the latest headlines: the un is warning of catastrophic consequences, as fighting intensifies in yemen. airstrikes from a saudi led coalition, backed by the us and britain, fighting houthi rebels, have nearly doubled in the first week of november, compared to the whole of last month. at least 31 people have now died in the deadliest wildfires on record in california. at least 200 others are missing. hot dry winds are still spreading the flames, and hampering attempts by thousands of firefighters to get them under control. there's not been significant rainfall in months. the comic book writer and editor stan lee, who redefined the superhero genre at marvel comics, has died in los angeles. he was 95. in a prolific career, he co—created a universe of heroes, including spider—man, the incredible hulk, iron man, and the x—men. it's about 2:30am. time now for monday in parliament.

hello and welcome to monday in parliament, our look at the best of the day in the commons and lords. on this programme... a labour mp says stop and search is the wrong way to go to tackle the rise in urban stabbings. finding the drug dealers, the gangsters, dealing with cocaine, that is going to reduce knife crime on our streets. he knows that. brexit dull and dreary? it doesn't have to be. a peer has fun following the resignations of johnson &johnson. the noble leader's reference sounds more like an advertisement for toilet products, but... let me repeat. laughter and better wrappred or unwrapped?

the great vegetable dilemma. a very tiny amount of packaging can prolong the life of the cucumber by many days, up to ten days. but first, the government's making clear it has no immediate plans to change the rules over stop and search. some police forces have been pressing for the scrapping of the requirement that reasonable grounds are needed before a person can be searched, following the spate of recent fatal stabbings, especially in london, and the rise in knife crime incidents throughout england and wales. as home secretary, theresa may had limited use of stop and search powers through fears they were being used too often and were unfairly targeting ethnic minorities. the policing minister set out the government's position. this house should be clear that we have no plans to change the requirement that reasonable grounds for suspicion are needed before a routine stop and search is carried out. we are, however, working

with the police, including the national police league, to see how we can reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency in the use of stop and search. the current policy which he wants to remove was introduced by one of his predecessors who is now the prime minister, and that she made that reform to the police's stop and search powers based on evidence, not on chasing easy headlines. has the home secretary bothered to examine that evidence? i go back to my statement that this house should be clear, we have no plans to change the requirement that reasonable grounds for suspicion are needed before a routine stop and search is carried out. we are not going back to random stop and search, to use his words. when out on patrol with my police, i have seen how reasonable use of stop and search helps them to target for drugs,

disrupt the gangs, and has led to a drop in serious harmful violence. so i fully support it. can the minister look again at extending the powers so that smelling cannabis could be a reasonable grounds to do a stop and search? can i say to the minister that i was first stop and searched in the wake of the scarman report, age 12, and i wet myself it was that scary? we got to a place where the home officer did a review that found there was no discernible significant increase in crime using stop and search, and the current prime minister reached a cross party consensus on the issue in this house. can i caution him against his party moving to a place where we break that consensus? and damage relations with britain's ethnic minorities once again? it is finding the drug dealers, the gangsters, dealing with cocaine, that is going to reduce knife

crime on our streets. he knows that, why have we cut the border force, and what are we doing about the drug market in this country? we have got to make sure that all the tools in the box are being used. the reality is that stop and search is an effective tool. i will give one example, a one—week operation injanuary, 27 people arrested, ten highly offensive and scary weapons seized. it has its place, but it must be used lawfully. targeted and intelligently. nothing about the government's approach has changed. nick hurd. "judgement day is coming", that was the stark warning issued in the direction of cabinet ministers by one conservative mp as the to—ing and fro—ing over brexit has continued. to use a well—worn phrase, "the clock is ticking". legally, the uk has to be out of the eu by march 29,

and time is running out for a november eu summit to ratify any deal struck between the uk and eu negotiators. in the last few days, the pro—remain mp joe johnson resigned as the transport minister, raising further questions over the brexit strategy followed by theresa may, and there are serious doubts that she has the numbers to gain commons approval for any brexit deal. meanwhile, in the house of lords, a pro—eu independent peer tried to increase the pressure on the government. the uk is making a spectacular demonstration of how to make a fool of itself, with the entire world looking on. those are the wise words of a leading europeanjournalist writing in the uk press last 6 november. armed as that is also by the wide words ofjoe johnson, doesn't minister not yet grasp the reality that this government is leading this great country to an unforgettable disaster? well, i profoundly disagree with the noble lord, and...

what i would say is that against repeated challenge throughout the last two years, the government has been able consistently to produce evidence of good progress. the government has shown determination, it's shown conviction, and the government is doing everything with the eu to get agreement. on the day when a former foreign secretary calls for a mutiny, despite the whole country remembering what a country united can do in the course of peace, could the noble lady the minister, confirm that the government will never allow a no deal exit, which is now abundantly clear will be a complete disaster? the noble lady will be very well aware of the government position. we want a deal, we believe we can get a deal, that's what we are negotiating with great energy to try and achieve.

neither the uk nor the eu wants a no—deal, but as is entirely appropriate and sensible, the government has made preparations for a no deal scenario. not only has a great deal of progress so far been made, but that everything hinges on the final details, and the neuralgic points, and that until those have been resolved and we know exactly what it is the prime minister is bringing back, and what exactly it is that has been agreed, it really is quite futile to take up a position and attack the government on what is as yet not yet known. should the minister, and indeed the prime minister, not recognise that the views ofjohnson and johnson are perhaps accurate, that the prime minister has actually managed to unite remainers and leavers in an understanding that the deal likely to be on offer is worse than remaining, and perhaps it's time to look again and perhaps think that leaving isn't really necessary? well, the noble leader's reference

sounds more like an advertisement for toilet products. laughter but, let me repeat... let me repeat what i said earlier, and indeed, reaffirm what my noble friend lord tugendhat has just said, these are very significant negotiations, and very significant progress has been made, some would say unexpected progress, if they are honest, has been made. but that progress is substantive and it is real. do we not all have a duty at the moment, whether we are remainers or leavers, and the house knows i was very sad when the referendum went the way it did, but at these delicate moments, do we not have the obligation to follow the advice of my noble friend,

and should his strictures not apply particularly to members of the cabinet, who should exercise cabinet responsibility until a result has been determined, and then we can all make up our minds on it? she's being completely disingenuous when she says that 95% has been agreed. it is the 5% that is key, the irish backstop and the customs union. it's that that unites the johnson brothers in agreeing that it would be vassalage to take all the eu's rules without any say in them. that is why we need a people's vote to reassess their opinion. in response to the latter part, i would say, no, we don't. i take the view that we had a vote. like many, i was disappointed. it is not what i chose, but i was outnumbered. in scotland, we have a real sensitivity to referenda and what it means to have a referendum,

and by golly, i respect the result of a referendum to be respected. that's what the government is doing. the government has put forward a very substantive proposal to the eu. i don't agree with the noble lady. i think 95% of progress is excellent news. i don't dispute the 5% is tough. but at the same time, the government has put a very workable proposal on the table, and that is what we are arguing very determinedly for. mps have blamed the government for the collapse of plans to build a new nuclear power plant at moorside in south cumbria. the japanese firm toshiba announced last week it's closing down its subsidiary, which owns moorside. toshiba had tried but failed to sell the plant to a korean firm. i met with executives of toshiba on wednesday, and they confirmed that the board's decision was a commercial one. this is ultimately a matter for toshiba, and we understand

the challenging circumstances that company have faced in the last 18 months. the site in west cumbria is owned by the nuclear decommissioning authority, and the land will revert back to them. it remains a potential site, and they will continue a range of options for its future. i recognise that this announcement will be a disappointing one, but not an unexpected one, to the people of west cumbria. one thing is certain. west cumbria will continue to be a centre of excellence in nuclear. it is a centre of excellence in the uk and the source of large numbers of highly skilled, well—paid jobs, and will be for decades to come. and so, mr speaker, the people of cumbria are thrown under a bus. i have to say, i thank the secretary of state for that statement, but i have to say, it is extraordinary. first of all, that he has had to be dragged to the chamber to make this, rather than offering a statement proactively for a project which will affect up to 21,000 jobs in the constituency of the honourable member

for copeland, and many, many in my own constituency and across cumbria, and the fact that in his initial statement, he did not even commit to a new civil nuclear power plant in the cumbria area. mr speaker, it is just not good enough. it is not good enough for the government to hide behind the idea that this is simply a commercial decision, because he knows that if he had, if the government had offered terms to new gen to toshiba and other companies on our part to which they had offered on other sites in the country, this deal could potentially have been salvaged. toshiba's decision to withdraw from moorside is a blow to the uk's energy security, its decarbonisation goals, and the economy of cumbria.

but let's be clear where the real responsibility lies. the cumbrian chamber of commerce, gmb and prospect trade unions, among others, have all laid the blame with this government for its lack of clarity over funding and its ultimate failure to take a direct stake in moorside. the business secretary sat out the government's pro—nuclear credentials, and turned his fire on labour. you would think from hearing the honourable lady that the labour party were in favour of nuclear power. whereas the leader of her party, who i assume has some influence on policy, said, and i quote, i stand here as someone who is passionately opposed to nuclear power and nuclear weapons in equal measure. this demonstrates clearly that nuclear plants are not economically viable. will this failure finally lead the uk government to realise that they must scrap plans to set up new plants for the declining, dangerous nuclear sector? from where i'm standing, it appears the government does not have a coherent energy policy, particularly with regards

to nuclear, and this has clearly had an impact on the cumbrian economy. given what has happened at moorside, what is the minister intend to do to support the cumbrian economy? greg clark said the nuclear sector has the right future. the investment in the supply chain and in reducing the cost of new nuclear, which will be essential if it is to compete with other sources of power, and the great opportunities that there are for decommissioning, not just in this country, but selling expertise around the world. cumbria is the centre of that expertise. it has a strong, strategic role in our economy, and we will back it all the way. you are watching our daily round—up in the commons and the lords. still to come, the controversial sir roger scruton comes under the scrutiny of mps. when we do the weekly food shop, do we really need all our food items to be wrapped up in plastic? after all, market stalls have sold

loose fruit and vegetables for years and we have survived. concern has grown rapidly in recent years over the environmental hazards that ultimately arise from plastic packaging, and e—petition attracting more than 125,000 supporters is calling for supermarkets to offer customers options of no packaging or eco—friendly packaging for each and every item of fruit and veg. in westminster hall, a conservative called plastic pollution one of the great environmental challenges of our time. is it a wonder that plastic has become so popular? plastic is lightweight, versatile, moisture resistant, durable, and cheap to produce. all of these benefits mean that britain is not alone in developing a strong appetite for plastic goods. indeed, annual global plastic production has soared in the past 60 years.

every piece of plastic can take decades or longer to degrade, and will simplyjust break down into smaller and smaller particles. we then find plastic entering the ecosystem, and it has the potential of killing sea birds, fish and animals through ingestion, and releasing their harmful toxins as the plastic breaks up. additionally, the larger pieces of plastic can be a threat to the life of marine mammals and sea birds. the technologies are developing allthe time, and more environmentally friendly solutions are appearing. seaweed—based plastics, even edible plastics, may offer a better solution, but these are not available yet and may not be for some time in our lives. and on a planet with resources which are finite, we should be wary of replacing overconsumption of one kind of plastic with another.

the difficulty of these alternatives suggest that, as the petition demands, the real solution in all of this is to dramatically cut down plastic research. the libertarian paternalism is required of major retailers to offer their customers a choice as to whether they buy their fruits or vegetables, excuse my voice, with plastic or not. plastic—free aisles are a great nudge to focus our minds on a waste—free and pollution—free environment. i have a greengrocerjust across the road from me in my constituency, and all of their cucumbers are unwrapped. i have never seen a cucumber that is rotten, but he might be right that cucumbers last a bit longer when they are wrapped up. there are plenty which do not last longer when they are wrapped up, and i have always thought that bananas come in the perfect natural wrapping and really don't need additional wrapping,

and i think that would probably be true of a lot of other wrappings. cucumbers are in fact probably the most effective example of a polythene wrapping. the tiny amount of polythene can prolong the life of the cucumber by up to ten days. the honourable gentleman says he has not seen them in plastic wrapping. he will almost certainly have seen significant amounts of food waste that occur when fruit and vegetables which are not appropriately wrapped are allowed to rot. the environment minister said the government was committed to outlawing all avoidable plastic waste in the uk by 2042. i think people have got used to picking up elements, and i am pleased to see there have been initiatives, which i have certainly noticed in my local shopping experience, where we are seeing a change, we are seeing that now being given back to consumers to make a decision, and it is for consumers to make a positive choice, whether that is about using paper bags, collecting stuff loose, whether they can be conveniently

grouped together, and maybe a bunch of bananas is the best example, as opposed to trying to pick up six peaches or whatever. opposition leaders have accused the government of trying to stifle scrutiny after the chancellor's budget by limiting mps' ability to vote on the details. the accusation came after mps took their first look at the finance bill, which puts much of the budget into law. opening the debate, the treasury minister said what the government was capable of. our company faces the great challenge and opportunity of leaving the european union, and some say that brexit has been so all—consuming that we are not capable of seeing beyond it, that we are not able to lift up our eyes to the future because we are so fixated with the challenges delivered by the past. but conservatives are better than that. it was to be, madame deputy speaker.

the government's policies announced that the budget failed to tackle a single one of the great chances now facing this country after eight years of austerity. most notably, the bill, this bill of broken promises, fails to end austerity as the prime minister said it would during her conference speech. once she had finished gyrating, i've got to say, and as our reasoned amendment points out, this promise has been broken. £4 billion worth of tory social security cuts are still on the way, madame deputy speaker. he has just said that the finance bill is light on content. the finance bill is 315 pages long! i havejust read his funding britain's future labour party document, and it is eight pages long! three of which are footnotes! whatam i missing, sir?! in addition to fixed odds betting terminals,

and you expect me to mention this, the problem with fixed odds betting terminals, the government says, is that they can't change the stakes in fixed odds betting terminal is because putting it in place in april next year would not give companies enough time. it would not give them enough time to prepare adequately for the changes that would be required to lower the stakes for these terminals. yet they expect them to prepare adequately for brexit by april next year, despite not actually having told companies what brexit will involve. the community secretary james brokenshire has defended the appointment of a controversial figure to the new housing advisory body. the government faced calls last week to sack the academics sir roger scruton from the position, following accusations he had described homosexuality as "not normal". he called islamophobia "a propaganda word".

those were disclosed by buzzfeed news. labour called some of his views racist, and asked ministers to justify his selection for the role. communities are more than just bricks and mortar and planning processes. they are about people, people from diverse backgrounds, and good planning should foster good community cohesion. when was the secretary of state made aware of sir roger's comments that homosexuality is not normal, and comparing homosexuality to incest? when was he aware that sir roger had complained that gay men have an obsession with the young? will he now apologise to the lgbtq+ community for appointing a man that holds these views? sir roger is a leading expert on aesthetics. he was asked to take on an unpaid role as a chair of the commission looking into beauty in the built environment. he is one of the most qualified people in this particular field to do so, and i am pleased that he has accepted that role.

as a public intellectual of renown, and author of over 50 books, countless articles and public lectures, he has engaged in a variety of topics, often expressing strong and controversial views. racist! i'm sorry... i will not repeat the word he used and read into record, but i am sure he should consider his terms, because as sir roger has been very clear, he has been very offended and hurt by suggestions he is in any way anti—semitic or in any way islamaphobic. may i congratulate my right honourable friend on his inspired decision to make beauty an important part of the planning process, and his equally inspired decision to appoint sir roger scruton, a very brave defender of free speech who used to go behind

the iron curtain when some people on the other side of this house might have been rather more sympathetic and "fellow traveller—ish" than they might now like to admit? but any philosopher must be able to discuss issues, and in his works, is bound to say things that are controversial? because otherwise discussion and debate cannot be advanced, and this is an inevitable point of appointing a philosopher. you will not be surprised to hear i disagree profoundly with him, which he seems intent on bringing the bigotry of the 19th century into the 21st. does the secretary of state imply he has been taken out of context? does you think that for a professional and public intellectual, as he describes him to be, to be so genuinely misrepresented shows a lack of professionalism and expertise? a world where we live in 140 characters, comparing it to someone who delivers a long lectures, has written extensively with so many different books, yes some controversial articles, it is important to see that context.

and where sir roger has accepted that he has got it wrong, and he has in the past, like his views on homophobia, which he acknowledged back in 2010 that he changes positions and he was wrong, is part of his public debate that lead us to explore ideas intrinsically necessary? that is it for this programme. alyssia mccarthy will be here for the rest of the week, but now from me, keith mcdougall, goodbye. hello. many of us started the new week with frequent and heavy showers, and that brought some impressive cloud formations. an excellent example of mammatus cloud here in somerset on monday afternoon. we also saw some sunshine,

and when you put sunshine and showers together, well, it's a perfect recipe for rainbows. more showers to come through the early hours of tuesday. they will fade away from many southern and eastern areas, and generally become confined to northern england and parts of scotland. a fairly chilly end to the night across the highlands of scotland. and through tuesday morning, there'll still be some showers, particularly for western scotland, north—west england. these will start to fade, and for most it's a mainly dry day. there'll be some spells of sunshine, but cloud will tend to build across northern ireland, the western islands of scotland, ahead of some rain through the evening. it's a breezy if not windy day. these are average wind strengths through the afternoon, but still quite gusty, particularly for western coasts. temperature—wise, 10—14 celsius through tuesday afternoon, still on the mild side for the time of year. so through the evening, the rain already in the west will slowly start to push its way eastwards, and that's likely to become heavy for a time across parts of northern ireland, north wales, north—west england

and western scotland. some patchy rain for the midlands, but otherwise for central, southern and eastern england it should stay mainly dry. some clear spells, temperatures here holding up to nine or 10 celsius. forall, it's a mild night for scotland and northern ireland, all tied in with this front which is still with us on wednesday. notice that squeeze in the isobars so once again it becomes windy, particularly for the irish sea coasts. still some outbreaks of rain continuing across northern ireland, clearing through the day, and it continues across western parts of scotland. further east, spells of sunshine with help from the foehn effect. it could well be quite mild here, and eventually that rain will pull away from northern england. further south, across much of england and wales, it stays mainly dry and it is a mild day for all. 13, 16 celsius. in fact, 16 celsius we could find across parts of murray and aberdeenshire. and we're all in this warm air as we go through wednesday, pulling up from the south.

this front is still fringing northern and western parts of the uk, so could just still see a little patchy rain at times, but for most it becomes dry. there'll be spells of sunshine. temperatures above average for this time of year, 1a or 15 celsius. but bear in mind towards the end of the week, although it looks settled, we could well see some mist and fog, and that could be slow to clear. it will change for the weekend to mainly dry mild, light wind, still clearing some mist and fog. a very warm welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: the death toll in the californian wildfires reaches a2. hundreds more are still missing. the united nations warns of catastrophic consequences for millions, as the war in yemen intensifies. stan lee, the creative mastermind behind marvel comics, dies. he was 95. and as part of the bbc‘s beyond fake news season, we take a look at the dangers facing journalists in somalia.