signed a new agreement. —— and in the past few minutes. the european union's chief brexit negotiator, michael barnier, says eu leaders are ready to offer britain an improved proposal on how to manage the irish border after the uk leaves the bloc. mr barnier said they were looking at the possibility of allowing technical checks of goods. now it's time for panorama. the deadline‘s looming. theresa may has gotjust weeks left to secure a brexit deal with the eu and to get it through parliament. for the last fortnight, we've been filming with her behind the scenes. morning, nick. morning, prime minister. thank you for the lift. she's under pressure from her own party to stand up to brussels. a lot of people i've talked to, prime minister, say that chequers represents a compromise and it's not the brexit that people voted for. you know what some people say — they rather liked it when you joked about being that bloody difficult woman, they liked that. and they sometimes say,

"where's she gone?" well, she's still there, but i think there's a difference between those who think you can only be bloody difficult in public and those of us who think actually you bide your time and you're bloody difficult when the time is right and when it really matters. the eu says she's still not offering a deal they can accept. hello, jean—claude. hello. no deal is now a real possibility. the next few weeks are going to be really important. we're reaching that critical stage... tonight, the prime minister at work... £50,000. at home... at stake — herfuture. and yours. for years, it was just the name of the prime minister's country retreat, in this beautiful corner of buckinghamshire. it is now, though, the name of a plan which has provoked

a bitter battle in the conservative party, with consequences for us all. it is chequers. this is the place where prime ministers traditionally come to rest and relax. given to the nation as a house of peace, a place to escape the noise and the clamour of westminster. but one hot day injuly, it was the scene of a political drama. a drama that could shape all of our futures. the cabinet met to hammer out what the country, what the eu, had waited two long years for — a plan for brexit. it was in this room, it was around this table that the prime minister haggled with the cabinet to back her brexit plan. forever more, it would be known as the chequers plan. it's a plan theresa may is now desperate to sell. what i'm doing as prime minister,

what we're doing as a government, and what we did here at chequers in putting the plan together, is put a plan together that delivers on the vote that people took. because it means an end to free movement, an end tojurisdiction of the court, an end to sending vast sums of money every year, and all the other things like coming out of the fisheries policy, the agricultural policy, and so forth. but at the same time, we're able to protect jobs and livelihoods. but first theresa may's cabinet, and then her party, have been split by the chequers plan. it's complicated, it's long, but at its heart a simple aim — to make sure that the new borders that will spring up between brexit britain and the eu don't destroy thousands of manufacturing jobs and don't undermine peace in northern ireland. it was a compromise with the eu. for many, a compromise too far. we had blinked first, and i think chequers was a sign we'd blinked first.

blinked how? because we conceded that we would stay under eu rules, not just today, not just today's rules, but changes to rules in the future. to avoid new post—brexit border checks, theresa may proposed a common rule book with the eu. sticking to the same regulations and standards for trading goods and food. many round the table thought that common sense. many — not all. we are going to let somebody else set the rules for companies in which we are the best... that's not common sense at all, and it's even worse than common sense because how will they decide those rules, what mechanism will they use? well, you know, we won't be there to influence it. we can't be rule takers — that's not democratic in any way, that's worse than where we are now, not better. david davis said you blinked in the face of eu intransigence. borisjohnson said you'd

waved the white flag. are they wrong to say you budged because the eu wouldn't give you what you wanted? no. it's unblocked the negotiations, and crucially it has done that, but it was a plan that i believe is absolutely right for the united kingdom. you know what people say, and they say it actually if they're remainers as well as leavers, they say half in, half out, one foot in, one foot out, worst of both worlds. what's your answer to that? well, look, there are some people who say to me, basically, we want to carry on a relationship with the eu that we've always had. effectively, we want to stay in the eu. there are other people who say we want to be as distant as possible from the european union. but actually what's in the uk's interest, what's in our interests, is to continue to have good cooperation with the european union on things like security, it's to continue to have good opportunity for trade with the european union, and to make sure that businesses that are trading with the eu today don't see any change. that promise of no change

is what made the chequers plan so divisive. first, her brexit secretary, david davis, quit. then borisjohnson, her foreign secretary, decided he would follow suit. over the summer, johnson's criticism of the prime minister's plan became more and more strident, raising questions about his ambition and her leadership. ch, of course, herfuture is at risk, because she's got boris johnson now breathing down her neck, and i think the thing which theresa really has a problem with is that she's almost in a position now where she's pretty much pickled off everybody. what you've got is a prime minister who's got a disunited, warring bunch behind her, so she can't take a rational step, she's got to take a step that satisfies her party, because if she was rational, she would go further than chequers to bridge the gap between her and the eu, but she can't do that — why?

‘cause her own party won't let her do it. good morning, this is today with martha kearney and justin webb. the headlines this morning. about 50 conservative mps discussed ways of forcing a leadership election to remove theresa may from downing street last night. last wednesday, just hours after the news broke of a plot to topple the prime minister.. questions to the prime minister! in her commons office, they've been preparing for prime minister's questions. cutting, pasting and highlighting her file of what they hope are killerfacts and killer answers. the government's brexit negotiations are an abject failure. i can see that by the sullen faces behind her. theresa may's chief of staff, gavin barwell, is watching how his boss performs. no tory mp yet dares say in public what's being said in private —

that it's time for her to go. not a single brexiteer question. no. are you surprised? we've got talk of coup on the front page of the telegraph. nothing! well, you'll have to ask other people about that, but i would guess there was a conscious decision not to raise it. there soon follows a sign of the scale of what theresa may is up against. tory mps with doubts about chequers are invited to share them with their leader. watching and listening, her enforcer, the chief whip, who needs their votes. a lot of people i talked to, prime minister, say that chequers represents a compromise and it's not the brexit that people voted for. i think the other thing we get all the time, prime minister, is, from our members is why is the cabinet so split on this, why are people resigning? it's hard for us. yes, and i recognise it's hard

for you as mps when you see that. obviously, we did see injuly, you know, a deal was agreed, and then a couple of days later, obviously we saw two resignations from the cabinet. but i think what is important now is that the activity has really stepped up in the last few months. and of course, will continue through to the point at which we've got the agreement that we're working to an agreement this autumn. but if you could cancel plans for november, december, i'd really appreciate it. what happens here on the northern irish border could derail theresa may's plan. after brexit, this would be the only land border between the uk and the eu. britain has guaranteed it will stay an invisible border, with no checks. and this is why. 30 years ago, it looked like this, and was so dangerous that the army

could only fly in by helicopter. brexiteers fear that this guarantee is being used by brussels to force britain to stay signed up to eu rules forever. borisjohnson says this plan that you've agreed to on ireland, it's a suicide belt around the british constitution. i have to say i think that choice of language was completely inappropriate. i was home secretary for six years, and as prime minister for two years now, i think using language like that was not right, and it's not language i would have used, but it's important that we deliver for the people of northern ireland. they don't want a hard border between northern ireland and ireland. the only proposal that's been put forward that delivers on them not having that hard border and ensures that we don't carve up the united kingdom is the chequers plan. but brexiteers like jacob rees—mogg don't agree. he says the chequers plan — with its shared rules and customs arrangements — means that brexit does not mean brexit.

what we're going to be doing today is putting forward ideas to solve the difficulty on the irish border. last week, he unveiled an alternative plan for the border. the prime minister argues that one of the main arguments for the chequers plan is it is the only way to guarantee that there will not be a hard border in ireland. this is simply not true — you don't have to have a physical border infrastructure in ireland, and you can maintain the integrity of the single market by having checks away from the border. there is already a border in northern ireland for excise, for vat, for currency and for immigration. so, you're simply carrying on what with what you've already got but doing it remotely from the border, and remote border checks happen across the world. theresa may says a remote border, checks several miles away,

is no alternative at all. you don't solve the issue of no hard border by having a hard border 20km inside northern ireland or 20km inside ireland. it's still a hard border. it's no use selling her chequers plan at home if it's rejected abroad by the leaders of the eu. thanks, everybody, for coming together today. obviously, there's been quite a lot of work that's been going on over the summer with the negotiations with brussels. this is britain's brexit top team, meeting to prepare for this week's crucial eu summit. the next few weeks are going to be really important. we're reaching that critical stage. the key players — the new brexit secretary, dominic raab, and chief eu adviser, olly robbins. i mean, they've been completely clear that the white paper was a game changer there. there's a real sense over the summer

that the argument you've been making for some time, that the rest of europe's agenda does have a bearing on brexit and vice versa, is beginning to get some traction. but as dominic raab heads to brussels for the next round of brexit negotiations, he's got a problem. eu chief negotiator michel barnier has publicly rubbished key parts of the chequers plan. and now there are reports that he's said it's dead. you're trying to sell this chequers plan. he says it's dead. i don't really have time for all that media drama, i'm focused on the negotiation, and we're making a lot more progress than the sort of media scrawls they'd have you believe. dominic raab has promised to up the pace of negotiations, ticking off problems one at a time. there are just weeks left to strike a deal.

good to be back. listen to the noises emanating from this town, and you might imagine theresa may's brexit plan is already dead. but in brussels, they know, if they kill off theresa may's plan, they might kill off her premiership, and that could mean more delay, more uncertainty, and maybe even no deal at all. to avoid that, they might be tempted to offer what they're rather good at manufacturing here — a fudge. but a fudge won't satisfy tory critics of theresa may. in number ten, she's waiting for a call from the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker. but i think one of the things i need to talk to him about is the level of detail in the future relationship that we're talking about, because there's just one or two things appearing to suggest

they want it very high level, and of course we need the detail for parliament and the public. they need to understand the parliamentary process you've got to go through and what you need in order to get the deal through parliament. i think that's the key thing to land with him. in other words, she's worried the eu might try and put the crucial detail she needs on hold. thank you. (music) hello, jean—claude, hello. i'm very well, thank you. i hope you've managed to have a good summer break. juncker is about to make a big speech. number ten hope he'll make positive noises about their chequers plan. of course, yes, yes, and i realise it's been a busy period for you in the lead—up to that speech. the pressure theresa may is facing doesn'tjust come from europe

or members of her own party. she's on her way to birmingham for a summit of car manufacturers, who are warning that if she gets brexit wrong, it will costjobs and investment. this at a time when she needs all the friends she can get. it's not every day you get to take a selfie with the prime minister. britain exports more than 1.3 million cars a year. the industry employs more than 850,000 people. it's based onjust—in—time supply chains, with vehicles and components crisscrossing europe with no border checks and no delays. we are making our carsjust in time. that means that at the plant we just have four hours of parts. we have to continue to receive those parts in sequence and on time

or we can't make cars. his fear — that delays at the border after brexit would come at a price. i thinkjobs would go if our costs go up and that cost is passed on to the consumer. theresa may says her chequers plan, which agrees to shared rules on goods within the eu, addresses those concerns. what we can get with this is continuing a good trade with the eu, which means it does protectjobs here in the uk, and that matters to people. you know, if you're a car worker somewhere, you know, in sunderland or the west midlands, it matters to you whether that business is going to continue here in the uk. but at this summit, the boss ofjaguar land rover has a brutal message for her — time is running out. brexit is due to happen on 29th march next year. currently, i do not even know if any of our manufacturing facilities

in the uk will be able to function on the 30th. thursday morning in downing street, and the cabinet are about to meet. amongst them, the chancellor, philip hammond — a brexit sceptic. and there are some true believers. you're one of the faces of leave. why are you in here making chequers work when out there are all the people who you campaigned with who thought it was a terrible idea? not at all. of course, there are some people who don't necessarily agree with every aspect of our negotiation. my view is... they think it's a sell—out, you're over here selling out brexit and all the people

that voted for leave. no—one's ever used that language to me. of course, we need to make sure that we get the best possible deal. and of course, any deal, any negotiation, involves compromise. is it going to be my perfect vision of brexit? no. but you must never make the perfect the enemy of the good. this is no ordinary cabinet — it's been called to examine how ready they are if no deal can be reached. inside the room, sealed envelopes with secret government papers on what might happen. shall we make our way into the room? i'm going to invite reactions around the room. i'll invite dominic to react, and then i think they will be exiting. a smooth exit. thank you, environment secretary. after the cameras left,

the governor of the bank of england, mark carney, was smuggled into the cabinet meeting via a back door. he told them how the bank was preparing for a no—deal brexit, including one worst—case scenario, with house prices crashing and a massive financial shock. so sensitive are the plans, an official asks for the papers back at the end of the meeting. can ijust check you haven't picked up any papers from the table? no. thank you, secretary of state, can ijust check you haven't got any papers? thank you so much. thank you. i wonder how you felt when you heard the governor of the bank of england say that house prices might drop by a third. we're working for a good deal,

i believe we can get a good deal, but actually we're still not at the end of the negotiations, so we need to prepare for all eventualities, and so a no—deal is one of those eventualities. how did you feel? there's the governor of the bank of england, a man you've just agreed to reappoint, and he's saying to the cabinet of the united kingdom, not because of a war, not because of a natural disaster, because of a political choice, house prices might slump by a third, thousands ofjobs might be lost, you might be stockpiling medicines and food. it's right to prepare for no—deal. so the british people have the confidence of knowing that if we're in that position, we have done everything we need to do. forgive me, prime minister, this is not some think tanker, this is not some newspaper commentator, this is the governor of the bank of england, and he's telling the cabinet that you're dancing with disaster. all the forecasts that are out there, they're not predictions, they're actually saying... what's important is how the government responds.

let's be clear about this. under no—deal, there would be some short—term disruption. it's ourjob as a government to make sure that we make a success of no—deal, just as we make a success of getting a good deal. i think no—deal would be catastrophic, and people are far too casual about it. if no—deal means we haven't agreed anything, then it means we've got no agreement about the northern ireland border, no agreement on citizens, no agreement on aviation, on national security, it's not viable — it's rhetoric, not reality. and it can't be allowed to happen. the negotiations are heading into a final crucial phase. the prime minister's tory critics fear that in a bid to avoid a no—deal brexit, she'll make more concessions. when you get to the end of the negotiation, there's always a temptation just to give that last little thing to get over the line. she's blinked once in your view,

and you're worried she could blink again. i'm worried that the government in total, it's notjust the prime minister, it's the whole system might blink again. getting a deal will inevitably involve more compromise, won't it? we're in a negotiation, nick, you know, we're going to be sitting down, we're going to be looking at this plan. i've been very clear those issues that which are absolutely non—negotiable. so an end to the free movement, non—negotiable, an end to jurisdiction of the european court of justice, non—negotiable, an end to sending vast amounts of money to the european union every year, non—negotiable. isn't it time to say to the british people, to your party, that's how plans work, that's how negotiations work, you give a bit, you take a bit, you negotiate, you compromise? well, negotiation by definition is about two sides sitting together looking at proposals and coming to an agreement on what proposal they're going to put forward at the end of the day. if theresa may does reach a deal with the eu, it'll have to come back to the commons for what's

called a meaningful vote. tory rebels warn she must chuck chequers now or risk a humiliating defeat. this is the sort of dirty harry option, isn't it? it's come on, punk, make my day, how many shots have been fired? if you make the wrong choice, the consequences can be unpleasant. they'd be unwise to test support for the chequers plan? they'd be foolish, because chequers would find it had very little support. jacob rees—mogg says that if you put it to the vote, that's your dirty harry moment. "come on, punk, make my day," he says. this is, look, every member of parliament, when it comes to that vote, i'm sure will recognise the significance of that vote. do we really think that if the european union, we've been through this negotiation, we get to the point where we've

agreed a deal, that if parliament was to say no, go back and get a better one, do you really think the european union is going to give a better deal at that point? i want to be clear whether you are saying, i think you are, "my deal or no deal." i think that the alternative to that will be not having a deal, because i don't think there will be, a, i don't think the negotiations would have that deal, and, b, we're leaving on the 29th of march 2019. that is how theresa may wants to present the choice, but if she is defeated in the commons, it won't be her deciding. and calls for a second referendum will grow. at that stage, things are going to be chaotic, it would be a constitutional crisis. if the deal doesn't carry, if she doesn't actually have the confidence of parliament or she can't even reach an agreement, we'll be staring at no—deal. that can't be allowed to happen. in those circumstances, all options should be on the table, and one of those has to be

an ability to put a question back to the electorate. friday night at chequers. theresa may and her husband philip are watching a quiz show. seems rather menacing, doesn't it, somehow? i think that's the idea, it's to put pressure on the contestants. what type of person may be described as saturnine? greedy, gloomy, goofy. ah, i know this one. saturnine. gloomy. i wouldn't say any of those are quite right, actually. but gloomy. those are very nice chrystanthemums, aren't they? they‘ re not chrysa nthemums, they're dahlias. dahlias. why do i keep getting this wrong? you keep calling dahlias chrysa nthemums. dahlias. they're very nice dahlias. it's a brief moment of calm before this week's eu summit and what's set to be a turbulent tory conference. you told your party you'd only serve

as long as they wanted you to. can you reassure people in your party that you are not determined to go on and on and on, you'll listen? this is where i get a little bit irritated, but this is not... this debate is not about my future, this debate is about the future of the people of the uk and the future of the united kingdom. that's what i'm focused on, and that's what we should all be focused on. it's ensuring that we get that good dealfrom the european union which is good for people in the uk, wherever they live in the uk. that's what's important for us, and that's what i'm focusing on. it's the future of people in the uk that matters. that future hinges on decisions made

in the next few weeks. theresa may believes there's a chance, a real chance, of doing a deal with the eu. her greatest fear is that parliament might reject it. what might follow is anybody‘s guess. no—deal, a general election, another referendum. all bets are off. stand by for a political drama the likes of which you've never seen. there is some disturbed and potentially dangerous weather on the way through the day ahead. the met office has issued an amber be prepared warning for the strength of the wind across northern ireland and central and southern parts of scotland, and it's all down to storm ali. expected all down to storm ali. to bring wind gusts of up to expected to bring wind gusts of up to 70 mph. further south, not as windy but still very blustery, potentially windy enough to cause one or two issues. was the outbreaks of heavy rain out of northern ireland northwards across scotland, patchy rain pushing south eastwards. pretty warm in the south—east but much cooler across the north—west. while the wind will these little bit it stays blustery through the early

hours of thursday. shells into the north—west ‘s. that rain is expected to turn really heavy in places on thursday, as he had towards the weekend it will be much cooler at, u nsettled weekend it will be much cooler at, unsettled with wind and rain. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lebo diseko. our top stories: smiles and handshakes in pyongyang. the leaders of the two careers sign a joint peace declaration. promise asa main a joint peace declaration. promise as a main over the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula and kim jong—un says he wants to visit seoul mac. serving up a new round of tariffs — china says its plans for a world beating high—tech economy are under

attack by the us as their trade war intensifies. the european union's chief negotiator says he has an improved proposal to overcome one of brexit‘s biggest hurdles. and one of europe's most promising female golfers, celia barquin arozamena, is found dead on a course in iowa.