it identified abuse at more than 4,000 institutions, including religious organisations, sporting clubs, foster homes and the military. up to 60,000 survivors may be eligible for compensation. in one of the largest—ever media deals, disney has agreed to buy most of fox for more than $50 billion. the deal will see disney take over a large slice of rupert murdoch's empire, including fox's film and tv studios. it still needs to be approved by shareholders and regulators. following months of heated public debate, regulators in the united states have decided to scrap rules which required internet service providers to treat all traffic equally. the head of the federal communications commission said removing what's known as net neutrality would increase innovation. now on bbc news, thursday in parliament. a humiliating and entirely

that was a humiliating and entirely avoidable defeat for the government. also on the programme: hamming criticism of government reforms that have left privation officers monitoring 200 offenders each, some only by phone. and it's six months since the horrific fire at grenfell tower. can the noble lord told the house what specific action the government are taking to get these families into accommodation in the new year? it was on the seventh amendment during the seventh day at around 7pm that the government suffered a defeat on the brexit bill. on thursday morning, along with their coco pops, mps were still

digesting what had happened and coincidently it was the brexit department who were down to answer questions in the commons. the session began with a bit of banter. ican session began with a bit of banter. i can understand why the ministry isn't quite as bright eyed and bushy tailed as normal this morning. i'm surprised he thinks that, it's the extension on afraid of the single european cold which is having a transition period of its own. but then it was down to business. last night this house voted that parliament should have a meaningful vote in trying in law at the end of the process. that was a humiliating and entirely avoidable defeat for the government. this house now having spoken, can the secretary of state give an assurance that the government will not seek to undermine or overturn last night's result at the report stage? well, let me first make an observation on last night's outcome. the effect of it is to make the

powers available under section nine deferred until after, as we see it, we get royal assent to the withdrawal agreement and implementation bill, which means there will be a very compressed timetable. those who want to see a smooth and orderly exit from the european union, hopefully they will wa nt european union, hopefully they will want to see a working statute book so we want to see a working statute book so we will have to think about how we respond to it but as always we ta ke we respond to it but as always we take the view of the house of commons seriously and we will continue to do so. keir starmer. mr speaker, that was not the basis on which the debate was conducted yesterday and obviously we'll have to come back to that. the next accident waiting to happen and is government amendment 381, which seeks to put a fixed exit date on the face of the bill. rather than the face of the bill. rather than the repeat last night's debacle, will the government commit to dropping that ill—conceived gimmick? unlike the right honourable

gentleman i don't view the house of commons as accidents, they are decisions taken by the house and that decision, we respect it, as we will the next one. no one on these benches who voted against the government took any pleasure in that, nobody drank champagne, nobody drank champagne, not on these benches, let's just nail that one. these are serious matters. it was avoidable if the offer that had been made by my right honourable learn it friend for beaconsfield had been taken up. essential to our ambition for an excellent deal is preparation for no deal, isn't it? well, that's one perspective. i'll tell you one thing about no deal, i think no deal has become massively less probable after the decisions of last friday, and that's a good thing because the best deal is a tariff free nontariff barrier free arrangement with the eu. however,

he's quite right, we do continue to prepare for all contingencies and will continue to do so until we're certain we have a good free trade deal with the european union. the european union is estimated to have a wine cellar of over 42,000 bottles and artwork worth more than £13 million, some might say metaphorically looted from the capitals of europe, after we leave the party, will them and the promised to take back control of our fairshare of promised to take back control of our fair share of this art and wine and not leave it for mrjuncker to enjoy and? the referendum was conducted in ignorance of the contents of the wine cellars and almost everything else and it was a choice between operation fear and operation lies, isn't it appropriate therefore that we listen to all those independent bodies who have looked at the prospects and decided that brexit, no brexit would be better than any

brexit and isn't it time to think about a second well—informed confirmation referendum ? about a second well—informed confirmation referendum?” about a second well—informed confirmation referendum? i enjoyed the honourable gentleman's speech the honourable gentleman's speech the other day but i will give him the other day but i will give him the same answer, the debate didn't come out of the blue, it was after 30 years of debate in this country and the government at the time wrote to every house in the country setting out the impact of the referendum and we should respect the decision of the british people. recent polls show there is a clear majority in favour of a referendum on the deal, and is it any wonder this government has lost control? yesterday parliament took back control and now the public want to ta ke control and now the public want to take back control from the tory party and the dup. can the minister please explain to my constituents how a referendum on the deal, the first referendum on the facts, would be antidemocratic? i'm very tempted to point out the polling results of

the liberal democrat party recently, but the simple point to her is this, i'io but the simple point to her is this, no opinion poll comes anywhere near the votes of 17.5 million people, which we will respect. following events in the chamber last night, some prominent members of the remain campaign took to twitter, saying this is another step towards theiraim of saying this is another step towards their aim of preventing brexit. with their aim of preventing brexit. with the secretary of state please confirm and reassure the 17.4 million people who voted to leave that this government is committed to delivering a positive brexit for this country? let me start by saying that i do not agree with the people who tweeted that that that was the purpose of many of the people who voted last night, i think they did so in good faith. however, he is right, the aim of this government is to take us out of this government is to take us out of the eu, that's what we were instructed to do by the british people and that's what we'll do. several mps were concerned about the rights of eu nationals living in the uk.

u nfortu nately uk. unfortunately the eu citizens living here and british citizens living in europe aren't certain. could the government not agree to putting an amendment down on the face of any other bills to give that certainty? the secretary of state claims the phase one agreement gives an security to eu nationals but this is consta ntly security to eu nationals but this is constantly undermined by the reference to a no deal brexit, which would rip that up. does he not acce pt would rip that up. does he not accept he needs to give legal standing to eu citizens rights now, not put them through another year of anxiety? the first thing i would say is the government has made clear from the beginning that it values the 3.2 million citizens who are here. the prime minister has written to them, not all of them, but the ones we have records for, and it is our clear intention and it will be legally binding within the withdrawal bill that they will have the rights we laid out.

staying with brexit and you may remember the seemingly endless debate over the impact assessments. these were the studies of 58 sectors of the economy and how brexit would affect them. except they turned out not to be impact assessments but sectoral analyses, it's all coming back, isn't it? one mp decided to have a look at them. i recently booked an appointment in the reading room and i thought it would be like an inner circle of hell, i'd be trapped in there for days to read the sector analysis, indeed i was in there with the honourable lady opposite, in fact there are only nine changes on social care and it took me less than an hourto read. several mps complained the documents released were incomplete and also having promised to hand them over the brexit secretary then said impact assessments didn't exist. they complained to the speaker and this amounted to contempt of parliament. john bercow delivered his verdict. ministers could, with advantage,

have been considerably clearer in their statements, particularly in challenging lines of questioning in select committees which were based upona select committees which were based upon a genuine misconception. the speaker said he had carefully considered the accounts given by ministers but he didn't consider their conduct amounted to a contempt of parliament. now, it's exactly six months since the horrific fire at the grenfell tower block in london. a memorial service has been held in honour of the 71 people who died. members of the 71 people who died. members of the royalfamily, the 71 people who died. members of the royal family, theresa the 71 people who died. members of the royalfamily, theresa may, survivors and the families of the victims attended the multifaith service at st paul's cathedral. in the lord's, the government was asked about new housing for those left homeless and traumatised by the fire. six months is a very long time in these circumstances to be living in hotel accommodation, and no way to spend christmas, vulnerable,

u nsettled spend christmas, vulnerable, unsettled and traumatised. can the noble lord tell the house what specific action the government are taking to get these families into accommodation in the new year? to bring the house up to date, 151 homes were lost in the fire, some of those homes were overcrowded, others had multigenerational households, which now wish to divide, so 210 households that formerly lived in g re nfell tower households that formerly lived in grenfell tower and households that formerly lived in gre nfell tower and gre nfell walk households that formerly lived in grenfell tower and grenfell walk me to be rehoused. 144 households have accepted an offer of either temporary or permanent accommodation, 94 have moved in. 111 are in emergency accommodation and 66 hammered accepted an offer. the lord asks quite rightly what action is being taken, the royal borough of kensington and chelsea plan by christmas to have acquired 300 homes set against the 210 needed and they

are acquiring two homes per day. i agree that christmas is no time to spendin agree that christmas is no time to spend in emergency accommodation and the government is acutely aware of that and in the four hotels where most of the families are, specific arrangements were made for the families to have space of their own to meet each other and entertain their wider families if they wanted to. a lot of services are being put oi'i to. a lot of services are being put on by voluntary and faith groups over the christmas period to help support those families. we very much hope that by june support those families. we very much hope that byjune next year everyone will have moved into permanent accommodation, but families need to move in their own time, some are in emergency accommodation not wanting to move into temporary accommodation because they might have to move twice, and the royal borough of kensington and chelsea is doing intensive work getting alongside the families finding out what accommodation they need and seeking to match that with the 300 houses they are acquiring. could i remind the minister that in the government statement on the

g re nfell the government statement on the grenfell fire on the 19th of 0ctober, it was said that there were expected to be 300 suitable, local, permanent properties by christmas and yet only 45 households have actually moved in. could i ask the minister whether he has confidence in the local council to deliver, or whether it may be time for the government to intervene more directly? well, the government has no plans to put commissions into the royal borough of kensington and chelsea. they have a new leader and a new chief executive and the government has established a task force to make sure the royal borough of kensington and chelsea live up to the expectations everyone has on for a plan to do. some of those in temporary accommodation, they want that temporary accommodation to become their permanent home and the royal borough of kensington and chelsea is approaching the relevant landlords to see if that can take place. some of those in emergency accommodation have already accepted

permanent accommodation but it takes time to complete, to fit out the house and put in the white goods for the families to move in. on conscience bears and impatience on behalf of your lordships to make progress but i'm confident the royal borough of kensington and chelsea, who plan to spend nearly £250 million acquiring property, have now got the message and the formal lack of emotional intelligence and empathy i think is now behind us and i think they're now getting on with the job. are any of those who are claiming now social housing... were any of those tenants of grenfell tower who had moved out and unlawfully let their accommodation to more than one family? because i don't think we need have too much sympathy for people who behave like that. lord young said the assistance from the council was for those living at

g re nfell tower the council was for those living at grenfell tower at the time of the fire. he has lived through tragic circumstances where people have lost their life and he will know better than anyone else in this house the trauma those people have been through. i think we ought to allow them the time and the space to find suitable accommodation to move into. lord young. you're watching tuesday in parliament with me, mandy baker. don't forget you can find all our programmes on the bbc iplayer. needed to help hundreds of thousands of children facing dickensian living conditions. that plea came as peers debated a report from the children's commissionerfor debated a report from the children's commissioner for england and wales which said millions of children were leaving vulnerable lives. the labour peer who opened the debate described the findings as horrific. a little girl of eight years old, anna, living with her mother and younger sister. their father, living with her mother and younger sister. theirfather, with an alcohol problem, has left the family, but when he was drunk he

returned sometimes. and when he does, anna knows that her responsibility is to take her as —— ta ke responsibility is to take her as —— take her younger sister upstairs to the bedroom, hide under the bed. that does nothing to protect them from hearing the beating their mother is getting downstairs from their father. and when mother is getting downstairs from theirfather. and when it mother is getting downstairs from their father. and when it is over, their father. and when it is over, the little girls see their mother's face pouring with blood. this is not drama, motherboards. this is real life for anna. the police are called, and eventually they said they had to move, so they went to a homeless refuge. that wasn't the end of their nightmare. in many respects it was just the start. council, of their nightmare. in many respects it wasjust the start. council, she said, were facing a £2 billion shortfalls in funding for children's services by 2020. this is a dickensian situation here in 2017, with which we have to come to terms and respond in a much more considered way, and more profoundly

than we have done up to now. it needs a high—level response, the highest, at prime minister level. 0nly highest, at prime minister level. only through mrs may expressing her determination that this scandal, for thatis determination that this scandal, for that is what it is, will now be solved, that government apartments will work together, pooling ideas and resources. is there any chance that progress will be made? around 700,000 hidden young people in the uk, children underthe 700,000 hidden young people in the uk, children under the age of 18. my lords, one in 12 of these children, are caring for someone at home, for more than 15 hours a week, delivering a significant caring tasks such as administering medication, toileting, bathing, domestic care and emotional support. around one in 20 of these young people miss school because of their caring responsibilities. however, these children are hidden from view. caring in silence under the radar of

social workers and teachers, carrying a huge burden of responsibility, often without support. at the beginning of her report the commission quotes from aa milne, sol report the commission quotes from aa milne, so i feel it right to start ina similar milne, so i feel it right to start in a similar manner. "promise me you will always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarterthan than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think". we must try to get vulnerable children in particular to think like this. when something goes wrong for a child, there should always be someorie a child, there should always be someone there to help. it is our duty to make sure that children and families have that support. he said action was being taken across government to reform care and mental health services and protected it is of abuse. where local authorities are not delivering social care services to the standard we expect, we have shown we will take tough action. we are appointing expert advisers to drive rapid improvement. where it is found that a local

authority does not have the capacity to bring about the changes needed itself, we will not hesitate to re move itself, we will not hesitate to remove service control. lady deane had a warning for the minister. the children's commissioner's report is going to become an annual one. so we will be able to watch and comment, rather forensically, just how well or not we as a nation are doing through our government for the children of england, who desperately need help in so many areas. lady deane. now, the committee on standards in public life revealed this week that one third of parliamentary candidates at the election in june had parliamentary candidates at the election injune had experienced in a redraw intimidating behaviour. —— inappropriate or intimidating. conservatives were twice as likely to be abused as labour candidates. the abuse can intensify once the candidate is elected, as sarah wallis and found to her cost. on one of the busiest saturdays in the

run—up to christmas in totnes, local activists, sadly including the local labour party, decided to parade with a real coffin and leave a large and carefully construct a model of a coffin at my constituency office. does the leader of the house feel, particularly in light of yesterday's report on intimidation in public life, that this overstepped a line of decency, that there are real dangers in using the imagery of death directed against individuals to whip up hatred, and that most importantly of all, this kind of thing deters really good candidates from applying for public life. yes, mr speaker, from applying for public life. yes, mrspeaker, i from applying for public life. yes, mr speaker, i was disgusted, as i am sure all honourable and right honourable members were, to hear about the awful experience of my honourable friend, and at the time i texted her to say i hope she was ok. that must have been absolutely terrifying, truly horrible. we should all condemn it and call it

out whenever we see this kind of behaviour. i think that's lord bews' report into the abuse and intimidation of candidates highlights that this is not a simple matter of holding politicians to account. this goes far beyond that. it will be a deterrent to seeing the diverse calibre of candidates we wa nt diverse calibre of candidates we want to see in our parliaments. so, i think, we all combine in condemning that action against my honourable friend. the chief inspector of the probation service has delivered a scathing verdict on the use of private firms to manage offenders who are considered low to medium risk. she said deep—rooted problems and community rehabilitation companies were not transforming rehabilitations in the ways that ministers had hoped. several peers were alarmed at the use of supervision by telephone. this well researched report, which i commend to the house, of interest to

us commend to the house, of interest to us all, presents a thoroughly dispiriting accounts of just us all, presents a thoroughly dispiriting accounts ofjust how great has been the deterioration and effectiveness of the probation service during the past three years. my service during the past three years. my lords, it is now clear that the so—called innovative programme has resulted in a disjointed and incoherent system despite the hard work of the staff. my lords, i hope the minister will agree that the big rooms of crime, the courts of this country, and local communities, deserve that, and is now urgent action will be taken to recover what has been lost in these recent changes. my lords, we recognise the concerns changes. my lords, we recognise the concerns identified via the inspectorate, and are working hard to address these problems. many of theissues to address these problems. many of the issues with crcs stem from the financial challenges that providers are facing. that has meant we have addressed those contractual terms. i

would, however, observed that two thirds of crcs have reduced the numberof thirds of crcs have reduced the number of people reoffending. one of the important issues that the chief inspector mentions in her report is the fact that low—risk all who are supposed to be supervised by the probation service can become higher risk. you gave the example of somebody can pick dead of driving while is qualified who was receiving telephone supervision. —— while disqualified. 0ne call, every six weeks. they eventually assaulted a previous partner. does the noble lord not accept that a phone call every six weeks is no way to supervise people who are supposed to be under the supervision of the probation service? my lords, supervision of offenders needs to be proportionate to the risk they present. in some cases, rumoured contact may be appropriate follower risk offenders who are complying with their orders. —— remote contact. but best practices for probation officers to work with offenders face—to—face. probation officers to work with offenders face-to-face. the ministry

is being meticulous in not actually thinking or supporting the inspector in his report. i would invite him to do so. during my 12 years in government, i came across james stacey, and she was one of the finest public servants i actually had finest public servants i actually ha d co nta ct finest public servants i actually had contact with during my time as a minister. —— dame stacey. ithink she deserves incredible support and banks of the house for the report. i would like hear that from the minister. my lords, i am perfectly happy to endorse observations made by the honourable lord and had i been asked earlier about that point i would have responded in the same way. is the minister really saying that the government is satisfied with a telephone form of probation? because i do not leave anybody in this house is. my lords, we are not satisfied with the telephone form of ovation, but as i say, contact with offenders has to be proportionate to the risk they present. —— form of

probation. my lords, can i assure the minister that when these proposals were put through by the coalition government, the proposals we re coalition government, the proposals were ideological driven. and i think some of the flaws which have emerged reveal that the kind of compromises that were created in the privation service, before these reforms, the probation service had an excellent report. we now have this disastrous report. we now have this disastrous report. could i put it to the minister that if he is now approaching at ideological league, there is now a really strong case for handing probation over wholly to the national probation service. —— ideologically. my lords, i am not approaching this matter as an ideologue. i am approaching it as a minister with responsibility for the implementation of the existing syste m implementation of the existing system of probation in which we continue to have faith. lord keane. just before i go, misleading the

house of commons is considered a very serious offence by the parliamentary authorities, so one mp was anxious to set the record straight. point of order, joan ryan. thank you, mr speaker. ifear i inadvertently misled the house during the business question when i suggested that honourable and right honourable members could enjoy the pantomime of dick whittington at the millfield theatre this christmas. indeed, that was the last pantomime i saw them act. if honourable members wish to attend the millfield thought it will be to enjoy jack members wish to attend the millfield thought it will be to enjoyjack and the beanstalk this year. —— theatre. no it won't. that's it. join me at the same time tomorrow for the round—up of the week at westminster. for now, from me, mandy baker, goodbye. well, the conditions on the roads

first thing in the morning could be quite tricky in some parts of the country. you can see the temperatures are below freezing in a number of areas, temperatures are below freezing in a number ofareas, and temperatures are below freezing in a number of areas, and with all the showers falling there is a bit of snow and some hail around as well. there could be icy patches around almost anywhere, especially across northern areas of the uk. friday will be quite cloudy in many areas. there will be some showers, particularly across the east. then the weather is going to brighten up during the course of friday. the best of the sunshine, i think, across southern scotland, the north—west of england and parts of the midlands. eastern areas will remain fairly cloudy. this is where we will see the most frequent showers during friday and into friday night. on friday night, the skies will clear and once again ice is on the way in places. saturday morning will start frosty. it will bea morning will start frosty. it will be a brighter day. still chilly. those temperatures are struggling on saturday. welcome to bbc news,

broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: child abuse on a staggering scale at more than 4,000 institutions. a five—year australian enquiry hands over its final report. in a deal worth more than $52 billion, disney buys most of rupert murdoch's fox business, creating the world's biggest movie company. off the coast of papua new guinea, one company is getting ready to mine the ocean floor. environmentalists are worried. that humanity should just plough with no regard for the consequences, because they don't know what they are. the most expensive american embassy a european summit late on friday is expected to unlock