burn tyres and block roads. binyamin netanyahu says an assault on rafah will go ahead. the un says that would be disastrous. israeli offensive on the city would not only be terrifying for more than a million palestinian civilians sheltering there, it would put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programmes. prime minister rishi sunak says commenteds by his former deputy chairman were wrong and unacceptable —— comments. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. agricultural ministers from across the european union are meeting in brussels today, to discuss their response to protests by farmers across the eu. let us take you live to the street of brussels, where riot police are forming a line. let us go to our

correspondent there. there have been dramatic scenes in the past two hours with those tractors blocking the roads and tyres being burned. give us a bit more detail about what the farmers are protesting about and what they want to see changed. yes. what they want to see changed. yes, mornin: what they want to see changed. yes, morning samantha, _ what they want to see changed. ye: morning samantha, this is in the heart of brussels and you have behind us that distinctive mural that has been there a few year, the future is europe, you can see the immediate future is this huge trafficjam, because take a look, these rah tractors that have been brought into the heart of the capital city today. you can see they back all the way down as far as the eye can see and if you come along here, you can probably hear in the background some the firecrackers that are going off. this white stuff on the floor has come from the water cannon that to that the police have been firing this morning. not at the farmers themselves but actually at the fires that have been started, because some tyres were set alight earlier on today, you can see a few fires have been set now. these are

big european institution buildings, let us chat with someone who has come all the way from the czech republic. jan, can you explain what farming you do and why you are able. we areerable farmers from the czech republic. we do grain, rape seed and that sort of thing, it is hard to produce because of the imports not just from ukraine but southern america and russia, and the thing is, that the european union does a lot and that drives the costs up, and it is hard for us to produce right now. and it is hard for us to produce right nova— and it is hard for us to produce riahtnow.~ ., ., .,, right now. what do you say to people a lot of european _ right now. what do you say to people a lot of european farmers _ right now. what do you say to people a lot of european farmers who - right now. what do you say to people a lot of european farmers who have l a lot of european farmers who have subsidies, support and this is causes disruption but they shouldn't complain too much the causes disruption but they shouldn't complain too much— complain too much the subsidy, it comes with _ complain too much the subsidy, it comes with real, _ complain too much the subsidy, it comes with real, a _ complain too much the subsidy, it comes with real, a real— complain too much the subsidy, it comes with real, a realtight- comes with real, a real tight bureaucracy, you know, it is, it is really hard for farmers to work in

the field, you know and work and consider the computer for several hours to fill in the forms which no—one reads in the end. this is one of the problems and the subsidies are quite low right now, notjust in the czech republic, it is the same level as in 2014 and the inflation for us has been like 30, 40%, everything has gone up and just doesn't cover the costs any more. thank you. that is the complaint you hear there, samantha, thank you. that is the complaint you hearthere, samantha, no additional funding forer the past ten year, you can hear a lot of the bangs now, this is the smoke generated by the fire, as you say a bit of disruption here, brussels is a city that is used to protest but this is, you know, considerable rafi used to protest but this is, you know, considerable— used to protest but this is, you know, considerable row you can see there is another _ know, considerable row you can see there is another big _ know, considerable row you can see there is another big pile _ know, considerable row you can see there is another big pile of— know, considerable row you can see there is another big pile of tyres - there is another big pile of tyres that have been set up, the police i should say are used to demonstrations of this scale, but from previous experience these could gou one or two way, it either fors

out or becomes —— fors the out or becomes bigger, for now, disruption in the heart of brussels. teiiii becomes bigger, for now, disruption in the heart of brussels.— in the heart of brussels. tell us about that _ in the heart of brussels. tell us about that meeting _ in the heart of brussels. tell us about that meeting of - in the heart of brussels. tell us i about that meeting of agriculture ministers and what is on the table and what the options are. yes. ministers and what is on the table and what the options are. yes, well it is interesting _ and what the options are. yes, well it is interesting you _ and what the options are. yes, well it is interesting you talk _ and what the options are. yes, well it is interesting you talk to - and what the options are. yes, well it is interesting you talk to some i it is interesting you talk to some of the different farmers here, some guys from germany, also we were talking to a woman from france, from brittany, they have got different concerns, generally, they don't like the way that the european union has been implementing its green policies is, they say they haven't been getting money to help them make the necessary adaption, transitions, so what we have today is a meeting of the agriculture ministers here in brussels. interesting some of the farmers have been invited to talk to them. you think when you see these sorts of scenes that is what why the politicians are done this, think want to take some of the heat out to angen want to take some of the heat out to anger, we know over the weekend president macron received a frosty reception this is something i think

which is a big concern for a lot of politician, because the opinion polls do suggest that a lot of these farmers do have widespread public support. bud farmers do have widespread public su ort. �* ., farmers do have widespread public su--ort. �* ., ., support. and what impact have the demonstrations _ support. and what impact have the demonstrations been _ support. and what impact have the demonstrations been having? - support. and what impact have the - demonstrations been having? because they have been taking place across europe for weeks, haven't they? yes. europe for weeks, haven't they? yes, the have, europe for weeks, haven't they? yes, they have. and _ europe for weeks, haven't they? yes, they have. and i _ europe for weeks, haven't they? yes, they have, and i think— europe for weeks, haven't they? yes they have, and i think the fact some of the farmers have been invited to discuss the future of policy shows that to an extent their voices are being heard but it remains to be seen whether the european commission which is the executive arm of the eu, it comes up with policy and then implements it, whether they take a significantly different approach, and if you talk to farmerers they say it is one thing after the other, whether it is pesticides or subsidies being reduced or being told they can't farm certain fields within their property, lots of people have different concerns, so, trying to get a new arrangement which suits everyone will be very

difficult but we have to see today whether anything significant comings out of this meeting but all the farmers here realise it won't change overnight but it could be be we see more of these. it is quite a scene, you have all of these tractors that have trundled aall the way from france, flanders, different parts of belgian and this goes back to the end of the street. not sure how long they will be here before, they are out in force, bigger than previous protests the and as you were saying this is something replicated in other cities in the past few weeks and months now.— other cities in the past few weeks and months now. we start with the war in gaza , and the israeli prime minister's office says his country's military has presented a plan to evacuate civilians from parts of the territory which have been affected by the conflict.

no details have been made public, and it's not clear whether any palestinian groups have been consulted. aid agencies have said there are few safe places left for gaza's displaced civilians. meanwhile, benjamin netanyahu has said he will push ahead with a plan to send the israeli military into rafah, the gazan city which borders egypt, and where hundreds of thousands of people have moved to try to find shelter. that comes as the us has confirmed that negotiators, who met delegates from israel, qatar and egypt over the weekend, thrashed out the basic structure of a deal for a temporary ceasefire. the war in gaza has been raised by the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, at the opening of the un's humanitarian council gathering in geneva. he was particularly concerned at any further israeli ground attack in the south of gaza. international humanitarian law remains under attack, tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, have been killed in gaza. humanitarian aid is still completely insufficient. rafah is the core of the humanitarian aid operation, and unrwa is the backbone of that effort. an all—out israeli offensive on the city would not only be terrifying for more than a million palestinian civilians sheltering there, it would put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programmes.

earlier, i spoke to our correspondent injerusalem, jenny hill, who gave us an update on the palestinian government, which rules part of the occupied west bank, submitting its resignation to president mahmoud abbas. well, mr shtayyeh says that new political measures are needed as he announced his resignation. what's important about this is really the context, the fact that talks are going on all the while behind the scenes about what gaza should look like, who should run gaza, and how once this war ends. the us is very keen for a reformed palestinian authority, which is based in the west bank, to take on that role. but the important word there is reformed, and it's put a lot of pressure on the president, mahmoud abbas, to do so. so a lot of analysts will look at today's resignation

of the prime minister and perhaps see that as a step towards mahmoud abbas putting in place a more, as they call it, technocratic government, potentially with the aim of eventually being given the opportunity to govern in gaza. what's also interesting about that, of course, is just a few days ago, the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, issued a very brief document outlining his plan for the day after the war ends. and that made no mention of the palestinian authority having anything to do with government in gaza. so this is one of those developments which at the moment it's interesting, but it has to be seen within that much, much wider context. thanks, jenny, on that. and also in the past few hours, the israeli cabinet of meeting to discuss their potential movements into rafah, and they said, we understand that they have come up with a plan or the idf has come up with a plan to move civilians. with a plan or the idf has come up do we know any more

details about that? no, and that's what's so interesting about this. you know, israel has repeatedly insisted that it's going to go into rafah, where it claims that there are still battalions of hamas fighters hiding among the civilian population. it's also repeatedly insisted that it will move civilians out of harm's way before that ground offensive begins. but we have had absolutely no detail on how it intends to do that. and yes, you're right, ministers were given supposedly a plan by the israeli defense forces last night outlining what they're going to do. but we have no detail. it will be very interesting to see what they propose, because aid agencies and foreign governments have all issued really deep warnings in recent weeks, saying that there are very few, if any, safe places left in gaza for civilians to go to. let's remember that israel initially told palestinian civilians that they should move from the north of gaza at the start of this war down to the south. they told them to to head to rafah. and there are now well

over one million people sheltering there right up against the egyptian border. there's nowhere else for them to go. the egyptian border is closed to them. you can look at a map of gaza, and see that to the north and west of rafah there are some areas, it's open ground, no facilities for people and aid agencies saying that people might go there, but there's not much space, very few facilities, and worth pointing out that israel's bombardment of gaza continues. you know, night after night there are air strikes as well as hunger and disease now posing a risk to civilians there. there have been more warnings about the lack of aid reaching people in gaza, with increasing reports of lawlessness in the areas where israel has carried out military operations. this was the scene in gaza city on sunday, in the north of the territory, where aid agencies say they have been struggling to deliver aid for several weeks. let's speak to william schomburg,

head of the sub—delegation in gaza for the international committee of the red cross. thank you forjoining us, tell us what the situation is you understand, particularly in rafah, with regards to aid getting in. thank you very much. the situation today in rafah really lacks words and can only be described as dire. everywhere you look out on the streets, there are tents, as far as the eye can see, housing families that have been forced to leave their home you see children running round barefoot, families desperately looking for enough food and water to drink, access to health care has become increasingly complicated, as multiple health facility including hospitals have been rendered dysfunctional as a result of the hostiles, the humanitarian needs are severe and growing, while there is a prevailing sense of anxiety as insecurity continues just last night

we heard several bombings across rafah and reports of continued fighting all over the gaza strip. you are in rafah speaking to us from there. paint a scene of what it is like when you step out of where you are right now? . now?. like like when you step out of where you are right now? . now?.— are right now? . now?. like i said, drivin: are right now? . now?. like i said, driving round _ are right now? . now?. like i said, driving round the _ are right now? . now?. like i said, driving round the streets _ are right now? . now?. like i said, driving round the streets of - are right now? . now?. like i said, driving round the streets of rafah l driving round the streets of rafah today, you see a heavily overcrowded population that is stuck with nowhere to go, you see real difficulty in people trying to access for example clean water and people queueing up desperately in front of the few water trucks that are able to provide a limited quantity of clean drinking water for civilians to meet their daily needs, you have families queueing up outside of bakeries desperately trying to buy bread which has become increasingly challenging, and like i already mentioned you see that hospitals, the few that continue to remain fungal overcrowded, notjust

remain fungal overcrowded, not just with remain fungal overcrowded, notjust with patients, including the very high numbers of weapon wounded as a result of the fighting but also as one of the few remanaging sanctuaries left for individuals who have been forced to displace with nowhere else to go. we understand the israeli cabinet _ nowhere else to go. we understand the israeli cabinet met _ nowhere else to go. we understand the israeli cabinet met this - nowhere else to go. we understand j the israeli cabinet met this morning to discuss possible evacuation plan. we don't have any details on that. but, it seems it has been approved whatever it looks like. tell us what the challenges will be of moving a million—and—a—half people out of the area, we are not sure where they would go. i area, we are not sure where they would no. , ., ., area, we are not sure where they would go— would go. i wish i had a better answer to _ would go. i wish i had a better answer to your _ would go. i wish i had a better answer to your question - would go. i wish i had a better answer to your question than i would go. i wish i had a better i answer to your question than the detail you already mentioned. it is not clear for anybody, detail you already mentioned. it is not clearfor anybody, i detail you already mentioned. it is not clear for anybody, i think, detail you already mentioned. it is not clearfor anybody, i think, as to where civilians would go, and i think that, that is obviously front and centre in the minds of everybody i speak to here, who are deeply concerned and worried for the safety and protection of their families, concerned and worried for the safety and protection of theirfamilies, to understand where they could possibly go to, if the fighting were to

intensify in rafah. there have been hostilities within rafah, there have been strikes, like i mentioned, even in the last 24 hours, and even if there was a plan for civilians to be able to move, they would not be returning to much. the reports and the images we see of the situation, and frankly the devastation in gaza city, particularly as well as many other area, city, particularly as well as many otherarea, including in khan city, particularly as well as many other area, including in khan younis where hostilities are still very active would mean basic service, water, electricity, everything that is required for people to be able to meet their daily needs no longer exists in homes that have been destroyed, and for most people, where livelihoods have been shattered. where livelihoods have been shattered-— where livelihoods have been shattered. ~ ., ., ., ., shattered. william, i want to ask ou shattered. william, i want to ask you briefly. _ shattered. william, i want to ask you briefly. as— shattered. william, i want to ask you briefly, as you _ shattered. william, i want to ask you briefly, as you represent - shattered. william, i want to ask you briefly, as you represent thej you briefly, as you represent the red cross, you will know for four months since the hostages were taken by hamas, the israeli government have been talling on the red cross

to get access to the hostage, more than 100, do you know if that has happened at all? we than 100, do you know if that has happened at all?— than 100, do you know if that has happened at all? we have repeatedly called on all — happened at all? we have repeatedly called on all parties _ happened at all? we have repeatedly called on all parties to _ happened at all? we have repeatedly called on all parties to the _ called on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, we have repeatedly called for access and release of the hostages that remain. so called for access and release of the hostages that remain.— hostages that remain. so as far as ou know hostages that remain. so as far as you know there — hostages that remain. so as far as you know there hasn't _ hostages that remain. so as far as you know there hasn't been - hostages that remain. so as far as you know there hasn't been any i you know there hasn't been any access to them by the red cross? that is correct.— access to them by the red cross? that is correct. william, thank you for “oininr around the world and across the let's look at some other stories making news. a study by the resolution foundation has found people in their early 20s are more likely to take time off work because of illness than those in their 40s. the think tank says mental health is of particular concern, with around a third of 18—24—year—olds reporting they have conditions such as anxiety or depression.

analysis by bbc verify of car insurance quotes in england suggest those areas with biggest population from ethnic population were a third more expensive than elsewhere. prices were higher in these neighbourhoods even when less diverse areas had similar road accidents and crime level, the insurance industry body say said ethnicity was not a factor in pricing. railservices ethnicity was not a factor in pricing. rail services across sussex and surrey have been severely disrupted due a major signalling fall. a powerfailure in the early hours has caused delays and cancellations to services. thameslink said its expected the disruption to continue until noon. you're live with bbc news. rishi sunak has described comments made by the mp lee anderson, about the mayor of london, as wrong and unacceptable. mr anderson, the former conservative deputy chairman said the mayor of london, sadiq khan, was controlled by islamists, and he lost the tory whip when he refused to apologise. mr khan, who represents the labour party, said the comments were islamophobic,

anti—muslim and racist. speaking on bbc radio york this morning, the prime minister has denied there is an islamophobia problem in his party saying swift action was taken. has the conservative party got islamaphobic tendencies, prime minister? no, of course it doesn't, and i think it's incumbent on all of us, especially those elected to parliament, not to inflame our debates in a way that is harmful to others. lee's comments weren't acceptable, they were wrong, and that is why he has had the whips suspended. how do you account for lee anderson's comments and your decision to suspend him? as i said, clearly his choice of words wasn't acceptable, it was wrong, and that is why the whip was suspended, and words matter, especially in the current environment, where tensions are running high, and i think it is incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully. how frustrating is it that he hasn't apologised? look, the most important thing is that people realise that the words they use, in a situation that we are in how,

in a situation that we are in now, while tensions running higher than i think any of us would like, and my priority is to try and take the heat out this situation. i think that is what everyone wants to see, and that is why words matter, and, his words weren't acceptable, they were wrong and that is why the whip was suspended. earlier, i spoke with chief political correspondent henry zeffman. i asked him whether the prime minister's actions had taken the "heat out of the situation" as intended. the prime minister's in yorkshire with his cabinet for a meeting which is meant to be about transport in the north and the midlands of england, but instead found himself asked question after question about lee anderson's comments at the weekend. and i think the risk for the prime minister is that this does become, as the labour party is trying to make it, a broader question about the conservative party's attitudes towards islamophobia. rishi sunak today, as senior colleagues of his did at the weekend, swerved the question

of whether lee anderson's comments were islamophobic. instead, he simply said that they were wrong. but he did harden the conservative pa rty�*s stance a little at the weekend. the party's position was that lee anderson had had the whip suspended and effectively been suspended as a conservative mp because he refused to apologise. but today rishi sunak said that lee anderson had been suspended because the comments were wrong, ie the apology is neither here nor there. and that's interesting because it suggests that any path back for lee anderson is much harder. earlier, we'd thought that perhaps if he just apologised today, he'd have the whip restored. now that appears less likely to be the case. and so i think that is the prime minister trying to close down this problem a bit so that he can move on to talk about the things that he would like to talk about. i guess the difficulty for him is, well, what further can he do? because there are now wider accusations of islamophobia in the party, aren't there? there are. and those have bubbled away for a few years, including when borisjohnson

was prime minister. actually, when borisjohnson was prime minister, the conservative party commissioned an independent investigation into accusations of islamophobia within the party that came up with various recommendations but didn't say that they had an institutional problem. the labour party always argued that that investigation didn't go far enough, wasn't serious enough, didn't investigate the problem enough. but the conservative party say, well, it was independent and they followed the recommendations that they got. but look, i think that is the direction that rishi sunak is desperate for this not to go into. he wants to say that this is an isolated question around lee anderson and specific comments about sadiq khan. it's worth noting, though, that lee anderson's claims about islamists controlling sadiq khan, while not supported publicly, at least, by any conservative mps, do seem to feed into a broader sort of theme of conversation over the past week among conservative mps, which is concerns about islamist

extremism forcing the house of commons to change its procedures. that gets into the debate we had last week about why sir lindsay hoyle, who's the speaker of the house of commons who presides over debates, made an extraordinary procedural decision to allow the labour party to have a vote on something to do with gaza. now that's all very technical, but the point i'm making is that these issues of islamist extremism, whether or not that exists to the extent to which it does exist and how it's affecting politics, notjust in the conservative party, but more general. i don't think they are going away, whatever happens with lee anderson. rishi sunak will give more detail today of how money from the abandoned leg of hs2 will be spent in the midlands and north of england. the lines were originally due to run to manchester and also through the east midlands, but those legs were cancelled. the government says that $4.7 billion has now been earmarked for local transport projects to be spent between 2025 and 2032. i'm joined now by henri murison,

who is due to join that cabinet meeting. welcome to you, thank you for being with us, the prime minister says this money will be transformational, what do you make of the announcement? i what do you make of the announcement?- what do you make of the announcement? ~ ., ., announcement? i thinki am, ifi am honest less — announcement? i thinki am, ifi am honest less than _ announcement? i thinki am, ifi am honest less than excited _ announcement? i thinki am, ifi am honest less than excited and - announcement? i thinki am, ifi am honest less than excited and the - honest less than excited and the reason for that is that what we in the north have been waiting for is an announcement that on the route of northern powerhouse rail, rail, that is from here in manchester to manchester airport. that is where i was where rishi sunak and the cabinet are to travel through to liverpool. that was nut in real doubt by the cancellation of hs2 and part of the route has been safeguarded to enable a route to be announced and that was the big announcement we expected. what has happened today is a reannouncement of money that is in the network north package, we are a bit bemused a toss what the rain minister has doing, which is to get on with

northern power o house rail seems to have played second fiddle to a pr stunt to make spending monetary policy on projects in future, but thatis policy on projects in future, but that is money that has been announced and recycled from hs2 but recycled at the time of the cans larks not now.— recycled at the time of the cans larks not now. the prime minister sa s that larks not now. the prime minister says that the _ larks not now. the prime minister says that the decision _ larks not now. the prime minister says that the decision to - larks not now. the prime minister says that the decision to scrap - larks not now. the prime minister| says that the decision to scrap the northern leg of hs2 has seen local authorities in the north get money from the end of last year, for certain things, is that the case? so the problem is the prime minister has identify a number of projects he did because of hs2 funding but what he didn't say on the radio this morning which i know he has been speaking to, he didn't talk to colleagues on the today programme as i did, what he didn't say was there hasn't been a penny saved because we are spending money on phase one and none of the money, significant spending on phase 2, the bit between birmingham and crewe and up to manchester has started. the prime minister may have decided to cut bus

fares and fill in a few potholes which has been promised many times but never happened but i can't be money from hs2 because he hasn't saved a single penny, how can he have used that money. i think he has created the impression he cancelled it but he could have funded pothole, he could have continued the bus fare scheme, it is a false political choice and he is, i think, slightly misleading in the way he has interviewed questions on local radio and i will be going on radio humberside to try and correct the record because people across the north of england deserve to hear both sides of the story. you are a former labour councillor so many will say you would be critical of the government any way, what would you like to see them or a possible future labour government do should they come into power at the end of this year? we they come into power at the end of this ear? ~ ., ., they come into power at the end of this ear? ., ., . , this year? we are a cross-party organisation — this year? we are a cross-party organisation and _ this year? we are a cross-party organisation and our _ this year? we are a cross-party organisation and our former - this year? we are a cross-party i organisation and our former chair george 0sbourne has a strong political past, i don't think that

is why i am motivated to get the best deal. the businesses i represent, the largest in the north of england want the economy of the north to grow, that is what they have been saying to labour's teams, the shadow chancellor, to the shadow transport secretary, and we will be clear with them through all the work we are doing, that the most important impact of all of this isn't votes, it is not to get a few votes it so raise productivity and thatis votes it so raise productivity and that is what they need to focus on. we must leave it there. stay with us here on bbc news, we he will be back in hello again. we've had some heavy rain and strong winds affecting some southern areas during the course of the early part of today. the rain continuing to pull away, but what you will find is it will remain windy, a cold north—easterly wind, but for most it will be dry, with some sunshine and scattered showers. some of the showers being driven in and that wind will get across into the midlands and east wales, and the black circles

represent the strength of the wind gusts. so temperatures today ranging from four in the north to ten in the south, but if you are exposed to the wind in the east, it will feel more like four or five against your skin. now heading on through the evening and overnight, there is the low pressure pushing away into the mediterranean. we have a ridge of high pressure across us, and then two weather fronts come in. as they come in, introducing cloud and some rain, the temperature will go up, but under clear skies we are looking at a widespread frost, these being the lowest temperatures of the night. so tomorrow we start with some fog through the vale of york, lincolnshire, the midlands, south—east. that will lift through the morning. our two weather fronts continue to drift steadily southwards, bringing the cloud and increasingly patchy rain with them, and behind them we are looking at mixture of bright spells, sunshine and some showers as well. temperatures six to about ten or 11. moving then from tuesday into wednesday, our weather fronts eventually clear away from the south—east, it will be breezy in the north and we have got this next weather front coming our way. we start off with some fog in southern areas. a bright start, but as the weather

front approaches the cloud ahead of it will build, then we start to see the rain coming in. that will be in the west initially, but it will push eastwards. temperatures 7—12 degrees. so from wednesday into thursday, you can see as our weather front pushes across, we are in this milder air, but then we have a cold front, so behind that the air starts to cool and it will cool further behind this weather front. so, as we head on into thursday, our weather front will bring rain from the west towards the east, still relatively mild ahead of it. but then the air turns colder behind and we will see some of the showers wintry in the tops of the mountains and our temperatures six to eight in the west, but we are still looking at up to 11 in the south—east.

this is bbc news. prime minister rishi sunak says comments by his former deputy chairman were wrong and unacceptable.

chaotic scenes in brussels ahead of a meeting of eu ministers