the reconsider their position. the argument from the minister was actually this does nothing to help the 900,000 british people living in other eu countries. by taking it off the table before negotiations, it is no longer a priority for france or italy? i heard back, and i also heard it knocked down several times. so many people who are uk nationals in europe have contacted us and say, help us and also we have uk citizens married to eases as in is and there position is uncertain. the way to start negotiations is to make this commitment and it moves the argument along for our citizens. there is a danger if the government doesn't give certainty now, and we have seen the amendment on child refugees because promises are not enough, not having that certainty and it not being available until the end of the negotiations. meanwhile, the former conservative chancellor,

lord lamont says the result of the amendment is wrong. he is confident the government will reject it. you cannot separate the matters of eu countries in this country from british nationals abroad. we have a duty of care for them as well. they should be considered together. this would actually have the effect of leaving british citizens abroad stranded and neglected. why is that, you think it would no longer be a priority for other eu countries? absolutely, there are a number of european countries who don't fully observed all the theoretical rights of citizens moving within the eu system and they would be at risk. so, ithink system and they would be at risk. so, i think it would be quite an irresponsible policy if this was put

into practice. many, many people on the leeds side have made it clear they want eu nationals to have the right of permanent residents here, provided they meet the conditions of residents. what about the argument of doing the right thing, but principal and taking the moral high ground? it is a load of nonsense, frankly. it is arrogant to assume your argument is the only one of principle and yours is the only moral one. once people start using things like high ground, principal and moral, it is a load of humbug. do you think the reason may will be listening to what the lord say? she will be listening, but i am confident the government will reject this. we will have more reaction to that lord spoke to night throughout the evening. the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in england and wales has been hearing evidence into the abuse of children in care sent abroad until the 19705. our home affairs correspondent,

tom symonds has been at day three of the hearing in central london. another harrowing day of evidence. we heard from two witnesses who were people, as children, shipped to australia from children's homes from this country because their parents really had put them into care. both we re really had put them into care. both were put in the care of the infamous christian brothers, a catholic order that had a number of children's homes in western australia. one of the witnesses gave evidence anonymously, it was just his voice from the room where the enquiry was being held. he told us about beatings and sexual abuse. he said he was sexually abused twice. effectively the christian brothers ran the place like illegal paedophile ring. he said, it still hau nts paedophile ring. he said, it still haunts me and it will be something i will forget. what struck me was the description of the physical labour

the children had to do. we are talking about children younger than ten. for example, pulling up trees, and they were told if they didn't do the work, they would never get fed and they were given poor clothing, they were barefoot most of the time. he said it was a nasty place and his childhood wasn't enjoyable at all. another witness gave evidence. this time it was oliver cosgrove who was also shipped out to australia. the son of a priest, he said. he too was sexually abused in these christian brothers homes. what struck me with him was his description of the long—term psychological damage this experience has brought on people who have been through it. he gave evidence to the australian royal commission, which has been going on for a few years. he ended up reading some documents that gave him, if you like, a flashback to some of the abuse he had suffered. he ended up having something of a meltdown.

the memory of this caused me... caused me to have several days of sobbing in my apartment. and the apartment walls are not very thick. i used to drive down to a riverside reserve, which is nearby, and just sob for... several hours in the night. and on the 30th of august i was in one of these sobbing and i was so overcome that i crashed my car into a lamp post. oliver cosgrove, giving his evidence. the enquiry is hearing these stories, to give the flavour of the widespread sexual abuse in these days is trying to understand how institutions have responded, both in australia and the uk. that will start to emerge as this enquiry continues. drivers caught using hand—held

phones will face tougher penalties from today. the fine has doubled to £200 and the number of penalty points has doubled to six and that means new drivers could lose their licences after one offence. police have promised to put an increased focus on catching offenders. on a busy main road in cambridgeshire, police offenders police and crime commissioner catch another offender. we have been warned, we simply aren't listening. the most recent report from the rac foundation i% of drivers admit to using a hand—held phone at the wheel, compared to 8% two years ago. text in with both thumbs. can you follow me please?

this driver was spotted holding her phone to plot a route. you had both your hands on top of the steering wheel. six points. a £200 fine and no education course at all. it was how she was using the phone that makes it the offence. it is more than just making a phone call. we can do more and more with our phones and the temptation to use them on the move is irresistible. there will be no more driver awareness courses, new licenses can be revoked and busts and lorry drivers can face suspension, all underlining a simple message, your mobile phone belongs in the glove box. tomasz kroker ignored that advice and is serving ten years for causing the deaths of four people when he ploughed into stationary traffic. one of those seriously injured has welcomed the tougher penalties. we're all going to learn this lesson and we can learn it the easy or the hard way. i have learnt it the hard way but it is an easy problem to solve.

just put your phone away. back in cambridgeshire, a two—minute call will have serious consequences for this hgv driver. you were on your mobile phone. you are aware that's an offence? in the 20 odd years i've been on the road i've seen people with laptops. i've seen phone in one hand, laptop on the other, knee on the steering wheel. what just happened there, a minor indiscretion in relation to the scale of things. but no, i should know better. there'd been an accident... unfortunately your mum has been killed. the police operations will now run alongside a media campaign centred on the family of another victim. higher penalties are only part of the answer. in the end, we must all be conscious of the lives we put at risk. there is nothing that is so important it cannot wait. don't use your phone whilst you're driving. life on earth began hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought — that's according to researchers who have discovered fossils of one of the earliest living organisms.

the creature, half the width of a human hair, lived more than 4 billion years ago, not long after the formation of the earth. our science correspondent pallab ghosh has more. how did life begin? it's one of humanity's biggest questions. the discovery of some of the first life forms to have ever existed on earth may begin to provide some answers. they were discovered in these rocks which were found in canada. and here it is, one of the planet's very first inhabitants. it was less than the width of a human hair and very simple. but it ate and consumed oxygen, like we do. and to the shock of this scientist who discovered it, the life forms existed hundreds of millions of years earlier than anyone had ever imagined. not long after the earth was formed. we've got it. we've got the oldest fossils. this is exciting! the oldest fossils on the planet.

it relates us to our origin. i mean, this is one of the reasons for intelligent life to evolve. so, where does the life form fit in, in the story of life on earth? the earth formed just over li.5 billion years ago, a molten mass of rock that began to cool. not long after that came the first oceans which spread all across the planet. it was right at the bottom of those primordial lotions that some of the very first life forms emerged 4.28 billion years ago next to cracks on the sea floor spraying out warm water and minerals. a billion years ago, life really got started. all sorts of new types of organisms exploded on the scene over the next few billion years. the first humans evolved around 2.5 million years ago and modern humans arrived very recently by comparison. just over 200,000 years ago. the claim that living

organisms emerged on earth so early is controversial, but if confirmed, indicates that life is an unstoppable force and suggests that the universe is teeming with it. pallab ghosh, bbc news. let's see what the weather is like on planet earth today. prepare for a bumpy ride up to and including the weekend. overnight tonight, things turning lively especially across england and wales. strong winds and some rain around. n'gales battering the coast of the southern counties. 50 miles an hour oi’ southern counties. 50 miles an hour or so. heavy rain across parts of wales, northern england and the midlands and every chance some will call at low levels as snow. that

could cause some disruption. quieter further north to northern ireland and particularly scotland. lighter winds, but chilly. wintry showers across scotland in particular. becoming dry across many southern counties, but it will feel cold overnight tonight. wives start for the day tomorrow morning. the gaels will subside, but it will be blustery through the day. the rain and hill snow will die away from the central areas for a time and many will settle into a half decent day. a lot of dry weather this afternoon. across the south it will feel more like it, but temperatures are slightly higher. the odd shower out west. much better afternoon across parts of northern england and all points, compared with the morning. things settling down nicely. more rain looming large to the west of northern ireland. but for scotland, the best of the sunshine across eastern errors and wintry showers further west. it will feel chilly across northern areas. things go

downhill through the night, particularly across the south. developing area of low pressure will push bands of rain nor across england and wales as we go through friday. disappointing end to the week. heavy rain for a time. for most of northern ireland and scotla nd most of northern ireland and scotland on friday, will probably get away with it. milder in the south. low pressure will dominate right through the weekend. if not this one, then another one coming in from the atlantic. we know what low pressure means, means it there will a lwa ys pressure means, means it there will always be rain not too far away. prepare for wet weather at times and strong winds. notably, for many it will feel on the chilly side through this weekend. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 8.00.

the government suffers its first defeat in parliament over brexit as lords back an amendment protecting the residency rights of eu citizens living here. this is the right thing to do. not just morally right, but it is pragmatic in the interests of the uk and our interests as well.|j pragmatic in the interests of the uk and our interests as well. i didn't think we can separate the matter of eu nationals in this country from the situation of british citizens abroad. two british trainee doctors — part of a large group of students who joined so—called islamic state have been killed in iraq. sex education is to become compulsory in all schools in england with children as young as four being taught about about healthy relationships.