if the senate doesn't approve new budget measures by midnight, local time. president trump has been meeting the democrats' senate leader, chuck schumer, to discuss ways to avert the crisis. mr trump said it had been an excellent meeting. russia has denied withdrawing its forces from the syrian region of afrin ahead of an expected turkish attack. turkish media earlier said moscow had started pulling its personnel out of the enclave, which is controlled by kurdish fighters. but the russian foreign minister said these reports had been refuted. pope francis has made his first visit to the amazon on the final leg of his trip to chile and peru. speaking to thousands of indigenous people on the edge of the rainforest in peru, he said amazon tribes had "never been so threatened" and that they "bore deep wounds". now on bbc news, it's time for the week in parliament. hello and welcome to

the week in parliament. coming up on this programme: jeremy corbyn attacks the government's handing of the collapse of the construction firm carillion and reckons there's a bigger problem. this isn't one isolated case of government failure. it's a broken system. but theresa may says the labour party has turned its back on investment, growth and jobs. a labour party that will always put politics before people! also on this programme: the bill putting eu law into uk law ahead of brexit clears the commons — for now! and the justice secretary says he won't seek a judicial review of the parole board decision to release serial sex attacker john worboys from prison. i know this will disappoint the victims in this case and members of this house.

given the crimes for which he has been convicted, on a personal level, i share those concerns. but first to the story that dominated the westminster week — the collapse of construction giant carillion. carillion has around a50 public sector contracts, from nhs cleaning to school dinners and prisons to homes for service families. it's also involved in the hs2 high—speed rail line and maintenance for network rail. after statements and questions earlier in the week, jeremy corbyn used prime minister's questions to accuse the government of negligence for continuing to award contracts to the firm after it issued profit warnings last year. mr corbyn thought ministers had some explaining to do. in the last six months, the government has awarded more than £2 billion worth of contracts to carillion. it did so even after the share price was in freefall and the company had issued profit warnings.

why did the government do that? if it was the case that the government pulled out of contracts or private sector companies pulled out of contracts whenever a profit warning was issued, that would be the best way to ensure that companies failed and jobs were lost. it looks like the government was handing carillion public contracts, either to keep the company afloat, which clearly hasn't worked, although it was just deeply negligent of the crisis. which is it? mr speaker, i am very happy to answer questions when the right honourable gentleman asks one. he didn't! this is not one isolated case. of government negligence and

corporate failure. it is a broken system. under this government, virgin and stagecoach can spectacularly mismanage the east coast main line and be let off a £2 billion pay—out, capita can continue to wreck the lives through damaging disability assessments of many people with disabilities and win more government—funded contracts. gas promised to provide security at the olympics, failed to do so, and the army had to step in and save the day. these corporations, mr speaker, need to be shown the door! we need our public services provided by public employees with a public service ethos and a strong public oversight. as the ruins of carillion lie around her, will the prime minister act to end this costly

racket of the relationship between government and some of these companies? i might, first of all, remind the right honourable gentleman that a third of carillion contracts were let by the labour government. what labour oppose is notjust a role for private companies in public services, but the private sector as a whole. the vast majority of people in this country in employment are employed by the private sector. but the shadow chancellor calls businesses the real enemy. labour want the highest taxes in our peacetime history, labour policies would cause a run on the pound, this is a labour party that has turned its back on investment, growth, jobs. a labour party that will always put politics before people! theresa may and jeremy corbyn.

now, this was the week when when mps waved goodbye — for now at least — to the eu withdrawal bill, the legislation putting eu rules and regulations into uk law to stop a legislative black hole opening up after brexit. on tuesday, labour and the snp failed in an effort to tempt scottish conservatives to rebel against the government. ministers had promised they'd change the bill to make sure that powers coming back from brussels would be devolved to scotland, wales and northern ireland and not keep them at westminster. but despite their promises, those changes aren't ready yet and will have to be made, not in the commons, as expected, but in the house of lords. the snp urged scottish tory mps to support the opposition‘s devolution demands, saying the government had gone back on its promise. this is a democratic abomination that the scottish parliament will have less of a say, this house will have less of a say, the house of lords.

there was no doubt that scottish conservatives were unhappy at the failure to make the promised changes by now. one said he was "intensely disappointed". this disappointed". bill will leave here unamended and this bill will leave here unamended and even uncut as restated we are now dependent on unlike the lords to doa now dependent on unlike the lords to do a job for us. the government had control of the timetable. the deadlines were created by them, but they have let us down by not delivering on what they promised. i am disappointed that we have been unable to reach agreement with the governments in scotland and wales to bring forward amendments to clause 11 on an agreed basis, and that is what the government's ambition remains. but when it came to a vote, scottish conservatives ignored the pleas to rebel — the government won by a majority of 24. the next day, a labour mp also tried to make changes to the bill.

in a debate heavily dominated by remainers, ian murray proposed that the government must publish an impact assessment on both staying in and leaving the single market and customs union. and those assessments should be done before mps held their final vote on the overall deal. the reason the government will resist this new clause is not through any principle. it is because they know any negotiated deal they come back with an obvious the deal we have today. that will say to the public the they will bring back a deal that makes the country poorer. while summing up, the minister didn't address those demands for an impact assessment directly. there then followed a series of votes, all of which the government won, meaning the bill was able to go on for its final reading in the commons. and so, the brexit secretary came to the chamber to make one last speech on the bill before it went to the house of lords to be scrutinised by peers. mr speaker, we are sending an improved piece of legislation

onwards to the other place. and i hope that that house will acknowledge the substance and spirit of the debate and scrutiny this bill has received so far and it will unfold in the same constructive way as it as it has in this house. but his labour opposite number disagreed. this bill was never fit for purpose. it was unfit for purpose when it started its life last year. and after 64 hours at committee and ten hours at report, it is still not fit for purpose. it is fit for purpose, however, for the implementing the greatest festival of democracy that we have ever known in this country! where, injune 2016, 17 million of our citizens voted to leave the eu. the snp put down one last amendment, saying the bill shouldn't get its final third reading in the commons, in effect wrecking it. ian blackford argued the bill

was incompatible with devolution. and declining a third reading this evening, we send a clear signal to the government that this house cannot allow the commitments made to pass. it is the last chance for scottish tory mps to join us and to stand up for the devolved settlement. but that snp amendment was defeated by 322 votes to 295, the bill went on to get its third reading, and will now go off to the house of lords. the black cab rapistjohn worboys could be freed within weeks after the government opted not to challenge his release. thejustice secretary david gauke told mps on friday that it would not be appropriate to seek a judicial review of the case. worboys was jailed indefinitely in 2009 with a minimum term of eight years for drugging and sexually assaulting a dozen female passengers. police believe he may have committed as many as 100 similar offences. the news of the parole board

decision outraged many and thejustice secretary commissioned advice on the possibility of taking the highly unusual step of seeking a judicial review. the bar for the judicial review to succeed is very high. the test for deciding the decision is unreasonable is not simply that the decision—maker — in this case the parole board — could've made an alternative decision, but that no reasonable person would have come to the same conclusion on the facts of the case. similarly, it would be necessary to identify failing to follow that failing to follow that process by the parole board that would have had a material impact on the decision. having taken considered an expert legal advice, i have decided that it would not be appropriate for me as secretary of state to proceed with such a case. i know this will disappoint the victims in this case and members of this house.

given the crimes for which he has been convicted, on a personal level, candidly, i share those concerns. he said worboys would not be released until victims had been heard, and licence conditions put in place. and he announced he'd be expanding a review of the parole process. today's news makes the need for changes in the parole board even more pressing. the current rules permit either the secretary of state or victims to bring judicial review. many will have seen they are doing and have attracted much public support for the fundraising for this. judicial review is a key tool for every citizen to be able to challenge unjust or unlawful decisions by the state or other public bodies. deep cuts to legal aid have undermined the ability of many to pursue judicial reviews. who and how is held to account in the parole board if those released early re—offend ? the test for a parole board

in the context of one of these ipp prisoners is an assessment of the risk to the public, and that is what the probe or the haas determine in the circumstances. david gauke. now let's take some other news from around westminster in brief. what more can be done to tackle childhood obesity? one conservative reckons the stars of prime—time tv shows such as britain's got talent and i'm a celebrity should take a stand against junk food being advertised to children during their shows. it's notjust a coincidence of scheduling that these ads run alongside some of our biggest tv shows such as the x factor, britain's got talent, hollyoaks of the symptoms. if we are to affect change, as jamie oliver has demonstrated, we need some of that star manage. i'm calling on household names like simon cowell, ant & dec, dermot o'leary and amanda holden to take

responsibility, stand up to broadcasters and say that they will no longer be used as a hook to sell harmfuljunk food to our children. their own children. an snp mp says customers are being "ripped off" by mobile phone companies. patricia gibson said many consumers were continuing to pay for their handset after they'd covered the cost of buying it. the chances are that, if you are a customer with one of the bigger mobile phone providers who dominate the market, the price consumers are charged each month will not change. meaning that means that consumers continue to be charged for their handsets, even though they have already paid for them over the course of their two—year contract. the government suffered a series of defeats in the week on its sanctions and anti—money laundering bill. on wednesday, a former head of the judiciary criticised plans to give ministers the power to create new criminal offences. lord judge, who is a former lord chiefjustice of england and wales, told peers that proposals

to allow ministers to create new money laundering offences without having to get a new bill passed by parliament were "constitutionally troublesome". the amendment won cross party support and the government was defeated by 264 votes to 184, a majority of 80 votes. new figures show that one in ten nurses are leaving the nhs in england every year. and last year, more than 33,000 nurses gave up theirjobs. that's 3,000 more than joined the service. when labour raised the issue in the lords, a health minister insisted nursing numbers had increased since 2010. there are now more than 100,000 vacant post in the hs. -- nhs. will the minister accept the need to lift the pay cap,

fund rises for nurses, restore bursaries and restored this profession. the noble lord is wrong to say they are and under the appreciated profession. of course we want to reduce the number of nurses leaving the profession. it is important to point out that the number of nurses has risen. the treatment of small businesses by the royal bank of scotland has been described by an mp as "the largest theft anywhere, ever" that charge came as the commons debated the banks' global restructuring group — grg — which has been accused of mistreating its customers by the city watchdog, the financial conduct authority. the royal bank of scotland has apologised for how it treated customers who ended up in its grg. but mps demanded an inquiry and tougher action against the banks. the mp who led the debate described the experience of one constiuent.

he lost his business, his home, his marriage, and i think it fair to say almost his sanity. his crime, nothing more than being an entrepreneur who banked with rbs. does my honourable friend agree with me that the rbs global restructuring group had a real cultural problem? their top tips include the phrase, rope, sometimes you just have to let customers hang themselves. clearly, there is something very wrong. i agree. i think since 2008, we know that 16,000 small businesses were put into grg and the vast majority of them were liquidated. this was meant to be somewhere where they were put back to try and get them into a situation

where they could come back as a viable business. it was more of an abattoir. we do know that 90% of grg administered businesses never made it back to mainstream banking. the cost of this is immeasurable but we leave this to be ——believe it to be in the tens of billions. let's be clear here. this is the potential size of the injustice that has taken place in our country. if it is this big it may be the largest theft anywhere ever. the treasury committee is investigating the allegations against rbs. when i hear constituents and others saying they will never trust a bank again, this should be a chilling moment for all banks lending and working.

they are right to say we will wait for the conclusion of the investigation of the matters arising from the report before determining what further action needs to be taken. on the broader issue of dispute resolution, i remind the house of the existing avenues open but the fca is undertaking work to look at the relationship and it is right that we wait for the next steps. mps have been told that children as young as 12 are being used by gangs to traffic drugs across the country. known as "county lines", the gangs use the youngsters to transport drugs, weapons and money between cities and smaller towns. the national crime agency says there are at least 720 of these lines in england and wales, with 283 coming out of london alone. the labourmp,joan ryan, raised the wide reaching criminal activity in a westminster

hall debate. in vulnerable children as young as 12 being groomed by gangs with promises of money, companionship and respect. but in reality, they are often forced to go missing from home for long periods of time, they are used as drug mules, predominantly heroin and crack cocaine, they are trafficked to remote areas and forced to deal drugs in squalid conditions. at all times, they are at great personal risk of at rest ——arrest by the police, which is probably the early time they are really safe, or from physical and sexual abuse from older gang members. a labour mp said she first found out about the problem when a mother came to her about her son who'd been arrested for trafficking drugs between london and portsmouth. her son was involved in running drugs from lewisham to the south coast.

there are 317 under—25s from lewisham believed to be involved in that activity, of which about 200 are of school age. they are supplying drugs in 19 different counties. that is 200 school age children from one london borough out of 32. this is not an insignificant problem. drug gangs target vulnerable young people, including children in care, and those who have had very difficult times at home, they deliberately target those children because they know that they are susceptible to peer pressure, they are susceptible to the influence of these adults. they beguile, they entice, they flatter, and they befriend them. and when they have ensnared them, they put them to criminal work. it is exploitation, pure and simple,

and this is why i am so pleased that we are beginning to see these cases prosecuted under the modern slavery act so that we give them the stigma that they deserve, as well as tackling their criminality. victoria atkins. now, let's go back to the commons on friday where mps backed a bill giving tenants in england the ability to take landlords to court if their home is unsafe. currently, if a landlord doesn't deal with a request for maintenance and repairs, it is up to the council to enforce the law. labour mp karen buck brought in the bill which would mean in future, tenants could bring civil proceedings if their home is unfit to live in. currently, and extraordinarily, landlords have no obligations to their tenants to keep the conditions of the property fit for habitation. there is an obligation to repair the structure of the property and keep in repairfeatures such as gas, water, and electricity, but that only applies when there is damage.

had to bring home to a flat damp that when i visited her, even i was struggling to breathe. i met a pensioner two weeks ago who was taken into hospital with hypothermia twice because of the cold in her flat. and she fell and hit her steps on. the bill had widespread support from across the house. but a conservative thought there were areas where it could go further. we do not want a position whereby someone who takes action under this bill find themselves homeless

because the landlord has said, you can take me to court but i will evict you as a result. that would be reprehensible and we have to combat that in a way. the minister too backed the bill. the government does want to support good land laws and to avoid further regulation on them which pushes up rents and reduces choice. but small number of criminal landlords knowingly rent out and safe and substandard accommodation. —— unsafe and substandard accommodation. we are determined to crack down on these landlords and disrupt their uses. finally, let's take a look at some of the quirkier news from around westminster this week. here's clare gould. some new faces on the front bench following theresa may's reshuffle. newjustice secretary was sworn

in as lord chancellor on thursday. charges of treason after an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a settlement with a powerful organisation. the eu withdrawal bill completed its final stage. 12 days of debate challenged many. mr swain blamed and early mornings when for the relapse. the president of france came to visit, bringing an offer to the uk to house the famous bayeaux tapestry. the latest edition of

the conversation series with michael heseltine got a celebrity endorsement from peter stringfellow. clare gould with our countdown. and that's it from us for now but do join mandy baker on bbc parliament on monday night at 11pm for a full roundup of the day at westminster. but for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. again scotland is the epicentre of the snowy weather and things like this have been typical today for parts of western and southern scotland. looking at the weather over the next 24, 48 hours we have two areas of low pressure moving away. here is the weather picture on saturday. band of rain working into the cold west and an ongoing threat of ice and snow uncertainty as to

how far north is banned reaches this and evidence are getting writing. if that happens there could be snow, three orfour that happens there could be snow, three or four centimetres of snow, for a time during the morning. similar totals across the higher grounds of wales and perhaps also across the north—west midlands. further south, the most part it is cold rain falling for most of the day although there be sleet mixed in. changes through the rest of saturday will be fairly slow. rights guides in scotland filter slowly southwards. for most of england and wales it will be one of those old days where the rain turns lighter but a cold day coming up for most. a range of temperatures between two and five celsius, milder in the south—west. saturday night sees the next pulse of rain coming in the second wary —— area of low pressure. ahead of that, clear skies allow one of the colder nights we have seen in scotla nd

of the colder nights we have seen in scotland so far this winter. temperatures could down to —8. on sunday, the band of rain continues to bump into the cold air and will turn to snow. across the higher areas of the pigs, pennines and across scotland, that snow could amount to ten or 15 centimetres. certainly possible —— possibility for travel disruption. fleet moving in at lower levels but that will not last long because the air will turn mild and we will see a transition back to rain. less problematic than the main problem is probably over the main problem is probably over the high ground. cold underneath the band of rain and snow in the north—east, mild airfiltering into many western areas and that is your weather. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani.

our top stories: down to the wire and time to decide — the pressure is on for us politicians to avoid a shutdown of the federal government. president trump says hopes of making a deal "are not looking good" and claims the democrats want a shutdown. a new front in the conflict in syria, but this time it's turkey opening fire on kurdish forces. facing up to his crimes — we hearfrom more gymnasts who survived sexual abuse by the former team usa doctor, larry nassar. hopes and fears for peru — pope francis speaks about the future for the future of the amazon and its people. also in the programme, hold on tight! we take a look at the 1000km/h tube ride.