this is bbc news. the headlines at eight. the mother of westminster terror attacker khalid masood has said she is shocked, saddened and numbed by her son's actions. theresa may has met nicola sturgeon just days before historic brexit talks are triggered. it is their first meeting since the scottish government announced proposals for a second independence referendum. now is the time we need to pull together to get the best possible deal, including for scotland. we are frustrated by a process that does not appear to be listening to scotland or any of the devolved administrations. northern ireland's political parties have failed to meet a deadline, for agreement on power sharing at stormont. as iraqi forces intensify their assault against so—called islamic state in mosul, we hear from some of the thousands of civilians fleeing the city. also in the next hour,

the new quid on the block. we look at how prepared businesses are for the release of the new one pound coin tomorrow. and a us airline has been heavily criticised after two girls were reportedly barred from flying for wearing leggings. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the mother of the westminster attacker has expressed her anguish about the actions of her son. she said she did not condone what khalid masood done, or the beliefs that led him to commit the atrocity. it emerged today that masood had driven the car on westminster bridge at 76mph. police say they've found no evidence that khalid masood had links, to the so—called islamic state

group or al-qaeda. four people were killed in the attack. daniela relph reports. the moment khalid masood began his attack, we now know that he was driving at 76mph, through the crowd, killing and injuring as he drove. his mother has released a statement, saying that she does not condone his actions or support his beliefs. janet ajao said: those victims included an american

couple, it had been their first visit in london and their first time ever out of the usa. they were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. he was killed by being thrown to the pavement below. melissa suffered multiple injuries and is still in hospital. today, 13 members of their family spoke publicly. from utah, they are a mormon family, who have found strength in their faith. it is hard for most of us to imagine what it must be like to lose somebody in this way, can you give a sense of the impact on the family. it has brought us closer together. we love and support each other so much. it has made us that much stronger. kurt cochran ran a music studio back home. an enthusiastic supporter of local bands. tribute concerts have

taken place in his honour. his family say that they have been comforted by the thousands of messages they have received. what the families have shown today is what happens when you are suddenly affected by an event of this magnitude, that has brought with it trauma, grief, and forthem, forgiveness. none of us harbour any ill will or harsh feelings towards this. we love our brother, we love what he brought to the world. today, tobias ellwood was in parliament square to pay his respects and see the tribute. the foreign office minister had tried so hard to save the life of pc keith palmer last week. this was a chance for him to remember all of those killed. it's the start of a historic week for britain. on wednesday theresa may will trigger the brexit process but that hasn't stopped the political row between the prime

minister and the scottish government over another independence referendum in scotland. they met in glasgow today but apparently ended their hour—long meeting as far apart as ever. speaking just before the meeting mrs may said this was a time for the whole of the uk to be "pulling together". our scotland editor sarah smith reports. theresa may knows that this could be awkward, she is here to talk about her article 50 letter. she is here to press her demand for a referendum on independence. no handshakes, no press conference, just a couple of souvenir photographs that neither woman looks like they are enjoying. by stark contrast, their first meeting, eight months ago, then it was called a good working relationship, now, nicola sturgeon says the pm has not listened to her on brexit, theresa may says that she will reject any request for a vote on scottish independence.

my position is not going to change, now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum, because it would not be fair on the scottish people to make them make that decision when the facts are not clear and also because now is the time when we need to pull together to make sure we get the best possible dealfor the uk including the people of scotland. i'm told the meeting inside this hotel was businesslike, cordial, probably the longest meeting yet between them, the scottish government were expecting an offer of more powers for the scottish parliament after brexit but they say they got no detail on that. when nicola sturgeon told the prime minister how she plans to make a formal request for a scottish referendum, the prime minister said simply, you know my position on that. the first minister says theresa may agreed, the shape of the brexit deal should be clear in 18 to 2a months' time, which is when the scottish government want to hold the referendum. we both agree, now is not the time to ask people to make the choice, but since we both appear to be in agreement as to when the terms of brexit will become

clear on the timetable, that would underline my view that that is the right time. visiting police scotland, theresa may announced a major counterterrorism exercise, the message, the importance of coordinating security across the uk. when this great union of nations, sets its mind on something, and works together with determination, we are an unstoppable force. in a speech to staff at the department for international development in east kilbride, she said she wants to build a more united nation. it is scottish independence on the agenda at the holyrood parliament tomorrow, where they will almost certainly vote to call for a second referendum. labour says it will oppose the prime minister's plans

for brexit unless she meets what the party says are six key tests, including protecting people's rights at work and ensuring britain keeps the same benefits it currently has within the single market. once a small minority in the conservative party, the brexiteers are now in office and in power. this ideologically driven approach to brexit would be disastrous and divisive. and it would stand as a roadblock to continued cooperation in the important fields of technology research, medicine, security, science, art and culture. the prime minister needs to face down these brexiteers. meanwhile, the ukip leader paul nuttall said his party would be the "guard dogs" of brexit, making sure theresa may didn't "backslide" on her promises. although we wish theresa may well and her negotiations she must know and her negotiations she must know

and understand that you could well be there as the guard dogs of brexit to ensure that people are not treated —— are not betrayed, to ensure that there is no backsliding, and we will be there to ensure that brexit really does mean brexit. let's speak to our political correspondent chris mason at westminster. first of all, the meeting between nicola sturgeon and the prime minister in scotland. nicola sturgeon did not get anything out of the meeting. she was hoping perhaps for clarity on the situation as far as the detail of brexit. did not get that. she also didn't get a wholehearted commitment to more power being handed back to scotland once brexit is over. quite. the atmosphere just watching the report there has been pretty frosty between the prime minister and the first minister. i am not sure that nicola sturgeon would necessarily have expected to learn a

vast amount knew from her perspective, or when many things that would add up to concessions from the prime minister on this visit. clearly, as she articulated, nicola sturgeon, there was frustration at not getting that but the expectation within the snp is that that was likely to be the case at this stage, particularly because the prime minister has not yet started the whole brexit process with the article 15 letter coming in a couple of days. she knows, as the prime minister knows, that the whole business of the union will be a central plank in its conversations with brussels and the remaining 27 members around any deal arrived at in the next couple of years. the prime minister emphasised her attachment to the union of the uk back at the start of her first day as prime minister that it was striking that she made that visit to the police station in scotland,

those workers at the department for international development in scotla nd international development in scotland as well, to talk of a future government activity being grounded in scotland. i think as we will see again and again as downing street emphasising in its actions everything it can to dry and bind the uk together. labour has made it clear that it will not back the government's brexit plans unless it passes these six contests including protecting workers' rights and so on. ukip has said they will be the guard dogs of brexit is to make sure there is no backsliding. there are members of theresa may's own government and the conservative party who have their own beliefs as far as what brexit should look like. that is. it will be very interesting. what we have had up until now has been that limbering up, the stretching exercises, their warm up lap, of the domestic brexit debate. in the last nine months of sources the referendum. what is going to start with the triggering of article 50 will be

labour with fear six tests, ukip with the tests. we will see a toughening up of the scrutiny that they expect to be able to put the government under. and crucial in all of this, given the government's slim majority, as as and when we start to get public signs of fissures on the conservative benches. they have been remarkably disciplined. what will be interesting when we start learning the nitty—gritty of what the governments make the managing to negotiate us whether the conservative family hold together in the coming months and years. and that's mac

and we'll find out how brexit and scotland — and many others — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers — my guests tonight are the deputy political editor for the guardian, rowena mason, and christopher hope, the assistant editor and chief political correspondent at the daily telegraph. qatar has committed £5 billion to invest in transport, property and digital technology in the uk. the qatari prime minister is visiting the uk and has met theresa may at downing street. the gulf state said it is optimistic about the future of the british economy — and that brexit had little bearing on its decision. qatar has already invested £40 billion in britain, it owns harrods and most of the shard in london. northern ireland's political parties have failed to meet a deadline, for agreement on power sharing at stormont. three weeks of talks couldn't bridge the deep divides between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein. the secretary of state for northern ireland, who has the power to impose direct rule from westminster, says there's no appetite for that.

but he's warning the stalemate would have real consequences. here's our ireland correspondent chris buckler. so words like, "big"... there has been a lot of talk in northern ireland about restoring power—sharing and at times it is felt like sinn fein and the dup have been speaking a very different language. much of the funding for this class for migrant workers in dungannon comes from stormont, but with no government there is no budget. we might want to ask how much. and that means this community group cannot be sure how much money they will have once the new financial year begins and that is just next week. if there was no funding coming through from the department of communities, it would mean imminent closure within two months and alljobs lost. that is how serious it is. those concerns about budgets stretch across all departments including health and education, but at four o'clock, the deadline for agreement, the politicians weren't electing a first and deputy first minister.

the assembly chamber was empty. i think there are a short few weeks in order to resolve matters. the reason i say that is because of this issue, the stark issue in relation to public services here in northern ireland, and the lack of a budget having been set. the northern ireland secretary has a limited number of options, he can call another election but he has indicated there is no appetite for that. however, because he only has to call a vote within a reasonable time period, that does allow more time for further talks. the other option is what is known as direct rule, where the westminster government would take control of the running of northern ireland at least for a time. last week at martin mcguinness' funeral, the leader of the dup and sinn fein did reach out to each other. but any signs of friendship

were missing at stormont, today. when arlene foster and michelle o'neill spoke separately. there is a gulf between the parties on a whole range of issues from sinn fein‘s demand for legislation to give official status to the irish language to that thorny old problem of how to recognise and deal with northern ireland's troubled past. that all leaves major worries about the future of power—sharing and in places like this dungannon community group, another generation affected by northern ireland's old divides. joining me from our belfast studio is the ireland correspondent for the independent and author, david mckittrick. bearing in mind that a budget has to bearing in mind that a budget has to be passed by the beginning of the financial year, in one week or so, if there is no power—sharing agreement, how does that work?m all travels to civil servants. the politicians will not have any power because they are not in power at the moment, they are busy having talks. there is no will to collectively

going on at stormont. but there are procedures for doing this. senior civil servants will know what they are. they will be looking at the money coming overfrom london, quite a lot of money comes from london to belfast, and working out how to divide that up. the feeling is that it will get by, there will not be a crisis for some time yet. so they can muddle on for a while, but direct rule is looming, and the factors, the republic does not want this, the north does not want this, so westminster does not want that. that is right. everybody wants devolution, they want the assembly back. the big thing is, what sort of assembly do we want back? on the union side you have arlene foster and her people and they want more or less the same thing back again. the forget that it was working out rather well and they were happy with that. on the nationalist side, with gerry adams and so on, are people

who say this was not working at all, and arlene foster was not respecting us, she was not giving equal rights to nationalists as she was too union is. what they want is a fundamental, thorough overhaul of the entire system. that is something that could take a long time. yes. the unionists want to do it fairly quickly but it is obvious that sinn fein think they have the wind in their seals at the moment. they did extra well in the recent election. what the project as they are going to take their time, and their words, it is better to get it right and do it too fast. they will be trying to slow the pace down. i think they are thinking in terms of months rather than weeks. we know the animus that exists between arlene foster and sinn fein. as long as arlene foster is still

leading the dup, but she still a stumbling block? she is a stumbling block in the sense that sinn fein has made her a stumbling block, until the public enquiry reports on her part in a big heating scandal, fiasco, until that happens, they say she will not be acceptable to them to go back into the post of first minister. you can think of ways around that, perhaps somebody could go in temporarily, but there is no sign at all on the unionist side of such a major concession. these things look months away, rather than weeks away. thank you. we are going to move some sport now. a new city —based 2020 cricket tournament moved a step closer today following the release of further

details. the 8—team competition is set to start in 2020 and will run over 38 days through july set to start in 2020 and will run over 38 days throuthuly and august following on from the existing to 20 blasts competition. the chief executive of the ecb denied it would spin —— would spell the end of cou nty spin —— would spell the end of county cricket and would future proof the sport. cricket has always had the ability to evolve, innovate and to change where it is neither too, it has shown itself to be incredibly adaptable. we are the sport that came up with short formats, through t20. we have demonstrated we are capable of it, we have the format, we need to create the competitions that allow new fans to get involved. it is exciting. there will be a significant change in the nfl with oakland raiders moving to last vegas. the las vegas readers will have a new stadium builtjust off the strip on the new home. this will

be their second sports franchise with ice hockey moving their next season. republic of ireland ‘s play iceland tomorrow with martin o'neill expected to make several changes, some unforced, following the leg break to a player on friday night. robbie brady will captain the side tomorrow and has absence. great players have broken their legs and come back and she coleman, obviously it isa come back and she coleman, obviously it is a for hamble to consider those things —— and seamus coleman, obviously it is early for him to consider those things, the realisation he will be out of action for a considerable time has dawned on him, those things do not take just five minutes to get over. on him, those things do not take just five minutes to get ovenm has been disappointing for our captain and for the lads that he is,

it is always disappointing. the lads are disappointed for him. we will be all there to help as best as we can along the way. the england under 21 manager says he is pleased with the way his side are developing after they beat denmark under 21s 4—0 tonight. it continues their preparation for this summer's european championships in poland. the england players could be a leaflet in the tunnel ahead of kick—off. ironic, given they hit the heights in this performance against denmark. from the off the under 21s considered their preparation for the summer competition in poland in style. ruben loftus—cheek scored the first. and then this from march. the same could not be said of the england goalkeeper. it kept the lead intact. the away side were not

content with that. this third, and then ruben loftus—cheek, who looks likely to be a star in the years ahead, made it four. denmark's dreadful night summed up here, much for them to do, while for england, this was impressive in all aspects. do not bet against them hitting the heights again in the summer. that is all the sport for now. more bbc news throughout the evening. iraqi forces are intensifying their assault against so called islamic state, as they attempt to drive the group out of western mosul. they‘ re deploying helicopter gun ships and crude rocket launchers to target is militants. thousands of people are fleeing the city claiming civilians are being killed because the assault is too indiscriminate. with the city still divided

between is and the iraqi army, our middle east editorjeremy bowen is in western mosul. he sent this report. this is the iraqi solution to an offensive that's stalled over the last week or so. attack again. it feels as if the air war over mosul is intensifying. the gunship pilots fly low. they seem confident they won't get shot down. and every day a few thousand more people come walking out of the areas of mosul still held by the jihadists who call themselves islamic state. many said is used them as human shields, shooting out from the cover of their homes and streets. but the response, more air strikes, horrified them. translation: they destroyed our homes, our cars, everything. they destroyed us.

entire families are gone, they are under the rubble. translation: a lot of people died. children, women and men. houses collapsed on them. i lost both of my sons. some very sophisticated modern weapons are in this fight. and so are these. locally made rockets used over a short range, a blunt instrument. that is an inaccurate weapon. it might be good for the tempo of the military operation but it isn't necessarily good for preserving civilian lives. but they want to win this battle and they're using everything they've got. most of the people arriving in government—held territory are bussed out to camps.

many said is fighters forced themselves into their homes. nine of this woman's family were killed in a big raid on the 17th. she said she wasn't escaping the jihadists but air strikes that used tonnes of bombs on a single sniper. translation: they destroyed the houses when there are one or two or three so—called islamic state men inside them. they turn houses into cemeteries. they bring the dead out burned. we can't recognise them. my children, nine of my family killed. they call them smart bombs but this is stupid. my grandchildren, two are gone. the people of mosul have been left with impossible choices. risk death in their own homes or risk death

crossing a front line. iraq has been shattered by the years of war and sectarian conflict that followed the us and british invasion. it might be too late to put this country back together. a hong kong—based firm is to help run one of the biggest rail franchises in the uk. south west trains, which operates out of london waterloo, is to be taken over by mtr, the operator of the hong kong metro, together with uk firm first group. the two companies are due to take over from stagecoach, which has run the franchise for 20 years. unions have expressed concern about the decision, but mtr says it will create more capacity. bt has been ordered to pay a record fine of £112 million forfailing to properly compensate its rivals for delays

in installing high—speed lines. the regulator, ofcom, found the company's openreach division had committed a "serious breach" of its rules, which deserved its highest ever fine. the chief executive of openreach, which has now been split from bt, said the company "apologised wholeheartedly" for the mistakes. the new 12—sided pound coin will be in circulation from tomorrow. one and half billion of these coins have already been minted and distributed to secret locations ready for the launch. the treasury says the coins will be much harder to forge. our correspondent tim muffett has been finding out if all the parking meters, vending machines and lockers are ready for the change. since 1983 the pound coin has flowed through our economy. but the days of the round pound are numbered. from october 15 these will no longer be legal tender and from tomorrow these, the new 12—sided coins, will enter circulation. it looks pretty. i can see the double tone on it. it's nice.

can i keep it? it reminds me of the old threepenny bit. the new coin's shape and structure make it harder to forge. it is thought that 3% of the old pound coins were fake but it's thought the total cost of switching over will exceed £100 million. all that expense of changing every vending machine, shopping trolley, everywhere you put a pound coin in will need to be changed and it costs someone. the industry did not know until we saw it on the news. paul runs one of the uk's largest suppliers of vending machines. he says that upgrades to 4,000 of them have cost his company £200,000. they have not given as a realistic time frame to implement this, this will not be completed until the end of the year. the treasury decided to switch. in a statement it said they worked with business every step of the way

to help them prepare for the new pound coin which it says it will be the most secure of its kind in the world. at the royal mint in south wales, three million of them are being produced every day. it is made from two different coloured metal, a white coloured metal inner and a brass coloured outer. in addition there isa semi—hologram. when you look in one direction you will see one and in the other direction you will see the pound. the beeches leisure centre in birmingham where the lockers need upgrading. the treasury admits this is a major transition but says it's confident most businesses are ready the change. and that the long—term benefits of the new pound coin are worth the short term cost. a 100—kilogram gold coin has been

stolen from a museum in berlin. the coin, which is 53 centimetres wide and three centimetres thick, features a portrait of queen elizabeth the second. known as the "big maple leaf", it was made in canada in 2007 and it is said to have a face value of at least a million dollars. but by weight alone, it's worth more than four times that. time for a look at the weather. after a gloomy start, many of us enjoyed sunshine and yet again, some of the highest temperatures were along the highlands of scotland, knocking on the door of 19 degrees. this is looking westwards. for others, it stayed gloomy, particularly on the east coast of england, drab at seven or eight. that cloud may become more extensive for some of us in central and eastern areas. some of us for some of us in central and eastern areas. some of us will stay clear, and as we have seen, clear

skies turned cold. in ruble spots, across the northwest, we can go down to below freezing —— ruble spots. generally more cloud in the sky for us. compared with today, across scotland, some sunshine across western counties. one or two showers pushing in, the odd one across eastern england. dry weatherfor most of us and quite warm. hello. this is bbc news with clive myrie. the headlines just after 20:30. the mother of the westminster terror attacker khalid masood, says she's "shocked, saddened and numbed" by her sons' actions. the prime minister has met scotland's first minister for talks in glasgow, as she prepares to start the formal process of leaving the eu. the northern ireland secretary says there's only ‘a short window of opportunity,‘ to restore the power—sharing executive,

after the passing of today's deadline for an agreement. gunshots thousands of people have fled the iraqi city mosul, as government forces continue their offensive, to drive is fighters out of western areas. russia's opposition leader, alexei navalny, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison, for organising the biggest anti—government protests the country has seen in several years.tens of thousands of people attended the nationwide rallies against alleged corruption by the prime minister, dmitry medvedev. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg was in court. i'm standing outside a moscow court house in a spring blizzard. a short while ago, the russian opposition activist alexei navalny was found guilty of organising sunday's mass protest, anti—government protests across russia.

he was fined the equivalent of around $350, and then he was found guilty of disobeying the police. and for that, he was sentenced to 15 days injail. and this police band behind me has arrived to whisk him off to jail. some of mr navalny‘s supporters came and held up good luck signs hoping that he could see them through the windows of the van. but then, the police officers came up to them and took them away, detained them. earlier, i managed to ask mr navalny up in the court room how significant he thought yesterday's protests had been. it was alexei navalny who called russians onto the street at the weekend to take part in anti—government protests, and people came across the country, in dozens of towns and cities, in their thousands. the biggest protest was in moscow. i was on pushkin square where

there were thousands of people. but protest was broken up by russian riot police. but these protests have cemented alexei navalny‘s position as unofficial leader of the russian opposition. meanwhile, the kremlin today said it respected people's rights to come out and voice their opinion, but repeated its belief that some of those protests at the weekend had been unsanctioned, and were therefore illegal. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. with me is oksana antonenko from the lse centre of global affairs. thanks forjoining us. picking up on steve rosenberg's final point there, this jail sentence for mr navalny, does it cement his position as, perhaps, the leader of russia's opposition? the russian opposition remains quite fragmented. if there is one issue on which they can

ee, is one issue on which they can agree, it is the fight against corruption. that is something that is extremely important. but there area is extremely important. but there are a lot of disagreements over the key challenges facing russia today, for example on the direction of economic reform, on the rise of nationalists, on the relationship with the outside world. here, there are much more fractions within their position. i think navalny is a leader, perhaps, for the moment. but when we approach elections in spring next year, it will not be corruption but other issues that will dominate the political debate. that is part of the problem as far as the opposition is concerned, it is fragmented and there are so many issues. who do you think would be the standard bearer for the opposition against president putin in those elections? russia had parliamentary elections few months ago in autumn of last year. it was clear there was no known systemic opposition sanctioned by the kremlin

competing in large numbers at all. it is unlikely that that kind of candidate will register for the presidential elections, but there will be other opposition figures presented in parliament today that are not opposing completely the government, but at the same time, also voicing differences with the government on a number of issues. it's unlikely in my view that someone like navalny, representing that part of the russian people will be participating. given that these we re be participating. given that these were the biggest restoration is a p pa re ntly were the biggest restoration is apparently for several years, there was a lot of anger out on the streets. when it comes to the elections, president putin is as safe as he ever was? there was a lot of discussion of the parliamentary elections, the turn out in moscow and saint petersburg, it was very low. it was remarkably low, much lower than 2011 and 2012. they were talking about the need to bring in

somebody who represents the middle—class, represents the urban population which is unhappy about what is going on in the country. and participate in the elections. there we re participate in the elections. there were signs that they were liberalising the situation. several political prisoners were let out of their jail. political prisoners were let out of theirjail. we political prisoners were let out of their jail. we have political prisoners were let out of theirjail. we have seen several governors replaced with more technical article and security men. maybe someone would be allowed to run to increase the turnout, because there needs to be representation for there needs to be representation for the middle—class. but now after this crackdown of the protests, it seems to be less likely that will be running. therefore the russian middle—class supporting the agenda will not be represented in the next parliament at all in the next presidential elections. but it has two bz, there is still widespread support for president putin. —— it has two bz. what are the activations against president medvedev? —— it has two bz half,.

it mostly relates to the fact that officials achaemenid assets that are not proportionate to the income which they earn. that is, of course, something that has been the case in russia for a very long time over many posts in the country. the question of course is whether the anti—corruption agenda is something that can really bring people to the streets in large numbers, because exactly as you say, putin remains popular. he's also steps to fight corruption. last year alone, three russian governors were dismissed on corruption charges, very powerful governors. they were put through trial. the authorities are also creating the oppression that they are fighting corruption. so there has to be something more than just corruption allegations. oksana antonenko, thank you. thank you. an avalanche in centraljapan is thought to have killed at least eight high school students and teachers. they were among 60 people from seven

different schools on a trip to the ski resort of nasu, a—hundred miles north of tokyo. bad weather and heavy snowfall have hampered the rescue operation. our correspondent rupert wingfiled hayes sent this report. high up on the mountainside, rescue teams can be seen climbing through deep snow towards the avalanche site. another team is spread out in a line, carefully prodding for signs of life, or digging for those buried below. 48 high school students and their teachers had set out up this mountain this morning. conditions were terrible. more than 12 inches, or 3a centimetres, of snow had fallen in just eight hours. at around nine o'clock this point, the whole new snow sheet slipped, tumbling down the mountainside, and engulfing the students. all day, the driving winds kept helicopters at bay. the rescue would have to be done on foot. by late afternoon, teams began bringing the dead and injured down,

shrouding them in blue sheets to protect their identities. seven children and one teacher are now confirmed dead. most of them from the same high school. another 30 have been injured, although most of those are not serious. as the rescue operation begins to wind down, the question is will begin. with the heaviest march snowfall in 25 years, and avalanche warnings posted, why did this trip go—ahead? rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news in tokyo. the number of first time buyers relying on gifts or loans from their parents in order to get on the housing ladder is at an all—time high, according to new research. one in three young people are relying on the so—called ‘bank of mum and dad' in order to buy their first home. the social mobility commission warns that families on lower incomes are increasingly missing out. marc ashdown reports. home ownnership among young families is in free fall, according to the social mobility commission. the number of people in their late

20s who own a own home has halved in the last 25 years. in 1990, 63% had bought property, that's fallen to just 31%. those who do manange to buy are increasingly relying on their parents for help. 34% now turn to what the commission describes as ‘the bank of mum and dad'. the fact that over one in three first time buyers are having to rely on the bank of mum and dad to get them on to the housing ladder is really concerning. what it means is that millions of lower income families who do not have access to that type of financial support, their prospects of becoming a home—owner are becoming a distant dream. housing is still one of the main ways families pass wealth down the generations. this report warns that difficulties in buying homes is damaging social mobility. those on lower incomes find it virtually impossible, it says,

to get a foot on the housing ladder. the department for communities and local government said that since 2010, more than 300,000 households have been helped to buy a home through government—backed schemes. they admit the housing market is broken, but say the recent housing white paper sets out plans to build more homes and improve affordability. marc ashdown bbc news. theresa may has been meeting nicola sturgeon for the first time since the scottish government proposed a new independence referendum. the first minister wants another vote within two years saying that brexit has transformed the situation since the original vote. the prime minister has restated her view that ‘now is not the time' and that she wants the uk to be ‘more united'. well, nicola sturgeon said the meeting with mrs may had been cordial but that there had been no guarantees from the prime mininster that any powers coming back to the uk from the eu would be devolved onto scotland. firstly, it was a perfectly

businesslike and cordial meeting. i wished her well for the negotiations that will start when she triggers article 50 on wednesday. i indicated the scottish parliament's desire to play a constructive part in that. it is in all of our interest that she gets a good deal. i have been under the impression based on weekend media reports that she was coming to offer something in the way of more powers. it turned out that wasn't the case. so there was no real guarantee that powers, when they come back from brussels, in areas that are already devolved, won't in part be centralised in westminster. there was no willingness to enter into discussion about powers beyond that, employment law, immigration, for example. where the prime minister was very clear, though, and i took great pains to make sure i was understanding her properly is that she said very clearly that she wants the terms of brexit, including the terms of a future trade deal between the uk and eu to be clear before the uk leads the eu. and when i said if that meant that the terms of the future relationship will be clear within 18

months to 2a months, she said yes. that was her intention. i can now speak lib dem msp alex cole—hamilton. good to see you. thanks for being with us. if there is going to be a second independence referendum, the timetable that nicola sturgeon is laying out makes sense, doesn't it, the brexit talks will be concluded, or the substantive nature of them will be dealt with within 18 months if you are going to have a referendum, that is when to have it. i don't want to have another referendum, clive. iwill tell you what. the last one in 2014 was a divisive enterprise, which set out theissue divisive enterprise, which set out the issue clearly, a majority said they would rather stay in the united kingdom. nicola sturgeon is using brexit as a trojan horse to bring about the second referendum, but it is not clear to remain boaters that it is her to seek out membership for

scotland. brexit is the golden ticket for nicola sturgeon to have another shot at something they thought was only supposed to be once ina thought was only supposed to be once in a generation. the liberal democrats will vote against the government tomorrow in its request for a section 30 order to hold another referendum. but many scots will be surprised that there hasn't been up until now a guarantee that when power is returned back to westminster, under devolution, some of those powers will go to edinburgh, to hollywood. clear that no powers will be taken from holyrood. we have no idea what the brexit talks are going to yield, article 50 hasn't been treated yet. there will bea hasn't been treated yet. there will be a case—by—case basis in terms of the repatriations of those powers. there are opportunities for further devolution. this is an involving

relationship across these islands, and we are going to try to make the best of it. my party, the liberal democrats, want to fight brexit. when the deal becomes apparent, we feel there should be a nationwide referendum on the terms of that heal, because we don't believe this is necessarily one of the people voted for. is that a bargaining strategy for nicola sturgeon and the scottish government to have the possibility of a second referendum there in case this brexit deal does not come out the way that the people of scotla nd not come out the way that the people of scotland would like? we are in a stage now where this is government diplomacy from nicola sturgeon. she is trying to foment grievance politics from the scottish parliament and westminster by trying to set theresa may up to fail in terms of allowing a section 30 order. there is clearly no intention of nicola sturgeon to put away the threat of a referendum. she admonished her troops up the hill on

this now, and it is a difficult position for her to back down from. remember, this is a lifetime ambition of hers. and after 2014, there are very little opportunity for her to ask this question. she is using the brexit trojan horse to remind the brexit voters that they would be better off in the european union. but she is not guaranteeing them that she can guarantee a renewed place in the eu for an independent scotland. 30% of independence supporters voted to leave, so she has a difficult asked to ride both horses. remain voters will find her out on this. the fact is that you will lose tomorrow and the scottish government will win. is that you will lose tomorrow and the scottish government will winm appears the greens have capitulated with the government on this. i am surprised because i don't think the greens have a mandate. they said that the uk would need a demonstrable test public opinion that showed there is support for a

referendum. they are nowhere near achieving 100 signatures. the appetite of the scottish public is not for a referendum because, frankly, as i mentioned earlier at the top of the article, it has been very divisive, one in four people in scotla nd very divisive, one in four people in scotland site and irreparably damaged relationship with either a friend orfamily damaged relationship with either a friend or family member as damaged relationship with either a friend orfamily member as a result of the toxicity of being on the opposing side of the yes— no divide in 2014. they seem determined to capitulate with the snp and will deliver the request for a section 30 order, but you can be sure the liberal democrats will vote against it. alex cole-hamilton in liberal democrats will vote against it. alex cole—hamilton in edinburgh, thank you. thank you. an american airline has been criticised after two young girls were stopped from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings. passenger sharon watts, who was waiting for her flight to mexico, noticed the girls looking distressed. she took to social media to tweet united airlines.

but there's been criticism with some celebrities wading in, and other calling the decision sexist. model christine teigen tweeted: "i have flown united before with literally no pants on. just a top as a dress. next time i will wear onlyjeans and a scarf." comedian sarah silverman wrote: one of united's chief competitors seized on the opportunity to remind air travellers that they welcome leggings on flights. joining me via a webcam from pennsylvania is mary kirby, founder and editor of runway girl network. thanks forjoining us. thank you so

much for having me. what do you make of all of this? any conversation that we have about this incident, we have to remind people that we're talking about children here. we're talking about children here. we're talking about children here. we're talking about two young teenage girls, and were discussing an airline policing those girls. it is really important to put it into the context that these are children, young girls, which we're talking about. the airline's argument is that these girls were flying on discounted tickets. they were related to staff members, and as such, there were certain standards that they had to uphold. yes, absolutely. they were flying as non—revenue passengers, as past flyers, as they say, and united airlines has rules pertaining to pass flies. however, those rules are rather subjective. they are open to interpretation. nowhere does the

word leggings appear. it mentioned like rand spandex, but they say nothing about leggings specifically. mary, the line was going down a little bit there but we got the gist of what you were saying. thank you. technical problems have forced brighton's i360 observation tower to close for the third time since its opening last august. british airways, which operates the tourist attraction, says engineers are investigating the breakdown. this latest closure comes less than a month after the last incident, during which a damaged data cable caused passengers to be stuck for more than an hour. they're famous for building dams and now it's claimed that beavers could be used to provide a low—cost solution to the problem of flooding. a trial at a secret location in devon has monitored the activity of a group of beavers over the past six years.

adrian campbell has been looking at the results. the return of beavers to the river otter in east devon has grabbed everyone's attention. but in another part of devon at a secret location, sealed off by electric fencing, another group of beavers have been busy. the results of their hard work over the last six years can be seen from the air. there's been a dramatic change in the landscape where they've been living and working, with the creation of a network of pools and dams. this is one of 13 dams along a 200 metre stretch of this watercourse. and you can see there is evidence of recent activity here by the beavers. and when you look closely, you can see just how big and how deep these dams are becoming. researchers from the university of exeter have been monitoring the way the beavers have changed the watercourse. the black lines represent the new dams, and the areas of blue

are new pools which all slow down the flow of water. mark elliott from devon wildlife trust says this project has shown how beavers can provide cost—effective flood defences. when water surges in at the top of the site during a flood, those ponds of the dams hold the water back, and it comes out here much, much slower as the dams are slowing the flow of flood water as it passes through the site. the university of exeter‘s data shows flooding can be slowed by beavers. now conservationists are keen to persuade politicians that areas areas of flooding such as the somerset levels might benefit from this type of natural engineering. now let's have a look at the weather. brain around but not too much

impact. spare a thought for our cousins down under where cyclone deadly will bring winds and flooding rains. it will bring a whole lot of trouble over the next few days. expect major impact and heavy rain, primarily. back home, it is pretty tranquil, this is the scene across the highlands early on this evening. it is dry out their nationwide. some cloud, which has always been on the eastern counties of england, it will creep westwards leading to a misty night in some places. where the weather is clear, it will turn cold. as we have seen the last few nights, a touch of frost is feasible. more cloud in the sky tomorrow, for example in scotland, sunshine across southern and eastern parts of england with showered out west, moving northwards and eastwards, knocking on the door down trees and

goa. a lot of cloud for scotland, cooler than it has been. sharp showers from northern ireland, one or two sharp showers tracking across the midlands into eastern england. not many, but they could be heavy. the odd rumble of thunder. having said that, dry and bright weather in the high teens, with sunshine for a time in south wales and south—west england, but only for a time. more rain spreads in overnight, damp weather for many. the rain spreads in overnight, damp weatherfor many. the heavy rain spreads in overnight, damp weather for many. the heavy stuff is pushing into western areas during the course of the day on wednesday, increasingly gusty wind. further south and east, a lot of cloud, but dry weather and still pretty wild. xia ni across the east coast of scotland. further ahead, a front coming in from the atlantic targeting the northern and western areas with rain. this warm weather front tracking across england and wales, dragging in warmer air front tracking across england and wales, dragging in warmerairfrom the near continent. temperatures

knocking on the door of 20 degrees. further north and west, cooler and cloudier and for some it will be wet as well. all the latest on the weather over the next few days and how it might affect you, you can find it on the bbc weather website, as well as updates on cyclone deadly. —— cyclone hello, i'm philippa thomas, this is outside source. our top story — russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been sentenced to 15 days in prison following nationwide anti—corruption protests on sunday. i stopped expecting anything but a guilty verdict from the courts a long time ago. hundreds of demonstrators were detained in the biggest

anti—government protests for five years. the kremlin says they were breaking the law and provoking violence. we'll bring you a report from the front line in iraq as the assault on mosul intensifies. that is an inaccurate weapon. it might be good for the tempo of the military operation but it