they are under pressure. they are outgunned and outflanked. they are outgunned and outflanked, surrounded by iraqi troops, relying on mortars, car bombs, and exploding drones like this one. to try to hold the advancing forces back. 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 omar. he is 17. more casualties arrive every day. in these two weeks, 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 nightmarish battle ground. 65,000 have fled since february. many more will make this harrowing journey before the battle is over. police have begun an appeal at the supreme court against a ruling that they failed the victims of one of the uk's most dangerous rapists. judges said scotland yard had breached the human rights of two women because officers didn't properly investigatejohn worboys, who was jailed for life in 2009 after committing more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults. the outcome of the case could have profound legal implications for policing,

as our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani reports. a trusted black cab driver, but one of the country's most dangerous rapists. john worboys attacked more than 100 women over six years, hunting them down late at night in london with an elaborate trick. he'd show off a bag of cash claiming it was a big gambling win and offer them drug—laced champagne. few of his victims could entirely remember what happened next, and police didn't take their complaints seriously. one of his victims from 2007 had her account dismissed. had the officers who looked at my case taken my allegations seriously, they would've found substantial pieces of evidence. they didn't do that, and as a result so many more women went on to get harmed. the botched investigation led to a landmark ruling by the high court that scotland yard had breached the human rights of the women, and that means police can be sued. the force is now challenging that unprecedented ruling. this case is really important because women need to be able to hold police to account

when they fail as catastrophically as they failed in the worboys case. if the police had acted sooner, if they'd listened to the women, and if they had followed their own policies, it's likely that fewer women would have been raped. as it was, he was left on the streets. the force admits it made mistakes but argues that important legal principles are at stake. if the justices rule against the met, it could have profound implications for how police chiefs prioritise serious violence and sexual crimes. dominic casciani, bbc news. let's go back to westminster, we are expecting the second vote in the lords. the ayes 381, the noes, 286. the ayes 381, the noes, 286.

so the ayes have it. the ayes habit. let me go back to westminster, and put those figures into context for us, that was the second lords amendment, that the commons were voting on so what does that mean? edge that was the one calling for a meaningful vote on a deal that theresa may gets from bus. the other ina theresa may gets from bus. the other in a couple of years‘ time. that is another resounding government win. throwing out the lords amendment, that change made by the house of lords which now means that again, the brexit bill has gone through the commons unchanged. so what happens now? immediately go straight up the corridor to the house of lords where they will now look at those again. they will discuss it again for a couple of hours and aside whether they would dig their heels in. or

whether they are going to back down and let the elected chamber get its way. there is a very similar majority in both cases. way. there is a very similar majority in both caseslj way. there is a very similar majority in both cases. i had expected a bigger tory rebellion. that is the one they were exercised about, tory mps had taken on board and believed theresa may‘s commitment, on eu citizens. they we re commitment, on eu citizens. they were much more worried about this issue of the final vote. we know on the first vote there were two conservative mps who voted against their government. i think the interesting thing about both of them is that they are both in seats which the liberal democrats used to hold, there are some tory mps who feel very under pressure on this whole issue in seats with voted remain. they remain mps and they are taking a stand. we don‘t know at the moment about abstentions, how many tory mps sat on their hands and aside it not to support the governed, we will

find out about all of that but i don‘t think there is enough of a rebellion for labour peers and crossbenchers, independent peers in the house of lords to really insist that they look at this again and put those amendments back in. he will have to wait and see but i think that the bill will go through and will be given its royal assent very quickly. commons business done at least on that. you can see, quite a lot of parliament have left the chamber, you can see now, the house of lords which of course is where the debate is just which of course is where the debate isjust beginning. just which of course is where the debate is just beginning. just to clarify, having done their business, the mps, it is now back to the lords to consider what hasjust it is now back to the lords to consider what has just been effectively rejected by the commons? that is right, this is what is known as parliamentary ping—pong, it can go as parliamentary ping—pong, it can 9° up as parliamentary ping—pong, it can go up and down the corridor for several hours but the impression i have got from labour peers over the last couple of weeks, is that they we re last couple of weeks, is that they

were wanting to make a stand at the beginning and they had long debates at the house of lords, they have asked the commons to think again, the commons has done that but they have rejected what the laws proposed to them, so i did think that they have the stomach for the fight particularly. i think the other thing, is what happens with article 50. theresa may may well be able to trigger article 50 from tomorrow but i‘m told from downing street sources that she will not do it this week, next week is not going to be in play, because of these big celebrations in rome, for the treaty of rome. that will not go down well with eu leaders ahead of negotiations so i think we are looking at the end of march towards the 20th, zist looking at the end of march towards the 20th, 21st and 22nd of march. that young as we continue to look at pictures inside the house of lords, in the light of what was just voted uponin in the light of what was just voted upon in the house of commons, and if you want to continue watching that, you want to continue watching that,

you can on the bbc parliament. and we will keep you abreast of any votes on bbc news. later on in the evening. that is all of the political business done, let us check on the weather prospects. temperature is not going down very far overnight, cloud amounts increasing, out of a cloud, some of us increasing, out of a cloud, some of us will see rain, especially into northern ireland and scotland pushing southward, weakening, in two parts of northern england and becoming increasingly light and patchy. hill fog through western parts of the uk and wales. to the higher ground. you can see those temperatures staying up into the start of the day with plenty of cloud. plenty of showers in northern scotla nd cloud. plenty of showers in northern scotland with the wind gusts in excess scotland with the wind gusts in excess of 70 miles an hour, having an impact on travel, maybe brightening up, best of the sunny spells in the central and eastern parts of england, somewhere in south—east england may get higher

than 18 sources and it could end up in the uk‘s warmest day of the year so in the uk‘s warmest day of the year so far. a lot of cloud around, temperatures on the mild side. warm but it is fried into the weekend, things turn cooler and windy and for many wetter. hello and welcome to 100 days. as britain prepares to leave the european union, the first minister of scotland calls for a new referendum on scottish independence. so could brexit lead to the break—up of the united kingdom? nicola sturgeon says a second 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. but it‘s up to the british government and the parliament in westminster to decide if and when that vote takes place. instead of playing politics with the future of our country,