this is bbc news. i'm sophie long. the headlines at 2.00pm: theresa may hits back after moves to oust her by the former chairman of the conservative party. the prime minister makes it clear to tory rebels she intends to stay at number ten. she says she is providing calm leadership. what i think is necessary for the country now, what the country needs is calm leadership, that's exactly what i'm providing, and i'm providing that with the full support of my cabinet a father loses a claim for damages against an ivf clinic — after his ex—partner forged his signature to use frozen embryos. a fall in productivity among the british workforce — warnings it will hamper growth. and in the next hour a final farewell, the funeral of liz dawn, the actress who played vera duckworth in coronation street died

last week. some retailers stop selling baby sleep positioners after warnings from the united states they can cause deaths from suffocation. and ben stokes be won't go to the ashes in australia. he was arrested after an incident outside a nightclub last month. welcome to bbc news. theresa may has said she's providing "calm leadership" as she responded to moves to oust her by grant shapps, former chairman of the conservative party. he claims up to 30 tory mps — including five former cabinet ministers — want to force a leadership

contest that would unseat the prime minister. mrs may's allies have dismissed it as a plot that is fizzling out. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo reports from westminster. away from westminster, an attempt to clear the air. seemingly unphased by questions over her authority, a message to those who want her out. what i think is necessary for the country now, what the country needs is calm leadership. that's exactly what i'm providing and i'm providing that with the full support of my cabinet. he's been revealed as the ring leader of a plot to oust theresa may from downing street, former party chairman, grant shapps. he claims up to 30 mps, including five former cabinet ministers are in favour of telling her time is up. 0ver telling her time is up. over a period of time since the general election that went badly wrong, there are a lot of colleagues who feel we could be better served by having a leadership election sooner by having a leadership election sooner rather than later, this was to gather those people together, in order to be able to say that to her. under the party rule it is takes 48

tory mps to officially register their discontent to trigger a leadership contest. at the moment, the current group of rebels falls short. they had planned to approach the prime minister directly to express concerns but now their intentions are out in the open it is unclear if they can still mount a challenge. theresa may's critics have been spurred on by the calamitous conference speech but her cabinet colleagues are rushing to her defence. i think that the prime minister's been doing a fantasticjob. i think that the conservative party and mps, the supporters in the country and the supporters in the country and the voters are focussed on just one thing: making sure that the prime minister can be supported. she has no observe successor and her mps don't want to risk another election but she must tighten her grip on her party. this plot may fizzle out but her opponents are circling. let's speak now to the conservative

mp, nigel evans, sincing on the 1922 committee of backbench mps in our salford studio. thank you for being with us. how serious is the plot? not serious at all. it is irritating, frankly. it started off asa irritating, frankly. it started off as a pathetic attempt. i see it as a tantrum, rather than a coup. it started off below the 30 numbers. it could be ten. we don't know how many he has got. we know it is not 48 thatis he has got. we know it is not 48 that is needed to trigger a leadership election. no we don't wa nt leadership election. no we don't wantan leadership election. no we don't want an early leadership election or general election. we have heard theresa may saying she is providing the calm leadership, which she is, grant must calm down. theresa may had the legendary conference cold, when you get a cold, you take strepsils, no a revolver. it is

overreaction about grant shapps. the general election, was a disaster but she still got 43% of the vote, doing better than david cameron did two yea rs better than david cameron did two years earlier, getting rid of some key people that let her down badly during the campaign, that was an opportunity for him to speak up but he didn't. this sniping from the sidelines is providing ammunition forjeremy corbyn and we have to remember that theresa may and david davis are going into the difficult brexit negotiations and we hear from brussels that they used the discontent within the party, the differences of opinion as a reason perhaps for stalling the discussions 01’ perhaps for stalling the discussions or making it more difficult, so he is just helping that. he had or making it more difficult, so he isjust helping that. he had his best chance at this now, he complained during the party conference about the party chairman, and then he switched to the prime minister, well, he has had his go, the bandwagon he has been trying to push over the prime minister is now rolling over him.

the problem is that grant shapps is not the only person questioning theresa may's leadership. questions have been ongoing since the election, months, they are not helping any of the things you mentioned. grant is not helping the conservative party or the prime minister or the leadership or the country. is her leadership helping? yes it is. i see the prime minister performing at the dispatch box every wednesday and she is amazing and knocks spots offjeremy corbyn. she's a great performer. she got well over 13 million votes at the general election. she is providing what 17.5 general election. she is providing what17.5 million voted for during the referendum and indeed grant shapps‘ constituency voted to leave the european union. so he must get behind the prime minister in order she can deliver for his constituents. in all of the papers there have been questions over her leadership and authority. how should she restore that authority? the opportunity was missed at the party confence, how

should she do it now? she needs to carry on. she has the cabinet coming out, 100% behind her. when parliament is back to westminster on monday, we will have the opportunity to rally around her at westminster. grant has to ensure he properly calms down. he has had the opportunity to phone around people to see how many discontented he can get. i understand why he is feeling disappointed. his greatness is overlooked by the prime minister but be fair, the vast majority of the parliamentary party of 318 are not in the government. when we are not in the government. when we are not in the government, we get behind it. the choice is not between theresa may and another fictitious figure that grant forgets to tell us who it is. when he was asked would he like to be the prime minister, he said "yes". well, grant, you will not be the prime minister. we have theresa may, we have somebody that we all

endorse as a person who as one, as i say for 13.5 million votes at the general election voted for. get behind her. frankly, the time has come to shut up. you touched on it, is it not the problem he doesn't have an idea as to who should be in there instead, is that the problem snow no it is not just the only is that the problem snow no it is notjust the only problem. theresa may announced she has the support of 100% of the cabinet. so who is grant speaking on behalf of? some people? we understand people are bitter but the fact is he doesn't speak on behalf of any who he sees as potential candidates in the cabinet. they support theresa may, so do i, now is the time, grant, to just shut up now is the time, grant, to just shut up and get behind her! nigel evans, good to talk with you. thank you very much. a father has lost his high court case against an ivf clinic— after his ex—partner

forged his signature to use frozen embryos. the man claimed that after they broke up, she tricked doctors into impregnating her with a frozen egg fertilised by his sperm — resulting in the birth of a daughter. our medical correspondent fergus walsh is at the royal courts ofjustice in central london. in this case the couple had one child through ivf. when the relationship broke up, thejudge said that the woman resorted to desperate and dishonest means to get the remaining embryos defrosted and informed her ex—partner via a text message she was three months pregnant. the father told the bbc, this had a profound impact on his relationship with their six—year—old daughter. it's a very, very difficult situation for me. a beautiful child, a child that eve ryo ne a beautiful child, a child that everyone would want, a child that i love but a child that has brought us so much pain. so in many instances, i don't want to touch my child but i love my child. and that then fills me conversely

with this deep, profound levels of guilt because i can't reconcile the fa ct guilt because i can't reconcile the fact that i don't want the child, the child is not responsible to its being... but i... i can't square that circle, that's very, very difficult. now, the father had been seeking more than £1 million in damages to pay for things like his daughter's private education, for a gap year, even for decorating her bedroom and a generous wedding. now this claim was dismissed, although the clinic had been, sorry, had breached contract, it had not been negligent. ivf hammersmith said it had tightened its procedures. we are pleased that the judge ruled in ourfavour, in that we are pleased that the judge ruled in our favour, in that we were not negligent. it is a matter of law, if she forced his signature, we didn't

have his written consent. but moving forward with the clinic, we should a lwa ys forward with the clinic, we should always talk with both parties. this will never happen again. thejudge said that will never happen again. the judge said that the judgment for the father should be seen as a com plete the father should be seen as a complete personal, and moral vindication of his position. fergu walsh reporting from outside of the high court. new figures out today show productivity in the british labour force has fallen in the second quarter of the year. the office for national statistics says productivity, the amount each worker produces per hour, is lagging behind the uk's international competitors. and there's a warning from some business leaders that it's a continuing barrier to growth. manufacturing saw a fall in productivitity, declining 1.3%. these are disappointing figures? the

productivity in the last decade and the post crisis period are disappointing. manufacturing had a tough quarter. productivity fell sharply in the three months tojune. although, it's been a volatile trend across the industry over two years, reflecting some of the volatility and the economic conditions that the sector has faced. so a lot of ups and downs in terms of output. especially in key sectors, important in productivitity terms, like auto motoring and aerospace for example. give us an idea of what is behind it? if we knew, we would pull the levers to fix it. looking at the economy as a whole, there are a number of areas that we know contribute to the gap that we see in the uk with some of our developed world competitors. we don't invest enough. we are lagging in the terms of the level of invasion across the economy and key business

environments factors, the increased production with fewer input, so thinking of infrastructure, notjust physical, like roads and airport but digital. all of that feeds into a picture that is pretty difficult and disappointing for the economy as a whole. why aren't france and germany experiencing the same problems, they are doing better? are they? we see a gap between the uk and the g7 competitor but we have not seen the gap getting bigger over the last couple of years. the weakness in the uk relative to france, germany, the us in particular is a long standing one. some of the weakness in the productivity growth is not a british phenomena. many other economies are experiencing something similar, which is why the gap is not budging. how much of a burden is it for businesses who are desperate to grow? it is a challenge notjust for

businesses but policy makers. if we don't address the productivity short fall and move the needle on it creates difficulties in terms of pay rises, improving standards of living and putting pressure on the public finances. we are not doing enough for sustainable growth over the long—term. businesses clearly need confidence and more action from government and looking to the forthcoming budget, to boost investment and invasion. that could help to get things moving but that's not going to happen in the next couple of quarters. we have to look at the next few years. there have been call force the chancellor to do something about it, what should he be doing? there is not one thing that should be done. 0ne not one thing that should be done. one of the most important things we have to see around the budget time isa have to see around the budget time is a clear and ambitious industrial strategy coming from the government. that starts to lay the framework for

action across all parts of government to address the growth and the productivity challenges, specifically to the chancellor, i think this is about deploying resources to get invasion and business investment moving. that is another area where there has been disappointment when we see the numbers coming through on investment growth. thank you very much. several uk retailers have stopped selling baby sleep positioners, also known as baby nests, because of concerns about their safety. a us health regulator said they could cause suffocation and have been linked to 12 infant deaths in america. the products are aimed at babies under six months old and are designed to keep them in the same position while they sleep. adina campbell reports. known as baby nests or baby pods, these sleep positioners have become increasingly popular with parents worldwide. but now there are safety fears, described as dangerous by the us health regulator, the fda. it's now advising parents not

to use them, claiming they can cause suffocation, resulting in death. babies are safest lying on firm flat surfaces. they can and do move but they don't necessarily have as good control of their bodies at young ages as adults so they can easily get into trouble and not be able to get out of that again. the move has caused some of the uk's biggest retailers to also take action. tesco, which sells baby nests on its website, has now made them unavailable. john lewis says it's now withdrawing the one it sells as a precautionary measure. mothercare has told us it's doing the same. ebay has also announced it will no longer be selling them on its websites. the sleep positioners have high sides, designed to keep babies under significance months secure. six months secure.

but parents are divided about them. they are just perfect. because they can't move. you can close it here. it keeps them warm. i like it, my sister likes it. i notice if you know how to position the bar at the bottom where the legs are supposed to be supported, otherwise the baby hunches and you can see it could obstruct breathing. this isn't the first time a warning has been given about these baby nests. in 2010, the fda advised people not to buy them following reports of 12 infant deaths linked to the products. it and the nhs recommends that babies sleep in cots, considered to be the safest place. the headlines on bbc news. theresa may makes it clear to tory rebels she intends to stay at number ten despite claims of a plot to oust her, saying she's providing "calm leadership".

a father loses a claim for damages against an ivf clinic — after his ex—partner forged his signature to use frozen embryos. and there's been a fall in productivity among the british workforce for the second consecutive quarter, with warnings it will hamper growth. in sport, ben stokes will not travel to australia with the rest of the england squad at the end of the month. the ecb said a final decision in his involvement in the ashes tour has yet to be made. and the commonwealth games, the games federation extended the dead line, describing the bid as not fulling compliant. and there is an increasing political risk, describing qatar as a high risk, describing qatar as a high risk project. i'll be back with more on those

stories at 2.30pm. this years nobel peace prize has been awarded to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons — ican. the norwegian nobel committee praised the organisation's effort to achieve a ban on nuclear weapons. ican said the award sent a message to president trump and to north korea that having nuclear weapons and threatening to use them was illegal. it comes as president trump is planning to abandon the nuclear deal with iran, according to reports in washington. if he does, it could pave to way for congress to re—impose economic sanctions on iran. mr trump claims the iranians haven't lived up to the spirit of the agreement, as our correspondent richard galpin reports. after long painstaking negotiations, world leaders were finally able to announce injuly 2015 that a deal to curb iran's nuclear programme had been agreed with the iranian government. this historic agreement halting the growing crisis over suspicions that iran

was building nuclear weapons. but right from his election campaign last year, donald trump has made clear he is totally opposed to what was one of the biggest achievements of the 0bama administration. he negotiated a disastrous deal with iran and then we watched them ignore its terms even before the i think was dry. iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, cannot be allowed. remember that. cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. and last night at a meeting with military commanders, the president spoke even more forcefully. signalling he is preparing to pull out of the iranian nuclear deal. we must put an end to iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. they have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement. under the agreement,

iran's nuclear facilities, like this one, have to drastically cut stockpiles of nuclear material. they also have to remove many of the centrifuges used. inspections of the sites by international experts have found that iran has met these demands. and donald trump's own defence secretary agrees with this assessment that the iranians have not so far broken the agreement. i believe at this point in time absent indications to the contrary, it is something the president should consider staying with. despite this, us media is reporting that mr trump may make an announcement next week. if he does take steps to abandon the deal it will be up to congress to decide what to do next. in particular, whether to reimpose harsh sanctions on iran with all the consequences that could have. the sale of almost all ivory,

including "antique" items, would be banned under plans set out by the government to help end elephant poaching. the environment secretary michael gove has announced a three month public consultation on the proposals. trade in musical instruments and some cultural objects would still be allowed. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. a bonfire of tusks, taken from 6000 elephants, slaughtered in kenya for their ivory. their number has declined by almost a third this decade and almost 20,000 are killed each year. the government says they want to ban ivory sales in the uk

and has launched a 12 week consultation on its plan. thousands of elephants are being killed every year simply to fuel the illegal ivory trade, we have two act, i'm announcing consultation on a total ban for every product, to ensure that we stamp out this evil trade and make sure that one of the most iconic and beautiful animals in the world is there for the next generation. chiswick auctions sells ivory objects more than 100 years old. the current rules allow the trading object created before 1947, such as these 18th—century miniature portraits of these figures. under new proposals, their sale would be banned, that is something the antiques industry thinks is unfair. if you criminalise something, this underground market may appear, a black market, and you cannot control that. will it stop the trade at large of illegal ivory and current poaching? i don't see it. these objects are not inexpensive, they are being sold as antique artworks, they are paid for, if dilley, as objects of that type. as objects of that type. the new proposals will still allow the sale works of art, objects of cultural or historic value.

there is some concerns that such exemptions could become loopholes for the antiques industry but overall, conservation groups are pleased. we want to see this in place within a year, so that when the conference is hosted next year, they can demonstrate they are a global leader in tackling the trade. britain willjoin the us and china, if it bans ivory trade, who have made recent moves, which could save elephants from extinction in parts of africa. cricketer ben stokes will not travel to australia with the rest of the ashes squad at the end of the month. he is under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm last month. 0ur sports correspondent joe wilsonjoins me now. joe, tell us more about the ecb announcement today?” joe, tell us more about the ecb announcement today? i guess that they are keeping options open. they are not saying he won't go to the

ashes at all but he won't travel with the rest of the team later this month. we expected that. to a certain extent, this is out of the ecb's hands. they have their internal investigation but of course there is a criminal investigation ongoing. it is seen for a long time, in an ethical sense, in a practical senseit in an ethical sense, in a practical sense it is impossible for ben stokes to go to the ashes with this hanging over him. they also announced that ben stokes has had his contract renewed, so he is still aan his contract renewed, so he is still a an england player. dominique strauss—kahn is trying to bring clarity to the situation but what they have done is named steve finn, they have done is named steve finn, the fast bowler in the ashes squad, he was not initially, there, so they have named a replacement, even though ben stokes is still in the

squad, they have not suspended him yet, even though they have said that ben stokes and alex hales are still in the team. there has been an outcry about this? yes. many people asking why ben stokes was out on a night out until 2.00am in the morning when on tour. there have been talks about disciplinary proceedings, into the behaviour of the one day international squad, playing a series of matches at the time. three players have been fined and warned for unprofessional conduct is what the ecb are saying. they relates to the ecb are saying. they relates to the behaviour of that squad at that time. so when you look at this, is this damaging to their chances? well, a lot of people would say that ben stokes is not only england's best player but one of the best players

in the world. but other matters have to come into play, the image of the team, and above all else, the criminal proceedings that are ongoing against him. thank you very much. the funeral of liz dawn, coronation street's vera duckworth for 34 years, is being held today at salford cathedral. liz dawn died last week at the age of 77. simonjones is in salford for us. simon, a finalfarewell simon, a final farewell to a woman loved by millions. loved by millions, watched by millions on television in that iconic role at vera comeback worth. now the funeral procession arrived here at the cathedral before 2.00pm this afternoon afternoon. 0n here at the cathedral before 2.00pm this afternoon afternoon. on top of the coppin flowers spelled out the word the coppin flowers spelled out the wor ' the coppin flowers spelled out the word "mum" she leaves behind four children and her husband who, was very, very upset when he arrived,

ayou might imagine. also taking part in the service are many members of the coronation street cast, past and present, who wanted to come and pay their last respects. also notable we re their last respects. also notable were the numbers of the members of public. i spoke to a woman, in tears as the funeral procession arrived. she said she wanted to say goodbye. she said she wanted to say goodbye. she had been watching coronation street for as long as she could remember. as a result of that, she felt she knew the character of vera duck worth. that is why it was so appreciated by millions of people. she played the role for 34 years. she played the role for 34 years. she was in the homes of millions of people night after night. people felt that they actually new the character, the character of vera duckworth and the battles with her on—screen husband, jack. at times people wondered why they stayed

together, they were all arguing but deep down there was the realisation that they could not live without each other. that is why it was such an iconic character. the cast saying that they feel the loss that she created this character it was impossible to imagine the street without her. there is very much a sense of sadness. but also there will be a celebration of the life here, of a woman who meant so much to so many people. simon. thank you very much. we are back with simon a little later with that. now it is time to take a look at the weather with ben rich. good afternoon. the sunshine holding on for the central and the eastern areas. in the west the cloud is rolling in. the skies to turn mickey and cloudy. thicker cloud in northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland with rain coming in in the

afternoon. the evening and the wet weather singing south and east. some heavier bursts in the hills in the west. windy conditions but not so windy as it was in the middle of the week. the temperatures up to 11 celsius. a mild start tomorrow. cloudy with outbreaks of rain. some areas seeing brightness in the central and southern england. south wales, eastern scotland and north—east england. but elsewhere, showery rain and highs of 13 to 17 sells yours. sunday, quietera little brighter but still with a lot of cloud. arc

this is bbc news, our latest headlines. theresa may has responded to calls for a leadership contest by saying she has the full support of her cabinet and is providing calm leadership. the fact is he doesn't speak on

behalf of any who he sees as potential candidates in the cabinet. they support theresa may, now is the time grant to shut up and get behind her. a father who sued an ivf clinic claiming his ex—partner forged his signature and had a child without his consent has lost his legal case at the high court. and there's been a fall in productivity among the british workforce for the second consecutive quarter, with warnings it will hamper growth. a us health regulator says baby sleep positioners are not safe, because they can cause suffocation, some, but not all, uk shops have stopped selling them. now the sports news. ben stokes will not travel to australia with the rest of the ashes squad at the end of the month. the ecb says a final decision is yet to be made on whether he will be involved in the series at all, but if he is, he will

join at a later stage. stokes is under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm last month. but he is among the eight test players awarded contract by the ecb today. steven finn has been added to the ashes squad. he will stay in australia for the full five match series. an internal investigation began during the recent one—day international series against the west indies. there is "an increasing political risk that qatar may not host the world cup in 2022", according to a confidential report obtained by the bbc. the study looks at the impact of the current diplomatic crisis between qatar and its neighbours — the authors claim that tournament insiders and regional experts have told them it is far from certain doha will actually host the tournament. however, the qatar 2022 delivery committee say there is absolutely no risk to the project. there's been a worrying development

in birmingham's bid to host the commonwealth games in 2022. the games federation said the bid not fully compliant birmingham was the only city to put forward a proposal by last saturday's deadline but that's now been extended to the end of november. commonwealth games england said they we re commonwealth games england said they were always aware there would be hurdles to clear before they were formally awarded the event. they say they are seeking clarification and there will be talks with the federation over the next few weeks. i think they are annoyed and surprised over how this has been handled. but i think realistically the games will end up going to birmingham in 2022 for the first time. simply because even though this has happened today and the deadline has been extended until the end of november, it's not certain that any other cities will bid, and if they do, they won't be able to

match birmingham's. double 0lympic silver medallist jazz carlin is taking up 10k marathon swimming in a bid to become the first woman in history to win medals both in the pool and open water at the same games in tokyo 2020. carlin was second in the 400m and 800m freestyle at rio 2016 but struggled to find a direction after the games and withdrew from this summer's world championships. she says open water swimming has 'revitalised' her love for the sport. she hopes to compete in the olympics in tokyo 2020. formula 1 is injapan this weekend, and after sebastian vettel went fastest in first practice, p2 was practically washed out by torrential rain. and many drivers struggled with the conditions — estaban 0con, going off the track. 0nly five timed laps were completed, lewis hamilton going quickest, but the pace well off in the rain. can newton has apologised for a sexist comment he made to a female reporter. he said it was funny to be

asked technical questions by a woman. he says he regrets his remarks. what i did was extremely unacceptable. i'm a father to two beautiful daughters, and at that age i tried to instil in them that they can do and be anything that they wa nt to can do and be anything that they want to be. the fact that during this whole process i've already lost sponsors and countless fans, i realise that the joke is on me. that's all the sport for now. and i'll have more for you in the next hour. theresa may has said she is providing calm leadership and has the full support of her cabinet. it comes after a morning of intense speculation over her future following a former party chairman emerging as the ringleader of a backbench move to get the prime—minister to step down. grant shapps says up to 30 tory backbenchers want a leadership election, including five former cabinet ministers. we think theresa may is a very

decent person who took the gamble of the election which didn't pay off. we've not been able to relaunch since them. there have been mps who feel it would be right to have a change. they are trying to privately and ina change. they are trying to privately and in a way that wouldn't be embarrassing to had to be able to go and have that conversation and say that since she said to us she got us into the mat ads —— she got us into the mess, that we would be able to have a conversation and say we think it would be better to have a leadership election at this time. 0ther cabinet colleagues jumped in to defend the prime—minister. the home secretary amber rudd was one, writing in the telegraph that "the pm should stay". and the environment secretary michael gove also said he backed mrs may. i think the prime minister has been doing a fantasticjob this week, and she has the support of conservative mps and voters, who are focused on just one thing, making sure the prime minister is supported as she ensures that we spend more money

on the national health service and fix the broken housing and energy markets, and as she leads the campaign, of which i am a part, to ensure that we deal with the illegal wildlife trade devastating parts of the world where some of the most iconic and beautiful animals live. it was just before lunchtime that the prime minister spoke to reporters from her constituency in maidenhead, where she addressed that plot to challenge her leadership. i have had a cold all this week, but i'm here at this fantastic fundraising event to support raising money for families going through real hardship. what the country needs is calm leadership and that is what i'm providing. i will also be

introducing a draft bill to cap energy prices which will stop ordinary working families from being ripped off. do you have a message for those people in your party who don't agree? what i think is necessary for the country now and what the country needs is calm leadership, that is exactly what i'm providing, and i'm providing that with the full support of my cabinet. thank you. a pharmacist who claimed islamic state were "not bad people" and showed a beheading video to children has been sentenced to six years in prison. 0ur correspondent, jeremy ball has been following the case at nottingham crown court. strong words from the judge. he said that he committed the most shocking crime, eight crime that has damaged to children and caused offence to the vast majority of law—abiding muslims. he said he tried to turn a

young child into a terrorist by showing him dreadful beheading videos to radicalise. he said he hadn't shown any remorse. the winner of this year's nobel peace prize is the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. the norwegian nobel committee praised the organisation's effort to achieve a ban on nuclear weapons. it's called on nuclear—armed states to start negotiations to gradually eliminate their stockpiles. the norwegian nobel committee has decided to award the nobel peace prize for 2017 to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. the organisation is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, and for its ground—breaking efforts to achieve a treaty —based prohibition on such weapons. we live in a world where the risk

of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time. some states are modernising their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons as exemplified by north korea. so what is ican? the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons — or ican — is a nuclear disarmament group. founded in vienna in 2007, it is comprised of more than 300 non—government organisations, or ngos. it was a key player in the historic nuclear weapons ban treaty, signed by 122 countries injuly. the head of ican says she hopes the prize helps send a clear warning to countries with nuclear weapons.

it is hugely important is that we raise awareness of this issue. the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons declared that kind of behaviour illegal. so the the prize sends a very strong signal that this is unacceptable, you have to stop and join the majority of states in the world who have concluded that this is unacceptable and illegal. with me is our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. tell me more about this organisation. in a way that is part of the point. about every ten years they pick out nuclear campaigners for this kind of accolade. so they've picked one that most people will never have heard of. they have

only been around for ten years. but they were behind this move to get this treaty signed in the summer. 122 countries have already signed it. crucially none of them on nuclear powers. i think that highlights the fundamental problem which is that the possession of nuclear weapons has become something so crucial in geopolitical terms, in terms of international status, position on the un security council, that it's not going to happen tomorrow that countries with nuclear weapons are suddenly going to get rid of them. for the nobel committee, they look around the world today, they say look, it's about as dangerous as it's been for quite a long time. you only have to look at the last few months of north korea's tests, you have to bear in mind the talk from donald trump about possibly walking away from the iran nuclear deal, to realise there are real dangers and perhaps in this

current environment it's not a bad time to once again highlight the issue. how important is the timing? with everything that's been rumbling on. the bookies favourite today was the architects of the iran nuclear deal. the eu foreign policy chief, and the iranian foreign minister in particular. that would have been an incredibly pointed gesture by the nobel committee. that would have felt like a rebuffed a donald trump. in the press conference today journalists were asking the nobel committee was this a message to any particular countries and donald trump was mentioned. in a more general sense, while not being a specific slap in the face, it is very much a specific slap in the face, it is very much a message specific slap in the face, it is very much a message to those who are at the centre of the current nuclear rows, and donald trump is clearly one of those, and then a statement from ican to date, where they talked

about fiery rhetoric being part of the problem. i think we know what that refers to, donald trump's fire and fury remark. the timing is crucial. it is about every ten years that we see nuclear campaigners coming up but some people would say this was as good a year as any to have that particular focus. went to. —— thank you. the catalan leader carles puigdemont has asked to address the region's parliament on tuesday — a day later than planned — where he may declare independence from spain. it comes as senior spanish police officers issued an anonymous letter of apology for the police violence during the banned referendum last sunday. 0ur correspondent gavin lee reports from barcelona. another day, another development in the crisis. swiss authorities confirmed they have contacted the spanish government, offering to help as negotiator. but there seems little chance of that, spain's prime minister refusing any dialogue, he is clear that separatist parties have broken the constitution,

unless plans to break off are cancelled. across the spectrum of left and right wing newspapers, in spain or catalonia, headlines are the same, banks leaving, other companies threatening to do the same, a countdown to crisis. in three days' time, the catalan government is set for separation, and there is desperate planning for what happens next. 0ne catalan workers union is calling for people to take to the streets and close businesses next week. on tuesday next week, after the declaration, we are calling for a general strike for five days. from tuesday. because we saw last week, the violent police crackdown accosting the rights of the workers. we are standing up for the rights of the workers in the country. today, a group of senior spanish

police officers wrote an anonymous open letter of apology for the police violence during the banned referendum. they said that they were ashamed and that it was a difficult event. given the public backlash, police say they are worried about the days ahead and intimidated from working on the street. translation: i do not see civil war, somebody who declares independence does not want to be part of spain, that could cause confrontation on the streets. the divide has even spilled over into sport, it has affected the spanish football team playing in alicante tonight, just days after gerard pique was booed in training for supporting the rights of catalans to vote for their future. carles puigdemont has requested to appear before catalan parliament

to make an announcement on tuesday, suggesting there is a chance that any declaration on independence could be delayed by 24 hours. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news. theresa may makes it clear to tory rebels she intends to stay at number 10 despite claims of a plot to oust her, saying she's providing "calm leadership". a father loses a claim for damages against an ivf clinic — after his ex—partner forged his signature to use frozen embryos. and there's been a fall in productivity among the british workforce for the second consecutive quarter, with warnings it will hamper growth. the productivity of uk workers has fallen for the second quarter in a row. hourly output fell 0.1% in the april—june period,

the office for national statistics said. this follows a 0.5% decline in the first three months of the year. productivity has failed to grow consistently since the financial crisis. raising concerns for businesses and policymakers. the telecoms regulator 0fcom has announced plans to strengthen the hand of broadband customers. promising to improve speed, and strengthening the right of customers to end contracts if speeds fall below a minimum level, and to increase the number of customers who benefit from these rules. by expanding them across all broadband technologies. ryanair chief executive michael 0'leary has written to the airline's pilots to offer them better pay and conditions. the improved conditions came after the airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights in recent weeks. in a letter to pilots, mr 0'leary also apologised for changes that caused disruptions to their rotas and urges them not to leave the airline. economic effects of the hurricanes

that hit the united states are starting to be felt. employment in the us has fallen 30 3000. —— 30 3000. leisure and hospitality other sectors worst hit. the question is what effect will be repair work on places like houston and florida have? joining us now from wall street is our business correspondent michelle fleury. can you take us through the numbers, they aren't all negative, are they? no, ithink they aren't all negative, are they? no, i think the headline number caught many people by surprise. it broke this stream of private employment gains. going back to 2010. that was the bad topline news. many people are discounting this

saying it's a temporary effect. if you look at the numbers, 105,000 was restau ra nt you look at the numbers, 105,000 was restaurant and bar workers are unable to go into work because of the weather disruptions we saw in late august in texas, and florida with hurricane irma. going forward the assumption is that will be temporary. i think we'll see efforts starting to have a positive effect so people aren't too worried. the thing economist will be focusing on is the fact we are starting to see signs that wages are beginning to go up. an increase in average earnings, that really is pretty powerful when it comes to people thinking about high interest rates, inflation and things like that. you've got to assume the calculation will compel the federal reserve to raise interest rates this year. there had

been speculation over the summer that with this cause them to pause. now, after seeing this stronger than expected wage growth, i think people are beginning to assume that they will move. they are talking about this improving labour picture but have been worried about the fact there hasn't been enough signs of inflation. now you are beginning to see wages picking up, something that had been missing for so long, that might give the fed enough ammunition to feel confident moving forward. thank you. some bad news for uk productivity levels — as they "continued to lag behind our international partners" last year. these words from the office for national statistics. 0utput per hour worked in the uk was 15.1% below the average when compared with the rest of the g7 advanced economies. and looking at individual g7 members, the uk's output per hour

was 25.6% below that of germany, it was 22.3% lower than france, 21.8% behind the us and 9% lower than italy. earlier we spoke to kallum pickering from berenberg bank. remember we have to be very careful and remember what we are measuring. its output per hour. if output goes up, and labourgoes its output per hour. if output goes up, and labour goes up, that may not change. what we seen in the uk are extremely strong gains in employment and firms being a bit more cautious than before when investing, certainly since the financial crisis. to compare britain with italy or france which has much higher unemployment than we do, it's not really comparing like—for—like. we wa nt not really comparing like—for—like. we want to aim for germany which has high employment and higher productivity, but uk isn't doing so

badly as the statistics would suggest. eu leaders are meeting the indian prime minister in delhi in a bid to try to revive stalled trade talks. negotiations started a decade ago, but despite 13 summits, talks remain stuck at a standstill. the eu is india's biggest trading partner, with trade in goods between them worth more than $90 billion a year. the barcelona—based bank, sabadell, said it will move its legal base out of catalonia following threats by the region's leaders to declare independence. spain's fifth—biggest bank said it would start the process on friday to move its legal domicile to alicante. its headquarters and employees will remain in barcelona. another dent on the reputation of the japanese car industry. nissan is recalling all 1.2 million cars it sold in its home market over the past three years. the country's transport ministry has found cars were being signed off for delivery without being checked by qualified technicians.

shares of netflix have risen after it announced its raising prices in the uk and us for the first time in two years. the streaming video service will also increase subscription charges in some european countries. the rise affects both standard and premium subscription packages. the increases apply immediately for new customers, while existing users will be notified of the change 30 days in advance. now the markets briefly. we've had figured out from easyjet, they are pretty good and saying their full—year figures will be at their full—year figures will be at the top end of expectations. the reason they are down its just talking about the downward pressure on fares right across the industry at the moment, and that is why the shares are down. there is a feeling that the figures this year are not

going to be too bad. they may be able to pick up some business from ryanair because able to pick up some business from rya nair because of able to pick up some business from ryanair because of the bad publicity around my neck, a bit of business coming from monarch. but generally a downward pressure on fares they think will eat away at their profit margins. not a great amount of movements on the ftse, the dow opening fairly level. time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. it has been a changeable week of weather. today offering some beautiful autumn sunshine in many places. that was a scene in bradford earlier on. we are between weather systems. the system that brought wet and windy weather earlier in the week has swung off into the continent. this system is moving in from the atlantic. in between we have a slice of sunshine which will continue through the second half of the afternoon across

many central and eastern parts of the british isles. cloud will be streaming in telling the sunshine a bit hazy, especially in the west. thick cloud moving in across northern ireland and western scotland. this evening and overnight the cloud and wet weather will move south and east, fairly blustery winds as well. a lot of the rain light and patchy. there could be the heavy burst over hills. a mild night and it was last night. we start the weekend on a mostly cloudy note. there will be some outbreaks of rain. a band of rain moving across southern areas on saturday morning. heavy bursts combined wood confined to the south west and south wales. further east not a lot of rain, just the odd spot here and there. a zone of brighter skies across northern england for a time. more cloud returning to northern ireland and western scotland, some outbreaks of

showery rain. eastern scotland almost seeing some brightness. some brightness on saturday also in south wales and southern england. rain continues across the south—west with showers and cloudy conditions elsewhere. the weather system responsible for that grab saturday does clear off to the east. sunday tries to bring this area of high pressure in our direction. it doesn't have complete success. we are likely to be left with a lot of cloud. it will be drier on sunday and a little brighter. many places will see large areas of cloud. the best sunshine likely to be towards the east. some showers most likely across the west. many places having across the west. many places having a fine day. fairly light winds with top temperatures of 14—18. this is bbc news.

the headlines at 3.00pm. theresa may and fifth she has the cabinet support after former party chairgrant cabinet support after former party chair grant shapps calls her to step down. what i think is necessary for the country now is calm leadership, that's what i'm providing, and i'm providing that with the full support of my cabinet. the fact is he doesn't speak on behalf of any who he sees as potential candidates in the cabinet. they support theresa may, so do i, now is the time to shut up and behind her. ab a father loses a claim for damages against an ivf clinic — after his ex—partner forged his signature to use frozen embryos. the catalan parliament will