across the caribbean, with some islands bracing themselves for another powerful storm, hurricane jose. irma is now heading towards florida where the state's governor has warned that all 20 million inhabitants should be prepared to evacuate. at least 58 people have died after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck off the pacific coast of mexico. the tremor was felt hundreds of miles away in mexico city. president pena nieto said a little under half of the country's population had felt the quake. the united nations is warning of an unprecedented refugee crisis in myanmar. it now says more than a 250,000 rohingya muslims have fled the country over the last fortnight. a un spokesperson says he fears as many as 1,000 rohingya may have been killed by burmese forces. now on bbc news, it's time to look back at the week in parliament. hello and welcome to

the week in parliament. coming up: mps return to westminster after their summer break and begin debating a bill transferring eu laws into uk legislation. the brexit secretary says it's vital for an orderly brexit, but labour accuses the government of a power grab. let me be clear, this bill does only what is necessary for a smooth exit and... the combined effect of the provisions of this bill would reduce mps to spectators, as power pours into the hands of ministers and the executive. jeremy corbyn calls for an end to the pay cap for nurses — the prime minister reckons he's being profligate. poor pay means experienced staff are leaving and fewer people

are training to be nurses. as a result of the decisions taken by labour, we have to spend more on debt interest than on nhs pay. and a labour peer tries again to end hereditary by—elections in the lords. we had a by—election last year where, i'll say this slowly, as it's unbelievable, there was an electorate of three and there were seven candidates. it was no surprise that the first week back after the summer break was dominated by brexit. talks on the terms of the uk leaving the eu had continued over the summer, with both sides expressing frustration over the pace of progress. in the commons, david davis provoked laughter in the chamber on monday when he told mps that no—one had ever said the negotiations were going to be easy. while on wednesday, at prime minister's questions, a conservative mp tackled theresa may over the powers contained in the eu withdrawal bill, which mps were due to begin debating later in the week.

the bill repeals the european communities act of 1972 and also transfers eu laws into uk legislation. whilst some rules and regulations will simply transfer across, many will have to be changed so that they remain workable after brexit. however, many mps are concerned that the withdrawal bill gives ministers the ability to make sweeping use of powers, known as henry vii powers, to change legislation without full parliamentary scrutiny. could my right honourable friend assure me that she will look in particular at those amendments which seek to change the eu withdrawal bill so that it does not become an unprecedented and unnecessary government power grab? minister. i'm grateful for my right honourable friend for raising this issue and i know that, like me, she wants an orderly exit

from the european union and will be supporting this bill which enables us notjust to leave the eu but to do so in an orderly manner with a functioning statute book. as we do that, of course, we will require certain powers to make corrections to the statute book after the bill becomes law, because the negotiations are ongoing. we we'll do them via secondary legislation which will receive parliamentary scrutiny. an approach that has been endorsed by the house of lords constitution committee. well, the next day that committee released an updated report which was rather less helpful to the government, and we'll be hearing from two of its members a little later in the programme. but back to the eu withdrawal bill. when the first day of debate began on thursday, the brexit secretary sought to reassure mps about its aims. put simply, this bill is an essential step. whilst it does not take us out of the european union, that's a matter for the article 50 process, it does ensure that

on the day we leave, businesses know where they stand. workers‘ rights are held and consumers remain protected. this bill is vital to ensuring that as we leave, we do so in an orderly manner. this bill does only what is this is very for a smooth exit and to provide stability. that we are leaving is settled. how we are leaving is not. this bill encourages us to surrender all power and influence to the government and ministers. that would betray everything we were sent here to do. we have got to make sure that on the day of exit, the statute book works. the only way we can achieve it in the timescale with which we are constrained, and which are set out in article 50, is to have a flexible, pragmatic system such as the system laid out in the draft bill. if you look at the amendments put forward,

the very powerful reasons that mps from different parties have come up with for rejecting this bill at this stage. that tells us there is something seriously and fundamentally flawed in the bill and it cannot be allowed to go forward in its present form. if that gives a problem for government timetable is, tough. we do not need to legislate in this fashion to carry out the technical task of leaving the eu. i remain utterly bemused as to why the legislation has been drafted in this form. parliament also has a job to hold the ministers to account and this bill as drafted stops us doing that. it stops us standing up for democracy in this house and stops us making sure the government doesn't screw up brexit in the process as it takes through and its decisions. this bill was always going to be a sow‘s ear because the government started the negotiations without

clear objectives or outcomes. therefore the bill had to cater for any scenario, deal or no deal. the government claimed the bill will restore certainty to parliament and secure certainty post brexit. that is not the case. it transfers huge powers to ministers, not members of this house, over matters that are vital to this house. like maternity and paternity leave, holidays, environmental standards and a whole range of other issues. i think the bill could increase uncertainty, including the likelihood ofjudicial review because the powers in the bill are so broadly drawn. you can love parliament and want to jealously guard its rights and privileges, created by our predesessors,

but still show pragmatism in the national interest when the times demand it. because that is politics, that is the job we are sent to here to do. that is poetry and pragmatism. mps will conclude that debate and hold their first votes on the bill at around midnight on monday. to discuss all that i was joined a little earlier by the conservative peer and member of the lords constitution committee lord norton. ann taylor, now lady taylor, who was a labour whip during her party's turbulent time in office in the late ‘70s. she's also now chair of that constitution committee which released its latest report on the eu withdrawal bill on thursday. and pete wishart, the snp's spokesman on the constitution in the commons. i began by asking him, given that the uk was leaving the eu, how he would tackle brexit? my view is that there functionality of the repeal bill, the way it applies across the nations of the united kingdom, suggest this is not the means to deliver it. i have just come from the debate and my sense is that some of the themes of the bill are starting to be set, a sense from the back bench of

the conservative party and the front bench of the labour party and some others who have an interest, there could be progress made on all this. with respect, you haven't answered my question, what would you do differently? the key debate is going to come around the henry vii powers. to give his government all these powers when it comes to legislation. and i think if there was a means to deal with some of the big questions about this, it would probably be less unpalatable of that. even if the snp had a bill that dealt with the worst aspects of the henry viii powers, i was still be troubled. the idea from us that it is a power grab. let's pick up on this power grab. it's a real concern.

the committee described it as breathtaking in its scope and potential. doesn't the government have to this? it is not challenging the principle of the bill, if you have withdrawal, you have to get the mechanisms and right. we are focusing on what is the mechanism, and the government has introduced into the bill some provisions which we think are moving in the right direction, but there is still an awful long way to go to actually ensure the relationship between parliament and the executive is right in enabling parliament to be involved in scrutiny and approval of the measures. the way it's drawn at the moment, it is complex and it does confer on ministers exceptional powers. ann taylor, whether you like it or not, henry viii powers are perfect legitimate, they are used all the time? there has been an increase in the use of henry viii powers and we as a constitution committee have been expressing

concern about that for some time. this is on a totally different level. clause 17 more less says that government ministers can make themselves any act of parliament that parliament would normally make. so it's giving totally different powers on a totally different scale. let's put your whip‘s hat on. if you were in the government whips‘ office at the moment and you were facing no majority at all in the commons, what would you be doing? how would you be trying to keep your team onside? is not just your team, it's the whole of parliament. if you alienate parliament, you will run into more and more difficulty. what we have done on the house of lords constitution committee is try to provide mechanisms which would help parliament to deal with a situation which could end up as a crisis if we

are not careful. we have said that with the henry viii powers and the delegated legislation, every measure that the government rings forward should have a certificate saying whether it is any change to current law. and, if it is, we should have special mechanisms to give it more scrutiny than if it's just a straightforward transition. that's a very simple thing, but we have to make sure that parliament has the power and committee time to deal with this. the key thing about this is that we only have eight days and... but the government's counterargument is that this is technical. things like like maastricht were changing laws. this is changing the whole of uk law. disentangling us from an institution. pretending that you can do this in eight days, when there will be thousands of changes, is nonsense. but the clock is ticking. maastricht took many days.

we'll have eight days! it'sjust bizarre. if the government suffered defeats in the commons and lords, how serious is that? is that something that will be the end of the government? because it's not an issue of a policy, it's a principle and people have voted in a referendum. it's...the task of both houses is to improve the bill. there are two elements to it. one is to ensure that there is proper parliamentary scrutiny of the process and the other is certainty in law once it is enacted. we have to get the bill right, if the government doesn't accept it's defeated. i don't see a problem with that and the government should be looking to itself to ensure the outcome is a bill that actually achieves those objectives. i'm sure this is something we will return to. we'll see what happens on monday.

but for the moment, thank you very much for coming into the programme. and if you'd like to see a longer version of that interview it's available on our website, bbc.co.uk/parliaments. now let's go back to wednesday and prime minister's questions. jeremy corbyn used the first session since the summer break to focus on workers pay. with nurses protesting outside, he stepped up his calls for an end to the public sector pay cap. today, thousands of nursing and other health care staff are outside parliament. they are demanding that this government scrapped the i% pay cap. poor pay means experienced staff are leaving and fewer people are training to become nurses. there is already a shortage of 40,000 nurses across the uk. will the prime minister see sense and any public sector pay cap and ensure our nhs staff are properly paid? theresa may said pay guidelines

would be published later in the year but it was balance between those being paid and those paying the bill. he asks consistently for money to be spent. he can do that in opposition because he knows he doesn't have to pay for it. the problem with labour is that they do it in government as well. as a result of the decisions labour party took in government, we now have to pay more on debt interest than on nhs pay. that is the result of labour! the snp's westminster leader turned to a leaked document suggesting the government would take a much tougher line on eu immigration after brexit. does the prime minister agree with me that immigration is essential to the strength of the uk as well as enhancing our cultural and diversity fabric. as i have said many times before, immigration has been good

for the uk. but what people want to see is control of that immigration. theresa may. meanwhile, scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has outlined her programme for government — pledging to scrap the 1% cap on public sector pay rises. 0ur scotland political correspondent, glenn campbell, was watching. having lost seats in the uk general election, this was a chance for nicola sturgeon to refresh, if not we launch, the snp government. independents gotjust one mention. instead a blizzard of announcements on devolved topics. education, she said, was her top priority with school reform and more power for head teachers. 0n just she wants to do away with shortjail terms of less than one year in most cases. 0n the environment she wants to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars in scotland by 2032, eight years ahead of the uk. the first minister also proposes

to lift the 1% cap on public sector pay rises, prompting some to speculate she might be prepared to raise income tax to pay for it. she has committed to a fuller debate on that topic. in order to get anything done as leader of a minority government the first minister has been careful to choose a programme that will avoid uniting all the opposition against her. glenn campbell. now let's take a look at some other news from around westminster in brief. borisjohnson updated mps on north korea's missile tests. the country has fired a missile over japan and claims to have detonated a hydrogen bomb. borisjohnson set out the gravity of the situation and called for calm diplomacy. the house must be under no illusion that this is another advance in north korea's clear ambitions. in a country blighted by economic

failure where hundreds of thousands people died of starvation or reduced to eating grass and leaves to survive, the regime has squandered its resources on building an illegal armoury of nuclear bombs. the house will wish to join me in condemning a nuclear test that poses a grave threat to the security of every country in east asia and the wider world. the british government has promised urgent assistance to territories and commonwealth countries hit by hurricane irma. believed to be one of the most powerful storms on record, it's devastated parts of the caribbean. among the islands — hit by winds of more than 180mph — were british overseas territories and members of the commonwealth, including anguilla, montserrat and the british virgin islands. the united nations says the number of rohingya refugees crossing from myanmar — also known as burma — into bangladesh has surged in recent days. the rohingya are a stateless, mostly muslim, ethnic minority who have faced

persecution in myanmar. more than 123,000 are now said to have fled violence in the country's rakhine state. this is one of the worst outbreaks of violence in decades and the international community is effectively staying silent. peers also wanted to know what the uk government was doing to help. the minister there insisted its concerns had been made clear. we do condemn this violence and we're trying to look to ways to assist burma and to assist those who are directly affected. twelve weeks after the grenfell tower tragedy, the communities secretary sajid javid told mps thatjust two families had moved into permanent homes. of the 196 households affected, 29 more had moved into temporary accommodation. one reason for the low take—up of temporary home offices some residents do not want to move twice.

they have said it is tuesday where they are until a permanent home becomes available. i don't want to see anyone living in emergency accommodation for longer than is necessary. nor do i want to see families make snap decisions simply because i have better numbers to report at the dispatch box. the government says it has no plans to review the new law banning psychoactive substances — formerly known as "legal highs" — following the collapse of a prosecution last month. the crown prosecution service is reviewing two cases after a judge said nitrous oxide, better known as "laughing gas", was exempt from the ban, as it's used by doctors for pain—relief. it has not taken long for the courts to expose the vulnerability are part of the legislation. based with the pressing problem of psychoactive su bsta nces will the government seem reason and accept that prohibition, orthodoxy of the last century and reiterated on a crude model in the 2016th act has failed

with disastrous consequences in terms of the growth of crime, the blighting of innumerable lives were not to mention chaos in our prisons? from this month, all three and four—year—olds in england are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare a week, up from 15 hours. but labour says parents are in "limbo" because of failings in the government's scheme. this childcare has been advertised as free but it will be subsidised by carers or providers. will he now listen and commit to re—evaluating the policy's funding? as we are only six days into september, 152,829 parents have secured a place. that is 71%. now there's a row brewing over

the make up of a handful of key commons committees. public bill — or standing committees — scrutinise the detail of legislation. the government wants to have a majority on the committees in this session of parliament, even though it doesn't have a majority in the commons. the snp's pete wishart isn't happy. this government has no means to expect a majority. they do not command the majority. this is a house of minorities. that parliamentary reality and arithmetic has to be reflected into the parliamentary standing committees of this house. the make—up of those committees is due to be voted by mps next weeks now to the lords where, although most hereditary peers were kicked out of the house of lords in 1999, several dozen do remain.

vacancies in their ranks are filled by a system of by—elections held amongst peers. a bill to scrap the system was talked out by opponents last year. now its author, labour life peer lord grocott, is trying again and his bill had its second reading in the lords on friday. we had a by—election last year. i'll have to say this slowly because it's unbelievable, there was an electorate of three and there were seven candidates. i don't know of any electoral system anywhere on the planet or in history where you have twice as many candidates as they are electors. i have no doubt that 90% of peers in the house of lords would actively like to see this by—election system scrapped or at least are indifferent to its whole continuation. it was blocked last year by a handful, a very small number, of largely hereditary peers. that can't go on forever. they may think it can but you can only be canute for so long.

it would be very nice if the government said, yes, this is an indefensible system, which they know it is, and we will give you full backing. the government is always able to say we have far more important things to do, which is true. this is a two—year session. mine is a two—clause bill. it would take a day maximum if people were sensible about it. it's only a small improvement but it is an improvement in our parliamentary system and it's time you got on and did it. and lord grocott‘s bill will now move on to scrutiny by a committee of the whole house. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the political news this week. here's richard morris with our countdown. five, four, three, two, one. over the summer big ben fell silent for repair work. that has caused upset in the commons where one mp had the question. if big ben's bongs are silent, they are loved by the community

and international visitors, could we please have a debate as to why this has happened, and is it beyond the whit of man for silencers to be worn by the workers? first week back in the first defeat for the government in the lords. there was surprise in the commons on thursday after labour's and fluid revealed she had missed a vote because she was stuck in a lift. the leader of the has promised to elevate the issue. i hope she won't take it out of good humour if i say i am rather surprised the lift dared. protest descended on parliament to oppose the henry viii powers which could be used under the eu withdrawal bill. protesters claim it could amount to a ministerial power grab. in brussels, a fire alarm interrupted the chief brexit negotiator michel barnier on thursday. it is the monthly drill.

was this a sign of a swift and orderly exit? translation: i was talking about something quite important. richard morris. and that's it from me for now, but dojoin keith mcdougall on bbc parliament on monday night at 11 for a full round up of the day at westminster, including the second day of debate on that eu withdrawal bill. but for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. u nsettled

unsettled thanks to low pressure, showers from the word go in northern and western areas, dry initially with sunshine before showers migrate in here. lighter winds across the east so some in here. lighter winds across the east so some showers in here. lighter winds across the east so some showers slow—moving, heavy and thundery but blustery showers further west will rattle through quite quickly. the best of any sunshine will be central and southern parts of scotland and feeling on the cool side fall. a ridge of high pressure builds in saturday night killing of the showers ahead of this area of low pressure. 0n showers ahead of this area of low pressure. on sunday, a good—looking day for central, southern and eastern areas when the mist clears away, a chilly start but sunshine will last through the day until we start to see this area of low pressure moving in and it will eventually reach the far south—east after dark. a blustery day, outbreaks of rain, sunshine and showers moving in behind it. as you can tell, this weekend is going to be pretty unsettled, quite cool, windy at times with sunshine and showers. hello and welcome to bbc news.

hurricane irma has cut a devastating path across the caribbean, leaving death and destruction in its wake. at least 20 people are known to have died and more than a million people have been affected. the massive storm is forecast to hit the united states on saturday night. and there's another hurricane named jose coming up behind irma. 0ur correspondent laura bicker is the first foreign journalist to reach barbuda following the devastation wreaked by hurricane irma and has been speaking to residents there. the island of barbuda was once a caribbean paradise. now it is lost. hurricane irma has reduced it to rubble.