this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at four. hurricane irma causes widespread destruction across the caribbean, leaving at least thirteen people dead. in the last few minutes, it's been announced that britain will be sending a military taskforce to help in the aftermath. this is the moment irma struck st martin, cutting communications and destroying the airport. parts of the island are unreachable. the extent of the destruction in barbuda is unprecedented. in fact i am of the view that as it stands now the country is barely habitable. mps have begun their scrutiny of the government's main brexit bill, which aims to transfer thousands of pieces of eu regulations into uk law. this bill simply brings eu law into uk law, ensuring that wherever possible the rules and laws are the same after brexit as before. that we are leaving is settled, how

we leave is not. this bill invites us we leave is not. this bill invites us to surrender all power and influence over that question to the government and ministers. that would betray everything that we were sent here to do. i'mjane hill and it's emerged that dozens of tory mps have signed a letter warning the government not to keep the ‘country in the eu by stealth‘. also in the next hour. the crisis in myanmar continues. tens of thousands of muslim rohingya refugees continue fleeing the country after nearly two weeks of violence. and prince george arrives for his first day at school with his father prince william and his mother is too ill with morning sickness to accompany him. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

one of the most powerful storms on record — hurricane irma — is continuing to devastate parts of the caribbean. it has almost completely destroyed the islands of barbuda and st martin — thirteen people, including a child, have been killed across the caribbean — and it's feared that that number will rise. the storm has now moved past puerto rico, where it knocked out power for over a million people and left thousands in shelters. it is currently bearing down on the dominican republic, and is due to hit havana in cuba tomorrow, and florida in the united states at the weekend. there are fears for the safety of a number of britons in the area — the government is sending a military task force including royal marines and engineers to help with the aftermath. the queen says she is shocked and saddened by the reports of devastation. with all the latest, here'sjon donnison. hurricane irma, a storm the size of france, has left a trail of destruction. on the tiny island of barbuda, barely a building left untouched. my whole house caved in.

it was seven of us and all we had to do was to pray and call for help. i was frightened. i didn't know this was going to happen to me. last night was the most devastating experience i ever had in my life, and i'm almost 60. me and my family of seven, including an infant of two months, had to shelter in a closet. hundreds of families here now find themselves homeless. my house, i lose my home, i lose my shop, also my vehicle, everything damaged. and right now, i don't have nowhere to go to sleep. we had cars flying over our heads, we had containers, 40—foot containers, flying left and right, and the story that you're getting from most of the residents here is that the eye of the storm camejust in time. persons were literally tying themselves to their roofs

with ropes, to keep them down. barbuda's prime minister said the island was now barely habitable. what i saw was heart—wrenching. i mean, absolutely devastating. i would say that about 95% of the properties would have suffered some level of damage. they would have lost at least a part of their roofs. some have lost whole roofs, some properties have been totally demolished. it is absolutely heart—wrenching. with much of the island's infrastructure destroyed, aid agencies now face the difficult task of getting help to those in need. the damage in barbuda is none like we've ever seen before. we're talking about everything being completely destroyed. it's electricity, it's roads, it's water, it's schools, it's churches, it's supermarkets, shops, everything. there is literally nothing that currently exists

in barbuda right now. and imagine the terror of being caught up in this. this is the neighbouring island of st martin getting hammered. sustained winds of 185 miles an hour. more than 70,000 people live on the low—lying island which is made up of dutch and french territories. the power of irma everywhere to see. shipping containers tossed around like lego bricks. the authorities here are warning the death toll is likely to rise. and it's not over yet. the un is now warning irma could eventually affect some 37 million people. these remarkable pictures, taken from the international space station, show the storm tracking north—west towards the dominican republic, haiti and cuba. it's forecast to hit the florida coast at the weekend. irma is far from finished

and already on the horizon in this brutal hurricane season are hurricanesjose and katya. jon donnison, bbc news. on the line is tania escamilla, an oxfam officer who on the ground in haiti. whilst everyone prepared for the worst it seems it has been even worse than that. what is happening on the ground? good evening, well, it started raining strongly this morning and just now it's getting calm but we think it is the calm before the storm actually. how are you preparing for it, what are you expecting? we expect that the storm will hit around 2p and through lipm, thatis will hit around 2p and through lipm, that is just a couple of hours from now, and the preparations are focused right now and getting as many people away from the coastal

areas, the second largest city in haiti, in the north of the island. you have seen the pictures coming out other parts of the caribbean. that must make preparations even more urgent. yes, they are very urgent but this is an unprecedented storm. we are doing all we can but the damage, is highly likely to be very bad. so how do you prepare, not for the hurricane hitting but for the recovery? oxfam and other agencies on the ground are working to supervise water and sanitation and hygiene conditions. so that cholera and other conditions don't

spread after the storm leaves because after it leaves that is when people will be left, that's the worst scenario here. we've already seenin worst scenario here. we've already seen in places like barbuda, communications are the first things to go down so how do you prepare for that. many aid agencies and others, some have satellite communication but that is not reliable either. let's see what we can do first. in terms of the buildings in haiti we have already seen barbuda described as almost not habitable. the buildings where you are, have a stronger, are they more likely to be able to bearup stronger, are they more likely to be able to bear up to this sort of wind and rain? unfortunately no. it's a mix between houses in coastal areas and small houses so i don't think... with winds of 200 mph i don't think

it will be able to stand up to it, u nfortu nately. it will be able to stand up to it, unfortunately. how would you describe the mood of people as they wait for this thing to arrive. people are scared, many don't want to evacuate because they don't want to evacuate because they don't want to lose their belongings and leave their homes. the people here are used to hurricanes although this is a very, very big one. i think people are waiting and stocking up on supplies as we speak. some people may wish they had got out earlier. exactly, exactly. just give us time, how many more hours do you think you've got? before it hits, probably three to four hours. tanya, we wish you all the best. thank you for joining us. thank you. noted other news.

the uk is taking another step towards brexit today as mps debate the european union withdrawal bill before a vote on monday. the bill will see the transfer of thousands of eu laws and regulations into british law. many in the commons, including some conservative backbenchers, have expressed concerns about the bill. labour says it will vote against it, arguing it's an undemocratic power grab by the government. my colleague jane hill is in westminster. thank you, simon, welcome again to westminster. you mentioned the labour party, will be talking to hilary benn in a few minutes. the debate continues, it is the first day, the vote is on monday evening. let's get a flavour of the debate, first from our political correspondent chris mason. brexit is about bringing powers back to this place, westminster. it is now the job of the government to make that a reality and it is what the eu withdrawal bill is all about.

secretary david davis. lunchtime is launched and the man responsible for turning it into law told mps it was vital, because... it ensures that on the day we leave businesses know where they stand. workers‘ rights are upheld and consumers remain protected. this bill is vital to ensuring that, as we believe we do so ensuring that, as we believe we do so in an orderly manner. and so begins the wrangling in parliament on delivering brexit. this planned new law intends to change everything by changing a thing, cutting and pasting through swathes of eu law and turning it into uk law the day after brexit. it will dominate proceedings here for months to come. labour say they will vote against the bill because of the powers it gives the government to change the law with little scrutiny. if ever so much for taking back control. and

there is no point in the secretary of state or the prime minister saying, we wouldn't use these powers, take our saying, we wouldn't use these powers, take oui’ assurance. saying, we wouldn't use these powers, take our assurance. if you wouldn't use them they are not necessary. and if they are not necessary. and if they are not necessary they should not be put before this house for approval today. this is a debate generating international attention. the start of the biggest change in the way that we are governed for more than 40 that we are governed for more than a0 yea rs. that we are governed for more than a0 years. unprecedented, complicated and source of many a row still to come. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. hilary benn of the labour party has just come to talk to us. good afternoon. why would you vote against on monday? because the bill is fundamentally flawed. i think eve ryo ne is fundamentally flawed. i think everyone in the house of commons accepts that you need a bill to move law across and put it into british legislation so that it works the day after we leave but not this bill

because it gives the government astonishing powers. and we‘ve heard astonishing powers. and we‘ve heard astonishing speeches including from the tory benches today expressing reservations about what the government proposes to do including giving itself a power by statutory instrument to amend the bill that is being debated in the house of commons as we speak. we will talk more about those powers. you are not the first person to stand there today and expressed concern. i the same token, some people are members of your party, or people who support a party voted for this country to leave the eu. they will say, why are you doing this on monday because it will cause chaos. that's not the case because this bill apart from the final but that will repeal the 1972 communities act, this bill is not about being in the eu. we are. is about cliff edges. cliff edges is about the outcome of the negotiations, connected at separate

matter where progress is slow and the government also said in a speech todayis the government also said in a speech today is painfully coming to realise that we will need a transitional period and is you know keir starmer said on behalf of of labour our view is that should involve staying their customs union and the single market because they simply won‘t be time to negotiate a final agreement covering trade, tariffs, access, rules, paperwork, although things. this is of fundamental importance to british industry. which is why they keep saying don‘t drive us off the edge ofa saying don‘t drive us off the edge of a cliff. whether or not there is a transitional period we are still looking at spring 2019. and there are plenty of people i‘ve interviewed today and on other occasions who would say, i didn‘t wa nt occasions who would say, i didn‘t want this country to leave the eu. it is not my preferred option but i recognise that, come monday evening if we are to achieve anything and get this process moving which is what the country needs, what

business needs, this has to go through on monday. while the government has got to listen to what parliament says. just because there isa parliament says. just because there is a need to make sure that the legislative statute book is all right the day after doesn‘t mean.... doesn‘t say that we have to say ok with, will run acceptably drafted. because people will have said today that there are powers so wide ranging that they are not acceptable to us as an opposition. the solution is not to kill off the bill, it is that the government to say, will change this fundamentally. in the select committee that i chair we said earlier this year to the government, you should publish this bill in draft. if they had people could have said this part is right, that part isn‘t. but they chose to launch it in the summer. and now they are seeing the response from they are seeing the response from the house of commons. so in all of this what the government has failed to do from the start is take the role of parliament seriously. and they will find life difficult if

they will find life difficult if they don‘t listen to what parliament says. this parliament is different to the last, it has been christened the backbenchers parliament because it will be what backbenchers decide that will determine the way in which we leave, the decision to leave has been taken and article 50 has said us on our way been taken and article 50 has said us on our way and been taken and article 50 has said us on oui’ way and we been taken and article 50 has said us on our way and we will leave the institutions of the eu at the end march 2019. institutions of the eu at the end march 20 19. and if it doesn't go through next week what happens, in a practical sense, with that 2019 deadline. the government will have to come back with a different bill. we all know how long that will take, you are talking a very long time!“ you are talking a very long time!“ you listened to the points made today the government will have a pretty good idea now of the reservations that the house of commons has, if the bill were to be defeated i think in all likelihood the government will get it through on monday, they‘ve got to start listening to parliament. because we intend to do ourjob, we have no

intention of being by standards while ministers take powers to do things in effect according to what they want with minimal parliamentary scrutiny. we intend to be active participants and we need a bill that will reflect that. you think it will go through on monday, labour isn‘t having cups of tea with disaffected tories who mightjoin you? having cups of tea with disaffected tories who might join you? labour's position is clear, what other mps we re position is clear, what other mps were do i don‘t know. we‘ll have to see. we are standing up for what we think is right, it is ourjob. hilary benn, for the moment, thank you. the debate continues now and on monday. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in central lobby for us. she‘s been following the debate as well. we‘ll talk about it, just a quick word about the letter we‘ve been talking about from a0 or more tory mps today. yes, interesting because we have the technical side with mps debating how we get all

those laws over and leave the european union, and then is other side which is the ongoing negotiations and how we leave, what is the withdrawal agreement going to look like. there are clearly some tory mps concerned that theresa may may be led to water down brexit, they‘ve also listened to the chancellor about a transitional period potentially which could last for a couple of years. they are worried that the government may in some way backslide from all this and they think the worst case scenario is two years in transition where we still may be in the single market still may be in the single market still paying into eu covers and not able to have the benefits as they would say of doing trade steals with other countries beyond the eu. they are putting it out as a gentle reminder. on the other side, theresa

may has remain mps like kenneth clarke on her side, who are very concerned with no deal potentially being done with the eu. we heard from them today about their worries about this bill. a lot of calls for theresa may to look at. she knows, as has always been the case in the tory party that they‘re ready and differences of opinion. vicki young, thank you very much. we are keeping an eye on all of this, more to come from westminster later. thank you. the headlines on bbc news. hurricane irma has caused widespread devastation across the caribbean, leaving at least thirteen people dead. the small island of barbuda is said to be "barely habitable", and officials warn that saint martin is almost destroyed. mps have begun scrutiny of the government ‘s main brexit bill which aims to translate eu laws into british legislation by monday.

the crisis in myanmar goes on as tens of thousands of muslim rohingya refugees continue fleeing the country after nearly two weeks of violence. in sport england dominated the first day of the final test against west indies at lord‘s, it is tea—time, the tourists have struggled, ben stokes has ta ken the tourists have struggled, ben stokes has taken three wickets, anderson and toby roland—jones have to each. premier league clubs have voted to amend the summer transfer window from nextjune, they will only be able to buy players up until 5pm on the thursday before the season 5pm on the thursday before the season starts. and everton manager ronald koeman says he is very disappointed at wayne rooney‘s drink—driving charge but he will be dealt with internally although he says he will be dealt with internally. more sports stories later, seal them. with the onset of hurricane irma

getting pictures is difficult but we have just received some more pictures, it has suffered terrible damage as you can see, high winds of up damage as you can see, high winds of up to 25 mph and the wind bringing devastation, the french prime minister‘s questions four people have been found dead on the island so have been found dead on the island so far although nobody has been found dead on saint barts, a neighbouring island but it has been called an enormous catastrophe, 95% of the island destroyed, says one top official on saint martin. the airport, the third largest in the caribbean, has been all but razed to the ground. the dutch ministry says they are receiving pictures of uprooted trees, houses with no roof, pleasure boats are manned. the prime minister of holland says that the island isn‘t reachable at this point

because of huge damage to the airport and to the harbour. efforts, according to the french ministry are on the way to get supplies to the area but there‘s massive destruction and any attempt at a recovery mission may be some way off. eyes are now diverging towards the next hurricane to hit the region, which will be hurricanejose, gathering in strength, not as big as irma at the moment but with warm sea temperature is the fear is that hurricanejose will pile on the misery onto what you can see is almost total devastation in saint maarten. we will keep you updated, any more pictures coming through, we will bring them to you. michael fallon spoke earlier following a cobra

meeting on the crisis.|j spoke earlier following a cobra meeting on the crisis. i was the chair of the meeting of an emergency cobra meeting today, including governors from some of the islands we re governors from some of the islands were on the line. i made it clear to them that these are our people, british nationals and we will do everything possible to get help to them in this appalling devastation that the hurricane has caused to help in advance of the hurricane coming behind it. we already have one ship in the area, she is up to michael reddy and work with her helicopters and her marines, helping anguilla but i have also today authorised the deployment of a task force, a group of several hundred troops, marines, engineers, and additional helicopters who are now preparing to fly to the caribbean as soon as we can preparing to fly to the caribbean as soon as we can be clear what airfields remain open to us. i am also diverting a second ship, a

flagship, hms ocean, which is preparing to sail west towards the islands, to bring the help that will be needed for reconstruction after the hurricane has passed. can you give us an idea of the scale of the task ahead of these troops who are going to help. the hurricane has devastated it. it has taken out power, flattened buildings, we were told today it is even flattened some of the emergency shelters that the population had taken refuge in. one of the most powerful hurricanes everton striker these islands. the governors themselves do not know what the situation is in some of the outlying areas because there are not telephones or communications, they are not able to get an accurate picture ofjust are not able to get an accurate picture of just how are not able to get an accurate picture ofjust how widespread the devastation is. but this will be a huge long—term challenge now, to help rebuild the islands, and we have made it very clear that this is

our responsibility, we are going to make sure they get the help that they need. there has been some criticism, a former uk representative to anguilla says there should have been more boots on there should have been more boots on the ground and the french have been more organised, your response? we had our ship out already, it‘s exactly the right type of ship for this with its helicopter and its marines and it is already at work helping the people of anguilla, helping the people of anguilla, helping to clear roads, to restore power and get an accurate picture for that governor of what is happening on the island. so we are there and we are helping. obviously this is a huge challenge, more help will be needed, and that is what we have authorised today. family from your meeting, any sense of the scale of british casualties? reports of british casualties and people hit by flying debris, sadly. again some of the governors don‘t have accurate reports because it‘s simply these

populations who are out of touch with the centre in a number of these territories. but these are british people, british nationals and we are going to help them as much as we can. michael fallon. in puerto rico, at least three people have died and at least half of the island‘s homes and businesses are without power. over 6,000 people are in shelters. our correspondent laura bicker is there. as the hurricane came through the streets of puerto rico emptied. people took shelter and there was a real concern as the winds howling around. at one point it sounded like a jet engine. thankfully and mercifully, the eye of the storm, 185 catastrophic mile an hour winds stayed further to the north of the island and that may have saved many lives, because as people emerged this morning, the damage is not as devastating as had been feared. the main problem here has been power. there are nearly! million people without electricity, 22 hospitals are relying on generators, and the power company had already warned before the storm

went through it may be some time before the power went back on. around a6 months, they had warned. the authorities are still trying to get in touch with many of those in remote areas of this island and there has been some destruction and majorflooding in some parts. but there is a collective sigh of relief that they have escaped the devastation wrought by hurricane irma in parts of the caribbean. irma is on track to hit florida by the weekend and a short time ago the governor of the state held a press conference to warn residents. look at the size of the storm, it is huge, wider than our state and could cause major impacts on both coasts, coast—to—coast. regardless of which caused you live on, be prepared to evacuate. people on the west coast cannot be impatient, just because

irma is seen going up along the east coast the west will still have hurricane conditions and these storms can change. hurricane andrew was one of the worst storms in our history, this is worse and we are on its path. right now there‘s a mandatory evacuation order for the florida keys, this means all residents and all visitors, i was there yesterday making sure that citizens could get out. we estimate there are 31,000 people evacuated from the keys as of 6pm last night. if you are there and you don‘t have a way out, call a number but don‘t wait. leave and get out. we cannot save you after the storm starts. you will have a hurricane, unbelievable wind and storm surge. that's a warning from the governor of florida, the emergency management officials following on from the

criticism that they suffered after hurricane harvey, they began evacuation days in advance of razed‘s arrival. they have ordered all tourists to leave the florida keys, the evacuation of residents of the area began yesterday evening. they all trying to avoid a rush on the highways. which had been predicted a little earlier. the british response so far is to send a military task group including several hundred military personnel including royal marines and army engineers. two more helicopters will be sent to the region, hms ocean, effectively helicopter landing platform is being sent there, it could take up to two weeks to reach the caribbean where all eyes are quickly looking towards the next hurricane, hurricane jose, which quickly looking towards the next hurricane, hurricanejose, which is reported to be building in strength.

that‘s the latest on hurricane irma. we arejust that‘s the latest on hurricane irma. we are just getting some news that two men, aged a0 and 29, both uk nationals, have been arrested this morning after getting off a flight from istanbul in turkey. the ao—year—old has been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. he was arrested under the terrorism act of 2000, the 21—year—old arrested on suspicion of belonging to a proscribed organisation. he was also arrested earlier. police say that as a precaution the ao—year—old has been taken to a london hospital for a medical assessment where he currently remains, the younger man has been taken to a london police station and remains in custody. the police say inquiries continue. there we re police say inquiries continue. there were coming off a flight from turkey earlier. hurricane irma continues to take its

path of catastrophic damage across the caribbean. next, the turks and ca icos the caribbean. next, the turks and caicos islands. there will be a 20 foot storm surge across this low—lying island and we will see further catastrophic damage across the turks and caicos islands and the bahamas beyond that. overnight a band of rain slips southwards across england and wales. we have plenty of blustery showers through the night. tomorrow a day of limited bright spells but widespread showers across much of the country accompanied by blustery winds that will make it feel rather cool at times. temperatures 15 degrees or so across western scotland. in the south the rain could be heavy and the wind gusting as well which will add a certain chill to the air. that‘s your weather. hello. this is bbc news.

the headlines: at least 13 people have died as a result of hurricane irma in the caribbean — britain is sending a military taskforce of several hundred personnel to help in the aftermath. mps are debating plans to transfer thousands of european union laws and regulations into uk law. labour say the bill gives the government too much power. that we are leaving is settled. how we leave is not. this bill invites us to surrender all power and influence over that question to the government and to ministers. that will betray everything we were sent here to do. aid workers in bangladesh say the number of rohingya muslims pouring across the border continues to rise, amidst ongoing violence in myanmar. and the duke of cambridge has dropped prince george off for his first day at school in south london. his mother, the duchess, was too ill to go with them this morning. time for the sport with will perry.

england‘s bowlers have taken control on the opening day of the third and deciding test against west indies at lords. the tourists put themselves into bat this morning and found themselves under pressure quickly — james anderson took the first two wickets meaning he‘s nowjust one away from becoming the first englishman to take 500 in test cricket. ben stokes has rattled through the windies order this afternoon — he took two wickets in an over, three in total. at tea, the windies are 119 for seven. premier league clubs have voted in favour of amending the summer transfer window. starting next season and every season thereafter, premier league sides will be only able to buy players from june until 5pm on the thursday before the start of the season. they will however be able to sell players up until the standard deadline. the decision sets the premier league apart from other leagues around europe, who‘ll still be able to operate in the transfer market until the end of august.

we wa nt we want to get ourselves prepared, ready for the start of the season, geared and ready to go, match one thatis geared and ready to go, match one that is our squad. that is where people really came from and they don‘t want the risk of players moving within the league actually was the biggest reason for doing it, clearly you could still lose a player abroad but they don‘t want the teams trading between each other after the season has started. everton manager ronald koeman says he‘s "very disappointed" at wayne rooney‘s drink—driving charge. rooney is currently out on bail ahead of a hearing on september 18th. koeman has though confirmed that rooney will play for everton against tottenham on saturday. i‘m very disappointed by the situation regarding wayne rooney. we have spoken and that was last tuesday and the chairman spoke also to wayne about this situation. the

disciplinary matter will be dealt with internally by the club. alexis sanchez will soon be back to his best with arsenal, according to manager arsene wenger. sanchez came close to joining manchester city on transfer deadline day but wenger believes his focus is now firmly on arsenal. i have no doubt about alexis‘ mind and mentality, but people question. i think he needs to come back to full fitness, what he was at liverpool. he is strong mentally and hopefully will be back very quickly to his best. manu tuilagi‘s hopes of appearing in england‘s autumn internationals were already slim but now they‘re now officially over, after he suffered a knee injury in leicester‘s premiership opener against bath on sunday. he‘ll be out for around 12 weeks. it‘s a real blow for tuilagi, who was told by coach eddiejones that he had just one more chance

to prove he had the right attitude to be involved with england. roger federer says he‘s looking forward to a rest, after being knocked out in the quarterfinals of the us open. he lost in four sets tojuan martin del potro and says that although he‘d been suffering with back pain going into the tournament, that wasn‘t to blame, he admits he just didn‘t play well enough. and birmingham has won the race to become the english candidate to host the 2022 commonwealth games. they were in competition with liverpool but the department for digital, culture, media and sport has backed the west midlands city. the government must now decide whether to put forward a formal bid for the games. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more in the next hour. mps have been urged to back the government‘s brexit bill which will transfer thousands of european union laws into the uk statute books. labour says it‘ll vote against the legislation, accusing ministers of a power grab. so what are the details

of the bill being debated, and why are opposition parties threatening to try to block it? chris morris from our reality check team can tell us more. it began life in a prime ministerial speech as the great repeal bill, then it became simply the repeal bill and now we‘re working with its official title, the rather more prosaic european union withdrawal bill. here‘s where it‘ll end up — with all the other vellum scrolls in the houses of parliament going back centuries. what does it do? well, it‘s a complex mix of constitutional change and legal continuity. firstly, it repeals the 1972 european communities act that took the uk into what was then known as the european economic community. the repeal would come into effect on the day of brexit which, until anyone decides otherwise, will be march 29th 2019. secondly, the bill will transfer eu rules and regulations wholesale into uk law to avoid legal and financial chaos when we leave.

we‘re talking here about an estimated 19,000 separate pieces of legislation — a vast body of law that has developed over more than a0 years. so a new category of domestic law will be created called retained eu law. after brexit, any of it could then be amended or repealed by the uk parliament. thirdly, and perhaps most controversially, the bill will channel this man, henry viii, who knew a thing or two about trying to take back control from europe. this is all about what are known as henry viii clauses, named after the statute of proclamations of 1539, which gave henry the power to legislate by proclamation. the modern day equivalent gives ministers and officials the power to make changes to some laws without full parliamentary scrutiny. this has set alarm bells ringing in many quarters.

there are those who argue that it will undermine the ultimate sovereignty of parliament, and those who worry that eu laws that cover things such as workers‘ rights or environmental protection could be changed on the quiet. the government says none of that is going to happen and on all the big issues — immgration, customs, agriculture — there will be separate pieces of legislation. but there is another point of contention — the role of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in scotland, wales and northern ireland. the first ministers of scotland and wales have described the withdrawal bill as a ‘naked power grab‘ because it returns all powers from the eu to the uk parliament, rather than to the devolved administrations. all in all, then, there are massive challenges for the government, as it embarks on the daunting legislative task of turning brexit policy into practice. let‘s go back to westminster and get

more on that daunting task. daunting is the word and the debate is continuing in the commons behind me, the vote comes on monday evening. with me is someone who understands all of the minutiae chris morris was talking about because this is the director of the group unlock democracy. you don‘t have political affiliations but you understand the minutiae ina affiliations but you understand the minutiae in a way many people don‘t. this is about secondary legislation. explain why it is something that is concerning some many people. secondary legislation is something thatis secondary legislation is something that is commonly used in parliament but what's different about the repeal bill is the fact there will be so much of it on so many different policy areas, on everything the eu as ever legislated

on. this gives the government to amend that with virtually no parliamentary scrutiny because as the bill goes through set stages in the bill goes through set stages in the house of commons and house of lords, most statutory instruments get very little scrutiny and hardly ever get debated in the house of commons for example. is that pressure of time and the practicalities of it? there are time pressures, obviously. we are talking about maybe 1000 statutory instruments from this one bill alone so instruments from this one bill alone so there are time pressures but it is bigger than that. the existing procedures simply are not good enough, we have known this for years. parliamentary —— parliamentarians have been talking about this for years. and it is hard to talk about this without getting into the politics of it, but again i

have interviewed a number of people from different parties who described this as a power grab and they mean a power grab by the current prime minister or the current government of the day. is it possible for you to say in a neutral way whether it isa to say in a neutral way whether it is a power grab or whether it is the nature of the beast. what is driving this? the way the bill is currently drafted, it is absolutely a power grab by ministers. there's no doubt they will need some of these powers, but taking eu law into uk law is using these powers but they are drafted so broadly with so few restrictions that i don't know how anybody could see —— not see that it's a power grab. and it is a range of policy areas, it could be environmental issues, food and

farming issues... absolutely, everything from equalities, food standards, consumer issues. if you think of the variety of issues the eu has it had a say on, all of those issues will be affected by these powers. and remind us why there is a lot of concern about the devolved assemblies. absolutely. the way the bill is drafted, or the power is coming back to london and places restrictions on what the devolved governments can do. there are common uk frameworks but also areas where, when power is devolved, devolved governments can go beyond that and legislate in different ways if they wa nt legislate in different ways if they want to. this bill stops that and it also potentially undermines the good friday agreement. i'm sure theresa may doesn't want her legacy to be either the break—up of the uk or undermining the good friday agreement but at the moment that is a very big risk. very interesting to

talk to you. thank you so much for now, alexandra runswick, director of unlock democracy. aid workers in bangladesh say the number of rohingya muslims escaping across the border from myanmar continues to rise. so far more than one 1a0,000 rohingyas, most of them women and children, have fled violence in myanmar‘s rakhine state. jeremy corbyn has spoken to the bbc, calling on the de facto leader aung san suu kyi to demonstrate her commitment to human rights. we admire and supported you all these years you were under house arrest. we marched in your support and we recognise your commitment to human rights. please show that same commitment to the human rights of the rohingya people at the present time. our correspondent sanjoy majumder has more on the rohingya refugee crisis from bangladesh. more rohingya refugees have come into bangladesh today from myanmar.

and you can just see how congested it has become. there is absolutely no space. they are all on the road. now, over here, they have brought in bamboo. this is to construct new tents for the fresh arrivals. the existing camp itself is in dreadful shape. extremely crowded, conditions unhygienic. now, aid agencies are very concerned. they say, apart from food, there is an urgent need for medical support. msf, the humanitarian agency, says many of the new refugees have gunshot wounds, injuries, and therefore, they need as much support as possible. they are fleeing violence, they say the villagers have been attacked and set on fire. the bbc colleague has witnessed a muslim village being set on fire by youths. let‘s return now to hurricane irma

which is leaving a trail of devastation through the caribbean. the storm has virtually destroyed the islands of st martin and barbuda and is now heading towards cuba. joining me now is dr dann mitchell, lecturer in climate science at the university of bristol. is this hurricane following a path we we re is this hurricane following a path we were expecting? the pats are quite uncertain for these things but actually yes it is following a path we we re actually yes it is following a path we were expecting. we are not sure how far we were expecting. we are not sure howfarup in we were expecting. we are not sure how far up in florida it will get though. it is the scale of it, the size of it that makes this one unique. the scale, yes, and the intensity. the real uniqueness comes from the fact we have had two very intense storms in close succession. so what‘s the difference between harvey and this one, and all eyes are now switching to jose,

harvey and this one, and all eyes are now switching tojose, the next one? harvey was blocked from going north so we had a lot of precipitation on texas because it could move. irma will go through faster and it is important to look at the wind speeds rather than flooding. the difficult thing is once hurricane irma has passed, it has left so much devastation in its trail, and hurricane jose has left so much devastation in its trail, and hurricanejose will be even more devastating. yes, it is these clusters of extremes that we have trouble with when responding in emergency situations. the only slight bit of good news is that when a hurricane goes through it takes a lot of energy out of the ocean so hopefullyjose won‘t be as severe as it would have been if the other one hadn‘t gone through. it would have been if the other one hadn't gone through. what about the

storm surge? is there any evidence we are seeing the predicted storm surges of 20 feet? it is hard to tell. the storm surge is certainly something we believe is made worse due to climate change because the sea due to climate change because the sea level rises so the storms can get further into land. so are we going to be seeing more of hurricanes of this sort of strength? i ask because if i was living in barbuda or saint martin and i had been through this once, i would be tempted to leave the island permanently after this. oceans are where the hurricanes get the energy from so warming the planet and warming the oceans will result in stronger hurricanes. the frequency may not change, we are not entirely sure, and we don‘t know how much climate change has contributed to this specific storm but it‘s the sort of trend we are expecting and this is why the small island states pushed for the paris agreement for

instance, because they recognise its impact. i'm sure they are not talking about the paris agreement right now because they are thinking about how they recover from this. are you saying hurricane irma, there could be even more stronger hurricanes in the future? certainly there could be stronger ones, it is ha rd to there could be stronger ones, it is hard to tell. hurricanes are very dynamical features and therefore it is hard to tell what will happen but we are expecting more of them, we arejust we are expecting more of them, we are just not entirely sure about the change in frequency of them. thank you forjoining us. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first the headlines on bbc news: hurricane irma has caused

widespread devastation across the caribbean, leaving at least thirteen people dead. the small island of barbuda is said to be "barely habitable", and officials warn that saint martin is almost destroyed. mps have begun their scrutiny of the government‘s main brexit bill, which aims to transfer eu laws and rules into uk legislation, ahead of a vote on monday. the crisis in myanmar goes on as tens of thousands of muslim rohingya refugees continue fleeing the country after nearly two weeks of violence. hello. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. europe‘s markets climbed and the euro jumped against the dollar after the ecb said it is keeping its armory of economic stimulus measures in place, but would revisit them in october. the european central bank has raised its eurozone economic growth forecast for this year to 2.2%, the fastest growth in ten years. ecb president mario draghi said the 19—country bloc grew faster than expected in the first half of the year. he announced this afternoon he‘s

keeping the interest rates and bond buying stimulus programme unchanged. uk houses rose at their fastest pace this year in august according to halifax. according to the halifax, a subsidiary of lloyds banking group — house prices increased 1.1% from july, the biggest one—month rise since december and building on july‘s 0.7% increase. uk insurers have won a major victory by persuading the government to change the system used to work out compensation payments to accident victims. the changes to the so—called ogden rate, will affect payments worth billions of pounds. they‘re likely to cut the amount that victims will receive in compensation payments, but could also result in lower insurance premiums for drivers. let‘s get detailed analysis with ben kumar, investment manager, seven investment management. we‘re going to start with this story about insurers, it sounds like it is about insurers, it sounds like it is a pretty good day for them. we have seen a pretty good day for them. we have seen share prices rise on that news.

is it going to leave a bad taste in the mounds of customers though?” think it will. the good news as it is not a retrospective change so anyone who has received compensation up anyone who has received compensation up the negative rate will have the reward protected, but in the future it basically assumes that if you have an accident and you get a lump sum pay—out, you will be able to invest it at a rate of around 1%. given where interest rates are, current accounts are basically at saurav, that‘s not something you can necessarily rely on so there will be a lot of customers and protection agencies saying you cannot make these assumptions. the share price is up to date but it has potential to cause some backlash. let's move on to house prices. this halifax survey says august was a good month and it is building onjuly. is it a broader trend or a blip? nationwide

do one that had a more muted response this month, it can go both ways. what we have seen in the uk is the still a lot of people waiting to buy houses. they have been waiting in some cases for nearly a decade since the financial crisis and there‘s not a lot of new supply out there. as long as people are not too worried about brexit, they will keep buying houses and the prizes will keep rising but we are looking at prices rising outside of london and the south—east of england and that seems to be happening. one thing thatis seems to be happening. one thing that is not rising is interest rates in europe. it‘s a bit strange because we are hearing about europe adopting a looser monetary policy but apparently mario draghi is open to that idea still. what does that mean for us to that idea still. what does that meanfor us in to that idea still. what does that mean for us in britain? first off, the euro will stay expensive. it has rallied again today. europe is

growing at the fastest rate it has grown since 2007. whatever happens in brexit and trade agreements in the future, europe is still our biggest trading partner and when your big brother across the channel sta rts your big brother across the channel starts doing well, britain should do well too. in reality it should be a boost for the uk economy. we will see whether this continues, whether the ecb changes its mind and mario draghi raises rates. ok, we believe it there. let‘s have a look at markets before we go. the ftse 100 markets before we go. the ftse100 endedin markets before we go. the ftse100 ended in positive territory. i will be back tomorrow with more business news. simon. it‘s been a big day for prince george this morning

was his first day at school. he was taken there by prince william. his mother, the duchess of cambridge, couldn‘t attend, as she‘s pregnant with her third child and suffering acute morning sickness. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it is a daunting day for any four—year—old, no matter who you are, and george arrived looking, well, understandably a little nervous for his first day at the new school in south london his parents have chosen for him. dad was there to take his hand and carry his schoolbag, but not mum. she had to remain at kensington palace, suffering from acute pregnancy sickness. each day at thomas‘s school in battersea starts with a handshake with the headteacher. george knew what was required, as did his father. and then it was time for those shiny new school shoes to head for the classroom to find the peg for george cambridge and to meet the 20 other four—year—olds, boys and girls, who will be in the reception class with him. for william, it may have prompted memories of the day 30 years ago when he was taken by his mother for his first day at school. back then, it was all rather more formal. a boys only school complete with a school cap.

fast forward 30 years and george‘s school offers a broad curriculum with a strong emphasis on sport and human values. it is a choice of school which represents a bit of a break with royal tradition. nothing too radical, of course, it is still private and fee—paying, but it is coeducational and the school has a strong emphasis on kindness. george will find that ‘be kind‘ is one of the guiding principles for pupils here, together with courtesy and humility. all useful qualities for a future king. nicholas witchell, bbc news, battersea. let‘s catch up with the weather forecast. hurricane irma continues to ta ke forecast. hurricane irma continues to take its path of catastrophic damage across the caribbean, next stop the turks and caicos islands which will get a direct hit from the eye of the storm. around about

midnight tonight the wind reaching 220 mph. we are going to see some further catastrophic damage across the turks and caicos islands and the bahamas beyond that. overnight a band of rain slips southwards across england and wales. we have plenty of blustery showers through the night. tomorrow a day of limited bright spells but widespread showers across much of the country accompanied by blustery winds that will make it feel rather cool at times. temperatures around 15 degrees or so across western scotland. in the south the rain could be heavy and the wind gusting as well which will add a certain chill to the air. that‘s your weather. today at five, the latest on hurricane irma and the destruction it‘s still causing across the caribbean. some islands are said to be destroyed. at least 13 people are reported dead so far. —— at least nine people are reported dead so far. britain is sending a military taskforce to help with humanitarian relief.

my whole house caved in. there was seven of us. all we had to do was pray and call for help. the firemen came to our rescue as soon as they could have come. i have to thank god for life. this is the moment irma struck st martin, cutting communications and destroying the airport. the small island of barbuda is said to be ‘barely habitable.‘ these images are from the international space station and show that hurricane irma is one of the biggest hurricanes ever recorded in the atlantic, and it is roughly