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 of a neurology consultant. a court is told that four sleeping children died when their house was torched with petrol bombs as part of a feud. a minimum price for alcohol comes into force in scotland —

the government hopes it will reduce the number of drinking—related deaths. and, after violent scenes in anfield, italian police say they can guarantee the safety of liverpool fans — in the run up to the champions league semi final in rome. and coming up on bbc news... gone sooner than expected — rangers manager graeme murty leaves with three games remaining, with steven gerrard's appointment as his replacement still being discussed. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the international trade secretary liam fox has accused the house of lords of trying to block the will of the people — after it voted last night to ensure mps have to give their backing to any brexit deal. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn,

has said parliament should have the final say on the terms of the uk leaving the european union. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. in downing street this morning, the cabinet arrived for its regular meeting... are the lords trying to block brexit? ..the day after the house of lords gave the government another bloody nose over brexit. are the lords trying to scupper brexit? they didn't say much, but one minister was prepared to express a view about the peers' actions. i think there is an attempt by a group in the house of lords who were very strong on the remain side to thwart our exit from the european union and that cannot be acceptable. my lords, they have voted. contents 335, not contents 244. it was this vote yesterday that provoked reaction. the lords agreed that if mps reject the brexit deal the government negotiates, then parliament should

decide what happens next. that could stop the uk leaving the eu without a deal or make ministers return to the negotiating table. what constitution do we have for a government that bullies parliament and says, "take it or leave it"? but opponents warned it could tie the government's hands in talks. i'm afraid it illustrates the lengths, the appalling lengths, to which the die—hard remainers are prepared to go to achieve their own. that view was voted down. yesterday's vote in the house of lords is not binding. it will now be up to the house of commons to have its say. but it could embolden conservative mps already pushing for parliament to have a greater role in the brexit process. labour has said it is significant. i think parliament should have the final say on the terms of leaving the eu, and if we don't accept the decisions that the government made, then they should be sent back to negotiate again.

in the lords last night, i9 conservative peers voted against the government. the question is how many tory mps might do the same when this comes to the commons. it promises to be a fierce parliamentary fight. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. what's your reading of this, norman? normally after a defeat in the house of lords, ministers brush themselves down and carry on life as usual. not after last night's defeat. fury, because it is seen by some as an attempt to scupper brexit, there are no dire warnings from some brexiteers about whether it could reignite demands for reform of the house of lords, an elected second chamber. the reason is this was not just another defeat in the lords over brexit, it is about who is in

control, who has their hands on the steering wheel. today it has been mrs may, she has said pretty firmly she is driving the process, will negotiate a deal and bring back to parliament, there will be a votes and if mps do not like it and vote it down then we will leave the eu anyway. the vote last night mps can say that is not good enough, you had to do better, good enough, you had to do better, go back to the negotiating table and get a better deal. ministers say this is completely politically unrealistic for mrs may to go into the negotiating chamber looking over her shoulder and consulting parliament about the type of deal she should do. and many brexiteers believe it is a device to call for a second referendum and to block brexit, that is what has caused the angen brexit, that is what has caused the anger. thank you, norman smith at westminster. an nhs trust in northern ireland is recalling 2500 neurology patients following a review of the work of a consultant. concerns were raised a year and a half ago about the diagnosis and treatment of patients who'd been seen by dr michael watt,

employed by the belfast health trust. let's speak to our correspondent emma va rdy. she is in belfast. explain more about this, involving lots of patience? the number of patients recalled is on a huge scale. the concerns about dr watt were first raised in 2016, but now the belfast health trust has decided it wants to see every patient is currently in dr watt‘s care, it has begun writing to all those affected. among those 2500 patients are some children, some as young as 1a, patients are some children, some as young 3514, some with brain conditions, who may have been wrongly diagnosed. this will be a very worrying time. it is unprecedented for the belfast health trust, they have never dealt

with a recall of patients on this scale before. they are putting on 200 additional clinics starting from saturday to deal with this, which patients can attend. they say the review may be considered to —— review may be considered to —— review to consider patients who died under the care of dr watt. he has not seen any patient sincejune 2017, but remains an employee. thank you, emma vardy in belfast. four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was torched with petrol bombs, a jury at manchester crown court has heard. zak bolland has admitted reckless arson, but he, his girlfriend, courtney brierley, and david worrall deny murder. judith moritz is outside the court. judhh? judith? yes, and the court has heard harrowing detail this morning of the fire which claimed the lives of those children, 15—year—old demi, her younger brother brandon, who was eight, their little sister lacie, seven, and the little one, lia, just three years old. the court has been told they were asleep in the family

home with them michelle pearson, who was very gravely injured in the fire. she has survived but recently become conscious to be told her children have died. —— at home with their mother, michelle pearson. another of michelle pearson's children was in the house, kyle pearson and his friend. when the fire took hold, kyle pearson got out and the court will hear evidence from him. the prosecution say the fire is the fault of zak bolland, his girlfriend courtney brierley and theirfriend his girlfriend courtney brierley and their friend david worrall, his girlfriend courtney brierley and theirfriend david worrall, who his girlfriend courtney brierley and their friend david worrall, who are all charged with murder and attempted murder. the court has been told it is all the result of an ongoing tit—for—tat feud between zak bolland and kyle pearson, and that michelle pearson, we heard a statement from her in court, she told the police she did not feel safe and on the night of the attack had called the police round earlier that night to say threats were being made against the house, but the group came around in the early hours

of the morning and petrol bombs were thrown through the kitchen window. judith moritz, thank you. a minimum price for alcohol has come into force in scotland. the scottish government believes the policy will lead to fewer hospital admissions and alcohol—related deaths, by making the cheapest drinks significantly more expensive. catriona renton reports. prices are being changed as scotland is now 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 has been meeting 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 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, whiskey,

anything that i could get my hands on, really. research for the scottish government says the policy could save about 400 lives in the first five years. when alcohol prices rise, deaths from alcohol fall. and when alcohol prices fall, deaths from alcohol rides. —— depths from alcohol rides. —— deaths from alcohol rise. every time. so people may think they are not influenced by price, but they definitely are. it's the strongest alcoholic drinks that are affected, like this strong cider. now, the shop we are in use 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. it's been a long time coming. while the legislation was passed almost six years ago, it faced legal challenges. but this shopkeeper still feels it may come as a shock to some.

most people have absolutely no idea, and as usual it's down to shopkeepers to do the educating on these things. there are already plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing and wales, while in england the home office says the policy will continue to remain under review while it sees how it works in scotland. catriona renton, bbc news, edinburgh. a man who's terminally ill with motor neurone disease has appealed to judges to allow him to die with dignity. noel conway's challenge to the law has begun being heard at the court of appeal. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. is there a right to die? these protesters backing noel conway believes there should be. also outside court, campaigners who say the law must remain unchanged to protect the disabled and vulnerable. if the law were changed, it would be

totally different. noel conway's health is gradually weakening. motor neurone disease means his muscles are shutting down, he now relies on are shutting down, he now relies on a ventilator to help him breathe and fears he may eventually be entombed in his body. 0na in his body. on a personal level -- on a personal level, what would you say to the judges, what would your message be? please add my basic right to die. envisage yourself being in this position —— please acknowledge my basic right to die. at the court of appeal hearing, lawyers for mr conway argued that the suicide at is an unjustified breach of his human rights. they want assisted dying bill open to those with less than six months to live, who art of sound mind. mps rejected bills to allow assisted dying in england and wales,

because they feared would endanger the week. in every other country safeguards have stopped working, vulnerable people will be on the list. i don't want to live in a country where this danger is there. noel conway knows that this case and any subsequent appeal may continue beyond his death. those on both sides of the debate believe they are fighting for basic human rights. and fergus walsh is outside the court of appeal. how significant is this case? very significant. it is a key issue for society and it follows in a long line of campaigners who have taken similar arguments to courts, debbie purdy, diane pretty, totally nicklinson. they have all wanted the suicide at declared incompatible

with human rights. those legal cases have failed and the difficulty the mr conway, whose case was rejected by the high court last year, is that parliament sets the law and in 2015 parliament sets the law and in 2015 parliament decided that assisted dying, even with the safeguards his legal team are proposing, should not be introduced. the high court said that as the conscience of the nation, as thejudges put it, parliament had the right to do it. but the court of appeal says there is so much law here, it is such a difficult area that really we need to examine the law more clearly. i expect thisjudgment to examine the law more clearly. i expect this judgment to be reserved at the end of the week and it is likely it will go all the way to the supreme court as other cases have. fergus walsh, thank you. one of the most senior figures in the catholic church, cardinal george pell, is to stand trial on charges of historical sexual abuse in australia. cardinal pell, who's 76, is the highest ranking catholic to face such allegations. 0ur correspondent hywel

griffith sent this report. one of the most powerful people in the catholic world, cardinal pell‘s case has drawn global coverage at every step. crowdjeers. he had to be guided through dozens of cameras and reporters, waiting for him at the court. during his time in australia, the cardinal was considered as 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 19905 that some of the sexual abuse is alleged to have taken place. 0ther offences are said to have happened in his home city of ballarat where, in the 19705, 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 as 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 order for 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. yeah, we just worry about the claimants going forward now. we want to make sure that they've got the care and support and compassion that they need to get them through this... what will be a very, very trying court case. released on bail, the cardinal has

had to surrender his passport and cannot leave australia. his trial is likely to take place next year. his defence team argue that he's been persecuted for the actions of others in the catholic church, but it will now be for a jury to decide on his fate. hywel griffith, bbc news, melbourne. 0ur religion editor, martin bashir, is here. what sort of impact is this happening within the church, given he is so senior? it is hard to exaggerate how serious the charges are againsta exaggerate how serious the charges are against a man as serious as this within the catholic church. cardinal george pell was personally appointed by pope francis in 2014 to oversee the complex vatican finances. he can legitimately be described as one of the three most senior officials in

the three most senior officials in the gully there, his working offices are meters away from the daily environment of pope francis —— most senior officials there. he has denied the charges. but it has been decided, the court has decided, he should stand trial and the church now has to contemplate the possibility that someone as senior as this may have been responsible for crimes against children. thank you. our top story this lunchtime. the government accuses unelected peers of trying to block the will of the british people, after a series of lords defeats on brexit. 2,500 patients in northern ireland are to have their cases reviewed because of concerns about the work of a neurology consultant. and coming up on bbc news... danielle waterman announces her

international retirement. she scored 47 tries in 82 tests. five supreme court judges are considering the case of a bakery in belfast whose christian owners refused an order for a cake with a slogan supporting gay marriage. ashers baking company is challenging an earlierjudgment which found it had discriminated against the customer. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page reports. this is a battle over religion, freedom and rights. the focus is a cake. it started at a belfast bakery four years ago. this man, gareth lee, ordered a cake with a slogan supporting a campaign to legalise 93v supporting a campaign to legalise gay marriage in northern ireland. but the owners of ashers baking company refused his request, they said the message was at odds with

their christian beliefs. the issue became a huge talking point and it ended up in court. northern watchdog took ended up in court. northern case watchdog took the e, fi the? z . lit? the now they have decided to bring the dispute to the highest court in the uk. 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 some people are more equal than others. conscience. they think some people are more equalthan others. some christians have said their right to express their faith is on trial but those on the other side of the legal argument insist it is not happening. there is no mission creep here, no one is saying christians or anyone with a strongly held religious or political view should not hold them. the difference is when you trade,

you need to be subject to adequate laws of the land. the laws are being discussed and debated at the supreme court which is sitting in northern ireland for the first time. the lawyers for the bakers have argued they turned it down because of the slogan not because he was gay. the difficulty was the content on the cake, not a characteristic of the?. the family who run the bakery never thought they would be at the centre of such a touchstone case —— characteristic of the customer. it has generated passion is far beyond their home city. chris page is in belfast. bring us up to date. two days of hearings have begun at the royal courts of justice in hearings have begun at the royal courts ofjustice in belfast, five supreme courtjudges are hearing the arguments from lawyers on both sides of this complex and highly contentious case. 0n the one hand, lawyers for ashers baking company arguing they did not turn down the

order because gareth lee was gay but because they disagreed with the slogan he wanted on the cake. the lawyers for the equality commission saying businesses cannot pick and choose who to serve, they have to serve customers who want products regardless of political beliefs or sexual orientation. the case has ;;i;|;:;21;eee +ee eeee eee ~ ' "' ' " ;;i;| ezeeeeeez eee eeee eee ~ ' "' ' " both christians both - christians say their of both sides. christians say their faith is under attack, members of the lgbt community saying that they are worried if they walk into a shop, will they be served? ashers baking company say they had served mr lee before the controversy and they would happily do so again. nonetheless, it is a clash of rights and values and it will certainly be and values and it will certainly be a case closely followed once again by faith groups, lgbt organisations and plenty of others. the judgment is not expected for a few months. chris page in belfast, thank you.

france's foreign ministry says new claims about iran's nuclear capability have reinforced the importance of the 2015 deal imposing controls on the country. yesterday, the israeli prime minister, binyamin netanyahu, unveiled what he said was evidence of a secret iranian nuclear weapons programme. tom bateman is injerusalem. give us a sense of the reaction to what binyamin netanyahu said. this was a powerpoint presentation by the israeli prime minister that was meant to maximise public impact and to be heard not least at the white house where he wants to achieve his stated goal of getting president trump to withdraw the us from the 2015 nuclear agreement with iran. within the next ten days. was there anything new in what the israeli prime minister said? there has been a growing list of former officials and diplomats and experts in the nuclear field who think there was no new information compared to what the

un's nuclear watchdog new in that period of time. alistair burt, who wa nts to period of time. alistair burt, who wants to remain as a signatory for britain in the nuclear deal, said that while he sympathised with israeli anxieties about the threat from iran, he felt binyamin netanyahu from iran, he felt binyamin neta nyahu had from iran, he felt binyamin netanyahu had made the case in favour of remaining in the nuclear deal. thank you. a man from kent has appeared in court accused of preparing for a terror attack in london and swearing an oath of allegiance to the islamic state group. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, is at westminster magistrates' court. explain more about this case. lewis ludlow was arrested on the 18th of april, he has been in a police station being questioned since then, before eventually being charged yesterday. today he appeared in court wearing a black skullcap, he remained seated throughout the hearing, the main charge against him is that he was preparing an attack

on london, that he had sworn allegiance to the islamic state group and its leader and he had written out attack plans for various venues in london and he had researched van hire, even though he cannot drive. i understand the venues he is accused of looking at our 0xford venues he is accused of looking at our oxford street, madame tussaud's, and he is accused of fundraising for terrorism by setting up a facebook account and buying a ticket to travel to the philippines to a region where the islamic state group is known to operate. in response to the charges, he said, i declare myself innocent of that charge. daniel sandford, thank you. 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 it's 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've brought with me extends beyond the horizon. there is no question, 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, of course, labour has tended to be stronger in the past, and therefore, they've 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 never 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, you know, bin collections. councils are there and they are also making decisions about development in yourarea, planning, parks, libraries — the things that make 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're much more likely to be in a swingable area than you are in a parliamentary election. sometimes there's only five or ten votes in it and so your vote really, 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, well, 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 to 150 councils around england, including newcastle, leeds, manchester and birmingham. and mayors will also be elected in four london boroughs, plus in watford and in the sheffield city region. back here at westminster, politicians regularly pour over opinion polls — those not always entirely accurate snapshots of public opinion. on thursday, many of them will get a very real sense of whether their party is popular or not, when 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 but will also have a sense of what mood it sets nationally here too. chris mason, bbc news. italian police say they can guarantee the safety of liverpool fans in rome, as long as they stay within italian rules. the second leg of liverpool's champions league semifinal

against roma is tomorrow evening — the first game, at anfield, was marred by an attack on liverpool supporter sean cox. james reynolds is in rome. how is the mood in the run—up to the match? so far, things are pretty quiet. iam match? so far, things are pretty quiet. i am in a square, one of two designated safe areas for liverpool fans. when they arrive in the city, many of them will arrive at the train station and they will be told to come here or go to the coliseum not far from here and the police expect the liverpool fans to follow their rules, to drink if they want inside bars the but not to take any drinks onto the streets. for the moment, no fans have arrived here and we have heard the train station is pretty quiet as well. the match does not take place until tomorrow evening, but that roma police want to make sure the operation goes well

—— the rome police. they have deployed 1000 officers to make sure the city and the fans stay safe. the roman commander suggested they are worried about 30 to 40 troublemakers from the liverpool side. a union official says officers within the ra nks official says officers within the ranks are worried about trouble from potentially more and the mayors from liverpool and rome have released a joint statement calling on everyone to enjoy the game and respect one another. thank you, james reynolds. time for a look at the weather. here is stav danaos. glorious picture of the blue skies, what a difference a day makes, much brighter in the south—east of the country, atrocious weather in the last couple