this is bbc news. the headlines at 11 o'clock: theresa may says she is preparing for the possibility that britain may not reach a deal for brexit with the eu. while i believe it is in all our interests for the negotiations to succeed, it is our responsibility as a government to prepare for every eventuality. there were serious allegations of sexual abuse made against the mp sir cyril smith back in 1979, but prosecutors lied to the media about them. increased pressure on the catalan leader not to declare independence when he addresses the catalan parliament tomorrow. meryl streep criticises the film producer harvey weinstein after he's fired in the wake of allegations about his mistreatment of women. you will remember the night of the g re nfell tower you will remember the night of the grenfell tower fire when a baby was thrown from a window and court

miraculously by a man. we traced back story to its origins and then what we find may surprise you. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister has given her strongest warning yet that britain might have to leave the european union without a formal brexit deal. mrs may said it was profoundly in the interest of both sides to agree a deal, but that steps to minimise disruption would be needed in case the talks failed. the prime minister also signalled that britain could still to be bound by rulings of the european court ofjustice during any transition period after brexit, an approach that's already being opposed by some conservative mps. our political editor laura kuenssberg has the latest. since she last went off to the commons, she has survived an attempt to force her out, lost her voice in front of the nation and, if that's not

all, ministers‘ antics have been fodder for the front pages. but the biggerjob in hand is to get the brexit talks moving. statement, the prime minister. theresa may, trying, hoping, to ignore the pressure on her. but first — to tory nods — she said no deal might be an option. while i believe it is profoundly in all our interests for the negotiations to succeed, it is also our responsibility as a government to prepare for every eventuality. so that is exactly what we are doing. her option now, to dismiss the enemies. notjust with a shake of the head, but a determination to screw down on the other side. as we look forward to the next stage, the ball is in their court. but i'm optimistic it will receive a positive response. their answer to that claim — it's not me, it's you. there doesn't seem to be much of a mood for progress in this

week's brussels talks. there has been, so far, no solution found on step one, which is the divorce proceedings. so, the ball is entirely in the uk court. reporter: are you concerned about your own position? and there are jitters in brussels, as at home, about who is really in charge. the many characters of the tory soap opera, shaping up the plot. vows of loyalty, now aplenty. i'm looking forward to the prime minister's statement. but lots for labour to poke fun. just at the moment when britain needs a strong negotiating team we have a cabinet at each other‘s throats. half of the conservative party wants the foreign secretary sacked. the other half wants the chancellor sacked. we want both of them sacked! if this government can't negotiate a deal for britain, they should make way for a team that can. but with the ground shaky beneath minister's feet,

competing tory visions are on display. should she push and push for a deal? or be ready to walk away? they are still refusing to discuss the long—term relationship between the eu and the uk. when does she call time? will the prime minister say that by march 2019, if we haven't got a deal as to the final brexit arrangements, then we willjump off the cliff and there will be no deal? the answer to those questions were not straightforward. nor the response to a clear demand. after we leave, will the uk be bound by new rules made by the european courts? it sounds simple. any new rules that were put on the table during that implimentation period, given the way these things operate, it is highly unlikely they would actually be implimented during that implimentation period. an answer worthy of any whitehall mandarin, that provoked concern from brexiteers. keeping the european court or new eu rules means we are effectively

in the european union for longer. which is not what the british people voted for injune of last year. just one of theresa may's problems. different sides of her party want to hear different things. doing a deal with her own tribe, let alone a continent, is hard enough. the child sex abuse inquiry, has heard that prosecutors lied to the press in 1979 about the existence of serious allegations against the liberal mp sir cyril smith. it heard that officers who had been investigating claims that cyril smith abused teenage boys in rochdale had decided there was a case, but prosecutors decided not to take action. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has more details. in the 1960s, they called him mr rochdale. good to see you. he became mayor the town for labour, but defected to the liberals. do you want a man to represent you or do you want a party robot?

in the 60s, it was never revealed that he had been accused of sexually abusing deprived boys. now this public inquiry intends, finally, to get the bottom of it. the decision to embark upon this investigation was, in part, in response to the public concern that some politicians, including cyril smith, were involved in child sexual abuse and able to abuse with impunity because they were protected by the establishment. it is claimed that cyril smith abused boys at a hostel, cambridge house, which closed in the mid—60s. it is now a private home. when police began an investigation in 1970, smith asked for a meeting. a transcript records a police officer saying... you want to see what we know. and then smith started laughing at that. well, yes, fishing. i think that's fair comment. fishing because cyril smith was hoping to move from local politics to national.

he told the police... in three weeks' time i've got to give a decision one way or another whether i'm going to fight the next parliamentary election as a liberal in rochdale. and if i'm going to be charged, i'm not going to accept, guilty or not guilty, it would be unfair to the party. he wasn't charged. but years later the press got wind, started asking questions. the inquiry has obtained these documents held by the security service mi5, which record that the director of public prosecutions press representative had untruthfully told bartlett, a journalist, that they had no record of this case. smith was re—elected in greater numbers than before and, farfrom diminishing him, the allegations appear to have had absolutely no effect whatsoever. also under investigation, the rife sexual abuse linked to this residential school, knowl view, where smith was a governor.

at one point, a sex offender roamed its corridors at night. but, as with cyril smith, the central allegation is of a cover—up. this inquiry is attempting to learn the lessons of the past so that children can be better protected in future. tom symons, bbc news, at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. there's growing pressure on the leaders of catalonia to abandon their plans to declare the region independent from spain. the catalan president is due to address the parliament tomorrow, in what's likely to be a major milestone in the political crisis and he's previously signalled that a formal declaration is imminent. this is a deeply divisive time,

great political uncertainty. that was the march yesterday, hundreds of thousands of people came out, some people from other parts of spain as well, saying they wanted to remain pa rt well, saying they wanted to remain part of spain. they thought the referendum called on october one part of spain. they thought the referendum called flouted )sr)anish part of spain. they thought the referendum called flouted)sz 1970 prime minister and flouted the 1970 ait constitution. —— 1978. you have then the supporters of the cattle and president, carles puigdemont, relying on and president, carles puigdemont, relying oi in q and president, carles puigdemont, relying oi inard pushing éfiaséféiflé 1.,:;:”.£, prime minister, forget it, — w h ,.,, .. ,,

one. you that me. you that referendum was outside the law that referendumjuas illegal and if you declare independence, we will act on article five 55. there has been no violence in terms of pro— separatist movement. we have seen instead the heavy—handed way the national police with riot police going in, pulling people by their hair saying you cannot vote. despite that, go of of leaving aejéq 1:5 fiaemf ii? risen? z'x—fr voter