this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at midday: the former brexit secretary david davis calls for a cabinet rebellion over theresa may's brexit plans, but the health secretary appeals for unity. we need to get behind the prime minister and pull behind her, because she is trying to deliver the best deal for britain. that is the best way to take this forward. the number of rivers at risk of flooding halves as the worst of storm callum passes — high winds and torrential rain have led to major disruption and two deaths. britain and the us consider boycotting a major investment conference in saudi arabia after the disappearance of saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi. the nhs in england plans to crack down on patients who wrongly claim free prescriptions. the government says new pharmacy checks will help save the health service £300 million a year. and princess eugenie and jack brooksbank release the first official photographs of their wedding day. good morning.

cabinet ministers have been urged to rebel against theresa may's approach to brexit by the man who formerly led the uk's negotiations. david davis writes in the sunday times that the prime minister is pushing ahead with a "flawed" plan that was created in a sense of panic. mrs may will meet eu leaders in brussels on wednesday to discuss the state of the talks. our political correspondent, helen catt, told me what mr davis is hoping to achieve with this intervention. what he's doing here is sort of trying to encourage a bit of a cabinet rebellion, to stop theresa may pushing forward with proposals that he sees as flawed. this is mainly over his concern at the idea that the uk as a whole could stay in a customs union

with the eu for the foreseeable future, to avoid border checks in ireland if no deal is agreed. now, when you talk about asserting executive authority in the cabinet, well what does that mean? well, possibly that means the threat of resignations. david davis, of course, no longer in the cabinet himself. his own resignation earlier this year didn't actually force the prime minister to change course. so it will be very much up to individual cabinet members to decide what they do. speaking on a programme on sky this morning, former cabinet minister and brexit supporter iain duncan smith appeared to give some backing to the idea that those who don't really support the approach that is being taken, perhaps they should give some thought to their position. i share one thing in common with him, which is we both resigned from cabinet when we were not in agreement with it. therefore i am always of the view that when you get to the point where you no longer agree on a fundamental issue, then it will be time that you found

yourself on the back benches. but it is up to people to do that themselves. so do you think we could see some resignations? i never very good at speculating, but i would say to anyone in cabinet who has concerns about this, you have to make them very clear to the prime minister. we mustn't have a little cabal outside the cabinet running this, it has to be a cabinet decision. the issue at stake here is broadly the timescale, how long does the system stay in place after we get past next march? absolutely, that the absolute crux of this. downing street has said that any such system would have to be time limited and temporary. the eu hasn't wanted to set a specific date. actually, there are many in the party and the dup who would like to see a specific date named for when we would be able to come out of that system. speaking to andrew marr earlier, the health secretary, matt hancock, hinted that a specific date may not be forthcoming. i think that it is important that where we have a backstop, that both reflects the integrity of the uk in respect to the customs union and customs arrangements,

and also that it is temporary. to be absolutely crystal clear, we are in this customs limbo for the time being. there will be a date... when mps get to vote on that, they will see a date by which time we will have left the customs union? the proposal is that it will be temporary. that's slightly different. and time—limited. temporary can go on for ever. temporary can go on for ten or 20 years. will there be a date, is my question? well, there's different ways to ensure something is time—limited. not really. there are, there are different ways of doing that. for instance, you can set conditions under which the point at which the arrangements come to an end. but the crucial thing, the big picture, is this. we are coming into the final days and weeks of these negotiations. the prime minister is negotiating on behalf of the country in the national interest. she is determined to make sure we on the result of the referendum, that we get... yes, i understand that. that we get control of our

laws and that we have as frictionless trade as possible, because that is very important for the economy, and everybody needs to get behind the prime minister and pull behind her because she is trying to deliver the best deal for britain. that is the best way to take this forward. in a sign ofjust how complex this is, labour's emily thornbury, also speaking to andrew marr earlier, said that her party would not support this position either, even though their party's position is to stay in a customs union permanently. she described it as a fudge and a bridge to nowhere. so this is a very complicated situation. a man's died in a landslide in south west wales, following torrential rain and heavy winds across large parts of the uk. storm callum left thousands of homes and businesses without power. flooding and fallen trees left roads and rail lines blocked, but the met office says weather conditions will improve today. chi chi izundu reports. wales hasn't seen floodwater like this for decades. 0vernight, more rain, more flood defences breached. in carmarthenshire, police remain

at the scene of a landslide. one man was killed here. officers are warning against all but essential travel. wales bore the brunt of storm callum. torrential rain and wind has flooded homes and left some without power. i've been here 26, 27 years. i was born here and i've never seen it this bad. it's quite bad. some of the smaller cars are trying to get through, and then, well, they're going through, but at the other end, they're just breaking down because the water's so deep on the road. ijust don't know how long it's going to take for it to all go down, so it'sjust waiting for everything to dry out, i guess, and see what happens from there. but i know a lot of people on the street haven't got insurance or anything, so i don't know what they're going to do or what i'm going to do. the force of the storm has been felt across much of the uk. in brighton, a man died after being swept out to sea in the early hours of saturday morning. last night, train services on the west coast main line between preston and carlisle

were stopped by a landslide. forecasters say the worst of the rain has now passed, but warnings of flooding look set to remain in place for much of the day. chi chi izundu, bbc news. there are problems caused by the bad weather in devon. the line which runs between exeter and newton abbot is currently undergoing emergency repairs. great western railway say the underneath of the track has washed away, causing a large culvert beneath the line. the cancellations are expected to last the whole day. storm callum has also caused problems for many farmers across wales. becky eardley filmed this footage of a horse rescue in gilwern in montmouthshire. two men swam out into water six—feet deep to lead the animal to safety. no—one was injured in the rescue and the horse is said to be recovering well. hurricane force winds have hit parts of portugal, bringing down trees and leaving more than 15,000 homes without power.

people were urged not to go outdoors overnight as storm leslie swept towards the centre and north of the country. it's a rare example of an atlantic hurricane striking continental europe. winds of more than 100 miles per hour were recorded. britain and the us may be about to boycott a major investment conference in saudi arabia following the disappearance ofjournalist, jamal khashoggi. it comes after president trump threatened saudi arabia with severe punishment, if it is found to be responsible for mr khashoggi's death at the kingdom's consulate in istanbul last week. eliza philippidis reports. president trump is under international and domestic pressure to help determine what happened to mr khashoggi and punish saudi arabia if investigations show its government had him killed. and though he's promised severe punishment, sanctions on arms don't seem to be on the cards. when we take away $110 billion

of purchases from our country, that hurts our workers, that hurts our factories, that hurts all of our companies. you're talking about 500,000 jobs. the turkish authorities say they have evidence of the washington postjournalist being murdered by a saudi hit squad at the istanbul consulate, but, so far, hard evidence has not been produced. pressure is now growing on the saudis to prove that mr khashoggi left the embassy alive after he went to get papers for his wedding. if they can't, the international community say they will boycott a high—profile investment conference in riyadh later this month. diplomatic sources say both the us treasury secretary and the uk international trade secretary may now not attend. this would amount to a huge snub by two of saudi arabia's key allies. eliza philippidis, bbc news.

a crackdown on people who wrongly claim free prescriptions is being announced this morning. the nhs in england will also target rogue pharmacists and dentists who defraud the health service. health secretary matt hancock has warned the nhs will no longer be an easy target. richard galpin reports. every year, nhs england loses more than £250 million as a result of prescription fraud. people either deliberately or by mistake claiming they're eligible for free prescriptions. but not for much longer if the government crackdown is successful. the campaign's been launched today by the health secretary matt hancock. he's claiming the nhs will no longer be an easy target. those who steal from it, he says, will face the consequences. and technology is a big part of the solution. a computer database of everyone in england exempt from paying prescriptions will be created, so pharmacists can quickly check before the medication is handed over to patients.

there'll also be a focus on pharmacists and dentists who claim payments for services they've not carried out. after pilots starting next year, the anti—fraud campaign is due to be rolled out across nhs england. the government's hoping the health service will be saving up to £300 million a year by 2020. richard galpin, bbc news. sandra gidley, chair of the english pharmacy board, said the government shouldn't penalise those who make an honest mistake, but make prescriptions free for all. well, i think he's got this the wrong way around. let's bear in mind that this is only in england, because if you live in wales or scotland, you can't commit any sort of prescription fraud because you get your prescriptions free. so instead of trying to penalise people who make an honest mistake about their medicines, then maybe we should actually think

about prescriptions being free for all, and then we look at actually what you can get prescription. the same amount of money could be sold without making people feel guilty. pharmacists are there to help patients take their medicines. they are not there to police the benefits welfare system on behalf of the government. it's notjust people who make mistakes, though, is it, it's people who seek to defraud the system. and surely you'd want to clamp down on that, wouldn't you? well, some people might but what i am saying is, actually it's a relatively small problem, i suspect. but in the middle of all of this you will have a lot of innocent bystanders. so for example, you're a diabetic, you're entitled to have your prescriptions free, but it's renewed every three years, or should be. you might have forgotten. you might end up in a situation with the computer says no and you are being refused your medicines. now, is that fair on anybody? because, actually it's important that people take the medicines that are giving them benefits,

and we tend to lose sight of that. but the point i am getting at, i suppose, and the point that no doubt matt hancock would make to you is, if you have a system in place that allows £250 million plus to go in the wrong direction, you surely seek to put that right, don't you? the system is in the wrong place if it's going to be in pharmacies. i have heard that it may be in the doctors at the time the prescription is generated. but again, i say, what if the computer says no? the system is only as good as the data that is put into it. we can't actually get nhs records to join up at the moment. we've got the whole fiasco at the moment with the dwp database and universal credit. so i am struggling to see how this system is going to be ready next year. but pharmacy is not the place to police this. the place to make sure this is all in order, i think, is the doctor's surgery.

and the gps have always resisted checking on their patients. you worry about what the computers may do. but the current system which involves presenting an exemption certificate or signing the back of your prescription, looks increasingly antiquated, doesn't it? well, it probably does but as i say, the pharmacy is not the place to do this. pharmacists and their teams, it is not their role is to be part of the benefits checking system. so if there is a way patients can check themselves, i think that would be a very good idea. but i really do think we are tackling the problem the wrong way around coming here. as i said, if prescriptions were free there would not be a benefit fraud problem. and you could save money in other ways by not prescribing medicines which are proven to be of limited benefit. so you can save the nhs money. it is, in a way a different argument but you can save the nhs money in different ways about making innocent people feel like a criminal. and yes there are some people

who inadvertently tick the wrong box as well. increasingly they are receiving letters saying you need to pay up, you need to pay this fine. and it causes them stress and worry to then go back and fight that. and as i say, a lot of these mistakes are innocent. itjust seems to be cracking down on people like that to make honest mistakes, in order to catch, probably relatively few people who do deliberately defraud the system. i mean, that is wrong. the point you make at the start as an argument about devolution, isn't it? isn't devolution a good thing, in your estimation? england does something different from scotland and wales, that's what it's all about. i have not come here to talk about devolution! that is where you were going, i thought. i think a lot of patients in, well, the rights and wrongs but i think a lot of patients in england do resent the fact that the welsh and scots get their prescriptions free. and actually, the royal pharmaceutical society as part of the long—term prescriptions alliance. and there are a lot of charities, a lot of bodies who do think that

prescriptions free at the point of delivery would be a good thing because it means that people will get the medicines to which they are entitled. they don't have to make choices based on cost. the headlines on bbc news: the health secretary calls for unity after the former brexit secretary, david davis, says that cabinet administers should rebel against theresa may's exit plan. britain and the us consider boycotting a major investment conference in saudi arabia — following the disappearance of saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi. nhs england says it will launch a crack down on people who wrongly claim free prescriptions, which costs the health than £200 million a year sport and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon.

novak djokovic has won his fourth shanghai masters title. he beat the croatian borna coric in straight sets. djokovic is on an 18 match winning steak and will move above roger federer to number two in the world. he can still catch rafael nadal at the top of the rankings before the end of the year, the spaniard is currently injured jamie murray has lost in his doubles final with partner bruno soares in straight sets to lucasz kubot and marcelo melo. in reaching the final in china, they are now sure of a spot at the end of season finals in london. the international break continues, and scotland will need to up their game tonight if they're to break their poor run of form. it's only a friendly at hampden but it's against the european champions portugal. the scots lost to israel in the nations league last week — their fifth defeat in seven games under alex mcleish. captain andy robertson has questioned some of the media coverage of their performances. for me, i think the criticism is a bit harsh but some people prefer when we do bad instead

of when we do good. you really believe that? yes, especially something maybe some pundits or whatever in fairness they have something to write about but that's theirjob, that's what they get paid for, we go out to go on the right lines and as soon as we don't do that, people have stuff to write about. we gave them an excuse to write about us negatively, and we need to take it on the chin because it's part and parcel of football. it's their decision. great britain's lucy charles finished second at the world ironman championships. perfect conditions in hawaii saw several records broken. charles, who was also runner up last year, made a brilliant start, taking the course record in the two and half mile swim. she was overtaken in the 112 mile cycle by the defending champion from switzerland, daniela ryf, who was stung by a jellyfish and also pulled out after the swim. —— almost pulled out.

by the end of the run, which is the marathon distance, ryf won by ten minutes in a new course record of eight hours and 26 minutes but charles also bettered the previous mark. the nfl returns to london this evening for the first of three regular season games to be played outside the united states. wembley stadium will play host to the oakland raiders and the seattle seahawks. the game was meant to be staged at tottenham's new stadium, which has been specially designed for nfl as well as football but there have been building delays. totte n ha m tottenham would be really cool as well. both places are amazing. the history of playing here at wembley. totte n ha m history of playing here at wembley. tottenham would be amazing, to be the first team to play them. we got to walk onto the field, experience that and all that kind of stuff. that was cool, to be around the field and see that that will be a great stadium for years to come.

will you come back when it's finished? i cannot say too much, i think you are trying to get me here. but it is getting there, let's say that. it is different to travel ten or 11 hours to play a home game. but you play anybody anywhere at any time. that is on bbc two at 5:30pm this afternoon. you can also follow the match on the red button and online. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including golfer charley hull's second placed finish in south korea. i'll have more in the next hour. pope francis has conferred sainthood on archbishop 0scar romero of el salvador, who was murdered after speaking out against oppression. romero was shot dead at an altar in 1980. pope francis led the ceremony in front of some 60,000 pilgrims

and international heads of state. bavaria in southern germany is holding a regional election. chancellor merkel‘s regional allies, the csu, are expected to lose their absolute majority, while the smaller parties, including the greens and the far—right afd, are expected to make gains. the csu could be forced into a regional coalition in bavaria — a setback that could further complicate the chancellor's federal government. jenny hill has more. angela merkel will be keeping a close eye on bavaria. that's because her sister party, the bavarian version of her conservatives, is expected to take a humiliating hammering at the ballot box. for decades, the csu has reigned supreme in bavaria. today, if the polls are to believed, all that is set to change. the csu has shifted its policies, its tone, to the right, in response to the threat from the far right anti—migrant party afd.

it doesn't seem to have worked, afd is still a significant challenge. they're expected to enter the regional parliament for the first time. that policy has also sent voters scurrying into the arms of the green party. they're the real predicted winners of this election. they are expected to come in second, and in all probability will end up forming a coalition with the ruling csu. what does all this mean for angela merkel? her critics will say it is humiliating. she is of course associated with the party, although its leadership have, in recent months, attacked her. it like likely to mean, potentially, a new face at her coalition table here in berlin if the csu decide to give their current leader, horst seehofer, her interior minister, the boot. but the real reason that berlin and other european capitals will be keeping such a close eye on bavaria is this. what's happening there illustrates perfectly the complexity of the challenge faced by europe's old established centre right and centre left parties.

this isn'tjust about the rise of the far right, it's about voters turning their backs on the traditional parties and heading instead towards smaller and in some cases newer political movements. take bavaria, its political landscape has for so long been an absolute certainty. now, it's fragmenting fast. france has begun building a fence along part of its border with belgium. it's an attempt to stop the spread of a virus that could have damaging effects on europe's pig population. african swine fever was first detected on belgium's border with luxembourg in september. kathryn armstrong reports. hard at work, these hunters in north eastern france building an electric fence to protect some local inhabitants from a deadly disease. there are serious concerns that wild boars roaming the woods may become infected with african swine fever which does not affect humans yet can decimate pig populations because there is no cure.

the virus was first detected just over the border in belgium last month and thousands of pigs have since been slaughtered to try to prevent it spreading. yet these pig hunters in this french city are taking no chances. translation: wild boars always have their snout close to the ground, if we hit them at that level they will turn around and they won't cross into belgium. the fence will cover part of the border and other repellents will be set up in places where a fence isn't possible. an ingenious plan for those who will be amongst the most affected if african swine fever makes its way deep into europe. belgium currently faces embargoes on pork products from countries including china which is dealing with its own outbreak. it is hoped that fences like this one will prevent france and greater europe from finding themselves in a similar situation. kathryn armstrong, bbc news. the first rocket launch into space from british soil

could happen as soon as 2020. it's thought it could be sent into orbit from a spaceport in the north of scotland. the uk's space industry is booming, thanks to a huge surge in demand for tiny satellites made here. joe miller has more. when the space race began, back in the 1950s, britain was very much a part of it. skylark managed almost a50 launches and its successor even managed to put a satellite into orbit. but space exploration was all but abandoned in the uk after politicians decided that taxpayers' money was better spent elsewhere. now, a boom in demand for satellite technology is bringing the sector back to life. you might not immediately associate british business with the space industry, but the fact is the uk is a world leader when it comes to manufacturing these — microsatellites that are usually the size of a washing machine.

now, around 40% of these are made here, and very soon, they'll give us the ability to look at detailed video footage of earth, and the only question is — will they be launched from british soil? the countdown has already begun. in cornwall, virgin galactic is planning to use a 7117 to launch a rocket from the upper atmosphere. but britain's answer to cape canaveral is likely to be built at the other end of the country, much to the bewilderment of locals. this landscape's been part of my life all my life. i've worked here, gathered sheep off this landscape. the idea of a space port was first thought of when highlands and islands enterprise approached us 2.5 years ago and suggested that this area was ideal for a small satellite launch site. scotland's north coast was not only chosen for its remote and wild landscape.

from our perspective, it's a really good location for access into the orbits that we're most interested in. so, specifically, that's the polar orbit, where a lot of the telecoms and telecommunications, small satellites we'll be able to operate on, they go over the polar regions, but also some synchronous orbit, which is really good if you're trying to observe the world or observe the earth. armed with government grants, lockheed martin is hoping to grab a slice of the rapidly growing space economy, which is estimated to be worth as much as £2 trillion in the next 20 years. residents of the peninsular are hoping benefit of the third intergalactic ambitions will be felt closer to home. we are hoping there will be apprenticeships for young people. we don't have the expertise, we know that in space, in satellite production or satellite launching, but hopefully you can train young people and give them opportunities to see that as the future employment. the first ever rocket

launched from uk soil could happen as soon as 2020, but britain's space industry has half a century of catching up to do and it will take more than one success to propel it back into orbit. you can see more on this story on the sky at night, tonight at 10pm on bbc 4. princess eugenie and her new husband, jack brooksbank, have released a set of official photographs from their wedding day. the pictures, taken by photographer alex bramall, include a black and white image of the couple sharing a kiss during the carriage procession. another group photograph taken in the white drawing room at windsor shows both the bride and groom's families. eugenie's mother, sarah, duchess of york, is standing next to a seated duke of edinburgh, with the duke of york to her other side. now it's time for a look at the weather.

whilst there is more brain in the forecast today, we will see an improvement in the flooded areas of wales and north—west england. the rain moves eastwards. further west, brighter skies and spells of sunshine. a fine afternoon for northern ireland and the far north—west of england and into much of scotland. 11 or 12 celsius, between 1a and 18 across england and wales. this evening and overnight, the rain starts to return west, perhaps as far west as the eastern side of wales will stop further north and west, clear skies and a chilly night for the glens of scotland. showers work into the western isles and the northern highlands later in the night. the band of rain lingers across central and eastern parts of england, eventually pulling away. behind that, some spells of sunshine. for most, away from the rain in the morning, a mainly dry day with sunny spells. temperatures 12 to 17

celsius. that's all from me. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the former brexit secretary david davis has urged cabinet ministers to rebel over theresa may's proposed brexit deal, just days before a crucial eu summit. but the health secretary, matt hancock, called for unity behind the prime minister. we need to get behind the prime minister and pull behind her, because she is trying to deliver the best deal for britain. that is the best way to take this forward. the number of rivers at risk of flooding has halved as the worst of storm callum passes. high winds and torrential rain across parts of the uk have caused major disruption and led to two deaths. britain and the us are considering boycotting a major international