this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11am: international trade secretary liam fox accuses the house of lords of seeking to "block the will of the people" after a series of government defeats over brexit. the public voted to leave the european union. what do people not understand about the terms, referendum, binary and democracy? the british public have had their say, they have given their instructions to parliament, it is parliament's duty to carry that out. washington says the iran nuclear deal was "built on lies" after israeli claims of a secret iranian weapons programme scotland calls time on cheap booze as long—awaited legislation on minimum pricing comes into force. an australian court rules that vatican treasurer cardinal george pell will stand trial on historical sexual assault charges. also, an environmental campaigner who says she was tricked into a sexual relationship with an undercover police officer is mounting a legal challenge to have him prosecuted.

i was encouraged to be intimate and sexual with somebody who i would never, ever have got involved with if i had known who he was. and after the violent scenes at anfield, an italian offical promises liverpool fans they'll be safe in rome — if they follow the rules. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the future of the iran nuclear deal is in doubt after the israeli prime minister claimed his country had evidence that the iranian military were secretly planning

to build nuclear weapons. the us said israel's claims were "co nsiste nt" with its own intelligence. but britain, france and germany have all pressed for the deal to be maintained. lebo diseko reports. benjamin netanyahu's message was clear. iran lied, big—time. he said iran's government deceived the international community when it said it never wanted nuclear weapons, and he said israel had thousands of secret files and documents proving it. we can also prove that iran is secretly storing project amad material to use at a time of its choice to develop nuclear weapons. in 2015, iran agreed to curb what it has always maintained was a nuclear energy programme. in return, the us and five other international powers agreed to lift sanctions.

the deal, passed under president obama, was hailed as historic. but israel has always doubted the intentions of its enemy, iran, and now it seems america's new leader does too. i've been saying that's happening. they're not sitting back idly. they're setting off missiles, which they say are for television purposes. i don't think so. iran's foreign minister accused mr trump of jumping on old allegations in order to nix the deal. on a recent visit to israel, the us secretary of state said america was willing to do just that, if their concerns were not addressed — a threat mr trump has repeatedly made. and with less than two weeks before he must decide whether to reimpose sanctions on iran, many are questioning the timing of israel's announcement. lebo diseko, bbc news. speaking to reporters onboard a plane as he headed home

from a visit to the middle east, the american secretary of state, mike pompeo, said he agreed with the israeli assessment that iran had lied about its nuclear capabilities. this will, i think, spell out the scope and scale of the programme they undertook there and i think makes it very clear that at the very least the iranians have continued to lie to their own people, so while you say everyone knew, the iranians have consistently taken the position they never had a programme like this. this will belie any notion that there wasn't a programme like this. we have just had a statement from the international atomic energy agency about this issue and this is their director issuing this statement saying that in the report,

it refers to a report of december 2015, the agency assessed that before the end of 2003 and organisational structure was in place in iran is suitable for range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device, although some activities took place after 2003, they were not pa rt took place after 2003, they were not part of a car war donated effort and did not go beyond feasibility and scientific studies. this statement has literally just scientific studies. this statement has literallyjust come into us. this same report stated the agency had no credible indications of activities in iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009. i think those are the most relevant lines of that report from the international atomic energy agency. joining me now from hamburg is sara bazoobandi, senior lecturer at regents university london

and the israelis are saying, what they are saying is a rehash of old allegations, some would say the iranians would say that. when you look at an agreement on this scale of the nuclear deal between tehran, one of the major threats were durability and success were either party changing their mind about activities and this is an issue that has been ongoing in international negotiations, any deal you can have these speculations. what i cannot comment on is whether these documents are genuine and what they have to present in them, but one

thing i can imagine from the perspective of the iranians, they put a lot of effort and the current government and the supreme leader had to accept an lot of political price domestic league to allow this deal to go through, the economic hardship of the sanctions was caught because of the nuclear programme, so iran has an interest in maintaining this deal, simply because they need the economic outcomes of the deal. whether or not they have completely lost hope in the success of the deal and whether they would be able to enjoy any of the economic benefits of the deal, it might be for them to decide the outcome of the deal and

to go back to where they were but at this stage i doubt that they have a sufficient motive to want to take pa rt sufficient motive to want to take part in such activities. you don't need 100,000 documents to speculate that iran might cheat. so when mike pompeo says the iran deal is built on lies, do you think the us is looking for material to back—up what this administration already thinks, rather than assess what israel is saying objectively? absolutely. if you look at any other comments donald trump has made about this deal, when he talks about korea as well, he always talks about the awful deal that was really bad and m ista kes awful deal that was really bad and mistakes that 0bama and john kerry made, so he is coming from a very negative mindset about this deal and

trying to find reasons to justify walking away from the deal, which of course will have a lot of political cost for the us administration in his relationship with european powers because this is not a deal between iran and the us, it is a deal that very important european powers we re deal that very important european powers were involved in, plus china and russia, so it is a global deal. will the deal continue?” and russia, so it is a global deal. will the deal continue? i hope so. thank you very much for your thoughts on that. the international trade secretary liam fox has accused the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people', after a series of government defeats over brexit in the chamber. the latest — and most significant — would enable parliament to send theresa may back to the negotiating table in brussels if mps didn't like the brexit deal she'd negotiated.

the cabinet has been meeting this morning for the first time since the resignation of amber rudd and the appointment of sajid javid as her replacement. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. good morning. baroness hayes, a member of the house of lords, said all they did last night was their job, sent some material back to the commons forfurther job, sent some material back to the commons for further discussion, but do you think the closer we are getting to brexit, the more accusations are coming from some quarters that the house of lords have an agenda? there is no doubt that last night's votes in the house of lords are a setback for the government if mps approve them when they get a chance to vote on these

measures because they amount to an attempt to take the key decision—making power away from theresa may when it comes to the final brexit deal and handed to the house of commons, in other words to allow the house of commons to shape the approach to negotiations because at the moment mrs may has said she will negotiate a deal and bring it back to the commons, mps can vote on it but if they reject that, we will leave the eu anyway. peers have now said that is not acceptable, if mps reject the deal that mrs me does, mps should be able to decide whether she goes back to the negotiating table, what her new priority should be, whether there should even be a second referendum and that has incensed many government figures who view it as an attempt to unpack the result of the referendum. have a listen to the international trade

secretary, liam fox. the public voted to leave the european union. what do people not understand about the terms, referendum, binary and democracy? the british public have had their say, they have given their instructions to parliament, it is parliament's duty to carry that out. the difficulty for the government is not just a view this is the difficulty for the government is notjust a view this is an attempt to undo brexit but they also question how mrs me can go into negotiations knowing that whatever she tries to do will have to be approved by the commons. the fear would be that will encourage the eu to play her off against the commons and will strengthen their hand in negotiations, and ministers say the house of commons is that legislative chamber it is not they negotiating body, but labour seem poised to back this move. listen tojeremy corbyn

asked about it. the lords have passed a number of amendments which will come back to the house of commons later this month. i think parliament should have the final say on the terms of leaving the eu and if we don't accept the decisions the government have made, they should be sent back to negotiate again. the principle has to be that parliament must be sovereign on this matter. do you think the peers are overstretching themselves? they are perfectly entitled to put their views forward and that is what they have done. the final say rests with the house of commons. all this depends on whether mps back those decisions by the house of lords last night and there the arithmetic is very tight for mrs me. we have already seen her defeated earlier,

the key commons vote on the issue of giving mpsa the key commons vote on the issue of giving mps a meaningful vote and the fear may be that some tory mps will look at the vote last night when there were a number of tory peers who rebelled and a sizeable majority against the government, and think that gives them license to rebel against theresa may. thank you, norman. after a lengthy court battle, the scottish government has introduced a minimum unit price for alcohol — meaning the cost of some drinks will go up from today. health professionals and campaigners claim the change will help reduce the number of alcohol related deaths in scotland from the current figure of 2k per week. catriona renton reports. it's been a long time coming, but today, scotland is the first country in the world to have a minimum unit price for alcohol. well, it's never too late. at edinburgh royal infirmary, the first minister met people with alcohol—related liver illnesses. all of the evidence says that while it's not going to solve the problem on its own, without action that targets the affordability of alcohol,

then we won't make the progress we need to see. audrey duncan is recovering now, but last year, she was taken into hospital with the early stages of alcohol—related brain damage. now 37 years old, she started drinking heavily in her 20s. it started off about four cans of beer a day. and then that started to progress to crates of beer and then it progressed onto vodka and gin and whiskey, anything i could get my hands on, really. it's the strongest alcoholic drinks that are affected, like this strong cider. now, the shop we are in used to sell three—litre bottles of this drink for £3.49. but now, under the new pricing, it costs £11.25, so the shop's decided to stop selling it. there are a lot of factors to consider. we have a lot of customers that are on a very, very low income, a very tight income, and they don't have a lot of money to spend and maybe on a friday or a saturday,

they want a bottle of cheap cider, because that's all they can afford, and i think it's quite unfairon them. research for the scottish government says the policy could save around 400 lives in its first five years. many countries across the world will be watching to see if it works. catriona renton, bbc news, edinburgh. catriona renton is in glasgow for us. how confident are the people behind this campaign after that lengthy court battle, that this will work and makea court battle, that this will work and make a difference? that was the overriding message when we were talking to the first minister, they hope this will work and it will be pa rt hope this will work and it will be part of a number of measures. it will not work on its own but she believes it's important as a step in the right direction alongside a number of policies the government has put in, they don't allow

promotional three for two offers anymore and they have clamped down on drink—driving more than before, the rules here are very stringent, you can drink a lot less here than most people do not risk drinking at all when driving. i'm joined most people do not risk drinking at all when driving. i'mjoined by most people do not risk drinking at all when driving. i'm joined by the chief executive of alcohol focus scotland, and you have been reporting on this issue for a number of years. maybe you can answer that question on how much this will work. this is a momentous date for public health in scotland, the biggest measure since the smoking ban. in the first year we expect 60 lives to be saved, 1300 people not admitted to hospital, and 3500 fewer crimes, and the effects will build over time. this is hugely beneficial. the

legislation was passed six years ago, it was mooted as 50p then, now the welsh government are talking about 60p or70p, the welsh government are talking about 60p or 70p, people say 70 is possibly a proper level. we need to get 50p see how effective it is and then discuss the most appropriate level. we have been talking about this for ten years, it's six years since parliament approved it, we need to implement it and then see the effectiveness. we spoke to people with alcohol addiction and some said it made no difference, whatever it costs, they will do what they can to get their hands on drink. there are concerns from shopkeepers that there could be more thefts. the evidence is that even

harmful or hazardous drinkers respond to price increases. it doesn't mean they stop drinking but they drink less and the benefits are that their health is better and criminality drops, so we will see benefit from it but we need to ensure that services are in place to support people who need help to cut down or stop drinking. alison douglas, thank you for talking to us. there are plans in wales and northern ireland and the republic of ireland is also currently legislating for this, so the eyes of the world are on scotland to see how this policy works. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: international trade secretary liam fox accuses the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people', after a series of government defeats over brexit. after the israeli prime minister

claims to have proof of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme, the us says the iran nuclear deal was "built on lies". the price of cheap, high—strength alcohol goes up in scotland as long—awaited legislation on minimum pricing comes into force. and in sport, graham murthy has left hisjob as and in sport, graham murthy has left his job as rangers and in sport, graham murthy has left hisjob as rangers manager, he has been relieved of his duties with three games remaining with talks ongoing over at steven gerard replacing him. the american fitness and shahid khan says that sale of wembley will be good for english football and could help to fulfil the fa's ambition of winning the world cup, and after 15 years and 82 caps, england full—back daniel waterman has announced her retirement from women's rugby. i

will be back with more on those stories at 11:30 am. the case of a terminally ill man who wants the right to an assisted death is to be considered by the court of appeal. noel conway, who's 68 and has motor neurone disease, argues the current law breaches his human rights. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh is at the court of appeal. perhaps you could begin by reminding us of the lengthy legal process that mr conway has gone through. mr conway is a retired lecturer from shropshire, he is too ill to attend court but he will follow proceedings from a local court near his home and he has motor neurone disease, the muscles in his body are gradually shutting down, he cannot move except for a slight movement of his right hand below his neck and he fears as

his body shuts down how he will die. he is ona his body shuts down how he will die. he is on a ventilator 23 hours a day and last year he launched his legal battle for the right to an assisted death. under the 1961 suicide act any doctor who prescribed him a lethal dose of drugs would be liable forup to 1a lethal dose of drugs would be liable for up to 1a years in prison and mr conway argues that breaches his human rights. the case got under way at about half an hour ago. this is possibly one of the most difficult issues for a court to consider, and for thejudges to issues for a court to consider, and for the judges to grant mr conway what he wants would be crossing a barrier in the view of many. yes, what thejudges barrier in the view of many. yes, what the judges can only do is interpret the law and he is asking them to declare that the suicide act is incompatible with the european

convention on human rights. the government has said that act does interfere with his human rights, his right to a private life, but it is justified to protect the weak and vulnerable, and last year in a high court hearing mr conway lost his case because the high courtjudges said parliament in 2015 had considered this and voted overwhelmingly to reject proposals for assisted dying in england and wales, and those who want the law to remain as it is say it is there to protect those who don't have a voice and any change would turn a right to die intoa and any change would turn a right to die into a duty to die for the vulnerable who would feel pressured into taking their own life with assistance. thank you, fergus. donald trump has extended negotiations on steel and aluminium tariffs for 30 days with canada, the eu and mexico. the president had imposed new tariffs on us imports of steel and aluminium,

but granted temporary exemptions to key trading partners, which were due to expire at midnight last night. however, hours before the deadline, the white house announced it was postponing the decision until the end of the month. later this week, voters in many parts of england will go to the polls for local elections — with more than 4,000 council seats up for grabs. 0ur political correspondent chris mason explains why they matter. what do you mean, council elections don't leave you throbbing with excitement? 0k, well, here are some pretty pictures. well, fairly pretty given its cloudy from up a tall building in london. worth it for their own sake, i hope you agree. but we are up here at the top of the shard to peer down on election contests as far as the eye can see. every single council seat, nearly 2,000, are there to be snaffled on all 32 london boroughs but the gaze of the expert i brought with me extends beyond the horizon.

there is no question that this is a predominantly urban election year. last time, it was counties, last year it was counties, this year, it's london, most of the other metropolitan areas, some unitaries, and there are one or two shire districts as well but it's mostly cities and urban voters where labour has tended to be stronger in the past so they have got a lot to defend this time. my feet back on the ground, i've come next to meet ingrid koehler, who has probably forgotten more about local authorities than most of us will ever know. councils do nost of what affects where you live and how you live. so everything from school places to looking after your older relatives to street lights and, of course, bin collection, councils are there and they are also

making decisions about development in yourarea, planning, parks libraries, the thing that makes where you live a great place to live. why should people bother to vote? i think sometimes the reason people don't vote is because they don't think they can have an impact on the election but actually in local elections, you are much more likely to be in a swingable area then you are in a parliamentary election. sometimes there are only five or ten votes in it and so your votes really count in these local elections and for putting people in who make decisions that reflect your values. if you feel the local election campaigns have passed you by, there are plenty of parts of the country where there aren't any elections this time. scotland, wales and northern ireland, for a start. but there are elections for 150 councils around england including newcastle, leeds, manchester and birmingham. and mayors will be also elected in four london boroughs plus in watford and in the sheffield city region. back here at westminster, politicians regularly pore over opinion polls, those not always entirely accurate snapshots of public opinion.

but on thursday, many of them will get a very real sense of whether their party is popular or not when the real votes drop into real ballot boxes and, by the end of the week, not only will many parts of england know how they are governed locally, we will also have a sense of what mood it sets nationally here too. chris mason, bbc news. ahead of thursday's local council elections, the bbc news channel will be looking at a number of key issues in six cities. this morning we are looking at sunderland in the north east of england, where 25 of the council's 75 seats are up or election. and we can speak to our political editor in the region, richard moss who's in sunderland this morning. good morning, some nice blue skies behind you. do you think this will behind you. do you think this will bea behind you. do you think this will be a truly local election or will people have bigger national issues

in mind? it's always a mixture in places like this, sunderland had a very big role in a big national decision a few years ago, it was the first place in the country to vote leaves and give the indication the country would vote for brexit. we remember the massive celebrations amongst leave activists. many of those work ukip activists and this was a happy hunting ground for them until recently, they didn't win any councils here but were a main opposition to labour in many seats but this time they don't have a single candidate in this city and that appears across the north—east, further down the coast in south tyneside, where they had one council seatin tyneside, where they had one council seat in the past, no candidates at all, further down the coast in

hartlepool, work ukip have been the main opposition to labour on the council, no candidates. around 200 seats in the north—east, less than 20 ukip candidates. they had membership defections and are weak at the moment. some activists think sunderland is a missed opportunity because the labour council has had its problems, children services are in special measures because of failings in looking after vulnerable people people and they feel there is an anti—labour vote to capitalise on. the main opposition could be the liberal democrats, you couldn't get two parties further away on brexit but they would be well placed to make inroads here, they want a council by—election, so they believe

they have a chance. conservatives also hope to mop up some ukip votes but they are concentrating about 18 miles away in newcastle. they haven't had a counsellor there since 1996 whenjohn major was prime minister and they are desperate to get back in, but this time newcastle is allup, get back in, but this time newcastle is all up, every seat is up and they believe because of boundary changes they may get an inroads back into an urban council. they also have hopes in places like carlisle, always at tight battle between conservatives and labour, and south wakefield, the home of tim farron, they pushed pretty close in his parliamentary seat and believed they could threaten the council that has been controlled by liberal democrats for a decade. the green party are fielding 150 candidates across the

north—east, they don't have any candidates here but hope to in future, this is a mass of the labour dominated area, even if labour lost all their seats on thursday they would still control the council is so would still control the council is so expect to wake up with labour still dominant in the north—east. and you can read more on the local elections on the bbc website at bbc.co.uk/politics. looking very bright in the sunderland. let's find out the rest of the weather with simon king. cumulus clouds developing in sunderland. this picture just cumulus clouds developing in sunderland. this picturejust a short moment agojust sunderland. this picturejust a short moment ago just tramps that. what a gorgeous day in kent. com pletely what a gorgeous day in kent. completely different to that of yesterday, where you had those strong winds and lashing rain all day. we keep those sunny spells into the afternoon. significantly warmer

thanit the afternoon. significantly warmer than it was yesterday. further west, rain moving into western scotland. western fringes of england and wales also seeing showers and patchy rain later on. temperatures around 13-15dc. later on. temperatures around 13—15dc. 0vernight, this rain will work its way a bit further eastward, heavy and places. unlike last night where we had a patchy frost, temperatures tonight no lower than about 7—10d. that rain will gradually clear from the east as we go through wednesday. it will be replaced by sunny spells and showers but again feeling on the chilli salad. —— feeling on the chilly side. i will have more in about 25 minutes. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: the house of lords has been accused of trying to "block the will of the people" by the international trade secretary, liam fox,

after a series of government defeats in the chamber over brexit. the us secretary of state mike pompeo says a landmark nuclear deal with iran was "built on lies", after israel claimed to have proof of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme. an end to cheap booze in scotland as it becomes the first country in the world to bring in minimum pricing on alcohol. the government hopes it will cut consumption and save lives. vatican treasurer cardinal george pell will stand trial on historical sexual assault charges, after an australian magistrate rules that there is enough evidence to proceed on some charges. in a moment, the uk's highest court, the supreme court, is sitting in northern ireland for the first time today, to hear the so—called "gay—cake" case. ashers baking company is challenging a judgement, which found it had discriminated against a customer. we'll have the latest. graham murty, the rangers manager has

left his position early, he was due to step down at the end of the season, but has been relieved of his duties with three games remaining. 0ur reporter chris mclaughlinjoins us. why has he gone with potentially three games remaining? does this have anything to do with the potential appointment of steven gerrard? usually in a position like this, it is down to results. that is not the full picture. with rangers it is never that simple. he came in 0ctober it is never that simple. he came in october and did fairly well and got some decent results, even against celtic but significantly, there was a few big results recently that have—r— . é gone ‘55 way. "5 "' 555 to ’ '

because did mg it did m3'5 it ‘it did mg it- it was a job 55515??? el? eeee ii? jeep ii? fiseee j'ee. e5553? eie eeee ie jeep ie fiéee je‘e, quite e5553? eie eeee ie jeep ie fiéee j'e‘e, quite take on a he was quite keen to take on a full—time basis. he was quite keen to take on a full-time basis. they would certainly get that high—profile appointment of steven gerrard takes over. what kind of reception would he get in scottish football if he is appointed? a very good question. it is difficult to say. rangers are very much interested. in fact, the

job is steven gerrard ‘s if he wants it. the noise coming from the steven gerrard camp is he is keen but he is looking for more assurances with regards to how much money would be available. in terms of the reception he would get, fairly mixed. some are saying, he has no experience but he may well be able to attract some fairly high—profile names to glasgow. the problem for rangers is they have been in this situation before. derek mcinnes was the man they wanted a few months ago and he turned it down. they put all of their eggs in that particular basket and they seem to be doing the same again. we may know more with regards to steven gerrard by the end of the week. police say they can guarantee the safety of liverpool fans in rome as long as they stay within italian rules. 5,000 liverpool fans are expected at tomorrow's champions league semifinal second leg against roma, a tiejurgen klopp's side lead 5—2. we are working in synergy with the

english police to solve this problem and to help english police and vice versa, obviously. we can guarantee the safety of liverpool supporters, obviously, if they respect the rules and leave the match, leave the day, as normal as they can. we've heard further details from the american billionaire shahid khan about his plans to buy wembley staidum claiming the sale would greatly benefit english football. khan's provided assurances to the fa that england will continue to play help england mimthe weddcupf in the future, and provide much needed funds, around 600 million, for grass roots fooball. if you love english football, you

wa nt if you love english football, you want this to go ahead. it provides the money, provides the revenue for grassroots football. and otherwise, how is the fa going to be able to do their mission? one of england's greatest rugby players, danielle waterman, has announced her international retirement. after making her debut at 18, she played in four world cups, helping england to take the title four years ago. waterman is the red roses' leading try—scorer, with 47 in 82 tests. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. let's get more now on last night's vote by peers giving parliament a say over how to proceed if there is no final brexit deal. we can cross now to

westminster and speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith. well, alarm bells appear to be ringing in government following last night ‘s defeat in the house of lords, which boiled down, would give mps the power if they wanted to send to raise a back to the negotiating table if they did not like the deal they secured in brussels. at the same time, some ministers have now gone on the warpath against the house of lords with the international trade secretary liam fox this morning accusing them of seeking to thwart the will of the people. is liam fox right, that is what the house of lords is trying to do, thwart the will of the people?m house of lords is trying to do, thwart the will of the people? it is absolutely not right. they are doing their constitutional right, which is to revise and improve registration. i think they made some very sensible amendments. and it will come back to

the commons. and it is then a decision for the house of commons about whether or not to accept or reject that amendment. apart from the principle of the powers of the house of lords, in practical terms, if the house of commons was to set the mandate for theresa may in the negotiations, surely that would make her position impossible? absolutely not. as she has the backing of parliament and the european union knows she has the backing of parliament for rae stands she is taking, she is strongerfor it parliament for rae stands she is taking, she is stronger for it and thatis taking, she is stronger for it and that is what that would give her, a mandate to go back to the european union and say i cannot get this through my parliament. isn't the likelihood though that the european union would simply play her off against parliament, knowing that she had to look over her shoulder the whole time to secure the backing of parliament? massively strengthened the hand of the european union in negotiations? no, ithink there is the hand of the european union in negotiations? no, i think there is a need to reach agreement and

consensus and that is good to mean compromise on both sides and it is about looking for practical solutions of how we leave in a way that does not damage our economic trade and for example, our security relationship and other relationships that we have with the european union. this is not about frustrating the deal, it is about achieving that compromise that works for britain. do you think it is possible that if mps back the vote in the house of lords last night that maybe when this comes back to the commons, mps might think, we should just see if the people will support this deal and put it to a second referendum?” am notarguing and put it to a second referendum?” am not arguing for a second referendum or supporting a second referendum. we have got a long way to go between now and october, which is the deadline the government and europe have set themselves to come to an agreement. there are some very important discussion is coming up on northern ireland. we were frequently

told that leaving would not mean compromise in peace and security in northern ireland. and i really think we should be focused on that and achieving an outcome for delivering the free and frictionless trade promised by leave campaigners in a way that guarantees northern ireland security and peace. liam fox said it would be rash of mps to side with the peers against the views of the electorate as expressed in the referendum and there are other people who have warned that this could lead to a constitutional crisis. i am democratically elected in my constituency by 50% from that 5796 in my constituency by 50% from that 57% of the vote. my constituency was almost evenly split. i am obliged to represent the interests of my constituents on both sides of the argument. and it is clear that we need to reach sensible compromise

that allows our economic partnership with the european union to continue whilst we leave the political institutions of the european union. central to this whole issue will be how mps like you conservative mps vote. it depends on you largely whether these amendments will be upheld. where is your sense that amongst people of your persuasion in the conservative party, are you now more or less inclined to vote against the government over brexit? we wa nt against the government over brexit? we want pragmatic decision making and not ideological decision—making and not ideological decision—making and that means not throwing the baby out with the bath water. i don't wa nt out with the bath water. i don't want businesses in my constituency to face massively increased burdens in trading, huge amounts of paperwork, the question of tariffs, and we need to look at the way we can deliver leaving the political institutions of the european union whilst continuing economic and trade

links, which is an export market of us of 44% of our goods. the negotiations have been trundling through four months and months. we are now through four months and months. we a re now really through four months and months. we are now really getting to showtime on these pivotal issues of the customs union and what role parliament will have in the final deal. the christian owners of a bakery who are taking their challenge against a discriminationjudgement to the supreme court have said they fear losing the case would extinguish conscience. ashers bakery refused to bake a cake with a slogan in support of gay marriage because they said the message was at odds with their beliefs. a court ruled the company had discriminated against the customer, gay rights activist gareth lee. having lost an appeal, ashers have decided to put their arguments before the uk's highest court, which is sitting in northern ireland for the first time. 0ur correspondent chris page is in belfast for us.

the baking company seeking to overturn two previous rulings, saying they discriminated against directly due to his sexuality. what have both sides been saying? this is a clash of values, a battle about where religion, faith and responsibility and writes all meat and it has been a very long—running case, as you have said. it all began four years ago. gareth lee walked into ashers bakery in belfast city centre and ask them for a cake with a slogan which said, support gay marriage. northern ireland is the only part of the uk where same—sex couples cannot get married. the ba kers couples cannot get married. the bakers turn down the order saying the message was at odds with their religious beliefs. the equality commission took up gareth li ‘s case and ashers were taken to court. they

had to pay compensation. the court ruled that they had discriminated against mr lee. they have now taken it on to the highest court in the land, the supreme court. as he arrived in court this morning, daniel macarthurfrom arrived in court this morning, daniel macarthur from ashers bakery said a critical principle was at sta ke. said a critical principle was at stake. we would rather it had not come to this but the equality commission has pushed for an interpretation of the law which extinguishes our conscience. they think that some people are more equal than others. this is and what the law is designed to do. and it is notjust does that the law is designed to do. and it is not just does that feel that way. that isn't what the law is designed to do. many people across society about were married —— are worried about were married —— are worried about what this could mean. the equality commission is not trying to do other than say this is settled

law. there is no mission creep, no one is trying to say that christians or anyone who has a strongly held political or religious view should not hold those views. but when you begin to trade, you need to subject to adequately struck laws of the land. those laws are now being considered by five supreme court judges sitting over there in the royal courts ofjustice judges sitting over there in the royal courts of justice in judges sitting over there in the royal courts ofjustice in belfast. it is the first time the supreme court has come to northern ireland in its nine—year history. they will be hearing arguments over the next two days. a judgment be hearing arguments over the next two days. ajudgment is not be hearing arguments over the next two days. a judgment is not expected for a few months yet. a former environmental campaigner who had a sexual relationship with an undercover police officer is mounting a legal challenge to try to have him prosecuted. she's attempting to bring a case against the head of the the crown prosecution service after it was decided that the officer, jim boyling, should not be charged with sexual offences or misconduct in a public office. he had relationships with two other women whilst he was undercover, and is currently suspended from the metropolitan police. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly reports.

august 1996 and the london traffic was halted by cycling protesters. they were from an environmental group, reclaim the streets. among them wasjim group, reclaim the streets. among them was jim sutton, group, reclaim the streets. among them wasjim sutton, supposedly signed up to the cause. in fact he was a police by gathering evidence on the activists. his real name is jim boyling and while he was undercover, he had relationships with three women. 0ne undercover, he had relationships with three women. one of them, using the pseudonym moniker, is now fighting to have him prosecuted for misconduct in public office and sexual offences including rape.” was encouraged to be intimate and sexual with somebody who i would never ever have got involved with if i had known who he was. i loved him ina i had known who he was. i loved him in a way. i really felt strongly for

him. he was one of scores of undercover officers deployed to spy on protest groups. many were from the metropolitan police. the force has apologised for sexual relationships and condemned them as abusive. monica possibly as lawyer says her bogus boyfriend should be in the dock. this is a man who is a serial offender. he has had three long—term intimate sexual relationships with women using his undercover guys without any regard for those women and for the damage that it will and has caused to each of those three women. there has been no response from jim boyling of those three women. there has been no response fromjim boyling ‘s lawyers to this attempted prosecution and the crown prosecution service said it could not comment due to the ongoing legal proceedings. one of the most senior figures in the catholic church, cardinal george pell, will stand trial on historical charges of sexual abuse in australia. he's the highest ranking catholic to face such allegations. cardinal pell, who's 76 and a former archbishop of melbourne and sydney,

pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc newsroom live. international trade secretary liam fox accuses the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people', after a series of government defeats over brexit. after the israeli prime minister claims to have proof of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme, the us says the iran nuclear deal was "built on lies". the price of cheap, high—strength alcohol goes up in scotland as long—awaited legislation on minimum pricing comes into force. time now for the business news. as the dust settles after yesterday's announcement of the mega supermarket merger between sainsbury‘s and asda, some suppliers are starting to voice their worries about the deal. sainsbury‘s boss mike coupe has pledged to cut prices on everyday products by around 10% after the deal. but suppliers fear they will have to

shoulder the cost of those savings. the upturn in the uk manufacturing sector slowed further at the start of the second quarter. the slowdown put uk manufacturing pmi at a 17—month low of 53.9 in april. ihs markit, which compiles the pmi surveys, says the slowdown in manufacturing growth in april can't be blamed on the poor weather earlier this year. pizza express appears to have managed to largely defy the slump in sales hitting many of its rival restaurant chains. while many casual dining chains, such as prezzo and byron burger, have been forced to shut stores to survive, pizza express has grown over the past year opening 13 new restaurants in the uk & ireland. group turnover and like for like sales rose, though overall profit did fall. the proposed merger between sainsburys and asda

is coming under increased scrutiny, as suppliers to both are concerned they could suffer when the two grocery chains join sainsburys boss mike coupe has said the combined group's buying power would enable it to strike better deals with suppliers, and these savings would then be passed on to consumers. but industry bodies fear this will make life very difficult for smaller suppliers, who are already having to adapt to higher costs from auto—enrolment pensions and the living wage, as well as the weaker pound since the brexit vote. the bbc‘s ben thompson travelled to a farm in gloucestershire to meet one of the farmers who might be affected by the deal. welcome to gloucestershire. we are looking at that news yesterday, the boss of sainsbury is of course announcing they would cut prices pretty significantly announcing they would cut prices pretty sig nifica ntly after announcing they would cut prices pretty significantly after the merger with asda. but already concerned that it is suppliers who

will be forced to bear the cost. suppliers like this place, a farm in gloucestershire. jennie, you supply asda and you have had a pretty good relationship with them up to now. you worried about what you heard yesterday? any farmer would be worried. we have had a very good relationship. it is going really well. i hope that the consumers will chooseit well. i hope that the consumers will choose it and that will not happen but it is always a worry that farmers will bear the brunt of it. do you worry about going up against the power of the supermarkets? they are so big now. there is one less play now with this deal goes ahead. you do not have much negotiating power. we do not have a lot of negotiating power but the consumer chooses and i think we are used to dealing with supermarkets now. we have had them for the last 20—30 yea rs. we have had them for the last 20—30 years. we hope they listen to what the consumer wants. it is about what the consumer wants. it is about what the customers want. we have always

been asking for cheaper and cheaper prices. supermarkets are just delivering what we want, aren't they? you are right. the merged entity will be bigger than tesco and will have huge buying power but honestly, i don't know how easy it is to make money out of commanders said ——... the supermarkets will make a big deal about the relationship they have with farmers and buying british and all that sort of thing but is it just a marketing ploy?” and all that sort of thing but is it just a marketing ploy? i think the example you see here it it can be real but possibly they need to do a betterjob of conveying that convincingly. really good to see you. thanks very much. there you have it. we should be clear, this is not a done deal by any stretch. it needs the approval of the regulators. but nonetheless, some concern about whether it is suppliers like farmers who will end up suppliers like farmers who will end up paying the price. so today we have also seen the nielsen retailfigures out, which give us insight into grocery spending in the past few months. joining us now is mike watkins, head of retail and business insight

at nielsen. how would this deal change the face of supermarket world, or is it already changing and this is a reaction to that? how important is location to where people decide to shop? location is very important when you go retail shopping but it is not the only reason that a size where shoppers choose to shop. many other facts are important. range, quality and the overall shopping experience and what is important to remember is the big retailers have to try hard to differentiate against other retailers such as the discount chains who have continued to grow in market share. you have command with a report on supermarket sales figures for the last 12 weeks —— come out. that gives us an

interesting insight into how they are doing. how are they doing right now? what we are seeing is a continuation of the structural change and also how important the weather has been and how it has impacted on where we shop. we have had two east is, a couple of hot days this year, overall, we have not seen days this year, overall, we have not seen the growth in retail sales we expected. but we have continued to see the top four supermarkets under pressure from other retailers to put in some consort of context, the top four supermarkets have around two thirds of the food and drink sales. but every time we see a new opening, that puts pressure on those supermarkets. there is intense competition out there and that is why we are seeing the structural change i referred to. by structural change, you mean consolidation also. everyone says it is inevitable.

well, consolidation has happened all across all industries. notjust food retail. the other thing to remember is online is a new channel. whilst it is only 7% of where we spend on food and drink today, it will continue to grow and one of the benefits of scale for any food 151.525" mr hussain's lawyers say he will

appeal against the judgement. whatsapp chief executive jan koum has quit the popular messaging service he co—founded. in a post on facebook, he said he was "taking some time off to do things i enjoy outside of technology". however, according to the washington post, mr koum had clashed with parent company facebook over whatsapp's strategy. that's all the business news. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. first, a look at the weather. thank you very much indeed. we have

got lovely sunshine at the moment. it was a pretty chilly start. we had patchy frost around. but many of us we re patchy frost around. but many of us were compensated with those blue skies. this is the scene in kent. a very different day compared to yesterday with the cloud and the wind and the rain. today, with some sunny spells across the east, much higher temperatures, at 215 celsius. in the west, sunshine gradually eroding away. cloud and rain moving its way into western scotland, northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales. through tonight, this area of rain will continue to spread its way further east but it could be quite heavy at times as we go into the early hours of wednesday morning. a frost free night. not as cold as last night. temperatures staying up at about 6—9dc. i promise

a look ahead towards the weekend and on wednesday there will be early morning rain clearing away. as we go through the rest of the wii, looking largely dry, fairly bright. look at those temperatures. 18 degrees in edinburgh on sunday. 22 degrees in london by sunday. bad weather will continue into bank holiday monday. —— that weather. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday: international trade secretary liam fox accuses the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people' after a series of government defeats over brexit. the public voted to leave the european union. what do people not understand about the terms referendum, binary and democracy? the british public have had their say, they have given their instructions to parliament. i think parliament should have the final say on the terms of leaving the eu and if we don't

accept the decisions the government have made, they should be sent back to negotiate again. a court hears that four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was torched with petrol bombs. washington says the iran nuclear deal was ‘built on lies' after israeli claims of a secret iranian weapons programme. scotland calls time on cheap booze as long—awaited legislation on minimum pricing comes into force. also, an environmental campaigner who says she was tricked into a sexual relationship with an undercover police officer mounts a legal challenge to have him prosecuted. i was encouraged to be intimate and sexual with somebody who i would never, ever have got involved with if i had known who he was. and after the violent scenes at anfield, an italian offical promises liverpool fans they'll be safe in rome — if they follow the rules.

good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the international trade secretary liam fox has accused the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people' after a series of government defeats over brexit in the chamber. the latest — and most significant — would enable parliament to send theresa may back to the negotiating table in brussels if mps didn't like the brexit deal she'd negotiated. the cabinet has been meeting this morning for the first time since the resignation of amber rudd and the appointment of sajid javid as her replacement. 0ur assistant political editor

norman smith is in westminster. hello again, norman. 0bviously hello again, norman. obviously the house of lords has a job to do in terms of considering the work of the house of commons and sending things back to ask further questions but as brexit gets closer, that relationship is becoming fraught. you get the sense we are reaching showtime when it comes to the key parliamentary vote on brexit, and last night's defeat in the house of lords has been greeted with fury among some ministers because of the implications, it means if mps also back the amendments in the house of lords then the commons could send misses me back to the negotiating table to get a better deal, even man

she puts the deal to another referendum so it is a huge moment if mps back it and that has prompted an angry reaction from the likes of liam fox, who this morning was questioning the role of the house of lords. the public voted to leave the european union. what do people not understand about the terms referendum, binary and democracy? the british public have had their say, they have given their instructions to parliament. its parliament's duty to carry that out. there were 19 tory peers who backed the amendment last night and the fear that may encourage tory rebels in the commons also to back that amendment and the signs are from labour that they will support it. listen to jeremy corbyn labour that they will support it. listen tojeremy corbyn this morning. the lords have passed a number of amendments which will come back to the house of commons later this month. i think parliament should have the final say on the terms of leaving the eu and if we don't accept the decisions

the government have made, they should be sent back to negotiate again. the principle has to be that parliament must be sovereign on this matter. so is the house of lords seeking to block brexit, as liam fox claims? i'm joined by angela smith.” block brexit, as liam fox claims? i'mjoined by angela smith. i think liam fox has got a little excited, the house of lords last night told the house of lords last night told the house of lords last night told the house of lords to look at this issue again, it focuses on the so—called meaningful vote and when the prime minister comes back to say this is the deal she has negotiated, it shouldn't be a choice of my deal or no deal, and i think that helps negotiating position because parliament elected mps who can say more than take it or leave it.

surely it has the opposite of fact because it encourages the eu to drive a hard bargain, knowing she has to sell what she does to parliament. surely she should have the confidence to sell whatever deal she strikes to parliament, if she cannot save it to them she cannot say it to the contrary, they aren't there to help get the best deal for there to help get the best deal for the country but no deal would be catastrophic, so it's right to have a more measured approach and i think the likes of liam fox bar over excited, i suspect because they know a lot of their mps in the house of commons think this is a sensible approach. how could it work if mps had to set some sort of negotiating mandate for the prime minister that would tie her hands? there should be ongoing discussions between parliament and government,

parliament has to be engaged and theresa may should have a sense of what parliament finds acceptable so it doesn't tie her hands because she should know the deal she strikes is the best for the country but it's not that deal or no deal, there have to be other options for parliament. mps should decide what comes next, not the house of lords or the prime minister, that is what parliamentary sovereignty and taking back control has to mean. we heard liam fox talking about the house of lords overstepping its role and jacob rees mogg saying it risks burning itself down, others talked of a constitutional crisis. is it possible this will result in a constitutional showdown between the government and the lord's? when the house of lords passes amendments, they are sent to the house of commons to vote on and why we are

seeing such panic from the government is they are worried they cannot carry their own mps who will vote for some of these amendments, so vote for some of these amendments, so that is not a crisis, it's what the house of lords does every day, we look at legislation and where we think it can be improved, we make suggestions to the house of commons for them to vote on. we are reaching a critical stage in brexit, not only last night's defeat but tomorrow the brexit subcommittee will have to try and work out what the government's position is when we leave the customs union and there were signs of real tensions and divisions in the cabinet. thank you, norman. four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was torched with petrol bombs in the dead of night — that's what a jury has been told at manchester crown court. the prosecution say the fatal attack resulted from a few with the victims'16—year—old brother. the prosecution say the fatal attack

resulted from a feud with the victims'16—year—old brother. two men and a woman deny murder. 0livia, before you bring us up to date with what has been happening today, remind us of the background today, remind us of the background to this case. you might remember the upsetting story last december when a house fire tore through a terraced house fire tore through a terraced house in the walkden area of greater manchester. sleeping there were four children, demi pearson, brandon pearson, lacie pearson, they were unable to escape and all four of them died in the fire. their mother was also in that fire and was badly injured. michelle pearson has only just regained consciousness and learned that her four children have been killed. tell us what has been

happening in court today. today is the first day of a trial expected to last six weeks and today the prosecution have outlined their case. there are three defendants, zak bolland one, david henry worrall, and courtly brierly. zak bolland has admitted at charge of arson but denies attempted murder, the others deny attempted murder and arson, so the prosecution will be looking to prove those counts of murder. this morning the prosecution outlined their case and it developed asa outlined their case and it developed as a fight between the victim and defendants, it started with damage toa carand defendants, it started with damage to a car and then escalated in a tit—for—tat situation leading up to the house fire and the deaths of

these children. the future of the iran nuclear deal is in doubt after the israeli prime minister claimed his country had evidence that the iranian military were secretly planning to build nuclear weapons. the us said israel's claims were "co nsiste nt" with its own intelligence. however, in the last hour the director of the international atomic energy agency has released a statement saying they have no "credible indications of activities in iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009". britain, france and germany have all pressed for the nuclear deal to be maintained. speaking to reporters onboard a plane as he headed home from a visit to the middle east, the american secretary of state, mike pompeo, said he agreed with the israeli assessment that iran had lied about its nuclear capabilities. this will, i think, spell out the scope and scale of the programme they undertook there and i think makes it very clear that at the very least the iranians have continued

to lie to their own people, so while you say everyone knew, the iranians have consistently taken the position they never had a programme like this. this will belie any notion that there wasn't a programme like this. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner is with me. we referred to that recent statement from the international atomic energy agency and that referred to their 2015 report when they said there we re 2015 report when they said there were no credible indications of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009. is there any other evidence to suggest that the iranians are doing something else in secret? let's break this down, what

came out last night from the israelis is not new. what matters is has iran broken the terms of the 2015 deal? it hasn't. did it lie or cover up what it was doing prior to that deal? yes, but every major intelligence agency knew that iran was up to nefarious things at some stage. there was a covert nuclear programme under the shah of iran and he was the west's ally, so iran has had nuclear activities for a long time. the 2015 deal was aimed at curbing their nuclear ambitions, it has limited the number of centrifuges, it had 20,000 all spinning away with the aim of enriching uranium to a dangerous point. that stock, only the old ones we re point. that stock, only the old ones were allowed to continue, 90% of its

uranium has been shipped to russia, so the nuclear deal works but israel feels threatened by iran, it is worried about what they are up to in syria and has been lobbying for some time to persuade the white house to pull out of that deal, so the revelation we saw last night by benjamin netanyahu, quirky unveiled what he said were 55,000 files, which may well all be true and are worrying in themselves, they don't change the facts on the ground. the eu has so far said this doesn't move us, it only reinforces the need for this deal to stay in place, so now eve ryo ne this deal to stay in place, so now everyone has been lobbying, israel is lobbying the white house to step out of the deal, european leaders are lobbing them to stay in the deal or they risk an arms race in the middle east. given donald trump's

views on iran, what the israelis are claiming fits with that view, so it will be a case of who can be most successful in their lobbying. there aren't any indication that the us aren't any indication that the us are persuaded to change their mind. john bolton, who was very much a hawk on iran, is the new national security adviser, replacing a calm general hr mcmaster, and mike pompeo, who has come from the caa first you will have had access to covert intelligence on iran, so benjamin netanyahu will have a sympathetic ear in washington, the worry is that if america pulls out of it and european countries don't, we'll rant then say they will resume their activities and the deal is dead, then saudi arabia will think maybe they need a nuclear programme

and then you were into a worrying nuclear arms race in the middle east. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: international trade secretary liam fox accuses the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people', after a series of government defeats over brexit. a court hears that four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was torched with petrol bombs after the israeli prime minister claims to have proof of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme, the us says the iran nuclear deal was "built on lies". it's time for some more sports news. let's get the latest with sarah. graham murthy has been sacked as

rangers manager. he was expected to step down at the end of the season but has now been sacked. usually it is about results, with rangers it is not that simple, he came in in 0ctober not that simple, he came in in october and got some decent results, even against celtic, but there were a few big results recently that did not go his way, the cup semifinal against rangers was a big defeat and at the weekend there was a heavy defeat at celtic park, 5—0. that appeared to be the final straw for some of the rangers board but also there has been some unrest, players suspended after a dressing room bust up suspended after a dressing room bust up and graeme murphy been less than impressed by the briefing going on behind his back in relation to

steven gerrard possibly coming in and will from some of those board members to have a more high profile manager in future because graham murthy made it clear it was a job he was keen to take on on a full—time basis. italian police say they can't guarantee the safety of liverpool fa ns guarantee the safety of liverpool fans in rome if they stay within the rules. 5000 liverpool fans are expected for the champions league second leg. we are working in synergy second leg. we are working in synergy with english police to solve this problem and to help english police and vice versa. we can't guarantee the safety of liverpool supporters, obviously if they respect the rules and they leave the day as normal as they can. one of

england's greatest rugby players, danielle waterman, has announced her retirement. after their debut, she played in four world cups, she has been capped 82 times and is the red roses leading try scorer with 47. and that is all your sport for now. more than 2,500 neurology patients in northern ireland, including children, are being recalled for a case review. it's the biggest ever recall of patients there and follows a review of the work of neurology consultant dr michael let's talk to our correspondent who is in belfast. what other concerns? this is a huge piece of work that will need to be carried out by belfast health trust regarding concerns over the work of doctor michael watt, a neurology consultant

who worked at belfast health and social care trust. concerns were raised by a gp about a patient‘s treatment in december 2016 but whatever has been uncovered since then has warranted this huge piece of action, so around 2500 patients recalled, many of them children and there may now be concerns that they have been wrongly diagnosed, so that trust is putting on some 200 extra clinics that patients can attend to get checked out. the trust has said the most serious concerns only relate to a small number of patients but it is taking this more wide—ranging action to be safe. it's possible that some of those children being recalled to be checked out may being recalled to be checked out may be struggling with the wrong diagnosis, some are as young as 14. according to the belfast trust, doctor watt has not seen any patient

in the public or private sector sincejune in the public or private sector since june 2017 in the public or private sector sincejune 2017 but he remains an employee and the trust felt the concerns were serious enough to spark this wide—ranging review, the biggest ever recall of patients in northern ireland, and urology, the treatment of brain conditions, so many people in that group may be struggling with difficult conditions and the worry of a wrong diagnosis will be serious for them, so patients that are to be recalled will be notified by a letter and there will be clinics that aren't so they can go and see a doctor, perhaps for some it will be a matter of reassurance, for others this could be very serious and the trust is taking this very seriously. there's also an advice line operating to help patients get the information they need, some 2500

patients being recalled, the biggest ever recall for patients in northern ireland, those with neurology and brain conditions. donald trump has extended negotiations on steel and aluminium tariffs for 30 days with canada, the eu and mexico. the president had imposed new tariffs on us imports of steel and aluminium, but granted temporary exemptions to key trading partners, which were due to expire at midnight last night. however, hours before the deadline, the white house announced it was postponing the decision until the end of the month. a man who allegedly swore an oath of allegiance to so—called islamic state has appeared in court charged with planning a terror attack in london. lewis ludlow, 26, from rochester in kent, is accused of researching potential targets, engaging in reconnaissance, and writing out attack plans. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, is at westminster magistrates' court.

what else can you tell us about the case? lewis ludlow was arrested on the 18th of april, he has been held ina the 18th of april, he has been held in a police station since then but was charged overnight. this was his first court appearance. he faces three charges, one is that he was planning an attack in london, that the allegation, that he had sworn an oath of allegiance both to the islamic state group but also to its leader, abubakar al by gardai, and that he had conducted some reconnaissance, the allegation is that sites included 0xford reconnaissance, the allegation is that sites included oxford street and madame tussaud's. he is also accused of fund raising for

terrorism by using our facebook group he had set up called antique collections, and he is also accused of preparing acts of terror by buying a plane ticket to the philippines, a region where the islamic state group is known to operate. he travelled to heathrow to use that plane ticket before he was stopped, so he is facing three charges but in court he said he declared himself innocent, as he put it, all three charges. remained seated about this hearing and the judge said he should next appear at the old bailey on the 11th of may and in the meantime he will remain in custody. thank you, daniel. after a lengthy court battle, the scottish government has introduced a minimum unit price for alcohol — meaning the cost of some drinks will go up from today. health professionals and campaigners claim the change will help reduce after a lengthy court battle, the scottish government has the number of alcohol—related deaths

in scotland from the current figure of 24 per week. catriona renton reports. it's been a long time coming, but today, scotland is the first country in the world to have a minimum unit price for alcohol. well, it's never too late. at edinburgh royal infirmary, the first minister met people with alcohol—related liver illnesses. all of the evidence says that while it's not going to solve the problem on its own, without action that targets the affordability of alcohol, then we won't make the progress we need to see. audrey duncan is recovering now, but last year, she was taken into hospital with the early stages of alcohol—related brain damage. now 37 years old, she started drinking heavily in her 20s. it started off about four cans of beer a day. and then that started to progress to crates of beer and then it progressed onto vodka and gin and whiskey, anything i could get my hands on, really. it's the strongest alcoholic drinks that are affected, like this strong cider.

now, the shop we are in used to sell three—litre bottles of this drink for £3.49. but now, under the new pricing, it costs £11.25, so the shop's a very tight income, and they don't have a lot of money to spend and maybe on a friday or a saturday, they want a bottle of cheap cider, because that's all they can afford, and i think it's quite unfairon them. research for the scottish government says the policy could save around 400 lives in its first five years. many countries across the world will be watching to see if it works. catriona renton, bbc news, edinburgh. we can cross now to our studios in glasgow and speak to dr peter rice, who is chair of scottish health action on alcohol problems. pa rt part of the group who developed the

proposalfor minimum part of the group who developed the proposal for minimum unit part of the group who developed the proposalfor minimum unit pricing. good afternoon. we mentioned in the introduction that the number of alcohol—related deaths in scotland is currently around 24 per week. can you put a figure on what you think the reduction might be from this policy? it's difficult to put a hard figure on it, the test is more if it moves things in the right direction. 24 gu ests moves things in the right direction. 24 guests a week is quite a narrow definition of alcohol harm, the true burden of mortality is currently about three times that, so we think things will move in the right direction, we are currently running at about 50, 60 more deaths now and then in the mid—19 90s so it would be satisfying to see deaths fall down to that level, although any alcohol related mortality means a

sad and preventable cause of death. perhaps you can't say what the evidence is behind the increase in price leading to fewer alcohol related problems. the group i'm part of which is from the medical law colleges in scotland were keen to see the lowest price alcohol, this is what we saw the heaviest drinkers drinking, the more heavily they drink, the more they gravitate towards the cheapest alcohol, so the task with price, which isjust one ofa number of task with price, which isjust one of a number of actions, was to make this slippery slope less slippery for people whose drinking increased and we are confident that will reduce harm and make recovery easier for people once they decide to make a change, so something that targeted the cheapest alcohol sold to the heaviest drinkers who were experiencing most farm. there have

been lots of responses saying this isa been lots of responses saying this is a good idea, congratulations, and also negative responses, people saying this is a punitive tax upon the poor, a suggestion that there will be a flourishing black market in cheap alcohol. what do you say to those? the measure is aimed at the heaviest drinkers, some will be low income, some will not. we no lay low income, some will not. we no lay low income people are harder hit by the alcohol they drink so we would like to see it benefit low income groups but the rates of abstention are highest in lowest income groups in scotland, so this is not targeted at low income groups but at heavy drinkers. as regards the black and grey market, that depends on volumes. if it turns out the black market sends more alcohol then big

stores, then that will come out in the evaluation and the policy will be looked at again but i would be surprised if we see white van man replacing big lorry man with enormous amounts of alcohol being reta iled enormous amounts of alcohol being retailed in our supermarkets, if we can reduce that, then that will be well worthwhile and improve the health of people in scotland and improve the lot of families of people who are drinking heavily. thank you. it is time for a look at the weather forecast now. a lot of sunshine out there, including the south—east of england, which had a really grotty past couple of days. look at this gorgeous picture, showing all the flowers in the blue sky. it has been a chilly start but lots of sunshine around. 0utbrea ks of

a chilly start but lots of sunshine around. outbreaks of rain pushing into northern ireland and western scotla nd into northern ireland and western scotland as we head to the course of the overnight period. it will turn cloudy for most but with the cloud cover, it will not be as chilly as it was last night. temperatures falling away in northern ireland and scotla nd falling away in northern ireland and scotland under clear skies. tomorrow, outbreaks of rain should clear through. the skies were clear for most in the afternoon. quite a fresh feel across the north but in the sunshine further south, we could get 13 celsius. a ridge of high pressure for thursday. much of the country fine and dry. but some wet and windy weather in scotland through the day. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines: the house of lords has been accused of trying to "block the will of the people" by the international trade secretary, liam fox,

after a series of government defeats in the chamber over brexit. a court hears that four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was torched with petrol bombs in december last year us secretary of state mike pompeo says a landmark nuclear deal with iran was "built on lies", after israel claimed to have proof of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme. scotland becomes the first country in the world to bring in minimum pricing on alcohol. the government hopes it will cut consumption and save lives. an australian court has ruled that the third—most important member of the catholic church, the vatican's treasurer, cardinal pell, will face trial for allegations of historical sexual abuse. in a moment, the uk's highest court, the supreme court, is sitting in northern ireland for the first time today, to hear the so—called "gay—cake" case. ashers baking company is challenging a judgement, which found it had discriminated against a customer. we'll have the latest. let's get more now on last night's

vote by peers giving parliament a say over how to proceed if there is no final brexit deal. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminsterfor us. thanks very much. ministers reacted with fury to the defeat in the house of lords last night, which could potentially give mps the power to send theresa may back to the negotiating table to get another deal if they don't like the one she strikes. peers say they are simply doing theirjob and revising government legislation and in any way, it is right that parliament should have the final say on that brexit deal. iamjoined by brexit deal. i am joined by the former conservative leader iain duncan smith. what is wrong with giving parliament the final say on the shape of the brexit deal? parliament

will have the final say but the idea that parliament can then decide the nuances of a trade agreement or not and how that works and send the government back once the european union has agreed and all their parliaments have agreed, somehow we are saying, no, we want them to change it. the european union would have the right to say no. that is the power of parliament, not to do the power of parliament, not to do the negotiating for the government. the lords know that. when you look at their speeches, in actual fact, what they really mean is they want to stop brexit. and that became clear in some of the remarks being made. in fact i think one of the members of the house of lords who came into vote of this —— for this, decided not to vote having listened to some of the speeches. because they were so obviously anti—brexit and trying to stop it and that is the key bit. it is not what they say, it is what they really mean. the central part of the whole brexit

case was about taking back power to the british parliament. why shouldn't parliament shape that brexit deal? have you thought about 650 plus mps all with different views and opinions are going to shape even our negotiating position, let alone the european union coming back, we would be locked in a nonstop negotiation that would get nowhere. in actualfact, that nonstop negotiation that would get nowhere. in actual fact, that is what they want. yes, parliament should have the final say. parliament decides, given the nature of the referendum, what bad deal is. either they accept what we negotiated in good faith or they don't. the idea of us going on, say, we did not like section five, subsection four, renegotiate that one. it is not going to happen. how seriously do you take the possibility if mps support appears

that this could lead to some sort of constitutional crisis? i think members of parliament will look at this from two separate perspectives. the first is they know very well that this is actually about stopping brexit. and on that basis, i think both labour and conservative mps will make a decision that you have to deliver on the public vote, that means this cannot stand. the second thing is that actually this is the lords that have just told us what to do in the elected chamber, an unelected body is now telling us, which are very unrepresentative by the way, how we should run our affairs andi the way, how we should run our affairs and i would like to think that the house of commons will say to the lords, honestly, physician heal thyself. you are unelected and you do not have the right to tell the elected chamber how they should conduct their affairs. by all means amend things to make them better but this is another great change to the whole referendum purpose, you are telling the british people and the elected body, no, we don't agree

with the outcome. do you think it could reignite demands for reform of the house of lords? i am in favour of reform to the house of lords. this alone tells you many of them are using this to refight the whole brexit referendum issue. and many of them have said some quite arrogant things about the british public. they would have to be driven back into this, they aren't intelligent enough to make this decision. it is quite appalling to listen to some of those speeches. i wish the public knew more of what was being said in the house of lords because they would realise they have a disregard for the nature run the views of people in britain and i think that is the key for the elected chamber to say, i am sorry, we are going to vote this down. thank you very much. these are going to be critical days and weeks in the brexit process because it will all depend on whether mps decide to back peers and that will depend on the number of tory rebels and also the

number of tory rebels and also the number of tory rebels and also the number of labourmps, number of tory rebels and also the number of labour mps, brexiteers, willing to support the government. we are facing potentially knife edge votes. and staying with that subject, we have had more lies from westminster telling us about the cabinet reaction to last night ‘s defeat in the house of lords on the withdrawal bill. the cabinet, we are told, has expressed its strong disappointment at that. a number of ministers spoke at that. a number of ministers spoke at this morning ‘s meeting. the government says it believes the amendment risks tying its hand in negotiations with brussels and the prime minister is said to have told collea g u es prime minister is said to have told colleagues in cabinet that the government will be robust in its response when the bill returns to the commons. the withdrawal bill had to deliver a smooth brexit, adding ministers would look at specific amendments in due course. later this week, voters in many parts of england will go to the polls for local elections, with more than 4,000 council seats up for grabs. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, explains why they matter. what do you mean, council

elections don't leave you throbbing with excitement? 0k, well, here are some pretty pictures. well, fairly pretty given its cloudy from up a tall building in london. worth it for their own sake, i hope you agree. but we are up here at the top of the shard to peer down on election contests as far as the eye can see. every single council seat, nearly 2,000, are there to be snaffled on all 32 london boroughs but the gaze of the expert i brought with me extends beyond the horizon. there is no question that this is a predominantly urban election year. last time, it was counties, last year it was counties, this year, it's london, most of the other metropolitan areas, some unitaries, and there are one or two shire districts as well but it's mostly cities and urban voters where labour has tended to be stronger in the past so they have got a lot to defend this time. my feet back on the ground, i've come next to meet ingrid koehler, who has probably forgotten more about local authorities than

most of us will ever know. councils do most of what affects where you live and how you live. so everything from school places to looking after your older relatives to street lights and, of course, bin collection, councils are there and they are also making decisions about development in your area, planning, parks, libraries, the thing that makes where you live a great place to live. why should people bother to vote? i think sometimes the reason people don't vote is because they don't think they can have an impact on the election but actually in local elections, you are much more likely to be in a swingable area then you are in a parliamentary election. sometimes there are only five or ten votes in it and so your vote really counts in these local elections and for putting people in who make decisions that reflect your values. if you feel the local election campaigns have passed you by, there are plenty of parts of the country where there aren't any elections this time.

scotland, wales and northern ireland, for a start. but there are elections for 150 councils around england including newcastle, leeds, manchester and birmingham. and mayors will be also elected in four london boroughs plus in watford and in the sheffield city region. back here at westminster, politicians regularly pore over opinion polls, those not always entirely accurate snapshots of public opinion. but on thursday, many of them will get a very real sense of whether their party is popular or not when the real votes drop into real ballot boxes and, by the end of the week, not only will many parts of england know how they are governed locally, we will also have a sense of what mood it sets nationally here too. chris mason, bbc news. ahead of thursday's local council elections, the bbc news channel will be looking at a number of key

issues in six cities. this morning, we are looking at sunderland in the north east of england where 25 of the council's 75 seats are up or election. and we can speak to our political editor in the region, richard moss, who's in sunderland this morning. hello again. hopefully we can see you injust a hello again. hopefully we can see you in just a second. tell us about the key issues there and whether there is going to be any substantial change after thursday's vote. labour are hugely dominant. even if they lost all their seats on thursday, they would not lose control of this council. this is a city with a big role to play in elections. in 2016, it was the first place in the country to vote leave. you will remember the scenes with ukip activists celebrating, leave campaigners, they have almost become

symbolic of that vote out. many of those were local activists who hoped they could have turned that brexit referendum result into strong results in local elections here. but they have not found a single candidate and that sorry tale is represented across this coast. up the river, at the coast in south tyneside, not a single candidate there. down into hartlepool, 70% of people voted for brexit but not a single ukip candidate. now, activists in sunderland are disappointed leaving there was an opportunity to capitalise on an antilabour vote. in sunderland, opportunity to capitalise on an antilabourvote. in sunderland, it could be the liberal democrats would ta ke could be the liberal democrats would take advantage. you could not get to parties further away than the lib dems and ukip. but they have built a strong base here. the conservatives

would also like some of that ukip vote. their concentration is further away. they have not done very well in the last two decades. they have not had a councillor since 1996 when john major was prime minister. but they had believed boundary changes may allow them to get a foothold in an area they are desperate to get back into. they are also concentrating across the pennines. last year, the conservatives came close to unseating lib leader tim farron. the green party have more than 150 candidates. you will hear the carry on call, let's break up the carry on call, let's break up

the labour monopoly. when we come to thursday, for councils, even if labour lost all its seats, only a third of the council is up, actually, labour would still retain control of the council. they are hugely dominant in the north—east and when we make up on friday, expect they're still to be swathes of huge red in this part of the world. and you can read more on the local elections on the bbc website at bbc dot co dot uk forward slash politics. some news just some newsjust coming into us some news just coming into us about the home office. it is understood the home office. it is understood the home office is carrying out an investigation into the leak of several documents from the home 0ffice. there have been four leaks from the department to newspapers, including memos and e—mails from a senior official. containing details

about robles targets in relation to immigration or apparently denying there were targets. the home office carrying out an investigation into several leaks. a carrying out an investigation into several lea ks. a new carrying out an investigation into several leaks. a new figure at the helm of the home office, sajid javid, replacing amber rudd, who stood down on sunday night. one of the most senior figures in the catholic church, cardinal george pell, will stand trial on historical charges of sexual abuse in australia. he's the highest ranking catholic to face such allegations. cardinal pell, who's 76 and a former archbishop of melbourne and sydney, pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. hywel griffith reports. hywel griffith re powerful, . hywel griffith re powerilmg hywel griffith re powerll people in g the catholic world, cardinal pell ‘s case has drawn global coverage at every step. he had to be guided through dozens of cameras and

reporters waiting for him at the court. his supporters and detractors we re court. his supporters and detractors were here too. anxious to hear the magistrates decision. during his time in australia, the cardinal was considered the voice of the church, born and bred in the state of victoria he became the archbishop of melbourne. it's during his time here in the 1990s that some of the sexual abuse is alleged to have taken place. other offences are said to have happened in his home city of ballarat, wherein the 1970s, he worked as a priest. for years, ribbons have been placed across the city as a show of support for those who say they were victims of abuse by catholic clergy. in court, the magistrate dismissed some of the most serious allegations against cardinal pell but she said there was enough evidence to put half of the charges before a jury.

cardinal pell listened intently as the magistrate read out her ruling for more than an hour. he spoke only once has he was asked to enter a plea. he answered in a loud voice, not guilty. the vatican says it has noted today's decision, stressing that cardinal pell is still on a leave of absence, granted to him by the pope in orderfor him to defend himself against the accusations. for those who have campaigned for the rights of abuse victims in australia, that next stage is vital. the eventual trial will bring even more scrutiny and even more pressure. we are just worried about the claimants going forward now. we want to make sure they have the care and support compassion that they need to get through what will be a very trying court case. we need to make sure they get a fair and just trial and they get a fair and just trial and the defence treat them in a respectful and dignified manner. released on bail, the cardinal has

had to surrender his passport and cannot leave australia. this trial is likely to take place next year. his defence team argued that he has been persecuted for the actions of others in the catholic church but it will be now for a jury to decide on his fate. the headlines on bbc newsroom. international trade secretary liam fox accuses the house of lords of seeking to ‘block the will of the people', after a series of government defeats over brexit. a court hears that four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was torched with petrol bombs. after the israeli prime minister claims to have proof of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme, the us says the iran nuclear deal was "built on lies". the case of a terminally ill man who wants the right to an assisted death is to be considered by the court of appeal. noel conway, who's 68 and has motor neurone disease, argues the current law breaches his human rights. 0ur medical correspondent

fergus walsh was at the court of appeal as the case got underway. so, mr conway is a retired lecturer from shropshire. he is too ill to attend court but he's gone to follow proceedings from a local court nearer his home. he has as you said motor neuron disease. the muscles in his body are gradually shutting down. he cannot move except for a slight movement of his right hand below his neck. and he fears as his body begins to shut down how he will die. he is on a ventilator 23 hours a day and last year, he launched his legal battle for the right to an assisted death. under the 1961 suicide act, any doctor who prescribed him a lethal dose of drugs would be liable to up to 14 yea rs drugs would be liable to up to 14

years in prison and mr conway argues that preaches his human rights. actress ashleyjudd is suing the disgraced producer harvey weinstein, accusing him of blacklisting her from hollywood after she rejected his advances. missjudd, who was in the first group of women to accuse the film—maker of sexual misconduct last year, says weinstein spread "baseless smears" to stop her landing a role in the lord of the rings films. a spokesman for harvey weinstein denied the allegations and said he would launch a vigorous defence. a former environmental campaigner who had a sexual relationship with an undercover police officer is mounting a legal challenge to try to have him prosecuted. she's attempting to bring a case against the head of the the crown prosecution service after it was decided that the officer, jim boyling, should not be charged with sexual offences or misconduct in a public office. he had relationships with two other women whilst he was undercover, and is currently suspended from the metropolitan police. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly reports. august 1996 and the london traffic was halted by cycling protesters.

they were from an environmental group, reclaim the streets. among them wasjim sutton, supposedly signed up to the cause. in fact he was a police by gathering evidence on the activists. in fact he was a police spy gathering evidence on the activists. his real name isjim boyling and while he was undercover, he had relationships with three women. one of them, using the pseudonym monica, is now fighting to have him prosecuted for misconduct in public office and sexual offences including rape. i was encouraged to be intimate and sexual with somebody who i would never ever have got involved with if i had known who he was. i loved him in a way. i really felt strongly for him. he was one of scores of undercover officers deployed to spy on protest groups. many were from the metropolitan police.

the force has apologised for sexual relationships and condemned them as abusive. monica's lawyer says her bogus boyfriend should be in the dock. this is a man who is a serial offender. he has had three long—term intimate sexual relationships with women using his undercover guys without any regard for those women and for the damage that it will and has caused to each of those three women. there has been no response from jim boyling ‘s lawyers to this attempted prosecution and the crown prosecution service said it could not comment due to the ongoing legal proceedings. the christian owners of a bakery who are taking their challenge against a discriminationjudgement to the supreme court have said they fear losing the case would "extinguish conscience". ashers bakery refused to bake a cake with a slogan in support of gay marriage because they said the message was at odds

with their beliefs. a court ruled the company had discriminated against the customer, gay rights activist gareth lee. having lost an appeal, ashers bakery have decided to put their arguments before the uk's highest court, the supreme court, sitting in northern ireland for the first time. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris page, has been following the case. this fundamentally is a clash of values, a battle about where religion, faith and responsibility and writes all meet and it has been and writes all meet and it has been a very long—running case, as you have said. it all began four years ago when gareth lee walked into ashers bakery in belfast city centre and ask them for a cake with a slogan which said support gay marriage. northern ireland is the only part of the uk where same—sex couples cannot get married. the ba kers couples cannot get married. the bakers said that message was at odds

with their religious beliefs. the equality commission took up the case and ashers were taken to court and they had to pay gareth lee compensation. the court ruled they had discriminated against him on it the grounds of his sexuality and political beliefs. ashers appeal thatjudgment political beliefs. ashers appeal that judgment and have political beliefs. ashers appeal thatjudgment and have taken it on to the highest court in the land, the supreme court and as daniel macarthur from ashers bakery arrived at court this morning, you said a critical principle was at stake. we would rather it had not come to this but the equality commission has pushed for an interpretation of the law, which extinguishes our conscience. they think that some people are more equal than others. this is and what the law is designed to do. and it is notjust as that feel that way. many people across our whole society are worried about what this could mean. but the

equality commission said this was not about putting faith itself on trial. the equality commission is not trying to do other than say this is settled law. there is no mission creep. no one is trying to say that christians or anyone who has a strongly held religious or political views should not hold those views. the difference is when you begin to trade or offer services, you need to be subject to adequately struck laws of the land. those laws are now being considered by five supreme courtjudges sitting in the royal courts ofjustice courtjudges sitting in the royal courts of justice in courtjudges sitting in the royal courts ofjustice in belfast. it is the first time the supreme court has come to northern ireland in its nine—year history. they will be hearing the arguments over the next two days but a judgment is not expected for a few months yet. the duke and duchess of cambridge have formally registered the birth of prince louis. the duke of cambridge signed the birth register at kensington palace this morning, witnessed by a registrar from westminster register office. the birth certificate gives the young prince's full name, his royal highness prince louis arthur charles of cambridge. he was born in praed street,

westminster, on the 23rd of april. in a moment, the news at one with jane hill. first the weather with stav. quite a chilly start to may. there was some frost around this morning but lots of sunshine. the weather watchers have been out in force taking photographs. clouds gathering across western areas of the country. a few showers showing up in devon. it is all tied in with this area of low pressure. wet weather this afternoon across much of the western side of the uk. the eastern side holding the dry weather until dark. a fine enter the day. 0utbreaks holding the dry weather until dark. a fine enter the day. outbreaks of rain, moving eastwards. quite a breezy night to come. 0utbreaks rain, moving eastwards. quite a breezy night to come. outbreaks of rain will be quite patchy. solid fairly heavy. the rain eventually reaching the southeast later on. a

frost free night foremost because we have got the cloud cover. wednesday, back to a bit of a grotty day for england and wales. 0utbreaks back to a bit of a grotty day for england and wales. outbreaks of rain. moving through and i think it is into the afternoon, it should brighten up nicely further west. an afternoon of sunshine and showers. some of them will be quite heavy but in the sunshine, not feeling too bad. 13 degrees, quite fresh and the north. we had through into thursday with this mild air begins to in encroach from the atlantic. high—pressure meaning it should stay dry. cloud building through the day. variable cloud and sunny spells in the afternoon. in the sunshine, further south, we could make 15 or 16 celsius. again another relatively

fine day on friday. further south and east, the best of the sunshine. further north, breezy. a weather system passing into the north. 0utbreaks system passing into the north. outbreaks of rain. we could make 18 or19 outbreaks of rain. we could make 18 or 19 degrees in the south—east. high—pressure dominates the scene as we head to the end of the week and for the weekend. the bank holiday weekend for a change is looking pretty good. it is going to be warming up. we should see a good deal of sunshine. the government accuses unelected peers of trying to block the will of the british people — after a series of lords defeats on brexit. the trade secretary, liam fox, said the deal peers want could lead to the uk being in the eu indefinitely. the public voted to leave the european union. -- i think —— i think there is an attempt by a group in the house of lords who were very strong on the remain site to

thwart alex goode from the european union, that cannot be acceptable. —— to throw at our experts. i think parliament should have the final say on the terms of leaving the european union, and if we don't accept the decisions that the government has made, then they should be sent back to negotiate again. we'll have the latest from westminster. also this lunchtime... 2500 patients in northern ireland are to have their cases reviewed because of concerns about the work