this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at twelve: five ministers in theresa may's cabinet join forces to try to persuade her to make changes to the draft brexit agreement. it's understood that this group of cabinet ministers are seeking to justify its continuing attempts to challenge the detail of the prime minister's deal by arguing that it may not be winnable briton mps vote on it here in parliament. the number of people missing in california's wildfires has now risen to more than 1000. 71 people are known to have died. the cia thinks the saudi crown prince ordered the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi, according to reports in the us media. the bbc‘s annual children in need appeal raises a record amount of more than £50 million. and coming up at 12.30, click looks into robo—surgeons..... and movie star sean bean appears in a video game. good afternoon and

welcome to bbc news. mps loyal to theresa may have been urging others to get behind her as she tries this weekend to build support for her brexit deal. it's understood that five leave—supporting cabinet ministers are hoping to persuade mrs may to make changes to the withdrawal agreement, while speculation continues about the number of tory mps who've submitted letters of no confidence, and whether there are enough to trigger a vote. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. this weekend, theresa may will take to papers, television and social media to try and sell her brexit deal to the public. but she may have a tougher task selling it to her party. if 48 of her mps call for it, she will face a vote of no—confidence in her leadership.

last night she called dozens of leading lights in local parties to try and persuade them to support her. and one of her allies has returned to the cabinet with this message. this is not a time for changing our leader. this is a time for pulling together, for making sure that we remember who we are here to serve and to help, the whole of the country. i worry sometimes that my colleagues are too concerned about the westminster bubble rather than keeping their eye on what ourjob is, to serve people. but other cabinet members are not quite as supportive. five leading leave campaigners including michael gove, andrea leadsom and liam fox will meet within days to call for further changes to the brexit deal. if the prime minister or the eu will not give away, then further resignations can not be ruled out. so far, theresa may has confounded conventional wisdom by surviving a series of setbacks. any further loss of support could leave her vulnerable.

iain watson, bbc news. michael gove, one of the five cabinet ministers planning to persuade the prime minister to re—negotiate the agreement, has been speak to reporters this morning. has theresa may scored an own goal? i'm totally supportive of the prime minister and i think she's doing a fantasticjob. are you planning on meeting colleagues today to discuss rewriting the withdrawal agreement? no, i am collecting my child from football training and doing some work on the environment. the conservative mp mark francois joins us now from westminster — he's one of a number of mps who has submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister. thanks for being with us. you've had a busy morning doing interviews explaining your position. let me be clear about one thing that you: in what way would changing your party

leader and therefore the prime minister change the outcome of these negotiations, do you believe? the prime minister is irretrievably committed to chequers, which we believe means britain doesn't leave the eu will that we would be half in and half out, the worst of all worlds, and the house of commons knows this, and that is why it will never pass the house of commons, and every mp who might be watching this broadcast nose in the heart of hearts that that is true. so your argument is that because she said this is the deal, take it or leave it, and you will leave it, as will your colleagues, someone else can come in and start again, effectively, or come in with some changes. if there any reason to believe that anyone in brussels will believe that anyone in brussels will be interested? the house of commons has not yet agreed these are

proposals. we haven't signed up so we are not honour bound. i would like to take this opportunity if i can to make an announcement. the d raft can to make an announcement. the draft agreement is 585 pages long. it is extremely complex and it's written in eu legal language. it is extremely complex and it's written in eu legal languagelj heard written in eu legal language.” heard you on breakfast this morning saying you were still ploughing through it. i read a detailed legal summary through it. i read a detailed legal summary yesterday, but i am now ploughing through page by page. to save the british people the trouble, slightly after nine o'clock tomorrow morning, my colleague steve baker mp, the deputy chairman of the year will publish a link to a document which will only be about seven or eight pages long and which will explain in simple, plain, everyday english is why the chequers proposals are so dangerous for the

future of our country, and we will make that publicly available so that every citizen in near—sighted kingdom, everyjournalist, every citizen in near—sighted kingdom, every journalist, and crucially, every member of parliament, will have an opportunity to read that document. it will take about 15 minutes to read it, and then they will have the full facts at their disposal before they take any decision on what to do. given the chequers document appeared back injuly, why the chequers document appeared back in july, why has the chequers document appeared back injuly, why has it taken so many people so long the kind of go public with their objections? the cabinet collea g u es with their objections? the cabinet colleagues who walked out earlier in the week, and you and some of your colleagues, you have held your fi refox colleagues, you have held your firefox quite a long time. i'm a bit baffled by that. -- you have held your fire baffled by that. -- you have held yourfire for quite a baffled by that. -- you have held your fire for quite a long time. baffled by that. -- you have held yourfire for quite a long time. we have only had the detail for a few days. you knew what you were objecting to back injuly. days. you knew what you were objecting to back in july. let me be

clear: we knew the main point of the deal because they have been so lea ked deal because they have been so leaked and trailed in the press, so we had a good idea of what was in eighth. the difference is, we have now had an opportunity to plough through the precise legal detail. we have expert lawyers double—checking everything literally as i speak to you now. so what we will do, having got the benefit of these specialists at our disposal, we are called the european research group for a reason, and what we will now do is we will make a seven or eight page summary we will make a seven or eight page summary of that available to the british people just after 9am tomorrow, so anybody watching this programme will be able to read in plain english for themselves how bad the deal is. do you expect there to bea the deal is. do you expect there to be a leadership challenge to theresa may, or are you now know is that perhaps you don't have the numbers for a no—confidence vote to deliver

the vote, that you don't have the 48 mps willing to send in letters, perhaps because they think it is a really terrible time to do, a week before an eu summit than a month before an eu summit than a month before an eu summit than a month before a vote? she will never win the vote in parliament. labour and the vote in parliament. labour and the liberals are against it, as are 80 tory backbenchers. the dup, upon whom we rely for our majority in the commons, and who privately are hopping mad that the prime minister, have said they will vote against it. if they lose confidence in her, we can no longer govern, so it will never go through the house of commons, and that is why now is the time that everybody realises that is, to have to do what we have done. we tried in private for months and months, literally, to persuade the prime minister to change course. the truth is, she really wasn't listening to a word we said. that's

why when i published my letter yesterday, which went viral on the internet, i headed it, shejust doesn't listen, a direct quote from nigel dodds, the leader of the dup in parliament, who said that her she announced details. do you think the woman is for turning?” announced details. do you think the woman is for turning? i think she's com pletely woman is for turning? i think she's completely wedded to chequers, which would mean that the united kingdom is half in and half out of the eu, meaning we have not left the eu, we have betrayed the decision of 17.4 million people in this country who voted clearly for us to leave. we cannot betray that trust. we cannot allow this to go through, and so this is now, i'm afraid, relu cta ntly, this is now, i'm afraid, reluctantly, our only option. former defence minister mark francois, thank you for being with us. let's now talk to tim montgomerie,

the conservative commentator. traditionally, one has tended to see when the leader is up against that that the activists in that part of the —— in the party are asking for loyalty. 0ur party members as frustrated as mark francois is about the deal the prime minister has come back with? i think mark speaks for if not the majority of tory activists, certainly a very large number of them, and i think there is polling of voters which finds voters of the conservative party very split, half wanting theresa may's deal and half opposing, and split on her leadership as well, half wanting her leadership as well, half wanting her to continue, half knots. it is believed voting conservative supporters who are most disappointed with her, so i am someone who is a big brexit supporter. i am with her, so i am someone who is a big brexit supporter. iam not with her, so i am someone who is a big brexit supporter. i am not happy with this deal. it is not what i wanted, but i think it's the only

game in town now, and that's why i would support it. i'm not sure i'm entirely in touch with all the conservative members. in terms of conservative members. in terms of conservative mps, and we talk to a lot of those —— you talk to a lot of those,is lot of those —— you talk to a lot of those, is mark france were right in believing that 80 will vote against it and it therefore cannot get through? i think the likelihood is that when the parliament first votes on it, it will be rejected, because of what mark france were says. the parliament does that, we will see turbulence in the markets and quite a public sense of outrage, how long is this going to go on, as much as anything, andi is this going to go on, as much as anything, and i wonder whether mps will then start to reconsider their position. she might not get it through in the first attack, but she could then get it through? there will be people like mark and other brexiteers who will be the least flexible. it will be interesting to

watch the labour party. after eu leaders say at the upcoming summer that this is the only deal they will agree to, labour will have an interesting option, because they won't be able to say there was a better deal across the horizon. they could be strategically advantageous to labour because they give is a, —— they could say that they will relu cta ntly they could say that they will reluctantly vote for it in the national interest. 0ne thinks of ramsay macdonald in 1931 and robert peel with the corn laws, when so many tories. mike you know your history! the point is, it is possible for a prime minister to operate that way. as long as you have the votes in the house of commons, it doesn't matter the party. this is something i worry about with my fellow tory brexiteers now. they will give the prime minister no option but to start working with labour remainers to get this deal through, with all the consequences down the line that that possibly represent. you are right,

john mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, this is potentially a huge opportunity. he can contrast the labour party with tory wreckers and say, we are the party who put the national interest first. the possibility for him to establish economic credibility... off the back of that... economic credibility... off the back of that. .. yes, is huge for him. after eu leaders have made their intervention and potentially markets have made their intervention, i think labour might abstain, and they will be the people who will enable this bill to pass. you have been around in conservative politics for long enough, at least the last 20 yea rs, to have long enough, at least the last 20 years, to have lived through some of the history that the party has had on europe. are you worried about where this whole process, having been the party that championed brexit, could leave the conservatives? i am deeply anxious about the conservative party, and not just because i about the conservative party, and notjust because i support it. if there was a credible labour party

opposition in the wings, i would be more relaxed, but personally, i thinkjeremy corbyn is absolutely unfit to be the prime minister. i think if the tory party cannot contain what could become a civil war, we are almost handing the keys of downing street to jeremy war, we are almost handing the keys of downing street tojeremy corbyn, and that frightens me a very great deal. think you very much. america's foreign intelligence service — the cia — believes saudi arabia's crown prince ordered the murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi. that's according to reports in the us which claim the agency has carried out a detailed assessment of evidence. saudi arabia has called the claim false and insists the crown prince knew nothing of the plans to kill mr khashoggi. the bbc‘s chris buckler reports from washington. the saudi crown prince is very aware of how things look. following jamal khashoggi's murder, he arranged to meet his son in front of the cameras, apparently to offer his condolences. but the cia believe it was mohammed bin salman himself who gave the order for the washington post journalist to be killed. mr khashoggi was attacked

when he entered the saudi consulate in istanbul. according to his former newspaper, the cia has been given details of phone calls, including one that was made at the request of the crown princes brother, reassuring mr khashoggi he would be safe if you to the consulate to get documents that would allow him to marry. the washington post says the intelligence agency also examined the call made by the saudi team who flew into istanbul to carry out the killing. apparently they contacted one of mohammed bin salman‘s top aides after the murder. the crown prince is seen here meeting the us secretary of state, and is a very powerful figure in a country that is an important ally to america. the united states has a imposed sanctions on the 17 individuals allegedly involved in the murder, but the cia report is likely to increase the pressure for more action.

saudi arabia, which has been conducting its own investigation, has blamed an intelligence officer and they've called the claims against mohammed bin salman false and based on theories and speculation. it's understood that the cia doesn't have one stand—alone piece of evidence that shows the crown prince was directly involved injamal khashoggi's death, but the agency's conclusions will further test relationships between washington and riyadh. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. mark lowen is in istanbul. mark, ina mark, in a sense, this is endorsing the position that the turkish government seems to have had, at least in the leaks that have been made to turkish media, supportive of the turkish president. how useful will this be? i think it will be pretty useful for the turkish government to try to put more pressure on the trump administration

to harden their response to saudi arabia. there was a column in the washington post from president erdogan a couple of weeks ago, accusing the killing of being ordered from the highest levels of the saudi government. really, the column went almost as far as directly accusing the crown prince of being behind it. now this conclusion from the cia appearing to show that the crown prince may have had his hands behind the killing. even though the us administration has sanctioned 17 saudi nationals, there was a frustration here that donald trump has not gone further, because of course the crown prince is basically the linchpin of his foreign policy in the middle east, soi foreign policy in the middle east, so i think president erdogan will be hoping that these findings by the cia just push the trump administration further against the crown prince, who is president erdogans biggest rival in the middle east. i suppose it is also possible that the us administration is allowing this news to become public,

ina allowing this news to become public, in a sense sending a signal to saudi arabia, but then that will be yet, it will draw a line under it. we have called it, said what we think happened, let it be known, and let riyadh no, but this relationship is too important to us to go further. the vice president mike pence said today, we will hold all of those accountable to justice. there are in mind that the background to this is the highly strategic relationship between the us and saudi arabia, so you don't know what that from white house is what the next move will be, but i just house is what the next move will be, but ijust think house is what the next move will be, but i just think that turkey is not letting this one go. any speculation a few weeks ago that there would be some kind of deal between turkey and saudi arabia, perhaps financial, to allow turkey this the carpet has just gone out and seems unrealistic now, because president erdogan is keeping the pressure on. this all happened here in turkey. it is absolutely kind of consumed turkish

public opinion in the last six weeks. it is so horrific, all the macabre details that have come out, i don't think turkey will let this one go. president erdogan senses he has saudi arabia on the back foot, he is putting pressure on the trump white house, and he has western opinion behind him really for the first time in a long time. this is not the last that the crown prince donald trump will hear of this. thank you very much. let's speak to our middle east editor sebastian usher who is on the line from the saudi capital riyadh now. has there been any reaction in riyadh to this news from the states, the cia putting the finger of blame on the crown prince? the only reaction really is, and it was some time ago, was by the man who was mentioned by the cia, the ambassador to the us, the brother of the crown

prince. and he tweeted, saying that essentially the details of what had been revealed by the washington post, saying what was in the cia report was false, but he had never had a phone conversation with jamal khashoggi, and had never told him to go to istanbul will stop that was followed up by a statement from an embassy spokesperson saying essentially that all these rumours and ideas and claims are going around but we haven't actually received any primary evidence of this. so, it is pretty much the way the saudis have played this throughout, in that there have been denials essentially, nothing to see here, but as the pressure has built, they have had to change their story. the biggest change was a couple of days ago when the public prosecutor announced that five people, that the death penalty would be delivered to them. that two senior officials were

involved, one giving the order and one for being on the ground saying that jamal khashoggi had one for being on the ground saying thatjamal khashoggi had to be killed and his body done away with. all of that seems to shelter the crown prince from the implication of any involvement. clearly, there are concerns in the royalfamily. we don't have anything on record, but tensions, there is already friction in the royal family about the extraordinary rise of this very young crown prince, quite unusual in saudi arabia. the old heads are getting together, trying to think of a face—saving way out of this. as the cia itself concludes, they don't think that the crown prince's position itself as heir to the phone is at risk. it is notjust the turks seeing an opportunity here, the uk is trying to get a new resolution through the un security council on yemen, and suggests that all parties in that conflict, including saudi arabia, are willing to come to some

kind of talks process. is that another opportunity that this has opened up, this fresh pressure on riyadh? i think that is very much the way that it seemed because these are initiatives that were launched by the crown prince, who has shown himself undeniably to pretty impulsive. he expects a speedy result. what was done to the lebanese prime minister a year ago, when he was effectively kidnapped and forced to resign. it didn't work out and he didn't resign in the end. the purge of many of the elite of the country, which didn't quite pan out. the yemen war is another one of those. as the crown prince's position as to be weakened in some way. the saudis are not giving any sense of that, but king salman has come more to the forefront again. it is not that mohammed bin salman has disappeared, but we are seeing the older heads, the ones who are more cautious, coming out. the yemen war

has dragged on, almost four years now. it is an absolute scar on the region. the public concern in the uk, in the us, about our support, military and financial, for the saudis has been growing. 0ther countries are seeing this as an opportunity and that the saudis are open to it, and we are seeing that. in the saudi media, the lead story is about the un meeting on yemen. much further down is a short denial about this story, the one i was just talking about. that shows the priority at the moment, and that the yemen initiative is being taken seriously. sebastien, thank you very much. more than a thousand people have been reported missing in a california wildfire which has destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 71 people. president trump is due to visit the area of northern california devastated by the state's worst—ever wildfire later today. the town of paradise and villages around it were almost completely destroyed.

from there, the bbc‘s dave lee reports. this is the first step in a very long process. a crew of firefighters lifts away large debris and makes sure the area is safe. soon, a second team of cadaver dogs will sweep the area. if they find remains, the coroner's office will arrive. it takes time, even with the more than 400 specialists now on the ground in paradise, the town worst hit by this fire. progress seems to be going backwards. each day we hear about several confirmed deaths, but with it comes news that there are a growing number still unaccounted for. as of tonight, the list that we will be releasing, the current list of unaccounted for individuals stands at 1,011, which is an increase from yesterday of 380. the majority of those on that unaccounted for list are in their 70s, 80s and 90s. some of them may have lived

in a place like this, this mobile home park used to be known as the enchanted forest, but is now one focus of the enormous search operation. the impact from these fires is being felt across the state of california, more than 100 miles away in san fransicso, schools and businesses were closed down due to terrible air quality, currently measured as being the worst anywhere in the world. on saturday, it's expected that president trump will pay a visit to teams fighting these fires and maybe meet some of those who have been evacuated. the president will meet a community determined to get back on its feet. i think we will come back bigger and better. right now they have got paradise strong, ridge strong

and that is what we are. and i know there is a lot of people ready to come back, let's get this done. let's make paradise again. dave lee, bbc news, in paradise. one of britain's biggest newspaper groups, johnston press, is going into administration. the company prints more than 200 local and regional titles, including the scotsman and the yorkshire post, as well as the 'i'. it's blamed changes to the way facebook and google display stories, which has led to a fall in advertising. the move into administration is part of a rescue plan to keep the papers in circulation. the bbc‘s annual children in need appeal has raised a record amount, of more than £50 million, taking it past the one—billion pound mark since it first started, almost 40 years ago. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back on last night. go on, rob. cue the totaliser! cheering the night's record—breaking total. the evening kicked off with a performance from west end musical school of rock.

the cast of eastenders took part in a walford walt disney song and dance extravaganza. while boy band boyzone competed for the children in need stricly glitter ball trophy. welcome to the tardis! this is amazing. a doctor who superfan ogot to visit the tardis. and workers from children in need projects who thought they were making a music video, got to duet with some of their favourite stars. celebrities also went to visit some of the places where the money raised by everyone watching ends up being spent. it was a night of historic fundraising to help disadvantaged

children across the uk. lizo mzimba, bbc news. whatever you did and however much you raised, thank you very much for all your efforts. now, it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. sunny skies on the way for most this afternoon after a gloomy start to the weekend. still cloud and patchy drizzle here and lama, especially for northern ireland, the hills of eastern scotland and north—east england, but for most, son. more cloud england, but for most, son. more clou d m oves england, but for most, son. more cloud moves into eastern scotland and maybe north—east england to overnight. a colder night than we have been used to. temperatures in

single figures with some waking up to frost in the morning. a lovely day ahead, sunshine from dawn to dusk for the majority, just a bit patchy cloud across parts of north—east scotland. the temperature will start to feel colder than it has done, ten and 11 celsius for the vast majority. next week, more cloud and a few showers, wintry over the hills, particularly in the cell, and the breeze will make it feel closer to freezing. goodbye for now. —— particularly in the south. hello this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines... five ministers in theresa may's cabinetjoin forces to try to persuade her to make changes to the draft brexit agreement. the number of people missing in california's wildfires has now risen to more than 1,000. 71 people are known to have died. the murder of the journalist

jamal khashoggi according to reports in the us media. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. england set sri lanka 301 to win and they finished the day on 206—7, 82 short of target. fascinating morning featuring stoic batting from the sri lankans. being at short leg with a helmet on, close to the bat, it is the one position i suggest you don't wa nt the one position i suggest you don't want to be taking great catches. that one down to his left, great