this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00: zimbabwe celebrates as robert mugabe resigns as president of zimbabwe after 37 years, bringing his reign of political repression and economic chaos to an end. i robert mugabe... his letter of resignation read out in parliament prompting scenes of surprise and joy. today, it is victory, it is the tree in our hearts, it is the tree for oui’ in our hearts, it is the tree for our children. —— victory. in other news, police reveal dozens of prosecutions have been dropped after claims that thousands of test results were tampered with at a forensics laboratory. the dup leader arlene foster says northern ireland's border is being used as a bargaining chip in the brexit negotiations. we bring you the world's first

interview with morgan chang derived —— morgan tsvingirai, since the resignation of robert mugabe was announced. good evening and welcome to bbc news. robert mugabe took zimbabwe and the world by surprise this afternoon when he suddenly resigned as the country's president after almost 4 decades in power. without warning his letter of resignation was read out in parliament — just as impeachment proceedings against him were getting underway. in it mugabe said his decision to go was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power. let's have a look at the events leading up to robert mugabe's resignation this afternoon. on november 6th mr mugabe removed zimbabwe's vice—president from office. the move made it more likely

that the president's wife grace would follow in her husband's footsteps as leader of the country. a week later general constantino chiwenga challenged the president, warning the army was prepared to act to end purges within his ruling zanu—pf party. on november 15th military forces seized the national broadcaster and placed the president under house arrest. then on sunday robert mugabe was sacked as the leader of zanu—pf and replaced by former vice—president emmerson mnangagwa. but later in a live television address mr mugabe refused to step down as president. today zimbabwe's parliament began debating impeachment proceedings against mr mugabe, but he pre—empted the action by resigning this afternoon. the news sparked wild celebrations with thousands of people pouring onto the streets in the capital. our africa editor fergal keane reports from harare. it is the night of the free,

and night like no other in their lives, a great tension has broken, the epoque of fear, of desperation, of robert mugabe, has ended. how rarely does politics translate into something so truly felt? it is history in the making. we never thought something like this would happen in zimbabwe. this is what we have been fighting for since independence. one man has been taking us aback, but we are happy it is done now. suddenly we got the news tonight it was over, he had retired, he had resigned and he was gone and suddenly there was just this euphoria and that is all of us. all of us! the sense of surprise here is deep. because at the day's beginning it

did not feel as if robert mugabe was going anywhere. parliamentarians, urged on by the crowds, gathered to begin the process of impeaching the president. after a week in which he had refused to quit, his own mps led the legal process. as mps moved into parliament to prepare for the impeachment vote, the decisive political phase of the operation to remove robert mugabe from power gets under way. will he be gone by the end of the week? i really cannot say. the process of parliament is determining whether or not he will be gone by the end of the week. i would have wanted him to go yesterday. the mps knew that public patience was wearing thin. the expectations of a nation were focused on them. the crowd have new heroes, the general who arrested robert mugabe... and emerson mnangagwa,

the political brain behind the coup and president in waiting. by mid afternoon the mps and senators had moved to a hotel to accommodate the specialjoint session of parliament. they were watched by the public in what felt like a rare moment of true democracy here. people are suffering, this mp said. and then the moment. a letter was handed to the speaker. he read it first himself and then to the world. a letter from the president... he was muffled but the words were momentous. ..notice of resignation. cheering.

many who are we ago would have cheered robert mugabe now exalted in his fall. and we are here right at the moment that they heard that robert mugabe has resigned from the presidency. you can hear it, cheering from zanu—pf mps, from opposition mps and from members of the public who have come here to witness what was happening. they did not expect it. they thought this would be a potentially elongated process of impeachment but it has not happened. he has gone, it is over. a week ago most foreign journalists were banned here. today mps were eager to speak with me. this is a huge moment for your country, what do you feel? this is a revelation. the people, if they speak their mind, they can change what will come. what are you feeling? i am feeling very happy because there is no spilling of blood in zimbabwe.

the people love peace. celebrations spilled into the streets. they cheered emerson mnangagwa and mocked robert mugabe. wherever they were met, the soldiers were fated. we moved back up to the city into the rapidly gathering crowds. we have just come from parliament and we are on the streets and the celebrations have started. many are celebrating the end of the age of mugabe. now it is over. but in theirjoy they also know they must be vigilant. i think people will rejoice tonight, after that we

really have to be about the serious business of building our country. we cannot make the mistake of having the same kind of leaders in place to build our country, we cannot afford that. remember the longer road to this moment? the people who endured white minority rule? and then they saw their independence become tyranny. they found themselves suddenly free. more than 10,000 criminal cases may have been affected by alleged data manipulation at a forensics laboratory in manchester. it's a lab that's used by police forces across the uk. around 50 prosecutions, for driving offences, have already been stopped because of concerns about drug test results and there are fears there could be many more. daniel sandford reports. a glossy promotional video for randox testing services, used by police forces

to check samples for drugs, testing that it's now clear has been unreliable for years. my advice from the forensic science regulator was that up to 10,000 cases, spanning back to late 2013, could no longer be fully relied upon in the criminaljustice system. 10,000 cases. defence lawyer nick freeman spotted the problem when one of his clients, who'd admitted using a small amount of cannabis, tested positive for drugs he knew he hadn't taken. when we got the report from randox, it suggested a much larger amount than had been anticipated but, more pertinently, it also suggested that he'd consumed cocaine and another substance, and he hadn't consumed any other substance, as far as he was concerned. two employees from randox‘s manchester laboratory are suspected of not redoing tests that had failed quality checks. they've been arrested, but not charged. the company has apologised and is paying for thousands of retests.

the actual number of miscarriages ofjustice isn't clear yet. the crown prosecution service has dropped 50 prosecutions for drug—driving that hadn't come to court yet and two cases of death by careless driving involving drugs have been referred back here to the court of appeal. and there are now concerns about work done by these same two employees on family cases at trimega laboratories between 2010 and 2014 before it was taken over by randox. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the court of appeal. northern ireland's border is being used as a bargaining chip in the brexit negotiations, according to the leader of the dup, arlene foster. she's accused ireland and the rest of the eu of being careless and reckless in the way they are using concerns as part of the brexit talks. it comes as the prime minister theresa may said she's ready to move the brexit talks forward.

our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. the answers aren't written in the sky, but number ten has got ministers on board to dangle the promise of a bigger payment to brussels. theresa may hopes that will shift the eu to talking trade next month. we are ready to move onto phase two, to see those talks about a deep and special partnership with the eu for the future. but a hypothetical bigger bill isn't the only demand the brexit secretary's counterparts are making. the eu's pressing the uk to be more specific about what happens at the border between northern ireland and the south when it's time to leave. the northern ireland border cannot be fully addressed if we're not taking into account the shape of our future partnership with the european union. final resolution of the financial settlement depends on it because nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. serious slips can easily be made by both sides, one diplomat said today.

and serious awkwardness is emerging over the irish border. the irish pm, the taoiseach, demanding a hard border is ruled out, concerned that putting up real barriers could undo progress, peace in northern ireland. but the dup who, remember, have essentially the casting vote in the commons and the prime minister's ear, aren't happy about how ireland and the eu are playing their concerns. i am accusing them of being reckless because, if you listen to some of the rhetoric... look, nobody understands negotiations probably better than i because there are people that will come out and they will say things to try and push agendas forward, so it's almost a full battle. so you think some of this is confected, would you say it's a faux battle? well, i think some people are taking their moment in the sun at the moment to try and get the maximum in relation to the negotiations and i understand that, but you shouldn't play about with northern ireland. it sounds rather, arleen foster, that you're warning off the taoiseach?

well, i'm saying to him that he should know better than anybody, that you don't play around with northern ireland to effect change in other places. we need to get into the next phase, to look at what does it actually look like in terms of trade. i hear this phrase "the borders of the past", of course the borders of the past were there for a completely different reason. the borders of the past were there to deal with terrorism. they were there to deal with a very difficult situation in northern ireland. what is that solution though? people talk about the frictionless border and for pretty much 18 months now nobody has come up with a solution. what might that be? the solution comes in the trade negotiations and that's the point i'm making. we need to be able to move to the second phase so we can actually get more of the details. but for ireland, north and south, for brussels as well as westminster, the border could yet hold up the deliberation of the next crucial stage. a reminder, brexit is notjust about our departure,

notjust about our parliament, and certainly not just about our politicians. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. uber has confirmed that it concealed a hack that affected 57 million customers and drivers. the attack, which happened in 2016, gave up names, email addresses and phone numbers. the firm paid hackers $100,000 to delete the data. the company's former chief executive knew about the breach over a year ago according to reports. rodney bewes, best known for his role as bob ferris in the likely lads — has died aged 79. english rots abroad. —— girls. the series was a huge hit in the 1960s and was revived a decade later. his agent described him as "a t that's a summary of the news, newsday is coming up at midnight, now on bbc news it's time for newsnight.

a country in ecstasy, as robert mugabe steps down. he resigns, after nearly four decades at zimba bwe‘s helm. but will it be more of the same in zimbabwe? we speak to morgan tsvangirai, the opposition leader and one—time prime minister, who battled mugabe at the ballot box. so, like in any new birth, i think the celebration represents a new... a new feeling. and i think it will go down like in 1980, when we got our independence, as a very memorable occasion. also tonight... ahead of the budget, the chancellor will be dotting the is and crossing the ts.