has promised to pursue justice impartially. under questioning from members of the senate, mr wray said he did not consider the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election to be a witch hunt, as president trump has claimed. brazil's former president, luiz ignacio lula da silva, has been sentenced to 9.5 years in prison after being found guilty of accepting bribes worth more than a million dollars in the form of a renovated beach resort apartment. his lawyers say he will appeal against the sentence. iraqi government forces are continuing operations against suspected members of the islamic state group in western mosul two days after victory was declared over the jihadists. eyewitnesses say that military helicopters have fired at areas where some is fighters are still believed to be holding out. now on bbc news, it's wednesday in parliament. hello there, and welcome

to the programme. coming up in the next half—hour: there's a different look to pmqs, but some familiar questions for the government about the brexit negotiations. as a country, we have got 20 months to go until brexit. we absolutely have got to get a grip. it is conceivable that we would be offered a kind of punishment deal, that would be worse than no deal. it's not our intention, we want to have a deal, we want to have a good deal. the government announces more money to help the iraqi city of mosul, following the defeat of so—called islamic state there. and mps speak up about the abuse they received from the public. i accept that male politicians get abuse too. but i hope the one thing we can agree on in this chamber is that it is much worse for women. but first, theresa may was otherwise engaged on wednesday lunchtime, on parade for the formal visit of the king of spain.

so it was down to her cabinet colleague, damian green, who's the first secretary of state, to fill in for her. as is the convention, when the pm is away, the opposition also field a deputy. so he was facing the shadow foreign secretary, emily thornbury, across the dispatch box. she turned her attention to the brexit negotiations, saying ministers had to get a grip on brexit and reveal the impact of a no—deal scenario. this isn't some sinister nightmare, dreamt up by remainers — it was the prime minister who first floated the idea of no deal. the foreign secretary who said it would be perfectly 0k. the brexit secretary who said we'd be prepared to walk away. but, since the election, the chancellor has said that would be a very, very bad outcome. and a former minister has told sky news that no deal is dead. so will the first secretary clear this up? are ministersjust making it up as they're going along...?

general clamour or is it still the government's clear policy that no deal is an option? i recommend the right honourable lady read the prime minister's lancaster house speech, that is the basis on which we're negotiating. but we're also saying that it is conceivable that we would be offered a kind of punishment deal that would be worse than no deal. it's not our intention, we want to have a deal, we want to have a good deal. can i also point out to her, that it is her leader and her party's position that, whatever is on offer, they will accept it. that is a terrible way... that is a terrible way to go into a negotiation. emily thornbury asked again what no deal would mean. and she made reference to the suspension of anne marie morris

from the conservative party for using a racially offensive term. well, the first secretary apparently didn't get the prime minister's memo — you're supposed to be building consensus, man. cheering and if we ignore the political bluster... and if we ignore the political bluster, i think what we heard was that no deal is still indeed an option. and if that's the case, can we turn to what we i might call the east india club question? because before of the member for newton abbot suddenly turned herself into nick griffin, this was the question that she was trying to ask — what does no deal actually mean for our businesses, for our people and for issues such as the irish land border? damian green said he was all for consensus, so. . . i very much look forward to sharing the labour party's views this morning on the unemployment figures. cheering unemployment is now down

to its lowest levels since the early 70s. there are many members of this house who weren't born when unemployment was as low as this government has made it. as to the substance of the question, he said the government was seeking a good deal for britain that enabled us to trade as freely as possible with the eu while securing trade deals with other countries. emily thornbury said the point of the session was for her to ask the questions and mr green to answer them. we've got a chancellor demanding transitional arrangements, which a no—deal option makes impossible. we've got a foreign secretary making it up as he's going along. we've got a brexit secretary so used to overruling his colleagues that he's started overruling himself. and we've got a prime minister so bereft of ideas and she's started putting suggestion boxes around parliament. but as a country, as a country, we have got 20 months to go until brexit. we absolutely have

got to get a grip. and if the party opposite hasn't got the strength for the task, when we've absolutely got to get rid of them. what we would have, as we have seen from the labour party, they have so far, i counted, had nine different plans on europe. they want to be both in and out of the single market, in and out of the customs union. they've said they wanted to remain, they voted for article 50, they split their party on that. and she made one point about whether she would prefer to be at this dispatch box rather than at that dispatch box. i would also remind her of the other event that happened recently, when the conservative party got more votes and more seats then the labour party and won the election. can the first secretary of state confirm the devolved administrations will not face a diminution of powers as a result of the repeal bill? i'm happy to reconfirm what my right

honourable friend the prime minister and others have said that, yes, under the terms of the brexit deal that we will negotiate, there will be no diminution of the devolved administrations' powers, and that we look to devolve more powers as a result of this process. damian green. now, the prime minister has asked the committee on standards in public life to conduct a review into the intimidation experienced by parliamentary candidates. it follows reports of abuse experienced by many of those who stood injune's general election. the scale of the problem was set out in westminster hall by a conservative mp, who called a debate on the issue. i don't know how many colleagues have read the report from bcs, who published a survey recently. in a three—month period, mps received 188,000 abusive tweets. that's in a three—month period. that's one in 20 tweets

received by colleagues. meanwhile, he said older volunteers were scared to put up posters and candidates were abused because of their religion or sexuality. simon hart gave an example of the type of harassment being suffered. he cited the experience of the former bristol conservative mp, charlotte leslie. whose parents became victims of this particular abuse. their entire oil heating supply was drained into their garden by somebody who had an objection to charlotte's particular position on fracking, which was a slightly ironic way of dealing with an environmental consideration. but, nonetheless, it caused enormous distress, as did the scratching of "tory scum" in her elderly parents' car. labour's diane abbott said abuse had been turbo—charged by the use of the internet. 30 years ago, when i first became an mp, if you wanted to attack an mp, you had to write a letter —

usually in green ink — you had to put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and you had to walk to the post box. now they press a button and you read vile abuse which, 30 years ago, people would have been frightened to even write down. so i accept that male politicians get abuse too, but i hope the one thing we can agree on in this chamber is that it's much worse for women. we are not talking here about a bit of political banter. we're not talking about the rough—and—tumble of political debate or even satirising or caricaturing another person's point of view. we are talking about vile abuse, dehumanising people, offering and inciting, sometimes, violence against people. and this is the sort of activity which should not be deemed acceptable in any democratic society. my concern is it stops women especially entering politics. i can very briefly give the example

of a candidate who unfortunately wasn't elected, who stood in ealing. and because members of parliament have to declare their addresses when they stand for parliament, she said she started becoming nervous. when she noticed activity during the election campaign by the opponents when they started standing outside my door at my home, spitting in my face and following me. i've been an mp forjust over two years, and i can't remember a single day that has gone by without receiving some sort of abuse. whether that be death threats or a picture of me being mocked up as a used sanitary towel and various other things. this last election was the most brutal i can certainly imagine. this is an assault on our democratic values and on our process. and it has to stop, mr hanson. this is the worst i've ever encountered in any election, and it is not acceptable, and it is, primarily, in this particular regard, coming from one particularfaction. and we should be honest about it, we should be honest about it. andrew percy. and we'll be speaking to simon hart about this in the week in parliament, this friday night, at 11pm.

now, the government has said it will only pay for fire safety alterations to tower blocks if councils can show they can't afford to do them. in a debate in the commons, four weeks after the grenfell tower fire, labour said the response of ministers and kensington and chelsea council has been too slow and inadequate. the minister promised the inquiry into the fire would be wide—ranging. that necessarily means looking at circumstances well beyond the design, construction, and modification of the building itself. it will mean looking at the role of relevant public authorities and the contractors and the broader implications of the fire for the adequacy and enforcement of relevant regulations. birmingham has 231 tower blocks. the city council has rightly decided that it will retrofit sprinklers in all those blocks. that will cost £31 million, in a council that's suffered £700 million of cuts to their budget.

will the government unequivocally commit to funding all necessary safety measures, pending the outcome of the inquiry? if the fire service recommends something needs to be done for safety reasons, obviously, they will go to the local authority and the local authority will be first port of call to pay for that. i'm sure all local authorities will want to follow the fire service's recommendations on this. if the local authority can show that it can't afford it, then, obviously, central government will step in. the inquiry, he said, will establish the facts and make recommendations to avoid a repeat of the tragedy. the government will provide the inquiry with all the resources it needs to complete its work thoroughly and rapidly. this was a terrible tragedy. we must learn the lessons to ensure nothing like it can happen again. this is the measure of the government's response to the grenfell tower tragedy. too slow to act, too slow to grasp the gravity and complexity of the problems. one step off the pace at every stage.

and he made this pledge... we will not rest until all those who need help and a new home have it. we will not rest until all those culpable have been brought fully to account. and we will not rest until all measures needed to make sure this can never, ever happen again are fully in place. when a country as decent and well—off as ours fails to provide something as basic as a safe home for all its citizens, then things must change. when i was a junior business minister, i was asked by people from number 10, the cabinet office, whether we should get rid of fire regulations in respect to girls and ladies' nightdresses. whether we should get rid of the fire regulations for furniture. i said no, we didn't get rid of them and or should we. and he's absolutely right,

we must change the culture. 0thers turned to the criticism by some of the judge heading the enquiry. as a lawyer, i'm not going to cast any aspersions on sir martin moore—bick‘s ability to chair the inquiry. but the concern of the residents about his ability must be respected and listened to. because of there are doubts surrounding public confidence in his suitability, then that cannot be ignored, because it will undermine the efficacy of the inquiry. he's having a series of meetings to listen to the victim's families, survivors and take their views. i think it's welcome that the chair has been so open to ideas, and that he said he wants to establish the terms of reference as soon as possible, so that the inquiry can begin the process of making sure that we know what happened and how to stop it ever happening again. this horrific event must be a game changer. we need a thorough review of approaches to estate development, the funding of social housing, and we need to listen to the people affected and their warnings, act upon their concerns and their priorities

with the transparency and honesty that have so clearly been missing. you're watching wednesday in parliament with me, alicia mccarthy. the international development secretary, priti patel, has announced that the government is to spend another £40 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of the iraqi city of mosul. iraq's prime minister formally declared victory over so—called islamic state earlier this week. the battle for mosul has taken almost nine months, left large areas in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than 920,000 others. the urban combat has been described as the most intense since world war ii. making a statement to mps, priti patel said the aid would help to provide clean drinking water, food, tents, cooking equipment, soap and vaccination against the deadly diseases.

britain will also provide extra funding to a un—led stabilisation programme that has helped 200,000 iraqis return to mosul. victory comes after three years of unimaginable oppression by daesh. three years of fear, executions, abductions, forced marriages, destruction of iraqi's ancient heritage. it comes after nine months of heavy fighting by the iraqi security forces who faced brutal daesh tactics, including the use of human shields and suicide bombers. we must, though, be realistic about the challenges ahead. almost 50,000 homes have been destroyed. although 200,000 people have returned to their homes in east mosul, over 700,000 people are still displaced and in need of continued humanitarian assistance. explosive remnants of this war will be a problem for many, many months to come. i would like to pay tribute to the iraqi security forces and the people of mosul who have shown remarkable courage in the face

of daesh's continued oppression. i would like to also pay particular tribute to the role of the uk government in its important work to provide critical aid and emergency support. the uk's continued role here in the coming days and weeks, and the significant funding commitments announced by the secretary of state will save lives and help rebuild mosul. the uk government must finally learn the lessons from iraq, libya and afghanistan. it cannot be allowed to happen in mosul, as it has happened in so many places before, that the cost and impact of uk military action dwarves the relief and reconstruction efforts that follow. she will know that if the experience of fallujah and elsewhere is to be followed in mosul, the vicious tactics of daesh will be that every single house, street and public place being booby—trapped and mined

and will take many, many years to clear that. will she, first of all, commit the government to doing all it can to help the technical matter of removing explosives? secondly, it is not the scorching heat of today we are worried about, it is the cold of the mosul winter we're worried about coming along in three or four months' time, by which time we have to find decent accommodation for the people. can i press her on what specific funding will be offered for the women and girls who have been subject to the most unimaginable sexual violence at the hands of daesh? we must do more to support them. through the announcement we've made today, we will naturally provide the humanitarian support that is required but also a6,000 vulnerable and displaced people, many of whom are women and girls who have been subject to such atrocities and violence, will see support from the money we are announcing here today. priti patel. mps of all parties have been urging the government to remain part of the european atomic energy community — or euratom. euratom was set up in a treaty of 1957 to establish a nuclear common market, giving nuclear workers and material freedom of movement.

the uk joined in 1973. nowadays, euratom regulates nuclear energy and funds research. during a debate in westminster hall, several mps raised concerns about the impact of leaving euratom on the nuclear industry and the supply of medical isotopes. the debate was initiated by the labour mp albert 0wen. this debate is about getting it right and keeping the uk as a world leader, in civil nuclear, in research and development. we have achieved the status of world leader by cooperation with working with others across the world, but under the umbrella of euratom. i put it to the government that there are ways forward without having to have a cliff edge when article 50 negotiations are complete. my concern is the impact of this on medicine. is he aware of the concerns of the royal college of radiologists that a lack of being able to bring isotopes easily into this country

could affect 500,000 scans and 10,000 cancer treatments? these things cannot be stored because they have a short half—life and we need euratom. i absolutely agree with the honourable lady and i have had a lot of correspondence from experts across the field including the royal marsden where cancer research is vital. the issue she raised is aboslutely essentially to get right. i think the burden of the case for staying in euratom that he would need to make is why the same would not apply to every other agency that we're leaving when we leave the european union and why it so impossible, as we leave these other agencies and regulatory bodies and set up our own agencies and regulatory bodies, under international standards, why that cannot also be done with euratom. who would be wanting to frustrate that? i'm worried about a cliff edge of having to leave an organisation that has been served as well for many years and has served the whole global community, and doing so just because we're leaving the european union.

i disagree with him that we'd have to deal with every other one. this is pretty unique in a sense. industry experts are worried about it. it's not politicians worried about it, it is people that understand and know that very industry. several conservatives spoke up for the uk's membership of euratom. we shall do all that is possible legally to maintain those benefits by whatever means it takes and we shall not allow any thoughts of ideological purity to get in the way of achieving that. myjudgment is that if we can legally remain within euratom, we shall do so. the energy minister richard harrington criticised alarmist stories in press the saying the uk's ability to access isotopes would not be a hit. remarks echoed prime minister's questions by damian green who said sca remongering was unnecessary. the government will set out its position on euratom on thursday.

down the corridor in the house of lords, peers were urging the government to do more to encourage the use of electric cars. last week, the swedish car—maker volvo announced that, by 2019, it will be producing only cars that are either purely electric or hybrids combining electric and conventional engines. the minister set out what was already being done in the uk to boost use. we have a number of initiatives in place to encourage ownership and are investing more than £600 million up to 2020 to make the uk a leader in the development, manufacture and use of electric vehicles. we are cutting the upfront cost of purchase with our plug—in car, van and motorcycle grants, and helping meet the costs of installation of charge points at homes, on residential streets and in workplaces right across the uk. the peer who put down the question

when asked the question, said she was the proud owner of a new lighter car. is the future to be more electric in order to reduce pollution and reliance on the middle eastern oil? in which case, we need more infrastructure, more points including right here in the house of lords' car park. or is the future not so good because there are downsides to driving all electric? for example, the cost of extra electricity. we need to have an answer. we don't want to find ourselves in another diesel debacle. good yesterday but not so good tomorrow. lord callinan accepted electric cars were no use if there was nowhere to charge them. we already have over 11,000 public charge points the uk, we have europe's largest network of rapid chargers. at the autumn statement last year, the chancellor announced additional funding of £80 million for charging infrastructure

for the period to 2020. alongside this, highways england has £15 million to expand the existing rapid charge point network. electricity does not come from nowhere. is it not a fact that, until recently, in this country, electricity was roughly 20% nuclear, 20% coal, 35—40% gas and 10% — rising towards 10% renewable. that is where electricity comes from. it's very interesting to have electric cars for what happens on the streets of london but it is nothing to do with the generation of electricity. of course the noble lord is quite correct, the life—cycle c02 value of electric cars depends on where the electricity is generated from. that is a statement of fact. what is the government's estimate of the impact of the increase in electric car ownership over the next five years and the next ten years on the tax take from the sale of petrol and diesel fuel, and how will the government compensate for or make up any reduction in such tax revenues resulting from increasing

electric car ownership? i think the noble lords will realise it is very dangerous for me to speculate on what the chancellor might do in future budgets with regard to tax levels. lord callinan. finally, as we mentioned at the top of the programme, theresa may wasn't at this week's pmqs as she was welcoming the king of spain, king felipe, to the uk. after a full ceremonial welcome, the king and queen came to westminster. it is an honour... ..where after a brief speech from the commons speakerjohn bercow, king felipe addressed both houses of parliament in the royal gallery of the house of lords. he said that brexit saddened spain but that it fully respects the will of the british people and that britons who live in spain and spaniards who live in the uk must be remembered. these citizens have a legitimate expectation of decent and stable living conditions for themselves and for their families.

i therefore urge our two governments to continue working to ensure that the agreement on the uk withdrawing from the eu provides sufficient assurance and certainty. the king of spain. and that's it from me for now but do join me at the same time tomorrow when, among other things, it is transport questions at the start of the day in the commons and mps commemorate the passchendaele campaign in the first world war. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello there, good morning. yesterday was a lovely day across large swathes of the united kingdom.

after some early rain in the south—east, that soon cleared away, and the sun came out for the afternoon. and it was a fine and sunny day in buttermere in cumbria, thanks to the weather watchers for sending in the pictures. we saw the sunshine through the day yesterday. clear skies overnight, and that will take us on into the morning. with those clear skies it will be chilly in some rural spots. major towns and cities starting in double figures for most, up to 111—15 at the very best. in more rural parts, rural scotland, three degrees, england and wales down to about four or five, so a bit on the chilly side for some. high—pressure is in charge of the weather for the most part through the day today. you will notice this weather front in the north and west, more isobars here, so a bit more of a breeze. the weather front will see cloud and will bring rain to northern ireland, and into western scotland as well. ahead of that, a lot of fine and dry weather, but not completely dry, because there will be one or two showers around. but i think east anglia and the south—east, increasing cloud in the afternoon, but it is staying dry. the low 20s quite widely.

there will be a line of showers from the south—west of england into south wales, drifting through the midlands, to the north—east of england. behind that, a lot of dry and bright weather. maybe a shower or two in aberdeenshire. the breeze and rain into western scotland and northern ireland as well. 19 degrees the top temperature in belfast. wimbledon continues and it looks like it will be a decent day for it. light winds, there will be sunshine, patchy cloud as well, and temperatures should get into the low 20s. as we go through the evening, our he weather front makes progress southwards and eastwards. that will bring some rain with it, not a great deal. it's mostly overnight rain as well. any lingering rain in the morning in the south—east won't last long, it will clear away quite quickly. then it is a decent day with a lot of dry weather. it's dry for the most part. 18 in aberdeen, 32 in london. friday night, we start to see rain across scotland, into northern ireland as well. outbreaks of rain further south in england and wales. early rain in the south—east on saturday doesn't last too long. it should clear way.

then we have scattered showers out to the west, where it is quite breezy, and the showers will be fairly frequent in western scotland. now, of course, it's the finals weekend, the ladies' finals on saturday looking pretty good. temperatures on the rise, humidity too, for the men's final by saturday. so on the weekend it will be cloudy and muggy with humidity on the rise, but some showers will crop up in the north and west of the uk. and it will be quite warm further south. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: it's not a witch hunt. the likely next head of the fbi says investigations into president trump are fair. as the future fbi director, do you consider this endeavour as a witch hunt? i do not consider dr mueller to be on a witch hunt. nine—and—a—half years in jail for brazil's ex—president, lula, but he says he's still running for election again next year. mexico is one of the most dangerous countries

in the world forjournalists. we sent our own reporter to find out why. a state visit to london for the king and queen of spain, with brexit and the future of gibraltar lurking in the background.