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. official figures on the pay squeeze. your wages will buy you no more today than they did 11 years ago.

and coming up on sportsday. england's ashes defence hangs in the balance going into third test in perth — captainjoe root calls on big performances from his players. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. in the next hour or so theresa may faces a crunch vote on her brexit plans. several of her own mps have joined labour in demanding parliament has the power to send ministers back to the negotiating table if it doesn't like the final deal between the uk and the eu. so far the prime minister has offered what she's called a "meaningful vote" — but is that enough or will she have to make a concession in order to avoid a defeat. our political editor, laura kuenssberg is in westminster.

thank you. there has been a lot of fuss, froth, but this is really about is how much power is the government willing to give mps over the final brexit deal? for a long time ministers have said of course you will have a vote, of course it will be meaningful, of course you will be meaningful, of course you will have a say, but the labour party, the snp, the liberal democrats and a crucial group of tory potential rebels want a legal promise now, they will notjust have a vote, but they will have a vote before the deal is signed. now the numbers look extremely tight but it is possible that the government will tonight be forced to do so. but it's the determination of the tory rebels that will really make the difference. look at the chancellor's little list. at the top of a sheaf of paper the names of the tory rebels who might beat their party bosses tone.

nicky, anna, dominic and the rest. only their first names, those former ministers who have been trying for weeks to have their say. . would she be so good as to help the right honourable and learned gentleman's amended seven in the spirit of unity for everybody here and in the country. we will ensure there is a meaningful vote on this, in this house, there will be be an opportunity for parliament to look at the withdrawal agreement and implementation bill. what does that all mean? about 20 tory mps, the opposition parties and these hardy campaigners. are demanding so—called amendment seven. that is a legal promise from the government today, that mps will have the chance to vote and debate the deal between britain and the rest of the eu. and crucially, before it's signed. stop brexit. the government says there will be a

vote but there isn't much trust they will stick to it. the former attorney general who is leading the charge says it has got rough. large number of people telling one is a traitor, some i have to say with regret of one's honourable and right honourable friend saying things i fight startling. he is engage in this seriously but there is no getting around the timing issue we have got the debate is whether honourable members are content that parliament be a spectator, a passive observer into one of the most important decisions that has faced oi’ important decisions that has faced or country in generations. they are adamant they shouldn't bundle but it is bad—tempered look at this row inside the same political party. this article, clause nine, is not about implementing leaving the european union. it is. no, no. read it. read it.

sit down. iam not sit down. i am not capable of hearing what my honourable friend is saying, because there seems to be an inordinate racquet being made behind me. there is deep suspicion, those who wanted to stay in the eu are trying to rerun the referendum. if people in in house use that amendment for those purposes, the backlash from the british public will be like none seen before, he should be bewa re/that. seen before, he should be beware/that. the idea this undermines the referendum decision is rubbish and he knows it. if he had any better arguments he would put them rather than using something thatis put them rather than using something that is so ridiculous. but it's a stand—off so far. the downing street machine, determined not to move. instead, an offensive, maybe with charm, to talk the rebels round. what it is going to take? not much sign they are in any mood to back down it is unpleasant. i never hope

to be in the situation, but i, you know i think that a number of us have made the point for the last probably three months, that this is the amendment we think is incredibly important. this clash has been brewing for weeks. if number ten lose, it would be the first time theresa may has been beaten this way. has the government done enough to beat the rebels? at the moment for arm twisting and arguments is nearly gone. the vote is expected at round 7.00, andi the vote is expected at round 7.00, and i hear in the last couple of minutes just along there, three of the key rebels have just left the commons chamber apparently after they were passed a note from one of theresa may's most important aides, so theresa may's most important aides, so there is a chance some last minute skullduggery could mean a concession from the government or a compromise on behalf of the rebel, but it may well be george, in the last hour, that theresa may is beaten in the house of commons, on her own plans, that would be the first time this has happened since she has been in power, and on the eve of that vital eu summit in

brussels, frank lit would be a blow to her authority, that she could well do without. chris froome, britain's most successful road cyclist, is tonight fighting to clear his name after it emerged that he's failed a drug test. the four time tour de france winner is being investigated by cycling's world governing body after a urine sample taken in spain earlier this year showed he had twice the permitted amount of an asthma medication in his system. our sports editor dan roan reports. having come to dominate cycling's biggest race chris froome's established himself as the pre—eminent force in his sport but the british star faces a fight to save his reputation. it was here during his historic victory at spain's grand tour the vuelta that he was found to have exceeded the permitted legal level of the asthma drug salbutamol. he says on doctors advice he increased his dosage due asthma, in a statement he said i

took the greatest care to ensure i did not use more than the permissible dose. i take my leadership position very seriously. tea m team sky say that froome, who has had asthma since childhood was suffering from acute symptoms in the final week of the vuelta and he was asked about his health immediately after the 18th stage of the race on the day he provided the irregular sample. speculation about whether you are ill. you said no yesterday. 100% fit and healthy today” you are ill. you said no yesterday. 10096 fit and healthy today i felt fine today, yes. riders can take salbutamol up to a certain limit but froome's sample showed traces twice the permitted amount. in a statement tea m the permitted amount. in a statement team sky boss said: if you are dehydrated your level will be higher, the speed he can

metabolise through his system, if he does that fast, it will increase the level in his urine, so it is difficult to sort of say if i take four puffs i know my level will be this, it is difficult to say that on daily basis. scrutiny on team sky has intensified with management grilled at a parliamentary zitty hearing and a uk anti—doping investigation into allegations all denied and not proven surrounding a mystery medical delivery to bradley wigans in 2011. froome has taken a strong moral stance on the use of tues for usually banned substances. i think it does enormous damage, people will listen to everything we are saying about hearings and they won't care, as far as they are concerned it is another thing that has happened to team sky and cycling as far as the reputation of cycling is concerned it is damaging. 2018 was meant to be the year froome would attempt a fifth tour the france triumph. instead with the threat of a ban and the potential

loss of his spanish title hanging over him he is riding into an uncertain future. in cycling terms he is simply as big as it gets. he is british sport's most successful current star, ehis name will be among the lists of favourites in the sports personality of the year award. he faces an anxious wait as does team sky. they are busy trying to recover their reputation, after a series of controversy, they built their brand round froome and their stated zero tolerance policy towards doping but they will by a wear in the past riders have faced bans of up to a yearfor riders have faced bans of up to a year for having that substance in their systems at excess levels. after such a deeply troubled past with cheatling, chris froome was symbolic of a brave new clean era for cycling, so there is a huge amount at stake here, for the man and his team, but also for the sport at large. a fourth child has died after a fire

at a house in the walkden area of greater manchester. lia pearson was just three years old. two people have appeared in court, charged with murder. zac bolland, who is 23, and 20—year old courtney brierley were were remanded in custody until their case moves to the crown court on thursday — 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 head teacher 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. obviously, it's a tragic, tragic life has the 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 then 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. the comedian peter kay has cancelled all work commitments because of what he's called

"unforeseen family circumstances. " he's said the decision had not been taken lightly, but his family must always come first. he was due to do his first live stand up tour in eight years in april. the ringleader of a gang that used drones to smuggle drugs, phones and weapons into prisons, has been sentenced to more than seven years in jail. craig hickinbottom ran the operation from inside prison where he's serving a separate sentence for armed robbery. the ii—strong gang organised at least 49 drone flights, smuggling goods worth more than a million pounds. 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 the 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 gang, led by armed robber craig hickinbottom, is thought to have smuggled in over a million pounds worth of drugs and phones, continuing even after they had been arrested and charged. the contents of the loads on at least 49 flights were specifically ordered by individual inmates from the midlands to scotland. the recent epidemic of drones

being used to airlift contraband 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 really relook at our systems, our procedures and methods of gathering intelligence. and it gave the gangs of 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 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 that this is the most prolific gang we've come across. and we've been able to deal with them. they're going to be serving jail time and that is a huge success. but with huge profits being made by the smuggling gangs, keeping drones away from prisons is going to be a lengthy battle. daniel sandford, bbc news,

at hmp hewell in worcestershire. our top story this evening... theresa may faces a showdown with her own mps over what role parliament will play in the brexit process. and still to come... an election upset in america. the democrats win alabama for the first time in 25 years. coming up on sportsday, we look ahead to seven games in the premier league tonight, with manchester united and manchester city in action. tomorrow, survivors and families of the victims of the grenfell tower fire will gather to mark six months since the fire, in which 71 people died. a special remembrance

service will be held at st paul's cathedral in london. this week on the news at six, we've featured some of those affected by the fire. tonight we hearfrom nabil choucair, who lost his mother, sister, brother—in—law and three nieces in the fire. i should warn you that you may find some images in this report distressing. i'm nabil choucair, and i lost six members of my family at grenfell tower. i got a call from my sister, and i switched on the tv to see the tower my sister lived in, and my family, was on fire. when i got there they had cordoned off the whole area and they were not allowing anyone in. i could see the whole building on fire. and i was fighting to try and get in, to try and rescue them. we were hoping that they were still alive, that they had made it out to a shelter, a hospital, they had got out. i only heard from my sister, she gave me a missed call

in the early hours of the morning. she sent a voice message saying hi, it's nabil, and we're in the tower. and itjust kept going through my mind, that i was hoping she had made it out and we were still trying to look for them, hoping that they weren't still in the tower. someone took a picture and we were quite certain that was my sister waving, trying to get attention from the rescue team or someone, with her husband right beside her. we just hoped that they had made it. when i see that tower, i remember my family. and i remember the night and i remember the good times that we had together. it was half our life there and they were really enjoyable, they loved everybody, they wouldn't hurt anyone.

the kids were fantastic. they really enjoyed playing with my kids so much. i have to keep fighting, i will keep fighting for them. because i need the answers and i need the justice for everybody that lost their lives. their lives will not go in vain. that was nabil choucair — who lost six members of his family at grenfell tower. the latest figures on employment and pay are out today. there's been a slight pick—up in average pay rises for british workers, but not enough to keep up with inflation. in fact wages don't go any further today than they did 11 years ago. our economics correspondent, andy verity, can explain it all. this is quite surprising, given what is happening in the labour market? employers have a problem, they can't find the staff. if you look at the

number of vacancies out there, 798,000 jobs on offer. before the brexit vote, you might have expected migrant workers to fill a lot of those roles. we know that immigration is coming down, the workforce was expanding, now it is shrinking. that should put workers ina good shrinking. that should put workers in a good bargaining position to demand higher pay rises, because the employers who need to employ people are going to have to pay more to attract and keep them. you look at what has happened to average pay and it has edged up by 2.3%, slightly more than expected, more than last time. nowhere near enough to keep up with price rises, which are 3.1%, the average pay packet is £478 a week. in real terms, taking into account inflation, what pattern by you, the slightly depressing and says that it is no more than it could buy you back in february 2006. the average pay package would buy you the same. the jobs market may be

tight, but hasn't yet resulted in inflation beating pay rises. a 15—year—old boy has admitted causing the deaths of five people who were killed when the stolen car they were in hit a tree in leeds. the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared via video link at leeds crown court. he was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing next month. five people, including three children, died in the crash in november. the democratic party is celebrating an unexpected victory, after taking the us senate seat in the state of alabama for the first time in 25 years. doug jones beat the controversial republican roy moore in a special election. mr moore — who's been accused of assaulting teenage girls, but denies the allegations — was publicly backed by president trump. the result means the republican majority in the senate now stands at 51—49 — as our north america correspondent nick bryant reports. modern—day democrats aren't supposed to win staunchly conservative

states like alabama. it's 25 years since that happened. so no wonder this blizzard of confetti to mark the shock victory of doug jones. alabama has been at a crossroads. we have been at a crossroads in the past. and unfortunately we have usually taken the wrong fork. tonight, ladies and gentlemen, you took the right road! the losing republican candidate, roy moore, thought he was on his way to washington. but he was hit by allegations, which he denies, of sexual misconduct against teenage girls. and shunned by senior figures in the republican establishment. that is where the anger of his dejected supporters was directed. it is really sad for the people of alabama, what took place in this state tonight. you think you have been betrayed by the republican establishment? absolutely.

no doubt about that. you know, there was a lot of dirty politics going on. i have never seen such ugly slander, what i believe were blatant lies. i have never seen such despicable behaviour. # you can't always get what you want... it's true. you can't always get what you want. a lesson for donald trump, who has strongly backed roy moore. so get out and vote for roy moore... so this is a big black eye for the president and also a failure of the trump political playbook. to deny accusations of wrongdoing as fake news and to attack accusers. in washington this reduces the republican majority in the us senate to a single seat, making it even harder for donald trump to get legislation through congress. it also boosts democratic hopes of winning back control of capitol hill in congressional elections next year. a key battleground will be the suburbs, and this election revealed a weakness there for donald trump amongst moderate republicans. on his twitterfeed this morning

the president was blaming a flawed republican candidate for this humiliating defeat. but donald trump was also a big loser. nick bryant, bbc news, alabama. england's cricketers will be fighting to keep their ashes hopes alive tomorrow, as they take on australia in the third test in perth. england lost the first two tests and need at least a draw to avoid a series defeat. but it'll be a tough task — they've not won at the waca since 1978, as andy swiss reports. in one of the most isolated cities in the world, one of the loneliest places for english cricket. the waca is where so many ashes dreams have died. so many decades of disappointment for england's players and their fans. but here, a team trailing on the pitch and in turmoil off it know they need something extraordinary.

it's an opportunity to create history. it's a real chance to flip the dynamic of this series on its head and, if we do come away 2—1 from this game, it does blow the series wide open. well, for england over the years the waca has normally lived up to its name. they've lost their last seven tests here and they've arrived for this one with notjust their cricket, but their conduct under the spotlight. the latest barroom incident, in which bowlerjimmy anderson had a drink poured over him, has given australia's headline writers another field day. and some believe the culture of the team needs to change. they do behave like students. you know, when they go out, they think they're students. they're not, they're england cricketers. the perception is that they drink too much. in terms of everything that's happened to the team, their performance levels, the off—field antics, i would be staggered if england got a victory this week. this will be the last ashes test at this

atmospheric ground — for so long, australia's western stronghold. but, for one final time, they could watch the sunset on england's hopes. andy swiss, bbc news, perth. slightly different weather over here! here's louise lear we started with scenes like this, sunshine and lying snow. the snow is thawing. this has been the scene today. i know which i prefer. it has been wet at times, a real mess out there. that is how it will stay for there. that is how it will stay for the evening rush hour. as showers push in and the temperatures fall away, we can see a mix of rain, sleet, snow and even hail and thunder. tricky driving conditions. showers continue to drive eastwards, accompanied by gale force gusts of wind, particularly down towards the south, and temperatures towards freezing. icy stretches in the

morning. in the south—west, gales slowly easing but a rational showers. yes, we could see icy stretches across east anglia and into the north of england and north wales, particularly on rural untreated roads. still some showers and a wintry flavour to higher ground across northern ireland and scotland. ice again could be an issue. as we go through the day, fingers crossed the wind should start to ease a little. that will prevent the showers from pushing too far inland tomorrow. central and eastern areas will see the best of the dry and sunny weather. showers confining themselves to the coast. not particularly warm, but a degree oi’ not particularly warm, but a degree or $0 upon not particularly warm, but a degree or so upon what we have seen, two or 7 degrees. wind coming round to a northerly on friday. that could drive ina northerly on friday. that could drive in a fume showers in east. friday is a quiet day, a good day of sunny weather in the story and a similar feel to tomorrow. the cold air is set to with us, but there is air is set to with us, but there is a change in the theme, milder air and when swinging back to the

south—west, that will drive in some rain. saturday will be the better of the two through the weekend. more cloud and some rain gushing from the west. but it will be a little bit milder with a return to double digits. a reminder of our main story... theresa may faces a showdown with her own mps over what role parliament will play in the brexit deal. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... theresa may has insisted parliament will have a "meaningful vote" on the terms of any brexit deal. she's facing the threat of a defeat in the commons tonight over parliament's role in any final agreement with brussels. we will put the final withdrawal agreement between the uk and eu to vote both houses of parliament. the four—time tour de france winner, chris froome, is being investigated over excessive use of an asthma drug which breached anti—doping rules.

a three—year—old girl has died in hospital, becoming the fourth child victim of a fire at a house in greater manchester. and the ringleader of a gang which used drones to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons has been sentenced to more than seven years in jail. craig hickinbottom is already serving a separate sentence for armed robbery. in a moment, it will be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news... at seven, as the republicans lose a key us senate seat in alabama, mica mosbacher, who serves on the national advisory board for donald trump's 2020 presidential campaign. we'll have the very latest from westminster as theresa may tries to avoid a revolt by backbench conservative mps against the government's brexit plans. and at 10.40, we'll take a look at tomorrow's papers withjessica elgot — political reporter at