this is bbc news. the headlines: a registered republican voter has been charged in connection with a series of letter bombs sent to high profile critics of president trump. cesar sayoc faces up to 48 years in prison if found guilty of federal crimes, including illegal mailing of explosives. the fiancee of the journalist jamal khasoggi has spoken for the first time about her pain following his murder. in a tearful interview with a turkish television channel, hatice cengiz spoke of her panic when mr khashoggi did not emerge from the saudi consulate in istanbul. a constitutional crisis has erupted in sri lanka, where the president has appointed his predecessor and former rival mahinda rajapa ksa as the new prime minister. but the coalition‘s leader insists that he is still prime minister and says he still commands a majority in parliament. now on bbc news, it's time for the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament.

the budget‘s on monday — here's some advice for the chancellor from a mother who wants to go back to work. that's effectively £2 a day. so unfortunately, i wasn't able to take the job because it just didn't work. work didn't pay for us. from the many on benefits to the few, well, one actually. the pm's still here. but does she have a route map? it now seems to be a period for further negotiation, not being sure of where we are going. does the prime minister know where we are going? but theresa may's not the first conservative prime minister with revolting mps on her hands. and where there is discord, the parliament choir brings harmony. one, two. yeah, it's late. one, two. first, as the chancellor's budget nears, philip hammond finds himself under increasing pressure to find some extra cash to ease the problems facing the government's

flagship welfare reform — universal credit. mps on the public accounts committee say the new payment — which merges six working age benefits — is causing unacceptable hardship and difficulties for many of the people it's designed to help. the department for work and pensions is accused of being disturbingly adrift of the real—world problems. the dwp said it was already working on some of the report's findings and had already announced several improvements to universal credit. on wednesday, another commons committee heard about some of those real—world problems from mothers on the new benefit. it was the fact that you have got to fork out a month of nursery fees first before getting your 85% back. but then you don't always get your 85% back, so...

and did you get it in four weeks? no. how long was it before you got that upfront payment back? when i first actually switched to universal credit, i was eight weeks without money, so i had to rely on parents. i went back to work after having two young children, end of march, beginning of april. and similarly, i had to pay upfront for the childcare costs. at the time, my eldest was also in childcare. so it was £1300 that i had to pay upfront before i even went back to work, before i earned anything, before they'd had any childcare. how long did it take to repay you the 1000 plus? just over five weeks. on a salary of 32,000, we wouldn't be entitled to any universal credit, any housing

benefit, or any help. so having paid rent, council tax, and £1500 per month full—time childcare, plus the £500 deposit on top, we would be left with £60 for the entire month for all our bills. that's effectively £2 a day. so unfortunately, i wasn't able to take the job because itjust didn't work, work didn't pay for us. given all of your experience, which is probably vastly different to the people that are the architects of this system, to be honest, because you're directly affected by it, are there any changes that the government could make to childcare support to make it work better for you? you can all answer that. yeah, really, it would be helping out more with the upfront costs. the chair, frank field, said the women's evidence was stunning but pretty depressing. the committee's report is expected shortly. now, this was a week some thought theresa may might struggle to survive without a vote of no

confidence in her leadership. it began with newspapers quoting anonymous conservative mps using graphic, violent language about the prime minister's likely political fate when she met her backbenchers last wednesday. actually, that went pretty well for the pm. but first she had to update the commons on progress — or lack of it — in the brexit negotiations after the brussels summit. the prime minister gave an upbeat assessment of the situation. overall, she said, 95% of the withdrawal agreement and its protocols had been agreed. the missing 5% included the sticking point of the irish border. one possible solution? following eu rules for longer. the prime minister acknowledged that's not popular with all her mps. i've not committed to extending the implementation period. i do not want to extend the implementation period and i do not believe that extending it will be necessary. i see any extension

or being in any form of backstop as undesirable. by far the best outcome for the uk, for ireland, and for the eu, is that our future relationship is agreed and in place by 1st of january 2021. when i stood in downing street and addressed the nation for the first time, i pledged that the government i lead will not be driven by the interests of the privileged few, but of ordinary working families. shouting and that is... and that... and that is what guides me every day in these negotiations. the conservative party has spent the past two years arguing with itself instead of negotiating a sensible deal in the public interest.

and even at this crucial point, they're still bickering amongst themselves. the prime minister says 95% of the deal is done. but previously, she had told us nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. which is it? their brexit negotiations have been a litany of missed deadlines, shambolic failure, and now they are begging for extra time. it is crystal clear that the eu will not accept any deal that does not include the backstop for northern ireland. those who attempt to wreck the backstop will be responsible for a no—deal brexit. mr speaker, the eu is not bluffing. can i say, the comments from tory mps in the papers this weekend, using crass and violent language in relation to the negotiations is abhorrent and irresponsible? those responsible need to withdraw and apologise. such language has no part to play in our

public discourse. and mr speaker, it is disappointing. the sunday times this morning reported that whitehall, including the brexit department, is now carrying out contingency planning for a people's vote. can the prime minister elaborate and confirm that this has ministerial endorsement? no, that is not correct, the government does not support a second referendum. but as ever, the most challenging questions to the prime minister came from her own colleagues. this time on both sides of the brexit divide. may ijoin those who have condemned the excessive and violent language that has been used and hold up my right honourable friend the prime minister as a role model as she is always courteous, even to those who disagree with her on this important matter? but coming to the substance of it, when the implementation period was announced, it was going to be the implementation of what had been agreed.

it now seems to be a period forfurther negotiation, not being sure of where we're going. does the prime minister know where we are going? can i say to my honourable friend, first of all that i thank him for the comments he has made about the remarks and language that were used at the weekend? yes, we do, we have set out our plan, we are negotiating on the basis of that plan with the european union. as i say, significant elements of the structure and scope of the future relationship have been agreed. mr speaker, a significant number of the 700,000 people who marched for a people's vote on saturday were people who run or own their own businesses and they're in a state of despair because they need certainty and they haven't got certainty. two and a half years ago, they were told there would be a trade deal in place before we left. now we're told we will be lucky if we get it in two years. isn't this the truth? the government's policy is for us to be in a transition period, a never—ending transition period, to a destiny that is completely unknown, over which we have

no say and no control? and that's something that nobody voted for. can i say to my right honourable friend that no, that is not the position that the government has, and it is not what the government has proposed and is not what the government is working on in the negotiations with the european union. theresa may doing her best to keep the lid on conservative divisions over brexit. but she's not the first tory leader to find herself at the helm of a divided party. with me now is the party's official historian, lord lexden. what other conservative prime ministers have got into this sort of trouble over the years? three spring immediately to mind. the first is the great duke of wellington, who commanded the conservative party with the same kind of authority as he did the army in the early 19th century, had to face bitter divisions over the catholic question, whether roman catholics should be readmitted into political life, from they had been excluded since the reformation.

second, very well—known crisis when sir robert walpole, sir robert peel, forgive me, when he decided to remove the duties that had protected landed interests and landowners by keeping prices up on agricultural foodstuffs, known as the repeal of the corn laws. and the third great crisis, the first decade of the 20th century, when the conservative party, whose central virtue has never been consistency, decided to go back to the days of having tariffs on imports, not this time to protect the landed interests, but because of the growth of foreign competition from germany and the united states in particular. how did the conservatives recover from those difficulties? because they did end up out of power for quite a long time. of the three, the greatest was the middle one, with sir robert's peel, division leading to a formal split when one group disassociated themselves entirely from the rest of the party. peel's followers, about 100 strong, finally merged with the liberal

party, and the rest, about 200, remained as the conservative party, and were out of power for nearly 30 years. and repeatedly amongst subsequent conservative leaders that phrase, we mustn't do a peel, because of the prolonged period of opposition that then followed. it's fair to say you're not theresa may's greatest fan but if she can pull this off, if she can unite the party over brexit, then her own reputation in history is going to soar. improve, certainly improve, because of the difficulties. many people will reconsider her position, if that happens. but i think deep in the minds of many conservatives today, is the disastrous election that took place last year. i mean i can't think of any election conducted so badly in our history, where

everything was wrong. and if the splits over brexit aren't resolved, then is a split in the party likely? i think that if there is a deal, of almost any kind, a permanent split of the kind that was suffered in the 1840s is very unlikely. if there is a second referendum, then within the party there will be two sides campaigning for quite different propositions. that could lead to a very deep split it seems to me. thank you. some work there for future historians. mps have increased the pressure on ministers at westminster to change the laws on abortion and same—sex marriage in northern ireland. they backed an amendment to emergency legislation intended to allow civil servants to make decisions while the assembly in belfast is suspended. unlike other parts of the uk, the 1967 abortion act does not extend to northern ireland.

the amendment doesn't in itself change the law on abortion, but it does mean the northern ireland secretary will need to provide guidance on it. earlier this year, a majority of supreme courtjudges said northern ireland's abortion law isn't compatible with human rights. when it comes to abortion, we know that right now in northern ireland, if you are raped and you become pregnant as a result of that attack and you seek a termination, you could face a longer prison sentence than your attacker. i rise to speak against clause 7 on the basis that it is clearly inappropriate, going far beyond, as it does, the government's narrow, specific intention when this emergency bill was framed, to ensure that the administrative functions were working efficiently in northern ireland in the absence of an executive there. but not to go further and include key devolved policy matters more properly decided by that executive. is there nothing more

of emergency than the women of northern ireland, right here, right now, who could be wondering what on earth they have to put themselves through to have the choice to have an abortion, to have to go to england? for me, that is a big emergency too. what help and assistance is going to be given to those hundreds of women who feel that they have to leave their own country, northern ireland, to seek an abortion? abortion is not compulsory, it is an option. women should have the choice in case of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality. i rather suspect that the honourable member for walthamstow does not see this as the endgame, does not see this as an end in itself, but as a means to an end, a means to an end. let us be honest with each other about that. i believe that the means to an end is to change the law in northern ireland. but with no politicians at stormont what were those people to do? on tuesday, the daily telegraph ran an article accusing an unnamed prominent businessman of racially

and sexually harassing his staff. a legal injunction has prevented the paper from naming the subject of their eight—month investigation. the bbc has not been able to verify the allegations contained in the telegraph's report. however, in the house of lords on thursday, a former cabinet minister used the legal protection of speaking in parliament to name the retail tycoon sir philip green. lord hain said he'd been contacted by... someone intimately involved in the case of a powerful businessman using nondisclosure agreements and substantial payments to conceal the truth about serious and repeated sexual harassment, racist abuse and bullying, which is compulsively continuing. i feel it's my duty under parliamentary privilege to name philip green as the individual in question, given that the media have been subject to an injunction preventing publication of the full details of a story which is clearly in the public interest. in a statement, sir philip said he categorically and wholly denied any allegations that he'd been

guilty of unlawful sexual or racist behaviour. on the very same day, mps discussed the recent stinging report into bullying and harassment of house of commons staff. the speaker, john bercow, said he was delighted that the main recommendations of dame laura cox's report are to be adopted in full. the commons commission has accepted that a new complaints system must be set up, and one that could investigate historical allegations. the speaker has himself been accused of bullying, which he's denied. he made a brief statement to mps. i believe that this is an important first step in our root and branch reform of the culture of this house. we need to create an internal movement which looks at everything and everyone and ensures that we all treat each other with respect. mps will debate the report next month, but some say the changes don't go far enough.

but i now thoroughly believe that it's time to effectively challenge the ingrained culture and the power relationships in this house, and i believe that an easy start to this would be to tackle the difference. that means no more honourable gentleman, it means no more swords, it means no more spying strangers or segregated areas in this house. and pete wishartjoins me now. pete wishart, will this new system actually work? i hope so and i remain confident that this can be effectively tackled in the house of commons. i think there is now more of a determination and a will to ensure that this is done. the leader of the house has a working group the past six months, and we got forward the report about how we could take off—line some of the processes to enable people to make complaints, but the final part needed to be done by dame laura, and i think she's pointed out quite a number of meaningful ways forward. because the statement from the commission is pretty abject, isn't it? it acknowledges that the house of commons commission has been in charge of this, it's had a statutory duty for years, and it's failed in that duty. you can't escape and evade

the conclusions from dame laura. the house of commons commission has an obligation and responsibility to ensure that a duty of care is given to staff that work on the estate, and there have been failings, and there's just no getting away from what was concluded. and what dame laura offered was a way forward and a means and a procedure to try and address some of these institutional structural failings. but you're saying it's part of the system here, it's part of deference, it's part of swords. i mean, what have swords got to do with it?! the one thing that we never properly looked at in our independent working group, and which i kept on trying to bring up and again was the ingrained culture of the place, the power relationships that determine our approach. but that's inevitable in a parliamentary democracy. you are going to have power relationships

in a political institution. it's how that's managed and how that's demonstrated, it's how things appear and look to certain people when they are in segregated areas in the house of commons, for example, where there's part of the parliamentary state where they like to be addressed as lords, ladies, baronets and barons. all these things coming together create a certain atmosphere and culture, which i don't think is helpful and conducive to a positive working environment. westminster doesn't have a monopoly on this sort of behaviour. it's about how people treat each other, and getting rid of the swords, getting rid of the jargon, that's not going to change anything. we had the good parliament report from laura childs, who helpfully suggested the same type of thing, even looking at things about how we arrange ourselves in parliament, how even the lighting impacts and affects how relationships are determined and how people are able to feel relaxed and comfortable. there's nothing relaxing about being in the house of commons if you're a member of staff and you're confronted with this imagery of all these icons! the patriarchy practically oozes out of the statues of the place, such is the way that these things have been invented. you guys are powerfulfigures. you're elected politicians. you're used to getting your own way. that's not going to change, is it?

it is, if that's how people want. we could determine, we could decide that we want a modern, effective, functioning parliament. i look at the example of the scottish parliament. not perfect, by any means, but what you have there is an institution that works normal hours, 9—5, which enables people to at least have a reasonable, functioning family life. what we've got down in the house of commons is sometimes sitting until 1am, 2am, making judgments about how this nation should be run. pete wishart, thank you. thank you. now, you can't escape brexit for long around here — sorry. the lords turned their attention to the question of whether there should be another referendum on any deal with brussels — what its supporters call a people's vote. it was rather a lively debate on both sides, with one peer calling for leading brexiteers to be prosecuted. the people were given to believe that their government would conduct the necessary negotiations in an effective and unified way. in all of these expectations, they have been failed. they've been failed by incoherence and incompetence. the people of britain have a right to be allowed to pass judgment on any deal forged in such circumstances. they should be given that opportunity.

people already feel that they have great disillusionment with our system, disdain for the system is widespread. i believe that a second referendum would be a disaster of the first order for democracy. it would undermine the very basis of democracy because it would suggest that a decision by a majority is insufficient to make that decision legitimate. the star of tv‘s the apprentice said the public had been misled. businesses, he said, were bound by tight rules. in some cases, misleading shareholders has resulted in prosecution, imprisonment. applying a public company principal, it should follow that those people who will be responsible for putting this country into 5—10 years of post—brexit turmoil based on lies should be imprisoned or at least

prosecuted, such as borisjohnson and michael gove, for the £350 million lie they put on the red bus. now, i say, as a lifelong stoke city supporter, it would be wonderful if, whenever we lost a match, we could demand an instant replay. and i say to the irreconcilable hardline remainers in this, and there's no polite way of putting this, you lost, get over it. now, what else has been going on in the wider world of politics? alex partridge has our round—up. to westminster hall, where labour'sjohn grogan was discussing an extremely important issue. bbc parliament is the most watched and most successful dedicated parliamentary tv channel in the world. thanks, john.

cheque‘s in the post! conservative mp michael fabricant is preparing a naked bike ride to raise money for a hospice in his litchfield constituency, although more might be raised if he promises to keep his clothes on. northern ireland secretary karen bradley knocked over her water at the dispatch box, but labour's stephen pam was on hand to mop up. thank you very much. the honourable gentleman is such a gentleman! trouble in the house of lords as peers incur the wrath of the lords speaker. sorry, there is this old rule in this house that, when the speaker is up, members are down. also flouting rules was defence secretary gavin williamson, who posted this to his instagram account.

photography in the chamber is strictly forbidden. are you sure that's wise, secretary of state? now, the centenary of the armistice, which ended the first world war, will be marked next week with a joint concert by the uk parliament and german bundestag choirs in westminster hall. according to the bundestag's president, wolfgang shauble, the concert will send "an audible signal of harmony that is easier to "achieve musically than politically." the two choirs are made up of current and former parliamentarians along with their staff. i went along to the uk parliament choir‘s rehearsal for a sneak preview. # that a natural felt a little bit low.# here's two from bar 91, sopranos. three, and? yeah, but it's short. the leader of the commons has been helping to sell tickets. as we approach the 100th anniversary of armistice day, can i draw all colleagues‘ attention to the concert in westminster hall being performed by the parliament

choir and the bundestag choir 7:30pm on the 31st of october? i plan to attend and hope that many colleagues will be able to join what i'm sure will be a fantastic event. it will indeed. and what better way to end the week in parliament than with some more from the parliament choir? thank you for watching. goodbye. they sing. hello. british summertime ends this weekend as the clocks go back. it has nothing to do with the weather. clearly we are not in summer any more. it will feel that we are not even in autumn, though. cold arctic air in place across the uk. a biting wind. many of us will be dry with crisp, clearsunshine, but there will be some showers about. some of those will be heavy, even wintry and places, too.

the air coming all the way from the arctic, all in the blue. and it is a strong wind well. the showers are predominantly in the areas that are exposed to the wind. here is how it looks first thing. these are the starting temperatures. a touch of frost. that is the distribution of the showers. they've been coming in overnight into northern scotland, icy and places, and a bit slushy on higher routes, ice risk in northern ireland, with temperatures close to freezing. the showers will continue on the northerly wind running into ireland. northern scotland and the west of wales and far south—west of england. in the name, it penetrates inland across parts of the midlands, east anglia, and south—east england. showers could be heavy or thundery with hail. for many, as you see, it will be dry and sunny. everywhere has that biting northerly wind. that has an effect on the feel of the weather. last weekend top temperatures close to 20. this weekend nowhere near. because of that wind, it feels even colder. mid to low single figures in places. that's how we end the afternoon. many will be dry on saturday night, clear, cold, with frost setting in. showers will continue, though, particularly across eastern parts of the uk.

again, it could be wintry in higher ground. remember on saturday night the clocks go back an hour. an extra hour in bed for some of us. as we start off on sunday morning, well, again, it will be cold and frosty in places with a risk of ice in some spots, too. and the showers going on through sunday will really be across eastern parts of the uk. the north—easterly wind will penetrate a bit further inland at times. but a lighter wind for scotland and northern ireland. possibly a stronger wind in the east and south—east of england. for many on sunday it will be dry, sunny, again — but the temperatures, maybe a degree or so high, but the wind will still be a bit stronger. going into next week, wet at times, but low pressure close by. the temperatures will gradually creep up again. bye bye. hello and welcome to bbc news.

i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top story. the fbi has charged a man from florida with five federal offences, connected to a parcel bomb campaign targeting prominent democrats, among others. 11; devices were sent to people including barack obama and robert de niro, who has been a critic of president trump. cesar sayoc, who's 56, was arrested after a fingerprint was found on one of the packages. nick bryant has the latest from washington. this has been a nationwide manhunt, but it appeared to end today amidst