scotland's first minister takes westminster by surprise as she announces plans to trigger another independence referendum. nicola sturgeon says a 2nd referendum should be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 once the terms of the uk‘s exit from the eu are clear. i believe that it would be wrong for scotland to be taken down a path that it has no control over, regardless of the consequences for our economy, for our society, for our place in the world, for our very sense of who we are as a country. it comes as mps prepare to vote again on whether to give the prime minister the power to start the brexit process. we'll be asking whether theresa may will agree to another referendum and what the implications are for the uk and the brexit negotiations. also this lunchtime. hundreds of thousands of commuters are hit by a 2k hour rail strike as union members from 3 train companies walk out. moving in on mosul — iraqi forces say the last road out for islamic state fighters

has been closed. and the queen launches the baton relay for the 2018 commonwealth games in australia as it starts its journey around the world. in the sport, chris froome breaks his silence on his embattled boss, dave brailsford, saying that there would be no team sky without him. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. scotland's first minister has announced that she plans to trigger another referendum on scottish independence. nicola sturgoen said she would seek permission to hold a second referendum between autumn next year and the spring of 2019, when the terms of the uk's exit from the eu are clearer. two and a half years after the first

independence referendum, ms sturgeon said the vote to leave the eu meant the situation was now very different, and it was important for scotland to choose its own future before it was too late. a short time ago downing street said another referendum would be divisive and cause huge economic uncertainty at the worst possible time. from edinburgh, lorna gordon reports. sturgeon has long signalled a second independence referendum was highly likely. today, she said that time had come. i believe it would be wrong for scotland to be taken down a path that it had no control over regardless of the consequences for the economy, society, are placed in the economy, society, are placed in the world and the sense of who we are as a country. the first minister and the prime minister met injuly to discuss scotland's's role in the brexit process. with the prime minister on the brink of triggering

article 50, nicola sturgeon said those negotiations have failed. over the past few months we've worked hard, the past few months we've worked ha rd, really ha rd, the past few months we've worked hard, really hard, to try to find agreement. the prime minister and her government have been given every opportunity to compromise. today, as we stand, for all we know, on the eve of article 50 being triggered, not only is there no uk wide agreement on the way ahead but the uk government has not moved an inch in pursuit of compromise and agreement. the first minister will seek authorisation from the scottish parliament next week for what is called a section 30 order, and she said she wants the right to hold a referendum between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. the main unionist parties are signalling that, unlike last time, they will campaign

separately to keep the uk in tact. it isa separately to keep the uk in tact. it is a little over two years since people in scotland last voted on whether they wanted independence. expect a very different campaign this time round. in a moment, we'll speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith, but first to our scotland editor, sarah smith. a huge moment for the uk — so many answered questions — so many unanswered questions — and very high stakes at play for scotland's first minister. for nicola sturgeon it could cost her the career, if she has another referendum and she loses it. she knows that very well. but i asked her, did she really believe that she would win another referendum on scottish independence and she said she was convinced that she would, despite the fact that opinion polls do not suggest a majority of people in scotland support independence and

the economic circumstances are considerably more different, she says she is planning to win this thought. of course, she has adopted a tone that is not triumphalist dick, she is trying to suggest that she is being forced into this course of action because she doesn't want to look like she is using this as an excuse. to look like she is using this as an excuse. she talked about how she's trying to find compromise and how they had refused this was not she said that no change is not an option, the uk is changing so much asa option, the uk is changing so much as a result of brexit that she thinks the people of scotland should have a choice. she thinks the argument is very different than it was in 2014 and that is why possibly for yea rs was in 2014 and that is why possibly for years after, scotland should be given another vote on independence. theresa may holds the key card because she needs to agree on this.

there is no disguising the ferocity of theresa may's opposition. the spokesman said there was a vote two years ago and that was meant to be once ina years ago and that was meant to be once in a generation, much better for the scottish government to focus oi'i for the scottish government to focus on their dayjob. it was argued that this would be economically divisive, lead to increased uncertainty. theresa may has always stressed it was a theresa may has always stressed it wasa uk theresa may has always stressed it was a uk wide referendum and we would leave as the uk. there would not be individual deals. she has one significantly strong card in her hand, nicola sturgeon cannot on her owi'i hand, nicola sturgeon cannot on her own trigger an independence referendum. it must be with the agreement authority of westminster. it is clear that she does not want another referendum ahead of brexit because she does not want to fight

oi'i because she does not want to fight on two fronts at one time, fighting a scottish independence referendum at the same time as grappling with this. she also does not want to deliver a slap in the face to the people of scotland by dismissing the option. 0ne people of scotland by dismissing the option. one option is she plays for time. she delays any final decision oi'i time. she delays any final decision ona time. she delays any final decision on a second independence referendum until after brexit and that uncertainty is over. that puts the pressure back on nicola sturgeon because the argument is if you hold it before the uk leaves scotland is still part of the eu. if the referendum is after, it will be too late. thank you, both. well, those plans for a new referendum have been announced as mps prepare to vote again today on whether to give the prime minister the power to start the brexit process. they'll also look at two changes

wanted by the house of lords — to guarantee the rights of eu citizens in the uk and to ensure parliament gets a vote on any final deal. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. westminster is gearing up for a fight but whilst there are protests outside the real battle will take place inside parliament. today, mps and lords will decide whether to sign off the brexit bill. theresa may wanted passed today with no changes and those who back brexit agree. we've got to the stage where there are no new arguments being made and i expect the bill to be passed with no amendments and we will get on with the serious business of negotiating with our eu friends. the house of lords has proposed changes to the bill, to protect the rights of eu citizens in the uk and give parliament as they

on the final terms of the uk brexit deal. —— give parliament a voice. it is back before mps who will vote on whether to accept or reject the amendments. 0nce they've decided, it goes back to the lords this evening. they also must approve it and once it is signed off, it will get royal assent. this is a formality. labour wa nts assent. this is a formality. labour wants changes to the bill before that happens. we will be pushing hard. i hope the government rethinks and the tory mps who are concerned about these issues vote with us because that is the only way we can win these amendments. some tories might oppose the government if they don't get a promise that parliament will be able to intervene if the uk doesn't reach an exit deal with the eu. i think we will hear a definite commitment for a vote if we get a deal but many of us will be probing theissue deal but many of us will be probing the issue about if we don't get a deal. despite the threat of tory

rebels, it is unlikely there will be enough to defeat the government, and many in the house of lords don't wa nt many in the house of lords don't want a prolonged tussle. by the end of today, the prime minister could have the power to start the process. some still oppose it. it won't be a smooth road. but our departure from the eu is getting closer. you can follow all the latest developments from westminster and edinburgh. hundreds of thousands of commuters had theirjourney to work disrupted this morning after a 24—hour strike got underway at three rail companies in england. up to 2,000 members of the rmt union walked out at southern, northern and merseyrail as part of a dispute over the role of guards. 0ur transport correspondent, richard westcott, is at leeds railway station. this issue has been rumbling on and

we always warned it was possible it could spread to other parts of england. now that's happened. merseyrail has not coped as well as they would have liked and we are not going to run any trains between 11 and two. northern ireland in about 20% of their services and we caught one this morning. thejoys of 20% of their services and we caught one this morning. the joys of the monday morning commute. passengers hit by the same strike that has caused months of misery. this is the 8am train. busy commuter service, really filling up. has been really busy. i usually get the train from ilkley. there is no way that i would get that. a bit annoying. a couple

of stops later, it is really filling up. it has been ok. in the morning it is always pretty packed. were you worried about what the strike would do to the service? a bit. it is a 24—hour strike with 2000 real workers walking out. —— railway workers. three strikes, same issue. three strikes, same issue, the introduction of driver only controlled trains where the guard no longer closes the doors. we fundamentally believe that services operated on a driver only, driver controlled operation are fundamentally less safe. and every train in the uk should retain a second safety critical person on board. we put safety at the heart of everything we do. the independent rail regulator has actually indicated that this is as safe as conductor operation of the doors. this isn't about who opens

and closes the doors, this is about giving our customers what they want. merseyrail actually stopped running trains completely this lunchtime as drivers refused to cross picket lines. southern rail has handled 30 strike days over the past year or so has learned to cope and will run most of its trains today. the next station is leeds, this train terminates here. if the south is anything to go by, passengers across northern england might have to find other ways into work over the coming months. the critical travelling advice. these companies have focused their attention on the peak of 7am to 7pm. they stop around 7pm. if you are at

work now, leave early. iraqi forces say they are continuing to close in on islamic state fighters in mosul. the us envoy coordinating the fight against so—called is says any fighters from the group who are still in the city will die there after the last road out of mosul was captured by the iraqi army. mosul, iraq's second biggest city, has been in the hands of the islamic state group for over two and a half years. it's their last stronghold in the country. richard lister reports. street by street, house by house, the fighters of islamic state are losing more is all. this rare footage shows these militants under pressure. they are outgunned and outflanked, surrounded by iraqi troops, relying on marchers, car bombs, and exploding drones like

this one. it's not working. they've lost a third of their territory. but civilians are paying a terrible price. there is little to go back to. my entire family, they are gone, said 0mar. he is 17. more casualties arrive every day. at this stage we have approximately 60, we get around ten cases every day. hundreds of thousands of people are thought to be in the city as the shelling continues. with all major escape routes cut off, the iraqis and their american allies believe the fight for the city is entering a decisive phase. any of the fighters left are

going to die there because they are trapped. we are very committed to making sure these guys cannot escape. the narrow streets and crowded neighbourhoods make for a crowded neighbourhoods make for a crowded battle ground. thousands have fled since february. many more will make this harrowing journey before the battle is over. an inquest has begun in newport into the deaths of a woman and a man at hostel in argoed in south wales in 2014. 34—year—old mathew christopher williams killed cerys marie yemm, and was then tasered by police. he had recently been released from hms park prison after serving a 27—month sentence. the inquest has now been adjourned, and will restart on wednesday. the football coach barry bennell has appeared in court charged with 12 new counts of historical child sex offences. the 63—year—old appeared at south cheshire magistrates' court via video—link from prison. he now faces a total of 20 sexual abuse allegations, relating to alleged incidents between 1980 and 1987. the netherlands has warned

its citizens over travel to turkey as a row between the countries shows no sign of abating. germany, austria and the netherlands have all now blocked turkish attempts to hold rallies in those countries. turkey's president erdogan vowed retaliation, accusing them of "nazism". 0ur correspondent mark lowen is in istanbul. how has this row escalated so much and so quickly? in a word, politics, in both countries. in the netherlands the dutch panellist mark rutter is trying to burnish his nationalist credentials before an election on wednesday, trying to stop the far right candidate from using the anti—immigrant card so he is standing firm and in turkey and didn't erdogan had his eye on a referendum in five weeks on boosting his own powers. he sees an opportunity in this whole affair to

rally his nationalist supporters behind him in orderto rally his nationalist supporters behind him in order to secure victory. he is using unprecedented language, calling the netherlands a ba na na language, calling the netherlands a banana republic and using the word is using unprecedented language, calling the netherlands a banana republic and using the words nazism and fascism and the overwhelming pre—government media is carrying similar headlines, this talk about not the dogs, using a photo of a dutch dog biting a turkish processor —— not the dogs. and as a tourist newspaper talks about, what barbarism gone with the same photo and image, really hammering home this idea that turkey is the victim of european oppression. to date they demanded a written apology from the dutch government for blocking the pitted of turkish ministers and using —— using violent methods to disperse britdisc in what about and haveit disperse britdisc in what about and have it accused him of violating the vienna convention and have also warned of economic sanctions between

the countries. in reality, this is rhetoric largely for domestic consumption but in the process, a vital diplomatic relationship has reached an unprecedented low. thank you. our top story this lunchtime... scott on‘s first minister, nicola sturgeon can take westminster by surprise as she announces plans to be —— to click a second independence referendum. still to come... scientists have decided that one boaty mcboatface is not in so instead we have not won, not two but three submarines. come up in sport, bournemouth‘s ryan fraser is rewarded for his impressive premier league form with a scotland call—up. stuart armstrong and tom cairney are also called up for the first time. the countdown to the next commonwealth games in australia got

underway this morning as the queen launched the games' baton relay at buckingham palace. over the next 388 days, the baton will visit all of the commonwealth nations and territories, before arriving for the games on australia's gold coast. simon mccoy is at buckingham palace for us. todayis today is commonwealth day and just after midday the queen handed over the baton which will start that remarkable and very long journey. inside, a message from her majesty which will be read out at the opening ceremony on the 4th of april. today she handed the baton to the first of the many kanpur bearers and from here she will head to westminster abbey where today there isa westminster abbey where today there is a service of bags given for an organisation of which the queen is tremendously fond and one which connects 2.5 billion people worldwide. today it is all been

about the sport and with me now is the first two of those baton ferres, anna meares and victoria pendleton, two track cyclist who i don't think have ever worn the same uniform before and you are now friends! we both pointed out that we had never worn the same tracksuits and it is a first for us. it is. what is the commonwealth games mean to you?- first for us. it is. what is the commonwealth games mean to you? as a former athlete, it was very special and something you worked hard for but i only got a chance to compete in it once every four years and i said to victoria, when the relay started, you got a flutter in your chest because you knew it was getting close so to be on the other side and participate in the relay and to share that with victoria today was very unique and different andl today was very unique and different and i really enjoyed it. and quite and i really enjoyed it. and quite an honour? absolutely, it is an honour to be recognised and to be asked to participate in something like this and there will be a lot of people on the route, maybe they have volunteered or people that put their names forward and it is their way of

connecting with the whole commonwealth games and what it means to be moved. it is the first time i had been part of a baton relayed so for me it was a first and it was very nice to share it with an and, as you say, a massive honour. unlike the olympics, this is the only baton and it does the whole journey but interned by the comparisons with the 0lympics can you must get fed up with people saying it is not that big a deal? in our sport we have some of the best nations in our sport competing so for us it is the highest level of competition. and as athlete it is a very significant competition to aim for. we have the olympic games and the commonwealth games and those carry the most gravitas and importance. i always feel sad when people, they look at it as the poor cousin in some ways because the me it is very special and very important and games i will thoroughly enjoy and where better to haveit thoroughly enjoy and where better to have it and the gold coast? and what does it mean to the gold coast?

everyone is very excited, i know what it was like to compete a home —— home commonwealth games. the gold coast with iconic beaches, the australian lifestyle, they are waiting to welcome the world and is going to be the biggest sporting event of the decade for our country. the anticipation is building and it will be a very family friendly event as well which is one of the biggest things they are pushing. that word friend is remarkable, you were once, at each other‘s backs les say in terms of cycling but now firm friends in retirement. absolutely, you were saying that we have shared similar experiences in sport and having left the competitive side, we have actually crossed paths a bit and got to know each other as people and got to know each other as people and we have a lot in common! we do have a lot and we get on well so from rivalry to friendship and... and you would have had that without

the rivalry and it created the friendship. i will have to break it up, thank you both for coming. as you understand that a lot of people from the gold coast here today to celebrate and they are also a bad the weather here is better!|j celebrate and they are also a bad the weather here is better! i was going to say, a lot of sunshine for them. a new report says thousands of vulnerable people with dementia and learning disabilities are being detained in hospital because the right checks aren't being made. the law commission, which reviews laws in england and wales, says people are being denied their freedom, and the ‘deprivation of liberty‘ law should be scrapped. our legal correspondent, clive coleman, is here. explain what these orders are and how much of a problem they are posing. they are authorisations to deprive someone of their liberty and they are made when people lack the mental capacity to consent so you are talking about people with dementia, learning disabilities, and when they need to be detained in a hospital or a care home or even in their own homes, that is when these orders are made. the system for

imposing these deprivation of liberty protections is very complex. the assessment is normally made by a local authority but it can involve six or seven assessment with different experts. the system is simply broken. in 2014 there was a landmark case which massively widened the definition of those who lacked capacity and who were deprived of their liberty and that meant that applications soared by 14 fold in england over a two—year period and last year 100,000 people who needed these authorisations did not get them because the system was broken. it places the wishes and feelings of the person concerned right at the heart of the process. and it also gives much greater importance than previously to the knowledge that friends and relatives have about those wishes and feelings. another very important thing that it does is that it expand the provisions, the protections to cover people deprived of their liberty at home as well as in care homes and hospitals.

that was lucy scott—moncrieff who is an expert in medical capacity law and she welcomes the recommendations in this report. the report itself is absolutely damning and says thousands of those with dementia and learning difficulties are being detained without adequate checks and some detentions are unlawful and it said the system has to be scrapped and immediately but the recommendations that lucy was welcoming our enhanced ride for detained persons to have an independent advocate to protect them, greater emphasis on the human rights and cutting down on the need to make fresh assessment. if somebody has a lifelong condition like dementia. the department of health has looked at this carefully and welcomed the detailed work of the law commission and it seems likely that something will be done asa likely that something will be done as a result. thank you. the supreme court will hear

an appeal this afternoon by the metropolitan police against a ruling that it failed victims of one of the uk's most dangerous rapists. appeal courtjudges ruled two years ago that scotland yard did not properly investigatejohn worboys, who was eventuallyjailed for life for more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults. our home affairs correspondent june kelly is at the supreme court. women's groups are here protesting over the police's decision to bring this case. the met police were heavily criticised over their failure to catchjohn worboys down the years and in 2014, two of his victims brought a case using the human rights act and one competition and basic is excessively sued on the ground that the met had breached their human rights. —— and they sued successfully. it talks about it being illegal to inflict human and degrading treatment on people. the ruling meant police could be sued if they failed to identify or apprehend

an unnamed suspect and over the effectiveness of their investigation. the met police decided to challenge this in the courts because they said it had ramifications for policing generally and they say they are not doubting what the women involved, the victims, went through, but they save the case raises important argument regarding the boundaries of police responsibility and liability and it is important that these principles are tested in the courts. the hearing gets underway at 2pm will stop thank you. boaty mcboatface — remember the name that won the competition to name a new arctic exploration vessel? the organisers decided that wasn't quite what they had in mind, so named the vessel, sir david attenborough instead. but the good news is that the people's choice was given to an unmanned yellow submarine. and now boaty mcboatface is on its first mission to the antarctic, as our science correspondent, rebecca morelle, reports. getting ready to take a dip.

this is boaty mcboatface. at the national oceanography centre in southampton, the robotic submarine is being put to the test before it heads out to sea. this submersible has been kitted out with the latest underwater technology but now scientists have decided that one boaty mcboatface isn't quite enough. so instead we have not one, not two but three subs — a fleet of boatys ready to explore beneath the waves. this new vehicle can stay out for weeks to months at a time. it can be deployed from close to shore or from the shoreline which means we actually don't necessarily need a ship to go and do some of the measurements that this vehicle can make. and the benefit of having three of them is it means we can cover a number of different projects at the same time. there is an awful lot of sea out there and having three vehicles means we can get a much better understanding all at once. the subs will eventually work alongside this, the uk's new polar research vessel. it was almost called boaty mcboatface after a public vote

but that was deemed too silly and the vessel is now named after sir david attenborough, with boaty living on through the subs. and antarctica is the first destination. one of the boatys has just set off to dive into the coldest waters on earth to learn about how they affect the world's climate. it won't be long now before the other submarines head out too, so stand by for more on the adventures of the boatys. rebecca morelle, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's tomaz schafernaker. positively springlike. it is but the weather has been all over the place, one day the sun is out and the next we have the cloud like yesterday. and then the sun is out again. it is actually out every day but on some days it has