this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11. conservative brexiteers issue a stern warning demanding theresa may drops proposals for a "customs partnership" with the eu after britain leaves. the speaker of the house of commons is accused of bullying by his former private secretary. angus sinclair said he faced angry outbursts from john bercow, who denies the allegations. donald trump's former doctor says the president himself dictated a letter saying his health was "astonishingly excellent". the relationship charity relate calls for people suffering from sex addiction to receive help on the nhs. ididn't i didn't really feel anything any more and it was just giving me the insta nt more and it was just giving me the instant hit and then five minutes later, i wanted instant hit and then five minutes later, iwanted it instant hit and then five minutes later, i wanted it again. also "social" match—making —

facebook says it will provide a dating service focused on long—term, meaningful relationships. and as liverpool fans fly off for tonight's champions league semifinal, more than 1,000 police officers will be deployed in rome. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live theresa may is under pressure to drop one of her preferred options for managing customs relations with the eu after brexit. a group of conservative brexiteers has delivered a 30—page document to downing street. it argues that the proposed "customs partnership" would stop the uk making independent trade deals with the rest of the world.

the idea of the partnership is that britain would mirror the eu's customs regime at its borders, and collect tariffs on behalf of brussels. senior ministers meet today to discuss the different options for replacing membership of the customs union. let's cross now to westminster and speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith. jacob rees—mogg of the script of brexiteers is saying this is not an ultimatum, although it might sound like an ultimatum to some people. there's no doubt that the tory brexiteers are sending a pretty clear warning to theresa may not to go for this customs partnership solution to our customs arrangements once we leave the eu because in their view it amounts to pretty much their view it amounts to pretty much the same thing as staying in the customs union or the same thing as staying in the customs union oi’ a the same thing as staying in the customs union or a customs union because what it would mean is that,

although trade between britain and the eu would carry on without any checks, goods coming into britain from outside the eu, well, britain would carry out the customs checks and would impose eu tariffs and a view of many brexiteers is that we would become the tax collector for the eu and we would have to abide by eu regulations and then it might come under the jurisdiction of the european court of justice, come under the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice, all of which is unacceptable, which is why they have warned mrs may against going for that option. there could be resignations. this morning we heard from some friends of boris johnson that, for him, it was a red line and that he wouldn't stay if that was the option to theresa may went for, only for the official friends of boris johnson went for, only for the official friends of borisjohnson to insist that was overstating his position. as far boris johnson that was overstating his position. as far borisjohnson himself, this was the foreign secretary leaving for work this morning.

are you against a customs union, foreign secretary? are you willing to quit the government over the customs deal? not much news from borisjohnson himself there. interestingly, the signs are from downing street that they're going to push this down the line to ensure that today does not become d—day, decision day, and we may not get a final result, according to david lidington, the cabinet office minister for several weeks. this is what he said this morning. there are strong views on different parts of the conservative party. the robbers have been. in the six years i was europe minister, i got very familiar with those —— there always have been. a pamphlet was circulated and we will look at that with

interest as we do with comments from anywhere in the conservative party when people want to contribute to discussion. the talks will be about getting it right forjobs and presbytery, living standards in our country. that's what lies at the heart of policy— making. i'm joined by nigel evans, a member of the european research group and tory brexiteers. let's be clear, you wa nt tory brexiteers. let's be clear, you want the option of a so—called customs partnership killed off, taken off the table. absolutely, theresa may is not going to be shot of any advice. i read the papers today and some are quite strident in telling her to show her steel —— she is not going to be short of advice. when she said brexit means brexit, people said, what does that mean? what it does mean is as being defined by the european courts. it means taking control of everything and not being a tax collector for the european union and i believe the people sitting around her, normally

the cabinet is united against somebody else, not each other, so she has to show her steel in bringing them together but she must also listen to those who act the campaigns to leave the european union, people like david davis, liam fox and boris johnson, union, people like david davis, liam fox and borisjohnson, and see what they're saying because they are ministers who actually campaigned for leaving the european union and so for leaving the european union and so i'm sick and tired of being told, people in my constituency voted leave, and what they didn't vote for was a leave, and what they didn't vote for wasa semi—single leave, and what they didn't vote for was a semi—single market which was keeping one foot in the european union, which is something theresa may said she didn't want to happen. what are the consequences if theresa may listens to, in your view, the wrong advice? well, i agree with you that i don't think we'll get a decision today. i think there needs to bea decision today. i think there needs to be a lot more consideration. there's a lot of questions that need to be answered about 0llie robbins,

a civil servant who is theresa may's brexit adviser and everything i read about him is that he is someone who believes in the european union and regrets the fact that we are leaving, so she listing has much to him as she should to people like jacob rees—mogg and a number of people who stand behind the prime minister in supporting her in the brexit in name only solution to this? i believe theresa may has the resolute spirit to deliver what people voted for in the uk and we will be supporting her in that. how long has she got to reach that decision if it is not taking today? i don't think she's got long because the clock is ticking as michel barnier remains as all the time. we'll be leaving in march next year. decisions need to be taken well before that, they need to be taken this year, and i believe the longer she leaves it, the more wiggle room people who want us to remain in some

form of customs union will take advantage of it. it's far better for theresa may to stamp out authority i'iow theresa may to stamp out authority now and did a decision as quickly as she possibly can —— stamp her authority. do you think the foreign secretary might resign over this?|j think secretary might resign over this?” think if we end up in some sort of fudged solution, which frankly leaves us with one fit within the european union, still just leaves us with one fit within the european union, stilljust a sizeable — — european union, stilljust a sizeable —— still defined by the european union, boris johnson sizeable —— still defined by the european union, borisjohnson would tolerate it. he said it is a red line but i thought it would be a red line but i thought it would be a red line for theresa may as well. a critical decision for theresa may. downing street have suggested that perhaps, perhaps, there might be a third option. we have not been explicit about it but they have said there might be a refinement and the development and proposals and

thinking. is that another option which theresa may may be to put on the table? very difficult. the commons speaker, john bercow, has been accused of bullying by his former private secretary. mr bercow strenuously denies allegations he intimidated angus sinclair with angry outbursts, obscene language, and mimicry. mr sinclair has spoken out — despite having signed a non—disclosure agreement related to his work in parliament. he told the bbc‘s newsnight about the spea ker‘s behaviour on one occasion. it seemed to be over the top anger. i'm not sure he was completely in control. his arms would weave around. there was one afternoon i was working at my desk and he came in and she was absolutely furious about something. he asked for some

information from another part of the house and it had been very slow in coming andi house and it had been very slow in coming and i prodded for an early resolution of this and she knew that, but he held me responsible —— and he knew that. there was a tirade of how i had let him down with a lot of how i had let him down with a lot of bad language and suddenly his mobile phone which she had been holding was flung on the desk in front of me and broken into a lot of bits. it was a pretty dramatic moment. angus sinclair. the spokesman for the speaker's office in reaction to that has been saying... bbc‘s chris cook is here, who

interviewed angus sinclair. tell us more about the context of these allegations. in march, newsnight published allegations including againstjohn bercow. the first allegation was that angus sinclair's successof allegation was that angus sinclair's successor had to leave the job after a yearand her successor had to leave the job after a year and her managers were later told she had post—traumatic stress disorder, they believed as a consequence of holding that role. john bercow denies bullying in that case once again. the house of commons has also set up an inquiry into the problem of bullying and harassment. it is an apolitical staff, wagstaff who manned the house of commons. —— like staff. even if

they gather evidence about one member of parliament, that would come out. what does that mean for john bercow, a very important position as speaker of the house? 0ne position as speaker of the house? one problem with working for the speaker is that he is very powerful within his little empire so there is no one you can complain to who can overrule him and mps are hardly in a field in a similar position —— in a fairly similar position. they say —— some say he should resign, some say, he's a powerful man. he is the one who makes calls are about debates on question time. the big questions are, are they going to be enough serious big figures who are going to come out and say, enough is enough, we need to change him. there are a

lot of tories who don't like him but the question is whether they can get a critical mass together and push over the edge. the government would be pretty keen on new speaker, because he is pro—backbench, that his manifesto, and governments don't really like that. one man has died and another has been injured in a shooting in northwest london. police have launched a murder investigation after the victim, believed to be in his 30s, was shot outside queensbury underground station shortly after 9pm last night. it takes the number of people murdered in london since the start of the year to 59. president trump's former doctor harold bornstein, who was his physician for more than three decades, says a letter released in his name during the election campaign about the health of the then republican candidate was written by donald trump himself. the letter declared mr trump to be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency" with "extraordinary physical

strength and stamina". mr bornstein also told nbc news that donald trump's bodyguard had carried out a "raid" on his offices last year, saying many documents had been removed. his medical records, pictures, anything i could find. he must have been here for 25, 30 minutes. i can believe anybody was making a big deal about it —— i can't believe. it got to grow his hair which seemed to be so important and is not a breach of medical practice to take somebody —— tell somebody to grow their hair. what's the matter with that? us media reports say the special council, robert mueller, has threatened to issue a subpoena for president trump to appear before a grand jury if he declined to talk to investigators about possible russian election interference. the washington post newspaper said mr mueller made his suggestion during a meeting in march with mr trump's lawyers. it is believed to be the first time

the special council raised the possibility of compelling mr trump to testify. liverpool are just one match away from the champions league final. tonight they take on roma in italy with a 5—2 lead from their semifinal first leg at anfield. yesterday, the roma players trained with forza sean on their tops to pay tribute to liverpool fan sean cox who was seriously injured in violence before last week's game. as for the match, liverpool may have a three goal lead, but roma have two valuable away goals. 0ur sports news correspondent, david 0rnstein is in rome. we know that liverpool football club we re we know that liverpool football club were worried about what might happen to theirfans in rome. what kind of precautions have been taken around the stadium? they were very

concerned and they held an extraordinary meeting in the days leading up to this match. the rome authorities with roma, the opposition club, and with uefa, the governing body of european football. the adviser ten point plan of advice to supporters —— they advised. that has been updated to 15 points in the last couple of hours. it covers areas such as what they should do in the city centre, the liverpool fans, where they should congregate, not drinking alcohol in public places, respecting monuments of national importance, being held inside the stadium after the match for much longer than expected, but i think the key points are that they have warned fans not to walk to the stadium behind me. underany circumstances. which is quite extraordinary advice for the match as high—profile as this in a city centre in 2018. also not to wear any

colours that identify themselves as liverpool supporters and to keep clear of certain places like certain bridges which have an end to miss record of violence, especially towards english travelling fans —— a big record of violence. we don't love the exact number who will arrive and are starting to travel today. yesterday was quiet on what was a public holiday and the stadium behind me now is currently very quiet as fans filter into the city centre in high spirits so far. let's talk about the match itself. during the first leg when liverpool were 5— sealup, the first leg when liverpool were 5— seal up, they were deftly in the final -- seal up, they were deftly in the final —— 5—0. but those two away goals makes it rather tense tonight. the midfielder said, you can't have one to in the final, only to or none

at all —— only two or none at all. given the last round, rome overturned a similar deficit, winning against the mighty barcelona and one of greatest comebacks european football history and that result today to be enough to take roma through. roma haven't conceded a single goal in this season's competition but of course it is a fantastic advantage from liverpool's perspective. it is a feeling that one goal would wrap it up for liverpool and book their place in the final which would be against real madrid who beat munich last night. they have a great muhammad, who is having such a fantastic first season at the club after leaving roma from liverpool for around £36 million last summer which is proving a bargain. he's scored 43 goals in 40 a bargain. he's scored 43 goals in a0 games this a bargain. he's scored a3 goals in a0 games this season and has been crowned the player of the year and the football writers association player of the year and he will be

hoping to push liverpool towards the final in what should be a great match on the pitch. 60,000 roma fans around and thousands of liverpool fa ns around and thousands of liverpool fans any night that everyone hopes will be remembered for a night on the pitch and not matters away from it. i can say with complete bbc impartiality, good luck to liverpool. thousands of liverpool fans are flying out to rome today. 0ur reporter katie walderman has been speaking to some of them at liverpool airport. there is a sense of cautious optimism here at liverpooljohn lennon airport. hundreds of fans are expected to pass through here in the morning with a number of charter flights due to depart over the next few hours. in total, 5000 liverpool supporters are expected to make the trip to the italian capital for the champions league semifinal second leg against roma, but obviously the concern is for those fans following the violent clashes that were seen outside anfield. two men from rome

have been charged in connection with that incident, but it hasn't left some fans feeling a little anxious ear today. italian police have said that they can guarantee the safety of liverpool fans providing they stick to the security arrangements. we got two fancier, do the measures in place go far enough for you —— we've got two fans. it's a semifinal, that's what the vast majority of people are going to see and it's important to the member that throughout all of the european competition this year, there has been a single liverpool fan arrested so hopefully that'll be emphasis is going to be about, football. are you confident the italian police will handle things? in their own way, i'm sure they will! what are your predictions for tonight?” sure they will! what are your predictions for tonight? i can't wait. i think we can get the away win, 2—1. wait. i think we can get the away

win, 2-1. nothing is putting people off making the trip out there. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: conservative brexiteers issue a stern warning demanding theresa may drops proposals for a "customs partnership" with the eu after britain leaves. the speaker of the house of commons is accused of bullying by his former private secretary — angus sinclair said he faced angry outbursts from john bercow, who denies the allegations. donald trump's former doctor says the president himself dictated a letter saying his health was "astonishingly excellent". thousands of liverpool fans leave for rome, hoping for a place in the champions league final and it is usual security operation. the chance to return safely, too. they are winning 5—2 after the first leg of the semifinal. barry hawkins is out of this poker championship, being the favourite going into the quarterfinals but was

beating 13 frames to five by hopkins. england are up in the international rankings for the first time in five yea rs. rankings for the first time in five years. they have won a1 of 63 matches since when morgan became captain of the side —— 0wen morgan. andy kanye west‘s controversial comments about slavery. the world health organisation has proposed compulsive sexual behaviour disorder be officially recognised as a disease from next summer. it comes as support groups, like relate, call for more funding through the nhs because of the growing number of six addicts. ali fortescue reports. ididn't i didn't really feel anything any more and it was just giving me the insta nt more and it was just giving me the instant hit and then five minutes later, i wanted instant hit and then five minutes later, iwanted it instant hit and then five minutes later, i wanted it again. instant hit and then five minutes later, iwanted it again. i

instant hit and then five minutes later, i wanted it again. i was brought up in tadcaster... later, i wanted it again. i was brought up in tadcaster. .. admitting to herself that she was addicted to sex wasn't easy for rebecca. the 37—year—old mother of three was never unfaithful, but her sudden and uncontrollable need for sex ultimately destroyed her relationship. it was literally the first thing i thought about when i woke up and i couldn't get it off my mind. ifelt like woke up and i couldn't get it off my mind. i felt like everything reminded me of it and the addiction got so bad that even if i was having six five times a day —— sex, itjust wasn't enough for me. she's not alone, there are currently 78 sex addicts anonymous groups in the uk and 55 sex and love addicts anonymous. the number of qualified sex therapists has doubled to 170 in just five years. in many ways, sex has never been easier to find. the ghost 0pera not a fate has brought with it a growing number of particularly young men seeking help

for sex addiction. celebrities like russell brand have spoken out about their addictions but is it a celebrity fad or something we should treat as a serious condition? when you are doing something that is causing you problems, creating an issue for you, you can't stop it and keep doing it, he's now you know it is causing problems, thatjimmy is a fairly clear definition of doing something that has an addiction. the nhs isa something that has an addiction. the nhs is a help is available for those who need it, but many feel it is the nhs should be funding the help. the nhs should be funding the help. the nhs provide people help who have alcohol or drug problems and they could go to the gp and have it paid for because it has a crippling effect. until it happened to me, i was very sceptical myself. i've read stories in the media for around 20 yea rs stories in the media for around 20 years now, similar stories, and i didn't believe that it was real thing, but i know now that it is.

for rebecca, the hope is that speaking out will help others to understand the line between last and addiction —— lust and addiction. if you or someone you know needs more information and support with anything to do with addiction then please call our action line on 08000155 9a7 or go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. anti—government demonstrators have been marching and blocking roads in armenia, in response to a call from the opposition leader for renewed protests. many schools are also closed and large numbers of workers are on strike. nikol pasheen—yaan has called for peaceful civil disobedience, following a decision by the governing republican party to block him from becoming prime minister in a parliamentary vote. facebook‘s chief executive, mark zuckerberg, has announced that the social network is to begin offering its own dating service. facebook has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks

after users' data was found to have been mis—used by the political consultancy firm cambridge analytica. our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones, reports. it had been, confessed facebook‘s founder, an intense year. now, mark zuckerberg had the tricky task with sharing that things were about to get better. but first, another apology. what happened with cambridge analytica was a major breach of trust. an app developer took data that people had shared with them and sold it. he promised action had been taken to stop that from happening again and there was a new way for users to control how closely they were tracked on facebook. it's a simple control where you can clear your browsing history, what you've clicked, the websites you've visited and so on, on and, we're going to call it clear history. but for all the apologies and promises to do better, the mission to take facebook into ever more areas of lives continues. a new dating service was announced, with plenty of privacy baked in, of course.

mark zuckerberg had two audiences, the 5,000 developers in the hall worried about their businesses and the 2 billion or so facebook users around the world worried about their privacy. let's see what the developers thought. the audience is a little less well—attended this year. the applause was pretty tepid. i think people are expecting more, frankly, from facebook than this. the whole world is watching and is curious as to what he had to say, so i think a lot of it was very pr, but at the same time trying to motivate developers. these events used to be all about the onward march of technology. now, in less innocent times, facebook is having to prove that it is making our lives better, not worse. the american rapper kanye west has been criticised for suggesting that the enslavement of african americans may have been a "choice". in a tv interview he said when you hear about a00 years of slavery,

that sounds like a choice. he faced a backlash on social media, with some commentators suggesting he should revisit the history books. the rapper later tweeted that he was trying to make the point that african americans must not be mentally imprisoned for another a00 years. the world health organisation has warned that dozens of towns and cities in the uk suffer from unsafe levels of air pollution. port talbot in south wales is listed as the most polluted area in the country, with 31 other areas also exceeding the recommended limits for particle pollution. in a statement the department for the environment, food and rural affairs said, "the government will be setting out a comprehensive clean air strategy later this year." you can find out how your local area fares in our online pollution tracker. just go to bbc.co.uk/news, click on the science and environment page and type in your postcode. six clifftop homes left

teetering on the edge after a storm two months ago, are to be demolished after further erosion to cliffs following heavy rain and strong winds. the properties in hemsby in norfolk, have been at "significant risk of falling onto the beach" since the storm according to great yarmouth borough council. time for a look at the weather with simon king. nothing too stormy but it has been fairly unpleasant across part of the country this morning. heavy rain has moved its way eastwards. as the rain clears away, we will see brighter skies and certainly across the southwest of england, sunny spells through already. sunny spells across northern england, ireland and scotland. it may well linger across

pa rt scotland. it may well linger across part of east anglia and the southeast of england later this afternoon. elsewhere, a mixture of sunny spells, some showers, perhaps with hail and thunder, still feeling quite cool with temperatures of ten, 12 or 13 celsius. this evening, the rain will clear and with lengthy clear spells and put on quite chilly across england and wales, temperatures down into single figures, not quite as cold for the north and west. that's because we have more cloud and that will gradually spread further south and eastwards during thursday. still a few bright spells but more importantly, the temperatures starting to rise. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: conservative brexiteers have called on theresa may to abandon plans for a future ‘customs partnership' with the eu, arguing that it would be the single market by another name. the cabinet brexit sub—committee will meet to discuss the options this afternoon. the commons speaker is facing

calls to stand down amid fresh claims of bullying. john bercow‘s former private secretary, angus sinclair, has described incidents of angry outbursts, obscene language and mimicry. the spea ker‘s office denies the allegations. donald trump's former doctor harold bornstein has said a letter he signed during the election campaign vouching for the candidate's "astonishingly excellent" health, was written by mr trump himself. the white house has not responded to dr bornstein's remarks. a man has been shot dead in north—west london, bringing the total number of suspected murders in the capital this year to 63. a second man, who was also shot, is in a stable condition in hospital. now the sport with hugh ferris.

good morning. liverpool fans are hoping for safe passage and safe return as they leave for rome this morning. they do so for the second leg of their champions league semi—final, which will be played amid tight secruity in the italian capital. 3,000 police officers are being deployed and liverpool supporters have been given an updated 15—point plan of advice to avoid certain areas, respect rules, and not walk to the stadio 0limpico. liverpool lead 5—2 after the frist leg of the semi. the fight around a football game is only on the pitch and the rules of the football rules and anybody who does not accept these rules will be sent off, so that is clear. it was a lwa ys sent off, so that is clear. it was always like this and should be a lwa ys always like this and should be always like this and should be always like this. if liverpool score

in their second leg against as roma, the italian team could be in for a very tough night. that's according to former liverpool player stephen warnock. liverpool won 5—2 in the first leg at anfield last tuesday. the winner will play in the final against real madrid, who knocked bayern munich out of the champions league last night after 2—2 in the second leg. they have had five goals scored against them, but then at the end of the game liverpool give them a glimmer of hope. from liverpool's point of view, they go there with the mindset that it they know what they can score the game is over. the front three of the proposal are very dangerous, capable of causing any defence problems. because all kinds of problems for to end the first leg. liverpool have scored 25 goals on the road, more than any other team, which is incredible, so they will go there full of confidence. roma know that there will be in for a very tough night. roma know that there will be in for a very tough night. steven gerrard has confirmed he has

held "positive talks" with rangers about taking over as manager at ibrox. the former liverpool and england captain is still in negotiations about succeeding graeme murty, who was sacked as interim boss yesterday. gerrard has been an under—18s coach with liverpool's academy since retiring from playing in 2016. ding junhui is out of the world snooker championship, beaten in the quarter—finals by barry hawkins. ding was the favourite before the last eight, but was comprehensively outplayed by hawkins, who took the two frames he needed for victory in the first two this morning, eventually wrapping up a 13—5 win with a century break. i thought i played pretty well. i felt like he'd give up on the end there. you want to win every session that you can and winning 6—2 last night was obviously a massive boost because unless you really collapse from 11 — five, which is possible, somebody could play than plastic snooker and think and do that, i was

happy to make those couples of frames and get it over and done with, yes. yeah, i will get more time to do something else. i wish i could have one today. some days bad, some days good. ijust tried my best. you must believe that you will come back in the future and have another good chance of winning? yeah, i believe that i can win it. so not give up yet. hopefully i can get more experience out there. these are live pictures from the other semifinal going on. judd trump is leading 7—5. that's live on the bbc sport website.

this afternoon it's ali carter against mark williams. they are tied a—a. kyren wilson leads mark allen 11—5, needing just two frames to reach the semi—finals. england's men are up to number one in cricket's one day international rankings. they have overtaken india to take top spot for the first time in five years. england have won a1 of 63 matches since eoin morgan became captain. they struggled in test cricket this winter, but were dominant against australia in their one day series, winning a—1. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. so the cabinet and the rest of the conservative party are spending the day arguing about what should replace the customs union when the uk leaves the eu. brexiteers wants it to be something known as maximum faciliatation. 0thers — generally those who were more supportive of remain — prefer an alternative known

as the customs partnership. but does anyone know exactly what either of those terms actually mean? one man who does is chris morris from our reality check team and he's here to make it all clear. this is all about trying to ensure that trade remains as easy as possible — frictionless is the government's preferred term — once the uk has left the eu. at the moment, the uk, like every country in the eu, is automatically part of the customs union. that means there are no internal tariffs or taxes on goods going from one country to another. which makes it easier for manufacturers of for example car parts or medicines to move stuff around. so it's cheaper to do business. here's another important aspect of a customs union: all the countries involved impose the same level of tax on goods coming into the eu from outside — a common external tariff. again that makes things easy.

but once you have that common external tariff then you can't do your own separate trade agreements with other countries around the world — that's why the eu negotiates trade deals on behalf of all its member states. now that is one thing the government insists must change after brexit. part of taking back control, it says, is being able to do your own deals. so is there any way of replicating what the government likes about the customs union, without the bits it doesn't? well, for months now it's been discussing two proposals. firstly, a new customs partnership — which would see the uk collecting eu tariffs on goods arriving from other countries at uk borders on the eu's behalf. if those goods then stayed in the uk, companies could claim back any money they were owed. but it could take years to set such a system up, the eu is sceptical about whether it will work anyway, and supporters of brexit see it as a trap to keep the uk locked into the eu system.

the second proposal is for a highly streamlined customs arrangement, using new technology and other schemes such as allowing companies to settle their bills every few months rather than every time they cross a border. but while that could minimise checks, it wouldn't get rid of them altogether — which means it rubs up against one of the trickiest issues in the brexit process — the need for no hard border between northern ireland and the republic. so the cabinet is trying to figure out which option to pursue, while labour, other opposition parties and some tory rebels think the only answer is to negotiate a new improved customs union with the eu. it all means that brexiteers now fear a plot to thwart the whole brexit process, their opponents say it's time to see sense and the political temperature is rising. it's the last day of campaigning before voters go

to the polls tomorrow in local elections across england. more than a,000 seats are up for grabs across 150 councils, with six mayoral elections also taking place. it is the first england—wide test of electoral opinion since last year's snap general election.