leading brexiteers pledge support for the prime minister. do you have confidence in the prime minister, mr gove? i absolutely do. i think it's absolutely vital that we focus on getting the right deal in the future and making sure in the areas that matter so much to the british people we can get a good outcome. stephen barclay is appointed brexit secretary and amber rudd returns to the cabinet at work & pensions. but more conservative backbenchers have written no confidence letters today — we'll have the latest from westminster and brussels. also this evening: more than 600 people are now missing in northern california, as the scale of wildfire devastation becomes apparent. a woman who says she was groped by a leading member of the house of lords tells the bbc it's a disgrace he hasn't been suspended: angry, ifelt bullied, to be quite honest with you. i felt bullied by them yesterday in the house of lords. could it be a record—breaking night? children in needs aims

to reach a fundraising total of a billion pounds. and coming up on bbc news, joe root says his century in sri lanka could be his best ever as his side go ahead in the second test. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. despite the storm of criticism around her brexit divorce proposals, theresa may has won the support of some key ministers after 48 hours in which it looked as if her future as the prime minister was on the line. in today's developments, steven barclay — a health minister who supported the leave campaign — has been promoted to brexit secretary, replacing dominic raab who resigned yesterday. and the former home secretary amber rudd returns to cabinet, as work and pensions secretary.

despite speculation that he would quit in protest at the prime minister's draft agreement, the leading brexiteer michael gove has thrown his support behind theresa may; and remains in his post as the environment secretary. but the prime minister's position remains uncertain, with the number of conservative backbenchers who say they've submitted letters calling for a vote of no confidence in her leadership rising. our political editor laura kuenssberg has the latest. and a warning — this report contains flashing images. imagine, submitting yourself first thing in the morning to this. the prime minister is with me. literally taking a call from the public ascii new to quit. why do you think you

should stay on despite the fact that you have failed to honour this referendum result and if you cannot do that, i asked you to stand down to allow someone from the brexit camp to take the lead. i believe we have got a good deal, we still have some things to sort out but i think we have got a good deal and that is what i will put to parliament. she was more akin to pitcher breaks a compromise, this message needs to be convincing to survive. my job is to persuade my conservative benches, those who are working with us, the dup are working with us, but i want to be able to say to all parliamentarians, every mp, i believe this is the best deal for britain. will you be resigning? he does not think it is a good deal but after wobbling and wavering, look, the minister's red box still in his hand. do you have confidence in the prime minister? i do and i'm looking forward to working with my

collea g u es forward to working with my colleagues in order to make sure that we get the best future for britain. i think it is vital that we focus on getting the right deal in the future and making sure that in the future and making sure that in the areas that matter so much to the british people we can get a good outcome. we know this cabinet minister, penny mordaunt does not like the agreement that much either, but neither is she going anywhere fast. i have not got anything to say, i'm afraid. and the couriers back. amber rudd, yet to remember she gets a ministerial car. along with her newjob at pensions. and you will soon hear more of this man, meet stephen barclay, a big promotion for him to be the new brexit secretary and the prime minister's most loyal lieu tenant fighting to close down the argument. the prime minister can survive and thrive and this is a woman who comes into the office every day, not to look for a media opportunities but for doing her public duty. it is old

fashioned decent public service motivating her. and this long-term brexiteer, not just motivating her. and this long-term brexiteer, notjust urging collea g u es brexiteer, notjust urging colleagues to back the prime minister, but no longer saying no deal is better than a bad deal, a com plete deal is better than a bad deal, a complete change. you are not elected to do what we want, we are elected to do what we want, we are elected to do what is in the national interest and ultimately i hope that across parliament we will recognise that a deal is better than no deal, businesses do require certainty. this melee is not for a celebrity but for a leading eurosceptic. there is no need to have a big flap. no need for a big flap, he says. he and his colleagues are only trying to depose the prime minister. he and many brexiteers believe the prime minister has signed up to a relationship that is far too cosy with the eu, so letters are being written to try and force a contest,

but they need 48. we have done are honest best to persuade her not to stick to it. she has made plain that she will and therefore the party now faces a stark choice. for you that mean she has to go? if it means defending the destiny of our country, which i believe literally what is now at stake, then relu cta ntly what is now at stake, then reluctantly i am afraid to say, yes she does. it is impossible to tell right now if the tory tussles will end with the prime minister leaving office. no one in westminster knows and it is hard for all of us to fathom. i think it is a complete shambles. we do not know from monday to the next what is happening and it does not they like anyone is in power. she has been stringing us along and then right at the end, it is too late to say anything. along and then right at the end, it is too late to say anythingli along and then right at the end, it is too late to say anything. i hope they go home for the weekend and they go home for the weekend and they chill out and come back and supporter. theresa may's team will do everything they can to help her hang on but no one knows if within days they will be vital —— fighting a vote to oust or having the huge

job of pressing her break the deal through parliament.” job of pressing her break the deal through parliament. i have never accepted the argument that the prime minister could come back with whatever she has cobbled together and say it might not be very good, but the alternative is even worse. in the 215t century, looking at the future of our country, we need to do better. downing street now appears to have a new and calmer cabinet, but we do not know yet and they don't either if theresa may can stay on, because many people in her own party do not wish her well. our political editor, laura kuenssberg is in westminster tonight. laura, what's the mood in wesminster? it feels more peaceful. there have been more twists and turns than on the big dipper and let us look at the big dipper and let us look at the big dipper and let us look at the big picture about where things have got to. theresa may could say isa have got to. theresa may could say is a vote of no—confidence in her leadership, but we probably will not know that until monday. how many of those letters have really gone end,

have the brexiteers reach their magic number of 48 which would trigger a vote that would bring the prime minister down in theory. if there were such a bold, would she get through it? may be. even if she get through it? may be. even if she does, the bigger question that affects all of our lives is kanji and will she get a brexit deal through the houses of parliament? from where we are now, that seems a herculean task. it is impossible to know that or imagine what might be in the minds of mps in parliament if we get to that point, but that is the most serious question being asked right now. even if she gets through the next few days and it is thought she has a decent chance of doing that, will she be able to drive her brexit vote through parliament if he gets that far and if she cannot, at that point, frankly, almost anything could happen, there are so many different scenarios that it is impossible to sketch it out. tonight things are

calm, but messy and risky and the dangers for treason may certainly have not gone away. thank you. our brussels correspondent adam fleming joins me now. what are brussels making of all of this? well the other european countries do not want to get involved in the british domestic political situation for fear of making it even worse. the other thing they do not want to do is reopen the negotiations on the brexit withdrawal treaty because as faras brexit withdrawal treaty because as far as they are concerned, that is close, it is done and that has been said in the last few days by the leaders of ireland, austria, germany and the netherlands to name a few and the netherlands to name a few and it was repeated by the eu chief negotiator in a private meeting of eu ambassadors in brussels this

morning. here, it is full steam ahead to that special brexit summit which will take place one week on sunday and if you were listening yesterday to the president of the european council he said that the only thing that would stop it was something extraordinary. what is happening in britain is not considered extraordinary, at least not yet. adam fleming, thank you. amidst all the political turmoil, many businesses say they're continuing to plan for a no deal brexit. the european aircraft manufacturer, airbus, has become the latest organisation to say it is working on the basis that britain will leave the eu without an agreement. and nearly three quarters of the uk's pharmaceutical imports come from elsewhere in the eu — this morning theresa may said she is among those who depend on such supplies, because she is diabetic. so how are companies planning to keep medicines coming into the uk if we leave the eu abruptly? our health correspondent catherine burns has been finding out. medication might not seem like the biggest brexit issue but for many patients it is vital, more than a million uk diabetics rely on insulin. this is an issue that actually i feel personally — i am a type i diabetic,

i depend on insulin every day. as it happens, my insulin is produced by a company in the european union. we barely make any of it — enough for about 2000 patients. more than 99% of the insulin we import comes from factories in the eu like this one in frankfurt. they have already stepped up production ahead of brexit. this company always likes to keep an extra ten weeks' supply of medicines in the uk at any given time. but the government has asked drug companies to stockpile an extra six weeks in case of a no—deal brexit. insulins — we have to take more care of insulins than for other products because they have a narrow temperature range, from 2—8 degrees celsius. and we have two strictly keep these temperature conditions between storage and transportation. every day, staff here load more than half a million packs of insulin onto lorries to be sent across the world, and for those going to the uk this is the start of a 650—mile trip, but drug

companies say they have been preparing for brexit since almost immediately after the referendum and are confident they have done what it takes to keep supplies flowing. it's notjust insulin — almost 80% of the medications that came into the uk last year were from the eu, everything from antibiotics and vaccines to stem cell therapy for burns. it is a two—way street, though — every month we send out 20% more packs of drugs to the eu than we bring in. drug companies are working hard to make sure the trade carries on flowing on in both directions. we have no choice but to plan for the worst and that's why the message we're giving is, we are planning, we are stockpiling, so the patients don't have to worry. at the moment, lorries carrying this insulin and other drugs can leave germany, go straight into france and cross the channel. they don't even need to pause in dover —

this is what's known as frictionless trade, but a no—deal brexit could mean an immediate start to customs checks. for now, though, what of the contingency supplies? this insulin has come from germany to yorkshire, the start of the stockpile. there are still empty shelves, but with four months left until brexit, the company is confident they will be full by march. it was in bolton that theresa may launched the conservatives' last general election campaign. today, the town's only tory mp, chris green, revealed he has submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister. judith moritz has been to bolton to find out what people there think of the prime minister and her leadership. the conservative party can come together and under my leadership it will. am i going to see this

through? yes, it takes strong and sta ble through? yes, it takes strong and stable leadership in the national interest. brexit means brexit. the sound bites are well—known, the quotes sound bites are well—known, the q u otes ofte n sound bites are well—known, the quotes often repeated, but in bolton they have their own versions. she said brexit means brexit and now it feels more like fudge. said brexit means brexit and now it feels more like fudgei said brexit means brexit and now it feels more like fudge. i would not say is strong. in the 700 years since bolton became a market town they have seen plenty of leaders come and go and some here like dave would not be sorry if theresa may went as well. he has voted tory for yea rs went as well. he has voted tory for years but he has run out of patience with the prime minister.” years but he has run out of patience with the prime minister. i think she was doing all right until she started dancing. we do not like it. get over it. bolton lose at football every week and i have to get over it. who would you want? a brexiteer. someone like michael gove, someone who has a little bit of common sense and understands what the people of bolton especially want. there is

also banter at the barbers. you have people who have very strong opinions. this man talks politics while he trends and he says he wants mrs may to stay where she is. who would you have to take over from her, who would want to with all the hassle that is going on? who's going to do it? do you have sympathy for her? yeah. i do not think anyone else would want to do it. all political colours are on show at the haberdashery but the assistance here are united and they agree that theresa may has to carry on. most politicians want to become prime minister, so she got thrown in at the deep end, but roll with it. get on with it. bolton backed brexit but many here are getting weary of westminster and are losing patience with the politics of who should lead it. judith moritz, bbc news, bolton.

the time is 6.16. our top story this evening. in the wake of resignations, a new brexit secretary is appointed, stephen barclay, and there's a return to front line politics for amber rudd. and the united nations has accused the government of being in a state of denial about the extent of poverty in the uk. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, tommy fleetwood makes his move in the race to dubai. the englishman is catching up leader francesco molinari at the world tour championship. the number of people missing after wildfires destroyed the town of paradise in northern california has risen to more than 600. 63 bodies have been discovered in the area, but the death toll is expected to rise considerably. at least three other people have died in a separate wildfire in southern california. president trump will travel to the state tomorrow to meet people affected. dan johnson has the

latest from the scene. these smouldering ruins still refuse to revealjust how much went when paradise burned. the official number of lives lost has kept slowly climbing. but the sheriff's latest update stunned everyone. the number of people who we're still looking for, who are unaccounted for, has increased to 631, and this number increased by 501 people. that's because they've checked the number of emergency calls made as the fire burned and compared different lists. boards like this have appeared at shelters around town with lists of people who are missing and the numbers of loved ones to contact. but this search increasingly being conducted on social media. so facebook pages are filled with stories of family members missing, friends and relatives not heard from from more than a week. like jonathan's brother,

maurice, missing along with his wife and daughter. this isn't like maurice to just disappear off the face of the earth and not let anybody know. but we're still trying and will do whatever it takes until he's found, dead or alive. another body's been found. anotherfamily will be getting a call. they will have their answer but so many more are still waiting. danjohnson, bbc news, paradise. a woman who accused a senior peer of groping her says it's a disgrace he isn't being immediately suspended from the house of lords. jasvinder sanghera claims lord lester, a former liberal democrat front bencher, also offered her a peerage in return for sex. a parliamentary committee recommended his suspension, but that's been blocked by the house of lords. ms sanghera, an author and women's rights campaigner,

says it makes her feel likes she's been "abused all over again". lord lester strongly denies the claims against him. lucy manning reports. jasvinder sanghera has fought for women's rights, but she didn't expect she'd be fighting so hard for her own — accusing lord lester, a member of the house of lords and human rights lawyer, of harassing her 12 years ago. he sexually harassed me. he bullied me. he exerted his power and influence over me. he said to me, if i was to sleep with him, he would make me a baroness within a year. he... ..physically groped me. a house of lords investigation decided lord lester, who says it's all completely untrue, should be suspended for nearly four years — the longest suspension since the second world war. but his colleagues in the lords blocked that yesterday. if you are accused of serious misconduct, and the issue turns

on credibility and you face a serious sanction, you are entitled, you have a legal right to cross examine the person making these allegations against you. how did it leave you feeling? angry. ifelt bullied, to be quite honest with you. i felt bullied by them. what happened yesterday in the house of lords was not fair. i did not have the right to respond. these individuals voted on a sanction and these individuals were his peers. a few days after, you wrote in an inscription of a book to lord lester, "with love and admiration". questions have been asked about that. he dictated to me what i should write in that book, so i wrote it. just to get rid of him. lord lester thanked his fellow members of the house of lords who supported him, and says he now looks forward to restoring his reputation. but the lords' authorities say they are deeply disappointed

he wasn't suspended and will look at the case again. jasvinder sanghera is now reluctant to advise others to come forward when parliament is still able tojudge its own. lucy manning, bbc news. a private company which provides home care services for more than 13 the telecoms firms ee and virgin media have been fined a total of more than 13 million pounds by the regulator 0fcom, for overcharging thousands of customers who wanted to leave broadband and phone contracts early. ee has issued an apology and says it accepts the findings. virgin media says it has compensated customers who were affected, and is going to appeal the ruling. a private company which provides home care services for more than 13,000 elderly and disabled people, says it's going to transfer all its contracts to other care providers. allied health care's ability

to deliver care services was thrown into doubt by regulators last week, who warned about its financial viability. the company says it is working with local authorities to minimise disruption. the united nations has accused the government of being in a state of denial about the extent of poverty in the uk. a un envoy has visited nine towns and cities on a 12—day visit and concluded that levels of poverty are a disgrace. more details from our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan. i am watching poverty cripple my mother. i lost my house. and it is a lonely road out there. go to school, go to college, and spend all your money on university. it doesn't work like that any more. often ignored, but for the past ten days, the poor have been listened to. why are so many people crumbling under their burden and losing their fight? here injaywick in essex, england's poorest area, the united nations came to hear what it is like to have little. if i was to die now, no one would miss me, i am useless, i cannot provide for my family. i'm just going to end it. the meeting was one of nine held across the uk by the un special

investigator on extreme poverty. his conclusion: the government is in denial about the problem. what i saw is a lot of misery. a lot of people who feel that the system is failing them, a lot of people who feel that the system is really there just to punish them. philip alston said he found staggering levels of child poverty and a harsh welfare regime, that tells the poor... ..that people who need benefits should be reminded constantly that they are lucky to get anything, that nothing will be made easy. he called for immediate changes to universal credit, the main welfare reform, and deplored the disproportionate effect on women of benefit changes. if you had got a group of misogynists in a room and said, "guys, how can we make this system work for men and not for women?". .. they would not have come up with too many other ideas

than what is already in place. as you would expect, ministers have hit back, saying they completely disagree with the un's analysis. they say that household incomes have never been higher, there are i million fewer people living in absolute poverty than in 2010, and they are committed to providing the right supposed to those in need. the un's criticisms will not quickly improve the lot of the poor, in jaywick or elsewhere, but they may focus more minds on the daily struggles for millions of britons. tonight could be the night when children in need reaches a fundraising total of £1 billion. launched in 1980, this year's telethon will be hosted by graham norton and tess daly. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba has been looking back to see how it all began. and now some more i'iews from terry wogan. ..

when the bbc first decided to try out a televised appeal show, back in 1980... peace. peace, my children. they had no idea that 38 years later... last night's children in need appeal has raised a great deal of money... that would be on the verge of having raised £1 billion. that was amazing, ricky. it is now an annual tradition, seeing stars like the cast of eastenders singing and dancing for the charity appeal. thank you, ricky. # let it go, let it go. tonight's performance, a walford walt disney extravaganza. pop stars boyzone will be competing for the strictly pudsey glitterball trophy. # city of stars... while workers from children in need projects who think they have been asked to make a music video... end up duetting with some of their favourite stars. young people experiencing homelessness is just one issue the money raised is used to address. something presenter and strictly star, stacey dooley found out for herself.

of course, the real children in need stars are the public, who have been doing their bit to try and ensure that tonight's total will reach and exceed an historic £1 billion mark. lizo mzimba, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. thanks a lot. we have seen a lot of low cloud around today. we lost the top half of the uk's tallest building in the gloomy skies, about 150 metres above the ground and you can see how extensive the cloud was across the uk today. bright spots in north—west wales in the sunshine, northern and eastern scotland with the setting sun behind the tay bridge. a fine end to the day. the cloud is continuing to thicken up and overnight we'll sea mist and fog patches becoming dense, poor

visibility, tricky travelling conditions out and about over the hills, with spots of drizzle falling from this extensive low cloud. temperatures, 7—11. if we keep the clearer skies in the highlands, we could get some frost. the weekend, pressure builds and it will pull in some dry air. both of these factors will start to attack the sheets of cloud so although we start off cloudy on saturday, we will see the sunshine quickly spreading into east anglia and south—east england in the morning before spreading northwards and westwards with some fairly cold wind around. further north, some sunshine in scotland but more cloud for eastern scotland, and the cloud perhaps reluctant to clear away from northern ireland where it might stay with us for most of the day. temperatures, coming down a little bit, close to normalfor the temperatures, coming down a little bit, close to normal for the time of year. 10—12. the second half of the weekend sees more sunshine. spreading into northern ireland and

for scotland. most of us will have a sunny start to the weekend. 10—12, but then next week, a surge of cold arctic air spreading it from northern europe, and temperatures for wednesday and thursday, five celsius. in the context of the warm autumn we have seen, it will feel very cold. winter is coming. 0h oh my goodness. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. steven barclay is the new brexit secretary actor dominic crabbe quipped yesterday. amber rudd returns to the cabinet to become work and pensions secretary. michael gove says he won't resign, after speculation that he would be the third cabinet minister to

quipped at the brexit meal. the number of people missing in the california wildfires double store almost 630. let's have a look at what else is coming up this evening. at seven o'clock we will be looking back on it —— and an extraordinary week in politics and the perils facing theresa may. we will be speaking to a resident of the californian town of paradise, who has lost his home but managed to save a horse that had survived the getting into a gym and pool. you will also be seeing what the papers make of the brexit developments with john stapleton and kip proctor. that