this is bbc news. the headlines: there's been a third day of protests by palestinians in the west bank and gaza after donald trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as israel's capital. arab foreign ministers have urged the us to abandon its decision. palestinian leaders have cancelled a meeting with the vice president, mike pence. the uk's foreign secretary is to meet the iranian president after holding talks in tehran, where he's pressed for the release of the british—iranian woman nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. she's accused of working against the regime and will be back in court today. iraq says its war against so—called islamic state is over. government troops say they now have complete control of the iraqi—syrian border. the group seized large parts of syria and iraq in 2014, declaring it a caliphate, but has suffered a series of defeats in the last two years. now on bbc news, the week in parliament.

hello and welcome to the week in parliament. is it finally stage i, "peace in ourtime?", after the prime minister's failed plan from monday was attacked from all sides. if the price of the prime minister's approaches the break above the union —— if the price of the prime minister's approaches is break up of the union and reopening of bitter divide in northern ireland, the price is too high. but theresa may insisted there will be no hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. we aim to deliver this as part of our overall trade deal between the united kingdom and european union. also on this programme:

the government says it's abandoning a planned cap on social care costs in england. and ministers are urged to take action following president trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as israel's capital. will the secretary of state today completely rule out the state visit from president trump, and send out a clear message that his divisive and reckless actions are not welcome here? but first, it was another high—stakes week for the government as theresa may attempted to secure an interim brexit deal. the prime minister had travelled to brussels on monday in the hope of getting an agreement that would pave the way for the start of trade talks. mrs may and the president of the european commission, jean claude juncker, gave a joint news conference at which they said their meeting had been "constructive." but the talks ran into the ground when the democratic unionist party complained that a possible solution to the issue of the border between northern ireland and the irish republic would mean northern ireland being treated

differently to the rest of the uk. so on tuesday, the brexit secretary came to the commons to update mps. we held further talks in brussels over the past two days and progress has been made. we have not yet reached a final conclusion. however, however, i believe we are now close to concluding the first phase of negotiations and moving on to talk about our future trade relations. mr speaker, what an embarrassment. the last 24 hours have given a new meaning to the phrase 'coalition of chaos'. yesterday morning, number 10 was briefing that a deal would be signed. there was high expectation that the prime minister would make a triumphant statement to the house. by tea time, we had a 49—second press conference saying the deal was off. mr speaker, the government who said they would bring sovereignty back to parliament is now being controlled by someone who is not even a member of this parliament. a government that refuses

to give parliament any say in the development in of the negotiating position, and that negotiating position being dictated by the leader of a parliament in the smallest of the four nations of this union. it should come as no surprise that the dublin and irish government wishes to advance its interests. the way it has gone about it in such an aggressive and anti—unionist way is disgraceful and has set back relations and damaged the relationship built within northern ireland in terms of the devolution settlement. and in the scottish parliament and the welsh assembly, it was also made clear that a differential deal was not acceptable. if we are to continue with brexit... there is overwhelming support in parliament and the country to retain

scotla nd parliament and the country to retain scotland and the uk's place the single market. i think therefore it is time for all of us, but here in scotland and across the uk, at this crucial time, to speak out for what is in everybody‘s interest and reject a hard brexit. we cannot allow different parts of the uk to be more favourably treated than others. if one part of the uk is granted continued participation in the single market and customs union, we expect the same offer. well, the state of the negotiations was raised the next day by the labour leader at prime minister's questions. two months after the original deadlines and monday's shambles, is the prime minister ready to clearly outline what the position is now with regards to the irish border. i'm very happy to outline my position on the irish border. it is exactly the same position that i talked about in the lancashire house speech, that we have taken consistently into negotiations, which is that we will ensure that there is no hard border

between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. we will do that while we respect the constitutional integrity of the united kingdom. and while we respected the internal market and protect the internal —— and while we respect the internal market and protect the internal market of the united kingdom. and those labour members who shout, "how?", that's the whole point of the second phase of the negotiations. because we will deliver this! we aim to deliver this as part of our overall trade deal between the united kingdom and european union. theresa may. and on friday morning, there were sighs of relief all round as theresa may and the president of the european commissionjean claude juncker announced a deal had been done, opening the way for the brexit talks to move on to the crucial

subject of trade. news of a breakthrough came after four days of intense negotiations between british, eu and irish officials, and a frantic night of telephone diplomacy involving the democratic unionists. well, away from the immediate high drama of the brexit talks, there was plenty of other brexit business in parliament. there was some surprise around westminster on wednesday when the brexit secretary admitted that the government hadn't carried out formal assessments of how leaving the european union would effect the uk economy. —— would affect the uk economy. the government has not undertaken any impact assessments on implications for leaving the eu for different sectors of the british economy? so there isn't one, for example, on the automotive sector? not that i am aware of. is there one on aerospace? not that i'm aware of. one on financial services?

i think the answer would be "no" to all of them. no to all of them. doesn't it strike you as rather strange, given the government undertakes impact assessments on all sorts of things all of the time, that on the most influential change we are taking as a country, you've just told us the government has not taken any impact assessments at all looking at the impact on individual sectors of the economy? the first thing to say, mr chairman, is when these sectoral analyses were initiated, they are done to understand the effect of various options, what the outcome would be. you don't need to be an impact assessment, a formal impact assessment, to understand that if there is a regulatory hurdle between our producer and a market, it will have an impact. it will have an effect. the assessment of the effect, i think as i have said to you before, is not as straightforward as people imagine.

lam nota i am not a fan of economic models because they have all proven wrong. meanwhile in the main commons chamber, mps continued their detailed scrutiny of the eu withdrawal bill which puts all eu law into uk law to avoid a legislative black hole on brexit day. a labour mp put forward an amendment that would give parliament a say on the so—called divorce bill — the money the uk will pay on leaving the european union. the british government to telljean—claude juncker and the european commission how much the government and british taxpayers were prepared to be but somehow, members of parliament aren't grown—up enough to hear about it, never the british public, finding the real settlement. the payments decribed in the clause would be part of an agreement. and the government has already, rightly in my view, said that

parliament will have a vote on the agreement. you cannot vote on an agreement without voting on the financing of an agreement. because the agreement will stipulate the finances. we cannot have the devolved administrations having to pay money towards the divorce bill. it is absolutely ridiculous this parliament might, in any circumstances, suggest that the devolved administrations should have to pay for something which people in scotland didn't vote for, people in northern ireland did not vote for as countries. these amendments to the bill show an understandable desire to protect the role of this house but they are not necessary. the government has always been clear this house will be given a vote on that agreement. the secretary of state, my right honourable friend, for exiting the european union, was very clear on the 13th of november when he announced the withdrawal agreement and implementation bill. and that is one of the principal

elements of our agreement with the eu. we expect that legislation will include authorisation to pay any financial settlement negotiated with the eu. the bill we are debating today is about ensuring the statute book is operational on exit day, not about paying any settlements. steve baker. a foreign office minister has repeated the government's disagreement with united states president donald trump over his decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel. president trump's decision reversed decades of us policy on one of the thorniest issues between israel and palestinians. there's been a growing chorus of condemnation over the announcement. but the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu hailed it as "historic", and said he was sure that more countries would follow suit. in the commons, labour asked an urgent question on the decision, and the minister made it clear where the uk stood. we disagree with the decision

to move the capital tojerusalem. we believe it is unhelpful in terms of prospects of peace in the region. the british embassy is based in tel aviv and we have no plans to move it. there was a reason before yesterday that no other country would recognise jerusalem as israel's capital. because to do either thing, let alone both at the same time, confers legitimacy on israel's occupancy of east jerusalem, a occupation with no basis in law. it isa it is a permanent barrier to achieving a legitimate settlement of which we all wish. we do share the values of inclusion and respect across these islands. taking this into consideration, will the secretary of state today completely rule out the state visit from president trump and send out a clear message that his divisive and reckless actions

are not welcome here? alistair burt said an invitation had been made, but no date had been set. is the reality that the peace process has been stalled for 2h years? since 1993. and what we do need now, following this announcement, is direct peace talks between the state of israel and palestinian representatives. if we can get from the united nations a brokered position whereby those peace talks start, actually this could end up being quite a good decision. i have no sense that yesterday's decision made a contribution to advancing the peace process. the foreign office minister alastair burt. now, the news was announced in the week of the death of the 1960s model christine keeler, the last of the principal players in one of britain's great political sex scandals. she became famous for her part in the scandal, which shook harold macmillan‘s government. duncan smith explains.

in 1963, the secretary of state for work, john profumo, was forced to resign after admitting lying to the house of commons after admitting his affair. also sharing a bed with a soviet spy. when keeler began attracting press attention, the story started to beat out, they can become from us, profumo limited all to his wife in the country. he never returned to the world of politics. duncan smith. so why was the profumo affair quite so damaging? in 1963, lord carrington was a fellow defence minister with jack profumo. for a special programme four years ago that marked 50 years since that tumultuous time, he told me he'd asked profumo why he'd lied to the commons about the affair, triggering his downfall. he said, well you see i was accused of being too close to people who knew the soviet...

the height of the cold war, this is very important and can be very dangerous. i thought that i had to defend myself about that. and i thought whatever i had done was quite unimportant compared with my relations with the soviets. i think you matter. if you told the truth he would have been in the dog has for a few months and he would have been back in the government before long. he was in admirable person, profumo, he worked his guts out after that. lord carrington speaking to me and 2013. now, let's take a look at some of the news from around westminster in brief. a new report has concluded that the intelligence service, m15, and the police had

opportunities to prevent the manchester arena bombing earlier this year. 22 people were killed in the attack carried out by salman abedi in may. the report which was commissioned by the government says information had been received about him at the start of the year. had an investigation been opened at the time, it cannot be known whether his plans could have been stopped. m15 assessed that it would have been unlikely. across the attacks, including manchester arena, david anderson notes that m15 and other policing got a great deal right. however, in relation to manchester he also commented that quote it is conceivable that the attacker might have been ever did had the cards fall indifferently. —— the attack. the government's been urged to take emergency action to tackle homelessness. the founder of the big issue magazine argued that, with the festive season on the way,

there was only so much charities could do. wherever you go in our cities, whenever crises and there are people out there, many of them distressed and mentally ill. it is an absolute disgrace, it is nothing to do with human rights, we really have to move very quickly. because these people are dying before our eyes. the last two general elections and the european referendum have one thing in common: they were not happy events for some pollsters. anxious to find out why, the lords committee on political polling have been holding an inquiry. but its star witness had a question of his own. was there a risk that an industry that is middle—class and london—based and where the zeitgeist... thinking known be daft enough to leave the european union... yaps would have to be sure this is right because otherwise the rest of the london profession middle class...

they will crucify us. the environment secretary, michael gove, says the government will make an announcement within days on recognising that animals can feel emotion and pain, providing stronger welfare protection in uk law. there'd been a row with some campaigners over whether animals would still receive legal protection when we leave the eu. it is absolutely the case that we are committed to and sharing —— ensuring that we just recognise the principle of animals ontarians that we provide appropriate stronger protection in uk law and will be for bringing forward puzzles for that protection. the environment secretary michael gove. now, what's been happening in the wider world of westminster? here's alex partridge with our countdown. it was a late might, that the comments but conservative

peter still showed up at 1am to present a petition on behalf of his constituents. —— late night. this dreadful proposal for a factory style american chicken farm. conservative michael fabrican is a man of many talents, this week he gave us his unique take on an accent all stop i believe that is the correct pronunciation... falling out of the week is between philip hammond and the art af to ban them from using theirjets official visits until an unpaid bill was settled. -- raf. during a debate on the irish border and brexit, he enthusiastically explained how popular irish drink is made. the milk that is taken from cows in the south and from the north, put together in the same factory, and then it is mixed together with whiskey and it comes out as bailey's.

this man in 1987 became one of the first black mps elected to the commons along with diane abbott. and alex partridge. mps have been told that a cap on social care costs in england due to come into effect in four years‘ time is to be scrapped. the cap of £72,500 on an individual‘s care costs was brought in following the recommendations of the dilnot commission in 2011 and had already been put into an act of parliament, but the government says there will now be a fresh consultation on the future system of social care. the minister was making the statement following a vote by mps earlier in the year. the prime minister has been clear that the consultation will include proposals to place a limit on the care costs individuals face.

to allow for further engagement and development of the approach we afford the care system and... we will not be taking forward the previous plans to independent a cap on care costs and twenty20. -- in 2020. this is a shameful waste of taxpayers money. the dilnot review and it is a waste of parliamentary time. it is all good for the minister to see their consulting, they consulted on it during the general election and their proposals were rejected by the electorate. will my children be suffering the same level of misery about my care costs in the next 30 years? in the absence of provision that i may make and indeed bill not have been encouraging me to make, is it reasonable to expect my social

care costs to be paid for by the state and you might heirs to have to take my data? in a nutshell one of the debates have to have the space is how about we ensure that people can achieve care when they need it and that it will be paid for a while at the same time achieving intergenerational fairness? tuesday evening saw the annual political studies association awards presented by jon snow of channel 4 news. the award for backbench mp of the year went to labour's stella creasy, who led what turned out to be a short but highly successful campaign to allow women from northern ireland who travelled to britain for abortions to have them paid for by the nhs. the award was presented by the speakerjohn bercow. she is from my vantage oinked in the chair, one of the most outstanding backbenchers i have met. ladies and gentlemen i am very proud to tell you what you've already worked out for yourselves,

namely that the political studies association backbencher of the year 2017 is stella! is absolutely wonderful to receive this award on today of all days when i think injune we first showed that even in seemingly impossible circumstances, when getting the government and the dup to agree to abortion rights in northern ireland, it is possible to achieve regulatory alignment. the person who is going to win campaigner of the year has shown great dignity and grace in the face of personal abuse that she faced in her campaign, and that was a successful campaign, a legal flight to make sure it was parliament that was sovereign and the decision over whether we should leave

the european union, and the winner isjean miller. i was stunned when i got the letter because i still think i didn't really do anything that special, ijust asked a question. if a simple question to my mind. but that this award is not for me, it is an award for all of us who value democracy. accountability and scrutiny. it makes our country strong. it is a we value. our final award of the evening is contribution to the arts and culture, and award to an individual who has made a this outstanding card to be sure to be arts and culture and thereby helped the public better understand and interpret politics over a sustained period.

the conversion to the arts and culture award goes to an individual whose illuminating body of work has reinvigorated political drama, establishing him as an of the most lithic and critically acclaimed playwrights in modern britain with the house, ink and a labour of love of love to name but three i'm delighted to announce the award tojames graham. thank you. the joy of being a theatre maker or a screenwriter of tv drama or film is that we do not have to do the hot take, we don't have to do the immediate response. we can sit back and try to take a longer view. i'm absolutely amazed that there is an audience for this, i started writing really unfashionable political plays

when i was 21. forfringe theatres in london. i was always told there was no audience for it. i was totally baffled and surprised and thrilled this year to have the political plays in the west end with audiences coming. it proved to me at least regardless of what i am doing, it proved thatjust because people are angry or disillusioned it doesn't mean that they are disengaged and they want to make that sense of things. that is it from the week in parliament, a week which really did mark "the end of the beginning". looking forward to stage 2 already. dojoin keith macdougall for a round up of of all the parliamentary news on monday, but from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello there.

sunday morning starts on a bitterly cold note. temperatures down at around —12 or perhaps —14 degrees across the snow cover of scotland. further south, a band of rain, sleet and snow and increasingly, it is turning to snow as it pushes in through that very cold air. ice also an added hazard during the course of sunday morning. the met office has issued an amber warning for that snow. be prepared for disruptive snow through mid and north wales into parts of northern england and down to the midlands. 5—10 centimetres of snow at low levels, 20 centimetres possible over the higher ground. we will continue to see the band of sleet and snow and towards the southern edge, it may turn into rain but the wind is an added hazard. 60 mph or more in the english channel and bristol channel. further north across the country, drier with sunshine but temperatures will struggle to get far above freezing. keep up—to—date with the latest forecast. hello, this is breakfast, with tina daheley and christian

fraser. borisjohnson heads into crucial talks with the president of iran. after meeting his opposite number yesterday, the foreign secretary is due to sit down with hassan rouhani later this morning. he'll again push for the release of the jailed british mother nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, but she could appear in court later today on new charges. good morning. it is sunday, december ten. heavy snow and icy conditions are predicted as temperatures plummet across large parts of the uk. up to 20 centimetres of snow are expected in some places. this is the scene in north wales.