we know that being out of the customs union is going to costjobs. i don't think that is worth paying. i want to say to mps of every party to think very carefully about where we are at and i do believe that there can be a majority in the house of commons and stay in the single market. that has to be the series of amendments. i don't think parliament can support this deal and i think we have to look at the option of the people's vote. this prime minister i’u ns people's vote. this prime minister runs a minority administration. parliament has to take control of this process. the prime minister can't dictate what she thinks is right for the people of these islands. very good to talk to you. thank you very much for coming to talk to us. you are right, she does run a minority government because the dup has walked away. the deputy of the dup has had to they want a prime minister that believes in brexit, a prime minister, he said, that matches actions with words. before i leave you, let's have a look at the

picture live in downing street. there is the famous door. we understand penny mordaunt is currently talking to the prime minister inside. she has asked the premise to for a free vote in the house of commons, which tells you where she stands on the agreement. if she is not given that, she may decide her position is no longer tenable. we will be returning throughout the night. for now i had you back to the studio. thanks very much indeed. special coverage maintained on what is a pretty extraordinary week in british politics, with brexit handing over westminster. the british prime minister under huge pressure after the turmoil and drama in westminster. in the last hour theresa may has stressed her confidence in the brexit agreement. i believe this is a deal that does deliver that. which is in the

national interest. am i going to see this through? you stop it comes after a morning of ministerial resignations. brexit secretary dominic roth, the man who negotiated the deal with brussels, that the cabinet. —— dominic raab. her own position is under threat. leading brexiteerjacob rees—mogg submits a letter of no confidence in the primaries and says he suspects there will be a the primaries and says he suspects there will be confidence in the future. —— no confidence in the prime minister. hello, thanks very much forjoining us hello, thanks very much forjoining us here. injust the hello, thanks very much forjoining us here. in just the last hour, theresa may has vowed she will fight on for a draft brexit agreement, insisting it delivers what people voted for and is in the national interest. the day began with a raft

of resignation. for ministers in total, two cabinet ministers among them. brexit secretary himself, dominic raab followed by work and pensions secretary esther mcvey. theresa may then spent three hours defending our draft agreement amid criticism from mps from all sides, then what drama from outside as jacob rees—mogg announced he was submitting a letter of no confidence in the leadership, saying the brexit deal had turned out to be worse than expected. there seems to be a certain interest in today's proceedings... on exactly the spot where theresa may took on the job of prime minister, the march of the brexiteers, trying to walk on the job of prime minister, the march of the brexiteers, trying to walk her to the exit. and this is it, the brexiteers' attempt to force theresa may from office, that could be the beginning of the end. what we need is a leader who will say to the european union, it is impossible to divide up

the united kingdom, it is impossible to agree to a situation where we have a perpetual customs union, it is impossible to pay £39 billion of taxpayers' money for a few promises. what do you say to some of our viewers and listeners who think this is self—indulgent, you'rejust complaining about what is a practical compromise and this is about the ambition of brexiteers rather than what is good for the country? it is nothing about ambition of brexiteers, it is about ambition for the country. leaving the european union is the most fantastic opportunity for the united kingdom. stop brexit! the ugly fight over how we leave the european union... stop brexit! now an open battle in the tory party for who runs the country. what are we all to make of this warfare playing out in front of our eyes? those who still back her are exasperated. stop rocking the boat otherwise this will prove an historic, disastrous period notjust

for the conservative party and for the government but for the country. she is in office but she is not in control, haven't we gone past the point where it is credible for her to be able to turn this around? no. i think she remains our only hope. for the prime minister's allies, this is personal. the prime minister will not be bullied and she will not change course and the government and the cabinet made a definite decision. so, her choice, to get up, go to work... are you confident you have got the rest of the cabinet's support? to use her phrase, get on with the job. it is less than 2a hours since her cabinet reluctantly agreed to back her compromise with the eu. statement, the prime minister. but after two of them quit, she had to try to explain it to the commons. i do not pretend that this has been a comfortable process, or that either we or the eu are entirely happy with all

of the arrangements that have been included within it. mr speaker, when i first became prime minister in 2016, there was no ready—made blueprint for brexit. many people said it could simply not be done. i've never accepted that. i've been committed day and night to delivering on the result of the referendum and ensuring the uk leaves the eu absolutely and on—time. but for 57 minutes there was bitter complaint after bitter complaint, with ministers who hate the plan sitting behind her, obviously down. this is not the deal the country was promised and parliament cannot and i believe will not accept a false choice between this bad deal and no deal. the government must now withdraw this half— baked deal, which is clear does not have the backing of the cabinet. nor of this parliament or the country as a whole. the prime minister is

well— known for her dancing. sadly having seen the withdrawal agreement, it is now clear whose tune she has been dancing to. i could stand here and take the prime minister through the list of policies and pledges that she made to this house and too that she made to this house and to us privately about the future of northern ireland in the future relationship with the eu. but i fear it would be a waste of time since she clearly doesn't listen. would she at least today undertake not to rule out taking this back to the british people and having a...? if the honourable members opposite would put their hands up if they actually do support the prime minister on this set of proposals...? not one. not much evidence of support. after an hour, a message of keep going, rather than congratulations. i want to pay tribute to the fact that the prime minister did get agreement in cabinet and can

she reassure us that regardless of however many ministerial resignations there are between now and that vote, the agreement will come to parliament? we know that millions of people voted for brexit because they are anxious about their futures, about their children and about their families. there is no escaping the big problems. many officials quitting, convinced that the prime minister has signed up to a suffocating relationship with the eu. there comes a point where it is so bad that i felt i could not with good conscience see that deal over the line. would you forgive some of our viewers, including lots of people who voted for brexit, who will be really angry at people like you, who campaigned for brexit, now it gets really difficult, and you walk away? there are risks in any course we take at this historicjuncture. but i think the worst possible outcome when you balance the risks is to give in to the eu's blackmail

and accept a deal which is bad for the economy and devastating for trust in our democracy. so can she really carry on? a challenge to her leadership, a plan with little support in parliament? she will try. serving in high office is an honour and a privilege. it is also a heavy responsibility. that is true at any time, but especially when the stakes are so high. negotiating the uk's withdrawal from the eu after a0 years and building from the ground up a new and enduring relationship for the good of our children and grandchildren is a matter of the highest consequence. my approach throughout has been to put the national interest first. i do notjudge harshly those of my colleagues who seek to do the same but who reach a different conclusion. i'm sorry that they've chosen to leave the government and i thank them for their service.

but i believe with every fibre of my body that the course i have set out is the right one for our country and all our people. it's very clear you want to stick to your plan. isn't it the case that others are seeking to take that decision out of your hands? i'm going to do myjob of getting the best deal for britain. i'm going to do myjob of getting a deal that is in the national interest. when the vote comes before the house of commons, mps will be doing theirjob. am i going to see this through? yes. even if you try, try and try again, you don't always succeed. this prime minister, this government, is still in place. but certainly not in control. no great sense of control at the moment. i am joined no great sense of control at the moment. iamjoined by no great sense of control at the moment. i am joined by senior political reporter adam paying. we we re political reporter adam paying. we were just political reporter adam paying. we werejust commenting. political reporter adam paying. we were just commenting. it is such an absurd day in many respects. so much

going on. we have penny mordaunt in number ten at the moment, maybe another resignation. we don't quite know. what do you think of the way theresa may has ultimately responded to all that she faced in the commons, all that criticism? she has said, i'm sticking with it. what is the rational behind that? i think the rationale is the only one she has left— i know that a lot of you don't like the deal, we could possibly see more cabinet resignations this evening or later in the week. i think the rational is, it's either this deal which i have associated, it isn't perfect but it delivers a lot of the things mps in the house of commons would like to see, or it is the unknown of the alternative, which is a no deal. at the moment it looks unlikely that this deal is going to get through the house of commons. i think that downing street is confident their strategy of saying, look, if you

don't back this, we are going to be heading for a chaotic and disruptive new deal. i think the perimeter is confident that strategy will pay off. are you prepared to let this fall and pay and —— and falling into the sea? jacob rees—mogg, steve baker, etc, they have an ambition of brexit which they feel is not being fulfilled. then you have the people on the other side of the house who wa nt to on the other side of the house who want to have the closest possible relationship, and they wonder that fulfilled. theresa may is saying this about compromise, pragmatism and trying to please as many people as possible. there have been lots of moments in a premiership where you think, is she going to go? following the election, for example. in that dress conference she basically said, sack me all back the. —— or back me. jacob rees—mogg

theatrically saying, i put in my letter, and calling for a vote of no—confidence. do you think it will come? possibly. i don't enter into the game of predictions but what i would say is that the european research group, a group of conservative mps who are passionate brexiteers is split between those who want a vote of no—confidence and who don't. i spoke to a group of mps who are relu cta nt to spoke to a group of mps who are reluctant to sugar that because they think it could bring in a jeremy corbyn read, frustrate the process oi’ corbyn read, frustrate the process or jeopardise corbyn read, frustrate the process orjeopardise brexit completely. i don't want to predict. i think theresa may is the greatest risk of a no—confidence vote that she has faced. if there is a no—confidence vote, there would like there are enough conservative mps who would approach to get rid of her, i don't think there is. and on that point, he would be the new leader? there is no one attached

to that. if there is a change in leader, that doesn't mean it change in parliamentary arithmetic. if we did have prime ministerjohnson or prime minister rees—mogg, it doesn't mean that there is suddenly a majority. parliament is still in stalemate and that won't change with a change of leader. i wonder if anything is going to change this evening, as we stare at the door again with penny mordaunt inside. thank you for your analysis of what is a pretty chaotic day yet again here in the uk. all along one of the major sticking points has been the border between northern ireland and ireland, the uk's land border with the eu, effectively, and how it will work after brexit. it has caused controversy in westminster and ireland, as our ireland correspondent reports. who is scoring here?

as northern ireland take on ireland in dublin tonight, theresa may has been trying to present the brexit deal as a win for both sides. the best case the northern ireland would be the hong kong of the uk, doing business without feeling like you have difficulties in the uk. the brexit deal could keep northern ireland more closely tied to eu rules so trade can flow freely between the north and south of this island. unionists say it severs the united kingdom itself, but some northern ireland businesses believe they can benefit. it is the best of a bad situation currently and something that i think needs to go forward. it is positive for businesses, it is job security, and it can provide options. this afternoon one minister who hasn't resigned, the northern ireland secretary, came to rally support for the prime minister's plant. for the prime minister's plan. this is a deal that is about

the union, about the uk and a good dealfor the union. it is very, very complicated. it is a friendly in the football but a political crisis at westminster. i care not a jot whether it happens or not but it is brilliant tv. today player after player in theresa may's team have been quitting their positions, many saying it is the arrangements for the irish border that they can no longer support. that is the relationship between these two sides that is continuing to define brexit. let's go live to our correspondent who is in dublin. we can keep the footballing analogy going. you are waiting for the match to start and i guess a lot of people are probably more interested in that at the moment than they are with the

shenanigans over here. what is the government making of what we are witnessing over here now? i think the irish government is watching very closely what is going on in westminster, and has been since they swore the text of the d raft since they swore the text of the draft deal. i would say they are broadly content and his deputy has been speaking on television in the last few minutes, saying it provides a very good trading basis for them with the uk. and it protects the good friday agreement, which is of course crucial for people here. he was making the point that that backstop, that insurance policy that has caused so much controversy is just that. it is a backstop which he hopes and theresa may hopes, as she has said many times today, they will never have to invoke. the hope is that here in ireland and in the rest of the uk, before that it ever needed, will negotiate a comprehensive trade deal so that will never need to be brought into

effect. the irish government is broadly happy with what they've got but presumably they are not going to be remotely interested either in any more negotiations? the message from angela merkel and michael barnier. i think they are broadly content with the text of the draft agreement. it has all the things they wanted in it. brexit is not welcome here. people here think brexit is bad news and what they saw in the draft deal is the best of some very bad options. what they really don't want to see of course isa really don't want to see of course is a hard brexit. a real worst—case scenario would be if the uk was to crash out of the eu and that would have severe consequences on livelihoods and jobs here in ireland. that is the worst case scenario. what they really want is for this deal to go through parliament and i think people here are urging that, politicians in the

north and south, that people should let it breathe. and despite the numbers, the attitude of the dup, resignations in westminster, they are saying that this deal is not yet dead. thank you very much. it is that sense of let it breathe that theresa may seems to be relying upon docs telling mps to go, reading it, work out what they think. it could be the best deal they could get. members of the cabinet clearly chose to disagree with that. let's hear from dominik raab. he said the uk should be ready to risk a new deal brexit in the face of what he called eu blackmail. i have been fighting

for a good brexit deal, but the terms proposed to the cabinet had two major and fatal flaws. the first is that the terms being offered by the eu threaten the united kingdom, and the second is that they would lead to an indefinite if not permanent situation where we are locked into a regime with no say over rules and laws being applied and no exit mechanism. i think that would be devastating for public trust in democracy. the prime minister says that is not the case, that the deal has managed to avoid both of those things. we have different views, and in fairness she needs a brexit secretary that will pursue the deal that she wants to put to the country with conviction. i don't feel i can do that in good conscience, but i hold her in high esteem, i think she should continue, but i think we need to change the course of brexit. in terms of looking as in, you are very clear that is the position we are in. is the prime minister misleading people?