this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 11:00pm: driving change. the saudi king has issued a decree lifting the ban on women behind the wheel. jeremy corbyn prepares to tell supporters labour is on the cusp of snatching power, at the labour party conference tomorrow. mothers give evidence of the harm done to their children in the womb by an epilepsy drug. and on newsnight, jeremy corbyn will tell the conference that labour is ready for government. join us from brighton. good evening and welcome to bbc news. after years of campaigning, women in saudi arabia are to be given the right to drive.

it is the last country in the world to allow women to drive. the law will be changed nextjune. women's rights activists have been jailed in saudi arabia for defying the ban. the political analyst dina hamdy, who lived in saudi arabia for ten years, told me it was an historic day. this has been a long... for a long time, a thorn in the side of the kingdom. and that is why it is getting such limelight and positive coverage around the world, i think. although this wasn't the only issue on the human rights and women's writes a gender when it comes to saudi arabia, but yes, indeed, it is historic. and i believe the time is opportune and long due. but why is it happening now? several reasons, in my opinion. first, i think it

comes in the middle of a gulf crisis, an unprecedented gulf crisis, an unprecedented gulf crisis, that could have widespread, widespread effects around the region. it comes in the middle of the crisis between the uae, saudi arabia, and egypt on the one hand, and qatar on the other. saudi arabia has been a key catalyst in this crisis, and there is a need, i think, within the kingdom, there is a need to feel that there is more positive coverage of what is going on in saudi arabia, and shed some spotlight on the several reforms, actually, that have been taken by the king's sun. —— son. jeremy corbyn has confirmed that labour is planning for a possible collapse in the value of the pound and a flight of investors‘ capital if it wins the next election.

he was responding to remarks made last night by his shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, who said that labour was engaging in wargames—type scenario planning if the financial markets reacted badly to policies such as renationalisation and tax changes. mr corbyn was speaking to our political editor laura kuenssberg. this is the government in waiting, 0k? he loves them, and they love him. chanting: # 0h, jeremy corbyn! they want radical, and will follow him to get there. sometimes this week, it feels like they go to the end of the earth. but what would it take for the whole country to choose jeremy corbyn as our prime minister? would he be more radical, or less? what do you think it is that will lead you to victory? is it to be more radical, or to dig into the manifesto you put forward in june?

i think essentially our manifesto sets out the parameters of what we're trying to do, which is challenge inequality and injustice. and, for the first time in many, many decades, a political party is putting forward something that does seriously challenge levels of inequality and injustice within our society. but listen to what his closest ally thinks the consequences just might possibly be. what happens if there's such and such a reaction? what if there is a run on the pound? what happens if there is this concept of capital flight? your shadow chancellor suggested last night, however unlikely, because of the scale of the changes you might want to make, you might have to prepare for a run on the pound, you might have to prepare for the prospect of people taking money out of this country? i thinkjohn is right to look at all these scenarios, because if we're going to move into government, we need to know, that's set out in our manifesto,

and we're putting a lot more detail into that. that's what this conference is about, and that's what the policy developments are about. but also, look at all the scenarios we might face. so that's a realistic scenario, that there might be a run on the pound if you win the election? there's been a run on the pound for the past two years, actually. is that how do you see what's happened ? there's been effectively a run on the pound. he was suggesting, however unlikely, as he said, that people might want to take money out of britain if you were elected. why do you think people would do that? i hope people would recognise that we want an investment—led economy, that we are going to increase taxation to corporations and the very wealthiest, in order to invest in the education of our children, invest in improvements in our healthcare. as a potential prime minister, do you worry that that might scare business away? no.

it is notjust about big corporations. no, it's not going to scare people away. john mcdonnell also said you have to be prepared for what happens when or if they come for us. who are "they" — what do you think he meant? i think they're people thatjohn probably doesn't like. he would be your chancellor. he is your closest political ally, you've worked alongside each other for decades. look, john has... and he's sounding like you're approaching getting into government like some kind of war, where people you don't like might come and attack you. isn't wanting to lead a country about bringing people together? it is about bringing people together, but it is about change, in terms of the agenda. now well used to the photo opportunity, there is no question jeremy corbyn has changed the terms of labour's conversation. nationalisations, taking all pfi projects into public hands, a new £500 million for an nhs winter crisis, and hundreds of extra billions of borrowing, and higher taxes for the rich. but how has it changed him? this is your third conference now as leader, and a very different environment. has it changed you? i'm even busier than i've been, but i've always been a pretty busy person, in my life.

your critics inside the party are now behind you, because of the advance in the election. do you feel now you have won the argument inside the labour party? i stood for the election as leader, challenging the concepts of austerity, and economic injustice and inequality in this country. i was proud to stand, and pleased to be elected. you've won the argument in the labour party? well, the argument in the party has been about our role as a party, our role in rejuvenating our economy and our society. and do you know what? it's really exciting. exciting for him, exciting for many here. yet even senior labour figures harbour doubts. is this a powerful fad, or really the government of the future? the european medicines agency in london has been hearing evidence from mothers from several european countries whose children were harmed in the womb by an epilepsy drug called sodium valproate. it is thought that 20,000 children have been harmed in the uk alone. mothers say the risks involved need to be spelled out with much greater

clarity, as our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. pat gets up bright and early. annie is just two years old. she has autism caused by the epilepsy drug sodium valproate, her mum took when she was pregnant. it's raining. it's raining, yeah. antonia says no—one ever told her of the risks. i was heartbroken because no—one's really heard of the syndrome and, when i mention it to any health professionals, they don't actually know what it is. i have to tell them. making a difference. today, women from switzerland, belgium, france, ireland and the uk met in london to give evidence to the european medicines agency. some have campaigned for almost 20 years about the dangers of sodium valproate, and said they are relieved someone

is finally listening. my son is 30, and to say that i have been counting the minutes till today is an understatement. she spoke emotionally at the hearing. i have been mourning my children since the day they came into my life, and i am determined to not let this injustice happen to other families. these are some of the estimated tens of thousands of children harmed by sodium valproate across the world. the european watchdog wants to know if warnings about the drug are now reaching women. it carries a 10% risk of physical abnormalities, like spina bifida, and a 30%—40% risk of autism, learning disabilities and low iq for babies in the womb. what is striking is the lack of consistency even now in each country. in britain, there are written warnings on the outsides of packets. in france, in contrast, there is this unmistakable symbol,

but in ireland women say they're still being given these powerful pills in plastic bags. i represent a french victim. one of those who gave evidence today was french mother marine martin, whose two children have been harmed. i met her in paris. she is using it as a rattle? yeah. and this is the drug that has harmed her? yes, this is the drug i take during all the pregnancies. she has spearheaded a campaign securing a compensation fund from the french government, and is one of 1,200 families suing the drugs manufacturer, sanofi. you must inform the patient of the risk, and they don't inform me about that. this afternoon, sanofi told the public hearing it had acted responsibly. sanofi has always provided the most up—to—date scientific information with the approval of the health authorities. the advice for patients is not to stop taking valproate without consulting a doctor.

the european watchdog will report in december whether more needs to be done to prevent children like annie from being harmed. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. liz dawn, the actress who starred for decades as vera duckworth in coronation street, has died at the age of 77. she first appeared in the soap in 1974, but afterfalling ill ten years ago, she left the programme. herfamily said she had been the love, light and inspiration in their lives. 0ur correspondentjudith moritz looks back at her life. i'll give you "be reasonable"! to many they were coronation street — the duckworths, jack and vera. you'll hear from my solicitors, love. the perm, the gravelly voice. funny and fiery, she was a corrie fixture for more than 30 years. come on, cool it, vera. well, you'll laugh on the other side of yourface. come on, vera.

liz dawn made vera her own. but the actress, who began life in leeds as sylvia butterfield, first worked in a variety of other jobs, from cinema usherette to shoe sales girl, before getting her break as a nightclub singer. the money were good, and i'd three children, you know, under school age. and i actually really did it for money. i used to sing at weekends. are you all right? me, yeah, of course i am, i'm just trying to do something with this. it meant she was believable, an authentic character on the cobbles. liz had lived a life before coronation street, you know, singing, and obviously having children, and being a mother and being a wife. and she'd lived this life, and she brought all of that to her character, because she was just such a beautiful human being. come on. here, aren't you going to carry her over the threshold. liz dawn created one of the soap's famous female icons, vera duckworth, up there alongside hilda 0gden, ena sharpels and bet lynch. hey, you ain't met my

husband, have you, jack? as ken barlow, bill roache was her co—star for three decades. i wouldn't call her a strong woman, in that sense, but she was a very strong character, and a very loveable character, and one of the main — what do we call the classic characters of coronation street. she was definitely one of those. a legend. a legend, indeed. admiring my stone cladding, are you? well, it's certainly eye—catching. vera's personality is still writ large within the very fabric of the street, the garish blue and yellow cladding at number nine, her addition in 1989, to the horror of the neighbours, but still here as her legacy today. here, come on, say you've never loved anybody else. i've never loved anybody else, shall i go and get your slippers? as jack and vera, liz dawn and bill tarmey were a true double act. it made them a firm favourite with corrie fans, like michael adams, who blogs about the soap. the comedy scenes that she did with bill tarmey,

who played jack, they were really good. she had good comic timing, and seemed to bounce off each other. so i always remember her laugh. liz dawn's family say they are bereft. her soap colleagues say she will be forever be a true coronation street legend. let's have a quick look at some of the front pages. the i claimsjeremy corbyn will urge party activists to be on standby for a snap general election, as he addresses the labour party conference. the telegraph suggests he will announce in his speech tomorrow that companies that profit from replacing workers with robots will pay more tax. the daily mail leads with further accusations of antisemitism from delegates at the conference. while the guardian claims mr corbyn will say labour is a government in waiting, if theresa may's cabinet doesn't pull itself together. the financial times leads with calls from the french president, emmanuel macron, for a stronger, more integrated european union. tomorrow, from this stage,

jeremy corbyn will declare labour ready to form a government. tonight, newsnight has details on the efforts the party is making for its final heave into downing street and who's welcome on its benches. we will be putting this to the shadow attorney general. allegations of anti—semitism and holocaust denial real her head again. would you say that is unacceptable? i would say history is for us all to discuss. history is for all of us to discuss. we talk to len mcclusky of the unite union. the chancellor grapples with business. we asked what the london mayor's treatment of uber tells us about how