today at five, after being snubbed by eu leaders over her brexit plans, theresa may delivers a terse response. in an unusual televised address, a defiant prime minister says the eu must treat the uk with respect and she won't overturn the result of the referendum. yesterday, donald tusk said our proposals would undermine the single market. he didn't explain how in any detail or make any counterproposal. so, we are and a pass. the negotiation strategy is collapsing around herand negotiation strategy is collapsing around her and that is why we are in this impasse. and now the country is staring down the barrels of no deal. the levels of anxiety are going up around country day after day. we'll have the latest reaction to the prime minister's statement from westminster and across europe. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: a landmark ruling against two leading drug companies

could save the nhs england hundreds of millions a year, after the firms fail to block the use of cancer treatment for an eye condition. a male model has beenjailed for at least 25 years for murdering a fashion rival in a row about a girlfriend. and the little stranger, a doctor is called to treat a patient at an old house, only to discover it may hold a secret. we'll hear what mark kermode's thought of that and the rest of this week's releases in the film review. in an uncompromising and highly unusual live television address from inside downing street, the prime minister has issued a defiant statement on brexit, accusing eu leaders of rejecting her plans without offering a detailed explanation or counter—proposals.

theresa may said the eu must treat the uk with respect, adding that she wouldn't accept any offer that would overturn the result of the referendum, or, in her words, "break up my country". mrs may also warned that the two sides were still a long way apart on two big issues. our political correspondent, leila nathoo, is in westminster. yes, this was a stern statement from the prime minister, determined i think to get back on the front foot after criticism of the proposals yesterday by eu leaders who were gathering in austria. i think this was an attempt to try to re—gain some momentum. she appeared flustered and frustrated yesterday immediately after donald tusk from the eu said said that the prime minister ‘s favoured proposals, the

chequers plan, was unworkable. today, here she was striking a defiant tone, saying the eu ‘s proposed alternatives for the future relationship were unworkable. following months of intensive work and detailed discussions, we proposed a third option for our future economic relationship, based on the frictionless trade in goods. that is the best way to protect jobs here and in the eu. and to avoid a ha rd here and in the eu. and to avoid a hard border between ireland and northern ireland. while respecting the referendum result and the integrity of the united kingdom. yesterday, donald tusk said our proposals would undermine the single market. he didn't explain how in any detail, or make any counterproposal. so, we arrate and a pass. theresa may digging in and around her so—called chequers plan. saying that

the eu side needed to move closer to the eu side needed to move closer to the uk said, saying they had not offered any thing as workable as what was on the table from britain. firmly throwing the ball back into the eu ‘s court. firmly throwing the ball back into the eu 's court. throughout this process, i have treated the eu with nothing but respect. the uk expects the same. a good relationship at the end of this process depends on it. at this late stage in the negotiations, it is not acceptable to simply reject the other side proposals without a detailed explanation and counterproposals. so, we now need to hear from the eu what the real issues are and what their alternative is, so that we can discuss them. until we do, we cannot make progress. theresa may demanding

respect from the eu said in these negotiations, to try to counter claims she has somehow been ambushed by their criticism and their dismissal upright of her plans. she was also at pains during the statement to stress that she was still of the opinion that no deal was better than a bad deal. still wanting to stress to the eu said that britain was prepared to walk away. initial noises coming from brussels are that the eu thinks that they have been negotiating in good faith along and they have been clear about their red lines right from the start and what they are willing to accept in terms of proposals for a future relationship. her tone will certainly have been welcomed by some in her own party. they will see it as her standing in her own party. they will see it as herstanding up, in her own party. they will see it as her standing up, trying to stand firm on the eu said, but certainly the chequers proposals, those plans that she is now resolutely determined to stick to, they have been rejected by brexiteers and remain tory mps alike with her own

party, so it is unlikely that her determination to dig in around them will really steady the ship back at home and labour are saying that she has her hands in her ears. the prime minister 's negotiating strategy is collapsing around her. and that is why we are in this impasse. and now the country is staring down the barrel of no deal. the levels of anxiety are going up around the country day after day. and the prime ministerl country day after day. and the prime minister i think is appearing to be in denial. i don't understand why she has failed to hear the message that the chequers proposal was not going to be accepted by the eu and frankly it is not going to be accepted by her own party. that has been rolling news for weeks on end. lam not been rolling news for weeks on end. i am not sure why this has come as a surprise to her. and simply repeating the mantra that nothing has changed, that chequers is the deal that she is proposing, is not really very convincing. deal that she is proposing, is not really very convincinglj deal that she is proposing, is not really very convincing. i think theresa may really had no option but to try to come out fighting after

yesterday's gathering of eu leaders. remember, we are only a week away now from the conservative party conference. she is trying to restate her authority, to ce —— say she's still the person to lead these negotiations but this will set the scene for writing modules gathering of conservatives when they meet in a week's time. in a moment will talk to hugh schofield — who is in paris but first let's talk to damian mcguinness in berlin. so far there has been no official reaction. you have to remember that berlin has given its mandate to brussels. german parties across the board support michel barnier ‘s allied on how they have approached negotiations, even the anti—migrant party is very much behind the german

government on this. it is something that unites parties, they support brussels ‘s stance. it is not something that german voters are interested in. it is not something you will see in the headlines. however the issue is being reported on and that is because businesses and the government are concerned about this. it might not be on the front pages, brexit is not something you see dominating the headlines here, but it is something politicians and business leaders talk a lot about behind closed doors. what they want is quite clear. there are different options. one of them is britain stays in the single market or the customs union, the other is britain leaves com pletely the other is britain leaves completely and has some sort of free trade deal with all sorts of negotiations added on. what is not clear for negotiations added on. what is not clearfor germany negotiations added on. what is not clear for germany and really for brussels, is the idea of some sort of halfway house, angela merkel has already said x it means except, quoting theresa may ‘s famous phrase, and for it is quite clear that you are either in or out. they

also view the chequers proposals as simply unworkable. the idea of splitting goods and services, a free market for one but not for the other, is not only cherry picking really and dismantling the single market, which is so important to german exports, it is also seen as something you cannot even do because what is a good and what is an export, what is a service? if you look at the car industry, it is hard to define one from the other. it was never going to go ahead and that was because it was unworkable and it risked dismantling the single market. there is no surprise in germany that the proposals went down so badly. the surprise here is that there is so much surprise in britain. hugh schofield is in paris for us. compare and contrast the french position. like in germany, people in britain will be surprised by how little coverage brexit there is.

most journalists are completely flummoxed by the detail of it and they cannot, you know, follow it everyday. but one senses that what happened yesterday and today has changed things. one senses that the french press sees that this is a moment in which the crunch suddenly sta rts moment in which the crunch suddenly starts looming. because they are all over it right now, the french papers. there is no official reaction yet, but that is normal. but the french papers are all over this. they see all this coverage in the british papers of emmanuel macron being described as a hate figure on the british side of the channel for his apparent leadership of the anti—chequers block in salzburg yesterday. suddenly, there is an interest in this story, suddenly there is the looming prospect of a no deal, which is very important issue in business circles.

i have been in calais this week and there is no preparation for a no deal exit at all. if there is a no deal exit at all. if there is a no deal exit at all. if there is a no deal exit next march, calais is really going to get it hard. i sense that the country is beginning to wa ke that the country is beginning to wake up to the enormity of what may happen, looking at the editorials and so on today, there is an editorial which you can say fairly echoes properly what is being said in other papers, do you not realise this is what it was going to be like? did you not see that this was going to be an extremely awkward time? did you not realise and understand the true relationship of forces in europe and how europe would rally around to defend its own interests ? would rally around to defend its own interests? there is a certain amount of schadenfreude, though the piece does end, and one wonders whether this reflects the opinion elsewhere, say nonetheless, the uk is our ally

to the west, an ancient trading partner, it is vital for european security, please let us state whether to take a step towards them and let the european art of the deal reassert itself and come to some arrangement to avoid a no deal exit. the metropolitan police has admitted for the first time that an undercover officer had a sexual relationship with an environmental activist, with the knowledge of his bosses. legal documents seen by the bbc show that mark kennedy's line manager and several other officers, knew about his relationship with kate wilson and allowed it to continue. up to now the police have maintained such relationships wouldn't have been sanctioned by senior officers. here's our home affairs correspondent, june kelly. he posed as mark stone, an environmental activist and a single man. in reality, he was mark kennedy, an undercover police officer, married with children. one of a number of officers who had relationships with women campaigners they were spying on. 15 years ago, mark kennedy began a two—year relationship with kate wilson.

as a result, she is currently involved in legal action against the metropolitan police. in her case, the police have now admitted for the first time that mark kennedy's cover officers and his line manager knew about this relationship and allowed it to continue. so, we have been told... kate wilson is currently abroad. via skype she spoke about how this new information from the police contradicts what they told her when they paid her compensation. they gave me an apology in our civil claim where they say these relationships should never have happened, they would never have been authorised, and they were a case of failures of supervision and management, and that is just not the case. management were absolutely complicit in what was going on. mark kennedy, here with the newspaper, during his years undercover. kate wilson thought he was her political soulmate. kate was involved in socialjustice and environmental campaigning.

she does not expect that the state could actually order or allow or acquiesce in an undercover officer having a sexual relationship in order to facilitate his gathering of intelligence. it's a very, very shocking revelation in a so—called democratic society. in a statement, scotland yard said that as a result of the ongoing legal action it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage. adding again that those relationships were wrong and should not have happened. kate wilson was just one of the women who was duped into a relationship with mark kennedy. the question now being asked is whether police bosses knew about all his undercover relationships, and those of the other police spies. june kelly, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news:

theresa may demands the eu breaks the impasse in brexit talks and vows to defend the referendum result. the health service could save hundreds of millions of pounds every year, after two drug firms failed in their legal efforts, to block the use a cancer treatment for an eye condition. a male model has been given a life sentence at the old bailey for murdering a rival, in a row over a girlfriend. ollie stone and joe denley have also been included for the tortuous flanker. oliver fisher has become the first player to shoot a sub 60 round on the european tour. and the world heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua has and the world heavyweight champion anthony joshua has weighed and the world heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua has weighed in ahead of his title defence at wembley. he

was almost two stone heavier than his russian opponent. a group of men have been sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison collectively, after they were found guilty last month of what's been described as an ‘alarmingly amateur‘ people smuggling operation. their trial heard how the men's lucrative scam used small boats to bring migrants across the english channel. they were caught in 2016 after 18 albanians had to be rescued off the kent coast. our correspondent duncan kennedy is in dymchurch in kent. as you can see, it is a beautiful stretch of coastline, used by the public all the time but this is the exact spot that the smugglers tried to bring their migrants assure. they only succeeded once but you are right, thejudge only succeeded once but you are right, the judge did only succeeded once but you are right, thejudge did today only succeeded once but you are right, the judge did today described them as alarmingly amateurish, with

all the mistakes they made and that they paid scant regard to the saved and —— safety of those migrants. this is the gang who tried to turn the english channel into a highway of illegal migration. and this is three members of the gang meeting in a pub car park in kent, discussing their nextjob. ajob like a pub car park in kent, discussing their nextjob. a job like this. a pub car park in kent, discussing their nextjob. ajob like this. it is made 2016, their boat is heading to dymchurch, en route to france. but near calais, these french police pick up the migrants as they weighed out to pick up the boat. someone alerts the gang and they escape. they can be seen back in kent later that night. 48 hours later, did —— using a different boat, they do pick up using a different boat, they do pick up migrants. two of the gang can be seenin up migrants. two of the gang can be seen in the red striped jackets. they were later jailed seen in the red striped jackets. they were laterjailed at seen in the red striped jackets. they were later jailed at a seen in the red striped jackets. they were laterjailed at a separate trial. migrants lives here are only saved by a british borderforce

vessel. they chose to put profit over life. they used vessels that we re over life. they used vessels that were unsuitable for the crossing and chose to have complete disregard for any means of legislation of border control. despite repeated failures, the gang did succeed with this one boatin the gang did succeed with this one boat in getting migrants across. abandoning it in kent. when police discovered the boat here, they also found a number of children's life jackets inside. they don't know how many migrants made this crossing more where they went to. but that was an isolated case. when they bought thisjet was an isolated case. when they bought this jet ski to try to tra nsfer bought this jet ski to try to transfer migrants across the english channel, the depth of their ineptitude became clear. the boat was going back and forth. karen lewis witnessed a taste of their amateurism. they didn't seem very competent. their behaviour was very erratic. and the way they were directing the boat at the slipway didn't seem very competent at all. it was the powell family who led

this smuggling ring, two brothers, george and alfie and their father leonard. today they would jailed for a total of 21 years. this was a gang who ran out of fuel, could not work radios or navigate at night. yet they still tried to charge migrants £6,000 each to cross. in the end, they were trapped by what the judge called their alarming amateurism. and also by the natural dangers and human security measures of the english channel. this gang failed but not through lack of trying. it was an incredible piece of detective work to stop them and tonight, this gang is out of operation. a male model has beenjailed for at least 25 years for murdering his more successful fashion rival in a row about a girlfriend. george koh stabbed harry uzoka in the heart outside his house in shepherds bush in west london. his friend, merse dikanda, was also jailed for 22 years for murder. we can cross live to adina campbell, who is outside the old bailey

in central london. just remind us of the background to this. in the lead up to harry uzoka ‘s death, he had become involved in a dispute with george koh over claims that george had slept with harry ‘s girlfriend and heated messages were sent back and forth between the two men and subsequently, a fight was then arranged by a social media. and on the day of the fight, cctv footage shows all three men surrounding harry uzoka, within the space of a few minutes, he was stabbed several times and was seen stumbling away, clutching his stomach after being stabbed in the heart, the back and the shoulder. he managed to get back home at the emergency services could not save him. today in court, all three men have been given lengthyjail sentences. they showed no emotion in

front of a packed public gallery full of harry uzoka ‘s friends and family. just after the sentencing, harry uzoka ‘s mother gave this short reaction surrounded by friends and family. whatever happens to them, does not bring my boy back. i will always miss him. it will be there for life for me as a mother. that is it. justice has been done, yes. i agree. but whatever happens, it'll never bring my back. george koh, who was the ringleader during this attack, he today has been given a life sentence with a minimum term ofjust over 24 years injail. the third accomplice, today, he has been convicted of manslaughter and

given a sentence of 14 years in jail. during sentencing, thejudge wendyjoseph qc, called harry uzoka an exceptional talent and said he was a remarkable role model for others. she went on to say that george koh ‘s relationship with him was something between excessive admiration and spite and said his death has profoundly affected many, many people. a ferry has capsized on lake victoria in northern tanzania killing at least 151 people. the mv nyerere capsized close to shore. 37 people were rescued but it's feared that dozens more bodies from the overloaded ferry are yet to be found. security concerns have been raised, about the imminent release from prison of the radical preacher anjem choudary, and otherfollowers of a banned extremist group. a former member of al—muhaj—iroon has told the bbc, that choudary‘s

release coincides with the growing threat posed by far right extremism creating a potentially "disastrous cocktail," for the authoities to deal with. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. anjem choudary, the leader of the banned group al—muhajiroun, which has been linked to a quarter of all terrorist offences in britain since the ira era. he's in prison at the moment, but is about to come out. adam deen, who was once a follower, but now campaigns against extremism, fears choudary will reactivate his group. put that in the mix with the growing threat and the growing noise from the far right about anti—muslim bigotry, and it's a really disastrous cocktail. choudary was jailed in 2016 for five and a half years, but comes out automatically next month after serving half his sentence. a dozen or so of his followers have also been released, or are about to be, and one of the uk's leading experts

on extremism in prison thinks there's not much chance of any of them having been de—radicalised there. such is the state of lawlessness inside many of britain's prisons, where some of these people have served their sentences, it isn't really realistic to assume that they've had any meaningful experience of counter—radicalisation. the home office is in the process of changing the law to increase prison terms for terrorism and prevent the automatic release of prisoners halfway through their sentences. but that won't deal with the immediate concerns about anjem choudary and some of his followers. when people convicted of terrorism are released, they can have strict conditions, like not being allowed to meet associates or go to specified places, and they are supervised using the mapper system first designed for sex offenders. terrorist offenders have a lot more supervision than normal offenders. and that is because we recognise the risk and we seek to reduce it to as low as possible. choudary was effectively taken out of action when he went to prison,

but it's not clear how the government will silence him when he is released next month. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the home office. two major drugs companies have lost a legal case to prevent nhs doctors from prescribing a cancer drug to treat a debilitating eye condition. the drug avastin is cheaper than two existing treatments for wet age—related macular degeneration and the decision could save the nhs as much as 500 million pounds a year. julie wood is chief executive of nhs clinical commissioners. what is your reaction to this decision? thank you, good afternoon. we are delighted by today's ruling, because it clearly shows that the northern clinical commissioning groups who were the defendants in

this case acted lawfully in introducing the treatment pathway, including the use of avastin. how pivotal was it bad avastin has been licensed in the past for cancer treatment rather than this eye condition? you are right, avastin is licensed in this country for use in treating a variety of cancers. but it was found some time ago that it was actually also clinically effective in treating this eye condition and so elsewhere in the world, in the us and europe, it is widely used. but in this country, it is not actually licensed for that use. and so it was considered unlawful for commissioners and clinicians to use it and this landmark ruling makes it clear that it is indeed lawfulfor clinical commissioning groups to make decisions, but also doctors,

pharmacists, clinicians, can now feel comfortable that if they do use a lasting, that they will be doing so in the knowledge that it is lawful to do so and it is also clinically effective and safe to do so. what clinical impact will there be for patients? the nhs stands to save lots of money but is it as good? yes, it absolutely is. earlier this year, guidelines were issued that made clear, put beyond doubt the fact that the licensed drugs and this/ that is not licensed for that use, were equally as effective in treating this condition. and whereas say. but the important thing of course is that the unlicensed drug usedis course is that the unlicensed drug used is a fraction of the cost of the licensed alternatives. what implications might there be for other decisions around drugs that get used? i think it is really important that we focus on the

ruling in relation to this specific use of avastin. it is a very particular use. and the evidence is there that shows it is as clinically effective, safe and is a fraction of the cost and what this ruling does is make clear that if clinicians make decisions based on that, then they are acting lawfully. it is important that we focus on this specific ruling for this specific drug. what might the unintended consequences be of drugs companies thinking if this is going to happen to us, why are we bother going to invest in new treatments? it is important that we do remember this ruling is based on specific issues for a lasting, and not think about why they were a wider issues around regulation and marketing. the licensing of drugs is critically important in maintaining safety of drugs. this is not about opening the door to a whole range of other unlicensed, unproven treatments. this is about in this case using

avastin that is proven to be clinically effective and safe and at a fraction of the cost, so that we can actually release the savings from this drug for use in higher priority areas within the nhs. thank you for your time today. time now for a look at the weather forecast. cooler for the weekend for all of us. today, it has been a windy day and a showery day. the showers have been piling in through that north—westerly wind driving across the country. some of them have started to ease as we speak. we have this ridge of high pressure building through the night. quite mean down things for a time before the next batch of wet, windy weather pushes into the south—west. there will be some sunshine, clouding over eventually. rain pushing in across the channel coast into south wales. the best of the sunshine further north but it is not going to feel beautifully warm out there. 13—15d at the very best. more wet weather

to come across england and wales for the second half of the weekend. so that rain heavy. the best of the weather this weekend looks likely to be across scotland, northern england and northern ireland. slowly brightening up through the latter stages of sunday but not feeling very stages of sunday but not feeling very warm stages of sunday but not feeling very warm with it. 14 degrees the highly. this is bbc news. the headlines. theresa may has called on the eu to treat britain with respect, after it rejected her brexit strategy as unworkable. no—one wants a good deal more than me. but the eu should be clear. i will not overturn the result of the referendum, nor will i break up my country. we need serious engagement on resolving the two big problems in the negotiations. two major pharmaceutical companies lose a legal bid to prevent the nhs

prescribing a cancer drug to treat a debilitating eye condition. the drug — avastin — could save the nhs £500 million a year. a model has been given a life sentence for murdering a rival in a row over a girlfriend. he'll serve a minimum of 24 years in prison. spoert with steve wyeth. good morning evening. we have a good idea of who'll be opening the batting for england, after the test squad to tour sri lanka in november was named. england are entering a post alastair cook era, of course, so there will be a very different look to the top of the order. two of the three new players called up are openers. let's start with the man in form, rory burns — two of the three new players called up are openers. let's start with the man in form, rory burns —

he's scored over a thousand runs for surrey this season, helping them to the county championship title. averaging almost 70 it's perhaps a surpirse that this is the first time he's been included in an england test squad. it's a 16—strong touring party, which also includesjoe denly. he's 32 and played limited overs cricket for england eight years ago — he's helped kent gain promotion to the top division this season. he could open the batting with burns although keaton jennings, cook's partner over the summer, has been retained. there's also a first test call up for seamer olly stone and a recall forjack leach, one of three specialist spinners on that list. golf history has been made at the portugal masters. englishman oliver fisher shot the first sub—60 round on the european tour. this is the 18th green at villamoura, he had this birdie putt for a 58 — he just missed out on that, but left himself a tap in for a 59 — that's 12 under par. ten birdies and an eagle,

no bogies in his second round. fisher has won just one tournament in his career — and this round was all the more remarkable, as he only managed level par yesterday. it feels great to make history here in horticulture gal. it is a great tournament and a great mark for the european tour and myself to shoot 59. i was chuffed with the day. going out, trying to make the cut and shooting that is, you know, just and shooting that is, you know, just a great day all round. anthonyjoshua has weighed in ahead of his world heavyweight title defence against alexander povetkin. it's going to be a sell—out at wembley tomorrow night. joshua is almost two stone heavier than the russian. a lot of the pre—fight talk has centred on the challenger‘s doping record, failing two separate tests two years ago — but because of boxing's different doping protocols, and sometimes inconsistent testing procedures, he avoided a lengthy ban. myjob in this issue is to show the non—drug cheat

is a stronger and better fighter, that's what i have to do and that is what i have to fight, but if they were so concerned about drug cheats he wouldn't be in a position to fight me saturday night, but obviously, the powers that be have let it happen and he seems to be my mandatory, and i just have to deal with that. that's all the sport for now but there's plenty more on the bbc sport website. ddon't forget to join chris mitchell with sportsday at 6.30. let's return now to our main story. in a uncompromising, and highly unusual live television address from inside downing street, the prime minister has issued a defiant statement on brexit, accusing eu leaders of rejecting her plans without offering a detailed explanation or counter—proposals. theresa may said the eu must treat the uk with respect ——adding the uk with respect — adding that she wouldn't accept any offer that would overturn

the result of the referendum. let's have a listen to more of her statement from earlier this afternoon. the eu is still only offering us two options. the first option would involve the uk staying in the european economic area, and a customs union with the eu. in plain english, this would mean we'd still have to abide by all the eu rules, uncontrolled immigration from the eu would continue, and we couldn't do trade deals we want with other countries. that would make a mockery of the referendum we had two years ago. creating any form of customs border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk would not respect that northern ireland is an integral part of the united kingdom, in line with the principle of consent, as set out clearly in the belfast good friday agreement. it is something i will never agree to. indeed, in my judgment,

it is something no british prime minister would ever agree to. if the eu believe i will, they are making a fundamental mistake. anything which fails to respect the referendum, or which effectively divides our country in two, would be a bad deal. and i have always said no deal is better than a bad deal. we both agree that the withdrawal agreement needs to include a backstop, to ensure that if there is a delay in implementing our new relationship there still won't be a hard border between ireland and northern ireland. but the eu is proposing to achieve this by effectively keeping northern ireland in the customs union. as i have already said, that is unacceptable. we will never agree to it. it would mean breaking up our country. we will set out our alternative that

preserves the integrity of the uk. and it will be in line with the commitments we made back in december, including the commitment that no new regulatory barriers could be created between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, unless the northern ireland executive and assembly agree. as i told eu leaders, neither side should demand the unacceptable of the other. we cannot accept anything that threatens the integrity of our union, just as they cannot accept anything that threatens the integrity of theirs. we cannot accept anything that does not accept the result of the referendum, just as they cannot accept anything that is not in the interests of their citizens. no—one wants a good deal more than me, but the eu should be clear, i will not overturn the result of the referendum, nor will i break up my country. we need serious engagement on resolving the two big problems in the negotiations and we stand ready.

in response to the prime minister's comments the labour leader jeremy corbyn said theresa may's negotiating strategy "has been a disaster" and warned that the "political games from both the eu and our government need to end" to avoid a no—deal scenario. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon described the prime minister's statement as "dreadful", calling chequers a "dead duck". adding that "the only remotely workable way to do brexit is to stay in the single market and customs union". meanwhile, the head of the cbi, carolyn fairburn, has called for pragmatism to come before politics, saying that "jobs, wages and living standards are at risk on both sides of the channel", and warning it was now clear both sides "must change tack". for more on this let's talk to the conservative backbencher marcus fysh, who supports brexit, and hejoins us from his

constituency in somerset. thank you very much. what did you make of theresa may's tone and her message? well, i think she was absolutely right, to focus on the importance of northern ireland, in this negotiation, the eu hasn't put on the table a realistic solution to that. i think it is time, now, to focus on the pragmatic, solutions which have there. i was in brussels earlier this week, and speaking to assembled customs brokers and freight forwards from all over europe who were there to see hmrc and the eu commission and they were saying that while the chequers proposals and the can comes agreement proposal are unworkable, there is solution based on behind

there is solution based on behind the border administration of the differences between our two jurisdiction, that is what was proposed to the commission and i think there is the germ of a compromise and solution that can be if there that keeps our supply chains smooth and not have a hard border in ireland, by takeling all of the border processes away from the prison tiers, and using for example the vat system to bolt on all of the declarations that might need to be made before goods move. but the cbi in response to some of the ideas from the european research group of which you are a member, said that the final destination is disastrous for jobs and said that the final destination is disastrous forjobs and prosperity if they were to follow the erg's lead and goes on to say your northern ireland paper displays a concerning laissez faire attitude to cross—border smuggling. concerning laissez faire attitude to cross-border smuggling. that is not the case. the, with respect, they

simply have it wrong. that is the way to solve the issue, there is a lot that government can do to help business get ready, get the systems in place. that is the logical way to do it: i can see that is the only solution at this point. what is not a solution, is what they have been campaigning all along which is for us to remain in a customs union, thatis us to remain in a customs union, that is what people voted for when they voted to leave the eu. finally, briefly if you would, how happy would you be with extending the transition period if it meant you got your technological fix but it is some years got your technological fix but it is some yea rs away got your technological fix but it is some years away because we don't have the innovation there yet. some years away because we don't have the innovation there yetlj don't think there is any need for that, this is a solution that is based on technology that we have now, this is not about some fanciful new stuff, this is about things that we can do now, procedure that we can implement now which is within the

current framework of regulation of the eu, that is why the eu commission have indicated that extending the use of this vat system could be a solution. we need to run at this and grab it with both hands. thank you very much for your the future of the irish border is one of the key sticking points in theresa may 5 negotiations with the eu. future changes, including more checks on goods, could have huge implications for trade between the uk and the irish republic. our bbc reality check correspondent chris morris, has been to the port of holyhead in north wales, used by hundreds of thousands of lorries every year, travelling to and from dublin. holyhead in north wales — the uk's second busiest ferry port. and the main trade route between britain and ireland. this is roll—on roll—off logistics in action — no checks, no delays. when two ferries arrive here one after another, hundreds of lorries and trailers disembark. if you put them all back—to—back, the queue would stretch back

for about three miles. the two big brexit issues coincide here on the welsh coast — trade at uk ports and trade across the irish border. a look at the map tells you why holyhead has become so important for trade between britain and ireland. sailing time from here to dublin — just over three hours. compare that to liverpool to belfast — more like eight hours. so about 30% of the freight that arrives here in holyhead starts out in northern ireland, crosses the invisible irish border, and then departs from the port of dublin. a lot of it is fresh produce, time sensitive, so the possible introduction of customs or other checks would pose a big problem. a lot of the goods are perishable goods so it's important they get to the market quickly. any delays when you add the travel time then, it has an impact on economies, on profit margins, etc. 80 miles or so from holyhead,

this is platts, near wrexham, a family—owned company making specialist animal bedding. business is good. they want to expand. their lorries pass through holyhead several times a week. ireland is their only export market — a country with a huge dairy industry. but new technology aimed at attracting more business in ireland has been put on hold because of the uncertainty caused by brexit. what about global britain, looking further afield, as the government suggests? platts has taken part in a trade mission to india, but it still wants trade with the neighbours to be first priority. on reflection, we looked at — ireland's a lot closer, and it made sense to supply ireland at the moment. they need our product and the uk needs their milk. hopefully they can broker a good deal for all parties concerned. if things change, we'll have

to revisit our growth strategy and look at alternatives. back in holyhead, the wheels are still in motion, but uncertainty is in the air. if checks are needed in future, could they be done on board ferries crossing the irish sea? could that avoid miles of queues? ferry companies are still investing in this route. they are also increasing capacity for freight to get sent directly from ireland to france, belgium, the netherlands or spain. to stay ahead of the competition, holyhead needs a brexit outcome that keeps borders as open as they are now. chris morris, bbc news, holyhead. the leader of ukip has addressed the party conference in birmingham, calling for a "clean exit" from the european union. gerard batten also said it's time to stand up for free speech — against what he described as the "politically correct thought police".