hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm martine croxall. today at 2. peers are accused of trying to block the will of the british people over brexit, after a series of defeats in the house of lords for the government. i think there is an attempt by the group in the house of lords who have faced wrong on the remain side to thwart our exit from the european union. that cannot be acceptable. a court hears how four sleeping children died when their house was targeted with petrol bombs as part of a feud. 2,500 patients recalled in northern ireland after concerns about the work of a neurology consultant. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with john. changes at rangers sooner than expected 7 yes. graeme murty sacked with three great games of the season remaining. steven gerrard possibly remaining replacing him. it has been called and grey. lots of

sunshine and the trend is that we queers honours for things to warm up. as things warm up. also coming up at 2:30pm. we'll be talking all things eurovision with surie, the uk's 2018 contestant. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live. 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. i9 conservative peers voted against the government. it promises to be a fierce parliamentary fate. how much ofa fierce parliamentary fate. how much of a setback as this for theresa may? it all depends well the government is able to reversal comes back to the commons. the latest

count as nine and deterrence of defeats. this is all about what happens when she comes back with a dealfrom happens when she comes back with a deal from brussels. with happens when she comes back with a dealfrom brussels. with the happens when she comes back with a deal from brussels. with the laws are trying to do is try to stop the scenario of an ordeal. they think that leaving without a deal would be a terrible thing for the uk. they wa nt to a terrible thing for the uk. they want to stop that being the option. we have to see whether the government has the numbers. there was a debate in the house of commons about a was a debate in the house of commons abouta similar was a debate in the house of commons about a similar amendment. that idea about a similar amendment. that idea about who is in charge if people do not like the deal that she comes back with. we will have to see whether the government has the numbers when it comes to it. to what extent appears guilty of trying to thwart the will of the people?

someone say is their to look at legislation. if they do not like to look at that, we have the right to change it. ministers tented dislike the house of lords when they go against their wishes. they seem to think it is a good thing. as the argument about an elected upper chamberup argument about an elected upper chamber up against the referendum, the will of the people, that is so strong. the house of lords feels it has a juicy. they say they are not trying to seize this power for themselves. they are handing it to themselves. they are handing it to the house of commons. there is no doubt the government feels this particular amendment would com pletely particular amendment would completely tie the hands when it comes to negotiations. it simply is not workable to put parliament in charge of a very complex

negotiation. i think they will try to reverse. the royal bank of scotland has announced plans to close 162 branches in england and wales — resulting in almost eight hundred job losses. the bank blames a decline in footfall because of changing consumer behaviour — meaning many of its branches are now too close to one another. 792 jobs are due to go, though the bank says it will try to make sure compulsory redundancies are kept to a minimum. four sleeping children were murdered after being trapped in their bedrooms when their house was set on fire 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 feud with the victims‘ 16—year—old brother. two men and a woman deny murder. olivia richwald is at manchester crown court i. olivia, what is the background? we have been hearing this morning about

the harrowing details in court of what led up to the deaths of those for sleeping children. it wasjust two weeks before christmas. the children were demi... they all died when two petrol bombs were thrown through the kitchen window, starting a fire that blocked their escape from the house. their house was in greater manchester. their mother was in the house at the time and was very badly injured. she has only just regained consciousness. she has been told that her four children have died. the prosecution here have been outlining the case against three defendants who have been charged with arson, murder and attempted murder. one of the defendants is that bond, who denies attempted murder. we're hearing a feud developed between the brother

of the four children and the defendants. it started with damage from a carand defendants. it started with damage from a car and escalated from there. it resulted in broken windows. there was evidence given by from michelle, the mother, to the place before the fire. she told them she did not feel safe in our own home and she had lived there for 14 years. she said that ten days before the fire. we are expecting to hear evidence from kyle pearson, who is the 17—year—old brother of the four children. he was in the house but escaped with a friend and was involved in the feud. an nhs trust in northern ireland is recalling 2,500 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.

our ireland correspondent chris page is following the story. how did this come to light? after a review by the royal head of physicians was delivered last week. it was decided at 2500 patients were to be recalled. as the largest ever patient recall another mount and very serious. they were under the ca re of very serious. they were under the care of a neurology consultant. they all had brain conditions. things like multiple sclerosis and parkinson's disease. they are all life changing conditions. a gp raised the concerns back in september 2000 i6. raised the concerns back in september 2000 16. the patient‘s hasn't —— he hasn't seen any

patient‘s sense. people are asking questions as to whether the trust acted quickly enough. the doctor has not seen a patient and nhs hospital for some months now. details are beginning to emerge this afternoon and we are possibly going to year from patients who were affected. the biggest health trust in northern ireland is no involved. 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. traces are being changed as scotland is now the first country in the world to have a minimum unit price

for alcohol. 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. research says the policy could save 400 lives and the first five years. when alcohol is prices rise, deaths will follow. people may think they

are not influenced by price but the deaf way are. 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. has been a long time coming. the shopkeeper still feels it may come asa shopkeeper still feels it may come as a shock to some. the policy will continue to remain in review in england. we arejust

we are just hearing that the chair of digital tool culture media and has written to facebook following question of its chief technology officer last week. the committee is unhappy with evidence he is given. because now from max cabrera, the head of this book to appear. this letter from the select committee says that there are 40 specific questions that he was unable to answer. it includes things like dark and is, how facebook gains financially from those, third party app developers, foreign interference and advertising spending. the

committee has asked facebook to respond each point and to confirm by the 11th of may that mark is a cabrera will attend one of the hearings. 40 questions at the committee are still waiting to hear answered. 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 on assisted dying is being heard at the court of appeal. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. is there a rate today? these protesters believe should be. outside court these campaigners say the law must remain unchanged to protect the vulnerable. if the law we re protect the vulnerable. if the law were changed, and be totally different. his health is rapidly weakening. motor neuron disease mean has muscles are shutting down. he relies on a ventilator to keep him breathing. he believes he will soon

be intended as body. what would you say to the judges? please acknowledge my basic rate today. —— right to die. at a court of appeal hearing, lawyers are arguing that the suicide act as a breach of his human rights. in 2015, mps rejected plans to allow assisted dying in england and wales. some believe it would leave the week at risk. in every other country they stopped working. vulnerable people are going to be on the list. i don't want to live in a country where this danger is there. he knows that this case

and any subsequent appeal may continue beyond his death. those on both sides believe they are fighting for basic human rights. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines 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 set on fire with petrol bombs 2,500 patients in northern ireland are to have their cases reviewed because of concerns about the work of a neurology consultant. graeme murty sacked as rangers head coach. he was due to end that the of the season. there have been talks of steven gerrard replacing. danielle waterman announces her retirement

from rugby. ding generally has work to do if he is to achieve the semifinals of the snooker world championship. 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. hywel griffith reports from melbourne. 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 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 where, in 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 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. 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. our political correspondent chris mason explains why they matter. what do you mean, council elections don‘t leave you throbbing with excitement? ok, well, here are some pretty pictures. well, fairly pretty, given it‘s cloudy, 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 in all 32 london boroughs. but the gaze of the experts 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.

ahead of thursday‘s local council elections, the bbc news channel will be looking at a number of key issues in six cities. this afternoon we are looking at wandsworth in south west london — famously margaret thatcher‘s favourite low tax local authority, which could go from blue to red for the first time in 40 years. and we can speak to bbc london‘s political correspondent susana mendonca, who is in wandsworth for us now. welcome to wandsworth. this is a flagship tory stronghold. this is one that labour thinks it could get hold of this time round. we have the eu referendum results. this is the london borough with a vote to remain with 75%. a lot of people are not happy about brexit. labour managed

to get hold of the battersea constituency. they also point to housing. one of the big issues that route labourers campaigning on. middle earners are trying to get in the housing ladder, labour trying to appeal to them. labour is likely to have its best election result and must have essentially. here in wandsworth. it is still not clear whether that will result in them actually winning power. i been speaking to people here about what they think. education. in terms of education the youth are not sufficiently involved. as the housing because we have problems finding places to live. it is quite busy here. there is also quite dirty as well. everything is going on

right now, with windrush and the way our youths have been treated, everything is going on on. making sure we have good education for my kids and good leisure facilities. there are not enough swimming pools and leisure facilities. wandsworth is not the only borough that is having elections in london. we have 32 boroughs in london. one of the places we‘ve been talking about is westminster. that is the tory crown jewels. labour think the mate have a chance there. that may be a step too far as they may have to when a lot of seats to do that. north london is where london is expecting to get hold. they think they can overturn the conservative administration there. it has been unpopular because

of outsourcing and children services not performing well. there is a largejewish not performing well. there is a large jewish community in not performing well. there is a largejewish community in barratt, which could be a problem from labour. the party has problems with anti—semitism and that could impact on their chances. and you can read more on the local elections on the bbc website 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 "consistent" with its own intelligence, however in the last hour a spokesman for the international atomic energy agency referred back its assessment of iran‘s nuclear activities in 2015, saying they have no ‘credible indications 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. time for a look at the weather... this time yesterday, it was pretty rough and parts of eastern england. it was cold and windy. i heard normandy had some snow for the stem of the year. it moved off into the

north sea. this is a picture of walton on thames from this morning. glorious picture. this is the lovely sunny picture. you can see some puddles there. yesterday was awful. temperatures we re yesterday was awful. temperatures were around seven or 8 degrees at best. it was windy as well. that was the difference from yesterday to today. the sky was clear overnight and we had significant frost and places. this is at west lothian. you can see the frost on the ground. places. this is at west lothian. you can see the frost on the groundm is pretty called for the start of may. it reached minus three celsius

in some places. it did not last long though. you can see the sun getting on. this is a picture of some gorgeous flowers. we've got the bank holiday. tell us some good news. we are all please. we are confident high pressure is going to build and ear is going to come in from the confident. there is going to be warm. there may be some cloud here and there. is looking pretty good. i will start with the rest of the weather today. we have a weather system moving in from the west. fairly strong isobars coming in from the irish sea and parts of northern ireland. it should be quite breezy

this afternoon. it will be getting into western scotland and parts of western wales. the next couple of errors could rise to 14 or 15 degrees. as the evening wears on, broke the that sector clouds and rain will be moving in from the west. it‘ll be drying up in western scotla nd west. it‘ll be drying up in western scotland and not allowed. it will be '§§ nine to ee nine to 12 3 nine to 12 celsius. will be around nine to 12 celsius.

and thursday the should be males plume ofa. and thursday the should be males plume of a. —— milder plume of error. the revered dry and chilly start on thursday. the obese some sunshine poking through. top temperatures of 12 to 16 degrees. we will have weather systems skirting past year. we should see some rain in northern ireland and western parts of scotland. it should stay largely dry with some sunny spells. in the sunshine will be 18 or 19 degrees. they‘ll been quite mailed across the northwest. the bank holiday weekend is warming up. temperatures should be under 20s. the obese plenty of sunshine.

this is bbc news — our latest headlines. peers are being accused of blocking the will of the people after the government suffers a series of defeats over brexit in the lords. a jury‘s been told that four sleeping children from greater manchester died after being trapped in their burning home by petrol bombs last december. the court heard the family was targeted as part of a feud. the cases of more than 2,500 people being treated for neurological conditions in northern ireland need to be reviewed. it‘s because of concerns over the work of a consultant. 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. # hold our hands together # hold our hands together # through the storm # through the storm

#. in a moment, carrying the hopes of the nation. with eurovision just around the corner — we meet the uk‘s entry — the singer—songwriter surie before she heads off to lisborn to — hopefully — bring home the glory. sport now on afternoon live withjohn watson. rangers without a manager sooner than expected ? yes — graeme murty the rangers manager. somebody who has not been able to bring home the glory. —— rangers. we knew he was going at the end of the season, but he‘s been sacked with three games remaining. having replaced pedro caixinha in december, he was given the job until the end of the current campaign. but the heavy defeat to celtic in the league last weekend, his last in charge, after being relieved of his duties today.

he had expressed an interest in staying on longer, but the club clearly looking for a more high profile candidate to lead the team. steven gerard has been mentioned. there have been talks, gerrard in charge of the underage teens, he has a reputation as a leader forged charge of the underage teens, he has a reputation as a leaderforged on the field as liverpool captain but no top—level experience as a manager. liverpool said in a statement they hope to be in a position to comment further on the managerial position in the near future. gerrard‘s former club liverpool are in rome for the second leg of their champions league semi final tomorrow. italian police have said they can "guarantee the safety of the club‘s fans" if they stick within the rules. a liverpool supporter was seriously injured after being attacked outside anfield before the first leg, head coach eusebio di francesco blaming the incident on the actions of a few roma fans. translation: i'm afraid that rotten apples are everywhere in all sets of fans. obviously someone who does not belong to our true fans did something very, very wrong. and my

thoughts and prayers go with the family. what i can assure you is here in rome the base of the roma fa ns here in rome the base of the roma fans are very passionate. u nfortu nately fans are very passionate. unfortunately hooligans are everywhere and you are familiar with that phenomenal and. unfortunately it‘s a massive issue that is detrimental to the whole football world. liverpool fans and liverpool themselves will hope for a big performance from mo salah tomorrow. he has collected his second award of the season, after being named the football writers‘ player of the year. he narrowly topped a poll of some 400 journalists, pipping kevin de bruyne by fewer than 20 votes. it follows the pfa players‘ player of the year award he collected, voted for by his fellow professionals. one of england‘s greatest rugby players, danielle waterman, has announced her international retirement.