you're watching beyond 100 days. this time last night, theresa may won the backing of her entire cabinet for her brexit plan. just 2a hours later, she's lost a string of ministers, both senior and junior, and is facing calls to resign. a defiant prime minister say she believes with every fibre of her being that she is doing the right thing and promises to see it through. i understand fully that there are some who are unhappy with those compromises, but this deal delivers what people voted for, and it is in the national interest. she was speaking after a morning of ministerial resignations, including brexit secretary dominic raab, the man who negotiated the deal with brussels. the worst possible outcome, when you balance the risks, is to give in to the eu's blackmail and accept a deal thatis the eu's blackmail and accept a deal that is bad for the economy and devastating for trust in our democracy. her own position is also under threat. a leading brexiteer submits a letter of no confidence in the prime minister and says he expects there'll be a vote on her future.

also on the programme... in contrast to the turmoil in westminster, in brussels, the eu's chief negotiator formally and calmly hands over the 585—page draft withdrawal agreement. and at the heart of today's trouble is that agreement. we'll be looking at why it's been so controversial. a nightmare for theresa may but comedy gold for others — the internet goes wild with its take on the day's events. hello and welcome. i'm christian fraser with katty kay here in westminster. momentum is a powerful thing in politics. the prime minister perhaps thought there was a fair wind behind her last night after securing the backing of the cabinet. but by morning it was clear many tories had insurmountable issues with her withdrawal agreement. there have been seven resignations today. but theresa may says she's carrying on regardless.

in a three—hour debate in the house of commons this morning, and a press conference this afternoon, she doggedly defended her plan, insisting she was on the right course for the country and its people. it's not clear yet whether it's done enough to quell the talk of a leadership contest. here she is speaking earlier. yes, difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions have had to be made, i understand fully that there are some who are unhappy with those compromises. but this deal delivers what people voted for and it is in the national interest, and we can only secure it if we unite behind the agreement reached in cabinet yesterday. if we do not move forward with that agreement, nobody can know for sure the consequences that will follow. it would be to take a path of deep and grave uncertainty when the british people just want us to get on with it. they are looking to the conservative party to deliver, to deliver a brexit that works for the whole uk, a strong economy that keepsjobs

safe and wages rising, and first—class public services we can rely on, an nhs there for all of us, great schools for every child, and the homes that families need. that is what the people we serve expect, and that is what we owe it to them to deliver. the former brexit secretary, the man in charge of the negotiations with brussels, dominic raab, was the first of the senior ministers to resign today. he has been speaking to our political editor, laura kuenssberg, about his decision to stand down. 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 integrity of the united kingdom, and the second is that they would lead to an indefinite if not permanent situation where we're locked into a regime with no say over rules and laws being applied and no exit mechanism.

i think that would be damaging for the economy but devastating for public trust in our 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. dominic raab speaking later this morning after his resignation. we are, incidentally, waiting for penny mordaunt to come out of number ten, i think, because she was waiting to speak to the prime minister. vicki young is there for us. any news on penny mordaunt, vicki? no, she went in, somebody thought they might have seen her come out, but they are not entirely sure, so this adds to the turmoil and febrile atmosphere that there is around

westminster today, and the point of the press conference from the prime minister was to try and suggest she is carrying on with business as usual, and i think people watching it, those in our own party, they will be divided over whether she is deluded with their head in the sand or doing the responsible thing by carrying on with determination to try and put this deal to parliament and to try and get it through. but it is looking increasingly difficult for her, resignations, of course, and then speculation about who the new brexit secretary will be. michael gove has been offered the job but has said he will only do it if there is a change of direction. if she says no do that, hard to see how he could carry on in the cabinet, and trying to get to change direction is what inner party wanted you, but they are not quite aligned oi'i you, but they are not quite aligned on how they do that, and that is why we have at the suggestions of a leadership challenge, with a certain section of the party trying to force theissue section of the party trying to force the issue today. flying in this

morning to come here to london, there was a lot of speculation that by the end of the day the prime minister might even have decided she was going to resign, but given her nature, and given how doggedly she has fought for this, somebody who voted to remain, has fought for the brexit cause, she would say, that was never really going to happen, was never really going to happen, was it? no, before that press conference, i was pretty sure she would come out fighting, because if you look at premiership over the la st two you look at premiership over the last two and a half years, that has been as done, isn't it? she has had ups and downs, hurdles in front of her, and she has created some of their home with that general election, and yet she has carried on. it was interesting in the commons today, people on all sides of the house were talking about her determination, her sense of duty, the fact that she has carried on against all the odds. the trouble was, there weren't very many getting up was, there weren't very many getting up to say, we like your policy and will back it, that is missing for

her. unless they can do something pretty dramatic over the next couple of weeks, it is hard to see how it will get through the house of commons. the only thing they have got is this political declaration about the future relationship, so not the withdrawal deal, the future relationship, that is going to be fleshed out in the coming days. now, is there any chance they can put something into that which will reassure enough mp5? something into that which will reassure enough mps? 0k, vicki young at downing street, thank you. if nothing else, you have to admire the prime minister's stamina, three hours on it but this afternoon, a press c0 nfe re nce hours on it but this afternoon, a press conference with us lot, and in between i gather she went for a drink with prince charles to celebrate his birthday? she has looked exhausted, but the message — iam fighting looked exhausted, but the message — i am fighting for you, i am doggett, committed — i wonder if that will resonate across the country. i know people have had enough of this and they want to move on. ken clarke, who campaigned to remain in the european union, is in our

westminster studio for us. is there any deal that would have satisfied the entire conservative party? was there something that would have kept both sides... i'm afraid both parties are split, and in fact split into factions, there is not a solid bloc of remain as and not a solid bloc of leavers, and the result of the referendum, most politicians committed themselves to accepting it, is that it has shattered the normal party divisions. she has made endless concessions to the hardline brexiteers, and here they are, rejecting it all, threatening her in herjob, several of them competing to replace air. i think there is absolutely no point in pursuing any further the very hardline nationalist brexiteers who are very much against her. so she is tough, she is resilient, she said leila gsas ought to, but you and i would be exhausted, three and a half hours

in the hassle, it is quite a formidable ordeal. —— she certainly looks exhausted. but you have to be more pragmatic, ithink, the vote is a few weeks away yet, with final details to be settled, the council of ministers in europe, then i think she has to try to go for a softer brexit and hope that enough people will compromise on that, because i the vast majority of the house of commons do not want no—deal, which would be chaotic and disastrous, and i think that most people want to keep our borders open to keep trade flowing, investment flowing. we don't want thousands of customs officers, regulatory differences and all the rest of it, and british business, industry, people who invest in this country, certainly don't. ken clarke, i have got to ask you, as the father of the house,

someone you, as the father of the house, someone who went through the maastricht treaty and all the problems that caused forjohn major in1982, problems that caused forjohn major in 1982, how does this compare? far worse than anything i have seen. if you want me to start revealing how dreadfully old i am, i was a government whip when we were getting into europe, and we were split them, enoch powell, the old imperialists we re enoch powell, the old imperialists were against it, we had to rely on labour members to get into the european union. that was quite bad! and then maastricht was very bad, but this is far worse than that. and i understand why the public are impatient, because no—one has ever explained to the public, certainly not when the referendum was being fought, all these hugely complex issues that now have to be settled. i think what is called for is pragmatism on all sides to get a sufficient majority together to get a compromise solution through and make sure we don't have total disruption in march of next year. there is years of negotiations to

come, i'm afraid. i mean, the long—term arrangements we haven't even started yet, because we have wasted so much time pandering to the ha rd wasted so much time pandering to the hard right wing brexiteers trying to reach some understanding. there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of pragmatism around in westminster today. do you think that the government overestimated or at least oversold its negotiating power with the european union by saying, look, the european union by saying, look, the european union birds or us for export markets, so we have more power than the uk actually did? that was the brexiteer argument at the referendum, saying our trade arrangements would not changed at all. there is mutual interest, it is fio all. there is mutual interest, it is no good thinking these negotiations between enemies and that we are dealing with, you know, canning foreigners who are trying to undermine us or punish us. it is in the interests of sensible people on both sides of the channel to keep as much of our relationship intact as

possible, but that involves both sides compromising, and accepting each natural interest. but for the british to have gone there and just said, well, we are leaving our treaty commitments with the eu, we wa nt treaty commitments with the eu, we want to keep all the advantages, we have a long list of things we benefit from, we would like to keep those, forget the obligations, we will make all the rules from now on and so on, that never was possible. the deal they have now got is much nearer that which is credible, because it is in the interests of the 27 other governments, it is in our interest. personally, i think a softer brexit would be in the interests of all the 28th, much though i would regret it, you can still leave the european union politically in march of next year. 0k, ken clarke, thank you very much for your thoughts this evening. i thought it was serious when dominic raab, who negotiated brexit went, then i heard you were flying

in! and then i thought maybe the two linked, maybe you are going for the job! when there is a national crisis, time for me to fly in. we knew it was serious! coming from washington, people cannot understand the process there, and they cannot understand why britain has decided to put itself in a position where, for two years, it has been absent from the world stage because it does not have the bandwidth to deal with other things, because the brexit negotiating process, whichever side you are on, is consuming the government to such a degree that on major issues britain cannot get involved, and at a time when we have power up for grabs around the world, the american government pulling back from leadership, people might have looked to britain to fill in some of that, but it is not possible, because look at the chaos in london today. that is certainly have the public feel about it, looking at the polling around the country, whichever side of the fence they stand on, outside this bubble they wa nt stand on, outside this bubble they want people to get on with it, to

deliver brexit. there are even some on the remain side you want to deliver brexit. the problem be prime minister has got at the moment, and we heard very little support in the house of commons when she was talking about the deal, is there are some brexiteers who would rather stay in the eu than at this particular agreement, so that will be the difficulty she has, they will have no reservations about voting this down. it doesn't look like this chaos resolves itself any time soon, does it? well, i think this is a full—blown political crisis now, because we can have a scenario where she wins a vote, but then she loses the vote and the agreement, where did she go from that? let's ask someone did she go from that? let's ask someone who may know, the labour chair of the brexit select committee, hilary benn, where does she go, if she wins that vote, a vote of no confidence, hypothetical i know, but loses the vote in the house of commons? what does parliament do? parliament will have a choice, i hope, to move amendments

to heragreement, and a choice, i hope, to move amendments to her agreement, and we are awaiting a report from the procedure committee about how the votes will happen. but this is a fundamental problem, and a crisis, i agree with you, that has been created by the prime minister's decision to say we are leaving the customs union and the single market, those announcements created the problem with the border in northern ireland. you wouldn't have the backs of arrangement if she had said that, and there hasn't been honesty with the british people about the choices we have to confront, having made the decision to leave. i think it is the wrong decision for the country, bad for the country, bad for our influence in the world, you are right, because we are consumed by brexit at a moment when the world needs leadership from britain and other countries. sol needs leadership from britain and other countries. so i think she has put herself in a difficult position, and sitting in the commons today, you could feel the support of any support there might have been, ebbing away, and i do not understand... we talked at the top of the programme about momentum, how it can ever way, such a crucial ingredient. but look, where is the

labour alternative? if you had a leader who was seen as more centrist, more acceptable in the country, less extreme, and if you had a coherent policy of remain, labour could be looking at taking power, couldn't it? and you don't, there is no real party alternative in the country. well, we have an alternative, we think we should remain in the customs union, we want full access to the single market. my view is that we should apply to join... this is the fundamental problem with this — it is not the withdrawal agreement, it is the political declaration that was published last night. if you read it, if someone says to you, what is our trading relationship going to be with the european union in ten years' time? the answer is we haven't got a clue, and the prime minister is try to strong arm parliament by saying there are only two choices, leave with no deal or back mine. the fact is, she hasn't

been prepared to confront the real choice the country faces, and parliament, in all conscience, cannot vote for a deal that is a leap into the dark about our economic future, because we need to think about the long—term, this is the most important decision anyone in parliament at the moment is going to take in a lifetime, and future generations will not thank us if we leap into the dark and suffer the consequences later. she could have provided clarity, she has failed to do that. it is still the case that when i talk to british business leaders, the one thing they fear more than a hard brexit is a jeremy corbyn government, the only thing thatis corbyn government, the only thing that is keeping some support for the prime minister... n0 sound well, no sound well, i am very sorry, we have obviously got a problem there with the sound from christian and katty, we will see if we can that be might

get that fixed and go back to westminster. i think we are back, let's see! i am glad i was sitting here plus, it gave me something to do! is beauty of live television!” do! is beauty of live television! i hope ididn't is beauty of live television! i hope i didn't bust your connection at the why don't you pick up the point?|j hope there is a change of government, but we have to have tories do vote for a new election, andl tories do vote for a new election, and i am not you were they will do it in the current circumstances, and therefore we need leadership. and if therefore we need leadership. and if the deal goes down, and i think as long as the tories are still the government, you need the prime minister or somebody new to say, right, we need a change of approach, because there is not a majority in the house of commons for what i propose, and i think customs union plus eea, out of the common agricultural policy and fisheries, not subjected to the ecj in the same way... not subjected to the ecj in the same way. . . that not subjected to the ecj in the same way... that is something the labour

party could agree to? we are very close to it in saint customs union and full access to the single market, and you have an opportunity to be consulted on new legislation, thatis to be consulted on new legislation, that is something around which parliament could rally and would provide a certainty for the future of the country, cos that is what business wants. transition period is great, we're not going over a cliff next march, but all it does is put off the uncertainty for 21 months, and this has gone on for long enough, and we need certainty. hilary benn, gratefulfor your time. thank you! let's bring you up to date with some other news. there has been other news around the day! more than 130 people are still missing in california after the deadliest wildfire in the state's history. officials say it could take several years to rebuild the town of paradise, where 56 people have died. some residents have started legal action against the local electricity company in northern california, believing an electrical fault could have started the fires. saudi arabia's public prosecutor says he is seeking the death penalty for five suspects charged with the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi.

mr khashoggi, who was a prominent critic of saudi policy, was killed in the country's istanbul consulate on october 2nd. the prosecutor said the killing was ordered by the head of a negotiating team that intended to persuade mr khashoggi to return to saudi. he denied that the country's crown prince, mohammed bin salman, was linked to the murder. europe's top human rights court has found that the repeated detention of russian opposition leader alexei navalny was politically motivated. mr navalny filed a complaint with the european court of human rights. it found his seven arrests between 2012 and 2014 had been aimed at "suppressing political pluralism". beyonce has ended a business venture with topshop boss sir philip green by buying him out of ivy park, the gymwear label they founded together two years ago. the buyout comes weeks after sir philip was named as having taken legal action to prevent publication of allegations of sexual harassment of staff. sir philip says he "categorically and wholly" denies the allegations. the mayor of paris has plans

to pedestrianise the centre of the french capital. news agency afp report that the plans would severely restrict traffic in the city's first four districts, with electric shuttles brought in as an alternative. it would happen in mayor anne hidalgo's next term, assuming she is re—elected. pedestrianise! i can't think of a better city to be pedestrianise than than paris. maybe here! the bbc‘s political correspondent rob watson is with us now. have you ever heard of geoffrey boycott? of course i have, i am not that... ! boycott? of course i have, i am not that. . .! he boycott? of course i have, i am not that...! he was boycott? of course i have, i am not that. . .! he was a very famous english cricketer who used to stay at the wicket doggedly, and tonight he was evoked by the prime minister. he was indeed, it was a quite remarkable performance by the prime minister, after the kind of day she

had, which apparently included 70th birthday party drinks with prince charles, i mean, added that conversation go?! and at the end of this type news conference, she was asked, using a cricketing metaphor, prime minister, you have lost lots of batsmen, you have a huge total to get, onto a bit worried, when is a game lost, how many wickets do you need to lose? she said, you know my great hero is geoffrey boycott, he got the runs in the end, slow but steady, unbelievable! at the end of such a long day! it is a sticky wickets just to... such a long day! it is a sticky wicketsjust to... she is here all—night! wicketsjust to... she is here all-night! what happens, rob? you have to ask well, in the same way that it have to ask well, in the same way thatitis have to ask well, in the same way that it is not the end of the opera until the fat lady sings, it is not a proper crisis until rob watson, the bloke with glasses, comes on. i was reading a book last week about the french revolution, and they are

not erecting a guillotine behind us, but you get the whiff of chaos, of revolution, of the normal rules not applying, because after all, revolution, of the normal rules not applying, because afterall, could you rememberany applying, because afterall, could you remember any circumstances under which a prime minister would lose, how many, four, five, six, seven ministers ina how many, four, five, six, seven ministers in a few hours? and survive? but that is the position that brexit has put us in, it has cancelled all the normal rules of politics, how does it end? i don't know, i'm sure if theresa may were standing here with a cricket in hand... jacob rees—mogg was asked if this was a coup, but a military takeover, but an insurrection. kate hoey, a brexit mp, who was here, i said to her, if you had said to a brexiter border some time ago might you would be out of the common agricultural policy, common fisheries policy, payments to brussels would stop, you would make your own rules, you wouldn't be under thejurisdiction your own rules, you wouldn't be under the jurisdiction of the ecj, which all of this could provide, she

would rip their arm off! absolutely right, and some of the brexiteers, they have been likened to the attempts to appease the danish, the viking raiders, just to give them a little bit but they keep coming back. in a way, that is the way brexit has turned out to be, but in a funny way, i would look at it differently, not order that the brexiteers are not contented with what they have got, it is a theory that i have heard that one of the reasons why that i have heard that one of the reasons why some that i have heard that one of the reasons why some of them are just so angry is because some of them kind of realise that maybe brexit isn't going exactly the way they would have wanted. not necessarily because theresa may is handling it badly, but the business isjust theresa may is handling it badly, but the business is just an almighty challenge. we have this argument is now where brexiteers and leavers agreeing that they do not like this deal, but after that their paths diverged dramatically, they agree on this but beyond that nothing. absolutely, but i think what a lot

of people are wondering, after a day of people are wondering, after a day of chaos like this, and you asked me this earlier but i got distracted, cricket and the french revolution and god only knows what! so it looks kind of crazy, i mean, that is for sure, but it seems to me that if theresa may can survive any kind of leadership challenge, she will get the deal through providing most brexiteers think we get to leave and remainers think we are not crashing out. lovely to see you. you even survived all the noise, the stop brexit people. stop 100 days now! this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — we'll head outside the westminster bubble to check in with the british public to get their thoughts on the last 2a hours. and our reality check team pull out some of the key points good evening. a day of mixed

fortu nes good evening. a day of mixed fortunes today, a bit of rain across parts of northern ireland and western scotland, most places have been dry, and although a fair bit of cloud, the sunshine broke through, this picture taken in leicestershire. temperatures as high as 17 degrees across parts of scotla nd as 17 degrees across parts of scotland with mild southerly winds, but things about to turn quite a bit colder with this cold air mass working in from the east, particularly as we had through next week, some of us six celsius, where week, some of us six celsius, where we have had temperatures up to 16 over the last couple of days. back to the here and now, still mild for most of us through this evening and overnight, cloud across england and wales, low cloud, mist and fog in places. mild underneath the cloud, 9-12 places. mild underneath the cloud, 9—12 degrees for the overnight lows, drizzly rain at times. in scotland overnight, but clearer skies for the north of scotland and northern ireland as well. ! look at friday

morning in more detail, pretty great conditions in the south, much of northern ireland and scotland start the day with some sunshine, but more low cloud around the central belt and eastern parts of scotland too. through the day, for many of us, brightening up, the best sunshine in the west, save for the likes of the south west of england, wales, northern ireland, north—west scotla nd northern ireland, north—west scotland too. further east, grey conditions through the day, and although still mild, 12—15d, not as mild as the last couple of days. then heading on into the weekend, it is going to be this big area of high pressure will that be driving our weather, pushing a little bit further across scandinavia, so a bit ofa further across scandinavia, so a bit of a change in wind direction. as the wind starts to come in from the east or south east, slightly clearer conditions pushing their way northwards across the country on saturday. after a cloudy start for some of us, it will brighten up, so

more sunshine compared to friday, but cold too, temperatures of 10—13 degrees, similar on thursday with a touch of frost, sunday should be a fine day across the board, looking dry with sunshine, a little bit of cloud around east coasts. temperatures for sunday between 10-13 temperatures for sunday between 10—13 degrees. bye for now. this is beyond 100 days. i'm christian fraser and katty katy and i are in westminster. our top stories. a defiant theresa may faces down her tory critics and emphaises her brexit deal is the best option the uk has. ami am i going to see this through? yes. a leading brexiteer submits a letter of no confidence in the prime minister and says he expects there'll be a vote on her future. the foreign minister is doing that

and that is why i have no confidence. also on the programme... meanwhile the eu is watching events unfold. we'll ask one member of the european parliament what could be the way forward. and the last 2a hours have been a dream for the online gods, as a whole stack of memes flood the internet. hello and welcome — i'm katty kay with christian fraser here in london. nobody can know for sure the consequences of no deal, said the prime minister tonight. which is why the british people just want us to get on with it. despite the overwhelming rejection of her plan in the house of commons today she vowed she would deliver a brexit for the whole of the uk. that is what they expect she said and that is what we owe it to them to deliver. no question that outside this bubble — and all the naval gazing that goes on within in — there is national fatigue setting in. frustration. and as all this has been playing out in the uk, today the members of the european parliament began having a look

at the draft agreement. let's speak then with german mep hans 0laf henkel, to see what he thinks about it. you have been urging and grammatical to give written something favourable. is this agreement a favourable. is this agreement a favourable one? certainly not from my perspective. well i really appreciate the enormous tenacity of your prime minister, i have always been of the opinion that any brexit is a lose lose situation for both britain and the european union. what is it about the agreement that you think is problematic? look, first of all it creates enormous chaos in london and that also has an effect here in germany for instance. 0ur also has an effect here in germany for instance. our own stock exchange has taken a dip today and largely due to the chaos in london. and then of course we realise that this chaos is not going to be settled very soon

so we are going to live for months with uncertainty. the german business community or the european community doesn't like that. the prime minister was asked to if there was a new brexit secretary, would they be allowed to renegotiate brexit? is there anything that you could find in the bottom drawer somewhere that you could give to the public, trying to sell it to the conservative party? is there something more the eu could give? yes. ithink is there something more the eu could give? yes. i think we are now in a situation that is becoming increasingly clear also for the eu that brexit is not only bad for britain but also for the eu. the common market is the most important element of the eu and that is being shrunk. brexit is like if 19 small and medium—sized countries would leave the eu at the same time, and

britain is already the largest single customer of the eu, the head of the united states and china. i think it is in the interest of the european union now to make a step forward and i'm a little bit disappointed by the european leaders who sit behind and say, that is a british problem. it is of course a british problem. it is of course a british problem. it is of course a british problem but it isn't only caused by britain, it has also been caused by britain, it has also been caused by britain, it has also been caused by the european union. britain joined caused by the european union. britainjoined the caused by the european union. britain joined the football club but brussels decided to play golf. think what they could specifically do now is for britain in a new deal, a deal which would help the remainers in britain get some momentum and a deal that would help some of the brexiteers get away from their position by saying, we got what they wa nted position by saying, we got what they wanted but we wanted without brexit. that deal has to be more autonomy for controlling british immigration.

ijust wonder when the for controlling british immigration. i just wonder when the things upset raab was that britain couldn't withdraw unilaterally from this agreement, and he was overruled by that by the prime minister and the cabinet office. i wonder if it is a moot point really because the same predicament would still exist for the uk even if it could withdraw unilaterally. if the eu wasn't happy it would put up the borders, so couldn't the eu give that because it wouldn't make much difference? ido wouldn't make much difference? i do agree with you. there may be two reasons for this. a strategic reason from michael barnier though i suspect wants britain to leave a nyway suspect wants britain to leave anyway and despite his rhetoric, he is very interested in some punishment because he wants to ensure that no other country has the same idea. the other interpretation would be that mr raab had another

reason why he left and gave that explanation to the british public. thanks very much indeed. that is the question, isn't it, but that they could give more but whether there is any desire to give more. he will also know that timing is a big issue because if you go past march 2019, there is one plenary session left in the middle of april, the european parliament, and then the european parliament, and then the elections are in may. and then all through the summer untiljuly there is a void. there is no one for a new prime minister on the british side to negotiate with, so timing is crucial. all of the noise that you are hearing behind us at the moment in westminster, the navel—gazing goes on. no question that outside this bubble — and all the naval gazing that goes on within in — there is nationalfatigue setting in. frustration. the one thing the public is agreed on, however they voted the first time, they are not happy with their politicians or the current state of affairs here at westminster.

it is almost a complete capitulation. i don't think people who voted leave expect that kind of deal. it isa deal. it is a horror story. we could've done better but i don't think we're going to get much out of it right now. get on with it. on with it. b firm. this is what we want. do it. we didn't say whether we were going to vote to stay or leave but if we vote leave, we are actually going to farfor if we vote leave, we are actually going to far for around 45 or ten yea rs. complete and utter chaos. i don't think anybody knows what is going on really. what is it specifically, let's say a new prime ministers put in place, what is it they could do to make it a better deal? i think it is a huge opportunity to say... inaudible inaudible what they should say is go back to

the european union, say, we got this wrong. we want to accept your offer... if you want some money than the way to receive it is to agree terms on a deal but if not, we are leaving on the 29th of march and by the way, we leave no deal, no money. that will concentrate the mind. jacob rees—mogg said today should be a moment of excitement for the leave campaign. i have to say that coming here from the us it feels like anything but. it feels like a country caught up in chaos, in depression. we heard it there. voters are fed up with the whole process. and that is because number ten have negotiated such an appalling agreement. i have read the whole agreement. i have read the whole agreement and unbelievably it is worse than staying in the eu. we would be constraining the whole of our country in a straitjacket for

decades to come because we have agreed to pay billions and billions of pounds to someone. they control the audience and we have to do exactly what they say. would they let us out of the straitjacket? they wouldn't. it is a disgrace. jacob is right. we should be really excited about this. right, 0k. thank you forjoining us and giving us your thoughts. at the heart of today's turmoil is the draft withdrawal agreement that was published last night. that agreement is about how the uk leaves the eu — not about any permanent future relationship — so what's in it that has caused so much controversy? let's cross over to our london studio and speak to our correspondent chris morris, of the bbc‘s reality check , has been reading in detail the 500 page draft withdrawal agreement. amidst all the political turbulence, the draft withdrawal agreement remains the same — but it's this serious hefty legal document, clearing a path out of the european union, that has prompted so many resignations from the government. and the most difficult part of the brexit negotiation, has become the most controversial part of the draft text.

it's all about the so—called backstop — the guarantee of last resort that there will be no return to a hard border in ireland under any circumstance. the "no hard border" plan — if it were needed — would create a temporary customs union with the eu, covering the whole of the uk. they're calling it a single customs territory with no customs checks between great britain and northern ireland, and none with the eu. but northern ireland would be even more deeply entwined than the rest of the country, both with eu customs rules and with the rules of the single market. that specifically is one of the reasons why dominic raab resigned as brexit secretary. the government argues northern ireland would enjoy the best of both worlds — frictionless trade with the eu and the rest of the uk. but that's prompted the scottish government to ask why it can't have the same. it is worth emphasising that neither the uk nor the eu wants the backstop to come into effect.

it would be pretty awkward for both of them. but neither side can bring the arrangement to an end unilaterally. the draft says it would have to be a joint decision, another cause for concern in resignation statements. it's also worth remembering that one thing the withdrawal agreement doesn't do, is focus on the long term future relationship with the eu after brexit. but there is a separate outline political declaration just a few pages long for now that starts to do that. behind the scenes a lot of progress has been made on issues like security and foreign policy. both sides also say they want a comprehensive free trade deal, it's just that pinning down the details will take time. the political declaration though, says ambitious customs arrangements in the future would build on the single customs territory set out in the withdrawal agreement... creating further suspicion which the government says is totally unfounded.

and the prime minister has warned that if her deal is voted down no brexit at all could be the possible outcome. hilary benn has said it is it about the political declaration, which is only five pages long and much shorter than theresa may or angela merkel would have liked. i think one of the problems is that people have talked for a long time about a blind brexit. how can we leave without knowing where we are going. the idea about the declaration is it wouldn't be a blind brexit but it will be foggy because there are several destinations where you can end up. we don't really know what the future trade arrangement would look like, and if you are to avoid a hard border in northern ireland in the future without using this controversial backstop, it's hard to see how any future trade agreement

would do that without staying in a customs union. that is what the eu argues. so the uk has to come up with some sort of plan which says yes, we can frictionless trade and go our own way and many people say you can't square the circle. he spent a lot of time in brussels. follow on this question we were just asking about, not so much whether the eu should give more to britain but whether they will give more. do you sense any appetite in brussels to say, ok, you've taken this to the party and it's not going to fly so we are going to help you out. here is one more thing we can you? there isn't a lot. there will be compromise on putting together a future trade agreement but there is a feeling that they are already giving too much. if you are offering a temporary customs union, that is a pretty major trade agreement. there are countries across europe who have said they have only done half a

deal. they are getting tariff free access to our markets and what are we getting in return? there are elements of a level playing field, making sure there are guarantees the uk can't convert a political advantage. they are also going through the text with a fine tooth comb, making sure there is nothing they have missed which they will regret in the future. chris morris. 585 pages. a lot of reading. 185 articles and three protocols. joining us now are anne mcelvoy, senior editor for the economist. we heard there that there was a deal that could be done. i am confused. was there a deal that could be done which would satisfy the interpretive party or was it inevitable that the moment the flesh was put on the bones, filling in the scaffolding, this was going to happen? if you ask my opinion, the second thing you say is closer to the truth. i think it is like an

insurance policy. no one is happy with it but you've got to have one otherwise you would take a much bigger risk. doesn't mean to say you like it or it's fair. you probably think it costs too much. these things are probably true of the deal that i think that is probably closer to the truth. there is probably one argument for that, that we shouldn't have got into this deal—making at all. he should have got out very early. some of the brexiteers did leave, they wanted those big deals principally with america. that is what they would have emphasised. we could have said goodbye to the eu, we are not very interested in you at all but that isn't what happened and for that reason they blame theresa may. the other question i am always asks, that couples people in washington in particular, how did we have to reasonably, who voted to remain, negotiating the process of leaving? and that the problem? it wasn't so

much a problem, she got the job fair and square and she ran for it when david cameron had to step down after that lost referendum. i wonder if we would be here tonight on the green having the same conversation if the brexiteer had won the race. we would have just left, brexiteer had won the race. we would havejust left, like brexiteer had won the race. we would have just left, like you just said, said goodbye. maybe not. he would have had pressure for that but someone like michael gove, the new brexit secretary, isn't it funny that what comes around goes around? perhaps leaning a bit towards the eu and does a mix of a deal but then can brexiteers and say... jacob rees—mogg and all of the old brexit crowd saying to theresa may, you didn't act in good faith. that is the danger. the questions that people ask, did it not work out because we had a remainder in number

ten. if you were to have a new deal option, you have to be able to pay money to be prepared for it and that is the problem, the chancellor hasn't put money behind it? i see, if you wanted to prepare for a new deal. you would probably have had to do that. there are a number of things uk plc can spend money on other fronts and she has been very open about the fact that theresa may thought this would not be good at all and the fact a lot of the moderate brexiteers in cabinet, those that have still given her loyalty. . . those that have still given her loyalty... there are those who found out from a naturally. but people like michael gove have stuck there. they don't want new deal either. does that mean they are not ready? maybe that is why they wanted to step back, because the eu knows it.

you can go two ways in a negotiation, fundamentally. you can say you want to stay close to the eu in the sense that you think it's your major trading partner and you can only semi—leaf. that is why we've got an insurance policy deal. 0rwe can do we've got an insurance policy deal. or we can do what you are putting forward , or we can do what you are putting forward, in which case a major has to be negotiated. much further out than putting money on the table. you have to have other deals that are ready to come on board in terms of your trade. that takes a long time. that would be myjudgment. that takes a long time. that would be my judgment. 0thers that takes a long time. that would be myjudgment. others would say that would the two gerrish. i think it does take a long time. you can choose to go all out there like the canada zeal. the difficulty is unless you are committed to get stranded out in the mid atlantic —— the canada deal. the problem with thatis the canada deal. the problem with that is unless you are committed to

get stranded out in the mid atlantic. the issue is credibility. there are so many could have, would have, should have. maybe it was inevitable that we ended up in this position because it was a deal that can be done. what about the veto that the irish minister has. just as the british minister has. just as the british minister can't vote on a deal that pulls ireland away from the rest of great britain, they can't vote for anything across the border in ireland. it has to be a qualified majority in the european council when it comes to a deal but they are not going to very well support video that underlined the irish primitivist. so you wonder, given that the irish that the two, could a brexit proneness to do any more than theresa may has done? you have to compromise. this is a major international reshuffle where everybody has their

own domestic concerns, and the problem is trying to marry those concerns, with eu are brussels or germany or even italy or britain or ireland is a difficult one to square. with a0 years of history. 300, actually. this is beyond 100 days. still to come — we'll bring you the latest developments on an extraordinary day in british politics. the prime minister promises to carry on with her brexit deal, despite the resignations of senior ministers, but can she do it? all along one of the major sticking points has been over the border between northern ireland and ireland — the uk's land border with the eu — and how that will work after brexit. it's a question which has caused controversy and division in westminster, and in ireland itself, as our ireland correspondent emma vardy 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 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. 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. 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. no sound joining us now is henry newman, director of open europe. he has spent the day looking through 585 pa g es he has spent the day looking through 585 pages of the agreement. which parts of it do you like? while we

we re parts of it do you like? while we were off air you were telling me that you don't like the political declaration because you don't think there is enough in it. six and a half pages, very, very thin. half a sentence bullet points in places. we expected much more. it is two and a half years since the referendum. we should stress this is about the future relationship. that is quite crucial because the concern is if we don't know how we can get to the future then the backstop, the whole of the uk customs union and the other bits that people are worried about with the relationship with northern ireland might last for ever. there is the point that if there was a serious proposal, people could swallow the backstop. it is close to overrule what we were led to expect, going back a few months. recently we have heard dominic raab say that we will get a time limit. there is an exit but there is a very weak exit mechanism and that is a problem.

as we spent a night in westminster, there is the prospect of a people's vote, a second referendum, going back to the british public. is it stronger tonight than it was this time last night? i don't think so. it seems like there is a possibility of a "no deal" brexit. we have done some work on that at my think tank and looked at the medium—term. we put aside the disruption and looked at overall over say 13 years. it is a relatively small hit to gdp growth. if you take out the things that you don't need to negotiate, you could ta ke don't need to negotiate, you could take that further. the biggest impact will be in parliament. the fa ct impact will be in parliament. the fact that the withdrawal deal seems prejudged by the wrist of the party. the dup so this doesn't protect the union, and that is very difficult for her. we are very tight for time. will you come back next week? when you have been through the entire document. of course all this political drama couldn't go down without its well—deserved share of internet memes. here are our team's favourites.

for those who sympathise with theresa may, imagine her like that, kicking back on the couch with a glass of wine and asking alexa to negotiate brexit. and with the string of resignations today, it was only a matter of time before larry the cat himself decided he's out of here. after all the defections, if we had to draw a picture — this would be what remains of theresa may's cabinet. and of course — to fill in the vacant positions, an automatically generated sms saying ‘congratulations! interestingly enough — there is the option of declining thejob by texting stop. we have the triangle — theresa may, the tory remainers and another referendum. and finally, we thought this one sums it all up pretty nicely — a brexit "mug". you came, you saw and you rank at. i

lost! —— run code. i believe you quys lost! —— run code. i believe you guys to sort this out. we have enough chaos on our side of the atla ntic enough chaos on our side of the atlantic and now i can here and this happens expect we will see you next week. a day of mixed fortunes today. some rain in northern ireland and scotland. 0ther rain in northern ireland and scotland. other places have been dry with a fair bit of class, with the sunshine breaking through. we also had temperatures as high as 70 degrees across parts of scotland with these mild southerly winds, but things are turning colder with this hamas working its way into the east and as we had through next week, some of us will struggle to get to six celsius. —— with this air mass. back to the here and now, it is

rather cloudy across england and wales. a bit of locales, mist and fog in places as well. mild underneath the fog with temperatures between nine and 12 degrees overnight. drizzly rain in times across scotland but clearer skies for the north of scotland and northern ireland. friday morning, starting off in the south, pretty great conditions towards the south—east that there will be some brighter skies throughout wales and the north—west of england. buffalo will it start with some sunshine but there will be more clue cloud around there will be more clue cloud around the central belt and eastern parts of scotland. through the day for many of us it will start to brighten up many of us it will start to brighten up with the best of the sunshine in the west. the likes of the south—west of england, wales, northern ireland and north—west scotland. further east you are likely to keep the growing conditions. 12—15d but not quite as mild as it has been over the last

few days. heading into the weekend it will be this big area of high pressure that will be driving an all—weather. starting to push further across scandinavia so a bit ofa further across scandinavia so a bit of a change in wind direction. as the wind starts to come in from the east or southeast, slightly clearer conditions pushing northwards across the country on saturday. after a cloudy start for some of us, it will brighten up. a little bit colder as well, 10—30d and a similar day on sunday. after a cold start with a touch of frost, it should be a fine day with some sunshine and some cloud around on the east coast. 10-30d. cloud around on the east coast. 10—30d. goodbye for now. hello and welcome to this bbc news special — with me christian fraser in westminster and ros atkins in brussels. 0ur headlines... taking the right decisions, not the easy ones. the prime minister vows to continue with her plan for brexit despite strong opposition from all sides in westminster, promising it will deliver on the promises made in the referendum.

i believe that this is a deal which does deliver that, which is in the national interest and am i going to see this through? yes. earlier today, a series of ministerial resignations, including that of the brexit secretary dominic raab who said the prime minister's brexit plan had ‘fatal flaws'. the leading brexiteerjacob rees—mogg submits a letter of no confidence in the prime minister and says he expects there'll be a vote on her future. here in brussels... michel barnier says the deal is fair