this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11:00pm: the government backs down and offers mp5 3 chance to vote on the detail of the final brexit deal. a bbc investigation reveals a deal to allow so—called is fighters to escape the syrian city of raqqa. at least 400 people have been killed and thousands injured following a powerful earthquake in iran. a huge rescue operation is under way. and coming up on newsnight, on august 30 this year and massacre occurred in a village in myanmar, oui’ occurred in a village in myanmar, our team has been looking at what happened that day. testimony makes ita happened that day. testimony makes it a disturbing but important film. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

the government has offered mps the opportunity to debate the final brexit agreement line by line and, crucially, potentially vote to amend it. but brexit secretary david davis couldn't guarantee the bill will happen before brexit day in march 2019. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. the trappings of power — the prime minister at london's glittering guildhall tonight. an evening off from the parliamentary grind, trying to avoid being bashed by the golden mace. less surprising were her reassurances about her brexit approach. there will be ups and downs along the way. but i believe we should embrace this period with confidence and optimism.

but the government's not too cheery about getting their brexit legislation through the commons. secretary david davis. so this afternoon, a concession, a new act of parliament on the final brexit deal. i can now confirm that once we have reached an agreement, we will bring forward a piece of primary legislation to implement that agreement. parliament will be given time to debate, scrutinise and vote on the final agreement we strike with the european union. this agreement will only hold if parliament approves it. giving in to some tory and labour demands for parliament to have a proper decision if and when a deal is done. it's a recognition by the government that it's about to lose a series of votes on the withdrawal bill. mr speaker, these questions have been pressing for months, this last—minute attempt to climb down brings them into very sharp focus, and we're entitled to clear answers.

it's not a done deal. stop brexit! in other words, what took you so long to admit that parliament would need a make—or—break brexit moment? stop brexit! there's been this resistance to the laws already going through the commons. this new idea was meant to take some of the wind out of the sails of the rebels, but if there is no deal and no time, could there be no vote? if we run out of time, none of these suggestions that have been put forward is that the time has to be extended under article 50 so that all parties are able to deal with it. if the house of commons votes down the new withdrawal bill, will the consequence be that we will still leave on the 29th of march 2019 but without an agreement? yes. what was that? the secretary of state said yes. so does it change that much? there's still unhappiness

swirling around. i have to say, a lot of us were insulted by this, because it sounded so good, and when you dug into the detail, you realised this so—called meaningful vote was completely meaningless. it matters not so much here, but in the real world. european business bigwigs in number ten today to make it plain to the prime minister — jobs, millions of families' livelihoods depend on her getting brexit right. laura kuennsberg with that report. when us—backed syrian fighters took full control of the city of raqqa, it ended three years of rule there by so—called islamic state. but now the bbc has uncovered details of a secret deal that let several hundred is fighters escape. is made raqqa in northern syria its headquarters in early 2014. last month, raqqa fell but bbc news has learnt that in exchange

for a deal to save lives and bring peace to the city, a convoy carrying several hundred is fighters and their families was able to leave the city freely. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville explains in this exclusive report. even at peace, with the so—called islamic state gone, raqqa is still deadly dangerous. few of its roads have been cleared. the fighting stopped here a month ago, but there are still mines and booby traps everywhere. most of the city is a no—go zone. hardly anyone has been allowed to return. but we made it inside, searching for a trail through the debris, looking for clues to the islamic state's escape route. the city hospital was their last refuge, and it's here where ourjourney begins.

the group's final defeat came thanks not to a battle, but to a bus ride. the convoy left from here, the city hospital. they'd been holed up inside for months. on it were is fighters, their families and hostages, but we're told the mood was not dejected, it was not defeated. they were defiant. it was here that they realised that they might live to fight another day. the deal to get them out of here is the deal that no one wants to talk about. it's raqqa's dirty secret. so did kurds, arabs and the western coalition get together and agree a deal that not only allowed is to escape from raqqa, but also allowed its fiercest fighters to roam far and wide from the confines of this city? they left the city lonely, empty and in ruins.

the hunt begins here in raqqa, but would take us across northern syria and beyond. the deal started with a media blackout. the islamic state's escape was not to be televised. but, thanks to amateur footage, we see this was a convoy and a deal too large to hide. the world was told only a few dozen local fighters were being let go. no foreigners and not weapons. but the trucks were crammed full of fighters, some wearing suicide belts. all were heavily armed. after days of searching, we picked up the trail at a truck stop on the outskirts of tabqa. here we discovered the drivers, all civilians, who drove is to freedom. they'd been hired by the kurdish—led syrian democratic

forces. it was the longest journey of their lines. —— it was the longest journey of their lives. their trucks were rigged with is bombs, in case the deal collapsed. they'd been told they were picking up only a few hundred civilians, that it would be a quickjob. they ended up driving day and night for three days. everybody‘s been saying only a couple of hundred at the absolute maximum is fighters left raqqa. you took them out, tell us how many you transported. translation: we were 47 trucks and 13 buses, and is militants took their own vehicles, as well. 0ur convoy was 6—7 kilometres long. we took out around 4000 people, including women and children. tell me about the foreigners that were on the trucks, where were they from? translation: france, turkey, azerbaijan, pakistan, yemen, saudi, china, tunisia, egypt. this ceuldn‘tlseklikeg

to victory, so the sdf insisted there would be no flags and no banners. instead, is fighters sat boldly on top of the trucks. the axle on one lorry broke, it was so overloaded with is weaponry. the deal may have brought peace to the city, but it brought some of the battle—hardened fighters to escape not just raqqa but battle—hardened fighters to escape notjust raqqa but to arrive here on europe's doorstep. the winds has carried news of is's defeat. it brings a warning and a threat. the caliphate is gone. the islamic state

is still out there. more than 400 people have been killed in a powerful earthquake that's struck the northern border of iran and iraq. another 7,000 were injured and the casualty figure is expected to rise on both sides of the border. the epicentre of the quake, which measured 7.3, wasjust under 20 miles south of halabja. one of the worst hit areas was sarpol—e zahab, as james robbins reports. the moment the earth starts shaking violently. a man runs for his life from the control room of this dam, as massive boulders are hurled around outside. the dam wall was not breached. but, elsewhere, devastation. in iran, the border town of sarpol—e zahab was hit hardest. as entire walls collapsed, many families did manage to flee their homes, but others were crushed or buried. at a local hospital, there were many stories

of narrow escape. translation: i fell from the balcony down. the earthquake was very strong. translation: the earthquake shattered the window, which fell on me, and it wounded my hand and my face. rescue has been made more difficult by the mountainous terrain. iranian authorities are pouring resources in, but landslides and power cuts are slowing both rescue efforts and the task of establishing the full extent of casualties. this quake was 7.3 in magnitude and happened in a known danger zone. the surface of the earth is made up of tectonic plates, and, in this case, the arabian plate has been moving roughly northwards against the eurasian plate at a rate of two centimetres — just under an inch a year. forces build up and eventually are very suddenly released with devastating effect. the destruction in iran is greater than in neighbouring iraq, where a major rescue operation is also under way. the bbc‘s rami ruhayem is there.

this area is one of the hardest hit in iraq by sunday's earthquake. we're told seven people were inside this home when it collapsed. two of them were killed and others were injured. several other buildings suffered similar damage to this one, but, fortunately, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule, and most of the other homes in the region managed to withstand the impact of the earthquake. for the survivors, night—time is the toughest. in rapidly falling temperatures, families are huddled around fires. even where buildings are intact, fear of after—shocks will keep people outdoors. the foreign secretary has admitted for the first time that he made a mistake in his handling of the case of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british woman held in prison in iran. boris johnson apologised for the distress and suffering he had caused her and her family by wrongly saying

that she was training journalists in iran as opposed to being on holiday. this report by our special correspondent lucy manning. they sing a mother singing with her daughter just a week before her arrest. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has now been separated from three—year—old gabriella for a year and a half. with her health deteriorating in an iranian prison and the words of politicians here appearing to harm her case, her husband has this message for the foreign secretary. i want you to solve this mess in your name. and i stand by that. i think it's not a mess that's entirely the foreign secretary's making, by any means, but it is a mess that his name has been attached to and it is getting deeper and more complicated because of that. he will take these requests to a meeting with the foreign secretary this week. you're going to go to iran. and when you go, i'd like to go with you. i'd like to be on that plane, i'd like to be standing next to you,

for the symbolism that has. the second thing was that nazanin be given diplomatic protection. that is within the gift of the government. mrjohnson had been less than clear in backing the family's account that mrs zaghari—ratcliffe was in iran visiting relatives when she was arrested. when you look at what nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was doing, you just, you know, she was simply teaching peoplejournalism, as i understand it. today, labour demanded answers about mrs zaghari—ratcliffe's case from the foreign secretary, who had to return from brussels. it is not good enough. if it is a matter of pride that the foreign secretary is refusing to admit simply that he has made a mistake, well, then i feel bound to say to him that his pride matters not one ounce compared to nazanin's freedom. mrjohnson was apologetic. it was my mistake. i should have been clearer. i apologise for the distress... i apologise for the distress and anguish that has been caused to mrs zaghari—ratcliffe and her family. ministers are considering if diplomatic protection can be given to mrs zaghari—ratcliffe,

which would turn it from a consular issue into a more serious dispute between the uk and iran. but it's not clear if this would help her. mrs zaghari—ratcliffe's employers were insistent herjob was an administrative one. we don't work in iran. to start with, the thomson reuters' condition doesn't work there. and we have no relations with iran. but on top of that, she was really on holiday. and, let me tell you, she's not spy material at all. her familyjust want her home. young gabriella cried when her visit to her mum in prison this weekend was cut short. now on bbc news it's time for newsnight with evan davis.