have fled as hurricane florence approaches the eastern seaboard. the us national hurricane center is warning of possible life—threatening flooding. and in more extreme weather news — forecasters say a huge storm is heading towards the philippines. typhoon mangkhut is travelling across the western pacific, with heavy rains and winds of up to 160 miles an hour. hundreds of thousands of people in the philippines are being evacuated from coastal areas. two russian men, who admit they're the suspects identified by the uk, have gone on state tv to deny carrying out a nerve agent attack in salisbury. confirming their identities as alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov, they said they were merely tourists. they described the fact they were in the city when the attack happened was a "fantastical coincidence". now on bbc news, thursday in parliament. hello, and welcome to

thursday in parliament. coming up in the next half—hour: as talks to end the scallop fishing row between england and france break down, one mp suggests a way to protect the british fleet. why can't the royal navy accompany our ships back into those fishing grounds? a conservative mp reveals that jacob rees—mogg is not the only mp whose children have found themselves on the wrong end of politics. the police rang me one day and said, "where's your son"? "well, i think he's at school." "can you check?" because there was a social media post claiming to be the execution of my son. and there's a warning of the dangerous lack of control at bedford prison. this is a prison with the highest rates of assaults in the country. the government's been urged to show some backbone as mps debated the dispute with france

over scallop fishing. there were violent confrontations at the end of august as fishermen off the coast of northern france rammed boats, threw stones, and let off smoke bombs to try to force british boats out of the area. the scallop fishing grounds lie just beyond the french national waters, but within its economic territorial area. french rules ban their own boats from fishing for scallops between may to october to allow the shellfish to breed. but the rules don't apply to other countries. fishing stopped while talks took place to try to resolve the dispute, but the negotiations broke down after the accommodation package offered by the french industry to smaller british boats, in return for staying away from the area, was rejected. it is open to the french government to lift the domestic restrictions they have in place earlier than they normally would, in order to address concerns that their industry have expressed about the lack of a level playing field. the uk industry is legally allowed to fish there,

they have shown commendable restraint during the negotiations, and i welcome the cooperation and understanding. he said he was disappointed with the breakdown in talks, and had written to his french counterpart. and my letter, i emphasised the absolute need for safety to remain paramount. i hope a mutually beneficial outcome may still be agreed between the two industries, but in the meantime, we stand ready to offer what assistance the french government may wish to consider. the industry is looking to government with some backbone, and for the minister to fight with them for their livelihoods and communities. and this matters because fishing matters, and fishing jobs matter. not just to the coastal communities that rely on fishing and the processing of that employment, but because it also tells us a story about how ministers will stand up for this industry during and after brexit. it's crystal clear that the law

and moral right is on the side with the british fishermen in this case. and if this fishing is taking place outside of french territorial waters, why can't the royal navy accompany our ships back into those fishing grounds? if we've got fishery protection vessels and type 23 frigate permanently positioned in the channel, surely the royal navy should be at sea with our fishermen to protect their livelihoods? the minister said the waters were within the french exclusive economic zones, and it was absolutely the responsibility of the french police. a lib dem was appalled by the violence meted out to british boats. at the best of times, fishing is the most hazardous peacetime occupation. in the year since i left school, no fewer than five men who were at school with me have lost their lives while making their living at sea. and that is why the sort

of behaviour that we have witnessed on 27 august is simply unforgivable. as the minister is talking about moving towards brexit and talking about the sovereignty that will apparently happen over our nautical area, in terms of looking at negotiations with the eu about fishing rights post brexit, will the minister assure us that any bad feeling that has been created over this situation will not spill over into those negotiations? the minister said simply that the uk would be leaving the common fisheries policy when the uk left the eu. now there has been condemnation across westminster after a video appeared on facebook of protesters shouting at the children of conservative jacob rees—mogg. the video on the page of the class workgroup shows a man telling one of the mp's children that their father

is a horrible person. the archbishop of canterbury, downing street, and politicians have strongly criticised the stunt. jacob rees—mogg himself told lb he did not think it was terribly serious, but in the commons, mps condemned the protesters. i think every single member that i've spoken to across the house without exception is dismayed and appalled at what happened, because targeting a member through their children is not free speech and the right of protesters. it is actually intimidation and harassment, and it is undermining of our democracy. now none of us want to be feather bedded or protected from the public, but if we are elected to come here to do ourjob, we must be allowed to do it without hindrance. can we ask the speaker to have a conference so the line can properly be drawn? i'm very grateful to the right honourable lady for raising this issue, and a number of members across all sites have raised this. it is utterly appalling that somehow

you can attack a serving member of parliament there either their children ortheir parents, or even their partner are best friend. it is absolutely unacceptable. and we mustjoin together in condemning it whenever it happens. i am certainly very sympathetic to the right honourable lady's suggestion, and i am sure mr speaker, you would be too. what i can say to her is that the government has launched a consultation on 29 july for a new electoral offence which aims to crack down on threats and abuse towards those standing for election. we do need to change the way in which the public perceive those who stand for public office, not least of which because we want to be able to encourage more good and particularly young people from all walks of life to want to take part in our public life. and how can they possibly be attracted to it when this kind of appalling behaviour goes unchecked?

a conservative mp had a horrific experience of his own. most members of this house will have had death threats, i've had death threats, been attacked, our home has been attacked. but when it is the family... i have had threats to my former wife, and to my children. and the thing that i'm now prepared to say, which i was not a few years ago, was that my son, who was about 12, the police rang me one day and asked me where my son was. i told them i thought it was at school. they asked me if i could check because there was a social media post claiming to be the execution of my son. obviously we did not bring that to the attention of people at the time, but things have gotten worse and worse, and i doubt it is a single member in this house who has not had something like that. could we have a statement, a genuine statement when we get back, about what we're going to do about this?

that is a truly horrible story, i'm sure on her desk all honourable members will be completely disgusted by that account, also not surprised he didn't raise at the time, because it simply encourages such behaviour, and no doubt he will find that is the case today. it is extraordinary, the kind of levels of abuse that members of parliament and others in public life receive. the former chief rabbi lord sacks says he never expected to see anti—semitism become dangerous in the uk in his lifetime. during a debate which saw some stinging criticism ofjeremy corbyn, lord sacks says he cannot keep silent. anti—semitism, orany hate, becomes dangerous when three things happen. first, when it moves from the fringes of politics to a mainstream party and its leadership. second, when the party sees that its popularity with the general public is not harmed thereby. and three, when those who stand up and protest are vilified and abused for doing so. all three factors

exist in britain now. i never thought i would see this in my lifetime. i think mr corbyn allowed masses to ramble on, because he frankly does not give two hoots about what jews in the uk think. we are all familiar with the term, there no smoke without fire. my request to the uk government to extinguish the flame and use all efforts to ensure that jeremy corbyn does not become the leader of our country. that would be the day britain died. what i want to do very briefly is turn it over to the labour party's benches, which are slightly underpopulated, as if there is some guilt.

i want to suggest that labour's leadership's handling of the controversy could have been much more public and fairer. and other peer described corbyn‘s conduct is shameful. what is so alarming is that in this great country, a country that gave refuge to my great grandparents when they were fleeing pogroms at the end of the 19th century, the leadership of one of our major political parties is incubating anti—semitism. it is especially troubling that there are people who are in denial about the problem, with some people in the party ijoined 58 years ago refusing to accept it exists, even when jeremy corbyn has belatedly recognised it and pledged to eliminate it. this is notjust a matter for the labour party,

all three major parties have encountered the problem to some degree. lord beecham. you're watching thursday in parliament, with me, alysia mccarthy. the chief inspector for prisons in england and wales has warned of a dangerous lack of control in bedford prison. in a letter to ministers, he described how a man with mental health problems had lured several rats and in his cell and killed them. he said a disabled inmate had only been able to have five showers this year because he could not access the washing facilities. and there have been 116 attacks on prison staff in the last six months. the inspector has issued an urgent notification which requires ministers to take action. the prison‘s minister agrees there were very significant challenges at bedford prison. the first is a big problem around decency and conditions in bedford. the second is a problem around drugs in bedford, and the third is around violence, and in particular, assaults

against prisoner doctor prison officers in bedford. but he was hopeful things could change. there are prisons already out there in the country, local prisons with very similar problems to bedford that are already showing that you can tackle these issues. hull is a great example of this, preston is a great example of this. there has also been significant improvement over the last few months in leeds in tackling exactly these issues. in bedford itself, we put the prison and special measures some months ago. we are beginning to see some key improvements and special measures coming in. we have seen improvement in physical infrastructure, more investment is going to windows, the mental health provision is better than it was. the showers and segregation unit are better than they were. and we are now bringing in a more experienced management team. the continual and unchecked decline

in standards at the prison over the past nine years, that is what the chief inspector said, the chief inspector also said at times it felt like the prisoners were in control. this is a prison with the highest rates of assaults in the country. 77% of prison officers at hmp bedford have less than one year's service. that's the reality. bedford prison is designed to hold a 300 men, but at last count, it was holding more than 420. how can any prison operate safely with such overcrowding? will the government take urgent steps to review pressure on the system? the prison building itself is not fit for purpose. i went there to see it for myself, the cells are cramped, you can smell drugs, and the building is very old. how can we expect to rehabilitate

serial offenders if we cannot even provide them with basic facilities and dignity? a third of the prison estate we have was built before 1900. these are victorian prisons. that is why we will be spending the money to create 10,000 new prison places with modern accommodation, because there is a very clear relationship between old buildings and a separate problem, and only new investment will be built will solve it. rory stewart. the cabinet met on thursday to discuss in more detail how to deal with a no—deal brexit. the trade secretary hurried out of that meeting to get to the commons for his regular round of trade questions. over the summer, liam fox set out the uk's post brexit ambitions, saying brexit could be a 21st—century means for exporting power. labour reckons small business plans were a bit vague. they describe the export strategy as lacking definitive interventions and he would do well to take note

what they say. they are vital to our export success so before he gets carried away by his own complacency, why not listen to what small businesses are saying. we spent a great deal of time doing so and in fact i was deeply encoded by the welcome we received from the fsb, the ayodi, the cbi, who unlike the party budget do not share the anti trade, anti—capitalist agenda and the party opposite increasingly seems to see the model they prefer for britain as the venezuelan model. a report from the university of sussex three days ago identified that a third of uk exporting firms lost business because of brexit. how will be strategy helps support existing jobs in export? the honourable gentleman seems to have overlooked the fact that

i were exports rose to a record £429 billion in the 12 months ending july 2018 and we are witnessing a strong export performance by the uk and the aim of the government is to see that continue. the north—east is the only region that exports more than it imports. employers, employees, trade associations and trade unions all agree that a no—deal brexit will destroy jobs. what is he doing specifically to protect north—east businesses from a no—deal brexit and to ensure that we continue to export successfully around the world? the government is trying to ensure we get a good deal with the eu, a free, open, liberal, conference of trade deal that enables businesses to continue to trade with the substantial market that is the european union. statistics published last week by hmrc show an increase in wealth

is exports to the eu in the last year. the data shows a decrease of 32 million in terms of exports to non—eu countries. is it not the reality that the best opportunities for welsh exporters in the future like staying within the single market and the customs union? as i have pointed out, it is advantageous for us to have an open and competitive trading deal with the eu but also important that we open up trading opportunities elsewhere which is why i find it utterly depressing that yesterday the labour party voted against the eu's free trade agreement with singapore, a chance to generally open up trade, another example of how they have been captured by the anti trade hard left to the detriment of the uk's interests. liam fox. mps spent the afternoon debating a proposal for proxy voting letting mps vote if they're not in the chamber. at the moment there was a system

of pairing where mps from the government and opposition parties agree not to vote, cancelling each other out. but the whole system took a knock when the government mp voted in a division in which she had been paired with the then heavily pregnant lib dem jo swinson. she hasn't had her baby and was in the chamber with her son during the debate. earlier i spoke to the chair of the commons procedure committee and asked why it was backing proxy voting. the committee did a report that suggested that, at the request of the house, that women who have given birth for six months should be entitled to have a proxy vote in the house of commons for no longer than six months, maybe a few weeks extra in exceptional circumstances and we think that's the right thing to do to allow more women to come into parliament, so that parliament is a place for them and when they are there they can have children. the danger is that a number of women feel being an mp is not compatible with having children is even before they get into parliament or once they are in parliament.

charles walker. and you can see more of that interview on bbc parliament on friday night. the government has rejected calls for buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics in england and wales. the home secretary, sajid javid, said introducing protest free areas to prevent harassment would not be a proportionate response. ealing council in west london recently set up a public spaces protection order after reports of intimidation and harassment for women using a clinic there. the group said that the ban criminalises prayer and support outside an abortion clinic. a designated area for vigils has been set up outside the buffer zone. the government has responded today in a statement of the inquiry i requested as former minister for women on whether we needed a national buffer zone around abortion clinics and has concluded it does not. can i ask the minister to comment on what individual councils or areas have if we are not have a national

buffer zone while also adding that i do welcome this conclusion is having looked for myself, now unable to travel slightly less conspicuously i took the opportunity to go to the abortion clinic in ealing to look from assault and saw there was no harassment continuing which i believe continues to reflect what has been concluded in the statement. we have looked at the evidence, we have discovered there are 363 hospitals and clinics that offer abortion services across the country. 36 of those locations have experienced demonstrations, protests, how about one wishes to phrase it, and in these circumstances at the moment the conclusion of the evidence is that we continue with the current scheme of enabling councils to apply for public space protection orders which are targeted orders in their locality, but of course we keep this matter very much under review because we want to ensure that people who need to access those services can do so in a safe way. but a labour mp gave

the statement less warm welcome. the conclusions are a bit disappointing in that the word women does not occur in the wants, it's just talks about pregnant persons, and it seems to be saying is that it is a disproportionate number of women being effected before any action takes place but can i suggest that the minister meets with the home secretary, myself and the home affairs select committee chair because there are other ways of doing this than the blanket ban they have rejected. i very much commend the honourable member for all the camping and work she has done to stand up for her constituents and those visiting her constituency for the services provided by the clinic there. of course i am happy to meet do discuss this further and indeed the chair of the home affairs select committee. as i said, we will keep

this under review. the ministerfor women, victoria atkins. the government has been accused of exploiting children by using them as spies to investigate crime and terrorism. the home office insists that under 18s undercover when necessary and everything is done to protect them. they want to know the age of the youngest covert human intelligence source. there were no national statistics currently available to the authorisation ofjuvenile chis but the home office has made aware of academic research interviews ofjuvenile chis which includes case studies including the age of the juvenile chis guard the youngest of which is 15. i had hoped that the home office itself would start recording the names and ages of these children who are vulnerable young criminals who were caught by the police and put straight back into the criminal gang as spies for the police. as would the noble lady please commit the home office to keep a proper record of these children and the names, ages and serious crimes they are being arrested for and then sent back into the gangs for?

lady williams said giving names would breach data protection laws and that the number of child informants could be included in future report by the watchdog, the investigatory powers commissioner. how is the safety of the child ensured when they're put into these dangerous situations where serious criminality is suspected of taking place which can include the children and information about their parents? the noble lord asks absolutely the right question. it remains paramount, i had to tell him the enhanced risk assessments, they are required before a chis is task and reviewed

and updated throughout the duration of an authorisation and updated after an authorisation is cancelled where contact is maintained with the chis. even with all these safeguards which the noble lady has mentioned, is this not still exploitation of children? i think the noble lady asks a very pertinent point. this is not a comfortable or easy arrangement. she will know that the labour government brought it in in 2000 but with the safeguards in place, and the work they need to undertake, all these things are taken into consideration. would not my noble friend agree that it is overwhelmingly in the interests of the child that he or she should grow up in a society in which crime is reduced? that is the purpose of these

measures which are being undertaken. my noble friend puts it absolutely succinctly and correctly, that the overall aim is that children should grow up in a society which is free of crime. that's it from me for now butjoin me for the week in parliament on bbc parliament on friday night at 11pm or catch the programme afterwards on the bbc iplayer. for now, from me, goodbye. hello. well, before we go to the weather for the uk, an update on hurricane florence battering the east coast of the united states.

and the worst of the weather is technically still out to sea. the storm's eye isn't expected to cross land, that is, make landfall, until around about lunchtime on friday uk time. but it has already been battering north carolina, south carolina, areas towards the north as well as further inland, and it is a slow—moving storm, that means it is dumping a lot of rainfall in the same place for a considerable amount of time, and those destructive winds, the storm surge, likely to be some destructive flooding from this or the system. meanwhile, in the asia—pacific, we have a very powerful storm, even stronger, typhoon mankhut, a super typhoon heading for northern parts of luzon in the philippines, and the effects of the storm could be catastrophic, so two very powerful storms both sides of the globe. meanwhile, here in the uk, showers in the north, much more dry in the south, and this is a satellite image from the last 12 hours, clouds into the northern part of the country,

further south the clouds have broken up at bit. and that's how we start friday morning. in the north—west notice the rain in northern ireland, western scotland and the north—west of england. as we go through the morning into the afternoon, increasing clouds in many areas and some rain. cool in the north 11, 12. now that takes us into the friday night and eventually saturday. high pressure to the south of the uk will bring warm and sunny weather in the near continent and not so bad in the south of the uk as well and in the midlands. 21 the top temperature on saturday. here is a look at sunday's weather

forecast and a weather front is expected to move across the uk. that means the central swathe of the country could have some rain, but either side we have some sunshine. that's it from me. goodbye. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is tanya beckett. our top stories: hurricane florence is bearing down on the east coast of america with warnings it could bring catastrophic flooding. stay on guard. this is a powerful storm that can kill. today, the threat becomes a reality. and in the philippines there's more extreme weather. tens of thousands of people begin evacuating as super typhoon mangkhut heads towards the island of luzon. the two russian suspects accused of the nerve agent attack in the uk break their silence. they say they were in salisbury, but only as tourists. and bye—bye beetle.

german car manufacturer volkswagen announces it's stopping production of the iconic car next year.