this is bbc news. the headlines at midday: theresa may fights back, and says replacing her as conservative leader wouldn't make the brexit negotiations any easier, warning that the next week is crucial. the next seven days are going to be critical. they are about the future of this country. it's about people's jobs, it's about their livelihoods, it's about the future for their children and grandchildren. safe for now — chairman of the 1922 committee graham brady confirms to the bbc that the threshold of 48 letters for a no confidence vote in the prime minister has not yet been reached. some of the speculation that i might have received 48 letters two months ago and chosen to do nothing about it is all nonsense. it is something which would be done expeditiously if it were to happen. president trump visits northern california following the most devastating wildfires in the state's history. one step closer to accelerated degrees,

as the government confirms plans to allow universties to offer two—year courses. and coming up at 12:30pm, click looks into "robo—surgeons", and movie star sean bean appears in a video game. the prime minister has said the next seven days are going to be crucial for the outcome of brexit. she's planning a visit to brussels before an eu summit next sunday, to talk with key figures, including jean—claude juncker, the european commission president. in an interview on sky tv, mrs may had this message for those rebels who wanted to oust her. and these next seven days are going to be critical.

they are about the future of this country. it's about people's jobs. it's about their livelihoods. it's about the future for their children and grandchildren. i'll be going back to brussels. we will be negotiating... when are you going back to brussels? well, the negotiating teams are working as we speak, and obviously which day i go back to brussels, when i go back, will partly be about how those negotiations go. so i will be going back to brussels. i'll be in touch with other leaders as well. because the summit next week, and it is next week, this special european council, will be among the european leaders. at least 48 conservative mps are required to write to the chairman of the 1922 committee, sir graham brady, to trigger a no—confidence vote in mrs may. sir graham has indicated that number has not been reached. some of the speculation that i might have received 48 letters two months ago and chosen to do nothing about it is all nonsense. it is something which would be done

expeditiously, if it were to happen. it would be very likely that the prime minister would win such a vote and, if she did, then there would be a i2—month period when this couldn't happen again, which would be a huge relief for me, because it would mean people would have to stop asking me questions about numbers of letters for at least 12 months. dominic raab, whose dramatic resignation as brexit secretary preceded several other cabinet resignations, criticised the government earlier, claiming it had failed to stand up to brussels. but this morning on the bbc‘s andrew marr show he said he still supports the prime minister and cautioned against any challenge to her leadership. i would back her and i would never in these circumstances send a letter into the 1922 committee. i don't think that's right. i also think all of this leadership stuff is a total distraction from the historic moment

that we are at, which is to get this deal over the line. i believe it is salvageable but on its terms as it is currently presented it is clearly damaging economically but also, in terms of our democratic control... there are some things this deal would do in terms of taking back control over immigration policy, and we wouldn't pay the vast contributions to the eu in terms of money, but the number one reason people voted to leave was to be master of our destiny, to take back democratic control over our laws. this will stop that from happening. i, dominic raab, am not going to stand in a tory leadership contest. i am not even getting sucked into all of that. no, i want you to agree with that statement. well, no... i am supportive of the prime minister. i will not be supporting anyone who is sending in letters to the 1922 committee. in a vote of no—confidence, would support her. but the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has said his party would reject theresa may's brexit deal as it does not pass their six

tests, and didn't rule out another referendum. the eu is very used to 11 hour stuff. look at the way the lisbon treaty was negotiated and renegotiated. the issue has to be, you go back to europe and say, listen, our parliament doesn't agree with this and doesn't accept it. the people of our country don't have theirjobs on both sides of the channel at risk. we need an agreement, a serious, sensible agreement, a serious, sensible agreement, and i believe the labour options are the serious ones that could achieve that. so ask the eu must leak if they would give us a better deal? they want an agreement as much as everybody else does, but the problem is this government has not negotiated an effective agreement. you think you could do it in three months? we could go there straightaway and there is a transition period that has been agreed anywhere, but you have to go

back and say, look, what has been agreed so far between our government and the eu is not acceptable to the british parliament or, i suspect, the british people, and it hasn't yet been tested in the eu parliament either. the conservative mp for south east cornwall, sheryll murray, says she's one of those who's sent a letter of no confidence to the prime minister. she's also a member of a group of conservative brexiteers called the european research group, many of them have been very vocal in their criticism of the prime minister and her brexit plans. shejoins us now. thank you she joins us now. thank you for joining us. thank you for having me. why do you want to topple the prime minister? i have given the prime minister? i have given the prime minister the last two years the benefit of the doubt, thinking she would get us a good deal, to do with a manifesto pledge i stood on, to ta ke a manifesto pledge i stood on, to take back control of our money, borders and laws, and unfortunately

the deal she has come up with simply doesn't match that we could be tied in to doesn't match that we could be tied intoa doesn't match that we could be tied in to a never ending backstop. we are treating northern ireland in a different way to the rest of the uk, andi different way to the rest of the uk, and i am different way to the rest of the uk, andiama different way to the rest of the uk, and i am a real unionist. and i also believe that we could end up, as we did 40 years ago, in sacrificing our fishing industry. those red lines of mine has been crossed. that is why, two weeks ago, i put in a letter to sirgraham two weeks ago, i put in a letter to sir graham brady, because i actually think the time has come, and i am not saying the prime minister hasn't been a good prime minister, but we need a new leader to negotiate with europe but you sent in a letter to graham brady... we have seen capitulation. graham brady has confirmed today that 48 people have not sent in letters, in other words, the threshold for triggering a vote of no confidence has not been reached. let me tell you what the

prime minister has been saying this morning. she said, a change of leadership at this point is not going to make the negotiations any easier. it isn't going to change the parliamentary arithmetic. what it will do is bring a degree of uncertainty for people and their jobs, and that's the reality, isn't it? lily, this policy the prime minister is pursuing, and we've seen two brexit secretaries of state resign, she has been obviously taking control of the negotiations. those negotiations haven't satisfied anyone. many members in my party, the labour party have said they are going to vote it down, the democratic unionist party has said they are going to vote it down, and it is commanding a majority in parliament. so, actually, if negotiations don't work because you have got one negotiator, then you change that negotiator. you are in a minority of conservative mps. not

even 48 have called for her to be toppled. most tory mps actually support their prime minister. the decision that i took two weeks ago was not taken lightly, and i did give my association officers, my association members and concerned constituents the benefit of actually telling them what i did, as a matter of courtesy, and listen to their views. the completely and utterly backed me. and when i submitted my letter. i am pretty sure that some of my colleagues are doing exactly the same this weekend. well, they haven't done yet, because graham brady has told us he had reached 48. we are not back in westminster until tomorrow, and i have no doubt some of my colleagues will have consulted in their constituencies this weekend and, when they return tomorrow, more letters will go into mr brady. you are starting your own party leader,

your own prime minister, not even in the back but in the front. your own prime minister, not even in the back but in the frontlj your own prime minister, not even in the back but in the front. i have asked the prime minister on many occasions to give me a guarantee that the british fishing industry will not be sacrificed. the only a nswer will not be sacrificed. the only answer i get back is, we are leaving the common fisheries policy. if you read the document, the political declaration that accompanied these 500 pages this weekend, it actually doesn't say that. it says that we are going to, in the economic situation at the moment, we are going to look at negotiating access to water is and resources. with other member states. that isn't taking back control. and i saw it before. i saw it 40 years ago. and i was one person who did vote in the last referendum, and i saw it then, andi last referendum, and i saw it then, and i will not stand by any deal that has the potential to sacrifice the fishing industry, which actually

took my late husband in 2011, and i owe it to those fishermen to stand up owe it to those fishermen to stand upfor owe it to those fishermen to stand up for them. you don't want theresa may as your leader or prime minister. who do you want? we will have to wait and see who is prepared to step up... well, you can't want to step up... well, you can't want to topple a party leader and have no idea who you want to take her place. if there were a leadership election, various people would put themselves forward. i would talk to colleagues, andi forward. i would talk to colleagues, and i think we couldn't have a situation where we didn't back one particular candidate. i would situation where we didn't back one particular candidate. iwould hope that whoever wants to do the job, and what i can definitely say is that it won't be me, but... you must have an idea but why can't you just be honest and say it is boris johnson, dominic raab. . . ? be honest and say it is boris johnson, dominic raab...? sorry, but actually, people have to come forward , actually, people have to come forward, they have to say they want to thejob, forward, they have to say they want to the job, and forward, they have to say they want to thejob, and then forward, they have to say they want to the job, and then the choice will come on a ballot paper, injust

to the job, and then the choice will come on a ballot paper, in just the same way as my constituents have a choice of who to vote for when they vote for me in a general election. ifi vote for me in a general election. if i gave you a name now, that person might turn around and say, but i don't want to do the job. let's ta ke but i don't want to do the job. let's take it one step at a time. i will look at the candidates when they come forward, if there is a leadership election triggered, and then i will decide, and i will certainly come back and tell you then who i am going to support. isn't the truth that the deal the prime minister has negotiated, for all its flaws, and obviously there is give and take in any negotiation, it is better than no deal. absolutely not... a lot of the population of this country field at the moment it is better than the disaster of no deal. —— a lot of this country feel. there is not a no deal situation. there was a clean, global deal which a lot of other countries in the world trade on quite comfortably, and that is what we would be faced with. we would not

be coming outjust because we don't trade with europe. it doesn't mean to say that we have to have a deal with them to trade with other countries or trade with europe. let's face it, i prefer to look at things ina let's face it, i prefer to look at things in a positive way. if we went for a clean, global deal, things in a positive way. if we went fora clean, global deal, i things in a positive way. if we went for a clean, global deal, i am pretty sure that the european union would be knocking on our door very quickly, looking to do a deal with us, like is described in the paper plan a class, or a canada plus plus deal. they offered that as months ago. but the prime minister has been absolutely determined to pursue her path, which she decided at chequers, and she hasn't listened. the democratic unionist party said in the debate last week, and i was in the debate last week, and i was in the chamber when i heard them, and they said, shejust the chamber when i heard them, and they said, she just doesn't listen. if you have a negotiator that

doesn't listen to people around her 01’ doesn't listen to people around her or him, then it is time to change the negotiator. we've got the message. thank you for being with us, the conservative mp for south east cornwall. president trump has visited northern california to see the devastation caused by wildfires — the worst ever in the state. this morning, officials said five more bodies have been recovered bringing the total number of deaths to 76. more than 1,200 people are still missing. 0ur correspondent dave lee has more. this isjust a glimpse of the kind of bravery shown by those tackling california's fires. this footage was taken from a security camera outside a house in southern california. on saturday, president trump visited affected areas to see the devastation for himself. he began his trip in the north, where most of those killed by this fire have been found so far. he was met on the tarmac by california's governor,

jerry brown, and the man who will take over from him injanuary, governor—elect gavin newsom, both men who clashed publicly with the president for blaming what he said was poor forest management before offering any condolences to the dead. the president struck much more conciliatory tone in person. we're all going to work together, and we'll do a realjob. but this is very sad to see. as far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet. we're up to a certain number, but we have a lot of people that are unaccounted for. the next few days provide new challenges. those fighting the blaze are welcoming the forecast of rain, but those taking care of recovery efforts worry it could make their work even more difficult. as of tonight, the current list of unaccounted for individuals stands at 1,276, which is an increase today of 265 over yesterday. that's due in large part to our continuing effort to mine the data.

meanwhile, others in the state continue to suffer from dangerously poor air quality. spending the day outside, experts have said, is like smoking half a packet of cigarettes. some of britain's biggest companies are urging the government to honour a promise to give mental health in the workplace the same status as physical health. executives from 50 companies — including royal mail, wh smith and ford — have written to theresa may, asking her to follow through on last year's manifesto pledge to update health and safety legislation. the government says it will bring forward the recommendations of an independent review. the government has confirmed plans to allow universities to offer two—year or "accelerated degrees". they would be allowed to charge higher fees per year but overall students would save around £5,500. 0ur education correspondent

sean coughlan reports. instead of studying for three years at 30 weeks a year, the government wants more universities to provide fast—track courses, with degrees taught over two years, with 45 weeks of studying. these shorter, more intensive courses, would mean savings of about £5,500 tuition fees and a year's worth of accommodation and living costs. the universities minister thinks it will particularly help to reverse the decline in the number of mature students who might want to reduce the cost and to get back into work more quickly. even though the overall cost would be lower than studying for three years, each year would have tuition fees equivalent to about £11,000 per year, above the current maximum limit of £9,250. such a change to the fee system would have to be approved by parliament and that could prove a significant stumbling block. sean coughlan, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news...

theresa may fights back against her critics, saying that replacing her as conservative leader would not make the brexit negotiations any easier. chairman of the 1922 committee graham brady confirms to the bbc that the threshold of 48 letters for a no confidence vote in the prime minister has not yet been reached. president trump visits northern california following the most devastating wildfires in the history of the state. sport — and, for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's will perry. good afternoon. england's cricketers claimed their first series win in sri lanka in 17 years with a 57—run victory in the second test. the hosts began day five in pallekele needing 75 runs wih three wickets remaining. but moeen ali got the wicket of niroshan dickwella before bowling captain suranga lakmal two

balls laterfor a duck. jack leach got the final wicket to claim his maiden test five—wicket haul. england lead the three—match series 2—0, with the final test in colombo starting on friday. the guys have worked extremely hard here. we have planned very well for it. we said we were going to play in a certain manner and we have backed that up completely throughout the two games. and that's probably the most pleasing thing. we have stuck to our guns, been ruthless when we have had our opportunity to get ahead in the games and soaked up pressure on occasion as well. seeing this team grow all the time, looking to improve in practice and driving that standard up is a great position to be in. sri lanka have a reputation of ambushing visitors via on pitches that suit them, that turn square, and the lack of preparation visiting teams have these days, they get beaten resoundingly. we saw south africa recently have the same. added

to that england's overseas record being so poor recently, throw that in the mix, and the fact that they've won not just these two test matches but also the t20 and the one day international series, they've never done that anywhere before, then this is a significant achievement. the open champion francesco molanari has won golf‘s race to dubai. molanari could only be beaten if tommy fleetwood won the world tour championship, but fleetwood finished a long way down the leaderboard. former masters champion danny willett is currently in the lead. he sunk this 50—foot putt on the second to put himself ahead. he's currently 17—under. he is about to win for the first time since the masters two and a half years ago but he has two shots to seal his first victory since augusta. the scene is set for a dramatic afternoon at wembley. it's winner takes all as england host croatia in the nations league, a repeat of the world cup semifinal which of course croatia won. if england win today —

they'll top their group, lose and gareth southgate's side will be relegated. we are always improving and in those five matches you've seen since the summer we haven't sat on our laurels and said we are happy with what we did in the world cup and that's it for the year and we'll look forward to the european championships. we've wanted to keep improving and i think the players have shown that mentality as well. staying with the nations league, and scotland thrashed albania 4—0 last night. bournemouth‘s ryan fraser scored the first of the night with a fine curling effort. he was involved in the fourth goal as well, setting up celtic‘s james forrest to dink and volley into the back of the net. if scotland beat israel at hampden park on tuesday night they'll be promoted to the second tier of the competition and also secure a play—off spot for euro 2020. what a night in dublin! ireland beat new zealand on home soilfor the first time, with a dramatic 16—9 win at the aviva stadium. it was an absorbing game but the only try came from this man, ulster‘s jacob stockdale, with a brilliant chip and gather. jonny sexton kicked

the rest of the points in what was an historic night for the irish. a much changed england side struggled against japan, who led at the break, after their captain michael leitch scored an outstanding try as england's defence floundered. in the 2nd half, eddiejones‘ side ran in three unanswered tries withjoe cokanasiga scoring on his debut. there were ten wales tries as they comfortably beat tonga 74—24 in cardiff. they're now one win away from their first autumn clean sweep. and scotland came close, but not close enough, as they fell to a narrow defeat against south africa at murrayfield. it's scotland's first defeat at home in a year. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. the french president, emmanuel macron, delivers a speech to the german parliament within the next hour.

his visit takes place on germany's annual day of mourning for people who've died in armed conflict. mr macron hopes to get german support for stronger eu cooperation. 0ur correspondent damien mcguinness is in berlin. i suppose, at a time when britain is still negotiating its departure from the eu, this shows the closeness, really, of france and germany is the kind of motors, the engines of european unity. yeah, well that is the hope, anyway, of president macron. he really wants german support for some quite ambitious plans he has for the eu. first, he was to establish a new euros and budget. the news broke a few days ago that they come from ice has been reached between france and germany. traditionally, is something germany

is wary of, because too many germans it sounds like german taxes going to support weaker countries, but it sounds like berlin and paris averaged a compromise on that. they will publish details tomorrow president macron has also called for a european army earlier this week for the chancellor angela merkel expressed cautious support for that idea, and that was the first time she said she'd quite like in principle the sound of that. mr macron author wants to set a new tax for big internet giants, mostly american companies. this is something that today, when president macron meets the chancellor, he wa nts to macron meets the chancellor, he wants to persuade her to come on board with that, too. that is something that germany is worried about, because germany feels that america might actually retaliate and slap some taxes on german exporters. though there are still issues where germany and france don't agree, but what we have seen in the last week or two is some of those most controversial issues coming to some

sort of agreement. mostly compromise, and the issues are not com pletely compromise, and the issues are not completely dealt with, and this is particularly when it comes to eurozone reform, because what the compromise between paris and berlin so far seems to point out is that mr macron hasn't got quite everything he wants insult his proposals, which berlin will agree to, they will not go down well with all germans. there is dispute over the nitty—gritty, but what we are seeing is a willingness for paris and burlington to work together, and that is no doubt partly as a result of some of the turbulence caused by brexit and some of the worried that france and germany have about the uk leaving the eu. and, in particular, the idea of the european army was criticised strongly by president trump. what ordinary germans make of that ridiculous proposal? it depends how it is enacted. i think, if it means coordinating more and saving costs, and if it means that you don't

double up french and german logistics when it comes to armed forces, that is something a lot of germans would agree with, but if it means setting up a new force, if it means setting up a new force, if it means going into conflict zones which germany would not be happy about, that is something most germans would not agree with. when it comes to parliamentary support in berlin it is something that is seen as almost impossible, because the way that you can deploy french troops is very different to how you can deploy german troops fought every deployment by german troops requires parliamentary backing in the bundestag, which isn't going to happen. might fall down on the nitty—gritty of what angela merkel has said is that she supports in principle the aspiration towards a european army. when it comes to the practicalities, whether this is a european army that can be deployed at will, that is another matter entirely. it is also something that germany feels shouldn't interfere with the work of nato. it might end

up with the work of nato. it might end up something quite symbolic, and again this eurozone tax on the eurozone budget, we will probably end up with something that helps mr macron and goes somewhere in the direction of something which he feels would help to stabilise the eurozone, but will not be some massive new budget which will really worry german taxpayers. we might end up worry german taxpayers. we might end up with something which is more symbolic than something which in reality costs a lot or actually has even much of an effect. thank you, damien mcguinness, our correspondent in berlin. some of the world's best opera singers have lent their voices to a musical tribute to the late spanish soprano, montserrat cabelle. opera plays. the memorial service, held at the cathedral of barcelona, featured the dramatic symphony of verdi's requiem. cabelle was regarded as one of the foremost opera singers of the 20th century. she was thrust into the mainstream

after recording the song barcelona with freddie mercury in 1987. she died in october at the age of 85. hello. it's a blue sky day out there for many of you. a bit of patchy cloud through into the afternoon across parts of eastern scotland and north—east england, but the fog we saw through the midlands will have cleared. temperatures into double figures. could hit around 13 to 15 degrees in the highlands where winds are lighter today, but a stronger breeze in the south and, for all of us, the winds pick up tonight, coming in from the east, bringing more cloud into parts of scotland and england in particular. out to the west, clear skies for longest, so there could be a touch of frost

into tomorrow morning. frost—free in the east, but here a lot more cloud to start the day. for all of us, there will be more cloud generally speaking. a few brighter spells, a bit of sunshine every now and again, but the cloud thick enough in the east of scotland and through england in particular for one or two light rain showers. but most will stay dry. temperatures tomorrow — a big drop on what we've in the last few days. most of you now in single figures. only a few get into double digits, and it will drop further into tuesday and wednesday. a stronger breeze. the showers could be wintry over the hills. see you soon. cloudy and called for the rest of the week. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may fights back, and says replacing her as conservative leader wouldn't make the brexit negotiations any easier, warning that the next week is crucial. the next seven days are going to be critical. they are about the future of this country. it's about people's jobs, it's about their livelihoods, it's about the future for their children