today at five. the government is fighting to avoid defeat in tonight's big vote on its main brexit legislation. some mps are insisting on a legal guarantee of a vote on any final deal — but the prime minister says there's a meaningful vote on offer in any case. we expect the uk parliament to vote ahead of the european parliament so we fully expect parliament to vote well before march 2019. the government should show greater flexibility in the way it approaches mps raising legitimate issues and if we do that we should be able to resolve that without my having to rebel against the government which i've never done in my career. we'll have the latest from the debate at westminster — and we'll be trying to gauge the latest prospects for the eu withdrawal bill. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. doug jones becomes the first alabama democrat to win a seat in the us senate for 25 years — beating the republican strongly backed by president trump. a 3—year—old girl is the fourth

child to die as a result of monday's house fire in greater manchester. chris froome — the four—time tour de france winner — is being investigated over excessive use of an asthma drug — against anti—doping rules. and the comedian peter kay has cancelled his first stand—up tour for eight years — due to ‘unforeseen family circumstances'. it's 5 o'clock. our main story is tonight's vote at westminster on the government's main brexit legislation, where the government is facing the real possibility of defeat. the house of commons will vote on an amendment that would empower both houses of parliament to approve any brexit deal before it can come into force.

the prime minister theresa may insisted again today that parliament would get a ‘meaningful‘ final vote before the uk leaves the eu in march 2019 — but some conservative mps want a guarantee written into the eu withdrawal bill. the former attorney general dominic grieve is leading the demands for a vote on any final deal before it is finalised. our chief political correspondent vicky young has the latest. we have had a lot of talk since that brexit vote about what kind of brexit vote about what kind of brexit we have and that really is what this is about. who decides how we leave and on what terms. how much power does this place have over any final deal that is negotiated by theresa may. all along there have been a number of conservatives who have said they have been concerned

about the issue, they have been looking for assurances and so far it seems they have not had them. this vote later on between seven o'clock and eight o'clock tonight is looking very close, we know that partly because theresa may has been speaking to some of those people on her own side and trying to persuade them to come in behind her and support the government tonight. this afternoon in house of commons she tried to reassure those on her own side that they would get a meaningful vote. i'm very happy to confirm to my right honourable friend that we will put the final withdrawal agreement between the uk and the eu to vote in both of parliament before it comes into force. as we have said, we expect the uk parliament to vote ahead of the european parliament so we fully expect parliament to vote well before march 2019. so to be clear, the final deal will be agreed before we leave and right honourable and honourable members will get a vote on it. and as my right honourable friend

the secretary of state for exiting the european union has set out today, we would then bring forward a withdrawal agreement and implementation bill to give the withdrawal agreement domestic legal effect, which will be subject itself to full parliamentary scrutiny. and of course after we leave the withdrawal agreement will be followed up by one or more agreements covering different aspects of the future relationship and we will introduce further legislation where it is needed to implement this into uk law, providing yet another opportunity for proper parliamentary scrutiny. now with the snp, the liberal democrats and almost all of the labour party apart from the dup all lined up to support dominic grieve in this, there is a high chance of a government defeat. i've been speaking to some of those known as rebels on the conservative side today. we heard from dominic grieve himself, how he has only once rebelled against his own government in the past and does not relish the

idea. others say they're finding this all very difficult indeed. their opponents of course said they're simply trying to scupper brexit and go against the wishes of the british people in that referendum. but they do not see it like that. this is what some of them had to say. i think add a new clause three or amendments seven is the absolute minimum that this house should be passing at this stage to make it quite clear that binding commitments that affect future generations, changing laws in substantial ways can only be made with the proper approval of both houses of parliament following the procedures necessary for statutory law. they have thought this place would have some kind of say about the trade deal, the actual final relationship we will have with the european union. but actually they

will have no such say because it will have no such say because it will not be finalised until after we have left the european union. does he agree that that is now concerning many citizens across the length and breadth of this land who did indeed vote to take back control. the blunt reality is i have been left in the lurch as a backbench member trying to improve this legislation. the silence has fallen, it is simply not credible explanation, the last explanation was here is your written ministerial statement, that ought to be enough for you. and in loyalty how be enough for you. and in loyalty now you should support the government. but it does not answer the question. that question of loyalty has been raised time and again. some conservatives saying to their colleagues theresa may has had a difficult time, she has managed to get the deal to move on to the

second stage of negotiations with the eu, she has to go to brussels tomorrow and now is not the time to inflict defeat on her. we can speak 110w inflict defeat on her. we can speak now tojohn inflict defeat on her. we can speak now to john penrose, inflict defeat on her. we can speak now tojohn penrose, a conservative mp. are you trying to broker a peace here, what you think the way through could be for the government? i'm not sure anyone can broker a peace or otherwise but you're right, i was involved with some of the amendments yesterday about some of the henry viii powers which the government did move on and i think we got a better deal as result. certainly much improved on that. but having been involved with dominic grieve and others yesterday i'm not in favour of the proposed changes that they are coming up with today and the reason isi is i think the government has made

important statement earlier today saying we're going to have a vote in parliament, a binding vote, admittedly after we have whatever deal we end admittedly after we have whatever dealwe end up admittedly after we have whatever deal we end up with. and then another potentially couple of ratification votes were both houses could save we do not like this and thena could save we do not like this and then a full—scale act of parliament after that. i'm a pretty ardent democrat and even i think it is hard to think of any more scrutiny you could possibly have. so i'm driven to the conclusion that whilst dominic grieve may have a point about whether or not this new clause is perfectly drafted or not, i think he's trying to drive that something important there, some of the other people are just trying to make sure that they find a closet excuse to find ways to postpone ever leaving at all. so we can go back to brussels and say can we delay the two—year deadline on article 50 and maybe have a few more months and a few more months after that. some people could be using this perhaps as an excuse to basically try and postpone brexit? i'm afraid so, not many on the conservative side but i think quite a lot on the labour side. and in one of the other

speeches oliver letwin basically pushed the labour party pretty hard on this and i felt they did not have a good answer to that charge. but also some people on the conservative side who are not trying to do that, they are genuine and they are concerned about whether or not this clause nine which is being amendment could be amended, really does the trick. but that is a technocratic argument. i think the question about whether or not parliament gets a proper look has been answered and the answer is yes it will. how damaging would it be for theresa may to suffer a defeat, she's managed to get this far and tomorrow she has to go to brussels. would it be humiliating for her if she was defeated tonight? she would rather not be defeated, no panellist ever wants to be defeated. it will not be a mortal body blow, i think that her stop and riding pretty hide the moment, she had a good week last week and came back with this deal

which surprised many people especially the doom mongers who have been saying it is all going to go horribly wrong. i think she can cope with it if she has two but no one wants to be defeated, absolutely not. now we're going to listen to someone on the other side of the argument, bernard jenkin. he is well—known for being on the leeds side of the argument during the referendum, he was a little bit angry with some of his colleagues earlier today. if that is to be legislation to approve a withdrawal agreement before march 2019, what happens if the agreement is reached too late to allow that legislation too late to allow that legislation to go through all of the stages? or is this a plan to delay the

brexit date? well we can talk now to the conservative mp anna soubry. we arejust the conservative mp anna soubry. we are just hearing from bernard jenkin saying that this is just a ruse, you're trying to delay brexit and scupper it. that is a very silly thing to say and he should engage in the debate and the debate is what is wrong with amendments seven. it puts into statute what is government policy, so government policy is we will get a meaningful vote and amendments seven does just that. i have just come out of the chamber, i've been there for the past five hours, i've only heard one member of parliament stand up and make the case against amendments seven and in favour of clause nine and that was sir oliver letwin. even he said about clause now that it was redundant and should be taken out. and what is nowjust happened is that the government has just been

offered something to settle this so that good people who have always been loyal and who have never voted against their government in decades of solid service to conservative party have been turned into rubble. people like sir oliver heald and others. one backbencher has said there is a way through this, taken away and come back with something. and any minister with any ability frankly would have accepted that and this whole thing could be put off. the person who's being let down, i think people arejust the person who's being let down, i think people are just fed up with this and want us to get on and govern and beat competent and get on with brexit. but the prime ministers a lwa ys with brexit. but the prime ministers always being let down, she has put trust in her ministers, to deliver this piece of legislation. this legislation i think was drafted for the general election to affect the heart brexit on the basis of having a majority but we lost the majority

and we're not having a hard brexit because i know the prime minister does not want it. we will have another piece of legislation probably at the same time as this piece is going through parliament, and it will undo some of this legislation. it is the stuff of com plete legislation. it is the stuff of complete madness. and the prime minister as a result of that if we should lose, if we should win this vote, if she should lose it, eve ryo ne vote, if she should lose it, everyone would say it is her fault and it is not. she has been let down by her ministers who have not paid proper attention and done a proper job in getting a solution to this problem. so this compromise being offered is to say to the government we will drop the vote tonight and you come back at a later date? basicallyjeremy corbyn does not wa nt to basicallyjeremy corbyn does not want to vote against his government, we are a minority government and we know the difficult position are

prime ministerfinds know the difficult position are prime minister finds herself know the difficult position are prime ministerfinds herself in. so he said what about going away and coming back with an amendment at report stage. calling us out a bit. and the minister said no. i'm sorry, i have put through pieces of legislation which are tricky and this is the problem, you have people putting this legislation through who are inexperienced ministers and have never done before and clearly are not talking to each other. and the result is a dog's dinner of a bill and the result is turning perfectly good, decent and loyal conservative members of parliament, long—standing, dominic grieve a former attorney general, treating them like naughty schoolboys to be dismissed. this is serious stuff and calls for some grown—up action. and amendments seven is going to be put to the vote and people like me and others are going to vote for it. the government may lose, that gives me no pleasure at all. i can assure

you. and it is avoidable. someone has got to sort it out and i think the only person who can is the boss, the only person who can is the boss, the prime minister. she has got to say to these inexperienced junior ministers, who have let her down, enough is enough. this bill was drafted for a different time and we have accepted there is going to be withdrawal bill. it is government policy, we should have a meaningful vote so let us put it in, set this amendments seven, job done and move on and get brexit sordid and get down to the real issues confronting the country. thank you very much. so feelings are running high. —— get brexit sorted. and later on i will be talking tojenny chapman of the labour party about her party ‘s attitude to the vote coming up this evening. the us democratic party is celebrating after unexpectedly

winning a special election for the senate in the state of alabama. doug jones beat the controversial republican candidate roy moore, who'd faced allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls — allegations he denied. president trump — who'd backed mr moore — has tweeted his congratulations to mrjones, saying a ‘win is a win'. mrjones has become the first democrat in 25 years to win a us senate seat for alabama — and it means the republican majority in the us senate is down to two — as our correspondent david willis reports. it was a stunning political upset. doug jones, a former federal prosecutor, is the first democrat to be elected to the senate in this conservative southern state in a quarter of a century. his victory reduces the already razor thin republican majority in the senate to just one seat. as dr king liked to quote:

"the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice. " cheering. if trump is losing in his deepest of red states, in his republican states, then the swing states, the blue states, this should send an ominous warning to mr donald trump that this is not your country. i think they destroyed a good man. so i'm feeling bad for roy moore. because roy moore was a good christian person. and i believe he would have been a great senator. more, perhaps, than the strengths of the victor this defeat points to the weaknesses of his opponent, republican candidate roy moore. a firebrand evangelical who believes homosexuality is immoral and muslims should not be allowed to serve in congress. he saw his sizeable lead in the polls start to falter after a string of women came forward to claim that he had sexually assaulted them, in one case, when the accuser was just 1a. roy moore denies the allegations. part of the problem with this

campaign is we've been painted in an unfavourable and un...faithful light. we've been put in the hole, if you will,... despite calls from senior members of his own party for him to withdraw from the race, mr moore continued to enjoy the support of president trump who tweeted tonight, "congratulations to doug jones on a hard—fought victory. the write—in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win." those so—called write—in votes could prove significant. in a further twist to a long and often ugly campaign, the vanquished candidate is refusing to concede defeat. for this deep south state to prefer a pro—choice, pro—gay rights candidate like doug jones over a hardline conservative such as roy moore is a reflection, not only of the weakness

of the republican candidate but a major snub to the president who backed him. it will also be seen by some as a victory for the victims of sexual assault whose claims roy moore has consistently dismissed as "fake news". david willis, bbc news, washington. our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue is in montgomery, alabama. what is the significance of this result? the significance locally in alabama is that democrats do not win here and they have not from any yea rs. here and they have not from any years. so that is a grand old upset of the first order locally. but nationally it is significant because this reduces donald trump, his

majority in the senate, it only requires one vote now to flip and he has lost his majority there. so significant for his attempts to get his legislative programme through and of course throwing into question the mid—term elections next year, giving the democrats a real chance to ta ke giving the democrats a real chance to take back the senate and making donald trump's life very difficult for the second half of his presidency for the back here of course democrats are still celebrating and one of the communities that delivered that victory was the black community and we asked some voters there why they voted for dowjones this morning.|j voted for dowjones this morning.” voted for dowjones this morning.” voted for doug jones, i'd believed in what he stood for. what he has done for the african american community is a great thing. montgomerie being a republican state i feel a lot of people would vote republican and my vote would really

can't. i could not stay at home. the republican candidate roy moore has not formally conceded here, but he is dead and buried in terms of the vote, he could try to call for a recount but it's not going to get him over the top because the amount of votes still to count do not get anywhere near what he needs. the president having backed roy moore throughout the campaign on the other hand, he is now saying that he was right all along and the republicans should have chosen a different candidate who could have won the seat. so doing a bit of rewriting of the last few weeks of history himself. but the upshot is that donald trump will face a more difficult time in washington but republicans in the senate in washington who did not want roy moore there may be sighing, taking a little sigh of relief that they will not have to have months of investigation into a man who stood accused of a whole range of allegations of sexual abuse and

assault against young girls. many thanks. and we can go to washington now. a professor from thanks. and we can go to washington now. a professorfrom the thanks. and we can go to washington now. a professor from the american university and former democratic leader of the ohio state senate. thank you forjoining us. underlying for us what you think if the significance of the result in alabama as you might i think it is a very unique case judge of the fact that roy moore was so contentious. because of the controversy not only surrounding allegations of sexual misconduct with underage girls but also because of some of his extreme views on the lb gdb community, was serving in congress, thejewish community and the like. —— lb gt. alabama has not voted for a democrat in 25 years and i think largely due to the fact that roy moore was such

a controversial candidate and i think in combination with the fact that the sat at home and did not vote and the african american community showed up to the polls. how much do you think can be realistically read across to the impact on president trump and his political authority? in these days with 24—hour news cycle is, it is ha rd to with 24—hour news cycle is, it is hard to say whether or not this will have a lasting impact on president trump and his political capital. i think suffice to say the democratic party is going to take advantage of this and try to build on the momentum of fact that the democrats we re momentum of fact that the democrats were able to pull out a victory. it really is just a few years instead ofa really is just a few years instead of a six—year term, i believe three yea rs of a six—year term, i believe three years that they have left, of the term ofjeff sessions. but in the meantime i think the democrats are going to try to build on the

momentum for next year as a number of senate seats on the ballot to come up in the mid—term elections. within the republican ranks in congress, what is the view about the way the president trump handled this contest way the president trump handled this co ntest a nd way the president trump handled this contest and the way he basically went about siding in certain directions? i think republicans frankly are believed in many ways that they june not frankly are believed in many ways that theyjune not have to deal with the situation of roy moore amongst their ranks and i think there would have been potentially a lot of ethics investigations and questions about whether he would have actually been seeded. and then the democrats would have used him as a lightning rod. but for president trump i think it isa rod. but for president trump i think it is a mixed bag and depends on whether or not members talk publicly or privately. there's a huge divide amongst the gop in the senate and across the country as to whether it was a good idea for president trump to back roy moore just to save the seat for the republicans and

preserve the momentum of republican policy agenda. but many i think behind closed doors frankly are sighing with relief. thank you for joining us. and announces that of the electoral race. which is ended in that unexpected result. some of the other stories making bbc news at five. a 15—year—old boy has admitted causing the deaths of five people who were killed when their car crashed into a tree in leeds. the boy, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty to five counts of causing death by dangerous driving. the three boys and two men died when the stolen car they were in crashed into a tree on november 25th. unemployment is down to its lowest level for a0 yea rs — but the number of people in work is also down. the jobless total is 1.4 million — a reduction of 26,000 over the last three months. kensington palace has announced that meghan markle willjoin the queen and other senior members

of the royal family for christmas at sandringham. ms markle and fiance prince harry will be seen in public with other royals when they attend the traditional christmas day church service on the queen's private estate in norfolk. a three—year—old girl has become the fourth victim of a house fire in worsley — she died of her injuries in hospital. earlier, two people made their first court appearance, charged with the murder of three other children who died in the fire on monday. zac bolland — who is 23 — and 20—year—old courtney brierley — were remanded in custody, as our correspondent danny savage reports. the sad remains of this house are still the subject of detailed examination. and now a fourth child from the pearson family has died after monday's fire. the death of three—year—old lia pearson this afternoon comes as two people were charged with murder in relation to what happened here. they both appeared before

magistrates in manchester today. 23—year—old zac bolland and 20—year—old courtney brierley are charged with the murders of three children and the attempted murder of their mother michelle pearson and three other children. but those charges are likely to change now that lia pearson has also died. her eight—year—old brother brandon and seven—year—old sister lacie died in hospital following the blaze. their sister, 15—year—old demi pearson, died at the scene. today the headteacher of her school talked about what had happened. demi was a great kid, great student, fun loving, extremely popular, popular with all the kids in school and very popular outside of school as well. and obviously it is a tragic, tragic life that has been cut short. michelle pearson is still seriously ill in hospital. unaware that four of her children are now dead. police say their investigation has moved quickly since

the fire on monday. no details of what happened here were heard in court today but now people will have to try and come to terms with the death of another child in this tragedy. danny savage, bbc news, walkden in greater manchester. time for a look at the weather — here's louise lear. i think ithinki i think i preferred the snow. this is the story today, cloud and outbreaks of rain at times and as temperatures start to fall this evening we seek return to a wintry flavour. we're not very concerned about that, some sleet and snow in the showers that are piling in. a bit of wet snow as well for the evening rush hour and leaving some

icy stretches as they clear away. so not a great start to tomorrow morning, but things to improve. we lose those gale force winds unexposed coasts. just some showers pushing inland. not looking too bad tomorrow, around four, 6 degrees. the cold weather set to stay with as well friday into saturday. that is when we see the best of the sunshine. but it will be a bit chilly and as we go into the second half of the weekend, milder conditions set to return. it should feel better with the sun. this is bbc news. the headlines... theresa may has insisted parliament will have a meaningful vote on the terms of brexit as she faces the threat of a defeat in the commons later. doug jones has become the first democrat in 25 years to win a us senate seat for alabama, against donald trump favourite

republican roy moore. a three—year—old girl has died in hospital — the fourth child victim of a fire at a house in worsley. four—time tour de france winner chris froome is being investigated over excessive use of an asthma drug which breached anti—doping rules. let's catch up with all the sport, we willjoinjessica. thank you. yet more bad news for cycling, as you havejust thank you. yet more bad news for cycling, as you have just heard. team sky and chris froome are under yet more scrutiny after it was revealed that froome has returned an adverse drugs test from this year's vuelta. the team sky rider had double the allowed level of a legal asthma drug, salbutamol, in his urine. our sports correspondent richard conway has been following the story. he stands alone as britain's best cyclist. a fourth tour de france title

was claimed earlier this year, swiftly followed by an historic victory in the spanish grand tour. but chris froome's reputation is now under threat, like never before. that's because the team sky rider was found to have exceeded the permitted level of the asthma drug salbutamol when tested in september. froome says, on doctors' advice, he did increase his dosage due to asthma but insists it was still within the legal limits. in a statement, he said... team sky says froome has had asthma since childhood and regularly uses an inhaler. salbutamol is permitted under anti—doping rules when inhaled up to a limit of 1600 micrograms over a 24—hour period. and no more than 800

micrograms over 12 hours. froome is said to have tested at 2000 micrograms but his team say the complex way the body processes the substance can sometimes give results from urine that require further explanation. different people respond to salbutamol differently. if you gave the same dose to ten different people, you'd get different concentrations in theirurine. so, that's part of the problem, they'll certainly be bringing that forward as a defence but i think, actually, sky have quite a serious problem and i think they may struggle to make it go away. scrutiny on team sky involving parliamentary hearings has increased this year. it follows an ultimately inconclusive investigation into allegations, all denied, that centred on sir bradley wiggins and performance enhancing drug use in 2011. froome, though, has taken a strong moral stance on doping issues and has been outspoken on the matter of gaining medical exemptions, known as tues, for usually banned substances. i didn't feel as if having a tue in the last week of the tour de

france was something i was prepared to... it just didn't sit well morally with me. that was something i was going to do. 2018 was billed as the year chris froome would attempt to seal a famous hat—trick of grand tour wins in italy, france, and spain. instead, the potential ban and the loss of his spanish title both possible, he is merely riding into an uncertain future. richard conway, bbc news. johnny baistow has been moved up the batting order to sixth, with england naming an unchanged team for the crucial third ashes test. it gets under way in the early hours of tomorrow morning, and australia lead the series 2—0. so if england lose, the series is lost. england haven't won for nearly a0 years in perth, but captainjoe root says he believes his team have a chance to change that. it's obviously been spoken about

quite a lot, as a group i do believe, genuinely believe, that we have a really good opportunity here. we are doing some really good things in practice, we have spoken really well as a group of know exactly how to go about things this week. it is just making sure we put it into practice and stand and deliver when it really matters. ronnie o'sullivan has continued his excellent run of form with a 4—1 demolition of robert milkins in round two of the scottish open in glasgow. three days after he claimed his sixth uk title, the world number two won by four frames to one, wrapping up victory with a century break. also through to round three are the reigning champion marco fu and the man he beat in last year's final, john higgins. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, that's bbc.co.uk/sport, and we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6:30pm. there will be more details on chris froome and more bad news for cycling on the website. jessica, thank you very much and see

you later. let's return to our top story, and tonight's vote at westminster on the government's main brexit legislation, where the government is facing the real possibility of defeat. the house of commons will vote on an amendment that would empower both houses of parliament to approve any brexit deal before it can come into force. labour are expected to support the amendment put forward by the conservative backbencher dominic grieve. he is the former attorney general. we can speak to the labour shadow brexit ministerjenny chapman. thank you very much forjoining us. just summarise for viewers your attitude to this amendment? we supported. we will get behind dominic grieve this evening. we want parliament to votes on the withdrawal agreement. this is effectively the divorce agreement as pa rt effectively the divorce agreement as part of the process of leaving the

eu, we think it is important that when we said we wanted to take back control, that parliament gets that control, that parliament gets that control so that is how we will vote this evening. did you not trust the prime minister when she said there would be a meaningful vote in any case? her definition of meaningful and ours probably differ. this is effectively a safeguard meaning that when theresa may negotiates in brussels she has tuesdayjune to the things that she promised last week. the rights of eu citizens, transparency and money, no hardboard in northern ireland and barbara she has to stay true to the things that she promised last week. parliament wa nts to she promised last week. parliament wants to see these things, it is right we should get a vote and it would be very bad for the eu to have a boat and for there to be a vote in brussels but not to have a vote here. we think it would be bad for our

democracy. but she has made that promise, do you think it is remotely feasible that when the moment came she just would not hold the vote? that when the moment came she just would not hold the vote ?m that when the moment came she just would not hold the vote? if that is the case, why not accept the amendment and save herself the potential embarrassment of a defeat? we wa nt potential embarrassment of a defeat? we want it on the face of the bill so it is guaranteed, it is not surprising that the labour party does not trust the prime minister on this, it is her own mps who have doubts on this issue. we wa nt doubts on this issue. we want our vote before the agreement goes for voting brussels, this is the country... we are the ones leaving, we want our vote first and we think parliament ought to be able to have the opportunity to vote on the agreement at that early stage. what is your intelligence at the moment about the state of play in the commons? quietly confident that we will win this. if i was the prime minister i would be thinking very, very hard about accepting the amendment and accepting the

inevitable. she has fought very hard at various points in this process to keep parliament away and the public out of it, sometimes you strengthen yourself and emerge with more dignity if you just accept the inevitable and allow parliament to have a vote. good to talk to you, jenny chapman, thank you. the shadow brexit minister, with her view on what is likely to happen later. she says they are quietly confident that they might get the amendment through. we will see. the vote was slotted in for around 6:45pm, just over an hour, we will see how the debate progresses but clearly we will keep full tabs on that on the bbc news channel. a husband and wife who plotted a terror attack in birmingham have been jailed at woolwich crown court. umma mirza, who is 21, and his wife madihah taheer, aged 22, sent each other a string of messages discussing their plans for extreme violence. when police raided their home they found a martial arts dummy that mirza had slashed with a combat knife to practise for the attack. police have traced two drivers

involved in a suspected multiple hit and run on tulse hill in london. —— thought to have been involved. a 29—year—old woman from wandsworth was hit by a lorry as she used a pedestrian crossing, before she is thought to have been struck by another lorry and two cars. she was treated by emergency services but died at the scene. the met police said none of the drivers stopped after the incident, which happened on monday. police continue to appeal for witnesses and for the outstanding drivers to come forward. the ringleader of the most prolific gang to be caught smuggling drugs and phones into prisons using drones has been sentenced to more than seven years in jail. the gang was run from inside prison by a former armed robber, craig hickinbottom. he organised at least 49 flights, smuggling contraband estimated to be worth more than £1 million. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has this exclusive report. cameras originally set up to take

pictures of wildlife, catching instead britain's most prolific drone smuggling gang. recording the pilot mervyn foster time and again flying a drone from a field outside hewell prison in worcestershire. its illegal cargo hanging underneath on fishing line. from the field, the smugglers had a view directly into the jail and the prison block where the drone's cargo was pulled in through the windows. over the months the gang grew in confidence and sophistication. they had started by simply throwing the drugs over the prison wall. but then they started using drones and they added to the contraband, mobile phones, weapons, screwdrivers, and even a freeview box with a remote control. cameras inside hewell prison caught one of the ringleaders, john hickinbottom, with an improvised hook used to catch the fishing line and recover the contra band. the contents of the loads were

specifically ordered by inmates. the officer who caught the gang told me they had organised the least 49 flights into jails as far away as scotland. it was across like i say, the west midlands region primarily, hmp featherstone, birmingham, stoke heath, obviously here. but we have also had stuff up in hmp manchester, liverpool and like i say, as far north as hmp perth. all from the same group of people? yes. the epidemic of drones being used to airlift contra band into prison grew from nothing injust four years. we didn't see this one coming so the drones literally came from nowhere. they were flown in and it actually just was a game changer for us. so we had to relook at our systems, our procedures and methods of gathering intelligence. and it gave the gangs an opportunity to actually breach the secure perimeters almost effortlessly. to crack this case, officers downloaded the memories

of the drones they seized and linked that to the mobile phone calls the smugglers were making. the prisons ministers had to invest millions of pounds in a new national network of police and prison officers working together, which helped catch this gang. what we have shown here is this is the most prolific gang we have come across and we have been able to deal with them. they're going to be serving jail time and that is a huge success. the gang, led by armed robber craig hickinbottom, is thought to have smuggled contraband worth between £600,000 and over £1 million, continuing even after they had been arrested and charged. with such huge profits being made, keeping drones away from prisons is going to be a lengthy battle. daniel sandford, bbc news, at hmp hewell in worcestershire. this is bbc news at 5pm. the headlines...

the prime minister promises mps they will be given a vote on any final brexit deal as she tries to avert a possible backbench rebellion. a blow for president trump — for the first time in 25 years, the deeply conservative state of alabama has voted in a democrat for a us senate seat. a three—year—old girl is the fourth child to die as a result of monday's house fire in greater manchester. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. banks say a rapid response scheme aimed at combating fraud has already saved customers millions of pounds in its first year, and led to more than 100 arrests. under the scheme, police arrive at a bank branch within an hour if staff fear someone is being tricked into

taking out a large sum of money to pay a criminal. our correspondent simon gompertz reports. a rolls—royce. some people have their heart so set on getting one that things like this are prime bait used by criminals to get hold of your cash. when i came into this bit of inheritance, i thought right, i've always wanted a rolls—royce. let's have a look. it was a dream carfor you? it's a dream car and they are so comfortable and so easy to drive. barry fox in essex had a lucky escape. thanks to swift action from his bank when he went to withdraw the money to buy another fictional rolls—royce in an ebay scam. the fraudsters tried to lure him into bringing cash to a pick—up in the middle of the countryside. so what was the danger, then? you might have gone there? i might have gone there... with ten grand in your pocket? with £10,000 in my pocket and been knocked over the head with a stick or something. no car there at all?

and no car there at all. warned off by the bank, he then got this car instead, from a local dealer. when barry popped into his local bank and asked for £10,000 in cash, there was immediately concern about him. now, banks often find it difficult to explain to customers that they might be being scammed. but under the new arrangements, they were able to call 999, quote banking protocol, and get a police officer round here within half an hour. while in the branch, the police checked out the car. the situation just didn't seem right. it wasn't where it should have been. this was all happening in blackpool and the car was then registered in bristol. and also we made checks to the business details against ebay. it was the correct business name but the contact details didn't match. banks say they have stopped customers being defrauded of £9 million in a year. however, that is just the ones going into branches. £100 million has been lost injust six months by people unwittingly paying fraudsters online.

this is obviously really good news for those that use their branch. they are often the most vulnerable, so everything that banks can do to help is good news. however, more and more of us now bank online and certainly have to bank online because bank branches are closing. so we want to see more done to protect consumers from being scammed online. automatic, preowned... but with the internet playing such a big part, it is still a good lesson to be wary of sellers asking for cash. i would tell people, if they want cash, don't buy. the bank—police tie—up, which meant barry did get his dream car, will soon be in place across the country. simon gompertz, bbc news, in essex. the labour mp jess phillips has written an open letter in which she calls on the prime minister to put aside personal loyalities when considering the case of her first secretary of state — in effect, her deputy — damian green.

mr green is being investigated because of claims of inappropriate behaviour. some newspapers are speculating that a cabinet office inquiry could clear him on the basis that none of his alleged misdeeds took place when he was a minister. mr green strongly denies doing anything wrong. in a moment we'll speak tojess phillips, but first he's a small extract of her open letter. —— but first years. that is a section of the matter. let's speak tojess phillips. shejoins us from she joins us from westminster. thank you forjoining us. your thoughts in penning this open letter, what is meant to achieve? i suppose i'm trying to appeal to theresa may, not

necessarily as the prime minister but as a woman who i believe cares about the rights of women and other people at work. i want to ask her to ask herself a series of questions about whether she would solder... —— whether she would tolerate this if it was happening in business in her constituency, if she thinks the account of the victim and the m essa 9 es account of the victim and the messages she was sending to her friend sound like the voice of a victim. to me, it is very clear. do you think that on something as serious as this, she would allow personal loyalties to get in the way? i m personal loyalties to get in the way? i'm afraid to say that what i have seen since the whole sexual harassment thing started in westminster and elsewhere, what i have seen is in other areas, the media, certainly in america, people acting properly and reacting properly. in politics, iam acting properly and reacting properly. in politics, i am afraid to say i have seen political parties

carry more about power and patron edge than the public so, yes, i think theresa may has other priorities that concern her rather than what is right. there was views expressed earlier today suggesting that in writing this letter you have been, in effect, very unfair to him because the investigation is ongoing? what i put into the latter was a series of questions i wanted theresa may to answer, which does not have to do and, in fact, i am sure she will not. what i put in the letter is already the public domain. iam not letter is already the public domain. i am not saying team injured letter is already the public domain. iam not saying team injured —— damian green should lose hisjob, i am asking theresa may to answer questions like did anybody at downing street already know? is that why kate mulvey felt she had to go to the media? that is a very common problem. does the exchange between kate and her friend sound like the voice of a woman who willjust have

to posts up with the fact that she felt uncomfortable because it is her job? what does the response tell you? i have had no response... to the allegations on the way they have been handled. in westminster? i think the leader of the house has taken think the leader of the house has ta ke n really think the leader of the house has taken really big strides to try to improve this and the political parties have taken quite good strides to try to make sure victims feel safe and can come forward. until consequences actually occur, victims are going to see that even when they speak up, nothing changes. at the moment we are six or eight weeks in and i do not feel like this building has changed at all.” weeks in and i do not feel like this building has changed at all. i hope you do not mind if i move onto that important debate on brexit, i know you have been taking part. what is

your reading of the mood of the comments right now, your sense of how the vote may go on the amendment? —— the mood of the commons right now? the rebels start every day in a bigger number than they seem to be at the end of the day. they seem to diminish. i hope dominic grieve's amendment seven will be passed. i am much in a vote might not be called and the government mightjust might not be called and the government might just accept might not be called and the government mightjust accept it, because the government cares much more in all cases, including this, about not looking bad. i doubt it will go to a vote, but if we do i really hope we can win. so your hunchisit really hope we can win. so your hunch is it might still not be too late for them to say they will accept it? i think it is very likely at the moment. we live in parliamentary times where one the government does not want to lose a vote they do not hold it, we have seen it in opposition day debates.

maybe they will not show no to this one. thank you very much, jess phillips. labour plasma jess phillips. labour plasma jess phillips up the houses of parliament, talking about her letter to the prime minister and all the debate still going on on the very important brexit legislation, and we expect the vote on the amendment put forward by the former attorney general dominic grieve within the hour. we'll we get a rather dramatic outcome whether government decides not to really accept the vote, or will we not? clearly it is pretty evenly balanced as we speak. the comedian peter kay has cancelled his first stand—up tourfor eight years and all other personal appearances. he's blamed what he called unforeseen family circumstances and asked for privacy. tickets for the tour, which had been due to start in april and go on into 2019, sold out almost immediately and extra dates had been added. no question about the demand for it,

it isa no question about the demand for it, it is a very big decision. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson can tell us more. can we shed any light on what is going on? all we have is the statement from 12pm, it is very short and i should read it all. peter kay said due to visit family circumstances i deeply regret that i am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects. this u nfortu nately upcoming work projects. this unfortunately includes my upcoming stand—up tour, the dance for life tour, those were charity shows he was doing in january tour, those were charity shows he was doing injanuary and march, and any outstanding live work commitments. sincerest apologies. the decision has not been taken lightly and i am sure you will understand my family must always come first. i have always endeavour to keep my family's privacy from the media, i hope the media will

continue to respect our privacy at this time. again, iam this time. again, i am very sorry. more than a million tickets have been sold, it was on course to be the bigger standard tour in history. the decision will not have been made likely, as he said. clearly it will prompt all kinds of speculation and there is a huge amount of sensitivity around it. do we have any inkling at all of the circumstances or taking this statement? at the moment we will be relying on the statement. peter kay has been so prolific, he has been everywhere, the second series of car share, two more episodes. this was only announced a month ago. he was putting it on children in need, the next night he was on strictly come dancing in blackpool, i saw him on the manchester arena at the nights that it reopened after the bomb, he was the compere, introducing the headliner noel gallagher by saying it is mr manchester himself, all the

way from london, noel gallagher. you seem to be in great form, that is why it has come such a shock. lots of people had bought peter kay tickets to give as christmas gifts, lots of people will be scrambling for replacements. but the important thing is that he says are due to unforeseen family circumstances so our thoughts had to be with peter at this time. absolutely, thank you, colin paterson. the bbc news at six is coming up in a few minutes. i will be back at 10pm. time for a look at the weather with louise lear. we have seen a pretty dismal day, lots of cloud and outbreaks of showery rain. from this weather watchers picture you see a tree re—enter the day. one band of rain moves through and will be replaced by another, there are white flecks on the radar, showers turning increasingly wintry, particularly to the north and west. there could be a

wintry mix over the next few hours, meaning we expect rain, hail, sleet, wet snow and maybe even thunder. it will not be particularly pleasant if you are caught in it for the evening rush hour. the heaviest is likely over the next yea rs a cross the heaviest is likely over the next years across wales at the northwest of england and into the midlands. as we go through the night we will see plenty of frequent showers piling into the north west, snow above 200 metres and some slushy deposits. with temperatures falling close to freezing, ice could be an issue first thing tomorrow. that is worth bearing in mind if you are up and out early. ice could be an issue to the east midlands, stretching up to the east midlands, stretching up to the north of england, north wales and north west england. in the northwest england scotland there will be showers, rain close to the coast and snow further inland. the temperatures in the north—east

of scotla nd the temperatures in the north—east of scotland are not really improving much. as we go through the day the winds will start to ease, meaning fewer showers penetrating further inland, they will chiefly be to the west of the coasts and wanna two further inland. sheltered central and eastern areas will be dry with sunshine and high is generally around four to 6 degrees. winds swinging back to a northerly direction, so colder still on friday to saturday, not as cold as the weekend just passed. there will be dry weather and showers on those exposed north coasts. but it will be dry and predominantly sunni, four to 6 degrees. the cold air stays with us for the start of the we can but there is a change in the weather, the french will push on from the atlantic, the winds will swing back around. kypson sunshine for saturday but you need to wrap up warm. double digits returned by sunday but so does the rain. daesh returned by sunday, but

so tonight at six — theresa may is about to face a show—down with her own mps over what role parliament will play in the brexit process. we will put the final withdrawal agreement, betweent the uk and eu, to a vote in both houses of parliament. but that's not enough for tory rebels — they want a guarantee that they will have the power to send ministers back to the negotiating table. it's not for parliament to simply roll over and accept something because the government says that's what we should do. the debate is taking place right now — we'll have the latest. also tonight. chris froome — fighting for his reputation after he fails a drugs test taken during his victorious run in spain's la vuelta. a fourth child, just three years old, dies after the manchester house fire — two people have been charged with murder. jailed — the gang that used drones to smuggle everything from mobiles to cannabis into prisons in scotland and england.