this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at lipm: labour accuses ministers of offering a "sweetheart deal" to a conservative council to drop a referendum on more council tax for social care. rolf harris is cleared of three historical sex offence allegations. a jury fails to reach a verdict on four other charges. a major brexit milestone — mps vote tonight on giving the prime minister the authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu. i'm ben brown live from westminster with reaction and analysis building up to that brexit vote at 8pm tonight. a retired teacher who abused a string of children in thailand is given 13 life sentences. i'mjane i'm jane hill. in the next hour, warnings of a catastrophic famine looming in yemen. the united nations launches an appeal for money, saying more than three million people are facing acute malnourishment.

give us some of your blood. that's just a smear. and alan simpson, one half of the writing duo behind classic sitcoms such as hancock and steptoe and son, has died at the age of 87. ta ra tara palmer—tomkinson, former london socialite, goddaughter of the prince of wales has died at the age of a5. she was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year. a spokesman for the metropolitan police said police we re the metropolitan police said police were called by the london ambulance

service yesterday to an address in south west london. a woman in her 40s was pronounced dead at the scene. she appeared on series such as i'm i'm a celebrity, get me out of here! . in 2002 she got a place in the sun, but she used to accompany the prince of wales on his skiing holidays and was very close to the royal family. so that announcement coming in, tara palmer—tomkinson, former london socialite, goddaughter of the prince of wales has died at the age of a5. we will be talking to our correspondent, rebecca jones about that shortly. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has accused the government of doing a "sweetheart deal" with conservative—led surrey council to avoid a controversial referendum.

mr corbyn asked theresa may to "come clean" about how much money had been offered to surrey county council to drop a vote on a 15% rise in council tax in order to pay for social care. the local authority has denied that there was deal. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster social care has dom thateed the headlines fore weeks now social care has dominated the headlines fore weeks now with growing concern about the pressure that those services are under. today it took a political turn with a suggestion of a sweetheart deal between the government and conservative surrey council to avert a referendum surrey are planning to hold to raise council taxes by 15% to pay for their local social care services such is the pressure they're under. this followed leaked texts obtained byjeremy corbyn between the leader of surrey council and an unnamed official in the department

for communities and local government called "nick" in which there is a suggestion that an agreement was reached which enabled them to call off the referendum. let me just read you one of the text messages sent leader david hodge to this unidentified individual, nick. he says, "nick, i have received clarification from my chief executive. the numbers are acceptable for me to call off the r. i think we can all guess what the r stands for, the referendum! he goes on to say, "i really want to kill this off." now, mr corbyn‘s suggestion was that is evidence of a secret sweetheart deal between the tory council leader and the government to stop a highly embarrassing referendum prompted by the pressure on social care. listen to the exchanges in the commons. the crisis is so bad until yesterday

mr speaker, david hodge the conservative leader of surrey county council planned to hold a referendum for a 15% increase in council tax. and at the last minute it was called off. can the prime minister tell the house whether or not a special deal was done for surrey? the decision as to whether or not to hold a referendum in surrey is a matter for the local authority in surrey. because i've been leaked copies of texts sent by the tory leader david hodge intended for somebody called nick who works for ministers in the department for communities and local government. and these texts read, "i'm advised that dclg officials have been working on a solution and that you

will be contacting me to agree a mum dumb of understanding. will the government now publish this mum ran dumb of understanding and while they are about it, will all councils be offered the same deal? what we have given all councils is the opportunity to raise a 3% precept on the council tax for that to go into social care. now the reason this is such an explosive political issue because it points to the heart of the controversy what is happening in terms of social care provision across the country, but more than that, surrey, is perhaps the wealthiest council in the whole of the uk and one is forced to ask if surrey are struggling to provide

adequate social care then what on earth is happening in other parts of the country? and on top of that, the suggestion that surrey, solidly conservative council with the chancellor and the health secretary both local mps was poised to raise council tax by 15% sounded alarm bells in government because of the fear that would hit the so—called just about managing. people who were just about managing. people who were just getting by. the people who theresa may has said she will try to protect. now, surrey, have put out a statement. this is from the council leader, david hodge. he says, "surrey‘s decision not to proceed with the 15% council tax increase was oui’s with the 15% council tax increase was ours alone and there has been no deal between surrey county council and the government. however, he says, iam and the government. however, he says, i am confident that the government now understands the real pressures in adult social care and the need for a lasting solution." i

think you get a sense there that david hodge perhaps feels he has made his point about the plight of social care. let's speak live to the conservative backbencher, and surrey mp, sir paul beresford. thank you very much forjoining us. do you think a deal was done here to get that referendum dropped?m do you think a deal was done here to get that referendum dropped? if you look at the grant system, the grant system look at the grant system, the grant syste m goes look at the grant system, the grant system goes through the house of commons in total following that if there had to be any deal done, it would have to be a specific deal for surrey and there would have to be a special motion to the house of commons and much as i love surrey, it doesn't mean the rest of the world does. it wouldn't have gone through. unfortunately, we lost the very beginning of your answer there. do you think that there was a deal done? do you think that something was offered to the leader of surrey cou nty was offered to the leader of surrey county council to persuade him that the whole idea of a referendum should be put on the back burner? you can't do a specific grant change

for the next financial year without putting a motion to the house of commons. and realistically that would not have gone through for surrey because they're not the only ones in difficulty. so it's cloud cuckoo land to think that would happen. what the audience want to know is whether pressure was put on a council though? people thought this referendum was quite likely, the idea that the local people would be asked, whether they would vote for council tax to rise in order to pay for social care. how come that issue of a referendum went away?|j think issue of a referendum went away?” think because as i actually said to the council leader, it's a kamikaze flight. it the council leader, it's a kamikaze flight. it is a kamikaze pilot with a parachute and he suddenly realised it would be betterfor him a parachute and he suddenly realised it would be better for him to get on with the business because they're a competent council rather than run the risk of having a referendum with the risk of having a referendum with the knock on effect to their

election this may. but clearly, the leaders of the council are making the point that they desperately need more money. that there simply isn't enough money to meet the demands of social care. so that issue is now out there. that a rich county, a really rich county like surrey, doesn't have the funds to deal with social care and isn't that embarrassing for the government? no, because there is a legal requirement to meet the social care and what they will have to do is to find extra money, if they need extra money, from other non statutory services and they will be able to do it, but the thanking to remember they are not the only council in this situation and what the surrey cou nty this situation and what the surrey county council leaders have been trying to do is to explain to the government the difficulty so this is reflected in way in which there is assessment for surrey and other councils in years to come. hasn't, whatever has gone on, hasn't this put the issue of social care front

and centre and now the government is under pressure? there is a growing public acknowledgement that there simply isn't enough money being given to local councils up and down the country to deal with our elderly population? i used to be a local government minister and regularly we reassessed the changes and shifts in what surrey county council and other councils want the government to understand is part of that shift when they relook at the way in which the money is awarded reflects the rising need of social care for the elderly and that's been accepted. so, i think, elderly and that's been accepted. so, ithink, we're elderly and that's been accepted. so, i think, we're going to find that councils that are having some difficulty, as is surrey, in the future, it will be reflected in the formula that will give the grant to those councils. plural, not just surrey. those councils. plural, notjust surrey. sir paul, thank you very much. let's get more on the death of tara

palmer—tomkinson. our correspondent rebecca jones is here. what do we know? we know she was dig foesed with a brain tumour. she went for tests a nd with a brain tumour. she went for tests and they discovered a growth and she had been receiving treatment since then. we then know that the police were called by the london ambulance service to her home which is in south west london at about 1.40pm where a woman aged in her 40s was pronounced dead at the scene. police are saying the death is being treated as unexplained, but at this early stage as you can see, this is only an hour or two ago, police are not treating the death as suspicious and as you might imagine simon, inquiries into the circumstances are continuing. she was the original it girl with fantastic connections? she is the girl who seemed to have it all, didn't she? she had money and came from a wealthy family, with royal connections, so she had status as well. she was the god daufr prince

charles, her parents were great friends with royalty. she was good looking. as i say from a wealthy family, but she often made headlines for the wrong reasons. who can remember, who can forget rather her attending her own birthday party in attending her own birthday party in a white bikini, a fur coat and snorkel and she did have well documented problems with drugs and she had a very serious cocaine problem at one point and she was spending at one point about £400 a night on the drug at the height of her problems. she was in and out of rehabilitation. it is, i think, worth saying in the last few years she had really cleaned up her act and had more recently launched a clothing line. rebecca, for now, thank you. rebecca jones. the entertainer, rolf harris, has been cleared of three sex offences by a jury at southwark crown court. but the jury couldn't reach verdicts on four other charges. dan onhas been following the case.

explain what happened today in court, dan. after considering the claims and the evidence against rolf harris the jury evidence against rolf harris the jury today stunned many people who have been involved with this trial by telling thejudge have been involved with this trial by telling the judge that they had found rolf harris not guilty on three of the charges and that they couldn't reach a decision, that they couldn't reach a decision, that they couldn't decide whether he was guilty or not on the remaining four counts. to go through those not guilty counts. there was a claim that rolf harris had assault add girl who approached him for an autograph in the 1970s, there was an algaugs he pushed a woman up against the wall and touched her at a party after a tv show recording and also a complaint of assault from a woman who is blind and disabled, all of

these, the jury decided who is blind and disabled, all of these, thejury decided did not take place or they could not be sure the offences place or they could not be sure the offe nces ha d place or they could not be sure the offences had ta ken place or they could not be sure the offences had taken place and that's why they have returned not guilty verdicts in those cases. rolf harris didn't give evidence in his own defence. indeed, he hasn't even been in court for much of this trial. he was given special permission to appear via videolink from prison because that's where he is already serving a sentence for similar convictions. the defence strategy was to undermine the original convictions and say that the evidence in that first trial wasn't safe. they also questioned whether these women had come forward with compensation in mind. well, three charges that rolf harris has been cleared of, four still outstanding and he is awaiting to see what will happen next. he was always going to be going back to prison this evening because of that sentence he's serving. he has got about five or six months of that sentence left to serve. so he can probably expect to be released from prison injuly, but the crown prosecution service must

now decide whether it considers it is in the public interest to pursue a retrial on those four outstanding counts. if it does decide that's what it wants to do, it could be that rolf harris is released from prison before facing the retrial. the update on the death of tara palmer—tomkinson. who was found dead at her home. she was 45. we've had reaction from the prince of wales who has along with his wife, the duchess of cornwall said they are saddenedment he says, "our thoughts are so saddenedment he says, "our thoughts are so much with the family following the death of close friend, ta ra following the death of close friend, tara palmer—tomkinson." following the death of close friend, tara palmer—tomkinson. " the following the death of close friend, tara palmer—tomkinson." the parents we re tara palmer—tomkinson." the parents were indeed close friends of prince charles particularly when he was married to diana princess of wales as well. that is and married to diana princess of wales

as well. a 1at is and married to diana princess of wales as well. a regular and married to diana princess of wales as well. a regular on - and married to diana princess of wales as well. a regular on the l and she was a regular on the royal £5} . the bill giving theresa may the power to start the process of leaving the eu reaches its final stages in the commons in the next few hours. debate is underway in the house of commons, with the last vote expected around 8pm this evening. it could cause more divisions in the labour party. its mps have been told to back the bill. let's go to ben brown, who's outside the houses of parliament. around 6pm votes on amendments including the rights of eu nationals living in the united kingdom to stay here. let's talk to a couple of mps who will be voting rather different ways this evening, i suspect,

geraint davis for the labour party who is a remainor and peter bone for the conservatives a well—known leave campaigner. you are going to rebel againstjeremy corbyn‘s three line whip which says you should support the bill to empower theresa may to begin the negotiation process for brexit. why will you vote against the bill? well, as soon as we trigger article 50 we're basically giving all the power to the eu 27 countries to dictate the terms of oui’ countries to dictate the terms of our exit package. what i'm saying we should delay article 50 to give us proper negotiation as a member, have the power of time and offer a final say to the people oon the exit package so we get the best deal. there is old reasonable... delay it for how long? well the new german government arrives in october because they've got to agree to it. we have only got a two year window so we we have only got a two year window so we will be losing seven months by triggering it in march. it should only be delayed because it is our

negotiating hand. what we got today isa negotiating hand. what we got today is a lot of people asking for concessions for negotiation from the government, forgetting the fact that it will be the eu 27 who are deciding their own interests and the interests of other people not leaving the eu what we get. then it will be a like it or lump it dealment if we get a vote in parliament and we vote against it, the eu can say sorry, like it or lump it, this is what you're getting. peter bone should we delay? no, reverse. mrs may delayed on purpose because she wanted to get the team in place and get everything right for coming out of the eu. there has been the delay and of course, there has been the delay and of course , many there has been the delay and of course, many people i talk to on the doorsteps say, "why haven't you triggered article 50? " doorsteps say, "why haven't you triggered article 50?" mrs may's approach was right. now is the time to get it through parliament and hopefully early next month she can fire article 50, send the letter across and then we will never have any chance of being in the eu, it is

fine and done and dusted and that's your point. on principle, geraint is going to vote against that because he doesn't believe in it, it is forric, when the letter is delivered we are coming out. that's the point of no return. it is. the point of no return. my point is we should never leave. what we're now doing is to say we will leave on any terms and when the eu comes back with its package and it is unacceptable in terms of market access and our rights and co—operation, if we say no then, it will be too late. leave voters will say you're trying to put the whole thing off forever. people voted in good faith to leave the eu and they thought they'd get more money and market access and all the rest, but they'll get less money and they won't get market access and they won't get market access and they won't get market access and they won't be happy and that's why they won't be happy and that's why they should have the final say on they should have the final say on the exit package. you're re-running

the exit package. you're re-running the referendum campaign. i'm not. the people took those issues into account. that's your view... £350 million was a lie. this was discussed and debated. the biggest democratic operation we've had in this country since i was born and the people sided to come out and all the people sided to come out and all the debate and all the fury is simply wrong. the people have decided we need to trigger article 50 and come out of the european union. how many people on the labour side will go againstjeremy corbyn? you're going to go against him and vote against the bill? i'm not going againstjeremy corbyn. vote against the bill? i'm not going against jeremy corbyn. you're going against jeremy corbyn. you're going against his three line whip? jeremy corbyn has broken the whip and he will respect other people's principles. i think we should delay to get the best deal. he may not share that deal and i will live with the consequences. how many others will go with you against the bill, more than 47 which was last week's rebellion? there is a few people now

listening to the debate and realising there is a sham going on. as soon as we trigger, we can't control events. peter, do you think the government will get this through co mforta bly the government will get this through comfortably tonight? 0h the government will get this through comfortably tonight? oh yeah, on third reading by a majority. i respect mps who take a different view, but parliament will speak and we will see if there is a big vote for coming out, triggering article 50,i for coming out, triggering article 50, ithink for coming out, triggering article 50, i think that's something the lords will listen to and i think within a few weeks the whole process will be complete. you don't think the lords will block it? an unelected chamber blocking what parliament wants in the commons and what the british people voted for seems unlikely. would you like to seems unlikely. would you like to see the lords block it? we only had three days to look at this. this is massively important issue. i think the lords need to give it due consideration and think about giving people a final say on the exit package in the knowledge they voted in principle to leave. gentlemen, thank you very much indeed. it is

a lwa ys thank you very much indeed. it is always a pleasure to talk to you and for you to degate each other. the key vote is later on this evening. the amendment is at 6pm and the main motion vote on that at 8pm. jane and simon, back to you. ben, thank you very much. see you later, thank you. a former teacher who admitted abusing boys in the uk and thailand has been given 13 life sentences and must serve a minimum of 16 years for each sentence handed down. 70—year—old mark frost, also known as andrew tracey, admitted 45 counts of abuse. judge mark lucraft told mr frost he was responsible for "the most appalling catalogue of sexual abuse". the nspcc has called for other victims to come forward amid fears the full scale of his crimes have yet to emerge. earlier the bbc spoke to mark sutton from the national crime agency. he told us that there maybe more victims to come forward. we are aware his footprint across the united kingdom and the world is vast

and from holding a position of trust for many years. the likelihood is that there maybe other victims in the uk and elsewhere that suffered at the hands of this man and we would implore them to come forward. in the trial today, a number of victims have come forward, and shown incredible bravery to speak about something they haven't spoken about in 30 years. incredible bravery of them and i hope that they take, people take courage from that and come forward and we have a dedicated helpline, by the nspcc managed by trained staff and the number is 0800328, 0904. if they ring that numberand 0800328, 0904. if they ring that number and speak to somebody and go from there. 0ur correspondent angus crawford is at the old bailey. and particularly shocking crimes? yes, the trialjudge talked about his horrific conduct and described this as a most appalling catalogue of crimes. so what more do we know

about mark frost? his original name was andrewjohn tracey and that's significant because he changed it late on so many people may have known him by his former name. we also know that he's 70. he was a teacherfor also know that he's 70. he was a teacher for 25 years also know that he's 70. he was a teacherfor 25 years in also know that he's 70. he was a teacher for 25 years in the uk. also know that he's 70. he was a teacherfor 25 years in the uk. last week, he pleaded guilty to 45 counts of abuse including rape. we know that many of those counts related to children in thailand, vulnerable children, poor children who befriended and abused. there was something like nine of them and that took place between 2009 and 2012. when two men heard about the allegations, two men in the uk, who we re allegations, two men in the uk, who were former pupils, they came forward and they came forward with a tale of terrible abuse at mark frost's hands. he pleaded guilty to abusing those two men as well which is why the nspcc and nca are calling for other potential victims to come

forward because this man mark frost taught for more than 20 years in the uk in worcestershire and hertfordshire and east london, their message is simple — if you knew him or if you were attacked by him, if suffered at his hands please do now come forward. angus, thank you. angus crawford there at the old bailey. a woman has won an appeal to the supreme court after being denied payments from her late long—term partner's occupational pension. the appellant, from coleraine, northern ireland, challenged a ruling she is not automatically entitled to a "survivor's pension" as she would have been if the couple had been married. five supreme court justices unanimously ruled she is entitled to receive payments under the pension scheme. a little earlier i spoke to denise, who brought the appeal. she told me what the case meant to her. this was something that was a personaljourney because lenny

and i discussed what our future. lenny told me this is what i would be entitled to and yes, the financial burden from the loss of his income coming into the household was immense. it was so emotional with not only losing lenny, but then the financial security and then to be told that you weren't going to get the pension that lenny had told me that i was entitled to, well that was just another knock that i wasn't prepared to take. yes. just to explain to viewers who perhaps don't know what happened here, the point is had you and lenny been married, this would not entitled to the payments. although you weren't married, you had been togetherfor a long time. there was a form he was meant to fill in to say should the worst the worst happen you would receive the benefits. when you were told he hadn't filled in that form,

what on earth went through your mind at that point? well, i believed that the form at that stage had been filled in. i believed that lenny had put it in and now whether the form got lost in the transit, things changed with the local government pension schemes as a result of that as well. i couldn't believe it. i thought this is something that you know that he has told me and you're thinking 0k at least i'll 0k financially, but then you're told no, you can't. it was just like rubbing salt into your wounds. it was so, so difficult at that stage and this was just an extra burden that i was going to have to now take on. i'm joined now by steve webb, director of policy at royal london and a former pensions minister. good afternoon. your thoughts about this really fundamental decision today. i think it has got to be good news for six million people across the country who live together as couples and the idea that we have

pension rules that apply differently to married and cohabiting couples just seems increasingly annac ra nistic. anyone listening to that who might have thought, well, you know, the form should have been filled in. there are procedures for these things. are you saying that we're in a situation where actually this form just shouldn't exist anymore? you shouldn't have to do that if you're living together. do you not have to prove that you have been together for a certain period of time? there we re for a certain period of time? there were rules. it was two years in this case and there are sometimes different rules for married couples as cohabiting couples. the court said that was discriminatory, but there are other rules in the pension system that says married couples get this, cohabiting couples get nothing. i hope every pension system will be reviewing their system. the treasury says it is now looking at the supreme court decision. what do

you feel other companies, companies i should say are now going to be doing? will they consider this an extra burden for them or as far as you're concerned is this a matter of equality? well, it really ought to be about justice and equality? well, it really ought to be aboutjustice and fairness and not about cost. it is good the treasury are looking at this. that would cover public sector schemes. there are laws on what private company schemes have to do that are not equal between married and cohabiting couples. there is a long way to go. but i hope this is a further move. society has changed and other bits of pensions have caught up. same—sex couples who are married are treated the same as heterosexual couples and widowers are treated the same as widows. that was an interesting point. the man who died so tragically young, he worked in the public sector and had done for many, many years. people watching might not realise there is a difference between public and private sector. how is that still

happening in an age when surely we're all being encouraged to try to save something for our retirement? yes, many of these rules were written years, decades, go, and if not dealt with the often sit there and change, and a court case like this is often where they can be reviewed. there were provisions for cohabiting couples, but there are different, and it is unfortunate here are the lady fell foul of those rules, but it needs to be systematics of people do not have to go through the courts to get justice. yes, former pensions minister noel at royal london, thank you for being with us. the headlines coming up, but first let's catch up with the weather with louise. good afternoon, everybody. it has been a cloudy day and i hope those of you who managed to see some sunshine have been able to enjoy it. look at this beautiful weather watcher shot from swansea earlier on. northern ireland, the fringes of scotland, wales and the west, but further east

it has been cold, and nagging easterly breeze driving in a few scattered showers, chiefly of rain, to the coast, but through the night some of those will fall further inland as sleet and snow. elsewhere, a cold night, a frost in sheltered western areas, so i chilly start to thursday morning and perhaps icy patches around, stretching from eastern scotland down to the east here. that easterly wind will drive more cloud further west, so just the western coastal fringes seeing some sunshine and a bit more brightness into northern ireland, but it will continue to feel chilly out there, particularly on exposed coasts and particularly on exposed coasts and particularly if you get the showers, two or three degrees here at the very best. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy and jane hill. the headlines atjust after 4:30pm: labour leaderjeremy corbyn has accused ministers

of a sweetheart deal — ensuring surrey county councillors dropped the referendum on whether to raise council tax to pay for social care. rolf harris is cleared of three historic sex offence allegations. a jury fails to reach a verdict on four other charges. mps will vote tonight on giving the prime minister the authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu, triggering a brexit milestone. tara palmer tomkinson, the socialite and friend of the royal family, has died at the age of 45. the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall have said they are deeply saddened and their thoughts are with the family. hugh is at the bbc sport centre... good afternoon. ann keothavong said she ‘couldn't have asked for more' for the start of her tenure as great

britain's fed cup captain. the team whitewashed portugal 3—nil withjoslin rae and laura robson taking the doubles rubber after straight sets wins for heather watson and johanna konta in the singles. it gives gb a big lead in their europe—africa group 1 tie. they face latvia tomorrow and turkey on friday. laura and jos, fantastic doubles. i know they have not played much together, but watching them you would never have thought that, and again they took charge and did what they had to do, so, yeah, a clean sheet. what more could i ask for? premier league champions leicester city face another east midlands derby in their fa fourth—round replay tonight. they welcome steve mcclaren's derby county in the competition, but sitting just a point off the relegation zone

and with a huge league game against swansea at the weekend foxes boss claudio ranieri is set to make changes to his side... i have to protect some players who are not very good and they need more recovery and more rest, and also i want to see and to give an opportunity to the other players, because the other players, they have a good quality and are worth a lot of money. leicester are a very good team, on the day, very capable of reaching the day, very capable of reaching the heights they did last season. i watched the first 40 minutes against manchester united. they dominated, back to their usual dressing oppressive self, with opportunities, and what they are not doing, the difference is the ball—mac is not going in the net —— the ball is not going in the net —— the ball is not going in the net. you can join gary linekerfor going in the net. you can join gary lineker for the live coverage. that match is live on bbc1 from 7.30pm and there's commentary on bbc radio five live as well. wales number eight taulupe faletau will be available for saturday's six nations match against england in cardiff. the 26—year—old bath back—rower has not played since christmas eve after suffering a knee injury. england head coach eddiejones says

his team seemed petrified about going to cardiff, but the opposite court says those are carefully chosen words... yes, smart coaching. he isa chosen words... yes, smart coaching. he is a clever bloke, eddie, and as isaidi he is a clever bloke, eddie, and as i said i think it is great for the game. it will encourage in the game. you think of football managers like brian clough and people like that, they were a bit outspoken, where they? it is good for the game. —— weren't they? the funeral of baroness rachael heyhoe flint is taking place in wolverhampton today. the former england women's cricket captain died last week at the age of 77. she polayed in the first ever women's match at lord's, against australia, back in 1976, and was inducted into the icc hall of fame in 2010. former world snooker number one ronnie 0'sullivan says he will no longer give in—depth interviews to the media after receiving a disciplinary letter from world snooker. 0'sullivan won the masters injanuary, but after his semi—final

had been critical of referee terry camillieri in a tv interview and also swore when discussing the behaviour of a photographer during the match. he's currently playing in the world grand prix in preston and gave a bizarre tv interview in a stilted, robotic voice. what about the rest of the tournament, though? are you happy with your game? is everything happy going forward? i... and... very... happy--- going forward? i... and... very... happy... with... my... game. i hope ican happy... with... my... game. i hope i can continue until the end of the season. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. the man accused of murdering his fiancee, the writer helen bailey,

has claimed that she took sleeping tablets prescribed for him. he also told the court she received visits from "mysterious former business associates" before her death. ian stewart, who's 56, is giving a second day of evidence at st albans crown court. he is alleged to have drugged and killed ms bailey at their home in hertfordshire in april last year. let's cross to st albans crown court and our correspondent ben ando. a second day of him appearing in the witness box, ben? yes, and today his defence barrister took him back to april the 11th last year, the day when helen bailey disappeared. he said it started as a relatively normal day and he had planned to have a doctors appointment in the morning, but mrs bailey had it fosters —— had come out flustered from her car, so he offered to walker and reschedule the doctor's appointment for the afternoon. when askedif appointment for the afternoon. when asked if there were any other

visitors, he said, no, iwent u psta i rs visitors, he said, no, iwent upstairs for a doze, then he apologised to the jury and said there was a visitor, and when asked who it was he said it wasjo, a former business associate of helen's late husband, who had visited the house on two previous occasions. joe had arrived at the door and said to helen bailey, have you remembered our business? she then said, no, leave me alone. he then whispered something to wear that mr stewart did not hear before saying, think about it. he said he asked her what it was all about and she just said thatjoe was it was all about and she just said that joe was an it was all about and she just said thatjoe was an idiot. he said he then went upstairs, had a doze, realised he was running late for that doctor's appointment, so he left the house in a hurry, said goodbye to helen bailey and she waved goodbye to him from the dining room window. he said that was the last time he saw her alive. he said he went to the doctor's, then went to eat it to put in a duvet cover he

had soiled because of bowel condition, then to the solicitor‘s to drop off some papers, and he then said there was someone else at the door when he returned home, nick, another business associate allegedly ofjoe who had visited the house on the previous occasion, and he said that nick barged into the house, punched him in the and said they had taken helen. he said helen was solving a problem with them and that he was not to tell anyone. he said he was not to tell anyone. he said he didn't know what to do, went into auto mode, told a lie to his son about it that she had went to broadstairs and left a note. he will continue giving evidence tomorrow. thank you, ben, from st albans crown court. more now on the final hours of debate in the commons over the government's brexit bill. labour's shadow business secretary is considering resigning over the issue. clive lewis has indicated he may rebel againstjeremy corbyn's order to back the government's plans. let's go to ben brown, who's outside the houses of parliament. yes, that vote around eight o'clock

this evening. we will be looking to see how many labour mps rebel againstjeremy corbyn's three line whip, telling them they should vote for the european union bill which effectively empowers the government and theresa may to begin that formal process of brexit negotiations. let's speak to a couple of mps here at westminster. sir william cash, lifelong eurosceptic and leave campaigner, and the westminster leader of plaid cymru, thank you very much for being with me. bill cash, are you a shilling it will be a comfortable majority for the government this evening?” a comfortable majority for the government this evening? i think it will be fine. it has been a very interesting debate but i am afraid the real purpose of the bill was merely to withdraw we would —— merely to withdraw we would —— merely to withdraw we would —— merely to notify we would withdraw under article 50, and they said it had to be by bill and not prerogative, which is the point. we

have also has a vast amount of debates over the nooks and crannies and everything under the sun but actually common sense is prevailing. there will be some rebels but basically the bill will go through. we had a few conservative rebels yesterday. is it strange for view having been a rebel for so long on the eurosceptic side to see people like ken clarke, a lifelong remain, being a rebel no? ken clarke and i had quite a few exchanges during this debate in the last few days. we respect one another very much and have actually been added since 1989. i put down my first amendment calling for sovereignty for the european parliament —— from the european parliament —— from the european parliament —— from the european parliament back in 1986, so we have been added for a long time. there's a huge difference between this and the maastricht debates and it is this. we were then saying we did not want european government and that the maastricht treaty created that the maastricht treaty created that and in addition we asked for a referendum on that question. what is

happening now is the rebels, if that is what they are to be cold, are effectively saying, they would undermine the government's position, though they do not admit that, but thatis though they do not admit that, but that is basically the way i put it, and in addition to that, they are actually arguing against the outcome of the referendum which was decided on the 23rd ofjune, salt for practical purposes i actually do not see a comparison “— practical purposes i actually do not see a comparison “ so practical purposes i actually do not see a comparison —— so for practical purposes, and although some amendments were justified, i am not convinced these are, —— i know i we re convinced these are, —— i know i were an image how will you be voting this evening? against the government, of course. those nooks and crannies are very important. planning what is happening over the next few years, if the government refuses, and what support will there be for welsh families? we had john redwood in the chamber this afternoon saying, well, it is worth sacrificing some parts of the

economy in favour of the city of london. is that government policy? he is the former welsh secretary. we just do not know. that is the problem with these three days. most people in wales voted to leave. problem with these three days. most people in wales voted to leavem is not about whether we leave or not, it is about how we leave. is not about whether we leave or not, it is about how we leavem is not about whether we leave or not, it is about how we leave. it is about triggering article 50. for me at least it is about how we lead, and from so many people in wales and across the uk. there are so many arms “— across the uk. there are so many arms “ so many unanswered across the uk. there are so many arms —— so many unanswered questions which unfortunately are still unanswered this evening. when do you think you will get those answers? people are told it will be a marathon and if they are more fed up with brexit now they will be more fed up over the years, because most people want to get on with their lives. last question to you. did you ever think you would see this day when the comments, you know, the bill going through the commons, if it goes through, and on to the lords. did you think you would see this? when i stood on the screen in

the early 1990s and cold for a referendum on the maastricht treaty, i believed it, and i believe the british people if they were given one would make the right decision andl one would make the right decision and i believe that all the time right through this last 20 odd years and actually only yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the signing of the maastricht treaty, so actually i have maintained absolute belief in the british people. they are the ones who delivered the referendum and that is why i was always confident we would get the right answer. thank you very much, both of you. the vote, as we were saying, a little later on, we think around eight o'clock this evening. before that several amendments will be voted on as well. that is the latest from westminster. back to you, simon and jane. thank you. more now on the death of tara palmer—tomkinson. 0n the line is the royal historian and

editor of majesty magazine, ingrid zoo road. she appeared to have it all? yes, she was a good-looking girl, fabulous family brilliant skier, ryder, and she was very artistic, sang beautifully —— ingrid seward. i just artistic, sang beautifully —— ingrid seward. ijust think life giver too many choices and she did not make the right ones. she was sometimes accused of using your contacts, but she was incredibly well connected?” do not think she used to contact at all. i think prince charles, william and harry, they were very good friends with the family and they have known her, tara, all her life, and that is just the way it was. i do not think she used the contacts. occasionally she spoke about her relationship with the royal family but when she had all her problems with cocaine and depression, they we re very with cocaine and depression, they were very good to her, and the are to a re

to day. 5 to - day. she had m ou1 . she had as m??? m ou1 $125? but 2:2??? m ou1 . $125? but =%‘%% of... she was alwa s on terms of... she was always on television, always trying to create a role for herself... she was what was known as an it—girl, probably the first of her generation. she loved the celebrity, the limelight, and she went out with some very under suitable men, but she loved that. —— unsuitable men. she had a wild side, part of her attraction, but recently of course with her illness, you know, that life didn't work for her any more. we're just looking at pictures of her in those days, there with her sister, and the family were very close, and indeed still are, to prince charles? yes, they are. tara wrote a book, crazy book about her life, but she was a very book about her life, but she was a very generous sweet person. book about her life, but she was a very generous sweet person. she really was a charming girl, and

because, you know, the beautiful apartment, and i have been to it, they just all sort of apartment, and i have been to it, theyjust all sort of grew up together, in a way. not only prince charles, but for william and harry, very sad. ingrid, good of you to join us. ingrid seward, the editor of majesty magazine, thank you. we will know talk a bit more about the story that has dominated this afternoon, jeremy corbyn's accusation that the government had a deal with the conservative lead counsel to stop it holding a referendum on council tax. he asked theresa may to come clean about how much money had been offered to surrey county council, that it should draft are —— drop a referendum on a 15% rise in council tax to pay for the cost of social care. the local authority has denied any deal was done. let's speak to councillor hazel watson who joins me

via webcam because she is the leader of the liberal democrats on surrey cou nty of the liberal democrats on surrey county council. good afternoon. you think, believe it or suspect there was a deal? well, i can go by the texts i have seen, reported at prime minister's questions. i was shocked to see them because we had our budget meeting yesterday and we were given no information about any deal with the government, so it has come asa with the government, so it has come as a great surprise to me. yes, those were the texts read out by jeremy corbyn at pmqs. as far as you we re jeremy corbyn at pmqs. as far as you were concerned, until you heard pmqs, did you think there were still a chance the referendum would go ahead? a chance the referendum would go ahead ? what was a chance the referendum would go ahead? what was your take on all that? we went into the meeting yesterday expecting the 15% council tax increase and a referendum to go ahead, and that is the... the budget paper stated those two things, but we we re very paper stated those two things, but we were very surprised when the

leader of the council suddenly announced that was not going ahead and that it would be a 5% increase instead. so that was a surprise to us instead. so that was a surprise to us all. what kind of discussion went on, then, if people were taken aback by that? we were given no details as to why that change had taken place. there was... we have no details, and i think obviously i will be asking questions now about, about this memorandum of understanding which has been reported in the texts, and, you know, i need further information. i think surrey residents and councillors have a right to know what is happening. and the point of wanting to speak about the point of wanting to speak about theissue the point of wanting to speak about the issue of having a very big increase in council tax, precisely because of the crisis in social care, i mean, presumably you feel the council needs that extra money because we are an ageing population?

yes, we definitely need that extra funding andi yes, we definitely need that extra funding and i think that funding has to be found from central government. it isa to be found from central government. it is a national crisis in adult social care and that problem has to be solved for the whole country, not just for surrey, and we certainly need the extra money in surrey as we have an ageing population, and we have an ageing population, and we have an ageing population, and we have a shortfall in funding, so i certainly think we need that money. but putting up the council tax by 15% is just too but putting up the council tax by 15% isjust too much, and many people in surrey just 15% isjust too much, and many people in surreyjust would not be able to afford it. councillor hazel watson, there is much more we could discuss but unfortunate time is not on our site. thank you forjoining us, the leader of the liberal democrats there in surrey. in a moment we will look at how the financial markets in europe have closed, but first the main stories here at ten to five... labour accuses ministers of offering a ‘sweetheart deal‘

to a conservative council — to persuade it to drop a referendum about increasing council tax in order to pay for social care. a major brexit milestone — mps vote tonight on whether to give the prime minister authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu. rolf harris has been cleared of three historical sexual hello, let's look at how the markets have ended the trading session. the ftse 100 have ended the trading session. the ftse100 looks have ended the trading session. the ftse 100 looks to be heading have ended the trading session. the ftse100 looks to be heading towards a positive end of the day. the rolls—royce firm added 2% on the strength of the broker recommendation. the dax down against the dollar but up against the euro. a good day for commodities, things like copper and iron ore, prices on

the up. rio tinto havejust like copper and iron ore, prices on the up. rio tinto have just returned to profit after 12% jump the up. rio tinto have just returned to profit after 12%jump in earnings and they are also increasing their dividend. the boss of walt disney has warned a trade war between the us and china would be bad for business. he was also critical of the executive order signed by mr trump barring migrants and refugees from several muslim countries. the company reported a surprise drop in sales despite a strong performance from its theme parks and movie divisions. there's been mixed reaction to the government's housing white paper — on the stock market house builders shares have been doing pretty well. housebuilders redrow released earnings results today — a record level of profits for the first half. their chief executive was cheery about the white paper. let's get detailed analysis of all those stories with david buik from brokers panmure gordon. firstly, household is doing well with the share price. the government seeking

more affordable housing for potential buyers? hello. i think more affordable housing for potential buyers? hello. ithink we have to go back a little bit, probably 50 years. it is about time any government noticed we have a serious housing problem. it is all very well coming up with these hopefully helpful things like cutting bureaucracy, compulsory practice orders, local authorities working with builders, that is all very good stuff, but the population of the country is going to grow potentially by 19 million people to almost 75 million people in 25 yea rs, almost 75 million people in 25 years, so they are just playing catch up. it is much better that not only do we see these kinds of initiatives taking place, but we also have to do it, which has also been suggested in the renting division, because still you will find thousands and thousands of people said we cannot afford housing. nonetheless when you consider where these share prices, where they were on the 23rd ofjune, the cascaded down hill, and since that day redrow share price is up

70%, person and 40% and so once they have come up a long way anyway after the prophet of doom started telling us we would have massive unemployment and they were going into recession. that was quickly abated so we have seen this bounce back quite well. the news has been received quite well today but i would not wait for them to crack on that much because they have made up a lot of ground in a pretty short space of time. let's move on to walt disney, their boss warning essentially that, you know, the trade war between china and the us will not be good for business. they area will not be good for business. they are a global brand. how are investors feeling about that potential tension between the usa and china? well, in what you alluded to, the revenues were down, about 7% on the year, and they have had certain things that have gone very well, the star wars things or the cinema do very well, and the theme parks, up 6% of the year as well and thatis parks, up 6% of the year as well and that is a very important division for them, becoming increasingly

important. there are no flies on him, the boss, he has been around since noah left the ark, and he has made it very clear to trump that any isolationist policy against china would be disastrous and notjust for wa lt would be disastrous and notjust for walt disney's business. the shares are up on the year but interestingly they only came down a half percent when the record numbers were announced, which was not too bad, but i think that warning shot across the bows, i very much hope it is heated to because i think you will find other us magnets willjump on the bandwagon and make certain comments, and hopefully he will hear the cry from the wilderness, for wa nt of the cry from the wilderness, for want of a better expression. and a good day for commodities. what is driving that? i think china is back on board which is good. if you look at the commodity companies, especially the miners, when you look at when china's gdp came down to 8%,

from 10%, the writing was on the wall, and we get the impression things are better, reflected by rio tinto's profits today, $4.6 billion against their loss last year, their game, the share prices, if you have been on board for the last year there, you would have a humpback carrying it all the way to the banks. rio tinto up 90% in the last year. by normal standards that is just unprecedented. david, thank you very much. a quick look at the markets... as he was saying, those rio tinto shares spent most of the day in positive territory, the ftse 100 heading to a positive end after spending most of the afternoon in negative territory. that is it for me. plenty more business news on our website. back to you. thank you. time for a look at the weather with louise. thank you. good afternoon. it will get cold with each day remaining

this week. across northern ireland, the western fringes of scotland, wales and the south—west, some lovely weather. an easterly wind dragging ina lovely weather. an easterly wind dragging in a lot of cloud across the east coast and further inland and here it has been rather cool. through the night we could potentially see more showers coming and across that east coast. ice could be an issue, stretching down from eastern scotland to lincolnshire and further west we will see a frost forming. a chilly start to thursday morning. you could be scraping the windscreens of the car first be scraping the windscreens of the carfirst thing be scraping the windscreens of the car first thing and there could be some icy stretches on the roads. further showers are likely following as rain and sleet close to the coast but further inland across that north—eastern area, we could see a few sleet and snow showers as well. further west, i suspect more cloud around tomorrow than today. easterly wind driving in workload and therefore a drop in the temperature. two to 6 degrees is the high. ——

driving in more cloud. today at 5: the government is accused of offering a sweetheart deal to a tory—led council to help prevent a 15% council tax rise to pay for social care. jeremy corbyn says he's seen leaked texts suggesting surrey county council was given special treatment to prevent a referendum on the tax proposed increase. will the government now publish this memorandum of understanding and, while they're about it, will all councils be offered the same deal? surrey council denies there's any deal and the decision not to hold the referendum was theirs alone. we'll have the latest on the row amid calls for an urgent statement in the commons. the other main stories on the bbc news at 5: