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 the size of france. in the us, evacuations have started in florida, where the storm is expected to hit over the weekend. we'll have the latest

on where the storm is heading, and we'll be talking to some of those stranded on the turks and caicos islands. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... mps start debating the landmark brexit bill, which transfers thousands of pieces of eu regulation into british 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 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. after weeks of deliberation, premier league clubs agreed to close the summer league clubs agreed to close the summer transfer window before the start of next yea r‘s football season. and — prince george starts his first day at school, with a little encouragement from his father... it's five o'clock.

our main story is that hurricane irma has caused widespread chaos across the caribbean, destroying buildings and leaving at least 9 people dead. the small island of barbuda is said to be ‘barely habitable‘, and the number of fatalities is likely to rise. irma is a category five hurricane, the highest grading, and its feared that much more damage will be caused in the coming days. the storm has now moved past puerto rico, where it affected power supplies for more than a million people. it is currently north of the dominican republic, heading towards the turks and caicos islands, and is due to reach cuba tomorrow, and florida in the south—eastern united states at the weekend. the head of the us emergency agency has said that irma will have a ‘truly devastating‘

impact if it hits southern coastal areas of the usa. here in the uk there are fears for a number of britons in the region. two british territories — anguilla and the british virgin islands — will need ‘extensive humanitarian assistance‘, according to the foreign office. a british naval relief team is heading to the area. our correspondentjon donnison has the latest. hurricane irma shows no sign of letting up. the british virgin islands the latest place to be pummelled. a tropical paradise transformed. and 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. 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. antigua and 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 will have suffered some level of damage. 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. 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. the un is now warning irma could eventually affect 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. looking at the size of the storm, it

is huge. it is wider than our entire state and could cause a major impact on both coasts, coasts to coasts. regardless of which coast you live on, prepared to evacuate. irma is far from finished and already on the horizon in this brutal hurricane season are hurricanesjose and katya. jon donnison, bbc news. they are gathering strength and heading the way of the caribbean. let‘s talk about that warning from us agencies, and where it is likely to go. for the latest on the path of hurricane irma, and where it‘s likely to head by the weekend, here‘s chris fawkes of the bbc weather centre. we‘ve been tracking this ferocious storm over the last few days, initially it made landfall across barbuda, coming onshore at about seven o‘clock yesterday morning.

barbuda is right in the middle of this second most powerful atlantic hurricane on record. the only hurricane on record. the only hurricane that has been stronger away from the pacific has been crab—maco hurricane alan in 1980. since then, it has moved across anguilla, about 95% of that island has been destroyed as well. from there, it made landfall again across there, it made landfall again across the british virgin islands, bringing a trail of devastation, winds of 220 mph and a massive storm surge, it is working north—west. the eye of the storm stays away from the north coast of puerto rico and will stay away from the north of haiti and the dominican republic too. but it is still close enough to bring in strong winds, there will be localised damage and colossal force of rain which will bring in some flooding issues. it moves north—west

into the turks and caicos islands. there is an island, prevents arleigh, which could get a direct hit from the centre of the eye of the storm, about seven o‘clock local time. there are gusts of 212 mph by the time it gets into the turks and ca icos the time it gets into the turks and caicos islands but because there are more shallow seas, the bulge in the water will be even higher, and it could reach up to 20 feet and bear in mind these islands are very low—lying. it will eventually curve towards florida, we don‘t know which coast is more likely to be hit yet. ina in a moment we hope to talk to our correspondent in cuba, what is the main threat there? torrential rain, there may be a storm surge but it will not be 23rd, they are not close enough to the eye of the storm and the hurricane‘s core, they are a little distance away but the torrential rain could cause severe

flooding and there could be damage in terms of flooding to cuba, that is probably their main risk. and we are picking up on the path, the likely path of the hurricane, and the difficult science surrounding the difficult science surrounding the precise trajectory. we heard the agencies in florida, they are clearly preparing for something very damaging. are we still looking, with some certainty, in that kind of direction? over the next few days, the hurricane is at 290 degrees, a little north of west but after a couple of days it will round the high—pressure steering it at the moment and it will be allowed to turn north. the difference in the models is how quickly that turn happens. the american model turns it really quickly and i think it may be going this way where it mainly affects the east coast of florida but other models have it going further over central or even the west coast of florida, possibly attacking from the gulf of mexico.

that‘s why authorities are saying both coasts need to be prepared to evacuate from this huge storm. chris, thank you. a lot of useful information. let me try and make contact with my colleague, will grant, our correspondent in the cuban capital of havana. what about the state of preparedness today? as we we re the state of preparedness today? as we were just hearing, it feels, from the cu ban perspective, we were just hearing, it feels, from the cuban perspective, like this might be more about the rain that hurricane irma threatens rather than the wind. and in those terms at least, people are very concerned about the concept of flash flooding. they are trying to do whatever they can to take steps to combat the idea of boarding up their homes, and getting plenty of fresh drinking water, and getting fuel for generators. havana isn‘t expected to be as badly affected as other parts of the island. on the eastern tip,

people are already being evacuated in large numbers. schools have been cancelled. huge numbers of tourists are being moved from the low—lying coastal regions, where the resorts are. it‘s a very complicated operation for the cuban authorities. well, thank you for that update. will grant with the latest in the cuban capital of havana. we have more and hurricane irma later. let‘s go over to westminster... mps have started to debate the bill which will repeal the law that made britain a part of the european economic community over a0 years ago. labour says it will vote against, because it believes the bill gives too much power to ministers. the government has decided to use a controversial method of converting into law all the rules and regulations made in brussels during britain‘s membership. but the brexit secretary david davis insisted the bill did provide certainty, continuity and a smooth and orderly exit. our political correspondent chris mason reports. brexit is about bringing powers back

to this place, westminster. it‘s now thejob of the to this place, westminster. it‘s now the job of the government to make that a reality. it is what the eu withdrawal bill is all about. secretary david davis... this lunchtime, the man responsible for turning it into law told mps that it was vital because... it does ensure 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 leave, we do s0 to ensuring that, as we leave, we do so in an orderly manner. and so begins the wrangling in parliament on delivering brexit. the planned new law plans to change everything by changing nothing, cutting and pasting vast swathes of eu law and turning it into uk law the day after brexit. it will dominate proceedings here for months to come. sir keir

starmer. .. labour here for months to come. sir keir starmer... labour say here for months to come. sir keir starmer. .. labour say that they will vote against the bill because of the power it gives the government to change the law with little scrutiny... so much for taking back control. disgraceful! there is no point the secretary of state or prime minister saying that they will ta ke prime minister saying that they will take these powers, take our assurance. . . take these powers, take our assurance... if you won't use them, they are unnecessary. if they are unnecessary, they should not be put before this house for approval today. this is a debate generating international attention. at the start of the biggest change in how we are governed for over a0 years. unprecedented, complicated, and the source of many a row still to come. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. let‘s cross to westminster, and speak to our chief political correspondent vicky young. we start off with this debate and

what you made of it, and what were the pressure points?” what you made of it, and what were the pressure points? i think he got a real sense of the complexity as to what will happen here over the next 18 months or so. it was a legalistic decals argument at times in the house of commons, but extricating britain from a0 years of laws and directives from the eu, it was never going to be simple. the argument from the government is that it needs these powers, it has thousands of laws that it needs to bring over into uk law. so, they need to have these. —— these pretty unusual powers to do that. david davis‘s speech was peppered with words like stability, order, and he is concerned that on the day that we leave there is not complete chaos and he wants people to know that there will be a legal system in place. it hasn‘t stopped labour saying that when the vote comes, that will come on monday, in a good sign for theresa may, there is not

much evidence of a growing rebellion on the conservative side. they are anxious about it and they do not like how it is being done. but, on the other hand, i‘m not sure if at this point they are willing to go against the government and vote against the government and vote against this bill. i suppose there isa against this bill. i suppose there is a point about unity, because on this other developments day, dozens of conservative mps signing a letter to the government, basically spelling out their brexit demands. not wanting any compromise, i suppose, that is how you would summarise it. what do you make of that? yes, while an people—mac are talking about the technical side as to how we will leave the eu, you have others concerned about what kind of departure it is going to be, and how we will leave and what kinds of arrangements will be in place in the end. i think there are a number of conservative mps on the league side of the referendum who have been concerned about what they have heard over the summer even from their own chancellor, philip hammond. it‘s a warning sign, telling the government

not to backslide on this. they got this letter together, due to be sent toa this letter together, due to be sent to a sunday newspaper and in it, they say the following. they are pretty suspicious of people saying that they want a transition period after 2019. the way that they put it elsewhere in the letter is to say "when we leave in 2019 we need to make sure that we are well and truly out". they think if we are in any kind of customs union we will be paying billions of pounds into the eu still, we may still have freedom of movement and then they think you do not get the rewards, and the upside that you get from doing trade deals with other countries. on both sides of the argument, theresa may is still

having to tread a fine line. vicki young with the latest from westminster there. let‘s stick with the theme of that letter written. and look at the wider issue of the debate in the commons. we will be joined now by the conservative mp who is chair of the european research group. the letter, orgainsed by the group change britan , and circulated among members of the conservative european research group , also states that remaining in the single market during a transition would be a ‘historic mistake‘. let‘s talk now to the conservative mp, suella fernandes, chair of the european research group and the labour shadow brexit minister, paul blomfield. is the a constructive thing or a bit ofa is the a constructive thing or a bit of a warning? it was initiated by a group called change britain, it was signed by mps and it supports the government‘s position on brexit, the commitment to leave the single market and the customs union, taking back control of our laws and striking trade deals around the world and, importantly, highlighting the inconsistency and betrayal in labour‘s position which is expressly to stay in the single market which isa to stay in the single market which is a real let down for the british people and what they voted for in the last year. is your boss, the

chancellor, going to be happy you signed the letter? i didn't actually signed the letter? i didn't actually sign this letter. that‘s a correction, but it is adamant in support for the government‘s position that when we leave the eu, we will be out the single market and customs agreement. the secretary of state, departing the eu, and all members of the government are clear that that is where the government is going. this letter, by brexit mps supporting brexit, that is really what is established here. you haven‘t signed it bit you circulated it? i circulated it around collea g u es it? i circulated it around colleagues and they were free to sign it, i am glad they did because it supports the government position which is robust, consistent, and it is united. contrast that with labour, we saw a complete u—turn and a betrayal of what they said, in many labour constituencies in the north, where they were pro—brexit and wanted to leave the single

market and wanted to take control of immigration but in london, they say the opposite. today, in parliament, they are saying to their party to vote against a piece of legislation which will provide certainty and predictability for businesses and millions of people in this country. that is what the withdrawal bill is all about. i put those points to pourin all about. i put those points to pour ina all about. i put those points to pour in a second, but it is interesting that you are focusing on labour, why was it necessary for you to circulate the letter if you are so to circulate the letter if you are so confident in the approach from the government, doesn‘t this reflect concern? we are all committed to supporting the government as mps, the more we can talk to our constituents about this and you write now, i‘m glad you raised this point because it gives us the opportunity to show how united we are as a party and as a government, all singing from the same hymn sheet that leaving the single market is vital if we are to stop paying into the eu budget and if we are to be extricated from the european court ofjustice. if we are to have

control over immigration and that is what the conservative party is all about today and that is the conservative party leading us through this exciting chapter brexit which i am passionate about, i am passionate but it will be a success. stay with us, i‘m sure paul has some things to say after that, not least in terms of your own approach. what did you think of the debate today and what is labour‘s start on how this process is going ahead? let me to say that suella represents a faction in the conservative party who want the most extreme brexit as soon as who want the most extreme brexit as soon as possible, no matter the cost tojobs, soon as possible, no matter the cost to jobs, livelihoods and the economy. i think that approach represented in the letter is extremely worrying, because there is a growing agreement across the party, represented over the summer months, that we need a transitional agreement, a relationship that recognises that we are not going to

be able to strike a future deal with our most important trading partner at the point we leave. therefore, we must bridge the gap and how we do thatis must bridge the gap and how we do that is with a relationship that replicates our current arrangements economically, to facilitate effective trade and protect jobs. and suella, and those who have signed the letter, say to break that up, we are not interested. we want out, we do not care for the consequences. out, we do not care for the consequences. do out, we do not care for the consequences. do labour have an a nswer to consequences. do labour have an answer to that in terms of the debate? there has been a lot of confusion about your stance on a transition period and the customs union and single market? our stance is absolutely clear. keir starmer wrote an article a couple of weeks ago now, and it represented the united position of the shadow cabinet and has the support of the parliamentary labour party, and that is that we have got to put the yukon me first and jobs first, and effective transitional period and it

means that we should be staying in the single market, it in a customs union with the eu until there is a future trade deal in place because anything else would mean a rupture and such damage to our economy that it isn'tjust a saying that, it is the institute of directors, the cbi and the voice of business. it is the common—sense approach. and the voice of business. it is the common-sense approach. and your approach, suella, is very different to isn‘t it? you are saying there should be no transition process at all? well, what do not really understand is labour‘s position. what is your position? they say they wa nt what is your position? they say they want clarity but they are voting against legislation today and on monday which will actually provide predictability so that on the day that we leave... what is your position on the transition? well, i support what the prime minister has said repeatedly. a period of

implementation is necessary, as we rise up to our new free trade agreements, as we provide a period of time for adaptation to our new arrangement, whatever that may be, with the eu and the rest of the world. a transition period for you is ok, what with that involve? as the prime minister has stated on several occasions and i think is reasonable that it needs to be strictly time—limited and so we all know when we are actually going to know when we are actually going to know that period comes to an end. that is reasonable and pragmatic and fairto that is reasonable and pragmatic and fair to the result of the referendum last year. is compatible with your colleagues, who say that that period should include access to the single market? it is clear that on the day that we leave the european union, we will be leaving the customs union and we will be leaving the single market and it is clear that has to be the case. an implementation period, strictly time—limited, where

we allow time for adaptation for new arrangements, and is entirely fair for business, jobs, and new partners around the world, so everybody knows and has that vital amount of time to adapt and make necessary changes.- you accept the description of your group isa you accept the description of your group is a faction within the conservative party? it's been a long—standing group within parliament for many years. its express mission is to support the government in delivering a back set which is successful and prosperity led for the whole country. —— brexit. it is something i am very proud of and i know that it is contributing to our discussions and our work on a daily basis. and paul, how do you see the debate progressing as the bill goes through? i would firstly say that suella 's acceptance of a interim period contradicts their letter that she is encouraging her members to

sign which completely rules out any is agriculture transitional —— transitional arrangement. that needs to be focusing on the economy, jobs and livelihoods of the british people. it's good of both of you to join us, thank you both very much. the european commission‘s brexit negotiator, michel barnier, says he‘s ‘worried‘ by the uk‘s proposals on the border between northern ireland the republic of ireland after brexit. he also accused britain of backtracking on its commitment to meeting its financial obligations to the eu. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in brussels where mr barnier has been speaking this afternoon. damian grammaticas is in brussels. some more on what is to buy a has been saying? it's interesting, listening to that debate —— michel barnier has been saying? he told us yesterday that he was aware of all of these debates going on in the uk and what he needs in the eu is clarity. he said that they need clarity. he said that they need

clarity from the uk in terms of a transition, what sort of transition do they want? and once the uk asks for that committee can see if it is legally compatible with the eu side. on the island issue, he said that because the uk has taken the initiative to leave the eu, to also state that it wants to leave the customs union in the single market, it is the responsibility of the uk to come up with innovative solutions that will fix the border problems. he said that the eu wants to be flexible but the priority, the owners, is on the uk government to put forward those. he said what he has heard so far from the uk government has worried him. here‘s what he said. what i see in the uk's paper, on ireland, it worries me. the uk wants to use ireland as a test case for the future eu uk customer relations.

this will not happen. creativity and flexibility cannot be at the expense of the integrity of the single market. michel barnier was clear on the ireland issue, where what he said there was that every year rate being demanded from the uk, there was a legal basis for it, and he said that david cameron approved the budget and the uk parliament approved the eu spending as well. and the uk, he said, had to look again at the legal challenges it was making because that, at the moment, was a big problem for the eu. there‘s not enough progress on that issue either. damian grammaticas in brussels, thank you. more on the main story, the widespread damage that hurricane irma has

caused across the caribbean. the category five hurricane is currently off the northeast coast of the dominican republic, and later today, is expected to pass the low—lying british territory of turks and caicos. doctorjohn freemanjoins doctorjohn freeman joins me doctorjohn freemanjoins me now, he is the governor of the turks and ca icos is the governor of the turks and caicos islands. it‘s good of you to join us. thank you very much. what is the latest you can give us there on the state of play? we are expecting that the hurricane would pass immediately below our territory, effectively on us given the width of the hurricane in 7.5 hours‘ time. already, the sea is very choppy, it is as if the early tentacles very choppy, it is as if the early te nta cles of very choppy, it is as if the early tentacles of hurricane irma are reaching us. can you describe the kinds of preparations you‘ve been able to undertake so far? we've done

able to undertake so far? we've done a lot of preparations. we have decided to evacuate certain islands that were particularly low—lying. that process has been completed by now. we started to fill our shelters because a number of people live in very low—lying areas and are very vulnerable. or the properties that they live in are vulnerable. we‘ve been encouraging them to move into those shelters and they are in the process of doing that. we have engaged in terms of getting people off the island, american tourists and others, to the evening yesterday, we had extra flights moving people out. we are trying to diminish numbers here, moving people to jamaica etc. these are our preparations, the command centre here, we are well backed up by london, i discussed with london this morning on various aspects. we are as well prepared a state as we can buy but in the face of hurricane irma, having seen what it has done elsewhere, we are far from complacent and people are naturally

anxious. of course, and we understand that. you mentioned you are well backed up by london and we heard from sir michael fallon earlier. what sort of help can london offer? ifi may earlier. what sort of help can london offer? if i may say so, you must remember that it is a number of our overseas territories being hit by this. montserrat isn‘t as bad as it may have been but down there, is the royal fleet auxiliary ship providing immediate help. we have to assess after landfall here how much damage is done here, and it is where we‘ve been able to do that where you can intelligently ask for help. but already, as i say, we have been engaged, i would other governors, participated in the cobra meeting earlier today. doctor freeman, stay safe, it‘s good to talk to you. thank you. doctorjohn freeman, the governor of the turks and caicos islands. let‘s go to the cabinet office in

whitehall, where the cobra committee met earlier today — what can you tell us? you may wonder why a hurricane on the other side of the world has been deemed severe enough to trigger the government‘s emergency response committee, cobra. effectively these are british passport holders, with full rights, it is ultimately the responsibility of the uk government to care for and protect them. the uk government's response has already been criticised and she has condemned what she called the uk‘s pathetic and disgraceful response. this is what the secretary of state, michael fallon, had to take in response to that criticism. we have had our ship out in the islands already, in

position, it is 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 to restore power and get of anguilla, helping to restore powerand get an of anguilla, helping to restore power and get an accurate picture for that governor of exactly what is happening. so we are helping but obviously this is a huge challenge and more help is needed and that's what we've authorised today. the government has announced that a military task group is to be sent to the area comprising army engineers and royal marines and two puma helicopters we expect will be boarding the ships within the next 2a hours. they will be joined by a helicopter carrier which is being diverted from the mediterranean and we do not expect it to be on—site for another two weeks or so. they

will bejoining the for another two weeks or so. they will be joining the supply ship which has been in the vicinity for quite some time now, which has on board a0 royal marines and engineers and a variety of humanitarian front so, a lot being done by the uk government to help what sir michael fallon describes as our people. while matthew was speaking, i‘ve just been told that the government has increased the money available for the hurricane relief effort to £32 million. this is a statement from the prime minister‘s office just a few seconds ago. the government has decided to increase the money available to £32 million. and we may well get a few words from the prime minister, theresa may, in

a few moments. we will bring that to you when we get it. it is 25 to six, just about. we will be back for some more of today‘s news, but vets have an update on the sport now with will. england‘s bowlers have given their side control on the opening day of the third and deciding test against west indies at lords. after putting themselves into bat, the tourists lost two wickets this morning to james anderson — he‘s nowjust one away from becoming the first englishman to take 500 wickets in test cricket. ben stokes completely dominated the west indies batsmen after lunch, recording career—best figures of six wickets for only 22 runs. the windies were all out for just 123. england have started their innings in the last half hour or so, and it‘s not been a great start for opener mark stoneman — who was out forjust one. a short time ago, england were 10 for 1. 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 will 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, all ready to go, that is our squad — that‘s where people 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 still might be able to lose a player going abroad but they do not want the teams to be able to trade 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. britain‘s chris froome has bounced back from losing time yesterday to extend his overall lead at the vuelta a espana. the tour de france winner looked more like his normal self as he attacked inside the final mile of stage 18 to claw back 20 seconds on his nearest rival vincenzo nibali today. he now leads the italian by more than a minute and a half. belgian sander armee finished more than ten minutes ahead to claim the first stage win of his career. things aren‘t going so well on the tour of britain for team sky. geraint thomas could only finish eighth on the individual time trial in clacton. that leaves him the highest placed briton at ninth overall, 19 seconds behind lars boom. the dutchman won the stage to take the overall lead from sky‘s elia viviani. that‘s all sport for now. much more in sportsday at 6.30. let‘s return to our top story, another devastating hurricane in the caribbean, which has left at least nine people dead. the prime minister of barbuda has said hurricane irma has left his small island "barely

habitable", as it has ripped apart homes, buildings and businesses. hurricane irma has already left a trail of devastation across the caribbean. it has hit antiga and barbuda, anguilla, the british virgin islands and puerto rico. it is currently north of the domincan republic, heading towards the turks and caicos, and later cuba and the united states. in the past few hours, florida‘s governor has issued a severe warning to his residents. the storm is slowly making its way towards the us. florida‘s governor

hasissued towards the us. florida‘s governor has issued a severe warning to his 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 orderfor 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‘re in the keys and you do not have a way out, call this number but do not wait.

the us military has been keeping close tabs on the hurricane as it approaches their mainland. ina in a second, i will be speaking to someone in a second, i will be speaking to someone with an expert view on this. major kendall dunn is a pilot with the 53rd weather reconnaissance squadron of the us airforce reserves, perhaps better known as the hurricane hunters. he‘s been flying missions through both hurricane irma and hurricane harvey. he joins us live now from keesler airforce base in mississippi. thanks forjoining us, telese a bit about your work in recent days? we made for ourflight about your work in recent days? we made for our flight out of keesler air force base down to hurricane irma so that our other crews over there could continue to fly, so basically we flew into the storm yesterday before coming back to keesler air force base. we are seeing some images now, major dunn,

and they are pretty remarkable — tell us about the experience of flying into a storm like, the kind of skills that you need to do that apart from college? i appreciate the courage part, it‘s become a job now! flying into a storm for us, when you see the wind arrow in our instruments showing 115 oxbridge means 180mph winds and we have weather instruments which go all the way to the surface and nothing has changed —180mph on the ground — thatis changed —180mph on the ground — that is phenomenal, just devastating. you really feel for these people. first you‘ve got to save yourself and then when you have a chance to reflect, you feel bad, even saying prayers for the people on the ground. it is a pretty miraculous thing to fly through that eye wa nt. miraculous thing to fly through that eye want. a mile or two through the

most intense storms you can imagine. basically you see so much water on the windscreen, you would assume you area the windscreen, you would assume you are a submarine. you just kind of cross your fingers and hope they did a greatjob on the motors. cross your fingers and hope they did a great job on the motors. we are looking at some of the time—lapse images which you and your team provided, and they convey some of the force of this — what is the kind of information that you and your tea m of information that you and your team are able to deliver to people on the ground? so, basically, this isa on the ground? so, basically, this is a basic model, we‘ve added equipment to the aircraft itself that takes readings and data, so basically we are looking for wind speeds sparkle temperatures, humidity, pressure is a big indicator of how big a storm is and how rapidly it is building. that information is then fed back to the national hurricane centre, and they are able to use it in the forecast. looking at it in a satellite photo, the image can‘t do itjustice, until

we get out there with the aircraft and feel it and basically build a relationship with it, they have no idea. they take our meteorologist, the information they give, we‘re seeing this, we are feeling this, that‘s up big amount of information to pass on. just like the governor is saying, he‘s telling people, leave, it‘s going to be is huge storm coast—to—coast. leave, it‘s going to be is huge storm coast-to-coast. in your experience of irma, how does it compare to others that you have flow—through? compare to others that you have flow-through? yes, sir, to be honest with you, i kind of didn‘t think much about it double but over 100 miles away we were getting the same force winds that we had in light a couple of days before. 100 miles out, you‘re getting the same winds, i was thinking, humbly this is going to be strong. unbelievable, there is no comparison. guys who have been in

this unit for 20 years and had only flown in one category five, so it‘s a very flown in one category five, so it‘s a very rare occurrence, flown in one category five, so it‘s a very rare occurrence, it‘s the strongest atlantic hurricane ever recorded. it at your nerves up, gets you a little excited. i played couege you a little excited. i played college football locally and it kind of feels like the butterflies before a game and after. we thank you so much forjoining us. have a good one, sir, appreciate it. major kendall dunn from the 53rd weather reconnaissance squadron. thanks to him for his time today. we were discussing the parliamentary debate earlier because of the great repeal bill, which is now starting its way through parliament. the bill... mps have been urged to back the government‘s brexit bill, which will transfer thousands of european union laws to the uk statute book. labour says it will 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. well, it began life... 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 will 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 — immigration, 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. chris morris there for us. i‘m joined from westminster by lord kerslake, the former head of the civil service between 2012 and 201a.

he‘s now a cross—bench peer. very good of you to join us — what do you make of this bill and are labour fright to think that it could lead to a power grab by ministers? well, on the face of it this bill is doing something which is clearly necessary. we do have to move european legislation into uk legislation, so and has a clear and necessary purpose. but what‘s at sta ke necessary purpose. but what‘s at stake here is a major constitutional issue about who decides when there are issues of discretion and interpretation? and there is a real concern here which is notjust an issue for labour, i think it will be a big issue for crossbenchers and indeed a number of conservatives have also spoken about this issue. how would those concerns translate do you think when the bill goes through its stages, where do you see the pressure points for the government? there will clearly be a

pressure point in terms of the vote on second reading is, many expect that to go the government‘s way, however. i think what we will see is very intense debate and discussion during the committee stage and obviously, then, on the third reading stage. that will happen, of course, in the commons, but we‘ll see a debate in the lords as well, and in the lords, you will have some very eminent hostage usual experts who will make their view very clear. if you were advising the government at this point in your formal role, what would you be saying? well, i think what i would be saying is that this is a major piece of legislation that has to be gone through, but it‘s not the only one. we‘ve just heard, there are many more to come. at its core, though, the really big issue which needs to be sorted on brexit is decisions on the key policy choices for government, in particular freedom of movement of labour against the issue of freedom of movement on trade. unless those

policy choices are addressed, we won‘t see meaningful progress on the negotiations, and that in itself will create problems. and bear in mind, we are taking the bill through at the same time as we don‘t have clarity about the terms of departure, including the implementation. can i introduce the theme of what happens with the devolved administrations? clearly thatis devolved administrations? clearly that is a very important aspect of this process. what is the potential there for a pretty serious blockage as far as the government is concerned and the opportunity for those administrations to try to make sure that they get the powers they think they should be getting? well, indeed. they believe that if there is going to be a return of powers to the united kingdom, many of them should go to the devolved administrations. and they don‘t have an absolute power to block, but they do have a considerable influence, both in westminster and beyond. so,

there has to be some settlement on this issue, there has to be some understanding of where they will play a role, how much influence they will have, during the process. they cannot and should not be ignored. because at the moment, you used the word ignored, that is precisely the word ignored, that is precisely the word that they are using? well, they are and you would expect them to say that at this point in the process. what needs to happen, if it is not happening in public it needs to happening in public it needs to happen behind the scenes between the different civil servants, to make sure they get to a point where there is an understanding of where they will have a role. if this issue is simply blocked out, it will come back. when people look at the value of parliament and its value as a scrutinising body, do you think this is the kind of legislative process that can really illustrate that the best of all? well, i think this is a point at which parliament will come into its own, both in the commons in

the debate they will have, the political debate, but also in the lords, where there will be time to look at these issues in great, drawing on the huge expertise that there is in the lords. so, yes, it isa there is in the lords. so, yes, it is a point in which parliament has a key role, but we should remember, at the moment brexit dominate parliament and will do so for the foreseeable future. but outside of westminster, in the real world, there are issues such as health, prisons and so on and i worry about the extent to which they will get the extent to which they will get the attention they need, the issues which ultimately affect people‘s lives and there is the risk that they don‘t get the attention they deserve. thanks forjoining us today. that was the former head of the civil service talking to us about the competitive is of the brexit legislation. —— the complexities.

one in five people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual have experienced a hate crime in the past year, according to research by the charity stonewall. it found more than 80% of victims chose not to report the crime to the police. our correspondent ena miller has more details. leon and steve want to be able to be themselves, but say they can‘t because they‘re gay. three weeks ago i was in a nightclub and this guy must have heard my voice, heard that i‘m camp and gay, so thought he would try to intimidate me. so, he turned around and started saying some quite homophobic slurs to me, at which point i brushed them off. i wasn‘t going to let him ruin my night at the time, which he definitely didn‘t like, because he then turned around and stamped on my hand. and from that stamp, i found out two days later, that my knuckle was broken. compared with how things were 20 years ago when i first came out, we're in a really different place today. with gay characters all around us,

and people growing up with that, the last thing i expected was for a young man to find it offensive and think that it was ok to hit me. new research carried out by stonewall suggests that hate crime is on the rise. the number of lesbian, gay and bisexual people who experienced hate crime in the past year increased by 78% on four years ago. a1% of transgender people said they had suffered an incident in the last 12 months. but 81% of people surveyed didn‘t report the offence to police. the charity is warning against complacency and has called on the public to work with the authorities to tackle the problem. it really needs police forces to step up. it needs the government to look at how they deal with hate crime. what we are asking people to do is to sign a pledge on our website that they will stand up for lgbt equality in their communities, because actually it‘s going to take individuals in every part of britain to change this. the government has said

it is already working with police and the justice system to help ensure victims have the confidence to report abuse. universities in england could face fines if they failed to justify paying their chancellors more than the prime minister‘s salary. and just time before the weather to bring you a new image of prince george today. it has been his first day at school. his mother could not attend because she is pregnant and is suffering from morning sickness. are 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‘s still private and fee—paying, but it is coeducational and the school has a strong

emphasis on kindness. george will find that to be kind is one of the guiding principles for pupils here, together with courtesy and humility. all useful qualities for a future king. and in the last few minutes, the royal family has released another image. this wasjust royal family has released another image. this was just before they left from kensington palace this morning. the couple say they are very happy to share this image. that‘s the rather charming image that was released in the past few minutes. i will be back at ten. chris is back with the weather. we will look at this brute of a storm,

hurricane irma. it has moved across the island of st martin and also anguilla, just to the north, right in the eye of this most powerful storms. since yesterday it has been language lang wishing to the north of the island of hispaniola. next on the list for eight direct hit is the turks and caicos. in particular the island of providenciales. in the next six hours they are going to get a direct hit i think from this huge storm. the storm surge for these islands could reach 20 foot. both the storm surge and the torrential rain and the incredibly strong gusts of wind will lead to catastrophic damage in the turks and caicos in the next six hours. from there, it‘s off to the bahamas before curving up

towards florida in the weekend. in the uk we have had a lot of cloud around today, particularly in the north—west of the uk, and it has been rain—bearing cloud, too. eventually it will become slow—moving across the south by the end of the night. the winds will continue to pick up in strength and it will be quite gusty overnight. the winds will stop the temperatures from going too low. it is a downward spiral weather—wise moving into the weekend. low pressure right over the top of us. persistent rain at times across the south of england. some of it will be quite heavy with some thunder. gusty winds as well. elsewhere, a rush of showers moving in across the british isles. there will probably not be a huge amount of sunshine. 18—19 a0s down the and the south—east, but feeling cool across the north—west. for the

weekend, low pressure is still firmly in charge. widespread showers are in the forecast for saturday and sunday. the winds will continue to strengthen. on sunday night we could well see the return of some autumnal gales. tonight at six — hurricane irma leaves a trail of devastation in its wake. the eastern caribbean islands were first in line for a battering — at least nine people are dead. reduced to rubble — nine out of ten buildings in barbuda have been damaged. we had cars flying over our heads, we had a0 foot containers flying left and right. my whole house caved in. there was seven of us. and all we had to do was pray and call for help. britain offers £32 million for the relief effort and is sending a military task force. also tonight... mps clash over the brexit bill,

which will transfer eu laws into british law. how likely are you to be a victim of crime? the answer might surprise you. the bbc launches a new online tool.