this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11am... theresa may is to face mps questions after her decision to commit uk forces to missile strikes on syria this weekend. facing deportation after decades in the uk — a minister admits more must be done to help the windrush generation. james comey says donald trump is "unfit for office" in his first major interview since being fired as fbi director. he strikes me as a person of above average intelligence who is trapped in conversations and knows what is going on. i don't think he is medically unfit to be president, i think he is morally unfit to be president. also in the next hour... the sound of the night skies. how vibrations from the stars are being captured and turned into song. and anti—social drinking — wetherspoons deletes all its social media accounts amid concerns about trolling and privacy.

good morning, it's monday 16th april. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. theresa may will appear before mps this afternoon to defend her decision to authorise air strikes against the syrian government. opposition parties say mps should have been consulted before the uk joined the us and france in bombing three syrian sites in response to a suspected chemical attack on the town of douma. labour has called for the law to be changed for any future interventions. ben wright reports. today, mps will get to quiz theresa may for the first time since she agreed to join the us

and france in attacking suspected chemical weapons sites in syria. mps were not asked to approve military action before it happened in the early hours of saturday morning. four raf tornados took part in bombing raids, part of a joint strike against syrian regime targets. here is a chemical weapons facility near damascus before and after the missile strike. theresa may is expected to tell mps that the bombing of syrian targets was in britain's national interest, and necessary to prevent further use of chemical weapons. the uk government says there's clear evidence the assad regime used one of its helicopters to drop a barrel bomb with chemicals in it on douma earlier this month. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has said other groups may have been involved and has questioned the legality of the air strikes. the government will ask the speaker of the commons

to grant an emergency debate following the prime minister's statement, a chance for mps to ask where the west's action in syria might go next. it's possible opposition parties will call for a symbolic vote too, but not one that will tie the government's hands or criticise it for the military action already undertaken. ben wright, bbc news. we can cross now to westminster and speak to our chief political correspondent, vicki young. what can we expect from events in parliament today? it will certainly be a day dominated by the military action that took place over the weekend and we can expect theresa may to robustly defend their decision, as she did on tuesday. —— on saturday. very much talking about the fact that she feels that normalisation, the use of chemical weapons, needs to be stopped, and she said it was up to the international community to do

something about that. the argument from ministers is that this was a very precise abstract, it wasn't getting involved in the wider civil conflict in syria, but they will face questions and she will take questions from mps this afternoon about the way it was done, about the fa ct about the way it was done, about the fact there was no parliamentary approval, but when it comes to taking actions and the reasons for doing it, we heard this morning from the foreign secretary about why britain decided to act. it is important to stress this was not an attempt to change the tide of the war in syria or have a regime change, or to get rid of bashar al—assad. i'm afraid the syrian war, in many ways, will go on in his horrible, miserable way. but it was the world saying that we have had enough of the use of chemical weapons, the erosion of that taboo that has been in place for 100 years has gone too far under bashar al—assad. it was time that we said no. it has become of the book —— a

convention to get parliamentary approval although it is not legally required. today they could be a vote at the end of proceedings though it would not be an explicit vote on military action, more that the house has considered that the situation in syria, so that may not be the way that the parties decide to go. but this is the former attorney general dominic grieve. there is an argument that it would be better to get parliamentary approval before any military action ta kes approval before any military action takes place, though there is no legal requirement to do it. the difficulty is if you are going to do very limited targeted action, holding a debate beforehand may delay taking the action when it needs to be done speedily and also it is difficult to have a debate on such a topic because the government can't disclose exactly what it is going to do. the labour party has been raising questions about the legality of this action, the government says that

because it was to prevent a humanitarian crisis and they have legal backing to do that, the labour party are saying that it is not something that is particularly recognised by international lawyers, britain does tend to use that sometimes as its reasoning but they say it is not legally sound. legality and ethics and practicality come together because the government has built into its own legal tests the idea that it has overwhelming international community support. it does not. and, in my view, it should have been possible in this case to act more collectively at the security council level. let's discuss this a bit more, i enjoyed by the leader of the snp at westminster. first of all the legality, are you, like labour, questioning that? it is interesting that the prime minister has spoken of the humanitarian reasons for doing this. i would simply say there isa

doing this. i would simply say there is a humanitarian crisis in syria, a matter i have raised with the prime minister previously. it is a war that has gone on for seven years, up to half a million people killed. we need to act on humanitarian grounds to bring the war to an end, to push oui’ to bring the war to an end, to push our partners internationally to make sure we can bring an end of the war, we need to see peace talks, that is the real issue we should be confronting and i'm afraid to say the actions over the course of the weekend are a bit ofa the course of the weekend are a bit of a smoke screen to the wider issues of bringing the war in syria to an end. it is not going to do anything to bring an end to the suffering of the syrian people. that is the crisis we need to be dealing with. but the government would say they have tried to have a political solution, six, seven years of war has gone on, un, russia seem to veto every attempt to do so. what makes you confident it would work now?|j raised you confident it would work now?” raised this issue at prime minister's questions a few weeks ago when involvement was taking place and asked the prime minister at that

point to go to the united nations, we did not do so. we need to redouble our efforts. it is important that the chemical weapons inspectors have gone into syria to com plete inspectors have gone into syria to complete the work and we need to give that evidence to the russians and others and they now we all must come together, there has to be zero tolerance about the use of chemical weapons, it is about how we do that. the actions over the weekend were done without parliamentary authority, it is a disgrace that is the case. the prime minister should have recalled parliament, having a debate after the event is not good enough. i would say to the prime minister that what took place over the weekend in itself is not going to end the humanitarian crisis in syria, that is what should concern us. syria, that is what should concern us. this was precise and limited military action and air strike, is it practical to share prior intelligence with every mp in the house of commons? i think the point is that we are not talking about a threat to the united kingdom. the prime minister could have recalled parliament, we could have had a

principled debate, no one is saying that operational matters have to be shared with members of parliament, we have to make sure we protect the interests of military personnel, thatis interests of military personnel, that is paramount within this, but the principle of taking action is something that parliament should have been asked to engage in. we need to recall the government took us need to recall the government took us to war in iraq on the basis of misplaced evidence, wrong evidence... there was a vote in parliament? but that happened after the event and we need to recognise that the trust of many people in the united kingdom in the government was broken as a consequence of that. that is why it is important there is informed debate in parliament, that parliament can make its ownjudgment on the morality as to whether or not action should be taking place. 0ne of the things we have been giving as a party, for years, is making sure we have a war powers act to make sure parliament does have responsibility of taking that decision as to whether or not we should be engaging in military act.

shouldn't the prime minister and cabinet be able to have the flexibility to make these important decisions sometimes? many people would say there is a difference is the united kingdom was under attack and would understand in those circumstances there should be powers the government should have. but when we are talking about military action ina third we are talking about military action in a third country, that is a decision parliament should be taken, not the government itself, and theresa may called a cabinet meeting last week and could have just as easily had a recall of parliament to make sure parliament could discuss these important matters, that is what democracy is about. finally, will you force a vote this afternoon if you get the opportunity? we want to make sure there is a vote on the actions that have taken place and that there is a meaningful vote, that parliament has to be consulted before any further action takes place. thank you very much indeed. we will see what kind of parliamentary shenanigans, if you like, there might be to try and get a meaningful vote, and one that maybe is a little bit more binding. 0k, bit more binding.

ok, for bit more binding. 0k, forthe bit more binding. ok, for the moment, thank you very much, vicki young in westminster. let's stay with this story because the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons is holding an extraordinary session in the hague to discuss recent events in syria. we can cross to our correspondent who is following events there. i know you have been getting the latest line from the 0pcw, we have heard from the uk mission quoting the director of the 0pcw that russia and syria still have not allowed access to the fact—finding team who are trying to get into douma? exactly, we know these 0pcw expert arrived in damascus on saturday, they were meant to visit the site of this alleged attack. the latest we are getting from here in the hague is via the british delegation inside

the 0pcw‘s headquarters. they are quoting the director—general of the 0pcw, saying his team of experts are on this fact—finding mission and have not yet been allowed to access the site of the alleged attack in douma, which of course is of grave concern. the british delegation has tweeted that unfettered access is essential and russia and syria must cooperate. we have to make it clear the 0pcw is there on a fact—finding mission, they don't have any mandate to assign blame. this is supposed to bea to assign blame. this is supposed to be a closed—door meeting here in the hague, but the information is coming from all angles. we have heard from reuters quoting the us envoy inside, who is saying they are concerned that russia may have tampered with the douma attack site and they are calling for members, according to reuters, according to this us envoy, calling on members of the 0pcw to condemn syria for what they describe

asa condemn syria for what they describe as a reign of chemical terror. russia has also been tweeting, the russian delegation inside the 0pcw, has also been tweeting to say other members have actually blocked their attem pts members have actually blocked their atte m pts to members have actually blocked their attempts to set up an investigative mechanism via the un, and that is something which is absent at the moment. what the 0pcw expert are supposed to be doing is gathering the scientific evidence, the facts on the ground, so things like biomedical samples from autopsies and fibres, environmental specimens, if there are any canisters or soil samples, and bringing them back, distributing them between separate laboratories and independently verifying what that chemical was that left so many people dead. well, as you are illustrating, and, farfrom well, as you are illustrating, and, far from closed doors, well, as you are illustrating, and, farfrom closed doors, all this information coming out of via twitter and other sources about what is being said in there. of course this is the first time the countries

involved in the air strikes on syria at the weekend are sitting down in the same room as president assad's main allied, russia, so that in itself is interesting. 0ne main allied, russia, so that in itself is interesting. one wonders, given the gulf between the sides in this, what the 0pcw can achieve with this, what the 0pcw can achieve with this meeting? well, of course, it is the first time they are sitting down at the 0pcw, they did meet in new york over the weekend after the strikes. i think the most important thing now is that in this time of competing, conflicting information, disinformation, the 0pcw is here as an independent body, it is, if you'd like, the global guardian of the chemical weapons convention. and the very fa ct chemical weapons convention. and the very fact that they are all sitting ina room, very fact that they are all sitting in a room, despite the fact that there are clearly very tense negotiations or arguments going on, they are still in one room talking about this, talking about how to manage it, and that is something, a

diplomatic line that has been very difficult but very important for the 0pcw to tread through all of this. it was partly why or how syria came to hand over declared stockpile of chemical weapons, although the 0pcw has always made it clear it was concerned that all of the chemicals we re concerned that all of the chemicals were not necessarily declared and handed over, which is why they are trying to get access to this site in douma and will continue to do so. so we still have a few hours, probably, left of this meeting here in the hague and now that the director—general has, according to the uk delegation, said that his experts have not yet been given access to the site in douma, we are waiting to hear how the russians will respond to that, and we will be hearing from the british ambassador here in the hague a bit later on today. 0k, anna, thank you very much. the international development secretary has told the bbc that the government must do

"a betterjob" in dealing with the windrush generation facing deportation from the uk, saying there is "no question of their right to remain" in the uk. penny mordaunt‘s comments follow rule changes which mean thousands who arrived from the caribbean with their parents in 19118 now face being deported. 140 mps from across politics have also written to the prime minister calling for an "immediate and effective" response to concerns. people who are faced with filling in forms in all kinds of situations and who perhaps also need to access health care, feel their position to do that is being undermined. contact your local mp. people should not be concerned about this, they have the right to stay. and we should be reassuring them of that. meanwhile, michael braithwaite, who is 66, arrived from barbados in 1961. last year he lost his job as a special needs teaching assistant after his employers ruled he was here illegally. speaking last week he

explained how difficult it has been. i felt totally devastated. i have been carrying the knot in my stomach for the last two years, until maybe a few months ago, and a pain between my head. total confusion, baffled, walking around like a headless chicken, you could say. what is going to happen to me now? you know, ifigo going to happen to me now? you know, if i go home and the door bell rings, will it be someone trying to come and take me away from my family? every day was like that, every day, everyday, that sort of the door bell ringing, or knock on the door bell ringing, or knock on the door. the headlines on bbc newsroom live... mps will today question theresa may over the uk's involvement in air strikes in syria.

the international development secretary says the government must do more to help commonwealth immigrants facing deportation after decades in the uk. and former fbi directorjames komi has said donald trump is morally unfit to be president. in sport, manchester city are celebrating winning their third premier league title after manchester united lost at home to west brom. that is captain vincent kompany west brom. that is captain vincent kompa ny getting the west brom. that is captain vincent kompany getting the party started in the pub last night with some of his city team—mates and fans. they have an unassailable 16 point lead with five games to play. arsenal are the only team in all four english league is not to pick up a single point on the road in 2018. they were beaten 2-1 the road in 2018. they were beaten 2—1 yesterday thanks to goals from ayoze perez and matt ritchie. they have their premier league

status, newcastle. rafa benitez‘s site on 41 points. and the scottish marathon runner who collapsed while leading the race at the commonwealth games has been discharged from hospital. callum hawkins is fit to fly home with his team—mates but scotla nd fly home with his team—mates but scotland have asked the games' organisers why he had to wait several minutes for treatment the former director of the fbi has accused donald trump of being "morally unfit" to be president because of what he called his constant lies, views on race, and his treatment of women. james comey‘s comments came in an interview with the american abc network ahead of the release of a tell—all book. it comes a year after he was fired by the administration over his handling of the bureau's investigation into alleged election meddling by russia. 0ur north america correspondent chris buckler reports. oh, and there's james. he's become more famous than me. president trump has made no secret of his anger at the huge amount of attention being given to james comey and his tell—all book. instead of handshakes, they're now exchanging insults. ahead of mr comey‘s prime—time television interview,

donald trump called him on twitter "a liar, a leaker and an untruthful slimeball," among other things. the interview, james... this was a chance for the man he fired as fbi director to fire back. in an exclusive interview with george stephanopoulos for america's abc news, james comey made very clear his disdain for the values of a president he once served. i don't think he is medically unfit to be president, i think he's morally unfit to be president. a person who sees moral equivalence in charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they are pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the american people believe it, that person's not fit to be president of the united states on moral grounds. this very public fight feels deeply personal. and the consequences still have the potential to be political. donald trump and james comey seem intent not only on defending their own reputations,

but destroying the other‘s. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. a 16—year—old boy has been charged with the murder of a 14—year—old girl in wolverhampton. the body of viktorija sokolova, who was originally from lithuania, was discovered in a park on thursday, a day after her family reported her missing. a 17—year—old boy who was also arrested in connection with her death has been released on bail. the number of people shopping on uk high streets has suffered its steepest fall since 2010. figures from the british retail consortium showed that shopper footfall was down by 6% in march, compared with the same month last year. the poor weather was seen as a factor, along with longer—term trends in shopping habits. p more on those stories at 11:30 centre of a right to life case are

the parents of a boy at the centre of the right to life case it's the latest round of a lengthy legal battle over his life support. over his life support. alfie evans, who is 23 months old, is being cared for at alder hey hospital in liverpool. 0ur correspondent charlotte gallagher is at the court of appeal in central london. court of appealjudges to allow him to continue his medical morning? lawyers for alfie evans' to continue his medical morning? lawyers for alfie eva ns' family to continue his medical morning? lawyers for alfie evans' family are backin lawyers for alfie evans' family are back in court today arguing that bring us up to date with what has been happening this morning? lawyers for alfie evans' been happening this morning? lawyers for alfie eva ns' family been happening this morning? lawyers for alfie evans' family are back in court today arguing court building, a high court judge court today arguing court building, a high courtjudge set a date and time for the parents have the legal right, as he is there some, to remove alfie evans and take him to hospital in rome for treatment. last week in the same court building, a high courtjudge set a date and time for the removal rome. judges so far

today have said there is unanimous opinion from doctors that there is no hope for alfie, he has a terminal illness which cannot be curedfrom alfie evans. we thought it was over ben but since then there has been a huge, noisy protest outside all the hague and an air ambulance turned up to try and remove alfie evans from the hospital and take him to rome. judges so far today have said there is unanimous opinion from doctors that there is no hope for alfie, he has a terminal illness which cannot what has been a lengthy legal battle. it has gone on for months and months and looks set to continue further. 0k, thank you for that update, charlotte gallaher. prince harry has been speaking at the commonwealth youth forum in london this morning in his new role as president of the queen's commonwealth trust. he spoke about his faith in the abilities of young people across the commonwealth to tackle some of the most pressing global problems. asi as i travel around the commonwealth in my work in behalf of the royal

family, it is striking to see just how different today's generation of young adults are. you are connected, young adults are. you are connected, you have made positive use of technology to build relationships within your communities, nations, and across the globe. you care, you wa nt and across the globe. you care, you want your nations to be clean, your planet to be greener, your friends and neighbours to be treated fairly and neighbours to be treated fairly and with respect, no matter their ethnicity, their religion, or their status. the pub chainjd wetherspoon says it's closing down all its accounts on twitter, instagram and facebook because of concerns over the people being trolled on social media, the company's chairman, tim martin, said he was also worried that users were spending too much time on social media outlets. wetherspoon has 114,000 twitter followers and more than 100,000 on facebook. let's talk to our technology reporter chris foxx. so, talk to us more about why

wetherspoon ‘s say they are doing this? they have given a few reasons, iam not this? they have given a few reasons, i am not sure i this? they have given a few reasons, iam not sure i buy all of this? they have given a few reasons, i am not sure i buy all of them. they said they are worried about people's misuse of personal data, which might reflect the cambridge analytica data scandal we have seen in the last few weeks. they are worried about people being addicted to social media and they are also worried about the bad publicity surrounding social media because mps and celebrities get cold, they get meme comments. i also think it is probably because, for a businesslike wetherspoon, it is an expensive thing to do to have hundreds of accounts for all the different pubs and there is not very much return for it. 114,000 followers ofa much return for it. 114,000 followers of a huge chain like wetherspoon in the uk is not that much. there are individuals, newsreaders, celebrities, influences, who have more followers than that so it is not the most effective way for wetherspoon to get their message

out. is this a trend, are they jumping ona out. is this a trend, are they jumping on a micro—trend here where some businesses are turning their backs on social media to some extent, or could this backfire for the chain? we have seen some businesses take themselves off facebook following the cambridge analytica data scandal. elon musk, the entrepreneur in charge of tesla and spacek, he took his pages off facebook in response to that. i think it depends on the kind of business you run because there is a tendency for businesses to be what we call tag and drag, where the only interaction you get on twitter or facebook is when people are complaining about your service and tweet because they want something for free, so they will say, i tweet because they want something forfree, so they will say, i had a rubbish time in wetherspoon, and they want something for free, so it is perhaps embarrassing for companies, and you can remove that from the public sphere by having

people complain to the pub manager or use e—mail instead when not everybody can see it. some of the accou nts everybody can see it. some of the a ccou nts of everybody can see it. some of the accounts of individual pubs might put upa accounts of individual pubs might put up a post saying, we have got fish and chips on friday, and it might get three likes. is it a good use of the manager's time to be doing that? perhaps not. thanks very much. at around 11.30pm tonight, nasa will launch a mission called tess to look for planets around the stars which are closest to earth. surveying nearly the entire sky, a key part of the operation will involve capturing the vibrations from the stars, which can be turned into sounds, helping researchers to identify their age and size. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. the night sky is littered with stars. they shine, and they also sing. whirring noise. these are the vibrations of a distant star similar to our sun converted into sound. and this is another much bigger and older star. professor bill chaplin is analysing these sounds. of course, there's no air in space so the stars can't actually be heard, but they do vibrate, and so generate soundwaves.

when we hear the sound of the stars, first of all it tells us that out of this, if you like, this turbulence, this almost chaos, we get these ordered sounds, and it's incredible that stars resonate just like a musical instrument. this will be the first mission to scan nearly the entire sky, sector by sector. the sound a star makes will tell scientists how big and how hot it is. many of them will have planets in orbit around them. some will be too close. those that are the right distance away will be the ones most capable of supporting life in what the scientists call "the goldilocks zone" where the temperature is just right. in a few years' time we will know how each of the stars in the night sky sounds and whether the planets around them might harbour life. pallab ghosh, bbc news, at the kennedy space centre in florida. it is time to take a look at the

weather forecast, everyone is anticipating more sunshine this week, that is all we want to talk about, darren! it makes a change to bring some good news! last week which struggled with temperatures around 7 degrees, grey skies, very misty, but over the weekend we have been warming up as weekend we have been warming up as we get more sunshine. today, more sunshine, better than yesterday for most of us, rain across scotland petering out, sunny spells, but there is strengthening wind to the west blowing more clout to northern ireland which will bring rain later in the day. temperatures still nothing to get excited about, 12 to 16 degrees, normalfor this nothing to get excited about, 12 to 16 degrees, normal for this time of year. as we had through this evening and overnight we look out to the west with this broad band of rain, it looks quite heavy as well,

turning wetter across northern ireland, wetter in western scotland, rain across the irish sea where there will be gales as well, so freshening wind overnight and mild, seven to 10 degrees. tomorrow starts wet in scotland and northern ireland, heavy rain in dumfries and galloway, replaced in the afternoon by sunshine and sharp showers. the rain moves into western parts of england and wales then petered out during the day and we keep the dry, sunny weather in the midlands and towards the south—east, temperatures here 19 degrees. getting a bit warmer tomorrow but it is midweek, with sunny skies, lighter winds, temperatures could get into the mid—20s. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: prime minister theresa may faces tough questions in parliament after ordering british air strikes on syria this weekend without first putting the decision to a vote as was done in 2013. "morally unfit for office" — the former boss of the fbi james comey condemns donald trump in a sensational tv interview that casts scorn on his character. facing deportation after living over 50 years in britain — the caribbean "windrush" generation appeal to the government to be allowed to stay.

and the pub chain wetherspoons has shut down its twitter, instagram and facebook accounts due in part to concerns about trolling. this board. now the sport. more on the commonwealth games later. manchester city have been crowned premier league champions. this is captain vincent kompany watching the manchester united game yesterday. it is their third premier league. still 15 behind katmai united. he called his team—mates to join in the celebrations. the

celebrations continued down the local pub. have a listen to this. we win it again! cheering we celebrate together! the party was joined by more colleagues and fans and it went on late into the night. a former city australia will stay longer than his three—year contract as city try to dominate for the short—term. —— city striker. as city try to dominate for the short-term. -- city striker. raheem sterling is only 23. john stones. bernardo silver... they are all 23 yea rs old bernardo silver... they are all 23 years old and under. they can win trophies now but looking forward a future years, it can continue if these young players keep improving.

city could dominate for up to five yea rs city could dominate for up to five years at least. trouble on the road for arsenal, the only side in the top four english divisions without an away win this year. they lost 2—1 at newcastle who have all but secured their premier league status for next season. this winning goal at st james' league status for next season. this winning goal at stjames' park at arsenal to be lead. newcastle equalised. rafa benitez‘ side now have 41 points. arsene wenger says arsenal's defeat was the story of their season. they are down in sixth place with the huge new rape league semifinal against atletico madrid to come. britain's town evans has announced he will return to court after testing positive for cocaine in the barcelona 0pel last year. he will play in the glasgow open this morning. he passed checks by the law tennis association. he says he learned a lot about himself during the ban. scotland's marathon runner callum

hawkins has been discharged from hospital after collapsing in the final day of competition at the commonwealth games. he led the marathon with just over a mile to go and pulled up in the 30 degrees heat and pulled up in the 30 degrees heat and was taken away in an ambulance. worrying scenes. he has now though rejoined his scotland team—mates just in time for their trip back to the uk. success over the weekend for england's netball is on the gold coast. a brilliant win against australia but while the celebrations we re australia but while the celebrations were a priority for the head coach tracey neville, so was the issue of funding. she describes it as a news around the neck of the sport. the head of uk sport says netball needs to capitalise on its success. the relationship between england netball is with uk england and not uk sport. they are not gb athletes. their performances were outstanding.

resources are critically important andi resources are critically important and i know they are working very ha rd and i know they are working very hard and working in partnership in terms of franchising their super league and getting more commercial income in. spring is here, apparently. spare a thought for yorkshire and essex, though. their only match was abandoned in the county championships because of the weather. keep up—to—date on the bbc sport website. more for you later this afternoon. let's get more now on the debate in parliament this afternoon to discuss the government's decision tojoin the offensive in syria at the weekend. we can speak now to the labour peer and former head of the royal navy, lord west. hejoins us from our westminster studios. thank you for your time this morning. you have been casting some doubt on what has been happening, the evidence according to our own defence secretary, according to

president macron of france and others about what happened in douma. saying that the evidence does not really fit well for president assad ordering a chemical attack. tell us about your thoughts. president saddam is in the process of winning the civil war. —— president assad. he was about to take over douma. he had had a long slog capturing that area of the city and just before he goesin area of the city and just before he goes in and takes it all over, he decides to have a chemical attack. it does not ring true. it seems extraordinary because clearly he will know there is likely to be a response from the allies. what benefit is there his military? mostly rebel fighters, this disparate group of islamists. a few women and children around. what

benefit was there in doing what he did? we know that in the past some of the islamic groups have used chemicals and there would be huge benefit in then labelling an attack is coming from assad. they would guess quite rightly that there would bea guess quite rightly that there would be a response from the us, as their boss last time, and possibly from the uk and france. is it fair to say you are looking at this from the point of view of tactics rather than any evidence? absolutely, although we know that the reports that came from there what from the white helmets who, let's face it, are not neutral. they are very much on the side of the disparate groups fighting assad, and the world health 0rganisation doctors who are there and against those doctors are embedded amongst the groups, doing fantastic work i know, but they are not neutral. and i'm just a little bit concerned, because as we now move to the next phase in the small, ifi move to the next phase in the small, if i were —— in this war, if i were

advising these islamist groups, i would say, we have to wait until there is another attack by assad's forces, particularly if there is a helicopter overhead or something like that, and we must set off some chlorine because we will get the next attack from the allies and there is no doubt that if we believe he has done a chemical attack we should do that, and those attacks will get bigger and it is the only way they have actually got of stopping the inevitable victory of assad. are you saying there may be something faulty with the intelligence that president macron has said he has, with, to quote the defence secretary here, the intelligence body which would suggest that assad is responsible for what happened in douma. are you suggesting there is faulty intelligence? suggesting is not strong enough. i am not privy to this but if they have really good

intelligence, for example gchq or nsa intercepts of syrian officers discussing an attack and saying, yes, let's use chlorine, fine, and i have no difficulty with what was done. none at all. if he has used chemical weapons, it is absolutely right to show him that the international community are not willing to put up with this and it is right to do it, but ijust wonder... we have had some bad experiences on intelligence. when i was chief of defence in intelligence, i had huge pressure put on me politically to say that our bombing campaign in bosnia was achieving all sorts of things which it wasn't. i was put under huge pressure. so i know the things that can happen with intelligence and i would like to be absolutely sure. we know that the russian forest minister —— foreign minister said on friday, accused a western state, of perhaps fabricating evidence in douma or being involved what

happened in douma. given that we are in an information war with russia, on so many fronts, do you think it is inadvisable to be stating this so publicly, giving your position and your profile? isn't there a danger that you won the team b waters?” think the if there is real concern. if he has not done it it is extremely bad news. if assad has not carried out the attack, it is worth making that clear. i think our government's policy towards him has not been clever since 2013, to say we are not going to have anything to do with him, is flying in the face of real facts on the ground. he is a nasty, unpleasant, horrible person. there is no doubt about that, but the reality is he is there. our policy of not talking to him, almost, has if anything prolonged this civil war. almost, has if anything prolonged this civilwar. do almost, has if anything prolonged this civil war. do you have concerns about growing credence —— giving

credence to the russians? the russians talking about another power day is complete nonsense. i am afraid they lie as a matter of policy. i have no truck with that. i'm not paying attention to what they are saying. it is just my concern. militarily it seems extraordinary. i do not think we can a lwa ys extraordinary. i do not think we can always rely on some of these reports that come from within these areas, because it is not from neutral observers. if you are right and a rebel group did do this, the western nations who have been involved in these strikes have made a massive blunder, haven't they? and the implications are huge rush to mark if that is the case we have been duped, but these things happen in war. we will learn a lesson from that because if it is done again we will be more careful. i hope against hope that they have got absolutely cast iron intelligence, in which

case the action that was conducted was absolutely right, to slap him across his wrist. there is no doubt assad is a loathsome man. in the past he has used chemical weapons, no doubt, and there is a real danger of these groupings sentiments of chemical weapons being used and this isa chemical weapons being used and this is a worry. that is the balance of how i put across my view. lord west, thank you. we can get more political reaction now — our chief political correspondent, vicki young, is in westminster for us. we can expect theresa may this afternoon to make a robust defence of the action that she took, saying it was right to try to stop what she called the normalisation of the use of chemical weapons. yes, political arguments here about the legality and whether parliament should have been consulted before she took action. i am joined been consulted before she took action. iamjoined by been consulted before she took action. i am joined by a been consulted before she took action. iam joined by a labour been consulted before she took action. iamjoined bya labour mp. do you think this action was

illegal? i am waiting to hear theresa may this afternoon it as her view of the legal advice this afternoon. it is very difficult as a backbench mp to know what the legal advice was. they have published a summary saying it was to alleviate humanitarian suffering. that is right and non—others will downplay the terrible loss of life, the terrible attacks on children in syria, and this is part of a string of chemical weapons attacks and i'm so of chemical weapons attacks and i'm so pleased it is being investigated as we speak and hopefully that will tell us notjust what as we speak and hopefully that will tell us not just what the substance was but who it was, confirmed, as the government had said it is highly likely it was mr assad, who really should be in the hague charged with crimes at some point. but equally we do have to take people with us and it is really important that parliament is consulted properly. i would like a vote on this. even after the event you think there is a

reason to do that? i think it is right to give a show of confidence to the prime minister or to question some of her statements, because in the end, military action is done in our name. i have had a number of constituents in mail over the weekend to say, please, get to the debate, put forward my views. most of them are on the cautious side. it is important we follow due process particularly in an environment where all the key players are here. it is like a tinderbox in the middle east at the moment and we would be letting people down if we did not have a key parliamentary debate. it would be going against one of the conclusions of the chilcott report, which said we let this be a proper discussion in polmont. william hague, who was the defence secretary then, said it should be a convention that parliament is consulted in advance of any intervention of this type. many including jeremy corbyn had talked about the need for a political solution. are you not

concerned that in the un the russians do block those attempts, and actually we seem to have exhausted that avenue?” and actually we seem to have exhausted that avenue? i do not think we can ever say that we have exhausted speaking to each other. i know from the northern ireland situation that we have many. once but in the end piece is worth making the effort. so many families have been separated in the last eight years in syria. had the population has been displaced. this must be a time for us to look at a proper plan. today we will be focusing on the military side but what are the other elements of the plan to get towards peace in syria? also refugees. that is another question we need to answer. we need a proper response to this terrible tragedy and to do all we can to get people back on the table. some of your collea g u es back on the table. some of your colleagues are concerned thatjeremy corbyn has not seemed to criticise russia much? are you willing to do so? i want russia to do the right

thing and! so? i want russia to do the right thing and i i think we have been very firm with them in terms of expelling diplomats over the poisoning episode. i want to hear that from theresa may. i want her to communicate with us. it is not like donald trump where she canjust communicate with us. it is not like donald trump where she can just flip a switch. we have to be consulted because we live in a parliamentary democracy. it is different from the us presidential system. i am accountable to my own constituents but at the moment i feel like i can't even really get the feel for that because i know as much as the next person, and surely as mp5 we should be given that privilege and it is right to know that. i'm sure those articles will be continuing all afternoon in parliament. thank you. the organisers of the next commonwealth games in birmingham say they're certain the event will help to boost the city's prospects. but traders on australia's gold

coast have warned that the games were bad for business and turned customers away. the 11 days of competition drew to a close with yesterday's closing ceremony — from the gold coast, hywel griffith reports. being the host city brings the promise of gold — medals for the athletes, lots of money for the local economy. but some on the gold coast have been left feeling short—changed by these games. i've been here 22 years. the worst i've seen in 22 years. it's impacted almost a month and a half of trade, and we are all down at least 50%. when they planned the commonwealth games, the organisers warned of delays and disruption, but the reality has been rather more empty, after local people left town. that get ready campaign was done so well that it made people imagine there was going to be gridlock. scared them away? in the way, i have to admit that we would have played that card differently. so what can birmingham learn from this? there's been a team on the ground looking for what to copy and what to avoid.

there are some things they can't replicate. without miles of golden sand, there probably won't be beach volleyball in birmingham. every host city has to play its advantages. and so birmingham wants a diverse, urban games. they were only awarded in december, after being taken away from durban, leaving much less time to prepare. it means we may not have three years of wrangling about what a decision might be. we have four years to go, so we have to crack on. so actually we need to make decisions quickly, so i think that might actually play to our advantage. home games normally help to produce medals. australia did not have it all its own way... the captain of england's victorious netball team is a brummie and thinks the games are something special. i have beenjust talking to the general public and volunteers, and normally i go around birmingham and no one even looks at me, so if it can bring the city together just because of the games

then i think that's a bonus for birmingham. every games needs its golden moments. it's up to birmingham to prove it can deliver. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour, but first the headlines on bbc newsroom live: mps will today question theresa may over the uk's involvement in air strikes in syria. the international development secretary says the government must do more to help commonwealth immigrants facing deportation after decades in the uk. former fbi directorjames comey has said donald trump is morally unfit to be president. i'm maryam moshiri. in the business news: pub chain jd wetherspoon is quitting social media. the group is leaving twitter, facebook and instagram with immediate effect. chairman tim martin said

it's because of concerns regarding the "misuse of personal data" and "the addictive nature of social media". shares in whitbread have soared after it emerged that an activist investor has built a stake to become the largest shareholder in the company. elliott advisors confirmed at the weekend that it now holds a stake of more than 6% in whitbread. according to reports, it wants to split the costa coffee chain and the premier inn business. and the end of an era at wpp. today the markets have had a chance to digest the news that ceo sir martin sorrell is stepping down. wpp's shares at one point fell by as much as 4% as investors wonder what the company will do now without its figurehead and founder. pub chainjd wetherspoon has used twitter to tell its 114,000 followers that it is quitting social media. the firm's head office and 900 pubs will quit the micro—blogging site, alongside instagram and facebook with immediate effect.

the pub chain linked the move to bad publicity surrounding social media including the "trolling" of mps. chairman tim martin told the bbc he had always thought the idea that social media was essential for advertising was untrue. so will this move have a detrimental effect on the business? do businesses need social media to do well these days? joining us now is jamie gavin, managing director of the media agency inpress online. to a nswer to answer those questions, how important is social media to a business? it is 10096 vitally important in 2018. looking forward to the future. the way that media and even wider society is changing is vitally important that your brand is vitally important that your brand is on social media and interacting directly with your customers. important for every business. so

what is going on here? there are a few factors at work. you can make a kind of business strategy case for pulling a lot of your social media channels. do they need 900 individual channels? probably not. so this consolidating the case can be made. but i think if you scratch a little bit beneath the surface of whether speeds, and the way that they have been doing their business, some of their politics actually in recent months, there are lots of different reasons as to why this guy may have taken this decision. meet to long term it is not good for your brand. they have been talking about social media and the trolling of mps and the fact that there is a lot of negativity around social media. do you think he has a point? yes, there are two sides to every story. the cambridge analytic thing with facebook has been a huge debacle. for those of us who have been

pioneers of social media, it is very sad to see. it is sad to see this if i the egalitarian force being used in this way. all the negativity we have talked about, it is actually so much that is positive about interacting with your customers are making a case for that. do you think we will see wetherspoons coming back on social media? you don't believe this, do you question might think this, do you question might think this is a publicity stunt. but we have to give them the benefit of the doubt, right? i don't know. you could say that about donald trump. he says a lot of things and gives us his reasoning but i'm not sure i a lwa ys his reasoning but i'm not sure i always believe him. from a business point of view, this is 100% a publicity stunt. they will get a great deal of media out of it. we're talking about it now. a business

point of view, from growing your brand, growing your brand awareness, your reputation, even direct response and bottom line, this is not a good business decision to take. can you west did this, he got of social media, and i see two days ago he is back on it. —— kanye west did this. we are hearing that whitbread might have split if it is bought by a company. it has raised the number of shares it owns in it. that is the business. buckingham palace was transformed

last night, as a vibrant rainforest was projected onto the front of the building to mark the queen's commonwealth canopy project. images of foliage and trees transformed the palace, as part of a global conservation initiative led by her majesty, who is seeking to preserve areas of forest for future generations. 110 countries have already committed to the scheme. thank you. some much warmer weather on the way over the weekend. we just have to wait a bit longer for it. conditions are improving today, though. we start the week with windy weather for a though. we start the week with windy weatherfor a while. though. we start the week with windy weather for a while. that will bring rain into western areas. for midweek, no rain or sunshine. rain into western areas. for midweek, no rain orsunshine. how high will that lifted temperatures, these are significantly above average temperatures for this time of year.

this picture was taken this morning along the south coast, on southend—on—sea in essex. not very one quarter. more about in england and wales and even scotland for a while, and northern ireland will stop rain later in the day here. temperatures read about 12—16d. at his average for this time of year. rain and cloud coming in from the atla ntic rain and cloud coming in from the atlantic with low pressure, that will not trouble us for a while but the rain will. go through the irish sea. a mild night. temperatures quite mild. starting tuesday with outbreaks of heavy rain especially across dumfries and galloway, and cloud. it will be replaced by sunshine and if you chop showers in the afternoon. the rain pushing into wales, western parts of england, then fizzling out later in the day.

it is starting to get a bit warmer. the rain then peters out. or it moves out into the atlantic. red is not far away at all. increasing amount of sunshine. —— the rain is not far away. temperatures continuing to file. —— to rise. we are getting warmer air because there isa are getting warmer air because there is a big area of high pressure building to the east of us. we are drawing around that some warm air from the near continent and the higher temperatures will be across england and wales. this is thursday, perhaps the peak of the heat. some patchy fairweather cloud towards the north—west. already wind lighter by this stage. much more sunshine around and temperatures responding. widely low 20s for england and wales. still warm again on friday. this is bbc news, and these

are the top stories developing at midday... theresa may is to face mps' questions after her decision to commit uk forces to missile strikes on syria this weekend. russia's foreign minister tells the bbc says there's no proof chemical weapons were used, and relations have been damaged by the strikes. i think it is worse because during the cold war there were channels of communication and their was not obsession. facing deportation after decades in the uk — a minister admits more must be done to help the windrush generation. james comey says donald trump is ‘unfit for office' in his first major interview since being fired as fbi director. he strikes me as a person of above—average intelligence who's tracking conversations and knows what's going on.

i don't think he is medically unfit to be president, i think he is morally unfit to be president. also in the next hour... the sound of the night skies. a new mission from nasa to capture the songs of the stars. and anti—social drinking — wetherspoons deletes its social media accounts amid concerns about trolling and privacy. good afternoon. it's monday 16th april, i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. theresa may will appear before mps this afternoon to defend her decision to authorise air strikes against the syrian government.

opposition parties say mps should have been consulted before the uk joined the us and france in bombing three syrian sites, in response to a suspected chemical attack on the town of douma. labour has called for the law to be changed for any future interventions. ben wright reports. today, mps will get to quiz theresa may for the first time since she agreed to join the us and france in attacking suspected chemical weapons sites in syria. mps were not asked to approve military action before it happened in the early hours of saturday morning. four raf tornados took part in bombing raids, part of a joint strike against syrian regime targets. here is a chemical weapons facility near damascus before and after the missile strike. theresa may is expected to tell mps that the bombing of syrian targets was in britain's national interest, and necessary to prevent further use of chemical weapons. the uk government says there's clear

evidence the assad regime used one of its helicopters to drop a barrel bomb with chemicals in it on douma earlier this month. but labour's leader, jeremy corbyn, has said other groups may have been involved and has questioned the legality of the air strikes. the government will ask the speaker of the commons to grant an emergency debate following the prime minister's statement, a chance for mps to ask where the west's action in syria might go next. it's possible opposition parties will call for a symbolic vote too, but not one that will tie the government's hands or criticise it for the military action already undertaken. ben wright, bbc news. we can cross now to westminster and speak to our chief political correspondent, vicki young. theresa may, when she gets to her

feetin theresa may, when she gets to her feet in the house of commons, will face a large number of questions from mps concerned about the action she decided to take. i think she will robustly defend the military strikes in syria. she will make the case that the normalisation, as she puts it, of the use of chemical weapons needs to be stopped as britain alongside france and america had a duty to stand up and make sure that action was taken. earlier, the foreign secretary borisjohnson defended it, saying it was the right thing to do. it is important to stress this was not an attempt to change the tide of the war in syria or have a regime change, or to get rid of bashar al—assad. i'm afraid the syrian war, in many ways, will go on in its horrible, miserable way. but it was the world saying that we have had enough of the use of chemical weapons, the erosion of that taboo that has been in place for 100 years has gone too far under bashar al—assad. it was time that we said no. theresa may decided not to recall

parliament last week ahead of the action so there was no prior approvalfrom action so there was no prior approval from mps, and action so there was no prior approvalfrom mps, and many are very upset about that, saying that mps must have the chance to debate it and vote on military action. the question really is whether this afternoon there will be any kind of retrospective vote, there is the possibility of that. earlier i spoke to the westminster leader of the snp and asked whether his party will be pushing for such a vote. we wa nt we want to make sure there is a vote on the actions that have taken place, and we need to make sure that there is a meaningful vote that parliament has to be consulted before any further action takes place. let's discuss this more, i enjoyed by the deputy leader of the liberal democrats, jo swinson. first of all, is your party for or against the action theresa may took? the difficulty for parliament if it is

difficulty for parliament if it is difficult to take a clear view because the government have, to date, not set out clear details. we had a press conference from theresa may on saturday which had some top line words within it, but the scrutiny has not been there. we don't yet know exactly what the objectives were, we don't know whether those objectives can be met, what happens next, are further attacks planned, is it done and dusted or will it be going forward? these are unanswered questions because parliament has not had a say in this and it is only today, two days after the action, that party leaders are now getting a privy council briefing on the specific action that was taken, so the problem with this if it was all done behind closed doors rather than involving the representatives of the people and having that democratic accountability, and

it will be today for the first time that we get the opportunity to scrutinise the government and as these difficult questions which i think need to be asked and answered before anybody can come to a firm view about whether it is the right action to take. i said on friday we are open—minded that there are circumstances where taking action can be legitimate but you have to ta ke can be legitimate but you have to take a reasoned view and look at the risks and advantages of tak ing cabinet minister this morning said it would be ridiculous to think you could talk through with mps in the house of commons exactly what targets they might be looking at before air strikes, that is just not practical? buster borba is established convention about having approval before military action and is the government is deciding to throw that out the window they should at least have the guts to come forward and say so explicitly. of course there are some challenges, there are practical ways around that, there are things that can be discussed in parliament and other things that one cabinet minister this morning said it would be ridiculous to think you could talk through with mps in the house of commons exactly what targets they might be looking at before air strikes, that is just not practical? buster borba is established convention about having approval before military action and if the government is deciding to throw that

out the window they should at least have the guts to come forward and say so explicitly. of course there are some challenges, there are practical ways around that, there are things that can be discussed in parliament and other things that can be discussed in more detail the secrecy and sensitivity the secrecy and discussion in privy council plans. discussions took place in general last week but not with party leaders on the specifics of the action in advance of it happening so it is not as if the government has taken the practical steps that it could have done to get maximum democratic legitimacy and accountability for the action. do you think there will be any point out ina you think there will be any point out in a retrospective vote in the house of commons through some kind of parliamentary mechanism today or tomorrow? i think the government through having that discussion in privy council plans. discussions took place in general last week but not with party leaders on the specifics of the action in advance of it happening so it is not as if the government has taken the practical steps that it could have done to get maximum democratic legitimacy and accountability for the action. do you think there will be any point out in a retrospective vote in the house of commons through some kind of parliamentary mechanism today or tomorrow? i think the government should a motion that is in common with what happened in 2013 in terms of libya. in that case it was different because there was the real reason for emergency action because of the to human life, here we are talking about serious situation but not quite at the end of last week but even so a retrospective vote of approval would make sense and instead we are stuck

with the government bringing forward an emergency debate that does not have a vote at the end of it all if so is not particularly meaningful because it basically has the house of commons discuss the issue. the government is deliberately choosing not to have a vote, they chose that when they decided not to recall parliament and in putting forward the emergency debate today in urgency. absolutely parliament could have been recalled in time to discuss this at the end of last week but even so a retrospective vote of approval would make sense and instead we are stuck with the government bringing forward an emergency debate that does not have a vote at the end of it all if so is not particularly meaningful because it basically has the house of commons discuss the issue. the government is deliberately choosing not to russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, has told the bbc that the joint missile strike on syria over the weekend, has led to a loss of trust between moscow and the west. speaking exclusively to the bbc‘s hardtalk programme, he said they should have waited until there had been an investigation by the 0pcw into an alleged chemical weapons attack in douma before launching the strike. at about 3:30pm this afternoon and likely to go on for several hours with theresa may facing questions from all sides of the i believe it

was a very from all sides of the i believe it was a very reckless behaviour of our western by very reckless behaviour of our who accused the syrian of applying chemical weapons against civilians without waiting for the 0pcw to inspect the place. at of applying chemical weapons against civilians without waiting for the 0pcw to inspect the place. at, when the 0pcw was physically ready to move from lebanon on to syria, they executed that exclusive hardtalk interview with the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov, can be seen in full at 20:30 on the bbc news channel. the british delegation to the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons says the opcw‘s team in syria have not yet been given access to douma. the the us envoy said earlier, the us envoy said he was russia could have interfered with the site ahead our correspondent anna holligan

is following events in the hague. russia could have interfered with the site ahead of the the arrival of the site ahead of the the arrival of the fact—finding mission and the delay to their work getting under way has been caused by the air strikes, not because the russians and syrians won't give them if you listen to the russians, they are saying that the arrival of the fact—finding mission and the delay to their work getting under way has been caused by the air strikes, not because the russians and syrians won't give them accesswhich is quite indicative of this whole conflict so far. this 0pcw meeting is supposed to be closed door but ever since we have been having bits of information filtered out on twitter through various channels. the ‘s delegation, they tweeted to say that, though, is what is happening on the ground. it was from the uk's delegation, they tweeted to say that had said that

his team of independent experts, technical investigators, had not been allowed access to the called for u nfettered been allowed access to the called for unfettered access, saying it was essential. it goes without saying, the sooner they get in there, the better. they are on a fact—finding mission so they don't have a mandate to assign blame. what they are supposed to be doing is gathering scientific evidence, so things like biomedical samples, from autopsies, from survivors, environmental samples, soil samples, anything that will help them to understand what happened and what douma, and this is after they had been invited in by syria and russia. the uk called for unfettered access, saying it was essential. it goes without saying, the sooner they get in there, the better. they are on a fact—finding mission so they don't have a mandate to assign blame. what they are supposed to be doing is

gathering scientific evidence, so things like biomedical samples, from autopsies, from survivors, environmental samples, soil samples, anything that will help them to understand what happened and what kind of chemical was deployed, they will then take those samples out and have them tested and verified at various independent laboratories, but none of that can happen until they are allowed access to so the 0pcw‘s they are allowed access to so the opcw‘s team arrived in damascus on saturday, they were supposed to go straight to the scott as per the terms of the agreement thrashed out here and now we are hearing from all sides are reasons for that not happening yet but clearly of grave as per the terms of the agreement thrashed out here and now we are hearing from all sides are reasons for that not happening yet but clearly of grave interesting listening to the clip of the foreign minister sergey the cold war but at least in the building behind you relations between russia and the west are worse than during the cold war but at least in the building to date, the fact they are all sitting ina room. it looks, from the diplomatic cars leaping through the gates behind us, that this meeting is coming to an end, channels of communication are open? i think that is testament to the efforts of the 0pcw to date, the fa ct the efforts of the 0pcw to date, the fact they are all sitting in a room. it looks, from the diplomatic cars leaping through the gates behind us, that this meeting is coming to an end, and we will be later this afternoon from the british ambassador. it has been difficult for the 0pcw to keep this together and there has been some suggestion that it and there has been some suggestion thatitis and there has been some suggestion that it is sluggish, big, it is the later this afternoon from the

british ambassador. it has been difficult for the 0pcw to keep this together and there has been some suggestion that it is sluggish, big, it is. no ability to attribute blame partly because the mechanism that was set up to do that, something called the joint was set up to do that, something called thejoint global was set up to do that, something called the joint global guardian of the chemical weapons convention, but what they have managed to do is keep the channels of communication open but at the same time this is a fact—finding mission. no ability to attribute blame partly because the mechanism that was set up to do that, something called thejoint, body, that was running until un body, that was running until un body, that was running until mid last year but it's to continue was vetoed by russia at the un security council last autumn, so there is nothing in that place and we are to continue was vetoed by russia at the un security council last autumn, so there is nothing in that place and we are expecting from the russian delegation in there today, tweeting quite furiously, saying possibly france and britain to table a new resolution at the un security council to try to set something up, and we have heard from the russian delegation in there today, tweeting quite furiously,, we have also tried to set up something independent to investigate the alleged attacks and that has been thwarted by the other we must be allowed to access the site in douma as quickly as

possible. anna in this time of conflicting information, the establishment of fa cts information, the establishment of facts is more important than ever and that is why the 0pcw is saying, we must be allowed to access the site in douma as quickly as possible. thank you very that thousands of people arrived from the rule changes mean that thousands of people arrived from the caribbean with in 1948 arrived from the caribbean with in 19118 face being deported. ministers the government asking for an immediate and effective response to michael braithwaite, who is 66, arrived from barbados in 1961. from barbados in 1961. last year he lost his job as a special needs teaching assistant after his employers ruled he was here illegally. speaking last week he explained how difficult it has been. i felt totally devastated. i have been carrying the knot in my stomach for the last two years, up to maybe a few months ago, say three months ago, and a pain between my head.

total confusion, baffled, walking around like a headless chicken, you could say. what's going to happen to me now? you know, if i go home and the door bell rings, will it be someone trying to come and take me away from my family? every day was like that, every day, every day, that thought of the door bell ringing, or knock on the door. to the government asking for an immediate and effective response to you are not here any more, michael, you knowwith the situation quickly. they are ignoring mps as much as they are ignoring these people, many of whom have lived here, work, paid taxes the decade after decade and are being messed around by bureaucrats in the michael spanner says the government needs to get to grips with the situation quickly.

they are ignoring mps as much as they are ignoring these people, many of whom have lived here, but, paid taxes the decade after decade and are being messed around by bureaucrats in the home again, the home secretary should now intervene, get a home secretary should now intervene, geta grip home secretary should now intervene, get a grip of her department and at the same time make a clear statement with be given those issuances straight should be given those the abominable way they are being treated. many people now pensioners and their lives being made a misery by faceless and heartless bureaucrats. john speller and not be treated, frankly, in the abominable way they are being treated. many people now pensioners and their lives being made a misery by faceless and heartless bureaucrats. john speller our correspondent, matthew price is in beirut for us. let's return to our top story now, the aftermath of the air strikes in the aftermath of the air strikes in the focus in the uk is very minister andindeed the focus in the uk is very minister and indeed not just the focus in the uk is very minister and indeed notjust supporters but also critics of the action that britain, united states and france took over the the parliamentary session today involving the prime minister and indeed not just supporters but also critics of the action that britain, united states and france took over weapons

attacks. the foreign secretary's comment as well today saying it was not about regime change, reiterating the fact it was about determining the fact it was about determining the use of future chemical weapons so have the strikes achieved anything? let's bring in someone who was qualified to answer, a senior fellow at the carnegie centre, thank you forjoining that question first, do you believe the air strikes at the weekend achieved anythingi think they have changed nothing whatsoever inside the way borisjohnson says, that they could dissuade future attacks? they could, but do you think they have changed anything in the way borisjohnson says, that they could dissuade future attacks? they could, but we have track record, the attacks of 2013 were followed with the disarming of reports of small—scale use of chemical agents such as chlorine gas since then. these were not pursued robustly and's resume chemical weapons stock but there have been dozens weapons stock but there have been d oze ns of weapons stock but there have been dozens of reports of small—scale use of chemical agents such as chlorine gas since then. these were not pursued robustly and therefore the

government got a sense of complacency. so when western governments said they had sent a clear, unambiguous message, your argument is that for years they have not? exactly, four, five years of got a sense of complacency. so when western governments said they had sent a clear, unambiguous message, your argument is that for years they have not? exactly, four, five years of unambiguous, this is very late in the day to start delivering messages. unless the west is, this is very late in the day to start delivering messages. unless the west is willing to start to be emboldened again and again the very next time there is the slightest suspicion of chemical weapons use, then i'm afraid the regime will start to be emboldened again and deterrence is established through consistency sustained over time and that is what western governments have failed to do since syrian government forces did carry out such a chemical attack, is that questions is the question of whether or not there was a chemical attack last week, whether or not the syrian government forces did carry out such a chemical attack, is that question still releva nt attack, is that question still relevant here in the regionin that if the chemical weapons inspectors find no evidence of a chemical

weapons attack it will degrade the credibility of western governments and claims made by the west or opposition in syria that the regime is using chemical weapons which will make it easier for the is using chemical weapons which will make it easierfor the regime is using chemical weapons which will make it easier for the regime to use chemical weapons in future. however, evenif chemical weapons in future. however, even if it is proven that some sort of chemical agent was used, that won't, i think, of chemical agent was used, that won't, ithink, really of chemical agent was used, that won't, i think, really changed of chemical agent was used, that won't, ithink, really changed much any more because the regime is basically winning gradually in the country, the west has made i think it is relevant in that if the chemical weapons inspectors find no evidence of a chemical weapons attack it will degrade the credibility of western governments and claims made by the west or opposition in syria that the regime is using chemical weapons which will make it easier for the is using chemical weapons which will make it easierfor the regime is using chemical weapons which will make it easier for the regime to use chemical weapons in future. however, evenif chemical weapons in future. however, even if it is proven that some sort of chemical agent was used, that won't, i think, of chemical agent was used, that won't, ithink, really of chemical agent was used, that won't, i think, really changed of chemical agent was used, that won't, ithink, really changed much any more because the regime is basically winning gradually in the country, the west has made it clear that it is not in the game any more to change the regime or even to force a meaningful political deal on the, and therefore the regime can just absorb the blow such as it was

and keep moving a vast swathe of the country with help from the russians as well as the iranians if your analysis is correct that president assad is going nowhere but he holds control of a vast swathes of the country with help from the russians as well as the iranians, the question that'll preoccupy mines in downing street is, the russian presence here andthe question that'll preoccupy presence here andthe question that'll preoccu py mines presence here andthe question that'll preoccupy mines in downing street is, the russian presence here and what they are going to do with their influence in syria? i'm not sure that western governments are all that concerned with what happens nextin all that concerned with what happens next in syria, really, and whether it ends up in the russian orbit or whatever else because it is clear that for the last six years the west has not been invested sufficiently in syria and in achieving transition in syria and in achieving transition in syria so in a way that is not really the issue. as for russia, i think the russian dilemma is that russia would like to see some sort of formal political settlement in syria in which assad brings members of the opposition into his government and accept certain constitutional amendments. my concern is that as that shows no sign of being willing to make any meaningful change inside syria, even for the russians, and so the russians are sort of stuck supporting a regime that will fight endlessly and that won't try to use that advantage in order to come out with a political view, even if it is one in their own favour, so russia is stopped and does not have any

real exit plan here. 0k, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. i don't know if you could hear the macaw, the parrot, next to us, whistling away. perhaps he was being complement three of you! back to the studio for now. we could hear it, i have to confess we were wondering what it was! thank you for letting us know, matthew price in beirut. the time now is 12:22pm, time for the sport. manchester city are targeted more records this season after winning the premier league title with five games to spare. manchester united's shock defeat to west brom yesterday mean city cannot be caught. captain vincent kompa ny celebrated mean city cannot be caught. captain vincent kompany celebrated at his wife's's grandmother's house, a p pa re ntly wife's's grandmother's house, apparently a mix of reds and blues in the family. their fifth top division title, chasing chelsea's record points and goals tally for

the city. vincent kompany got in touch with kevin de bruyne and kyle walker, his team—mates, to organise the evening's festivities. pep guardiola was out on the golf course, a former city striker thinks the city boss is going to stay beyond his current contract which ru ns beyond his current contract which runs out at the end of next season. you look at the recruitment and ages of the players that he gets, jesus came in at19, of the players that he gets, jesus came in at 19, raheem sterling is only 23, john stones, bernardo silber, 23 and under, and it tells me that he is wanting to build something. yes, they win trophies now but looking forward three, four yea rs, now but looking forward three, four years, these young players keep improving under him as they have done, city could dominate for the next four or five years at least. british tennis player dan evans will return to court later this month after his 12 month drugs ban. he

tested positive for cocaine during the barcelona open last year. he will play in the glasgow trippi after he passed agreed checks set by the lawn tennis association. he says he has learned a lot about himself during the ban and thanked everyone who has supported him. australia and new zealand have conquered the world for a long time but we have finally broken the seal, thatis but we have finally broken the seal, that is the word of the england netball coach tracey neville after that dramatic gold medal win over australia in the commonwealth games final. while celebrating is the priority for tracey neville, so was the tricky issue of funding, something she describes as the news around the sport's neck. liz nicholl, head of uk sport, holds the purse strings she says netball needs to capitalise on its success. the relationship between england netball is with sport england and not uk sport because they are not a gb squad, not gb athletes, and so their performances were outstanding, so

resources a re performances were outstanding, so resources are critically important, they are working very hard and work in partnership in terms of franchising their super league and getting more commissioning coming. that is all the sport for now, more for you after the 1p on news, about 1:30pm. sir cliff richard has returned to court, as his battle against the bbc over its coverage of a police raid on his home entered its third day. the 77—year—old singer claims footage of the raid, carried out following an allegation of sexual assault, was a "very serious invasion" of his privacy. our correspondent angus crawford is at the high court. bring us up to date with what has been happening today? today, on day three of this legal action, we had in the witness box a retired detective superintendent, matthew fenwick. he was a man in charge of the police investigation into sir cliff richard at the time. the police claim the bbc effectively

forced them, blackmailed them, to hand over information about the investigation to them. why does that matter? bay have already apologised to circuit, paid something like £400,000 in damages, and want the bbc to cough up some of that money as well. today what we had was this former detective superintendent cross examined in court in which he said it was his own chief constable who had agreed he should meet the bbc reporter dan johnson who had agreed he should meet the bbc reporter danjohnson and brief him about the operation. danjohnson dan johnson had already danjohnson had already come to the police and said he knew about the investigation. mr fenech told the court his workload at the time was mad, he was ridiculously busy. he was not comfortable with the approach adopted by the chief co nsta ble, approach adopted by the chief constable, sorry about the noises off—camera there. he said he was very apprehensive about the meeting

with dan johnson but felt very apprehensive about the meeting with danjohnson but felt it had to go ahead, he did not want than johnson to publish, so they met and he said they did give danjohnson details about the time and place of the likely search operation, he said it did not seem possible to stop him broadcasting but he did worry that it could prejudice the investigation, that it could compromise sir cliff, and it might have a negative impact. he said, in effect, we came to an arrangement to delay any broadcast, that he said he felt he had been forced into the deal. he also denied in court that the police had ever had plans to arrest sir cliff at wimbledon. angus, thank you very much, angus crawford there. just an update for you on the news we brought you a short while ago that downing street has confirmed the prime minister will hold a meeting with other heads of commonwealth governments to discuss concerns about the windrush generation of immigrants, that is to happen later this week. a little bit more detail on what the prime minister has been saying from her spokesman, who told reporters that the prime minister deeply value the

contribution made by those and all commonwealth citizens who have made a life in the uk. the spokesman added that the prime minister is aware that many people are unlikely to have documents that are more than 40 yea rs old to have documents that are more than 40 years old which would allow them to show that they have a right to stay in the uk, and this statement from a spokesman continues, the prime minister was also clear that no one with the right to be here will be made to leave, and that the home office would offer the correct solutions for individual situations. so an update there on the windrush story for you. the former director of the fbi has accused donald trump of being ‘morally unfit‘ to be president because of what he called his constant lies, views on race, and his treatment of women. james comey‘s comments came in an interview with the american abc network ahead of the release of a tell—all book. it comes a year after he was fired by the administration over his handling of the bureau‘s investigation into alleged

election meddling by russia. our north america correspondent chris buckler reports. oh, and there‘s james. he‘s become more famous than me. president trump has made no secret of his anger at the huge amount of attention being given to james comey and his tell—all book. instead of handshakes, they‘re now exchanging insults. ahead of mr comey‘s prime—time television interview, donald trump called him on twitter "a liar, a leaker and an untruthful slimeball," among other things. the interview, james... this was a chance for the man he fired as fbi director to fire back. in an exclusive interview with george stephanopoulos for america‘s abc news, james comey made very clear his disdain for the values of a president he once served. i don‘t think he‘s medically unfit to be president, i think he‘s morally unfit to be president. a person who sees moral equivalence in charlottesville, who talks about and treats women

like they are pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the american people believe it, that person‘s not fit to be president of the united states on moral grounds. this very public fight feels deeply personal. and the consequences still have the potential to be political. donald trump and james comey seem intent not just on defending their own reputations, but destroying the other‘s. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. time for some more weather, matt taylor has news of some sunshine! the weather we have all been waiting for! it will not be a week without rainfor for! it will not be a week without rain for some of you but temperatures will be on the up, a pleasa nt temperatures will be on the up, a pleasant afternoon for many to start the week, sunny spells across scotland, england, wales, showers clearing this afternoon, temperatures a degree or so above where they should be but this time

of year, northern ireland will the rain developed through the afternoon and it will turn wet through the evening and overnight. a fairly wet nights to come across western scotla nd nights to come across western scotland and later into the far west of wales. much of england and wales will stay dry overnight, temperatures around seven to 11 degrees into tomorrow morning. in the rush hour, early rain across northern ireland will clear, particularly wet in scotland, rain on and off for a while, and the western fringes of england and wales will —— england and wales will the rain. sunshine and showers into the afternoon in scotland, the far south and east stay with blue skies with highs of 19 degrees. from there, temperatures climb further and for some of you the warmest air we have seen since last august. see you in half an hour. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines: the prime minister faces tough questions in parliament after ordering british air strikes on syria without first putting

the decision to a vote. the prime minister agrees to meet with her commonwealth counterparts to discuss the fate of thousands of britons known as the "windrush generation" — who face deportation from the uk over their legal status despite arriving as children over 50 years ago. morally unfit for office. the former boss of the fbi james comey condemns donald trump in a new tv interview. and the pub chain wetherspoon has shut down its twitter, instagram and facebook accounts due to concerns over trolling on social media, and misuse of personal data. let‘s return now to our top story and the air strikes on syria — the syrian government has to tried to show that saturday‘s air—strikes had no real impact on the ground. since the strikes, the syrian forces have made a bigger military presence and have recaptured the town of douma, they say.

seth doane has the latest from damascus. since the air strikes the civilian government have gone to great lengths to show they did not have much impact on the ground. syrian forces have made significant advances since, they also say. they also say they have recaptured douma, and over the weekend we were able to make it to one of the science that had been targeted, this research facility in damascus. the pentagon said it was key to the development of biological and chemical weapons here in syria but we met a scientist who told us he had worked there for 38 years. he gave us a tour of the ruined building and told us that they were only developing pharmaceuticals and had nothing to do with chemical weapons. were chemical weapons developed here? that is totally incorrect, he

said. the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons visited here and did not report anything wrong with this place. we are seeing spin from all sides but one thing is clear, that facility is com pletely one thing is clear, that facility is completely destroyed. it is also clear that the air strikes will not have an overall effect on this war. the syrian president, bashar al—assad, and his russian allies, winning this war, and assad is already looking ahead. he told russian lawmakers over the weekend that $400 billion would be needed to rebuild syria‘s economy. we can cross now to salisbury and speak tojerry smith, who is the former head of field operations in syria for the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons. as he had seen, that organisation is meeting in the hague today. thank you for talking to us. we are hearing conflicting versions of why the 0pcw‘s hearing conflicting versions of why the opcw‘s field inspectors can‘t get into douma at the moment to

inspect this site. we have heard from the envoy, the british envoy to the 0pcw that russians and syrians are blocking access. we have heard from the russians that the team can‘t access the site because of the air strikes. based on your experience, what is the answer like you to be? it is very difficult to really get a clear picture. it is a tough one for me to answer. clearly, one of the primary issues that needs to be resolved is the safety of the inspectors, because clearly if they are hurt they cannot carry on. the issue will be to try to get the guys and girls to these locations is a safe manner so they can start their investigation process of interviews and sampling. let's look at the issue of safety of the field team, the inspectors. when you are in situations like this... i am afraid we have lost that interview. apologies, we will try to... i think

that he is back with us. sorry, we thought we had lost youth. intermodal —— in terms of the safety of inspectors, when you are in a place like syria, what sort of people does the local government, in this case the syrian government, assigned to you to keep an eye on what you might be doing? oh, dear. i think that lying is going to be troublesome. we have lost our guest again, apologies. we will try to get back to that interview if we can be sure that the line is going to work. hundreds of people have fled their homes as a large bush fire threatens the outskirts of sydney. more than 500 firefighters have been tackling the blaze, which began on saturday afternoon. police say the fire may have been started deliberately. phil mercer reports. the two days, fires have devastated

bushland on sydney‘s suburban fringe. authorities said the fast—moving outbreak was aggressive and unpredictable. it has taken a huge firefighting effort to keep the fla mes huge firefighting effort to keep the flames away from homes. remarkably, no properties have been destroyed. on the ground, 500 firefighters, including many volunteers and members of the military, confronted the inferno. they were supported in the inferno. they were supported in the skies above by more than a dozen aircraft. very warm autumn weather and a lack of rain have created a tinderbox on the edge of australia‘s biggest city. we have to deal with the worst that mother nature can throw at us and the worst australians are presented with by nature. the better it brings out the australian spirit. the selflessness, courage, professionalism art

showing. conditions in the fire zone have eased but the flames still burn out of control. there are fears the strong winds that found the blaze over the weekend will be turned again. south—eastern australia is one of the world‘s most fire prone regions. most outbreaks are sparked by lightning or accidentally by damaged power lines. sometimes, more sinister hands are to blame. australian police believe this monstrous fire in south—western syd ney monstrous fire in south—western sydney may have been this on purpose. sock the organisers of the next commonwealth games in birmingham say they‘re certain the event will help to boost the city‘s prospects. but traders on australia‘s gold coast have warned that the games were bad for business and turned customers away. the 11 days of competition drew to a close with yesterday‘s closing ceremony — from the gold coast, hywel griffith reports. being a host city brings the promise of gold — medals for the athletes,

lots of money for the local economy. but some on the gold coast have been left feeling short—changed by these games. i‘ve been here 22 years. the worst i‘ve seen in 22 years. it‘s impacted almost a month and a half of trade, and we are all down at least 50%. when they planned the commonwealth games, the organisers warned of delays and disruption, but the reality has been rather more empty, after local people left town. that get ready campaign was done so well that it made people imagine there was going to be gridlock. you scared them away? in the way, i have to admit that we would have played that card differently. so what can birmingham learn from this? there‘s been a team on the ground looking at what to copy and what to avoid. there are some things they can‘t replicate. without miles of golden sand, there probably won‘t be beach volleyball in birmingham. every host city has to play its advantages. and so birmingham wants

a diverse, urban games. they were only awarded in december, after being taken away from durban, leaving much less time to prepare. it means we may not have three years of wrangling about what a decision might be. we have four years to go, so we have to crack on. so actually we need to make decisions quickly, so i think that might actually play to our advantage. home games normally help to produce medals. australia did not have it all its own way... the captain of england‘s victorious netball team is a brummie and thinks the games bring something special. i have beenjust talking to the general public and volunteers, and normally i go around birmingham and no one even looks at me, so if it can bring the city together just because of the games then i think that‘s a bonus for birmingham. every games needs its golden moments. it‘s up to birmingham to prove it scan deliver. to prove it can deliver. the pub chainjd wetherspoon says it‘s closing down

all its accounts on twitter, instagram and facebook because of concerns over the people being trolled on social media, and the misuse of personal data. the company‘s chairman tim martin said he was also worried that users were spending too much time on social media outlets. wetherspoon has 44,000 twitter followers and more than 100,000 on facebook. let‘s talk to tim martin, the founder and chairman of wetherspoons. good of you to join us today. come on, confess. it is a big publicity stu nt. on, confess. it is a big publicity stunt. i think you have to be com pletely stunt. i think you have to be completely off your rocker to do a publicity stunt which bans the medium which is supposed to give you the most publicity, social media. we have done this for commercial reasons. we think it is destruction.

we have never actually advertised as a company and therefore spending an hour or two a week for a pub on trying to send people pictures of a pint of bitter when they know what that looks like anyway, we think it isa that looks like anyway, we think it is a waste of time. i make personal level, the second factor, many of us are fed up with social media and think it has got damaging effects and a lot of people are on it far, far too much. it does not do them any good, does not do the country any good, does not do the country any good. we would not do it if we thought it would damage the business. you said would not do it if it would affect your business. he said that was the overwhelming opinion of your pub managers. did you consult all 900? this consulted a range of them. i called 15 pubs

last week, 15 the week before, and the head office guys did something similar. it is less formal than a poll but there is no doubt that people in the company feel it is good commercially and generally, i hardly know anyone... people who aren‘t on social media wish that their friends weren‘t either, because they seem to be upset by it, and people that are on it feel they can‘t get off it because they are addicted. there is certainly a zeitgeist thing going on, a bit of a rejection of social media. you have talked about commercial reasons as well, but ultimately, do you reserve the right to get back on social media at some point? people in the business world are saying this is a mistake, companies have to have profiles on social media. completely fascinating. if i have to crawl back to facebook, that will be a catastrophe. it‘s not impossible.

you have to keep your options open in business. if i do it, what humiliation. speaking of facebook, we know that you don‘t donated to vote leave in the referendum. it is being invested over claims of overspending by that campaign. is that to some extent feeding your aversion to social media at this point? generally, in politics people vastly overestimate social media. i campaigned vigorously for ligue and idid it campaigned vigorously for ligue and i did it through writing, speaking to the press and television in a coherent way. —— i campaigned for leave. i think politicians underestimate the intelligence of the public and it is all a bit of

marketing. thank you. theresa may will hold a meeting with her counterparts from caribbean states this week to discuss concerns over the status of windrush generation immigrants. let‘s speak to the conservative mp who has been very vocal on twitter, and social media, about the right of the windrush generation to stay here. i have been vocal on more traditional media, actually. absolutely, traditional media as well. i haven't said anything on social media. certainly you have been mentioned on social media, if you haven‘t directly being involved yourself. david lambie, for example, saying he does not think you and he

have agreed on anything else before but you do on this. it is important there is a fundamental equality between british citizens and we should not treat them unfairly because of administrative changes made long after they came to the country. expecting them to have documentation they were not expected to have when they arrived, that is simply unfair. frankly, would you agree that it was shoddy and shabby of the government not to get ahead of the government not to get ahead of this when the rules on immigration were tightened, and not to anticipate that this problem might occur? i am afraid it is a problem of bureaucracy. offices often put their own conveniences ahead of individuals where is government should be about putting the interests of individual first. it has been very unfair. that people have had their right to live in their own home question. it is

deeply upsetting. you talk about bureaucracy but ultimately, people run bureaucracies and at no point did someone say, this might cause an issue for the windrush generation, clearly. things were done for administrative convenience rather than to ensure people living here we re than to ensure people living here were looked after properly, clearly. that was a mistake. it is important it is put right because all british citizens are fundamentally equal and should not be required to prove their status any more than people who were born here should be. we have brought out the statement from the prime minister‘s spokesman a short while ago on these. and the views of the prime minister on this. the contribution of all commonwealth citizens to live in the uk. the government is playing catch—up but do you think it is going to get this right? i think it will. this is one of the great advantages of media ‘s and new, highlighting problems when they arise, focusing attention on

them and ensuring they are put right swiftly to be fair to value to fellow british citizens.” swiftly to be fair to value to fellow british citizens. i want to ask you a question as well about the bbc and the broadcasting of the enoch powell speech, the famous speech that we have all heard so much in the last few days. what are your thoughts on that? you have made it clear, actually, by keeping the bbc should not have broadcast that. no, i have not said that at all. i put on social media a leading article written by my father in 1968, when enoch powell spoke, which i think stands the test of time. the bbc has done a service broadcasting these, because a lot of people say he is right without having listened to his speech. his speech was appalling and had the most unsavoury stories and terminology about immigrants to this story. the rivers of blood speech as it is known is a very unpleasant speech and was rightly criticised at the time. you

think it is a service even though many people were saying before it was broadcast to get that it was going to be deeply offensive.” think that is the point. lots of people don‘t actually know what enoch powell said and talk about the speech without having heard or read it and speech without having heard or read itandi speech without having heard or read it and i think that people should know what he said and therefore be ina know what he said and therefore be in a better position to criticise it. the bbc has done a public service as a public service broadcasting. the speech made talking sensibly about immigration considerably harder because of the stories that he told, the anecdotal evidence that he used and the terminology that he employed, which was racist. thank you. the headlines on bbc newsroom live... mps will today question theresa may over the uk‘s involvement in air strikes in syria. russia‘s foreign minister tells the bbc there is no proof of chemical weapons being used in syria and that air strikes have damaged relations. the prime minister now says she will meet caribbean counterparts

over concerns that thousands of people from the windrush generation are facing deportation from the uk. nelljones was one of 22 people killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at an ariana grande concert in manchester last may. on what would have been her 15th birthday her family are launching the ‘remembering nell foundation‘ in her memory, a charity that will help support young people in the north west of england. rachel burden has been speaking to nell‘s brothers and mother about how they‘re coming to terms with their loss. she wasjust — just lovely, you know. she just had a lovely way about her. i mean, i know she was ours, and you‘re going to say that about your own, but she was just no trouble. i missjust the little conversations with her, more than anything. just talking, day—to—day stuff. we never really had a big

conversation, but there was always something you could talk about, something you could have a laugh and a joke about. she was cuddly, she would always come and give you a big hug. and that was actually the last thing that she did was give me a hug, before i went away. how have the last 11 months been for you? i can‘t not go in her room at 7:00am in the morning and open the curtains, because that‘s when i used to go in to get her up for school. and i can‘t get out of that habit of doing that, at the moment. i always have to put her light on in her room, so that if it‘s dark, her room isn‘t dark. i always said, when it happened, that i didn‘t want her room to become a shrine. but to a point it has, because i can‘t bear to move anything from where she had it. you know, i think, she put that there, and that‘s where she wanted it, so i can‘t move that from there.

and that‘s how i am at the moment with it. the family has been working with nell‘s school to create a garden of memories in her name, with help from herfriends. can you show us your pebble and tell us a little bit about it? my pebble has ariana grande lyrics on, that me and nell used to belt our voices out to. and it basically represents mine and nell's relationship, because i didn't know it was possible to find someone like her, until i did. and then it's got a bee on the back, to represent manchester. i think it's important everyone talks about it, to keep her alive, and i think the garden is a good way to do that. because everyone will walk past it, and rememberthe times

they spent with her — i mean, no—one would forget her anyway, but it keeps her memory alive 24/7, really. what about the wider community? we are here in the school nell went to, and i know the town has been very supportive. i've always said that the community and the school have taken some of the weight. it has not removed it, by any means, but itjust helps you stand that little bit taller than you would be able to ordinarily. your faith in humanity is taken away when something like this happens, and then thankfully the community, and the whole country, really, has built it back up, and we've now got faith in humanity again. today they are launching the remembering nell foundation, which will support charities which work with young people. obviously nell was ta ken in a terrible way. but i didn‘t want, or we didn‘t want, her death to be pointless. and ijust think he stood there and he took her life, along with the others, but if we can do some good out

of what‘s happened, he has not won. how will you be remembering nell on her birthday? i know this is going to sound strange, your viewers will probably think i‘m very strange, but i know i‘ll have to buy her a birthday card. i can‘t not buy her a birthday card. and that‘s another hard thing to deal with, because... you know, it‘s just not right. you know, so i‘ll do that, i‘ll buy her a birthday card, buy her a present. it‘ll be something to put in her room, and we‘lljust have a quiet day, won‘t we? moving tributes from the family and

friends of nelljones. at around 11.30 tonight, nasa will launch a mission called tess to look for planets around the stars which are closest to earth. surveying nearly the entire sky, a key part of the operation will involve capturing the vibrations from the stars, which can be turned into sounds, helping researchers to identify their age and size. here‘s our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. the night sky is littered with stars. they shine and they also sing. whirring noise these are the vibrations of a distant starsimilarto oursun, converted into sound. and this is another much bigger and older star. professor bill chaplin is analysing these sounds. of course, there‘s no air in space, so the stars can‘t actually be heard, but they do vibrate, and so generate soundwaves. when we hear the sounds of the

stars, first of all it tells us that out of this turbulence, this almost chaos, we get these sounds, and it is incredible that stars resonate just like a musical instrument. this will be the first mission to scan nearly the entire sky, sector by sector, the sound a start makes will tell scientists how big and hot it is, many of them have planets around them. some will be too close. those that are the right distance away will be those capable of supporting life, in what scientists call the goldilocks zone, where the temperature is just right. goldilocks zone, where the temperature isjust right. in a goldilocks zone, where the temperature is just right. in a few yea rs, temperature is just right. in a few yea rs , we temperature is just right. in a few years, we will hear the sound of each star in the night sky and we will know whether planets around them may harbour life. ina them may harbour life. in a moment, the news at 1pm, but first the weather.

at long last, the week many of you have been waiting for. sunshine and warmth. not completely devoid of rain but the warmth will be building from midweek onwards. the warmest airwe from midweek onwards. the warmest air we have seen since last august. it isa air we have seen since last august. it is a few days away. temperatures are it is a few days away. temperatures a re close it is a few days away. temperatures are close to where they should be put this time of year. sunny spells for the most part but rain into the evening pushing across northern ireland, strengthening the breeze, and the rain will turn heavier and heavier into the night. pushing across western scotland and moving into western parts of wales. many areas will turn dry overnight. strengthening southerly wind will hold up between seven and 11 degrees. low pressure to borrow out with the best driving this weather front in but also trying to bring in even milder air our way. the wettest

area will be in the west tomorrow. easing away from antrim through the morning but the isle of man, areas of cumbria, will be thoroughly wet. flooding in dumfries and galloway. outbreaks of rain also in the highlands and northern isles. the wet weather will use through the morning, fragmenting into some showers. brighter later, maybe the odd rumble of thunder. blue skies for much of the day in east anglia and the south—east. even with the breeze elsewhere, it will be a mild day. another one on wednesday. cloud in the north and west to begin. sunny weather developing quite widely through the afternoon, and temperatures into the upper teens in parts of scotland, maybe be low to mid 20s across the midlands and south—east. high pressure to the east of us will be dragging the air

upwards from iberia and france and that will boost the temperatures further as we hit thursday. cloudy across parts of scotland and western fringes of england and wales. that will fragment. good, long sunny spells into the afternoon. warmest day of the year. peaking at 26 in the south east corner of england. theresa may is to face parliament, on why she allowed uk airstrikes over syria, without a vote of mps. the government says the limited scope of the attack to prevent the use of chemical weapons, didn‘t need parliamentary authority. it was the world saying that we‘ve had enough of the use of chemical weapons. the erosion of that taboo that has been in place for 100 years has gone too far. as international inspectors try to gather evidence of the suspected chemical attack, russia says the west has rushed tojudgement. we lose, basically, the last

remnants of trust with our western friends, who prefer to direct on the basis of very weird logic.