this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11pm: theresa may says further talks are needed to finalise a brexit deal before sunday's planned eu summit following a crunch meeting in brussels this evening. we have had a very good meeting this evening. we have made further progress. as a result we have given sufficient direction to negotiators and they can resolve the remaining issues. that work will start immediately. concerns for a 31—year—old british academicjailed for life in the united arab emirates on charges of spying. a six—year—old sexually assaulted by boys at school — her parents win compensation from the local authority. gambling has made this woman britain's highest paid executive. denise coates earned £265 million last year from bet365. and at 11:30pm, we'll take another in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers polly mackenzie and lynn davidson. stay with us for that. good evening.

the prime minister says she has made good progress in the brexit talks in brussels this evening with the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker. they have been discussing the political declaration which sets out what the future relationship between the uk and the eu will be after brexit. but theresa may says she will return to brussels on saturday to continue discussions ahead of the planned summit on sunday. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. the deal is not quite lined up. the prime minister not here for the final handshake. instead of deal done

on the agreement that will shape the eu and the uk for years, theresa may will be back on saturday for more talks, not the original plan. we have given sufficient direction to negotiators and the work will start immediately. i now plan to return for further meetings including with presidentjunker on saturday to discuss how we can bring to conclusion this process and bring it to a conclusion in the interests of all of our people. downing street has indicated she will not go home down—hearted. number ten is eager to get this done for sign off on sunday. but after months of negotiations between officials in brussels and westminster, some eu countries like spain are making their complaints plain. the spanish leader says, as things stand, he would vote no,

wanting more assurances about what happens to gibraltar. after so many arguments... downing street believes the deal so far is a balance, bringing an end to unlimited eu immigration and bringing us some more control of our own laws. we demand a people's vote! it has fierce opposition in parliament. instead of giving confidence to millions of people who voted both leave and remain, this half baked deal fails to give any hope that can bring the country together against. and a cacophony of views on her own side, too. i can't vote for this deal because it affects the integrity of the united kingdom, which as a uninionist first and foremost i cannot accept that.

there is no clarity on taking control of the waters which fishermen need and want. most people watching what is going on in parliament must think pantomime season has started early this year. i will vote for the plan of the prime minister's plan, because i think it is better than it was but i do not think she will get it through the house of commons. many of my colleagues will vote against and very few labour mps will support it, so she needs a plan b. 0rc,d,eorf— if mps reject the deal, almost can happen. brexit is going to happen, right? there is an element of nostradamus in this. brexit prophecies are dangerous. we do not know tonight if the last—minute objections are perhaps the predictable squeals before the inevitable sign off, or major mishaps that somehow threaten it all. it appears it is the former rather than the risky latter in any journey, often the last mile is the hardest one of them all.

a british student has been sentenced to life in prison in the united arab emirates for spying for the british government. 31—year—old matthew hedges, who was studying at durham university, was there researching the country's foreign and internal security policies when he was detained in dubai by the authorities in may. his wife, who was in court this morning, says her husband is innocent and called for the uk government to take a stand. our correspondent paul adams has this report. matthew hedges, pictured here with his wife daniela, before his arrest at dubai airport in early may. six and a half months later, the british academic faces life imprisonment in the country he was studying and knows well. daniela says she's in complete shock. "i don't know what to do," she says. "matthew is innocent. this has been the worst six months of my life, let alone for matt, who was shaking when he heard the verdict."

daniela says matthew is entirely innocent. simply no question, she insists, that he was spying for britain. here, the government seems outraged. the uae is supposed to be a friend and ally of britain's. we have given them repeated assurances about matthew. and, you know, if we can't resolve this, there are going to be serious diplomatic consequences because this is totally u na cce pta ble. you sound angry about this. did you get the impression from the uae authorities that there was going to be a different outcome? i'd actually spoken about matthew to crown prince mohammed bin zayed when i visited abu dhabi last week. and i thought i had some understanding that this was going to be resolved in a satisfactory way. so, how did a 31—year—old british academic fall so spectacularly foul of the emirati authorities? his research involved asking sensitive questions about security and defence policies across the gulf. the head of his department says

he had a wide range of sources. some would be international experts currently based in the uae. some would be former uae government officials who had worked in relevant areas and who were known to have inside information and understanding about how it is that these processes operate. but, for all the shiny glamour of the modern gulf, this is a region of poisonous rivalries and deep suspicions. someone, it seems, didn't like the questions. i'm sure there's a lot of, sort of, personal politics behind this. and probably somebody in the government who reallyjust wants to make a point and wants to use matt as an example to say, you know, we will go about our foreign and security policy in whatever way we want to and no—one will ask questions. daniela says that nightmare is getting worse. "i don't know where they're taking him," she says, "or what will happen now." the parents of a girl sexually

assaulted at the age of six by boys in her primary school playground have won compensation from the local authority. the council has not accepted liability, but the undisclosed five figure settlement could set a precedent. the girl's mother has been speaking exclusively to our education editor branwen jeffreys. bella has made friends at her new primary school, but she carries the mental scars of past experiences. at the age of six, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by boys in her primary school playground. staff had seen bella with her underwear partly removed. eventually, she told her mum she was in pain. for the family, the legal action was about holding the authority to account. and being able to support bella in the future. it's been worth it financially, because there is now a sum of money

that will pay for the therapy and support for her up until adulthood. at any point in the court action, did the council say, "0k, we will offer you support for your daughter, we will offer bella help"? no, they wouldn't even offer her a written apology. i know that matters a lot to you. it matters for her, i think, when she's older, when she can make sense of how she can be so seriously sexually assaulted, so many times, in a place where she should have been safe. and when she finds out that not only were the boys not prosecuted or punished, but also the people who were responsible for keeping her safe from those boys, while she was in school, didn't even write an apology to say, "yes, we know we got it wrong, and we are sorry". schools in england now have new guidelines. for the first time, they recognise sexual abuse of children by other pupils.

but bella's mum says for the child victims, more support and more protection is needed. at the moment, a child who is raped in primary school has to decide whether they go to senior school with the perpetrator, or whether they themselves move schools. the onus is on the victim to move schools, not the perpetrator. more government money is paying counselling of victims of peer on peer abuse. there are plans, too, to teach primary school children about relationships. parents say the system is still struggling to cope with what's happening. it can be very hard to accept that a young child is capable of a sexual assault. and if that child is under the age of ten, the police may not record it. allegations of sex offences in schools are not recorded consistently by the 43 police forces in england and wales. 15 forces recorded a total of 593 allegations of sex offences on school premises last year, where both the victim and perpetrator were under 18. this included 71

allegations of rape. among the allegations were 203 offences where the victim was under the age of 13. bella's case is the first involving a primary school child to reach court. lawyers say it may not be the last. in my experience, i've had around about a dozen families coming forward. a number of those involving primary school age children. and so it's not a problem that seems to be going away any time soon, and does certainly need more recognition, and more measures in place. how is she doing? i have no yard stick. i have no frame of reference for how a girl who was so seriously sexually harmed is supposed to be, three years on. all i know is that she has good days, beautifully good days,

and she has horribly dark days. bra nwen jeffries reporting. if you've been affected by the issues in her report, you can find support on the bbc‘s actionline website, that's at bbc.co.uk/actionline. the founder of an online gambling firm based in stoke—on—trent paid herself £265 million last year, making her one of the highest—paid women in the world. denise coates started bet365 in a car park portakabin 17 years ago. our business editor simon jack has more. she is a quiet, private woman. 51 yea rs she is a quiet, private woman. 51 years old. she left sheffield university, took over her father's small chain of gambling shops and

then made a gamble herself, she sold it up and use the proceeds to invest in an online firm called bet365 and it paid off big. online gambling exploded. when you take home £250 million the year eyebrows are raised and quitea million the year eyebrows are raised and quite a few voices, obscene says vince cable. the high pay centre which monitors says this would be impossible to justify. 0thers which monitors says this would be impossible to justify. others say she employs 4000 people a year and most importantly the company pay £80 million of tax last year, more than people like facebook and other internet giants. simon jack, our business editor. counter—terrorism police are investigating after two bombs were found in an empty flat in north—west london. the two devices were found in a property being refurbished in harlesden this morning. nearby flats were evacuated and roads were closed. police said there have been no arrests. one of northern ireland's biggest employers, the aerospace company bombardier, is cutting nearly 500 jobs in belfast.

0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy has more. there have been large—scale redundancies expected for a while and that is because of a cost—cutting drive by bombardier. they want to sell more planes by making them cheaper. the scale of thejob making them cheaper. the scale of the job losses today, some 490 posts, the unite says it has exceeded its worst fears and today's job losses are the latest in a string of redundancies at bombardier in northern ireland. there is been a total of around 2000 job losses now over the past two years. now the firm, which makes the wings for the c series passenger planes at the belfast plaid says it will try to mitigate compulsory redundancies. there has been criticism of the firm today for the level of job there has been criticism of the firm today for the level ofjob losses announced. that is because bombardier announced an increase in

its profits and earlier this year. so of course this news is a blow to the overall economy of northern ireland, but devastating for many workers and their families here ireland, but devastating for many workers and theirfamilies here in the run—up to christmas. emma vardy reporting. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may says further talks are needed to finalise a brexit deal before sunday's planned eu summit. a 31—year—old british academic is jailed for life in the united arab emirates. matthew hedges was charged with of spying for the uk government. the family of a six—year—old girl who was sexually assaulted by boys at school is awarded compensation from the local authority. around 200 people died every day in the united states last year after a drug overdose, as the number of deaths hit record levels. in chicago, more people died from drugs than from gun—related crimes or car crashes. most of those who died had taken opioids, a class of drug that includes heroin and synthetic fentanyl, which is far more powerful than heroin.

but in chicago, there has also been a big rise in the number of deaths from cocaine. it is up by more than a third. and that is because the synthetic drug fentanyl, which is 50 times stronger than heroin, is now being mixed in with cocaine to ensure those who take it get hooked. nick bryant reports from chicago on a worrying new trend in america's drug crisis. chicago, illinois is one of america's proudest cities. but it is also one of the most deadly. close to the downtown skyscrapers are districts such as the south side and west side, that sometimes feel less like neighbourhoods and more like urban combat zones. and so many of the deaths are drug—related. in just one weekend here, more than 70 people were wounded in shootings. 12 of them were killed.

this alleyway has been the scene of a spate of recent drive—by attacks, so no wonder the gangs security detail is edgy. what you sayin, man? but we've come here not to talk about gang warfare but to find out more about a deadly new product that has hit the streets — cocaine laced with the killer opioid fentanyl. and we're hearing that fentanyl is now being mixed into cocaine. yeah, like, right now — it's mixed in everything right now. it's in the cocaine, it's in the heroin, it's the pills, you know what i'm saying? that's the new wave of this right now. do the users actually know it's in the cocaine? most people don't, you know what i'm saying? because some people, if they did know, they wouldn't overdose off it, and that's why a lot of people is dropping dead. it's a lethal combination.

yeah, it's a bad combination. we're travelling from the east side now to the south side of chicago, and one question we're keen to get the answer to is why fentanyl is now being mixed with cocaine. is it deliberate, an attempt by dealers to expand the market by hooking users on an opioid? or is it accidental — cross—contamination through cutting the batches on the same table? this is what is called a trap house, the backstreet workplaces where dealers produce and sell their drugs. in this case, crack cocaine. this dealer told us that fentanyl is being mixed in deliberately, a cocktailjust as deadly as this gun. when challenged about selling such a lethal mix, he insisted that if users didn't buy from him, they would buy from someone else. we mix fentanyl with the cocaine

to make it better, and to make the junkies come back faster than they usually come back. to make it stronger and more potent. so, if you mix fentanyl with it, you know what risk you're taking, with the life of who you're selling it to. they ain't got to know if there's fentanyl in it or not, but nine times out of ten, might be. users at the chicago parties just don't know what they're snorting. and, although heroin mixed with fentanyl remains by far the biggest killer, the number of cocaine and fentanyl overdose deaths has doubled over the past year across illinois. it is extraordinary how brazen this business can be. these dealers connected with a mexican cartel have set up shop in a car in downtown chicago. it's a lucrative business. they sell what many regard as a party drug in the more affluent districts of the city,

but they say mixing in fentanyl with cocaine makes no sense, because it risks killing off their client base of recreational users. if you think about it, everybody around us right now are major consumers. if they don't consume today, they will consume tomorrow. and if somebody doesn't die today, somebody will die tomorrow, if that hits the streets. it's going to impact our neighbourhoods, and our whole city, and our whole country. it's going to hit us like a bulldozer, i tell you that much. it's going to knock us off the charts. it's that deadly. fentanyl has already killed the son of sharon harkless, and when we asked if we could speak to other affected families, more than 40 people turned up. my son was joshua ashby. i am the sister of greg cornisth. my son, darren rowe.

my son's name was cody gillies. he died of a heroin—fentanyl overdose. he died three weeks before his 19th birthday, from fe nta nyl. he was 30 years old, passed away 2 march of this year from cocaine and fe nta nyl overdose. passed away due to fenta nyl and cocaine. my biggest fear is burying another one, and i almost did that last week, again, so... the crisis is real. my son was somebody. he was a good person. so... do you think he would have taken that drug if he'd had any idea that it was laced with fentanyl? no, why would you risk death? no, he had too much to live for.

it hurts. and those — those we lose... they don't realise that there are families. we have a go on with carrying this pain with them the rest of their lives. one of many mothers in chicago who have lost their children to drugs, ending that report by our north america correspondent nick bryant and cameraman darren conway. saudi arabia's foreign minister has defended the crown prince against claims he was behind the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi, and said criticsim of the kingdom's leadership was a red line. it follows reports that the cia has concluded that the crown prince was linked to the killing. lyse doucet reports from riyadh. an unshakeable bond, but the us congress now has the prince in its sights. it wants to know what role did he play in the murder ofjamal khashoggi. but in riyadh, the kingdom's

top diplomat hits back. the crown prince of saudi arabia is not involved in this. we have made that very clear. we have an investigation that's ongoing, and we will punish the individuals who are responsible for this. and we will make sure it doesn't happen again. so this is a red line — is this a red line for the kingdom, sir, whatever the evidence is? show us the evidence. if turkey has the evidence, please provide it. all we hear is leaks, leaks. show us the evidence, and then we will talk. it's a red line when you have individuals calling for the removal or replacement of our leaders. that's ridiculous, and that's unacceptable in saudi arabia. there is another crisis too — yemen, said to be on the brink of the worst famine in living memory. saudi arabia is under mounting pressure to end the bombing and blockades causing such suffering.

we are doing everything possible in orderto minimise the humanitarian suffering of the yemeni people. now, when we have a militia that is radical, allied with hezbollah and iran, that launched more than 200 ballistic missiles at our towns and cities, are we supposed to sit there and say, oh, sorry, we're not going to do anything? so, if i understand you correctly, saudi arabia and its coalition are not ready to do anything to bring an end to their involvement in this war? we have said that we support all the political efforts aimed at finding resolution to the yemeni crisis. this week, the saudi monarch set out his country's agenda for the next year. his son, the crown prince, in the front row. a signal to saudis and the world that the kingdom sets its own course. lyse doucet, bbc news, riyadh.

next month, politicians from around the world will gather for the united nations climate change conference in poland. but for the first time, there will be one seat there that is not for a nation. it is being called the people's seat, and the idea is it will give ordinary people a voice on this all important issue. victoria gill has been speaking to david attenborough about it. we've been banging on about it for decades now, and no—one's doing anything because no—one in power actually cares. it's either too hot or too cold, and we can't grow anything. the world is a place where we all live together, and if we don't take care of it, we will have nowhere to go. the monsoons are sometimes coming too early or too late, like, nothing is on time. translation: of course, but what can i do about that? concern and confusion over climate change. it is a global conversation. and now, the un has turned to a very familiar figure to take messages like these from people all around the world to the crucial climate talks in poland in less than two weeks' time.

the people's seat is meant to represent the hundreds of millions of people around the world whose lives are about to be affected, or have already been affected, by climate change, so that it will sit there to remind politicians that this is not a theoretical enterprise. this is our opportunity to collectively make a difference — to have our voices heard. we saw how the response to blue planet, with the issue of plastics in the environment, caused such a huge response. how would you convince people that they personally can make a difference, and that they should be part of the conversation? well, that's what i've been spending my life, really, trying to do — making clear what the natural world is, how complicated it is,

and how it works, and how it affects the way in which we live, and making it clear that we human beings depend upon the health of the natural world for every breath of air we breathe. what would you want to say to the politicians, notjust being a conduit for other people, but what would your message be? my message is that the people of the world know that the world is changing, and they are behind politicians taking action. that's what the people's seat in this new conference that's just coming up is representing — that people want to stop climate change. the people's seat. while the seat might remind leaders at the talks what is at stake, any agreement or action will be in the hands of the politicians who are in the room. victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for the weather, with darren bett. hello there. any time you have a clearer skies at this time of year, with the long nights, you're going

to have some frosty weather. i think over the next few days or so we are going to find more cloud dragging in across the uk, certainly may not be quite so frosty. we've got low pressure to the south—west, high pressure to the south—west, high pressure to the north—east of the uk. still that easterly flow and that whether from there it dragging in all cloud from off the north—east are not quite so called first thing for the eastern side of the uk but it will be quite cloudy. we will see a few showery burst of rain for eastern scotland. some sunshine continuing after the frosty start for northern ireland, perhaps western scotland, wales, parts of southern england. easterly breeze again, lighter winds across western parts of scotland where we will see most of the rain. most of those heavy showers steering away and temperatures will be very similar on thursday to what we had on wednesday. now, during the evening then and into the night, we still have quite a bit of cloud around. there will be a few holes here and there, no doubt, especially across parts of england and wales, so temperatures are going to be heading close to freezing, perhaps. but it is not going to be widely frosty. it

is not going to be widely frosty. it is just is not going to be widely frosty. it isjust a pinch is not going to be widely frosty. it is just a pinch of frosty in there. fairly cloudy looking friday. some sharp showers in the south—west. again, a bit more rain coming in the eastern scotland, a little sunshine here and there and those temperatures staying between seven and nine degrees. this is the picture as we head into the weekend. low pressure is threatening to push these weather front and some showers more southern counties of england. they may get a little bit further north than this on saturday. away from here a lot of dry weather. we've got high pressure to the north of the uk. that is why we have this easterly breeze, a fairly gentle easterly breeze, a fairly gentle easterly breeze, a fairly gentle easterly breeze on saturday, but it is and quite a lot of cloud. a little sunshine at times. those temperatures beginning to rise on saturday so we could get ten or 11 degrees in the south. but there is colder air around that area of high pressure to the north. and that is starting to extend its way towards the uk, giving more ofan starting to extend its way towards the uk, giving more of an influence to our weather, bringing a lot of dry weather but probably dragging down something a little bit chilly

on sunday. there will be a more pronounced easterly breeze so it may feel a little bit colder on sunday. there could be one or two showers here and there, especially towards the south, but on the whole most places will be dry if fairly cloudy. 0nce places will be dry if fairly cloudy. once the cloud breaks overnight you will find a frost, that could happen on monday morning. there may be more sunshine around because pressure is rising, the high pressure is moving down from the north and those temperatures will be lower during the day, six to eight degrees. as we head into next week there is a bit more uncertainty. we have that high pressure building down, a big area of low pressure out in the atlantic and it looks like this is the more likely scenario, we will see this rain pushing across the uk, driven by low pressure that is moving to the north—west of our shores. if that happens, on the whole we have the breeze coming in from the south or south—west, so that means milder air, that is if this area of low