about pornography found on his office computer. theresa may said it was with deep regret that she had asked him to resign. he has denied wrongdoing. donald trump's overhaul of the us tax system has been formally approved by both houses of congress. the president wasjoined by his republican colleagues to celebrate what is being seen as his biggest legislative success since taking office. democrats argue it will mainly benefit rich republican donors. voting takes place in catalonia later in a key election that could resolve spain's political crisis. pro—independence parties are up against those who want to remain part of a unified spain. the country was plunged into constitutional crisis when catalonia's parliament illegally declared independence in october. now on bbc news: wednesday in parliament. welcome to the programme.

it's been a dramatic evening here at westminster, with the first secretary of state damian green resigning. mr green was one of theresa may's closest allies, sitting next to her today at pmqs. he resigned from the cabinet after an investigation found he breached the ministerial code. before that news reached us, it was a busy parliamentary day. the government faced a rocky moment on brexit. let me make it very, very clear. if there is any attempt by this government to go back an amendment seven, i believe the rebellion will be even greater. the horror of an acid attack. there is nothing about me that i recognised. my identity as i knew it had gone. and michael gove unmasks a cheese traitor. i am concerned about your unpatriotic attitude towards cheddar. but first, the final pmqs of 2017, but there was not much in the way of festive cheer.

in 2009, the prime minister said it was a tragedy that the number of children falling into the poverty cycle was continuing to rise. every child deserves a roof over their head and food on the table. yet on her watch, in wandsworth alone, the number of families forced to survive on food banks is continuing to rise, and two and a half thousand children, yes, children, will wake—up homeless on christmas day. my question is simple. when will this austerity driven government say enough is enough, and put an end to this tragedy? thank you mr speaker. the honourable lady should note that in fact this government has lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of absolute poverty. but i think it is important for all those who have heard her question to be aware this.

she talks of two and half thousand children in wandsworth making up on christmas day. anybody hearing that will assume about what that means is that two and a half thousand children will be sleeping on our streets. it does not. the labour leader questions the prime minister about how the nhs was coping. could i pay tribute to our very ha rd—working national health service staff? many of whom, unlike us, won't get a break this christmas. is the prime minister satisfied that the national health service has the resources it needs this winter? first of all, can ijoin the right honourable gentleman, he refers to those nhs staff who will be working very hard this christmas and you won't get

a break at christmas. of course it's not only our nhs staff who will be working hard this christmas, it's also our emergency and many others who go to work on christmas day so others can enjoy their christmas day and we thank all of them. he asks about reparations for winter, i can say to him in the health service has prepared more extensively for this winter than ever before. these plans are helping to ensure safe, timely care for patients. as that happens, those are not my words, they are of the chief executive of nhs providers. butjeremy corbyn has his "from the chief executive of nhs england. sir simon stephens did say the nhs needs for alien from the nhs next year just a standstill, and the reality is the government has given the nhs less than half of he asked for. the last labour government's record on health, their nhs legacy was described as a mess. while you are clearing that up,

we are putting more money into the nhs. but who was it who described labour's nhs legacy as a mess? it was the right honourable gentleman. heckling when he is running for leader, he denounces the labour party, now he's leader of the labour party, he's trying to praise it. mrspeaker, can i... i could quote the prime minister, something she might be familiar with. if the government wants to reduce the pressure is on the health

service and keep people out of hospital in the first place, then it needs to tackle the chronic underfunding of care and support services in the community which are at a tipping point. who said that? conservative leader of warwickshire county council. mr speaker... the question was an social care. but the issue is about the nhs as a whole. it is there to provide care and dignity for all if they fall ill. but our nhs goes into this winter in crisis. just over two hours after that, theresa may was once again answering mp‘s questions, this time in the more genteel surroundings of the boothroyd room. she was appearing in front of the liaison committee, comprised of chairs of all the common select committees, inevitably the focus was on brexit. is it still love you that you can complete the negotiating of a free trade agreement by march 2019? it is. that is what we are working to,

and that is what i believe we can do. i believe that is important, everybody wants to know on what basis they will be operating in the future. such that the period is practical, which is implementing going towards implementing the agreement that we have with the european union. i have said i and other ministers have said, that of course we start off at a different point from other third countries as we will be, from other third countries negotiating with the eu, because we are already a member and already trading with them on a particular basis. as you will know full well, there is... we can't legally sign in the new trade agreement with the european union until the third country, out of the eu, the eu, the 29th of march 2019, but i believe we can negotiate that arrangement in that time. that's the view you hold, and the government holds, but the view on the other side

of the negotiating table is that the west that is going to be achieved by march 2019 is a scoping of what a agreement would cover, and certainly i have met nobody who thinks it is possible to negotiate all the details of that by march 2019. why the government is so confident they can be done when with whom it is negotiating to think it can. a lot is often said about the time it takes to negotiate trade deals. there are different experiences around the world of the length of time it takes to negotiate trade deals, as i say, the reason i'm confident we can do this within the time concern, is because we start off from a different point. we have not got a situation where country a is coming to negotiate with the eu not having had any arrangements with the eu before. we come from the point where we are actually a member of the european union,

operating on the same basis at the moment, and therefore i think that stops us off from a different position in terms of our negotiations on trade in the future. having called the election, did you imagine you would be back six months later and beg the european union for two more years in the florence speech? i have not begged the european union for two more years. if you listend to what i said in the lancaster house speech, you will see that we were already talking about the concept of a smooth and orderly process of withdrawing from the european union. that is what the implementation period is about. this is not two more years to negotiate with the european union. this is about two years when practically both businesses and governments will be able to put in place the changes necessary to move from the current relationship to the future partnership that we will have. the home affairs committee pressed the prime minister on the meaningful

vote that mps had secured last week and exchanges which would have consequences later in the day. will that primary legislation happen before written goes through the ratification process for the treaty? we will have had... parliament would have an opportunity to say whether or not it agrees with the treaty that we have agreed with the european union. there will be then a process of bringing that agreed treaty into uk law. after the tension of those exchanges, one labour mp seemed concerned for theresa may's well—being. you do not have to do everything, prime minister. as i say, we will respond to... i think and i hope the female members of the committee will agree that women are pretty good at multitasking. frank field was not letting go. for your health‘s sake, i think, as sarah said,

there's a real opportunity of governing differently while you get on with the main issue. food for thought. you are watching wednesday in parliament. you can find all our programmes over on the bbc iplayer. the day finally dawned, the eu withdrawal bill was back in the commons for its eighth day of detailed scrutiny. we had only had 56 hours of this but what with the last eight bring? one of the main points of discussion was to be an amendment allowing ministers to change the date on which the uk leaves the eu. an amendment the government has accepted. 0ne conservative mp was not going to wait for the afternoon debate to begin. he broached the subject on prime minister's questions. as one of the signatories to amend and 400 to the eu withdrawal bill. may i seek an assurance from the prime minister that its provisions to change the date of our leaving the eu will be invoked only if at all under extremely exceptional circumstances and only for a very short period? that reassurance...

we are very clear. we will be leaving the eu on the 29th of march, 2019, at 11pm. the bill that is going through, it is not determined that the uk leaves the eu, but as part of article 50 process, a matter of international law. it is important that we have the same position legally as the european union and that is why we have accepted the amendment. but i can assure my honourable friend and the house, we would only use this power in exceptional circumstances for the shortest possible time and an affirmative motion would be brought to the house. so, with appetites whetted, it was onto the main course. you will remember last week the government suffered a defeat. ministers did not want to go

through that again so conservatives divide the data amendment and the government accepted it. the compromise would allow ministers to amend the date if needed. so the debate began. i am really profoundly grateful, not only those are my right honourable friends who have joined us on this amendment but also to the government which i think is showing exactly the way to deal with these things which justified a sensible compromise that brings all of us on these benches together and make the opposition entirely relevant to the discussion. indeed, it hampers the process. it is franklyjust another example of the government bearing red meat to the more extreme brexiteers on their benches. and, as we said on day one, this amendment is not serious legislation. it is a gimmick. and it is a reckless one. i could not see why we were losing the sensible flexibility of the way

in which the bill had originally been drafted. but i do recognise, underlying this, there does seem to be a sort of the neurosis abroad that sometimes this magical date might not be reached. i can't fully understand some of these neurosis of my right honourable friend. this christmas, the soldiers have met on the fields of no man's land singing silent night has peace breaking out at an opportune moment. i am filled with the christmas spirit of my honourable friend. very much which to see that, not only be present to christmas but also carried through into the new year. i can assure the house that we would only use this power in exceptional circumstances to extend the deadline

for the shortest period possible and that we cannot envisage the date being brought forward. as my right honourable friend the prime minister has said many times, we and the eu are planning on the uk leaving the european union at 11pm on the 29th of march, 2019. several mps were concerned about what the prime minister said to the liaison committee about the meaningful vote or amendment seven. 0ur prime minister appears to be rowing back on that and we have a minister who is not able to give an unequivocal statement at the dispatch box that this government will not order amendment seven. let me make it very, very clear. if there's any attempt by this government to go back an amendment seven, i believe that the rebellion will be even greater and it will have even bigger consequences and will give way. i am happy to give my right honourable friend an early christmas present.

i can give her the following assurance on behalf of the government. the government has accepted amendment seven will stop written ministers statement that the abolition of the exit of the eu. 0n the withdrawal treaty, the terms of the future agreement and of course there will be in a withdrawal agreement, implementation bill which the house will consider in detail. all legislation is amended. i think that is the unequivocal statement that i'm looking for and if it is, i'm extremely grateful to the minister for doing that, clearing that up and it is a great christmas present. at a morning news conference, the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier said he was not aware of any free trade deal the eu had agreed which included unfettered access for financial services. large london—based financial institutions have released set up subsidiaries the eu to pre—empt brexit. a few hours later, become that the bank of england emphasise

the importance of the uk to the rest of europe the uk financial system is effectively the bank of the europe any most complicated bits of finance, the wholesale markets. there are substantial economies of scale and scope their benefit both sides. he said that free trade or some form of corporate abridgement of financial services was now possible. i do not accept the argument that just because it has not been done in the past, it cannot be done in the future. we can't just walk away from progress. it is claimed that parts of london are now no—go areas for mopeds delivery drivers because of fears about acid attacks. a debate in westminster hall figures on the sharp rise in the number of incidents where corrosive substances are used as a weapon. two labour mps from the east end of london started the debate.

i've had a number of discussions with representatives of mopeds delivery drivers and they say there are now parts of london where their drivers are not willing to go because of the danger of attack and i think all of us would regard it as unacceptable that there are no—go areas in parts of london and parts of the uk. possession of acid should in itself be an offence in exactly the same way that possession of a knife is an offence at the moment. way that possession of acid is an offence at the moment. way that possession of a knife is an offence at the moment. january 2012, the number of acid attacks in london has gone up by a horrifying 550%. lynne brown read out the words of a acid attack victim katie piper he says had to be rebuilt by surgeons. "when i held the mirror, i thought someone had given me a broken one or put a silly face on it as a joke. i knew they had taken my face away and it was somewhere in a bin

in the hospital. but in my head, i had assumed i would look like the old katie, just with a few red blotches. i wanted to tear the whole thing off and make it go away. there was nothing about me that i recognise. there was nothing about me that i recognised. my identity as i knew it had gone." katie's courage and her will to survive and thrive are just simply amazing. she has had to go more than 250 surgeries since the attack. she still has bad days but she has transformed her life. it is an undeniable fact that it's still far too easy for the wrong people to get their hands on these dangerous substances which cause life changing harm to people. it is the case that restricting access to these dangerous acids will in many cases will force them to find a different method to continue their violence. in addition to committing efforts to end acid violence,

you must equal attention to preventing violence occurring in the first place. a home office minister said the goverment had drawn up an action plan to counter the rising number of acid attacks. tackling the use of acid used in violent attacks. it is vital we work together and protect the public and prevent attacks which is why we are working so closely with a range of partners, including the police, the cps and retailers. we will continue to review and monitor the implementation of the action plan that in addition to this action plan, the government is committed to tackling serious violence and that is why the home secretary has announced a new series by that strategy which will be published in early 2018. i'd very much like to see the acid attacks being included in that as part of that strategy. victoria atkins. the environment secretary, michael gove, has told mps on the environment committee

he could block any trade deal with the us that allowed chlorinated chicken to be imported into the uk. you would hold up whole trade deal, city of london, everything, to make sure that we do not get chicken chlorine washed? i think, the whole point about trade deals is you have got to do, be assertive in the defence of your own interest and high animal wealth of standards and environmental standards are not just things that are important to british consumers, important to british producers. the problem with animal welfare and a piece of meat is the fact that you have to actually analyse how that poultry or that meat has actually been reared. when you actually see the meat

that is there to buy, you will not be able to tell whether it is organic, whereas it is free range on what it is, you will not be able to test would. this is an issue, as we do those deals, you want to be sure that products that come in, have met those standards or else they are very clearly labelled that they have not. i think that is something that we really will be keen on because i think otherwise farming will not compete in the new world. i think there is more that we can do in order to allow people who are british consumers to make better informed judgments about where it comes for. you are right there is more we can do to ensure people are aware of the circumstances under which food in other countries is sometimes produce. we do say that there are some countries whose animal welfare standards are so compromise that we will not import particular types of food from them. the effect of brexit on farmers and consumers depend on what kind of deal the uk gets. brexit in itself, it can mean

a variety of different things. we could end up with, this is the government's then, we could end up with, this is the government's aim, a deeper free trade agreement, the opportunity to secure arrangements with other countries. we might not get a trade agreement that is perfect in every respect, there is a chance we are doing everything we can to prevent it that we might end up trading with the eu police for a period on wto terms. our view is... you are doing some assessments on what wto rules would mean both to agricultural. the department is doing that? yes. cheddar cheese, it is my favourite. it'll have a 40% tariff. we import lots cheddar from ireland. how much will cheddar prices go up by? i am deeply upset by your unpatriotic attitude to the cheddar. i would like to have a discussion on every type of cheese

in the country, they are all very good. things got a little bit he did. —— heated. the amount we give something to the european union is recorded in these districts. teacher prices is a rejection and people can disagree what the factors might be. on your point about the system of changing agricultural support, we will be saying more and outlining how we will do that in the command paper we published next year. sorry, sorry. the 50 million fee was a lie. it was untrue. technically speaking, one of the things i would say is absolutely not. more broadly... parliamentary language. please. they reason that they voted the way they did, they were too stupid to understand the argument is,

good luck at the next election. let us leave it there. finally, there was a little tinsel dangling from the wall of parliamentary recess. it caught the light during prime minister's questions. last year the prime minister told the radio times that she likes to prepare and cook her own goose. in the spirit of christmas, can i suggest to her that in order to extract the maximum pleasure from the messyjob of stuffing her goose, that she names it either michael or boris? it's a mark of the rarity of such humidity that he got a round of applause. in fact, the speaker had to quieten them down with a quip of his own. order! i'm sure the prime minister has got better taste than that. can i say i think i will have to resist the temptation to call

the goose jeremy. comedy gold. that is it from me, just one more day before the seasonal parliamentary close down. do join me at the same time tomorrow. for now, from me, good night. hi there. the cold weather that we had during the first half of december is a long way behind us, and, really, for the run—up to christmas, including christmas day, the weather looks pretty mild. light rain and drizzle for the first

pa rt light rain and drizzle for the first part of the day on thursday for dog over the hills, of the taos and chilton ‘s as well. wales, north—west england and northern ireland, the rain not too heavy but persistent. temperatures in double figures for most. the best of any sunshine in scotland. through thursday, the cloud thickens up. a mild giant bought most of us, murky with mist and fog patches. clearer skies across the far north of scotland. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: britain's prime minister theresa may sacks her deputy, one of her closest allies, over allegations that he lied about pornography on his work computer. he's calling it "a big, beautiful tax cut". donald trump gets his first major legislative win as republicans approve the biggest tax

overhaul in a generation. we report from barcelona ahead of crucial elections, that could decide the catalan independence debate. mps in uganda vote to scrap age limits for the presidency, meaning yoweri museveni may be able to run for a sixth term in office.