on the right of the conservative party like suella braverman. in his reply, rishi sunak said he could not go further and block any role at all for the courts.

what we're now watching is a split between people who believe in the rule of law, and people who don't actually believe in the rule of law at all. because the policy being pursued by suella — and indeed mrjenrick, robertjenrick — is not about the rule of law. it is in fact about a form of parliamentary tyranny. danger for mr sunak is that, while some may think his approach goes too far in overriding some aspects of human rights law, conservative mp5 on the right think he's not done enough — and some of them even wonder if a confidence vote could happen. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. the former home secretary suella braverman explained to the bbc�*s nick robinson why she believes the government's new proposals on sending asylum seekers to rwanda won't work.

there are clear sections which allow a whole raft of individual claims to be made by people that we might seek to remove to the lander. they will be able to bring those claims by the courts by a judicial review —— remove to rwanda. they will be to challenge the decisions made by the secretary of state. those challenges could take months and potentially sometimes years. which could clog up the system and stop our removal of those people to rwanda. the? the system and stop our removal of those people to rwanda.— those people to rwanda. they will not block the _ those people to rwanda. they will not block the flights, _ those people to rwanda. they will not block the flights, except - those people to rwanda. they will not block the flights, except in - not block the flights, except in extreme — not block the flights, except in extreme circumstances. he is a former— extreme circumstances. he is a former supreme court justice. extreme circumstances. he is a former supreme courtjustice. you former supreme court justice. you would _ former supreme court justice. you would think— former supreme courtjustice. you would think you would probably understand the law. absolutely. i have been working _ understand the law. absolutely. i have been working on _ understand the law. absolutely. i have been working on this - understand the law. absolutely. i have been working on this myself understand the law. absolutely. i. have been working on this myself for several years now. the point is that in section a0 of the bill, there are broad clauses there which to allow individual claims to make claims. that is really the reality. we cannot tweak this problem, we cannot

do half measures, we have to totally exclude international law, refugee convention, other avenues of legal challenge. the reality is, neck, in this area of law, as we have seen regrettably in june this area of law, as we have seen regrettably injune 2022, people will bring legal claims, they will bring challenges through the courts, and those challenges will operate to block flights to rwanda. that is how this bill and sections in this bill will operate. live now to our political correspondent helen catt. helen, how damaging have these latest developments been to rishi sunak�*s position? rishi latest developments been to rishi sunak's position?— latest developments been to rishi sunak's position? rishi sunak is in a really perilous _ sunak's position? rishi sunak is in a really perilous position. - sunak's position? rishi sunak is in a really perilous position. this - sunak's position? rishi sunak is in a really perilous position. this is i a really perilous position. this is one of his flagship promises— stopping the boats. the rwanda policy, well it was not one he devised, he inherited it from the last comment, it has been one that he is adamant he is going to get off the ground. you knew when he was putting this legislation forward that he was putting it into a

divided party. with some in his party wanting him to go much further, others wanting to make sure it respects the rule of international law. the numbers on both sides are enough to put his policy injeopardy. both sides are enough to put his policy in jeopardy. while both sides are enough to put his policy injeopardy. while he both sides are enough to put his policy in jeopardy. while he seems to have, on first pass, made those who want to respect the rule of international law happy with this, and the other side, as you're hearing there from suella braverman, there are those with real doubts that this goes far enough. the resignation of the immigration minister robertjenrick is only likely to fuel those with those concerns. the way he has resigned, the language he has used, the fact he has gone, he used to be an ally of rishi sunak and has said, this will not work, does not go far enough, is likely to make bringing those on the right onside much, much harder. you are now at a position where rishi sunak is looking at possibly how is he going to get this

policy through. it is a challenge to his authority. what is interesting this morning is that downing street is really doubling down on this position. they are saying that what suella braverman wants just isn't possible. as one source put it this morning, there is no full fat option for the rwanda scheme. conservatives need to operate within reality. at the moment, both sides of this debate are pretty entrenched. it is difficult to see how they unblock that to get this policy of the ground. that to get this policy of the round. ., ., ~' that to get this policy of the i round. ., ., 4' ., that to get this policy of the round. ., ., ~ ., , ., , ground. looking at where this leaves rishi sunak, — ground. looking at where this leaves rishi sunak, the _ ground. looking at where this leaves rishi sunak, the bbc _ ground. looking at where this leaves rishi sunak, the bbc political - rishi sunak, the bbc political editor chris mason says that senior tories say they would not be surprised if he ends up facing a confidence vote. what do we know about that? fit confidence vote. what do we know about that?— confidence vote. what do we know about that? �* , , ., ., about that? at this stage, those are “ust about that? at this stage, those are just rumours — about that? at this stage, those are just rumours and _ about that? at this stage, those are just rumours and speculation. - about that? at this stage, those are just rumours and speculation. there has been a feeling that if a confidence vote or bout of confidence vote or bout of confidence in rishi sunak's leadership were to happen, that would be likely to happen by accident. the way it works is that conservative mps would have to write

letters. if a certain proportion of conservative mps write a letter saying they do not have confidence in the prime minister, triggers a vote. there is a feeling that there is not perhaps a coordinated effort, that threshold could be reached accidentally. the fact that it is a beam being talked about as a rest for rishi sunak. it is bringing back all those memories of the people, the turmoil that was under boris johnson, under liz truss, that he is selling himself as having put a stop to. the other room that is doing the rounds in westminster is that rishi sunak could turn this boat on the actual rwanda policy into a confidence vote in the government, which meant that anyone who voted against it would cease to be an mp for the conservative party, they will lose the whip as it is known. but that is quite a bold move. does he have the political capital to do that? we have to wait and see. it does look like this is quite an impasse this morning, and it is a risky position for rishi sunak. how is he going to get through this?

thank you for your analysis. our political correspondent, helen catt. for more on this i'm joined byjohn rentoul who's the independent�*s chief political commentator. thank you forjoining us. how much of this is about the rwanda policy and how much is about conservative mps being a bit self—serving, seeing their prime minister flailing? mps being a bit self—serving, seeing their prime ministerflailing? it is their prime minister flailing? it is about the their prime ministerflailing? it 3 about the rwanda policy against the background of the conservative party discipline breaking down. i think your correspondent put her finger on it right there. rishi sunak is now in such a difficult position. he is actually got the right policy, i think, as far as the government is concerned. in the sense that robert jenrick has resigned in a fit of pique, demanding the impossible, because i think anything which explicitly breaks international law isn't going to work, it wouldn't get

through the parliamentary conservative party, let alone the house of commons, and certainly not through the house of lords. so the prime minister is doing the only thing he can, but robertjenrick has gone off any half because he wanted to make home secretary when suella braverman was sacked. haw to make home secretary when suella braverman was sacked.— to make home secretary when suella braverman was sacked. how does the prime minister _ braverman was sacked. how does the prime minister now— braverman was sacked. how does the prime minister now turn _ braverman was sacked. how does the prime minister now turn around - braverman was sacked. how does the prime minister now turn around this l prime minister now turn around this impression of utter chaos and turmoil? does it all hinge on him making sure the rwanda policy is successful or is there something else he could do? he successful or is there something else he could do?— successful or is there something else he could do? he has got to try to net his else he could do? he has got to try to get his bill _ else he could do? he has got to try to get his bill through _ else he could do? he has got to try to get his bill through the - else he could do? he has got to try to get his bill through the house i else he could do? he has got to try to get his bill through the house ofj to get his bill through the house of commons, which is why the issue of a confidence vote comes up. that is the only way i think you can get it through, to make it an issue of confidence, which means that any tory mp who votes against it is expeued tory mp who votes against it is expelled from the parliamentary party and would not be able to stand as a tory candidate at the election. i think that is the sort of extreme

measure that he will have to adopt in order to get his policy through. whether that will then be effective in stopping the boats is another question. if you can get the bill through, then at least he will survive to fight another day. john, thank ou survive to fight another day. john, thank you for— survive to fight another day. john, thank you for your _ survive to fight another day. john, thank you for your thoughts - survive to fight another day. john, thank you for your thoughts there. we will update you on the developments on that throughout the day. now for all the latest developments in the israel—gaza conflict. we can cross live to anna foster who's injerusalem. thank you. good morning. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, has warned he has been invoking article 99, really years, but there is a lot of concern about the humanitarian situation in gaza at the moment. let's talk about what is happening there. the situation is that he last

i tweeted about what was going on, particularly in israel and gaza. we know that the international community has been watching the israeli military operation particularly closely. he is trying to push for a vote in the un security council to actually try to focus particularly minds on that. that is something that we are going to be looking at this morning. we will talk about those words from antonio guterres. that warning basically that the public order, he says, and gaza is likely to break down completely because of that israeli bombardment and the lack of essential supplies. we will talk about that with our middle east correspondent in just a moment. about that with our middle east correspondent injust a moment. in response, israel's foreign minister has severely criticised antonio guterres for making those comments, saying the are proving a danger to world peace. just in the last 2a hours, israel has carried out more heavy aerial bombardment across gaza, in that fight against hamas.

you can see there the fighting on the ground has intensified in the south, particularly in the area around khan yunis. israeli officials say that the idf has surrounded the home of hamas's chief in gaza, ma. —— yahya sinwar. the uk defence secretary grant shapps is visiting the occupied palestinian territories and israel today, to discuss efforts to accelerate the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance into gaza. let's listen to what he had to say. iam i am looking at all different routes at the moment. eveleigh got a route essentially from the reds, in egypt, into gaza —— from the rafah crossing. what else could we do? i am looking at all of those things because it seems to me that what the world needs to do is get a lot more aid to people who are in many cases innocentin aid to people who are in many cases innocent in this, caught up in hamas, caught up in the israeli

action. as human beings in the united kingdom, what we want to do is help. joining me now is the bbc�*s middle east correspondent, yolande knell. let's talk first of all about the fighting that is happening in gaza. we talked a lot about it being any north. that is still happening, but the south there is a real focus as well. ., ., ~' the south there is a real focus as well. ., ., 4' . the south there is a real focus as well. ., , . , , well. looking at pictures this mornin: well. looking at pictures this morning of— well. looking at pictures this morning of the _ well. looking at pictures this morning of the north - well. looking at pictures this morning of the north of - well. looking at pictures this morning of the north of the i well. looking at pictures this - morning of the north of the gaza strip, you could see these big plumes of smoke, there are still plenty of israeli military action going on there. one of the main israeli newspaper saying that israeli newspaper saying that israeli forces do believe they have got operational control of these areas, seen as strongholds of hamas in the north, where it has been a lot of fighting in recent days. we have had hamas coming out, saying it is fighting fiercely on all axis of the incursion of the gaza strip, in its words. the process of that fighting is in khan yunis, the

biggest city in the south. —— fiercest of the fighting. israeli forces said they had encircled the house of yahya sinwar. that is something that is symbolic. he is not there, he is believed to be hiding in underground tunnels with other leaders of hamas, probably in khan yunis, the israelis think. but we have the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu coming out in reaction to all of this, saying it is only a matter of time before we catch him. , , is only a matter of time before we catch him-— catch him. just briefly, that dovetails — catch him. just briefly, that dovetails into _ catch him. just briefly, that dovetails into the _ catch him. just briefly, that. dovetails into the humanitarian situation. what is that looking like right now? situation. what is that looking like riaht now? . situation. what is that looking like riahtnow? . ., , situation. what is that looking like riahtnow? . ., i, ., , right now? once more very strongly worded warning _ right now? once more very strongly worded warning from _ right now? once more very strongly worded warning from the _ right now? once more very strongly worded warning from the un - right now? once more very stronglyl worded warning from the un officials about the humanitarian situation. we at the un's a chief coming out talking about and pop —— apocalyptic situation in gaza. he said as the fighting expanse, people are being crammed into the small southern corner of the gaza strip and it is making meaningful humanitarian operations virtual impossible. there

have been some small developments on that front. last night we had the israeli security cabinet voting to improve and increase in desperately needed fuel going into gaza. we are expecting that to around about double from what it has been in recent days. double from what it has been in recent days-— joining me now is richard makepeace, medical aid for palestinians trustee and former british diplomat. richard, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. the situation for civilians and gaza remains dire. talk us through what is lacking at the moment. what they need more of. situation is absolutely dire, as you say. it is a tragedy unfolding, there is no other word for it. from what we hear from there is no other word for it. from what we hearfrom our team on the ground, those who are displaced... we do not of course have knowledge what is going on in the north, which you havejust what is going on in the north, which you have just discussed. what is going on in the north, which you havejust discussed. in what is going on in the north, which you have just discussed. in the south, those who are displaced, including our own team, live in

constant fear or bombardment. there is not enough shelter, there is not enough food, not enough proper drinking water that is safe to drink, and the health system has pretty much collapsed. it is too dangerous for the health professionals to go out, and it is too dangerous to try to take the sick or injured to hospital. so our team are also constantly aware and acutely aware of the growing danger coming from malnutrition and from disease, particularly for children. richard, as we were saying, you have a diplomatic background as well. what is your assessment of the talks that are going on behind the scenes to try to achieve another ceasefire? we saw increased humanitarian aid for a while. do you think that has broken down irretrievably, are we likely to see another period of ceasefire soon? i

likely to see another period of ceasefire soon?— likely to see another period of ceasefire soon? , . ., , ,., ceasefire soon? i very much hope so. obviously from _ ceasefire soon? i very much hope so. obviously from a _ ceasefire soon? i very much hope so. obviously from a humanitarian - ceasefire soon? i very much hope so. obviously from a humanitarian pointl 0bviously from a humanitarian point of view, it is absolutely essential. they simply cannot be allowed to go on. the displaced are living in cramped conditions, unsanitary conditions. as i say, the risk of disease spreading... well, we are already seeing this happening, according to the who. it is the weakest in society who suffer the most. i hope very much there will be progress, i am sure that negotiators are working very hard to try to do a deal, but what is needed, what we are calling for, and i think the whole humanitarian community is calling for, is a permanent ceasefire. that is what the world should be insisting on. it is ceasefire. that is what the world should be insisting on.— should be insisting on. it is an interesting — should be insisting on. it is an interesting point _ should be insisting on. it is an interesting point you - should be insisting on. it is an interesting point you make . should be insisting on. it is an - interesting point you make there. that has been raised more than once, that israel's position is very clear, they do not have a permanent ceasefire in their sights at all, do they?

ceasefire in their sights at all, do the ? r , , ceasefire in their sights at all, do the ? ~ , ., ceasefire in their sights at all, do they? apparently not. but i don't see how a _ they? apparently not. but i don't see how a further _ they? apparently not. but i don't see how a further human - they? apparently not. but i don't see how a further human tragedyj they? apparently not. but i don't l see how a further human tragedy is going to be averted if that is not implemented. there is a certain amount of food and other supplies, you mentioned a little more fuel coming through rafah, but that is staying in rafah. there is no ability now to provide the necessary supplies of food, medicine and so on, even to khan yunis, as i understand. into 1.5 million refugees in the south. the north are completely un—supplied. goodness knows what horrors we will discover when this humanitarian access there. richard, thank you forjoining us on bbc news, trustee of medical aid for palestinians and a former british diplomat injerusalem. in washington, an emergency funding package which would have provided billions of dollars in new security

asssistance for ukraine and israel has been blocked by republican senators. republicans wanted tougher restrictions at the us—mexico border to be included in the bill. president biden had pleaded with congress to approve the additionalfunding. 0ur north america correspondent shingai nyoka sent this update from washington. many republicans have accused president biden of not focusing enough on domestic issues. they say that there is a record number of unauthorised migrants passing through the border from mexico. and before they pass this emergency spending bill, they want to see included in this package tighter asylum policies, as well as greater border control. the fact that the vote failed in senate is a huge blow to president biden, who had pledged generous packages for ukraine and for israel. and he has warned that if the us

walks away from ukraine that putin will win this war, and he says that russia will not stop there, that it will move potentially into other nato countries. and he believes that the republicans are stalling on this vote, using the border issue is a red herring. for more on that, let's speak with our correspondent jessica parker who's in kyiv for us. jessica, we have talked about the impact of this on israel and on gaza, but this was particularly important for ukraine, wasn't it? absolutely. i think ukrainians and officials here in kyiv continuing to watch developments in the us very closely. people haven't given up hope, but the window is closing. senate is shortly due to go on its christmas break. there is now around one week to try to sort this out. of course, the us has been a key military backer in terms of weapons

and aid to ukraine. the white house has sent a pretty dire warning, saying if congress does not agree something soon, they will run out of money to send to ukraine. all eyes watching developments in washington, dc. it comes as well at a time when there are some doubts, there are some haggling going on in brussels, as well, about potential eu economic assistance, not to mention ukraine's hopes of starting accession talks to join the european union. some pretty difficult days for ukraine at the moment. it comes at a time when the counteroffensive is seen to a faltered, the world's attention has been diverted to what is happening in israel and gaza. jessica- in israel and gaza. jessica people remember _ in israel and gaza. jessica people remember that _ in israel and gaza. jessica people remember that period _ in israel and gaza. jessica people remember that period of - in israel and gaza. jessica people remember that period of time . in israel and gaza. jessica people i remember that period of time when in israel and gaza. jessica people - remember that period of time when i seem to be a lot of pledges of aid, pledges of weaponry going towards ukraine. how important is the us and that bigger picture?— that bigger picture? really important- _ that bigger picture? really important. if _ that bigger picture? really important. if you - that bigger picture? really important. if you look - that bigger picture? really important. if you look at l that bigger picture? really i important. if you look at the figures in terms of pure military

aid, including funding to purchase military aid, the us is far out ahead. it is a huge economy. we went out yesterday to talk to people in kyiv because president zelensky, his officials, people who are high up in his cabinet, they are all striking a diplomatic tone at the moment, still trying to convince congress to break this deadlock because aid for ukraine has become tangled up in a bunch of other issues, including border controls in the united states. speaking to people here yesterday, whilst it is absolutely still a strong sense of resilience because this four ukrainians is existential, there is also a sense as well that it is a hard time, as i mentioned. some of the people we were speaking to, one women, her son is serving on the front line, she said, we need those weapons from the west because our children are dying. another women also became tearful when i was speaking to her. she talked about how, in her view, ukraine was protecting the rest of

europe and felt that confidence in terms of ukrainian victory, she said, was a little bit thinner than a year ago. whilst it is also a focus on ukraine about what it can do to boost its own production in defence and cooperate with other countries, they are still very much looking to the west in terms of that support. an opposition mp i was speaking to, he said, the west said they are going to be with us for however long it takes, is thatjust two years? i think a bit of frustration coming through there, as well. ,, . ~' frustration coming through there, as well. ,, ., ,, ., ~ well. jessica parker, thank you, in k iv. just well. jessica parker, thank you, in kyiv- just want — well. jessica parker, thank you, in kyiv. just want to _ well. jessica parker, thank you, in kyiv. just want to review - well. jessica parker, thank you, in kyiv. just want to review from - well. jessica parker, thank you, in | kyiv. just want to review from here for now with these live pictures of the scene inside gaza. this is the medical centre in khan yunis you can see. we have been talking about that decision that was made yesterday evening by israel's security cabinet to allow a little more fuel and aid in. but you can see the crowds, you can see how busy it is there, how

many people really focused on that medical centre, particularly given the dire humanitarian situation across the strip at the moment. i also want to show you be seen live from southern israel. this is looking across to that gaza skyline, the scene now that we know so well. you can see how broken that skyline is. it is a misty morning there this morning, looking from set out across to southern israel. earlier this morning, we saw some really dark plumes of smoke again. the repeated sounds of explosions and air strikes. so we see once again that military action very much continuing. we will keep you right up continuing. we will keep you right up to date with this continuing story, stay with us on bbc news. after yesterday's crisp morning sunshine, it is all change as we open the curtains this morning, with cloudy skies and drizzly rain. the rain is turning heavier all the time from the west, the winds are

strengthening is this deep area of low pressure approaches our shores. strong winds to go with our rain, numerous rain warnings out across the uk. already we do have numerous flood warnings. the ground is saturated, the river levels are high. with another 20—a0 millimetres out rain, as well as snowmelt, there is a real concern for flooding. that rain pushed along by the skills or severe gale force winds across parts of northern and eastern scotland, pushing in much milder air, particularly across western areas. initially some of that rain turned to snow across the scottish mountains, but it will be getting milder through the day, and one really winds around as we go through the day, which may well grow in some righteous guys with a few showers into northern ireland by the end of play, as you can see. also that dry weather potentially across wales and the south—west. for many, quite immeasurable rush hour, driving and no strong winds, gophers and western north—eastern areas. heavy rain, spray and standing water. that

pushes through quite quickly. she was rushing behind. it will be a mild night once again, frost free pretty much for all parts of the uk. the snow continuing to melt, of course. the reason for the change is the change of a resource of air, it is coming in off the atlantic. it will stay that way during the course of friday, the next two or three days were going to continue to see bands of showers and longer spells of rain coming in. today's rain may still linger in the northern isles for tomorrow, still linger in the northern isles fortomorrow, but still linger in the northern isles for tomorrow, but it is a blustery day, the rain is clearly strong as at low pressure sitting close by. some longer spells of rain potential in northern ireland, parts of southern scotland and northern england. again, we will firm up on the detail. look at the temperatures, 8—12, much milder. that mild weather, wet and windy weather continues into saturday. another low pressure sweeps and. a brief ridge of high pressure overnight saturday to sunday, but the next weather front then is on its way for sunday with yet more rain and fairly strong winds. it is

a much more unsettled looking picture. 0bviously that risk of flooding quite high with such large amounts of rain and the potential snowmelt, too.

so this is bbc news, the headlines... in the next couple of hours we are going to bring you more on the top story, the fallout regarding

resignation of robertjenrick. we are also going we are going to start with our top story. robertjenrick quit saying a new law about asylum seekers to temper macro does not go far enough. suella braverman criticised the policy saying the new bill does not work and will not stop the boats. she said she hoped mr singh at leads the conservatives into the next election. [30

singh at leads the conservatives into the next election.— singh at leads the conservatives into the next election.