you're watching bbc news. i'm simon mccoy live at westminster, where mps have just voted overwhelmingly to back theresa may's call for an early election on june 8th. eyes to the right 522, the nose to the left 13, so the eyes have it. the prime minister said the left 13, so the ayes have it. the prime minister said a conservative victory would give britain stability during and after brexit. people will have a real choice during the selection, between a conservative government and a labour party whose economic policy would bankrupt this party. but the prime minister's decision not to take part in any tv debates is criticised by labour leader jeremy corbyn. mr speaker, if she is so proud of her record, why won't she debated? jeering. the former chancellor george osborne announces he's quitting as an mp — for now — to concentrate on his newjob as a newspaper editor. i'm annita mcveigh,

and also in the next hour — prince william speaks out about his mother's death. he says the shock of losing her still lingers 20 years later. you never get over it, it is such a number leave a blue big moment in your life that it never leaves you. police name the man they want to question about an acid attack at a london nightclub as arthur collins — the boyfriend of a reality tv star. sam warburton of wales is named as captain of the british and irish lions for their tour of new zealand this summer. good afternoon, i'm simon mccoy, and in the last half hour, parliament has approved the prime minister's call for a snap general election

in seven weeks‘ time. there was a short—ish debate but in the end mps voted in favour of a general election onjune 8th with a considerable majority. eyes to the right 522, two miles to the left 13, so the ayes have it, the left 13, so the ayes have it, the ayes have it. —— nose to the left. the motion was passed with 522 members of parliament in favour and 13 against, well above the required two—thirds majority. theresa may says victory injune would strengthen her hand with eu leaders as she begins formal brexit negotiations. but the labour leaderjeremy corbyn questioned why voters should believe her after her u—turn on holding a snap election. our political correspondent ian watson reports. the westminster bubble is fit to burst. national and international broadcasters have pitched up outside parliament even before the election has been formally agreed by mps. the prime minister already has her key messages in place. she wants to fight on the issue of leadership and brexit. i will be out campaigning

and taking to voters... taking to voters the message of the record of this conservative government. but, crucially, of our plans to make brexit a success and to build a stronger britain for the future. and every vote for the conservatives will make it harder for those who want to stop me from getting thejob done. every vote for the conservatives will make me stronger when i negotiate for britain with the eu. the lib dems are also keen to fight the election on brexit, though from a rather different perspective. this morning, the lib dem leader visited the scene of his party's by—election victory in richmond, south—west london, last year. it will be an opportunity for the british people to choose to change the direction of our country, to reject a hard brexit and stay in the single market. for a strong opposition in this country. theresa may may want this to be a brexit

election, but prime ministers can't always set the terms of the debate and campaigns can have a life of their own. certainly, labour wants to pull the focus back towards public services and the economy. at pmqs, the labour leader criticised theresa may's decision not to take part in televised debates. but he also denounced the conservatives‘s record in government. over the last seven years, the tories have broken every promise on living standards, the deficit, debt, the nhs and school funding. why should anyone believe a word they say over the next seven weeks? the snp expect labour to lose ground in england, so when their leader came to westminster today, she made a clear pitch for the anti—conservative vote in scotland. only the snp stands between scotland and an increasingly hardline tory government. it is a vote to end austerity and for investment in our public services.

the watchword in politics recently has been expect the unexpected. in 50 days, we will know if theresa may has successfully strengthened her hand or shot herself in the foot. ian watson, bbc news, westminster. our correspondent eleanor garnier is in the central lobby of the houses of parliament. they are off, basically. yes, the starting gun has been fired. there was no surprise this boat has passed with such a huge majority as well, 522 votes for an early general election, just 13 against, and i suspect they will be labour mps. we haven't got the full details through yet. but as you say they are now. we have one more week of parliament sitting where legislation currently being processed will need to be tied up, and decisions made about what happens to which bill going forward. then we think parliament will be

dissolved on the 3rd of may. after that we will get into the real campaigner matters when we should expect to see politicians pounding the pavement up and down the country. but not george osborne. quite. george osborne, former chancellor, we know last month it was announced as the new editor of the london evening standard newspaper. there was criticism at the time that he thought he was going to be of the do not trust that don't —— just not thatjob but also representing his constituents in cheshire. we have found out not surprisingly in an exclusive story from the evening standard that george osborne will not be standing for re—election. i guess we are starting to get a real feel that the end of the cameron was born the really is over. the one issue that seems to be gaining traction, theresa may saying she will not do a

television debate but it is not busy as that. that's right. despite itv announcing they would not be holding -- itv announcing they would not be holding —— itv announcing they would be holding a tv debate, theresa may says she will not take part. jeremy corbyn repeatedly taunting the prime minister, saying why wasn't she up for a debate if she was so proud of her record in government. tim farron, the lib dem leader also pressing the prime minister on why she would not be turning up to debate in our studios. what will be in trusting is whether this gathers any momentum out in the country. do the public want to see the party leaders going up against each other on national television? there were big viewing figures last time in 2015 and also in 2010, where we have the really big tv debates. that was

when nick clegg was the unknown character and the really came to prominence as the unknown person in the debates. at the stage, downing street are insistent that it will be interesting if that turns out to be the best sort of blunder of this general election campaign. we'll downing street and regretting doing so downing street and regretting doing so hard, and perhaps ending of doing some form of debate? remember last time david cameron said he wouldn't go head—to—head with the other leaders. he ended up doing a tv debate one—on—one with the presenters. we are yet to see if that will turn out to be an early mistake from the conservatives. thank you, eleanor. britney is victoria atkins, conservative to believe —— with me is victoria atkins, conservative mp. will this bea atkins, conservative mp. will this be a mistake? theresa may debates jeremy corbyn every wednesday, we had one today, and she has shown

just how formidable she is in the chamber the house of commons. what this goes to is the prime minister running the general election campaign as she wants to run. dude you see pmqs? if that is a woman who is scared —— did use ebm queues. she is scared —— did use ebm queues. she is running it as she wants to, and knocking on people's doors, shaking them by the hand and discussing ideas with them. that is something she has continued to do as home secretary and prime minister. brexit will be the issue for her. is that perhaps difficult for those of you who will be knocking on the doors in the coming weeks because there are issues over the nhs, funding for schools, that is what constituents also will want to know. they want a nswe i’s. also will want to know. they want answers. absolutely, and the prime minister has been clear that brexit is incredibly important but there are is incredibly important but there a re lots of is incredibly important but there are lots of other important issues facing the country as well, such as trying to make sure we get even more

children than the 1.8 million that already had a good and outstanding schools, getting more children into those, and making sure we support the economy, so that even more people are in employment. we have very highjob people are in employment. we have very high job figures but we also need to make sure that our country is united and safe. that will be as much a part of the campaign as brexit. just you and me out here chuckling yesterday morning when you heard her making the announcement, did you like that? i did not foresee that the general election would be called, but having watched the statement, i was straight onto the phone to my local association chairman and we are relishing the chance to get back out campaigning. a lot of mps i have spoken to wear looking forward to some sort of spoke. —— some sort of break. it has been quite a two years on the web

politics. we have seen more in two yea rs politics. we have seen more in two years than many parliament saw in 20 yea rs years than many parliament saw in 20 years 01’ years than many parliament saw in 20 years or longer. it has been an incredible privilege actually to be a member of parliament at this time in history. i am sure it is a time that children in 100 times —— 100 yea rs' that children in 100 times —— 100 years' time will be studying in history lessons at school. what is clear is that we tackle this general election and give it everything we have got because what we have to do after the general election is incredibly important. not just after the general election is incredibly important. notjust for the next year or two but for the future of our children as well and i am really looking forward to getting out on the doorstep and campaigning on those issues. we will quote the fa ct on those issues. we will quote the fact you in a few weeks! thank you for joining fact you in a few weeks! thank you forjoining us. the prime minister claims winning the election would strengthen her negotiating hand in talks with the european union leaders. chris morris looks now at what the election will mean for brexit. calling an early election won't have a significant impact on the start brexit negotiations. that is because

the rest of the eu is still deciding on its negotiating guidelines. there will be a summit on 29th of april to finalise those. then there will need to be several weeks to turn those guidelines into a formal negotiating directive. it has always been a plan that talks would start roughly at the beginning ofjune, so a general election on the 8th ofjune doesn't make that much difference. now, if the opinion polls are correct, does a bigger majority for theresa may strengthen her negotiating hand? well, at home, on the domestic front, the answer is probably yes — less chance of a rebellion, either among remain supporters or among those who advocate a more hardline brexit. of course, if the opinion polls are wrong and more ardent remain supporters enter parliament, things could be different. what about theresa may's prospects of negotiating with the rest of the eu? are they strengthened if she has a bigger majority? don't forget this man, alexis tsipras, the radical left—wing leader of greece —

he came to office promising an end to austerity and a wholesale renegotiation with the eu, but he couldn't deliver. a different circumstance, but winning an election doesn't necessarily improve your negotiating position. eithe way, we are on course to leave the eu at the end of march 2019, and the effect of an early election could be biggest in the period immediately after that. if you look at the timetable, had the election been in 2020, we would have been coming up to the most crucial part of the negotiations, at the end of the negotiations, in what would be starting to be the run—up to a general election. in other words, an election in 2020 would take place when we are, in effect, half in and half out of the eu. delaying the election would relieve all that political pressure, and that's important because, during that transition period, there will have to be compromises on issues such as free movement

of people, european budgets and the role of the european court ofjustice. to sum up, an election now and then another election in five years, injune 2022, that should allow a prime minister, in theory, to have two years of article 50 negotiations, and then a three—year transition before they need to go back to the country to ask us, the voters, whether we think they've done a good job. the chief political commentator for the observer, andrew rawnsley, joins me now. good afternoon. good afternoon to you. the television debate is gaining traction predictably, has she made the first mistake of the campaign? yellow inevitably the opposition parties will say chicken, why won't you debate as he would? we know that lynton crosby, the

australian so—called glory of the elections will once again be —— guru, he has never believed in subjecting the prime minister, whether david cameron who he worked for before, now theresa may, to a tv debate because he believes that you surrender some status to your opponents. last time david cameron found it quite hard to resist participating in some forms of tv debate because he asked had demanded one when he was an opposition leader. theresa may might think her position is so strong, and she is not on the record in the past of saying they should be, that she could get away with not having them but you're quite right, the opposition parties will make a lot of hullabaloo opposition parties will make a lot of hulla baloo about opposition parties will make a lot of hullabaloo about it. that won't change the election but might make some voters ask what has she to be scared of? that macro if they ask and the broadcasters say we will go ahead and empty chair you, the former labour of mitigation says there should be a panel that

oversees this and it is not for the politicians to dictate whether they ta ke politicians to dictate whether they take part. that is exactly what they do in the united states. because we don't have any law about this and the most powerful person in the negotiations is always the prime minister, no opposition leader. if you are tim farron you have a chance to introduce yourself as lib dem leader to a wider audience. you want to do what nick clegg did. but if you are prime minister it is a much more difficult calculation. there is a question about broadcasters, and it came up last time when david cameron will not agree to the format. it then becomes a question format. it then becomes a question for itv, channel 4, sky, and perhaps most difficult for yourselves at the bbc, would you empty chair the prime minister, would you conduct a bbc debate with the prime minister absent? i know that is probably above your pay grade but it is a question for broadcasters.” above your pay grade but it is a question for broadcasters. i know my boss, jonathan munro, his argument at the moment is that it shouldn't

be for politicians to dictate how these things are run. obviously there will be a lot more mileage in this debate but anyway, we are where we are at the stage. let's talk about theresa may and what you think she has gained with this announcement of a general election, backed in the last hour, the scown to happen, why do you think she has done it? i laid out the arguments of why she should do it some time ago backin why she should do it some time ago back in march, and ever answered what about fixed term parliament act, nothing we havejust what about fixed term parliament act, nothing we have just discovered it is no barrier at all because more than 500 mps have signed off on this, including mps who are very likely if the polls are half right to lose their seats, because it is very ha rd to lose their seats, because it is very hard for positions to oppose the call for a general election without looking frightened. i think she realises she needs her own personal mandate. she is living on a

borrowed mandate from david cameron, two years ago, and it gives you an additional personal contract with the people if you win and a joint —— a majority in your own right. it strengthens your hand with parliament and your own party. some of her reasoning for the election was a bit disingenuous, the idea that all nine liberal democrat mps we re that all nine liberal democrat mps were going to be able to completely gum up her government, that is a bit facetious full stop a bigger majority might give her a bit more flex when it comes to come from rising and i think she had finally looked at the timetable, which is terribly tired. you would have to com plete terribly tired. you would have to complete the brexit negotiations absolutely smoothly and the time, and you might be in the aid 2020 election. she has bought a bit more time. this is all assuming she wins a majority. if the economy goes wrong as well. the point is any general election for anyone, there isa general election for anyone, there is a risk. there is always a risk. i don't feel sorry because we

shouldn't, but some of the tory mps i have sympathy with maybe those who required a seat of the liberal democrats in 2015. this will be quite a churning election. while the polls are indicating the tories could do quite well in the midlands, parts of the north of finland where they are facing labour, there will be those tory mps who took a seat of the liberal democrats two years ago who might be thinking, now it is looking really dicey, my chances, especially those south london since where there were strong remain votes. i don't think it will be a plain national swing general election. you can see the tories taking some losses and some games for instance, even looking at the current polls. people say the lib dems rating is not that good, ten, 1296 dems rating is not that good, ten, 12% maybe, but then it depends whether ten or 12% is concentrated. if it is in the right sort of spots that could be taking some conservative mps. good to speak to you always, andrew ransley. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has said that a victory

for the snp in scotland would make it impossible for mrs may to stop a new referendum on scottish independence and any attempt to block it would "crumble to dust". our correspondent lorna gordon is in edinburgh. nicola sturgeon has been in westminster today and looking fairly buoyant. a mandate backed up by a vote in the scottish parliament if you weeks ago. interesting, angus robinson, the snp's leader also making some interesting comments on that debate, he was honing in on those arguments over a television debate, and whether or not it should involve the prime minister. they obviously sense a little bit of weakness there. he was saying that the prime minister theresa may's sis —— position is not sustainable and the public deserves debate. he says the prime minister

wa nts debate. he says the prime minister wants unity and argues intends to do that by trying to crush the opposition. that, though, feels unlikely here in scotland, where the snp is the dominant force. remember they got 56 mps at the last general election, all but three of the seats here in scotland, labour, the liberal democrats and the conservatives, won one seat each. they may fancy their chances, the liberal democrats, perhaps in a few seats, the conservatives appear to be quite helpful in what they call a clutch of seats in the borders. dumfries and galloway of course, perhaps in murray, angus robinson's own constituency, they may fancy their chances there as well. the challenge for the snp will be to hold on to wall 56 of those seats. nicola sturgeon this morning saying her party intends to fight each and every one of those constituencies, and, yes, sounding brilliant. she said she would be willing to partake

ina said she would be willing to partake in a progressive alliance, should the opportunity arise but that does feel unlikely. the other parties already appearing to reject it. as she argues, she doesn't bring labour will be in a position to hold a government anyway. so it feels like it might be a more point. if what the opinion poll suggests. independents will be the dominant theme, yes brexit a little bit, yes domestic politics as well, but undoubtedly independents, the theme going forward, nicola sturgeon tipping a hat to that and theresa may this morning as well. what about theissue may this morning as well. what about the issue of tv debates, what would be the issue there? i think if there we re be the issue there? i think if there were to be a tv debates touching on issues scottish, i think inevitably it will focus on the issue of independent union, both sides in this debate sensing weakness.

theresa may will say how can you hold the line on an independent referendum, now is not the time, yet you have changed your mind on an early general election. you previously said you had no intentions of calling a snap general election, and then just yesterday of course you do a u—turn on that. the conservatives, however, positioning themselves in scotland as the party of the union. they are being quite clear about it, they are going in to campaign on that is one of their issues, trying to scoop up the pro—unionist votes in many different constituencies. theresa may herself saying if you believe in the united kingdom, you should vote for the conservatives here in scotland, going forward. now what does all this mean for ukip? we're going over to clacton now, douglas carswell‘s constituency — they voted for him as a tory, voted for him as ukip, now he's an independent. how will he do this time round? our correspondent ben ando has been testing the political temperature there.

yes, you are absolutely right. cla cton yes, you are absolutely right. clacton here on the south end of six, it is the southernmost part of a wide swathes of the country up through the east of england, through the fence and into south lincolnshire that is very much pro—leaving the eu, and in turn has seen the election of a number of ukip politicians, usually on local councils, but here and only here as a constituency mp. of course, douglas carswell was elected as a uk mp in the last election, but he has since turned his back on the party. he has become an independent, and so now the major ukip donor aaron banks has said that he will stand against mr ca rswell has said that he will stand against mr carswell as a ukip candidate in this area. so far, so good, but what people here are saying is that they are not necessarily sure that ukip

is the way to go now. i think many people i spoke to make the point that ukip, to them at least, that you have been created to get britain out of the eu, to create brexit. that is happening, and now ukip may not be the party they want going forward. in fact, not be the party they want going forward. infact, many not be the party they want going forward. in fact, many people said they understood exactly why theresa may has called this election. she has been framing it as an election to give her a stronger mandate to get a better brexit deal. people here, the vast majority very in favour of leaving the eu, and many saying she is right to do that to get that strong mandate for two reasons: partly, of course, a personal mandate for her, for theresa may herself, but also because a stronger majority, a larger majority, would mean that she is not being held hostage, perhaps, by the small majority of conservative mps who could make all the difference in the various votes on policy coming our way. that's all from westminster for now,

let's go back to annita for the rest of today's news the duke of cambridge has revealed that the shock of his mother's death is still with him 20 years after she was killed in a car crash. prince william was speaking in a bbc one documentary, mind over marathon, which follows a group of runners who have mental health problems and are training for this sunday's london marathon. earlier this week, prince harry, revealed he'd sought counselling to come to terms with princess diana's death. our royal correspondent, peter hunt reports. exercise can help with mental health issues. ten runners pursuing a shared goal, a marathon for their minds as much as their bodies. all of them have suffered and continue to suffer from turmoil on the inside. and you're convinced it can help mental health? most definitely, from personal experience. rhian is one of the marathon novices. her one—year—old son, george, died five years ago. five days later, her husband paul,

who blamed himself, took his own life. my life as i knew it was over. me, as a person, changed forever. ptsd has been a huge thing that i've had to carry. the runners are being supported by william, kate, and harry. their heads together campaign aims to encourage people to talk about their mental health. can i ask you one question? when your mum passed away, you were older than my children, but i am worried about them growing up. will they be ok? they'll be fine. with a mum like you, they will be fine. don't say that. try and understand, you can understand emotions more than someone who hasn't had any issues in their lives. that is quite critical, because it is explaining to them what those emotions mean and why they feel like they do. you have to rationalise this.

if you are angry or down or upset, you can kind of relativise it and deal with it. the shock is the biggest thing. i still feel 20 years later, about my mother, that i still have shock within me, 20 years later. you think, no, it can't last that long. but it does. you never get over it. it is such an unbelievably big moment in your life. it never leaves you. you just learn to deal with it. how was it, then? it was amazing! yeah. did you get to ask your question? idid. he was so honest. he just said straight up they will be all right if they are brought up in a loving and caring environment. which they are? which they are. because they have a great mum? first, prince harry, and now prince william — two royal brothers who provided an insight into the detrimental impact of their bereavement. diana's death is one of the reasons william is passionate about this cause.

from my personal point of view, it's the emotional side. i hate seeing people in emotional or mental torment. you can really see it sometimes and it's really sad, because it takes you down a very, very different path in life. the point of the campaign, with the marathon, is we want to reduce the stigma. we want people to talk about mental health like it's perfectly normal. the runners will face physical and mental challenges when they compete on sunday in the london marathon. peter hunt, bbc news. police have named a man they're searching for in connection with an acid attack at an east london nightclub on monday in which 20 people were injured. arthur collins, who's 25 and from hertfordshire, is the boyfriend of the reality tv star, ferne mccann. officers found firearms and cannabis pla nts officers found firearms and cannabis plants when they searched his home in broxbourne. almost two weeks ago president trump

announced he was sending an armada towards the korean peninsula amid rising tensions with north korea. but it's emerged that the american aircraft carrier — and its accompanying warships — were actually heading in the opposite direction — to australia — to complete a training exercise. rupert wingfield hayes has more details. the french are going to the polls on sunday the gun of the presidential election. the polls suggest it is now a person race of the centrist candidate emanuel macron running neck and neck with the front national leader, marine le pen. the far right candidate has now said she will suspend all immigration if she is elected. a small town in canada has become a tourist spot thanks to this new visitor, one of the first icebergs of the season. it's nearly 50 metres tall and has become stranded in shallow water just off the

newfoundland coast. time now for the weather forecast with darren bett. we could have temperatures low enough for a touch of frost, a risk more across southern parts of england as last night but the picture is not completely sunny, we have sunshine and colder air in the south, cloud breaking up in scotland alone temperatures to reach 16 degrees. about 11 or so topically under the cloud, 13 or 1a in the sunshine. this cloud will produce a little drizzle, wandering from northern ireland into western scotland, moving its way south, temperatures will be above freezing but aztec cloud arise in southern and eastern parts of england, temperatures may get close to

freezing. maybe some early sunshine, otherwise cloudy, most of a strike, the cloud thundering and breaking and temperatures typically 13 to 15. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3:32pm: the ayes to the right, 522, the nose macro to the left, 13. mps vote overwhelmingly in favour of an early general election on the eighth ofjune. theresa may said a conservative victory would give britain stability during and after brexit. people will have a choice between a conservative government that has shown we can build a stronger economy and a labour party whose economic policy would bankrupt the list country.

but her decision not to take part in any tv debates during the campaign is criticised by labour leaderjeremy corbyn. if she's so proud of her record, or why won't she debate it? former chancellor george osborne announces he's quitting as an mp — for now — to concentrate on his newjob as a newspaper editor. prince william speaks out about the effect on him of his mother princess diana's death, saying the shock is "still with him" 20 years on. police say they want to speak to arthur collins — the boyfriend of tv personality ferne mccann — about a suspected acid attack at an east london nightclub. it's time for sport. let's catch up with all the latest with will parry. warren gatland has announced his british and irish lions squad for this summer's tour of new zealand with wales back row sam warburton named as captain. our sports correspondent

katie gornall was at the squad announcement in london. warren gatland said he only finalised his team last night and there were lively debates but today he finalised the players he will ta ke to he finalised the players he will take to new zealand. the majority we re take to new zealand. the majority were english, 16 players although not some names you might have expected. no room for dylan hartley despite leading england to their successive six nations title but kyle sinckler is included, despite having only started for one test for england. there are 12 welsh players in their own sophie hahn and and running six nations, but many scots, on scotland finished joint second, so some debate around the composition of the squad, led by

some morton who becomes the second man to lead successive tours. the quality of player to pick from was incredible so immensely strong, every one of those skies is a top—class player, it gives myself a of confidence. warburton is currently injured at the moment. he will need to be at his best features the talents doesn't get much greater than playing music and on their car. —— playing new zealand on their home turf. let's have a look at that 41 man squad in full starting with the forwards. wales number eight ross moriarty is a surprise inclusion, new zealand—born ireland centre jared payne is also selected. wasps have said they are gobsmacked that there's no place for england lock joe launchbury. as katie mentioned, no place for england skipper dylan hartley, with compatriot jamie george, ireland's rory best and wales' ken owens

the three hookers selected. james haskell and chris warburton also miss out. in the backs, england centre jonathan joseph is included, but there's no place for fellow six nations winner george ford. the two scots in the squad are full back stuart hogg and wing tommy seymour. the tour runs from june the 3rd to the 8th ofjuly and features three tests against the all blacks, who are, of course, world champions. andy murray made a winning return to competitive tennis after a month out with an elbow injury, beating gilles muller at the monte carlo masters. the world number one was broken in the first game of the match but came back to take the opening set 7—5, much to the dismay of muller. look at that. might need a new racket. murray last played on the atp tour in indian wells in march, he was handed a first—round bye and had to recover from an early break in the second to wrap up victory in just under two hours. fourth seed rafael nadal is taking on british number three kyle edmund as we speak, as nadal goes

for a tenth monte carlo title. nadal leads by one set to love. it's on serve in the second, 4—4. bournemouth midfielderjack wilshere who's on loan from arsenal will not play again this season after breaking his leg. wilshere was injured in saturday's defeat against tottenham during a challenge with harry kane. scans have revealed a hairline crack in wilshere's left fibula. tournament favourite judd trump is just a frame away from a first—round world championship defeat against world number 5a rory mcleod, a 1000—1 outsider. trump resumed 5—4 behind after surrendering a 4—0 lead and seemed hindered by a shoulder problem missing a series of simple chances, but managed to fight back to 6—6, before mcleod pulled away into a 9—7 lead when the match had to be stopped prior to the afternoon session. the pair will play to a finish after the first of the two evening matches finishes with the first to ten heading into the second round.

these are live pictures from the crucible, former world champion neil robertson of australia up against thailand's noppon saeng—kham. robertson two frames up. there's coverage on bbc two, the red button and the bbc sport website. that is all the sport for now. back to westminster and simon. welcome back to westminster, where in the last hour parliament has approved the prime minister's call for a snap general election in seven weeks' time. mps voted overwhelmingly in favour of a general election which will take place on june the 8th. the vote 522—13. theresa may's decision not to take part in any televised debates has been widely criticised by the opposition parties. during pmqs the prime minister denied that she was running scared by refusing to take part. i'm constantly debating with my

opponents. on television, like david cameron? you won't face jeremy corbyn on any stage i will in the house of commons. what are you running scared of debating your opponents? because i believe in campaigns where politicians get out and meet the voters. i still do it, as prime minister i still go out and block on doors in my constituency. that is what i will be doing in my campaign. it was the prime minister taking questions but it was on the today programme. the conservatives go into the election campaign with a commanding lead in the opinion polls. let's get the views ofjoe twyman who is head of political and social research at yougov. is there an appetite for tv debates? yes, the public think they are good

in principle and they think at least the prime minister and the leader of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition should take part and depending on their allegiances think others should take part, but you can see quite theresa may does not want to ta ke see quite theresa may does not want to take part given they are an unknown quantity. we only have to look back to 20 tenths and that huge change in polls brought about by nick clegg's appearance, and she will want to keep things controlled. the snap election, did you ask me for that whether people wanted an election? yes and we thought broadly if you are a conservative supporter you thought it was a good idea, other supporters were either hesitant or there was a bit of fatigue, but since we had the announcement it's been seen that generally speaking people are rallying behind a flight and

thinking it's a good idea. in terms of the issues, is it brexit and not much else or are other things coming up much else or are other things coming up as important for brokers? when you ask people last night or the week before what is important, they say britain brexit, negotiations with the eu, but during a campaign you see things like the economy, nhs, all move up the table. the question is will brexit be everything and we'll all future discussions be in the terms of leaving and remain, further immigration or the economy or will it be more complicated? important than the leaders themselves massively important because the idea that someone is at home downloading each manifesto, reading those before

coming toa each manifesto, reading those before coming to a decision, that doesn't happen often. instead we take our cu es happen often. instead we take our cues from the stories we tell ourselves and each other about the parties. who can we trust? and where do we get those ideas from? in a lot of cases it's the leader and 50% of people say that theresa may would make the best prime minister, compared to only 14% forjeremy corbyn. polls recently showed a 20 point lead that perhaps made her change her mind. we always ask whether a general election tomorrow, now we know there will be an election and that changes how people view things. there is a lot of time between now and the abduction so things could change in either direction. jo, thank you. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has been visiting the 56 scottish national party

mps in westminster. setting out her stall for the election campaign, she said the snp, over the past two years, had been the only credible opposition in parliament. i'm delighted tojoin my colleagues here this morning, the snp mps who for the last two years have been the real and the only effective opposition to the conservatives in the house of commons. today we state a clear intention. we intend to win this election in scotland and for scotland because now more than ever, scotland needs strong voices. yesterday it became clear beyond any doubt that for theresa may party comes before country. for months the prime minister has said that a snap early general election was in her view the last thing that the country needed.

now was not the time, she said, to be distracted from the job at hand, but yesterday she changed her mind, not for the good of the country but for reasons of simple party advantage. her motive is clear. she knows that as the terms of her hard brexit become clearer, then the deep misgivings that so many people already have will increase and grow, so she's decided to act now in an attempt to crush the parliamentary opposition that she faces. now, there's self—inflicted weakness. we can talk to the snp mp ian blackford. with him is labour'sjohn mann. the

snp accusing theresa may are running scared in terms of debates. it's ridiculous we are in a media age and the electorate expect to see leaders debating against each other. i look forward to nicola sturgeon going head to head against theresa may and the reason they should see she has made a mistake in saying she will not be available. encourage broadcasters to have these debates, empty chair the conservatives if they do not come forth. they were to they do not come forth. they were to the people of this country to have that debate. it was raised in pmqs, do you agree? it will be a deadly boring campaign, i'm bored already. they could have but to read a mascot to speak for her, the one thing that would enliven this campaign but

there will be a lot of voter fatigue out there it says a lot about theresa may and i think we will hear more about her running scared. doesn't it say she is confident and think she will do it. the line between confidence and arrogance is fine in all of us, she has crossed that line and it raises a question, a dangerous start to work campaign, what is she scared of? i think she is judging what is she scared of? i think she isjudging the more boring the campaign the better for her, so we will have to make sure it's lively, which will be difficult over 50 days but you're here to help. so many people would say a room with nicola may —— theresa may, nicola sturgeon, to bea may —— theresa may, nicola sturgeon, to be a fly on the wall to see how that works. to powerful woman with

the confidence of knowing in their respective nations they are at the moment untouchable. john talks about arrogance and we have the arrogance of the government because they have been lecturing us that it's not time to have a referendum in scotland but out of no where we are to have a general election, so the fact the scottish parliament has voted to allow the scottish people to have a say on theirfuture, allow the scottish people to have a say on their future, hajj tofy brexit for securing our future say on their future, hajj tofy brexit for securing ourfuture in europe, so we will be entrusting roshan of a confident scotland playing its role in europe while a conservative government wants to drag us out, so i look forward to that because we have a strong message that excites people in scotland, and i expect people in scotla nd scotland, and i expect people in scotland to engage with this, and we

will contrast roshan with a conservative government teetering on the cliff edge brexit. we want to make sure people understand the risks facing them. the prime minister got animated when talking about people who would stop getting the best deal for britain, about people who would stop getting the best dealfor britain, she named corbyn, farren and sturgeon. theresa may, unlike myself, was a remainder. that wasn't the view of the majority of people in my area and not the view of the country. i think she's playing a double game and we will see through that game. what i hope we will be arguing for busy people's brexit. that means in my area that someone like sports direct, which imported 3000 workers from poland, employed no local apprentices and gave no opportunity to any local

person, we will bar that cracks —— practice. i think we will surprise people. but your leader is not talking about brexit, he's talking about the nhs and traditional labour concerns. is that the wrong approach? he needs to be talking about brexit, about the nhs because the other thing that will be unveiled in this campaign is so across the country accident and emergency departments and maternity departments in many hospitals are under threat of closure. david cameron didn't close a&e departments, theresa may is and the nhs is under threat. that's a massive campaign and we need that to be at the forefront of people's minds. we're in for an exciting 50 days. one hopes so. i think we are.

let's get the latest from the business unit now, the way the city has reacted to this is interesting because yesterday we saw that fall in the initial value of the pound and then it bounced back. the markets have been all over the place. uncertainty is the name of the game. just as investors had got their head around elections in netherlands, germany and france, there's a new vote added into the mix — the uk. so let me show you where we are right now. it's almost the mirror image of what happened after the brexit vote when the pound plunged and the ftse rose. except this time sterling is up, yesterday at a six—month high and it is holding onto that strength today. the ftse is down, it was done 2.5% yesterday, is down 0.25% today. that's because the two

are inextricably linked because such a large proportion of ftse100 companies are global, earning their profits in dollars and euros. a stronger pound reduces the value of those profits, so that's why you see the market falling. but it's worth noting the pound s strength isn't all about the election. the euro is weaker with investors worried about the french presidential elections which kicked off on sunday. yesterday we had an upgrade in the imf‘s growth forecast for the uk, to 2% which also supported sterling. so that's the markets are saying but what is business saying? carolyn fairbairn is the boss of the confederation of british industry. more uncertainty is not welcomed by business. in terms of the longer term benefits i think many businesses are seeing the opportunity of a government with a stronger mandate bringing longer term stability and also a potential benefit in terms of timing in that the implementation period at the end of article 50 was going to have a general election

in it and may now run through a period of instability, so there may be some good news. but what could it mean as the uk begins negotiations on the terms of brexit? does it hand the prime minister more power? sir martin sorrell is the boss of global advertising giant wpp. he was a vocal supporter to remain in the eu. i can't see that it will make the eu negotiate less effectively and on the other hand it gives her a much stronger position, she is not so susceptible to uprisings or results from the hard brexiteers. i think the recent why sterling strengthened is the markets are saying this probably means a softer brexit or a transition agreement rather than the analogy of going over a cliff at the end of negotiations. i'll be back in an hour with

detailed analysis of all the market reaction to the general election announcement. thank you, rachel. let's pick up on some of the disgruntlement among opposition parties accused of trying to sabotage the government. labour's shadow chancellor said it was about more than that. don't be deceived by the polls, they have not been accurate either in the last election or in america, but also people have underestimated jeremy corbyn and we saw that in the labour leadership elections, especially when he was able to debate with a lot of candidates, he could demonstrate the sort of decent principled person he was. i hope the prime minister changes her mind about this issue of head to head debates. she is refusing at the moment but i think

that would be important in this campaign. ithink that would be important in this campaign. i think you will find people will see jeremy campaign. i think you will find people will seejeremy corbyn is the new prime minister we want, someone who was honest and decent and looks after the country rather than short—term party politics that theresa may is engaged in now. lots of liberal democrats think this is a fresh opportunity for their belligerent party. this is what tim farron said. you can't call the labour party the opposition as they held theresa may's and as they left off the cliff edge and put our country at risk. whatever way you voted last june, country at risk. whatever way you voted lastjune, in two years, the may is asking us now to give her a mandate to give her old brexit that we all have to live with for two or three generations. that is not democracy, so if you think there is

something that can be done about changing that direction now, the live dems offer you a chance to do that. whatever way you voted for, this is a time when democracy must come back to life. 1—party state would be a disaster and only the liberal democrats offer a chance for that not to happen. we haven't heard much from the greens so far — but the co—leader of the party has welcomed the decision to hold a snap election. caroline lucas said it was an opportunity to hold theresa may to account for her pursuit of a hard brexit. i think it's right that people have a chance to have their say on the extreme form of brexit she is talking about. that wasn't on the ballot paper in june talking about. that wasn't on the ballot paper injune and she has no mandate for that type of brexit so the greens will be challenging that aren't extreme social policies which aren't extreme social policies which are seeing massive amounts of money

coming out of health and with dire consequences. that's all from us at westminster for now. it's been a sunny day but the temperature in the house of commons has risen with that vote that gives theresa may the mandate for a snap general election to be held onjune the 8th. the world's media descended on this part of westminster. we will be back in the next few minutes. let's catch up with the weather with tomasz shafernaker. a little mixed but overall not bad, plenty of fine weather across the country now. the rest of the week will be a little cloudy but temperatures will rise across most of the uk. this is it what it looks like across the north atlantic, lots of cloud coming in our direction, the weather has been better in the

southern uk, this is cloud from the north so low cloud here is drifting, the northern edge of this area of high pressure. eastern scotland had some sunshine today and the highest temperatures. tonight we will see the truckload across scotland, most of wales and northern england. could scrape a frost early in the night but temperatures will be relatively mild in most of the uk. in the south, a lovely start to the day on the south coast, further inland as well, then across the midlands you can see more cloud, maybe spots of rain further north and the thicker the cloud will be, temperatures will be around 10 degrees so not especially cold across northern parts of the country, and thursday a cloudy day, you can see that cloud

increases across southern areas so i don't think it will be quite so sunny for us tomorrow, more cloud than sunshine but temperatures not so bad, then on friday a bit of rain forecast for scotland and northern ireland as well as northern england but not much here. to the south, hazy skies but warming up, in some spots temperatures up into the high teens, a lot fresherfor scotland and the weekend looking pretty settled, high pressure sits on top of the uk but it's not an especially sunny high. if sunshine breaks to the clouds it shouldn't feel too bad but overall a fairly cloudy weekend for most of us, temperatures between ten and 15 for most of us, then early next week we will see low pressure whipped across scotland, possibly bringing some gales and severe weather but there is a change

to this settled weather we have had for quite some time. that's the latest. you're watching bbc news. i'm simon mccoy live at westminster, where mps have voted overwhelmingly to back theresa may's call for an early election just seven weeks tomorrow onjune 8th. di d! was to the right 522, the nos to the left 13. the prime minister said a conservative victory would give britain stability during and after brexit. people will have a real choice at this election, they will have a choice between a conservative government that has shown we can build a stronger majority and a labour party whose economic policy would bankrupt this country. but her decision not to take part in any tv debates during the campaign is criticised by labour leaderjeremy corbyn. mr speaker, if she is so proud of

her record, why won't she debated?